https://www.politicususa.com/2019/05/15/trump-administration-opens-up-minnesota-wilderness-area-to-copper-mining.html?fbclid=IwAR3UxownVnuIlgXsBquwPIpgq9ZwxNaD-B1LF4PHM7GGeFhyzZqA2wPAclI
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday renewed two long-mothballed leases near the Boundary Waters Wilderness area in Minnesota, a key step in opening up the popular wilderness and recreation area to copper mining despite heavy opposition from local and national conservation groups."
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Trump’s speech on energy policy goes off the rails
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-speech-energy-policy-goes-the-rails?fbclid=IwAR2OG-dzfFBS_3A_QnePVjlzCJupNutjq0JN0P0S8nE-r9Uj0fbUjlcZdNk
"Trump peddled discredited nonsense about energy policy during a speech devoted to energy policy. Is it any wonder substantive debates with this White House are so difficult? Postscript: The last time Trump shared his thoughts on wind turbines, he suggested they cause cancer. I suppose we should be thankful he showed some restraint yesterday?"
"Trump peddled discredited nonsense about energy policy during a speech devoted to energy policy. Is it any wonder substantive debates with this White House are so difficult? Postscript: The last time Trump shared his thoughts on wind turbines, he suggested they cause cancer. I suppose we should be thankful he showed some restraint yesterday?"
Bureau Of Land Management Scrubs Stewardship Language From News Releases
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/blm-news-releases-stewardship-languaged_n_5cdb8196e4b0437438c39e09?guccounter=1&fbclid=IwAR0z4RgO-G6tzRS-H3weKAq6f-Kz3_avJtfDLvpvex9ZFSspTL6O9P-I52c
"Aaron Weiss, media director at Colorado-based conservation group Center for Western Priorities, called the change “a perfect representation” of how Trump and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt view America’s public lands. “In their world, our lands are only here for exploitation and financial gain, not protection and preservation,” Weiss told HuffPost. “Bernhardt’s clients profit; our kids and grandkids pay the price.” Bernhardt, a former oil and gas lobbyist with a slew of potential conflicts of interest, served as Interior’s deputy secretary before being confirmed to the top post last month. He replaced former secretary Ryan Zinke, who stepped down in January amid mounting ethics scandals. Together, Zinke and Bernhardt gutted numerous Obama-era policies aimed at tackling climate change and have worked to boost fossil fuel and mineral production on federal lands. They also led the largest reduction of national monuments in American history, carving a collective 2 million acres from a pair of protected sites in Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments ― a move that opened the door for oil, mining and other development. The Trump administration has on numerous occasions come under fire for scrubbing climate change language from agency websites. And, in its quest for so-called energy dominance, the Interior Department has prioritized development over conservation, at times celebrating its role in governing the exploitation of natural resources from public lands."
"Aaron Weiss, media director at Colorado-based conservation group Center for Western Priorities, called the change “a perfect representation” of how Trump and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt view America’s public lands. “In their world, our lands are only here for exploitation and financial gain, not protection and preservation,” Weiss told HuffPost. “Bernhardt’s clients profit; our kids and grandkids pay the price.” Bernhardt, a former oil and gas lobbyist with a slew of potential conflicts of interest, served as Interior’s deputy secretary before being confirmed to the top post last month. He replaced former secretary Ryan Zinke, who stepped down in January amid mounting ethics scandals. Together, Zinke and Bernhardt gutted numerous Obama-era policies aimed at tackling climate change and have worked to boost fossil fuel and mineral production on federal lands. They also led the largest reduction of national monuments in American history, carving a collective 2 million acres from a pair of protected sites in Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments ― a move that opened the door for oil, mining and other development. The Trump administration has on numerous occasions come under fire for scrubbing climate change language from agency websites. And, in its quest for so-called energy dominance, the Interior Department has prioritized development over conservation, at times celebrating its role in governing the exploitation of natural resources from public lands."
