2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #12

Editor’s Pick

Mailings to Teachers Highlight a Political Fight Over Climate Change in the Classroom

Last spring, science teachers across the nation began receiving unsolicited packages containing classroom materials from a libertarian group that rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.

This spring, some of the same teachers are opening packages containing very different materials: A book written by a Cornell University affiliate called “The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change,” which embraces the prevailing science, explains the phenomenon in detail and includes recommendations for how to teach the subject to children.

This rare back-and-forth of direct mailings to teachers demonstrates how classrooms have emerged as a battleground in the American political war over climate change. While those who reject mainstream climate science have long advocated their view in Washington and statehouses across the country, their efforts to influence educators – and the counter-efforts from the science community – shows the extent to which the minds of children are also being targeted. 

Mailings to Teachers Highlight a Political Fight Over Climate Change in the Classroom by Katie Worth, Frontline, PBS, Mar 23, 2018

Links posted on Facebook

Sun Mar 18, 2018

• Interfaith Voices: Climate change in a post-truth world by Gary Jewel, Corvalis Gazette-Times, Mar 17, 2018
• What has art to do with climate change? by Paddy Woodworth, Irish Times, Mar 16, 2018
• Kelp Farms and Mammoth Windmills Are Just Two of the Government’s Long-Shot Energy Bets by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York Times, Mar 16, 2018
• Climates change faster in a warmer and wetter world by Tim Radford, Climate News Network, Mar 16, 2018
• The Koch Brothers Vs. God by Kenya Downs, Grist, Mar 14, 2018
• Avalanches can be deadly. Climate change has made them more frequent. by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 17, 2018
• When Congress finally takes action on climate change, this senator will deserve a lot of the credit by Andrew Freedman, Mashable, Mar 17, 2018
• A discussion with experts on California wildfire links to climate change by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, Mar 16, 2018

Mon Mar 19, 2018

• These are the countries best prepared for the global energy transition by Rob Smith, World Economic Forum (WEF), Mar 14, 2018
• None like it hot – warmer winters worry Arctic scientists by Thin Lei Win, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Mar 15, 2018
• World’s great forests could lose half of all wildlife as planet warms – report by Jonathan Watts, Environment, Mar 13, 2018
• India to meet solar capacity addition target of 10,000 Mw by Kaavya Chandrasekaran, Economic Times, Mar 18, 2018
• India most vulnerable country to climate change – HSBC report by Nina Chestney, Reuters, Mar 19, 2018
• The biggest solar parks in the world are now being built in India by Shashank Bengali, Los Angeles Times, Mar 19, 2018
• The Arctic’s carbon bomb might be even more potent than we thought by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Mar 19, 2018
• John Kelly shut down Pruitt’s climate denial ‘red team,’ but they have a Plan B by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus – the 07%, Guardian, Mar 19, 2018

Tue Mar 20, 2018

• ‘It’s not impossible’: Western Canada’s risk of water shortages rising by Erin Collins, CBC News, Mar 18, 2018
• Climate change soon to cause mass movement, World Bank warns by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, Mar 19, 2018
• These Climate Pollutants Are Short-Lived, But They’re Wreaking Havoc on the Arctic by Sabrina Shnakman, InsideClimate News, Mar 19, 2018
• Unprecedented’ marine heatwave triggered huge carbon-dioxide release by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morining Herald, Mar 20, 2018
• Climate Denial Arguments Make Their Way to Federal Judge’s Science Tutorial by Amy Westervelt, Climate Liability News, Mar 20, 2018
• Turnbull knows better than to deny fire weather link to climate change by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morining Herald, Mar 20, 2018
• Can climate litigation save the world? by Damian Carrington, Environment, Guardian, Mar 20, 2018
• 143 Million People May Soon Become Climate Migrants by Laura Parker, National Geographic, Mar 19, 2018

