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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Australia signs historic climate refuge treaty with Pacific Island nation Tuvalu; GOP’s third 2024 primary debate — in Miami — ignores climate change; Last 12 months were the hottest in recorded human history; Some big policy changes after the 2023 elections; PLUS: Manchin to exit the Senate… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 11/14/2023

‘Green News Report’ – November 14, 2023  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – November 14, 2023  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): What to know about today’s three big climate reports; Over 60 countries back deal to triple renewable energy this decade; How much trees fight climate change? Massively, but not alone; Microplastics problem just got worse; Oil firms attending climate talks have minimal green energy transition plans; 20 farming families use more water from the Colorado River than some Western states; Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon falls to lowest since 2018… PLUS: Desperate for water, desert city hopes to build pipeline to CA Aqueduct… and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• The last 12 months were the hottest 12-month period in recorded history:
• The hottest 12-month stretch in recorded history (Climate Central)
• Earth’s last 12 months were hottest on record, new study shows (Axios):
  The report shows that November 2022 through October 2023 experienced a global temperature departure from the pre-industrial average of 1.33°C (2.37°F). That is perilously close to temporarily meeting or breaching the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature target. However, that target refers to longer-term temperatures across a few decades, rather than a 12-month period.
• You’ve just lived through Earth’s hottest 12 months on record (Washington Post):
  The planet is closer than ever to a 1.5 degree-Celsius warming threshold that could trigger irreversible ecological damage, analysis finds.
• UN Production Gap Report: top 20 oil-producing nations plans will overshoot Paris targets:
• Planned Fossil Fuel Production Vastly Exceeds the World’s Climate Goals, ‘Throwing Humanity’s Future Into Question’ (Inside Climate News):
  The findings reveal a widening gap between the emissions-cutting pledges these nations have made and their continued policies to promote mining and drilling within their borders.
• Nations that vowed to halt warming are expanding fossil fuels, report finds (NY Times):
  The world remains on track to produce far more oil, gas and coal than would be consistent with relatively safe levels of heating, a new report found.
• ‘Insanity’: petrostates planning huge expansion of fossil fuels, says UN report (Guardian)
• 3rd Republican presidential primary debate recycles energy disinformation:
• It’s time to update your talking points about oil production (Washington Post)
• VIDEO: RNC Third Republican Presidential Primary Debate and Transcript (Rev)
• GOP Debate in Miami Highlights Florida’s Outsized Climate Impacts (Climate Power):
  Not one GOP candidate on stage on Wednesday has a coherent plan to address climate change — if they even admit it’s real.
• Fact checking the 3rd GOP debate of the 2024 election (CNN):
  Haley once again attacked DeSantis for his record on fracking after their heated exchange on the topic during the second GOP debate.
• Sen. Joe Manchin won’t run for re-election in 2024:
• Sen. Joe Manchin announces he won’t seek reelection in 2024 (NPR)
• Joe Manchin wasn’t always a climate ally, but his successor will be worse (Grist):
  Not that Manchin ever made passing any kind of climate legislation easy. He is socially conservative and a big supporter of coal, both because of where he comes from and because his family owns a coal processing plant that earns him $600,000 per year.
• Manchin’s retirement may end up being his biggest tease yet (CNN)
• Jim Justice: West Virginia Governor’s Coal Empire Sued by the Federal Government — Again (Pro Publica):
  The lawsuit, filed by the Justice Department, seeks millions in unpaid environmental fines as Gov. Jim Justice begins his campaign for the U.S. Senate.
• Voters enact big policy changes in 2023 Election:
• Election roundup: Results in 4 states set to shape energy sector (E&E News),/li>
• Maine voters reject plan for non-profit power utility backed by climate groups (Guardian):
  Supporters had said there was little to lose because of the utilities’ poor performance.
  Critics, though, argued there was no guarantee the non-profit utility would perform any better, while the move could spark lawsuits and buying out the existing utilities could cost as much as $13.5 billion.
