‘Green News Report’ – February 27, 2020

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: CBS News ignores the climate crisis in South Carolina Democratic debate, but candidates don’t; JPMorgan economists warn climate change threatens human survival; Colorado River facing ‘severe water shortages’; PLUS: Yet another refinery explodes, this time in Southern California… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Tribal nation condemns ‘desecration’ to build border wall; Trump downplays Coronavirus risk; Dismantling Fred Hiatt’s pro-oil, anti-Sanders climate op-ed; Climate change is pushing ocean currents poleward; New Interior rule would limit which scientific studies agency can consider; After Trump mocks proposed sea wall in New York, plan is abruptly shelved; Climate change, soaring flood insurance could trigger a mortgage crisis; Uber and Lyft are convenient and highly carbon-intensive … PLUS: Brazil is cracking down on climate migrants while worsening the climate crisis… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Yet another refinery explodes, this time in Southern California:
• VIDEO: Explosion and fire breaks out at California oil refinery (CBS News)
• Carson Refinery Fire: What We Know So Far And What It Means For Gas Prices (LAist)
• Refinery neighbors are used to fires. But the Carson explosion was ‘scary’ (LA Times):
  “It got really warm,” the 28-year-old recalled Wednesday. “That was the scary part. You could just feel the heat from the fire.”…The fire, at least the third such incident at a California refinery since 2012, was a reminder that the region’s many refineries are complex industrial facilities, with the potential for accidents and ignitions at any moment.
• VIDEO: Oil refinery fire in Carson under investigation (KTLA-Los Angeles)
• Climate change ignored by CBS moderators in South Carolina debate:
• VIDEO and Transcript: The South Carolina Democratic debate (CBS News)
• Rep. Joe Cunnigham, D-SC: “Moderators ask about a ban on sugary drinks but not about the environment or climate change when we are sitting at sea level. Come on.” (@JoeCunnigham, Twitter)
• Ocasio-Cortez slams South Carolina presidential debate over climate change (The Hill)
• Fracking ban: Where the candidates stand (Washington Post)
• Leaked internal JPMorgan report warns climate change threatens human survival:
• JP Morgan economists warn climate crisis is threat to human race (Guardian UK)
• The Planet Is Screwed, Says Bank That Screwed the Planet (The New Republic):
  [I]t also offers a withering takedown of how economists in particular have tended to think about the climate crisis…”We cannot rule out catastrophic outcomes where human life as we know it is threatened,” the report concludes. It’s a stunning bit of cognitive dissonance from a bank that is doing so much to fuel the crisis.
• JP Morgan economists warn of ‘catastrophic’ climate change (BBC)
• JPMorgan to end investment in Arctic drilling, coal companies:
• JPMorgan Chase Takes Baby Step Toward Curbing Fossil Fuel Loans (Washington Post)
• JPMorgan won’t finance new Arctic drilling, most coal plants (E&E News)
• JPMorgan Chase: Profiting Off Climate Change (Rainforest Action Network)
• Colorado River flows drying up because of climate change:
• Colorado River flow dwindles as warming-driven loss of reflective snow energizes evaporation (Science)
• Climate Change Steals Billion Tons Of Water From Colorado River (Washington Post)
• New Study Projects Severe Water Shortages in the Colorado River Basin (Inside Climate News)
• Crucial California Water Source Is Drying Up As The World Warms (LAist)
• Electric vehicle sales soar in Europe, and GM launches EVs in China :
• Global EV policies boost sales as U.S. lags behind (Politico)
• GM launches Menlo electric car with 250 miles of range for just ~$23,000, but you probably can’t buy it (Electrek)
• GM To US: No 250 Mile, $23,000 Electric Car For You! (Clean Technica):
  It’s hard to believe US and European customers would not be lining up outside Chevrolet dealerships to buy one. The mind of senior management at General Motors is a dark and mysterious place.

‘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

• Trump Downplays Risk, Places Pence In Charge Of Coronavirus Response (Washington Post)
• Tribal Nation Condemns ‘Desecration’ to Build Border Wall (NY Times)
• A line-by-line response to Fred Hiatt’s pro-oil, anti-Sanders climate op-ed (Heated.World)
• Climate Change is Pushing Giant Ocean Currents Poleward (Inside Climate News)
• New Interior Rule Would Limit Which Scientific Studies Agency Can Consider (The Hill)
• After Trump Mocks a Sea Wall in New York, Plan Is Abruptly Shelved (NY Times)
• Climate Change, Soaring Flood Insurance Could Trigger A Mortgage Crisis (Center for Public Integrity)
• 3 Plutonium-Tainted Structures At High Risk Of Collapsing At Hanford (Tri-City Herald)
• Brazil Is Cracking Down on Climate Migrants While Worsening the Climate Crisis (Earther)
• Climate campaigners win Heathrow expansion case (BBC)
• Biden, Buttigieg, and Klobuchar Backed By Vulture Funds Set to Profit From Puerto Rico (Sludge)
• Georgia county to test water wells for coal ash (AP)
• EU planning carbon border measures ‘as soon as possible’ (Reuters)
• Flaring Expert Finds Big Problems In Texas Oil And Gas Regulator Report (KUT-Austin)
• ‘Anti-Greta’ Teen Activist To Speak At Biggest US Conservatives CPAC (Guardian UK)
• Trump Appointees Ignored Staff Objections in Rolling Back Safety Regulations Tied to Deepwater Horizon (The Hill)
• Uber and Lyft Are Convenient, Competitive and Highly Carbon Intensive (Inside Climate News)
• The megatrends that will shape the 21st century (Axios)
• ‘Nobody’s really for this bill, so why does it keep moving?’: Indiana coal bill hits state Senate today (Utility Dive)
• PFAS concerns abound for landfill operators, even as industry sees potential for opportunity (Waste Dive)
• What Does ’12 Years to Act on Climate Change’ (Now 11 Years) Really Mean? (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• 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).