The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😉
Main Topic: A Letter from Scientists to President Biden
Dear Diary. If you have been an activist on climate like yours truly, you may have called your local governmental representative and/or written and signed letters to them to promote green change. I was recently asked to sign a letter that other esteemed individuals, like Dr. Peter Kalmus, promoted. It was my honor to do so to get President Biden’s attention so that he might think twice about letting oil companies drill for more oil as a “bridge” between now and our green future.
Here is a question. Would it be medically wise to let heroin addicts use more heroin, even in smaller amounts, to ease off their addiction? The answer would be no. Instead, detox medication is administered in reputable clinics, but most addicts experience physical and mental pain during the process. Now this is a rough analogy, but we are definitely addicted to oil. A bridge fuel should not be more oil, so unfortunately our society will experience a lot more pain to detox towards an all-electric society due to the high price of fuel and having to pay for electric vehicles. This is the main just of the signed letter as presented here for our daily highlighted topic:
Dear Colleague,
Thank you for joining the letter to President Biden imploring him to not expand fossil fuel production and infrastructure and instead work to rapidly move off of fossil fuels.
This morning, Sandra Steingraber delivered the letter. In total, there were over 275 scientists signed on – a powerful statement. Thank you!
Here is a link to the final letter: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/scientist-letter/
Here is a link to a web piece we wrote about it: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/04/07/biden-fossil-fuels-scientists/
Please help amplify the letter and its message on social media. Create your own content, or consider sharing one of these which are already out:
From Sandra Steingraber: https://twitter.com/ssteingraber1/status/1512104547216470026
From Mark Jacobson: https://twitter.com/mzjacobson/status/1512105642378420227
From Food & Water Watch: https://twitter.com/foodandwater/status/1512101932130779141
Thanks so much again for joining on this letter.
Together,
Mark
Managing Director of Research and Litigation
Food & Water Watch / Food & Water Action
415-218-2663
Fight like you live here.
Scientists to President Biden: Follow the Science, Stop Fossil Fuels
April 7, 2022
President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Dear President Biden,
In this moment of climate emergency, we write with utmost urgency to advise you and your
administration to halt recent moves towards increasing fossil fuel production and instead take
bold action to rapidly reduce fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure. Last month the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest in a series of dire
warnings about the unfolding climate catastrophe. The report from the scientific panel outlined a
litany of significant impacts that are currently unfolding – some of which are already irreversible –
and called for swift action.
The impacts of climate change are many and severe. Already millions of Americans and even
more across the world are being impacted by extreme weather, drought, flooding, sea level rise,
and wildfires. The IPCC report highlights millions being impacted by climate change induced
food insecurity and water scarcity. These problems will only accelerate as we continue our
reliance on fossil fuels. And, this is on top of the significant health and environmental justice
impacts that power plants, export facilities, and other fossil fuel infrastructure have on
neighboring communities.
The United States, Europe, and the rest of the world desperately need energy independence,
but allowing more drilling and fracking, approving more pipelines, and expanding export facilities
not only fail to address short term energy needs, they lock us into decades of reliance on fossil
fuels and ensure runaway climate chaos for the long run. On this point consider what fossil fuel
executives are saying – Enbridge president and CEO Al Monaco, for example, recently told
investors and analysts that he sees “conventional energy [growing] at least through 2035.” This
is a recipe for disaster. The only real path towards energy independence is through renewable
energy.
As the IPCC report indicated, the scientific evidence is overwhelming that we must act now – we
simply do not have time to waste. We cannot afford to approve billions of dollars for new fossil
fuel projects and allow thousands of new wells to be permitted. As the IPCC report stated, “the
cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being
and planetary health. Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and
mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and
sustainable future for all.”
Energy Secretary Jennnifer Granholm recently said “we are on war footing” in calling for
increased oil and gas production. This is backwards thinking. Instead of fossil fuels, we must
apply that level of urgency to building a renewable energy economy. Rather than working to
increase oil and gas production, we urge you to use your executive authority to redirect these
massive investments, mobilize the country, and rally the global community around a program of
energy security through a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
President Biden, you ran for office promising to listen to science. As scientists who look at data
every day, we implore you to keep this promise and listen to what the scientific community is
saying about fossil fuels and the climate crisis. Do not facilitate more fuel extraction and
infrastructure. The impacts of climate change are already significant, and we have a very narrow
window to avoid runaway climate chaos. We urge you to lead boldly, take on the fossil fuel
titans, and rally the country towards a renewable energy future.
Sincerely,
Scientists joining this letter do so in their individual capacities and not on behalf of the
institutions with which they are affiliated.
