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The Paris agreement signals that deniers have lost the climate wars by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - the 97%, The Guardian) attracted the highest number of comments of the articles posted on SkS during the past week. Why climate contrarians are wrong by Michael Shermer (Scientific American) garnered the second highest number. Myles Allen: Can we hold global warming to 1.5°C? by Myles Allen (Carbon Brief) drew the third highest.
Original cartoon by John Cook
With their landmark accord following talks in Paris, world leaders have hammered out not only the first global commitment to combat climate change, but arguably the most significant public health treaty of our time.
“The stakes are high,” World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan told negotiators on December 8. “A ruined planet cannot sustain human lives in good health.”
Chan’s sobering words echoed a June report by the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change that warned global warming could wipe out a half-century of public health gains. That has helped fuel a movement to combat climate change among health-care professionals, who are tackling both global warming's impact on public health as well as their own carbon footprint.
Climate Accord Mobilizes Health Industry by Sam Ross-Brown, The American Prospect, Dec 18, 2015
But Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) came out hard against the deal at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Monday, calling it an “unfunny joke of a climate deal” and warning that the U.S. would hurt its economy by trying to cut emissions faster than other countries, like China.
“[China is] going to keep that deal so long as it doesn't hurt their ability to grow their economy,” he said.
“Well guess what: it's going to hurt their ability to grow their economy. Which means they're not going to do it. This kind of unilateral disarmament in our economy is reckless and it is hurting the American Dream.”
Republicans grope for way to kill Paris climate agreement by Devin Henry, The Hill, Dec 20, 2015
Quote derived with author's permission from:
"Our habit to produce energy by burning fossil fuels causes global warming. Civil societies and policy makers will have to make a choice about how much climate change will be too much. Currently, the international community regards 2C as such a level, which is not safe, but which might prevent many of the more dramatic impacts."
Posted by John Hartz on Sunday, 20 December, 2015
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