2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #22
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.
Editor's Pick
It’s time to think seriously about cutting off the supply of fossil fuels
A new paper makes the case for supply-side climate policy.
There is a bias in climate policy shared by analysts, politicians, and pundits across the political spectrum so common it is rarely remarked upon. To put it bluntly: Nobody, at least nobody in power, wants to restrict the supply of fossil fuels.
Policies that choke off fossil fuels at their origin — shutting down mines and wells; banning new ones; opting against new pipelines, refineries, and export terminals — have been embraced by climate activists, picking up steam with the Keystone pipeline protests and the recent direct action of the Valve Turners.
But they are looked upon with some disdain by the climate intelligentsia, who are united in their belief that such strategies are economically suboptimal and politically counterproductive.
Now a pair of economists has offered a cogent argument that the activists are onto something — that restrictive supply-side (RSS) climate policies have unique economic and political benefits and deserve a place alongside carbon prices and renewable energy supports in the climate policy toolkit.
“In our experience,” the authors write, “the climate policy community has for too long been excessively narrow in its preference for certain kinds of policy instruments (carbon taxes, cap-and trade), largely ignoring the characteristics of such instruments that affect their political feasibility and feedback effects.” I have written the same thing many times, so I think a climate policy argument that takes politics seriously deserves a close look.
To understand it, it helps to have a framework for classifying climate policies.
It’s time to think seriously about cutting off the supply of fossil fuels by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 31, 2018
Links posted on Facebook
Sun May 27, 2018
- New research, May 14-20, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, May 25, 2018
- The latest state to get serious about climate change is ... New Jersey? by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 25, 2018
- Forecasters predict a near- or above-normal 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, Media Release, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , May 24, 2018
- Religious leaders, scientists of Massachusetts together declare climate change is an emergency by Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter, May 24, 2018
- Taxpayers shouldn't foot bill for climate change alone, Opinion by Richard Wiles, The Hill, May 26, 2017
- Offshore wind finally gets blowing in the US by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 25, 2018
- Dear media: We need more stories about resilience to climate change, Opinion by Elizabeth Arnold, Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2018
- A federal judge in a climate change lawsuit is forcing oil companies to cough up internal documents by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 25, 2018
Mon May 28, 2018
- Scottish Waters To Be Opened For “New Generation” Of Offshore Wind by Joshua S Hill, CleanTechnica, May 22, 2018
- Favianna Rodriguez says climate change imagery lacks a human touch by Kate Yoder, Grist, May 27, 2018
- Negative emissions: Scientists meet in Sweden for first international conference by Daisy Dunne, Leo Hickman & Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, May 25, 2018
- Checking The Math on California’s Cap And Trade: Is It Adding Up? by Julie Cart, Times of San Diego, May 27, 2018
- The second 1,000-year rainstorm in two years engulfed Ellicott City. Here’s how it happened., Analysis by Jeff Halverson, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, May 28, 2018
- What Drove a Man to Set Himself on Fire in Brooklyn? by Annie Correal, New York Times, May 28, 2018
- Climate Change-driven Flooding in China Will Hurt the U.S., Study Warns by Ruth Shuster, Haaretz, May 28, 2018
- Invisible scum on sea cuts CO2 exchange with air 'by up to 50%', Press Association, Environment, Guardian, May 28, 2018
Tue May 29, 2018
- Great Barrier Reef's five near-death experiences revealed in new paper by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, May 29, 2018
- Netherlands climate lawsuit goes to court of appeals by Soila Apparicio, Climate Home, May 28, 2018
- While coal-fired power stalls here, U.S. firms help plants expand in Southeast Asia by Daniel Moore, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 25, 2018
