Saturday, January 18, 2020

"Eco-anxiety" is a word. It is real. Couples are worrying about the kind of world their children will face.

Who are the real adults in the room?

Skolstrejk is School Strike

14 September 2019
By Clare Press

...Fashion (click here) has been reluctant to examine its air-travel footprint, although British designer Katharine Hamnett raised the subject at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in May 2019. “We shouldn’t be here; these conferences should be happening as webinars,” she said, sending yet more climate panic my way. “We should all be ashamed of our carbon footprint.” I’d jetted in from Australia....

January 13, 2020

As fires continue to burn (click here) along Australia’s south-east, it’s impossible to ignore how climate change can wreak devastation and disrupt lives.

Australia has always experienced bushfires. However, climate change means this year’s bushfires were so extreme in their ferocity and spread they could be seen from space. And this is just a taste of what’s to come.

I’m a marine scientist, and research the effects of climate change on coral reefs. Aside from bushfires, coral bleaching is one of the most severe manifestations of climate change in Australia. Watching corals turn white and die is just another daily reminder of the disasters our children will be up against.

Until now, my partner and I have both wanted to be parents one day. Now I’m not so sure. Here are the things I’m weighing up.

The forces at play

I am not alone in these family planning concerns. In September last year I hosted a Women in STEM seminar and photography exhibit showcasing female scientists at the University of New South Wales. One of the major points of discussion was how to plan for a family, knowing how climate change will affect the quality of life of the next generation.

Cases of “eco-anxiety” when it comes to family planning are on the rise. Many couples in my generation are rethinking what it means to start a family. Even Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said last year they’ll have only two children at most, for the sake of the planet....

April 3, 2017
By Zoe Schlanger

Depression, anxiety, grief, despair, stress—even suicide: (click here) The damage of unfolding climate change isn’t only counted in water shortages and wildfires, it’s likely eroding mental health on a mass scale, too, reports the American Psychological Association, the preeminent organization of American mental health professionals.

Direct, acute experience with a changing climate—the trauma of losing a home or a loved one to a flood or hurricane, for example—can bring mental health consequences that are sudden and severe. After Hurricane Katrina, for example, suicide and suicidal ideation among residents of areas affected by the disaster more than doubled according to a paper led by Harvard Medical School, while one in six met the criteria for PTSD, according to a Columbia University-led paper. Elevated PTSD levels have also been found among people who live through wildfires and extreme storms, sometimes lasting several years....

April 17, 2018

Santa Monica - In an online survey of 2,029 U.S. adults (click here) conducted on behalf of Swell Investing by The Harris Poll from April 5-9, 2018 Swell found that:

- 92% of Americans are worried about the future of our planet

- Nearly three quarters (72%) of millennials 18-34 say that watching, hearing and/or reading negative news stories about the environment sometimes has an impact on their emotional wellbeing (e.g., anxiety, racing thoughts, sleep problems, a feeling of uneasiness)

- Among those who say they are worried about the future of our planet, about two-thirds say they take steps to reduce energy use in their home (68%) or take steps to reduce water waste in their home (64%)

- Only 13% of American adults invest in environmentally responsible companies to address worries about the future of the planet, but millennials are ahead of the curve with 20% investing in companies that prioritize the environment.

While ecoanxiety is high among young people, there's a silver lining. Anxiety, while unpleasant, is an effective motivator. And we have our work cut out for us when it comes to securing the future of the planet. Many people are doing something about the negative emotions they are experiencing, with the majority of people addressing climate change in their day-to-day lives....

I do not like the idea of using the future in relation to the climate crisis as a motivator. It is NOT a sufficient motivator in Washington, DC with the Congress and it should be. The people have enough to worry about and they know consumerism only takes them so far with the climate crisis. It is up to the federal government to act on this emergency.

Anxiety is stress and stress can shorten lives. It is time for the federal government to end the frightening stress that comes with the climate crisis and resolve to end it and reverse it. Water vapor must be returned to the land and air, otherwise what is left is desertification (click here).

August 17, 2018

San Francisco - In the history of California wildfires (click here) there has never been anything like it: A churning tornado filled with fire, the size of three football fields. Recently released video from Cal Fire shows the most intense tornado ever in California history that trapped and killed a firefighter in Redding last month, CBS San Francisco reports.

An official report describes in chilling detail the intensity of the rare fire phenomenon and how quickly it took the life of Redding firefighter Jeremy Stoke, who was enveloped in seconds as he tried to evacuate residents on July 26.

Three videos released with the report late Wednesday show the massive funnel of smoke and flames in a populated area on the edge of Redding, about 250 miles north of San Francisco....

The case failed because the courts do not legislate.

NEGLIGENCE. The people can sue for the neglect of the government to protect them.