Initial Signatories
Peter Kalmus, PhD
Climate Scientist
UCLA Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering
Sandra Steingraber, PhD
Senior Scientist, Science and Environmental Health Network
Co-founder, Concerned Health Professionals of New York
Robert W. Howarth, PhD
David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology Cornell University
Mark Jacobson, PhD
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University
Michael Mann, PhD
Distinguish Professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Earth System Science Center,
Penn State University
About the letter:
Scientists To Biden: Don’t Ramp Up Fossil Fuels
As President Biden moves to ramp up fossil fuel production and infrastructure, scientists implore him to listen to science: Move off fossil fuels now.
By Mark Schlosberg
In recent weeks President Biden and his administration have moved to increase fossil fuel production and infrastructure. These actions fly in the face of climate science, which mandates a transition off of fossil fuels right away. Now scientists are speaking out, imploring President Biden to follow through on his commitments. As a candidate, Biden promised to listen to science, but his recent actions suggest the opposite.
The increased drought, wildfires, hurricanes, and floods that we’ve experienced recently would have been reason enough to curb this plan. But the Ukraine crisis has brought into full view the dangers of continued reliance on fossil fuels. Europe is planning for dramatic cuts in Russian gas and looking toward new sources. Rather than going all-in on renewable energy, Europe wants increased U.S. gas imports — for over a decade to come. This is a recipe for climate disaster.
A Broken Promise — President Biden Moves to Increase Fossil Fuel Production and Infrastructure
When President Biden ran for office, he pledged to listen to science. He also pledged to stop new drilling on federal lands, and initiate a transition off of fossil fuels. He was already falling massively short on these promises before the Ukraine crisis, but now he has reversed course completely. He and his administration have urged increased fossil fuel production, rush approvals of its infrastructure, and ramped-up exports to Europe. And his plan envisions a huge increase of gas exports by 2030 — more than tripling a big increase this year.
“Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness.”
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterre
What these exports mean for the U.S. is more drilling, fracking, pipelines through communities and massive, polluting industrial facilities. These come with a litany of safety risks and local pollution, which have devastating environmental justice and health impacts.
It also will have monumental climate impacts, according to the most recent IPCC scientific report. Global emissions continue to increase and the very narrow window to avoid even 2 degrees of warming is rapidly closing. Building more infrastructure will certainly lock us into decades of more emissions.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres said upon the release of the IPCC report: “Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness.”
Failing on Climate: Lies From Leaders Will Be “Catastrophic”
The Biden approach to climate is, unfortunately, not unique. As the IPCC report highlights, governments worldwide have broken prior commitments even though those fell far short of requirements.
“Simply put, they are lying, and the results will be catastrophic.”
United Nations Secretary-General Guterres
The only way to avert even worse impacts is to embrace scientific reality and adopt policies matching the rapidly escalating climate emergency. This means confronting hard truths and paying the crisis more than lip service. The only way to really achieve energy independence and security is to move off of fossil fuels. That means making quick, bold investments in renewable energy and immediately halting and rolling back fossil fuels and its infrastructure. To do otherwise fails to confront what is happening. Secretary-General Guterres said: “Some government and business leaders are saying one thing – but doing another…Simply put, they are lying, and the results will be catastrophic.”
Scientists Implore Biden to Reverse Course Before It’s Too Late
While President Biden has charted a perilous course, there’s still time to reverse and confront the reality of the climate crisis. Over 275 scientists wrote Biden to implore him to act. This is directly in response to his announced plans to double down on fossil fuels and the IPCC report release. They urged him to instead take bold action to move off fossil fuels and infrastructure and reject the mad dash to increase production and exports.
The initiative for this letter is led by scientists Bob Howarth, Mark Jacobson, Michael Mann, Sandra Steingraber, and Peter Kalmus. The message is prophetic and clear in its call to action. It concludes:
“As scientists who look at data every day, we implore you to keep this promise and listen to what the scientific community is saying about fossil fuels and the climate crisis. Do not facilitate more fuel extraction and infrastructure. The impacts of climate change are already significant and we have a very narrow window to avoid runaway climate chaos. We urge you to lead boldly, take on the fossil fuel titans, and rally the country towards a renewable energy future.”
Help amplify this call to action. Join them, and all of us at Food & Water Watch in calling on President Biden to reject fossil fuels — now.
Related:
Here are some “ET’s” recorded over the last couple of days:
Here is some more March 2022 climatology:
Here is more climate and weather news from Thursday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)
Now here are some of today’s articles and notes on the horrid war on Ukraine:
(If you like these posts and my work please contribute via the PayPal widget, which has recently been added to this site. Thanks in advance for any support.)
Guy Walton “The Climate Guy”