- Trump administration refuses to consider that 97% of climate scientists could be right by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, May 29, 2018
- The biggest mistake we've made on climate change, Opinion by Ross Gettins, Sydney Morning Herald, May 29, 2018
- Emails show climate change skeptics tout ‘winning’ under Trump by John Bowden, The Hill, May 29, 2018
- Wind farm that was opposed by Donald Trump fitted with final turbine, Belfast Telegraph, May 28, 2018
Wed May 30, 2018
- Halogen light bulbs could disappear from Australian stores within two years by Naaman Zhou, Environment, Guardian, May 27, 2019
- Tall trees in tropical forests are less vulnerable to drought by Tibi Puiu, ZME Science, May 29, 2018
- A federal judge in a climate change lawsuit is forcing oil companies to cough up internal documents by Umair Irfan, May 29, 2018
- Exceeding 1.5C of global warming will hit poorest the hardest, Guest Post by Andrew King & Luke Harrington, Carbon Brief, May 29, 2018
- The concept of a thousand-year rainstorm is legitimate but limited. Here’s what you should understand about it. by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, May 29, 2018
- How Fast Are Glaciers Melting? Just Listen to Them by Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, May 29, 2018
- Keeping Global Warming to 1.5 Degrees Could Spare Millions Pain of Dengue Fever by Neela Banerjee, InsideClimate News, May 29, 2018
- Stronger, Wetter, Slower: How Hurricanes Will Change by Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, May 30, 2018
Thu May 31, 2018
- 'Sea, ice, snow, it’s all changing': Inuit culture struggles with warming world by Greg Mercer, Guardian, May 30, 2018
- Does global warming make tropical cyclones stronger? by Stefan Rahmstorf, Kerry Emanuel, Mike Mann & Jim Kossin, Real Climate, May 30, 2018
- Denier-Led Website Targets Climate Suits, Calls Them a Modern Witch Hunt by Dana Drugmand, Climate Liability News, May 31, 2018
- Obama's Climate Leaders Launch New Harvard Center on Health and Climate by Phil McKenna, InsideClimate News, May 31, 2018
- It’s time to think seriously about cutting off the supply of fossil fuels by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 31, 2018
- Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth by Damian Carrington, Environment, Guardian, May 31, 2018
- How the World Is Coping 1 Year after Trump Abandoned Paris Climate Pact by Jean Chemnick, E&E News/Scientific American, May 31, 2018
Fri June 1, 2018
- Shell Rejects Climate Demands, Faces a Lawsuit in the Netherlands by Karen Savage, Climate Liability News, May 30, 2018
- Insurers Will Be Hard-Hit By Climate Change But They're Not Investing In The Low-Carbon Economy, Opinion by Mike Scott, Forbes, May 31, 2018
- The True Scope of the Disaster in Puerto Rico by Vann R Newkirk II, The Atlantic, May 29, 2018
- Should Climate Scientists Fly?, Opinion by Sarah E Myhre, Observations, Scientific American, May 31, 2018
- Seven key things to know about ‘negative emissions’, Guest Post by Jan Mix, Sabine Fuss & Gregory Nemet, The Carbon Brief, June 1, 2018
- Trump withdrew from the Paris climate deal a year ago. Here’s what has changed. by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, June 1, 2018
- In Rebuke to Pruitt, EPA Science Board Votes to Review Climate Policy Changes by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, May June 1, 2018
- A Year After Trump’s Paris Pullout, U.S. Companies Are Driving a Renewables Boom by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York Times, June 1, 2018
Sat June 2, 2018
- Pope summons oil execs to Vatican to talk climate change by Nicole Winfield & Seth Borenstein, AP News, May 30, 2018
- Paris climate pullout: the worst is yet to come by Matt McGrath, Science & Environment, BBC News, June 1, 2018
- That natural gas power plant with no carbon emissions or air pollution? It works by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, June 1, 2018
- Hurricane Season 2018: Experts Warn of Super Storms, Call For New Category 6 by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, June 2, 2108
- Latin America Begins to Discover Electric Mobility by Daniel Gutman, Inter Press Service (IPS), May 31, 2018
- Trump Orders Action to Stem Coal, Nuclear Plant Shutdowns by Jennifer A Dlouhy, Bloomberg News, June 1, 2018
- New York Times story accurately describes Rio Grande’s climate context, Edited by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, May 31, 2018
- Hurricane season has arrived. Here’s what to expect. by Brian Resnick, Science & Health, Vox, June 1, 2018
Posted by John Hartz on Saturday, 2 June, 2018