Thinning Five Times Faster Than Just Two Decades Ago, Study Shows Antarctic Ice Melting at Terrifying Rate
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/16/thinning-five-times-faster-just-two-decades-ago-study-shows-antarctic-ice-melting?fbclid=IwAR2JYypK7kXnnTVOP3bfqJPjOKwiln08iw0WMcqL5WagSVsIXZQHZt7Jm6g
"Some areas, researchers at Leeds University in the U.K. reported, are now about 328 feet (100 meters) thinner than they were less than three decades ago—putting the planet in danger of a major sea level rise which could wipe out coastal cities. The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, also detailed how scientists are accustomed to observing such changes in glaciers over geological time periods—not portions of people's lifetimes."
"Some areas, researchers at Leeds University in the U.K. reported, are now about 328 feet (100 meters) thinner than they were less than three decades ago—putting the planet in danger of a major sea level rise which could wipe out coastal cities. The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, also detailed how scientists are accustomed to observing such changes in glaciers over geological time periods—not portions of people's lifetimes."
415: The Most Dangerous Number
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/climate-change-mauna-loa-carbon-dioxide-measurement-834627/?fbclid=IwAR0Bi27XourATdqzJhcHaJf-7X4xmSlUTrzyjlO4YYS-mXYSM2LVK3_H4GM
"Last week, an exquisitely sensitive instrument located in a metal shack on the top of Mauna Loa, a 13,679-foot-high volcano in Hawaii, recorded a terrifying human achievement: Thanks to our ever-increasing addiction to burning fossil fuels, the level of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere has risen to 415 parts per million. This is the highest level it has been since human beings have lived on Earth. And it is further evidence (as if further evidence were needed) of just how hell-bent we are on cooking the planet we live on."
"Last week, an exquisitely sensitive instrument located in a metal shack on the top of Mauna Loa, a 13,679-foot-high volcano in Hawaii, recorded a terrifying human achievement: Thanks to our ever-increasing addiction to burning fossil fuels, the level of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere has risen to 415 parts per million. This is the highest level it has been since human beings have lived on Earth. And it is further evidence (as if further evidence were needed) of just how hell-bent we are on cooking the planet we live on."
415 ppm: We Are all Part of Exxon’s Unchartered Climate Experiment Now
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/05/16/415-ppm-we-are-all-part-exxons-unchartered-climate-experiment-now?fbclid=IwAR2KvhPZZbt2g_ubigceLNT7Qqqt5rz9bQfA46vlZqQtydviaPG3248TZCA
"We are all now a living experiment. Never before in human history have carbon dioxide levels reached 415 parts per million. These levels were last seen maybe some 2.5-5 million years ago, during the Pliocene, but then the earth was much warmer than it is today and it was way before us. Back then, there was no Greenland and trees grew near the South Pole. Sea levels were much, much higher. Maybe 25 metres higher. 415 ppm is a grim number. It signals we are in deep, deep trouble. And in the words of Rolling Stone magazine: “Further evidence (as if further evidence were needed) of just how hell-bent we are on cooking the planet we live on.” To show you how much we are changing the climate: Every year another 2-3 ppm of carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. Before the industrial revolution it was 280 ppm. And now it is 415 ppm. We could have stopped the relentless rise of carbon dioxide, but we did not. In part the reason collectively we have failed to do so is the power of the oil companies and one of the most sophisticated public relations exercises ever undertaken to deny and obfuscate the truth."
"We are all now a living experiment. Never before in human history have carbon dioxide levels reached 415 parts per million. These levels were last seen maybe some 2.5-5 million years ago, during the Pliocene, but then the earth was much warmer than it is today and it was way before us. Back then, there was no Greenland and trees grew near the South Pole. Sea levels were much, much higher. Maybe 25 metres higher. 415 ppm is a grim number. It signals we are in deep, deep trouble. And in the words of Rolling Stone magazine: “Further evidence (as if further evidence were needed) of just how hell-bent we are on cooking the planet we live on.” To show you how much we are changing the climate: Every year another 2-3 ppm of carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. Before the industrial revolution it was 280 ppm. And now it is 415 ppm. We could have stopped the relentless rise of carbon dioxide, but we did not. In part the reason collectively we have failed to do so is the power of the oil companies and one of the most sophisticated public relations exercises ever undertaken to deny and obfuscate the truth."