• Mainers vote against new utility, approve restoration of tribal obligations to printed constitutions (AP)
• Texans approved billions in spending on power plants. What comes next? (Houston Public Radio):
  [Ed Hirs, an energy economist and lecturer at the University of Houston] said he doubts the effectiveness of the incentive program because it does not overturn underlying realities in the Texas energy market that make building new power plants a risky bet for investors…”It’s two to four years away before it can really bring any relief to the Texas consumers in terms of [grid reliability],” he said.
• Democrats win big in Virginia and New Jersey despite fossil fuel ads (Washington Post)
• Australia signs historic climate refuge pact with Tuvalu:
• Australia signs security, migration pact with Pacific’s Tuvalu (Reuters)
• VIDEO: Anthony Albanese offers Tuvalu residents the right to resettle in Australia, as climate change ‘threatens its existence’ (ABC Australia):
  The agreement comes as Tuvalu’s viability is threatened by rising sea levels as climate change escalates, with the country flagging a potential move into the digital world…”Its very existence is threatened. I believe developed nations have a responsibility to provide assistance and that is precisely what we are doing.
• Australia offers to help Tuvalu residents escape rising seas and other ravages of climate change (AP)
• Tuvalu residency and security treaty: what is it and why is Australia doing it? (Guardian):
  The deal helps offset criticism from the Pacific about Australian emissions, but it also brings it into the western orbit and away from China.

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• What to know about today’s three big climate reports (Washington Post)
• Over 60 Countries Back Deal To Triple Renewable Energy This Decade (Reuters)
• How Much Can Trees Fight Climate Change? Massively, but Not Alone: Study (NY Times)
• Microplastics problem just got worse (Climate Crocks)
• The global climate solution Republicans have been looking for (The Hill)
• Oil Firms Attending Climate Talks Have Minimal Green Energy Transition Plans (AP)
• 20 Farming Families Use More Water From Colorado R. Than Some Western States (Pro Publica)
• Deforestation In Brazil’s Amazon Falls To Lowest Since 2018 (CNN)
• UN Global Plastic Treaty Talks: Delegates Face Off Over Production Limits (Reuters)
• Oil or Water? Midland Says Disposal Wells Could Threaten Water Supply (Inside Climate News)
• Harvest Of Horseshoe Crabs, For Medicine And Bait, Limited To Protect Bird (AP)
• Desperate For Water, Desert City Hopes To Build Pipeline To Calif. Aqueduct (Phys.Org)
• Exxon Mobil Plans to Produce Lithium in Arkansas (NY Times)
• The trillion-dollar quest to make green steel (Canary Media)
• Rising Temperatures Are Wreaking Havoc Year-Round (gift link, Bloomberg)
• Rough years ahead [as new El Nino arrives] (Nature)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (Climate Crocks)
• These are the places most at risk from record-breaking heat waves as the planet warms (CNN)
• Building Steam in Lithium Valley (The American Prospect)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: See what three degrees of global warming looks like (The Economist/YouTube)
• The 7 climate tipping points that could change the world forever (Grist)
• The 1977 White House climate memo that should have changed the world (Guardian UK)
• Four solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC (Dr. Michael Mann, Penn Today)
• Environmental Sacrifice Zones: 8 Places We’ve Given Up-Probably Forever (Environmental Health Network)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
• 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
• Climate Fund Choices for Investors Are Multiplying (Bloomberg/Yahoo)
• How climate change could undo 50 years of public health gains (Grist)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon’s Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: How to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. (David Roberts, Vox)
• A Global Shift To Sustainability Would Save Us $26 Trillion (Vox)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
• The world’s bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
• The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):
  To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate – so every reduction in emissions helps.
• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak – sooner than you think.
• A beginner’s guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it’s possible for the whole world to run on renewables – we merely lack the “political will.” So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.