2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #44

Editor's Pick

Earth’s carbon dioxide levels are likely the highest they've been in 15 million years

Earth’s average global temperature from 2013 to 2017, as compared to a baseline average from 1951 to 1980.

We’ve entered some profoundly unfamiliar planetary territory.

Amid a backdrop of& U.S. politicians still questioning& whether the changing climate is attributable to humans (it is), it's quite likely that we’ve actually boosted Earth's carbon dioxide — a potent greenhouse gas — to the highest levels they’ve been in some 15 million years.&

The number 15 million is dramatically higher than a statistic& frequently cited& by geologists and climate scientists: That today's carbon levels are the highest they've been on Earth in at least 800,000 years — as there's irrefutable proof trapped in the planet's& ancient ice.

Though scientists emphasize that air bubbles preserved in ice are the gold carbon standard, there are less direct, though still quite& reliable& means to gauge Earth's long-ago carbon dioxide levels. These measurements, broadly called proxies, include the& chemical make-up of long-dead plankton& and the& evidence stored& in the breathing cells, or stomata, of ancient plants.

Scientists have identified this 15 million number by measuring and re-measuring proxies all over the world.&

Earth’s carbon dioxide levels are likely the highest they've been in 15 million years& by Mark Kaufman, Science, Mashable, Oct 29, 2018

Links posted on Facebook

Sun Oct 28, 2018

• 'First thing': Phelps set sights on reviving fortunes of climate body& by Peter Hannam, Environment, The Age, Oct 27, 2018
• Spain to close most coalmines in €250m transition deal& by Arthur Neslen, Environment, Guardian, Oct 26, 2018
• An Ambitious Global Effort to Cut Shipping Emissions Stalls by Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News, Oct 26, 2018
• The economics Nobel went to a guy who enabled climate change denial and delay, Opinion by Eugene Linden, Los Angeles Times, Oct 25, 2018
• Joseph Stiglitz warns Australia on economic fallout from fossil fuel dependence& by Emma Alberici, ABC News (Australia), Oct 24, 2018
• Coastal Pacific Oxygen Levels Now Plummet Once A Year by Kristian Foden-Vencil, Weekend Sunday Edition, NPR News, Oct 28, 2018
• Buddhistdoor View: Irreversible Climate Change—One Decade Left, Buddhistdoor Global, Oct 27, 2018
• Climate change: Five cheap ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere& by Matt McGrath, Environment, BBC News, Oct 25, 2018

Mon Oct 29, 2018

• CCC: England’s coastal defences need ‘urgent’ rethink to cope with climate change& by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Oct 26, 2018
• Clean energy is catching up to natural gas& by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Oct 26, 2018
• To see how climate change is up close and very personal, look no further than Mangkhut’s havoc, Opinion by David Dodwell, South China Morning Post, Oct 28, 2018
• IEA: Clean energy transition makes reforms ‘inescapable’ for oil states& by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Oct 25, 2018
• These Voters Could Approve the First U.S. Carbon Fee. Big Oil Is Spending Millions to Defeat It.& by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, Oct 29, 2018
• Solar geoengineering may not cool the oceans, study says& by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Oct 29, 2018
• Can your actions really save the planet? ‘Planetary accounting’ has the answer& by Peter Newman & Kate Meyer, The Conversation US, Oct 25, 2018
• The Supreme Court is about to decide if the children’s climate lawsuit can proceed& by& Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Oct 26, 2018

Tue Oct 30, 2018

• World’s largest pension fund GPIF of Japan supports the Climate Action 100+ Initiative, Il BioEconomista. Oct 29, 2018
• Bitcoin’s popularity has a downside: It’s an energy glutton that could hurt Earth’s climate, study finds& by Chris Mooney & Steven Mufson. Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Oct 29,2018
• This group is helping voters make sense of which candidates take climate change seriously& by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Oct 29, 2018
• German Government Faces Lawsuit Over Its Failure Meet Climate Goals& by Dana Drugmand, Climate Liability News, Oct 28, 2018
• Bishops sign document calling for action against climate change& by Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service, National Catholic Reporter, Oct 26, 2018
• Three-quarters of Venice flooded by exceptional high tide, AP/Guardian, Oct 29, 2018
• 'We've never seen this': massive Canadian glaciers shrinking rapidly& by Leyland Cecco, Guardian, Oct 30, 2018
• Wisdom from a climate champion: A conversation with Katharine Hayhoe& by Tom Bateman, GreenBiz, Oct 25, 2018

Wed Oct 31, 2018

• Brazil Greenhouse Gas Emission Spike Blamed on Deforestation& by Brittany Patterson, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Oct 28, 2016
• Stilling: The curious case of land wind speed decline& by Kate Doyle & Paul Culliver, ABC Weather (Australia), Oct 27, 2018
• Can Illinois Handle a 2000% Jump in Solar Capacity? We’re About to Find Out.& by Dan Gearino, InsideClimate News, Oct 30, 2018
• Earth’s carbon dioxide levels are likely the highest they've been in 15 million years& by Mark Kaufman, Science, Mashable, Oct 29, 2018
• A eulogy to Guardian's Climate Consensus - the 97% by& Dana Nuccitelli, Skeptical Science, Oct 30, 2018
• Who Needs Halloween& by Kate Marvel, Hot Planet Blog, Scientific American, Oct 30, 2018
• There are three options in tackling climate change. Only one will work, Opinion by Mayer Hillman, Comment is Free, Guardian, Oct 30, 2018
• Feds are 'trying to silence' the kids suing the Trump administration over global warming& by John Sutter, CNN, Oct 30, 2018
• Florida heat is already hard on outdoor workers. Climate change will raise health risks& by Alex Harris, Miami Herald, Oct 31, 2018

Thu Nov 1, 2018

• Forest report points to opportunity for recovery& by Jennifer Rigby, Mongabay, Oct 31, 2018
• Historic flooding in Italy: What role has climate change played in the destruction?& by Marina Pitofsky, World, USA Today, Oct 31, 2018
• Geoengineering is no closer to working& by Tim Radford, Climate News Network, Oct 30, 2018
• Climate change: Oceans 'soaking up more heat than estimated'& by Matt McGrath, Environment, BBC News, Nov 1, 2018
• Climate depression is for real. Just ask a scientist& by Madeleine Thomas, Grist, Oct 28, 2018
• The climate future I want my kids to inherit& by Meredith Connolly, Climate Solutions, Oct 30, 2018
• Global Warming Is Messing with the Jet Stream. That Means More Extreme Weather.& by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Oct 31, 2018
• Worry Wards& by Jesse Nichols, Grist , Oct 30, 2018

Fri Nov 2, 2018

• Coal can’t compete with cheaper alternatives and the industry’s true costs are higher than they appear& by Daniel Coham, the Conversation US, Nov 1, 2018
• Could One Man Single-Handedly Ruin the Planet?& by David Wallace-Wells . Intelligencer, New York Magazine, Nov 1, 2018
• When Climate Change Broke My Heart and Forced Me to Grow& Up& by Mary Annaïse Heglar, Medium, Oct 10, 2018
• Feel Something, Learn Something, Do Something: A Care Package for Climate Grief& by Mary Annaïse Heglar, Medium, Oct 22, 2018