Exxon predicted in 1982 exactly how high global carbon emissions would be today
https://thinkprogress.org/exxon-predicted-high-carbon-emissions-954e514b0aa9/?fbclid=IwAR3q4c0YTHGerV6GESxGCkwBWBx4gPb6jOKyIHAx0A5YhY6VS-Tu6DVmUAo
"Never before in human history has there been so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The last time scientists believe it may have been this high was 2.5 to 5 million years ago during the Pliocene epoch, when sea levels were 25 meters higher than today and global temperatures were warmer by 2-3 degrees Celsius. Unlike back then, however, the record carbon dioxide emissions being recorded now are the result of humans burning fossil fuels, which releases harmful heat-trapping pollution into the atmosphere. And scientists at Exxon predicted this decades ago. According to an internal 1982 document from Exxon Research and Engineering Company — obtained by InsideClimate News as part of its 2015 investigation into what Exxon knew about the impact of fossil fuels on climate change — the company was modeling out the concentration of carbon emissions several years into the future. According to a graph displaying the “growth of atmospheric CO2 and average global temperature increase” over time, the company expected that, by 2020, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would reach roughly 400 to 420 ppm. This month’s measurement of 415 ppm is right within the expected curve Exxon projected under its “21st Century Study-High Growth scenario"."
"Never before in human history has there been so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The last time scientists believe it may have been this high was 2.5 to 5 million years ago during the Pliocene epoch, when sea levels were 25 meters higher than today and global temperatures were warmer by 2-3 degrees Celsius. Unlike back then, however, the record carbon dioxide emissions being recorded now are the result of humans burning fossil fuels, which releases harmful heat-trapping pollution into the atmosphere. And scientists at Exxon predicted this decades ago. According to an internal 1982 document from Exxon Research and Engineering Company — obtained by InsideClimate News as part of its 2015 investigation into what Exxon knew about the impact of fossil fuels on climate change — the company was modeling out the concentration of carbon emissions several years into the future. According to a graph displaying the “growth of atmospheric CO2 and average global temperature increase” over time, the company expected that, by 2020, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would reach roughly 400 to 420 ppm. This month’s measurement of 415 ppm is right within the expected curve Exxon projected under its “21st Century Study-High Growth scenario"."
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural World at an ‘Unprecedented’ Pace
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/climate/biodiversity-extinction-united-nations.html?fbclid=IwAR0i6WMT_nJw7ZnQyuxdkKmNIsNch_kANu3ux00VZIDIUg-m7kWqxyl9xrI
"The 1,500-page report, compiled by hundreds of international experts and based on thousands of scientific studies, is the most exhaustive look yet at the decline in biodiversity across the globe and the dangers that creates for human civilization. A summary of its findings, which was approved by representatives from the United States and 131 other countries, was released Monday in Paris. The full report is set to be published this year."
"The 1,500-page report, compiled by hundreds of international experts and based on thousands of scientific studies, is the most exhaustive look yet at the decline in biodiversity across the globe and the dangers that creates for human civilization. A summary of its findings, which was approved by representatives from the United States and 131 other countries, was released Monday in Paris. The full report is set to be published this year."
Monday, May 6, 2019
Shocking New Report On Loss Of Nature Paints A Terrifying Picture For The Future Of Humanity
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biodiversity-report-ipbes-nature-crisis_n_5ccee4e1e4b0e4d757341215
"The conclusions of the greatest-ever stock-taking of the living world, published on Monday, show that ecosystems and wild populations are shrinking, deteriorating or vanishing completely, and up to 1 million species of land and marine life could be made extinct by humans’ actions if present trends continue. Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population. But forests and wetlands are being erased worldwide and oceans are under growing stress, says the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the United Nations’ expert nature panel, in the landmark global assessment report. The three-year study, compiled by nearly 500 scientists, analyzed around 15,000 academic studies that focused on everything from plankton and fish to bees, coral, forests, frogs and insects, as well as drawing on indigenous knowledge. If we continue to pollute the planet and waste natural resources as we have been doing, it won’t just affect people’s quality of life but will lead to a further deterioration of earth’s planetary systems, said the IPBES scientists."
