[GWSG] pH drop; peatland C; DOA savaged; scientist adjustment; Doonesbury on climate; liability conditions

[Tilley, Al]

1. An analysis of foraminifera from 66 million years ago links a .25 drop in ocean pH to a mass extinction of sea life. We can keep our drop under 1.5 if we can limit warming to 2C. If we do not the effects will last “for the lifetime of our species.”  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/21/ocean-acidification-can-cause-mass-extinctions-fossils-reveal



2. Northern peatlands hold twice as much carbon as we had thought. As those regions warm, they are likely to begin releasing more of it. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-northern-peatlands-carbon-previously-thought.html



3. Secretary of Agriculture George  “Sonny” Perdue has shut down research in the Department of Agriculture by firing or chasing off 2/3 of the researchers. We are the less able to deal with the impact of the climate crisis, and more likely to suffer. He is more likely to make money in ways that would not survive scrutiny.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/10/21/white-house-didnt-like-my-agencys-research-so-it-sent-us-missouri/

For more on what greed and ignorance are doing to our government’s capacities in other departments, see Michael Lewis’s excellent book The Fifth Risk (2018).



4. Climate scientists should adjust to the urgency of the climate crisis by adopting the precautionary principle, focusing on current vulnerability rather than long-term prospects, and avoiding exaggerated caution in projections. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-climate-scientist-approach-crisis.html



5. Doonesbury revisits Exxon’s climate strategy. https://climatecrocks.com/2019/10/23/cartoon-i-warned-my-children/



6. Changes in the legal framework for assessing responsibility for damage and in attribution science may influence attempts to lead fossil fuel companies to remedy some of their damages. https://climatecrocks.com/2019/10/23/fossil-fuel-barons-facing-liability-nightmare/

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