Arguments
2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #12
Posted on 23 March 2019 by John Hartz
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 17 through Sat, Mar 23, 2019
Editor's Pick
Tim Flannery: people are shocked about climate change but they should be angry
The author and scientist, who has returned to his roots at the Australian Museum, says the world is about to see a major shift towards climate action
Tim Flannery: ‘We’re in a different world now, a world where people are living with climate change consequences’ Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian
Tim Flannery laments that young Australians today will never be able to experience in the same way the natural wonders he enjoyed in his youth.
He grew up in Melbourne on remnants of the sandplain flora, “one of the great floristic gems of Australia,” he says. Once smothered in flowers in springtime, it has now largely been lost through development and altered burning regimes. Flannery, 63, spent his youth swimming and scuba diving in northern Port Phillip bay, which he says is now also gravely deteriorated.
He further points to the Great Barrier Reef, which suffered unprecedented mass bleaching in 2016 and 2017 and the “serious questions” about whether it can now be saved. “Something like 70% of the reef that was there a century ago is now dead,” he says.
But without detailed records on species distributions, it’s impossible to map the losses due to climate change, explains Flannery, who recently returned to the 192-year-old Australian Museum in Sydney, where he was principal mammalogist from 1984–1999.
Rather than being “a fusty old relic” the museum is playing a vital role in this, he says. “The collections that say where things were, and when, are here – and that’s the most important asset we’ve got to understand the response of biodiversity to climate change … The people of New South Wales need to understand what a valuable asset they have.”
Tim Flannery: People are shocked about climate change but they should be angry, Interview by John Pickrell, Environment, Guardian, Mar 20, 2019
Links posted on Facebook
Sun Mar 17, 2019
- Iconic Forests Reaching Climate Tipping Points in American West, Study Finds by Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News, Mar 11, 2019
- New research, March 4-10, 2019 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Mar 15, 2019
- Can climate optimism survive reality? by Sami Grover, Treehugger, Mar 15, 2019
- Here's a running list of all the ways climate change has altered Earth in 2019 by Mark Kaufman, Science, Mashable, Mar 16, 2019
- These Photos of Kids Protesting Climate Change All Over the World Will Give You Hope for the Future by Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Mother Jones, Mar 15, 2019
- Winter was frigid because the polar vortex got ‘drunk’ by Jason Tetro, The Conversation Canada, Mar 14, 2019
- Big Oil must choose: bad guys or good guys on climate change by Editorial Board, Houston Chronicle, Mar 14, 2019
- Isolationism is deadly. Only global collective action can save us, Opinion by Noga Levy-Rapoport, Comment is Free, Guardian, Mar 14, 2019
Mon Mar 18, 2019
- As climate changes, the way we build homes must change too by Gary Martin & Glenn McGillivray, The Conversation Canada, Mar 12, 2019
- New trial launched to make renewable power more reliable by Cole Latimer, Business, Sydney Morning Herald, Mar 18, 2019
- EDITORIAL COMMENT : Cyclone Idai: Wake-up call to climate change, The Herald (Zimbabwe), Mar 18, 2019
- Greta Thunberg has done her science homework. FaktaBaari (Finland), Mar 3, 2019
- How to Tell If Beto O’Rourke Is for Real: A Green New Deal and Natural Gas, Opinion by Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, Mar 17, 2019
- More than 10 million people remain under flood warnings as Midwest braces for more rain by Alex Johnson & Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, Mar 17, 2019
- At Least 150 Dead, 1.5 Million Impacted as Cyclone Idai Slams Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe by Olivia Rosane, EcoWatch, Mar 18, 2019
- The disconnect between the Trump administration and reality on climate change keeps growing, Analysis by Philip Bump, Politics, Washington Post, Mar 18, 2019
Tue Mar 19, 2019
- Photos: kids in 123 countries went on strike to protect the climate by Eliza Barclay & Kainaz Amaria, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 17, 2019
- Energy analysts forecast 'the end of coal' in Asia as Japanese investors back renewables by Ben Smee & Daniel Hurst, Environment, Mar 17, 2019
- The Carbon Brief Profile: India by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Mar 14, 2019
- Cyclone Idai: Fears for 500,000 people as 90% of Mozambique city destroyed, aid officials say by Jenni Marsh, Bukola Adebayo and Vasco Cotovio, CNN, Mar 18, 2019
- Cyclone survivors clinging to rooftops in Mozambique as they await rescue, aid officials say by Jenni Marsh, Bukola Adebayo and Vasco Cotovio, CNN, Mar 18, 2019
- Why you'll never meet a white supremacist who cares about climate change, Opinion by Rebecca Solnit, Comment is Free, Guardian, Mar 19, 2019
- February 2019 ranked fifth hottest on record for the globe, NOAA News Release, Mar 18, 2019
- America Cares About Climate Change Again by Robinson Meyer, Science, The Atlantic, Mar 18, 2019
Wed Mar 20, 2019
- The terror of climate change is transforming young people’s identity by Blanche Verlie, The Conversation AU, Mar 15, 2019
- AP finds hot records falling twice as often as cold ones by Seth Borenstein & Nicky Forster, AP News, Mar 19, 2019
- Climate change making storms like Idai more severe, say experts by Matthew Taylor, Environment, Guardian, Mar 19, 2019
- Cyclone Idai: “The scale of devastation is enormous” by Brian Resnick, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 19, 2019