"The conclusions of the greatest-ever stock-taking of the living world, published on Monday, show that ecosystems and wild populations are shrinking, deteriorating or vanishing completely, and up to 1 million species of land and marine life could be made extinct by humans’ actions if present trends continue. Food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate all depend on a thriving plant and animal population. But forests and wetlands are being erased worldwide and oceans are under growing stress, says the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the United Nations’ expert nature panel, in the landmark global assessment report. The three-year study, compiled by nearly 500 scientists, analyzed around 15,000 academic studies that focused on everything from plankton and fish to bees, coral, forests, frogs and insects, as well as drawing on indigenous knowledge. If we continue to pollute the planet and waste natural resources as we have been doing, it won’t just affect people’s quality of life but will lead to a further deterioration of earth’s planetary systems, said the IPBES scientists."
Trump’s long history of pushing wild misinformation about wind turbines
https://www.vox.com/2019/4/3/18293552/trump-windmills-cancer-nrcc-speech?fbclid=IwAR3T0OwUYOseEg-6aZUWEMM6B8QihqJuqGO9FH6aEVtJx8X596VE95koT3E
"President Donald Trump is a climate change denier and renewable energy hater. That much has been clear for a long time. But during a speech on Tuesday evening, he took the flawed arguments he’s been making against wind energy to new levels of absurdity."
"President Donald Trump is a climate change denier and renewable energy hater. That much has been clear for a long time. But during a speech on Tuesday evening, he took the flawed arguments he’s been making against wind energy to new levels of absurdity."
A History of Donald Trump's Obsession with Pseudoscience
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a27356822/donald-trump-anti-vaccine-climate-change-denial-pseudoscience/?fbclid=IwAR0bUJbaOaFowVpkq9ZkTk3UkvEqCn18qkFPZN8Rpbf9AAWU-j_BL1FsqUM
"The longtime conspiracy theorist has surrounded himself with a braintrust full of grifters and coal lobbyists who are actively ignoring the red flags being waved by leading world scientists in favor of their indulgent self-interests. Though this isn't the first time we've seen conspiracy theories supported on the world's stage, Trump's obsession with anti-science is showing just how easy it is to reject truth, if you have a loud enough voice."
"The longtime conspiracy theorist has surrounded himself with a braintrust full of grifters and coal lobbyists who are actively ignoring the red flags being waved by leading world scientists in favor of their indulgent self-interests. Though this isn't the first time we've seen conspiracy theories supported on the world's stage, Trump's obsession with anti-science is showing just how easy it is to reject truth, if you have a loud enough voice."
Oil and Gas Industry Has Way Too Much Control Over Congress
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/04/17/oil-and-gas-industry-has-way-too-much-control-over-congress?fbclid=IwAR1uWNElUhT_hYwp95zaYyXgzZZt3VObFnLIXi-urxEBJd7LH1EG53nA2CI
"According to Open Secrets, looking at Congress as a whole, the oil and gas sector contributed $84.4 million in the 2018 election cycle. Of those funders, Koch Industries was the largest single campaign funder, at $10.5 million. And of the total oil and gas sector contributions to candidates, 87% went to Republicans. Of the Koch contributions, 99.4% went to Republicans. For perspective, total campaign spending by the oil and gas sector since 1990 has totaled $625 million, with 81% of the contributions to candidates going to Republicans. In addition to the campaign spending, the oil and gas industry spends an astonishing sum on lobbying. The sector's lobbying outlays totaled $124.8 million during 2018. The top five lobbying clients -- ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and the American Petroleum Institute -- had a combined lobbying spend of over $46 million. And the oil and gas industry's total lobbying outlays during 1998-2018 amounted to a shocking $2.2 billion. And their lobbying efforts bear real fruit. Just before President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, 22 Republican senators wrote a letter to Trump urging that action. Every one of those senators received contributions from oil and gas PACs. The total oil and gas PAC spending for the 22 senators, for the period of 2013-18, covering the campaign committee and leadership PAC, came to $4,095,071."