Wed Mar 21, 2018

• Solar power’s greatest challenge was discovered 10 years ago. It looks like a duck. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 20, 2018
• Global warming to date could ‘obliterate’ a third of glacier ice by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Mar 19, 2018
• 8 Answers to the Judge’s Climate Change Questions in Cities vs. Fossil Fuels Case by John H Cushman Jr, InsideClimate News, Mar 20, 2018
• Tougher climate policies could save a stunning 150 million lives, researchers find by Darryl Fears, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Mar 20, 2018
• Chevron Says Climate Change Lawsuit `Not Viable’ As It Prepares To Educate Judge On Science by Daniel Fisher, Legal Newsline, Forbes, Mar 21, 2018
• When will the US feel the heat of global warming? by John Timmer, Ars Technica, Mar 20, 2018
• Web of Power: Cambridge Analytica and the Climate Science Denial Network Lobbying for Brexit and Trump by Mat Hope, DeSmog UK, Mar 21, 2018
• Scott Pruitt Will Restrict EPA’s Use of Legitimate Science by Gretchen Goldman, Observations, Scientific American, Mar 20, 2018

Thu Mar 22, 2018

• Subsidy-free renewable energy projects set to soar in UK, analysts say by Adam Vaughn, Environment, Guardian, Mar 20, 2018
• Plight of Phoenix: how long can the world’s ‘least sustainable’ city survive? by Joanna Walters, Cities, Guardian, Mar 20, 2018
• Turning cities into sponges: how Chinese ancient wisdom is taking on climate change by Brigid Delany, Design, Guardian, Mar 21, 2018
• Despite Government Pledges, Ravaging of Indonesia’s Forests Continues by Nithin Coca, Yale Environment 360, Mar 22, 2018
• Europe Saw a Spike in Extreme Weather Over Past 5 Years, Science Academies Say by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Mar 21, 2018
• A Whole New Decade for Water by Tharanga Yakupitiyage, Inter Press Service (IPS). Mar 22, 2018
• Why is an infamous climate denier speaking at a Miami Beach climate change workshop? by Alex Harris, Miami Herald, Mar 21, 2018
• State of Climate in 2017 – Extreme weather and high impacts, Press Release, World Meteorlogical Organization, Mar 22, 2018

Fri Mar 23, 2018

• Washington Post accurately covers permafrost study, albeit under a somewhat sensational headline by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, Mar 22, 2018
• Expect tens of millions of internal climate migrants by 2050, says World Bank by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Mar 19, 2018
• How Pruitt’s New ‘Secret Science’ Policy Could Undermine Air Pollution Rules by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, Mar 22, 2018
• Global carbon emissions hit record high in 2017 by Nina Chestney, Reuters, Mar 22, 2018
• In court, Big Oil rejected climate denial by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consenus – the 97%, Guardian, Mar 23, 2018
• Climate science’s official text is outdated. Here’s what it’s missing. by Eric Holthaus, Grist, Mar 22, 2018
• In the Courtroom, Climate Science Needs Substance—and Style by Adam Rogers, Wired, Mar 21, 2018
• Time running out to save the Earth’s plants and animals by Dave Keating, Deutsche Welle (DW), Mar 23, 2018

Sat Mar 24, 2018

• New research, March 12-18, 2018  by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Mar 23, 2018
• Coal Plant Development Continues To Drop For Second Year Straight by Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, Mar 22, 2018
• Congress Says Biomass Is Carbon-Neutral, but Scientists Disagree by Chelsea Harvey & Niina Heikkinen, E&E News/Scientific American, Mar 23, 2018
• Smith’s Error-Filled Climate Op-Ed by Vanessa Schipani, FactCheck.org, Mar 23, 2018
• The EPA needs science to make rules to protect health. Scott Pruitt wants to make that harder. by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 23, 2018
• Mailings to Teachers Highlight a Political Fight Over Climate Change in the Classroom by Katie Worth, Frontline, PBS, Mar 23, 2018