- Cyclone Idai lays bare the fundamental injustice of climate change by Eric Holthaus, Grist, Mar 19, 2019
- Perfect storm of extreme weather and climate change drove deadly Midwest flooding by Jeff Berardelli, CBS News, Mar 18, 2019
- Donald Trump is using Stalinist tactics to discredit climate science, Opinion by Michael Mann & Bob Ward, Comment is Free, Guardian, Mar 19, 2019
- Federal judge demands Trump administration reveal how its drilling plans will fuel climate change by Juliet Eilperin, Climate & Environment, Washington Post, Mar 20, 2019
Thu Mar 21, 2019
- Eco-fascism is undergoing a revival in the fetid culture of the extreme right, Opinion by Jason Wilson, Comment is Free, Guardian, Mar 19, 2019
- Factcheck: Is 3-5C of Arctic warming now ‘locked in’? by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Mar 16, 2019df
- Record Floods Could “Test the Limits” of Midwest Defenses by Daniel Cusick & Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, March 19, 2019
- The Green New Deal aims to get buildings off fossil fuels. These 6 places have already started. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 20, 2019
- Historic, widespread flooding will continue through May, NOAA says by Brandon Miller & Allie Mazurek, CNN. Mar 21, 2019
- Donald Trump’s Solar And Wind Power Criticism Slammed By Scientists: “Trump Is A Dangerous, Evil Clown” by Kashmira Gander, Tech & Science, Newsweek, Mar 32, 2019
- ‘Like a Terror Movie’: How Climate Change Will Cause More Simultaneous Disasters by John Schwartz, Climate, New York Times, Mar 20, 2019
- Cyclone Idai shows the deadly reality of climate change in Africa, Opinion by Landry Ninteretse, Comment is Free, Guardian, Mar 21, 2019
Fri Mar 22, 2019
- The Subtle Seduction of the ‘Warm’ in Global Warming, Opinion by Julia Sklar, Cross Sections, Undark, Mar 21, 2019
- Top oil firms spending millions lobbying to block climate change policies, says report by Sandra Laville, Environment, Guardian, Mar 21, 2019
- Tim Flannery: People are shocked about climate change but they should be angry, Interview by John Pickrell, Environment, Guardian, Mar 20, 2019
- Forests scramble to absorb carbon as emissions continue to increase by Taran Volckhausen, Global Forests, Mongabay, Mar 21, 2019
- The Energy 202: Senate Democrats look for unity on eve of Green New Deal vote, Analysis by Dino Grandoni, PowerPost, Washington Post, Mar 22, 2019
- Harrowing scenes after Cyclone Idai with inland ocean visible from outer space by Anna Cardovillis, Jack Guy, Jenni Marsh & Columbus Mavhunga, CNN, Mar 22, 2019
- Dangerous' cyclones to soak and batter Australia's north by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, Mar 22, 2019
- U.S. solar and wind firms call the 'Green New Deal’ too extreme by Valerie Volcovici & Nichola Groom, Reuters, Mar 21, 2019
Sat Mar 23, 2019
- Ending climate change requires the end of capitalism. Have we got the stomach for it?. Opinion by Phil McDuff, Comment is Free, Guardian, Mar 18, 2019
- Bank of England to set new rules on climate risk, says Carney by Andy Bruce & David Milliken, Reuters, Mar 21, 2019
- Terrifying map shows all the parts of America that might soon flood by Eric Holthaus, Grist, Mar 22, 2019
- Cyclones Trevor and Veronica loom over northern coasts stirring up a storm of questions by Kate Doyle, ABC News (Australia), Marc 21, 2019
- Climate change could make insurance too expensive for most people – report by Arthur Neslen, Environment, Guardian, Mar 21, 2019
- David Attenborough to present ‘unflinching’ climate change documentary, Paris Assoc/Irish Examiner, Mar 21, 2019
- This List Of Climate Change Solutions May Be Key To Reversing It by Devin Thorpe, Forbes, Mar 22, 2019
- The Future of Climate Authoritarianism Is Now, Interview by Jacob Sugarman, Truthdig, Mar 20, 2019
That seems naively optimistic. NSW just re-elected the LNP. The only party who takes climate change seriously The Greens, didn't get a look in.
Trevor_S,
There is often a pattern to major social changes. When the change will be a correction based on improving awareness and understanding that contradicts already developed popular and profitable attitudes and activities a significant resistance to correction can develop. The result is the regional perception of continued success, continued increased perceptions of status. But the required correction just becomes more significant and urgent as the improving awareness and understanding inevitably gains power.
Regions with leadership that is significantly resisting the corrections of their understandably harmful and ultimately unsustainable pursuits are setting themselves up for more significant disappointment. It may appear as though they will never lose. But the harder they fight to resist being corrected, the bigger and more rapid the correction occurs.
I live in Alberta, Canada. The resistance to correction is massive here. And the anger of disappointment regarding correction of the over-development in the wrong direction that has occurred through the past 30 years is very apparent. To an outside observer, someone not immersed in the desire to benefit from the global burning of fossil fuels, so is the inevitable reality that the correction will happen and be more dramatic the more that people in Alberta temporarily regionally win their fight against it happening.
The trend of improving awareness and understanding regarding climate science and the required corrections of developed popular and profitable activities is very obvious. The speed and magnitude of the correction in any region is a function of how aggressively the winners in the region try to resist the correction. The longer it is delayed the more disappointing the correction becomes for those resisting the correction.