"According to Open Secrets, looking at Congress as a whole, the oil and gas sector contributed $84.4 million in the 2018 election cycle. Of those funders, Koch Industries was the largest single campaign funder, at $10.5 million. And of the total oil and gas sector contributions to candidates, 87% went to Republicans. Of the Koch contributions, 99.4% went to Republicans. For perspective, total campaign spending by the oil and gas sector since 1990 has totaled $625 million, with 81% of the contributions to candidates going to Republicans. In addition to the campaign spending, the oil and gas industry spends an astonishing sum on lobbying. The sector's lobbying outlays totaled $124.8 million during 2018. The top five lobbying clients -- ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and the American Petroleum Institute -- had a combined lobbying spend of over $46 million. And the oil and gas industry's total lobbying outlays during 1998-2018 amounted to a shocking $2.2 billion. And their lobbying efforts bear real fruit. Just before President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, 22 Republican senators wrote a letter to Trump urging that action. Every one of those senators received contributions from oil and gas PACs. The total oil and gas PAC spending for the 22 senators, for the period of 2013-18, covering the campaign committee and leadership PAC, came to $4,095,071."
Sunday, May 5, 2019
'Recipe for Disaster': Trump Guts Offshore Drilling Rules Put in Place After Deepwater Horizon Spill
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/03/recipe-disaster-trump-guts-offshore-drilling-rules-put-place-after-deepwater-horizon
"Just two weeks after the nine-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster—the largest ocean oil spill in U.S. history—the Trump administration on Thursday moved to dismantle offshore drilling regulations aimed at preventing another catastrophic leak."
"Just two weeks after the nine-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster—the largest ocean oil spill in U.S. history—the Trump administration on Thursday moved to dismantle offshore drilling regulations aimed at preventing another catastrophic leak."
Inslee rolls out sweeping climate plan, setting new standard for 2020 Democrats
https://thinkprogress.org/inslee-climate-change-plan-beto-2020-95434dc28faf/
"Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democratic presidential candidate who has dedicated his entire campaign to addressing the climate crisis, unveiled his first major policy proposal Friday morning. The ambitious plan charts a course other presidential contenders may follow as climate change becomes a top issue for the crowded primary field."
"Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democratic presidential candidate who has dedicated his entire campaign to addressing the climate crisis, unveiled his first major policy proposal Friday morning. The ambitious plan charts a course other presidential contenders may follow as climate change becomes a top issue for the crowded primary field."
Trump admin officially rolls back safety rules put in place after Deepwater Horizon
https://thinkprogress.org/offshore-drilling-safety-measures-interior-trump-zinke-bernhardt-lobbying-b1fc796b7adf/
"The regulations were put in place after the 2010 BP oil spill -- the worst in U.S. history."
"The regulations were put in place after the 2010 BP oil spill -- the worst in U.S. history."
Tipping Point: In Historic First, US Renewables Made More Electricity Than Coal in April
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/05/04/tipping-point-historic-first-us-renewables-made-more-electricity-coal-april?fbclid=IwAR05nLvm0T_mB5C5qXdiRSCy0_akkp5WA3oRqA7Ap-_RpKZh8h9uAg2n6HA
"Journalist Avery Thompson of Popular Mechanics reports that in the month of April—and for the first time in U.S. history—the country produced more electricity with renewables than with coal."
"Journalist Avery Thompson of Popular Mechanics reports that in the month of April—and for the first time in U.S. history—the country produced more electricity with renewables than with coal."
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