Studies have shown that ice melt periods like the one seen in 2012 typically occur about every 250 years, so the fact that another one is taking place only a few years later could be a sign of how climate change is upping the odds of such events.
According to DMIâs Mottram, the short-term, extreme melt event is a sign of climate changeâs increasing influence on the Arctic.
âSo yes itâs weather but it shows that in spite of internal variability the background signal of a warming climate is still âwinning,â she said via a Twitter message. She said state-of-the-art climate computer models have been unable to simulate events like this, which hampers scientistsâ ability to accurately predict Greenland ice melt and, therefore, future sea-level rise.
Luntz played a role in turning the environment into a partisan battlefield. During President George W. Bushâs first term, his infamous memo warned Republican party leaders that they were losing âthe environmental communications battle,â an issue on which Bush was âmost vulnerable.â He advised them to emphasize a lack of scientific certainty around climate change and drop âglobal warmingâ for the less scary-sounding âclimate change.â
Luntz is now offering his messaging services to the cause of climate action. âIâm here before you to say that I was wrong in 2001,â Luntz told the Senate committee. âJust stop using something that I wrote 18 years ago, because itâs not accurate today.â
WASHINGTON (July 25, 2019)— Congressmen Francis Rooney (R-FL) and Daniel W. Lipinski (D-IL) both introduced bipartisan bills today to address climate change. While the details differ between Congressman Rooney’s Stemming Warming and Augmenting Pay Act (SWAP Act) and Congressman Lipinski’s Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act ( H.R. 3966), both bills would a meaningful price on carbon that increases over time. Both bills dedicate the bulk of the revenue to reducing payroll taxes for working Americans and their employers. Additional funds will provide needed assistance for R & D for clean energy, adaptation and assistance on energy costs to low-income households.
Below is a statement from Dr. Andrew Steer, President & CEO, World Resources Institute:
“We are encouraged by the bipartisan leadership shown by Congressmen Rooney and Lipinski to come forward with proposals to put a price on carbon. We should be taxing pollution, not taxing employment. This is one of the smartest and most effective steps we can take to reduce carbon emissions. As Americans experience record heatwaves and extreme weather events across the country, they want Congress to act. We need this kind of bipartisan leadership from both parties to bring forward solutions to this urgent crisis.
“These bills would reduce emissions significantly over the coming years by incorporating the costs of climate in everyday business transactions, with the revenue used to reduce payroll taxes paid by employers and employees alike. This type of price on carbon is a cornerstone of a policy portfolio needed to address climate change. We are encouraged that several of the co-sponsors have previously sponsored carbon-pricing bills that use revenue for different purposes, and they are recognizing the need to work together toward an ambitious package.
“With each passing day, the need for action becomes more urgent. This bill, coming on the heels of the announcement earlier this week by the leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that the committee will be taking up climate legislation this year, can hopefully lay the groundwork for bolder action to come.”
Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have recorded their highest ever temperatures as the second extreme heatwave in as many months to be linked by scientists to the climate emergency grips the continent.
Weâve all heard the dodgy arguments: âthe science is uncertainâ, âclimate change is natural, not down to humansâ, âscience has been hijacked by politicsâ⦠Now a new cache of documents sheds light on the origins of the disinformation.
In another verse of a now familiar refrain, a fossil fuel industry group in the 1990s publicly promoted arguments to undermine confidence in climate science while internally acknowledging their products were driving up temperatures. (...)
The world is increasingly at risk of âclimate apartheidâ, where the rich pay to escape heat and hunger caused by the escalating climate crisis while the rest of the world suffers, a report from a UN human rights expert has said.
Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the impacts of global heating are likely to undermine not only basic rights to life, water, food, and housing for hundreds of millions of people, but also democracy and the rule of law. (...)
By Sabine Hossenfelder Dr. Hossenfelder is a research fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. NYT
Key paragraph: In this situation, the best we can do is improving computer models to obtain more accurate, approximate solutions. It is knowledge we urgently need: As Earth continues to warm, we face a future of drought, rising seas and extreme weather events. But for all we currently know, this situation could be anywhere between a mere annoyance and an existential threat.
Congressman Thomas Massie (Moron-KY) and John Kerry
This video is on the Congressman's youtube channel. One comment says that he went to MIT. I smell a scandal there.
I think Massie was just playing to the mouth-breather segment of his constituents. I've known a bunch of MIT grads and they are pretty goddamned smart, albeit with gaps and blind spots in their knowledge just like everyone else.
