‘Green News Report’ – August 8, 2019

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: New United Nations report calls for overhauling farming techniques to solve climate change; Kentucky miners block coal train after mine company bankruptcy; A quarter of the world’s population faces ‘extremely high water stress’; PLUS: Four fossil fuel explosions in 48 hours underscore the dangers of our aging fossil fuel infrastructure… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Eco-fascism: How climate change is becoming a deadly part of white nationalism; Sen. Warren would pay farmers to fight climate change under new plan; Harry Reid to Dems: Kill the filibuster to tackle the climate crisis; At dangerous Kentucky dams, locals aren’t prepared for disaster; Exxon accused of pressuring witnesses in climate fraud case; Trump bid to ease fuel efficiency rules would hike fuel costs; FERC: How McConnell’s Coal Guy Is Helping Trump Remake Federal Energy Policy… PLUS: Wisconsin transmission proposal sparks debate over best path to 100% clean energy… and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• IPCC scientists: We need to overhaul how we use land to feed the world:
• REPORT: Climate Change and Land (United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change):
  An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems
• In-depth Q&A: The IPCC’s special report on climate change and land (Carbon Brief)
• Report: we have to change how we eat and grow food to fight climate change (Vox):
  Forestry and farming can both worsen and relieve the climate crisis, a panel of UN scientists says. But time is running out to act.
• UN climate report: Change land use to avoid a hungry future (AP):
  But if people change the way they eat, grow food and manage forests, it could help save the planet from a far warmer future, scientists said.
• Climate Change Threatens the World’s Food Supply, United Nations Warns (NY Times):
  A particular danger is that food crises could develop on several continents at once, said Cynthia Rosenzweig, a senior research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the lead authors of the report. “The potential risk of multi-breadbasket failure is increasing,” she said. “All of these things are happening at the same time.”…“People’s lives will be affected by a massive pressure for migration,” said Pete Smith, a professor of plant and soil science at the University of Aberdeen and one of the report’s lead authors. “People don’t stay and die where they are. People migrate.”
• Humans Have Transformed 70 Percent of Land on Earth. We Have a Choice for What We Do Next (Earther)
• A new report reinforces the short-sightedness of Trump’s inaction on climate change (Washington Post)
• A quarter of the world’s population faces ‘extremely high water stress’:
• Report: 17 Countries, Home to One-Quarter of the World’s Population, Face Extremely High Water Stress (World Resources Institute):
  There are countless solutions, but here are three of the most straightforward: 1. Increase agricultural efficiency…2. Invest in grey and green infrastructure…3. Treat, reuse and recycle…
• Interactive map: A Quarter of Humanity Faces Looming Water Crises (NY Times):
  Many are arid countries to begin with; some are squandering what water they have. Several are relying too heavily on groundwater, which instead they should be replenishing and saving for times of drought.
• Extreme water stress affects a quarter of the world’s population, say experts (Guardian UK):
  Experts at the World Resources Institute (WRI) warned that increasing water stress could lead to more “day zeroes” – a term that gained popularity in 2018 as Cape Town in South Africa came dangerously close to running out of water.
• VIDEO: A quarter of world’s population are living with extreme water stress (CNN):
  Growing shortages are fueling the risk of conflict in such countries, concentrated in the Middle East and North Africa…Qatar is ranked as the world’s most water-stressed country, followed by Israel and Lebanon, Iran and Jordan. In Africa, Libya and Eritrea are suffering the worst shortages.
• US states face water crisis as global heating increases strain on supplies (Guardian UK):
  New Mexico tops the list, followed by California, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska as problem could intensify with global heating.
• New Mexico faces extreme water scarcity on par with the United Arab Emirates. Experts warn more ‘day zeros’ are looming. (Business Insider)
• Texas sues Exxon Mobil over 2nd refinery fire and explosion in four months:
• Texas sues Exxon Mobil over environmental violations from Baytown fire (Houston Chronicle):
  The state of Texas is suing Exxon Mobil for environmental violations, including releasing millions of gallons of firefighting wastewater into the Houston Ship Channel after the petrochemical giant’s most recent fire and explosion in Baytown.
• Texas Sues Exxon Mobil After Fire At Houston-Area Refinery (KUT)
• Explosion, fire injures 37 at Exxon Mobil refinery in Texas (AP):
  An explosion and fire at an Exxon Mobil oil refinery in Texas on Wednesday left 37 people with minor injuries, in the latest of a series of petrochemical industry blazes this year in the Houston area.
• Exxon Refinery Explosion Another By-Product of Trump Deregulation (American Prospect)
• Four fossil fuel explosions in 48 hours over July 31-August 1:
• Explosions in Three States Highlight Dangers of Aging Fossil Fuel Infrastructure (DeSmog Blog)
• VIDEO: Deadly Kentucky gas pipeline explosion, fire felt “like an atomic bomb went off (CBS News)
• CO: Worker dies as fire breaks out at Weld County oil-gas site (Denver Post)
• Philadelphia Refinery Explosion One in String of ‘Near Miss’ Accidents at Refineries Using Deadly Chemical (DeSmog Blog)
• Kentucky coal miners block coal trains for back pay after mine company bankruptcy:
• VIDEO: Miner victory – Approved bankruptcy sale restores some back pay, could reopen coal mines (Louisville Courier-Journal):
  Out-of-work Kentucky miners who are blocking a coal train to demand unpaid wages from their bankrupt former coal employer on Tuesday took a big step closer to returning to work – and getting at least some of the money they are owed. A federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday signaled approval of Tennessee-based Kopper Glo’s purchase of Black Mountain and Lone Mountain mines in Harlan County as part of bankruptcy sales of Blackjewel’s mining operations in four states.
• Kentucky miners block coal train out of frustration over bounced Blackjewel paychecks (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• Seven Bombshells in the Blackjewel Bankruptcy (Sightline Institute):
  A coal baron’s testimony reveals financial failure and shocking incompetence.
• Blackjewel CEO resigns as judge approves $5 million in emergency financing (Casper Star-Tribune)
• Blackjewel bankruptcy could set off ripple effects for freight rail (Freight Waves)

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• Eco-fascism: How climate change is becoming a deadly part of white nationalism (Earther)
• Sen. Warren would pay farmers to fight climate change under new plan (The Hill)
• Harry Reid to Dems: Kill the filibuster to tackle the climate crisis (Daily Beast)
• Trump Admin throws cold water on climate change threat to coral reefs (McCaltchy)
• At dangerous Kentucky dams, locals aren’t prepared for disaster (KY-CIR)
• Clean Water Deregulation Case Ferments Trouble For Craft Breweries And Enviros (NBC News)
• Exxon accused of pressuring witnesses in climate fraud case (InsideClimate News)
• Trump bid to ease fuel efficiency rules would hike fuel costs, CR says (Autonews)
• FERC: How McConnell’s Coal Guy Is Helping Trump Remake Federal Energy Policy (Politico)
• Energy Department Wants To Build Nuclear Test “Fast” Reactor (AP)
• US power generators reporting savings, other benefits from phasing out coal (S&P Global)
• Trump EPA Appoints Former Oil Executive to Head Its South-Central Region (InsideClimate News)
• Crossed wires: Wisconsin transmission proposal sparks debate over best path to 100% clean energy (Utility Dive)
• Bioenergy DevCo planning multiple anaerobic digesters with new investment backing (Waste Dive)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• This Is How Human Extinction Could Play Out (Rolling Stone)
• SEJ Backgrounder: Green New Deal Proposes Sweeping Economic Transformation (Society of Environmental Journalists)
• Explainer: The ‘Green New Deal’: Mobilizing for a just, prosperous, and sustainable economy (New Consensus)
• What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: How to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. (David Roberts, Vox)
• A Global Shift To Sustainability Would Save Us $26 Trillion (Vox)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
• The world’s bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
• The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):
  To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate – so every reduction in emissions helps.
• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak – sooner than you think.
• A beginner’s guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it’s possible for the whole world to run on renewables – we merely lack the “political will.” So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.

FOR MORE on Climate Science and Climate Change, go to our Green News Report: Essential Background Page

• NASA climate change video: This is the U.S. in 2100 (NASA).