...Specifically, the panel held that it was beyond the power of an Article III court to order, design, supervise, or implement the plaintiffs’ requested remedial plan where any effective plan would necessarily require a host of complex policy decisions entrusted to the wisdom and discretion of the executive and legislative branches.

The panel reluctantly concluded that the plaintiffs’ case must be made to the political branches or to the electorate at large....

The children are absolutely correct in the dangers being cited as real, current and also impending. 

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed (click here) the landmark youth-led climate lawsuit against the United States government on Friday, ruling the young plaintiffs did not have standing to sue.

While the ruling is a victory for the Trump administration, which fought bitterly to have the case, Juliana v. United States, dismissed, the court also wrote the young plaintiffs “have made a compelling case that action is needed.”  The judges, however, said climate change cannot be addressed through the judicial branch of government.

“Reluctantly, we conclude that such relief is beyond our constitutional power. Rather, the plaintiffs’ impressive case for redress must be presented to the political branches of government,” Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz wrote in the three-judge panel’s split decision.

Our Children’s Trust, the legal organization supporting the young plaintiffs, said it would appeal the verdict to the entire Ninth Circuit....  

There needs to be a class action including the children, but, also those that have died because of the climate crisis. The USA has deaths which occurred because of issues such as Superstorm Sandy and tornado outbreaks that are at record number now. Previous to an ever heating climate is the fact THE OCCURRENCES of storms such as Sandy and all too frequent YEAR ROUND tornadoes and tornado outbreaks have killed and are connected to the climate crisis.

No one can state the fires on the West coast of the USA were normal. Three mile high fire tornadoes are not at all normal. 

April 3, 2014

You can’t really sue the government (click here) for property damage or injury due to a common law doctrine known as sovereign immunity. This doctrine came into existence as a way to protect monarchs from being sued, but still holds true since you can’t just sue the U.S. government. However, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, you can file a lawsuit against the government in certain situations.

When does the FTCA Say You can Sue the Government?

The FTCA allows you to file a lawsuit for injury, loss of property, or wrongful death caused by a federal employee only if it was caused by negligence and if you could file a similar lawsuit against a private person and win. So, if state law doesn’t allow you to sue someone in a certain situation, then you can’t sue the government for that same event....

The dead can no longer speak for themselves but friends and/or family or other interested parties such as employers can sue for neglect in protecting them from their losses.

The idea of legislation taking place is realistic when there is currently a Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (click here).  The fact is there is already meetings held  (click here) for fact finding to compel the action of Congress.

I was in this area of Michigan recently. It is really something to see. They are huge, majestic and music to my ears (click here). They are a conquest of modern society that humans can overcome all adversity and benevolence toward Earth's physics.

November 26, 2013
By Mark Brush

The Gratiot County Wind Farm (click here) has 133 wind turbines scattered over more than 30,000 acres. It's the largest wind farm in Michigan. Each 1.6 megawatt wind turbine can generate enough power for 350 homes.

And this is what it sounds like when you stand directly beneath a wind turbine that stretches more than 450 feet into the sky with the wind blowing between 10 to 15 mph....

Wind is very, very green. The footprint of a wind turbine is far less than that of a fracking well. Any citizen can participate in royalties if placed on their property, most likely farmland because it requires no rights to the minerals (oil and gas) under the ground. They are virtually silent, except, when standing under them and even then the sound is well within legal decibel levels.

There are towns in the USA that own windmills on government property. There can be ordinances for allowing property owners to erect wind mills, small and large. The benevolence to this type of energy can only grow, instead of making 30 year investments in public projects such as gas and nuclear plants.

Bird deaths by wind farms is about 0.01 percent over all. Cats, primarily pet cats, are the number one reason for bird deaths. Cats account for 75 percent of bird deaths. Bird migration occurs primarily between 5000 and 20,000 feet altitude.

The meeting being held in Carlsbad, California next month is rather pricey, but, there is special considerations in cost for Regulated Utilities and Government. 

February 4-6, 2020
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa

2100 Costa Del Mar Rd, Carlsbad, CA 92009


For Regulated Utilities and Government pricing, click here.

The Wind Power Finance & Investment Summit is widely recognized as the leading gathering place for wind industry deal makers, or as one past event attendee called it – “the highest quality of industry participants on the conference circuit.” Each year, the industry’s leading developers, investors, lenders, turbine suppliers, EPCs and other players gather to gain valuable insights into industry trends, get the latest market update on the finance and investment landscape, and efficiently schedule rounds of private meetings.

The Summit attracted nearly 800 people in 2019 and, with the PTC driving historic industry activity, the 2020 Summit will again offer up the best available opportunities to stay ahead of the market, meet the industry’s leading players, and get deals done.

This is from a statement of a meeting of the US House Select Committee.

...When we say the states are laboratories of democracy, (click here) we mean that literally here. Colorado is home to some of the leading research in climate change and clean energy. And one of the most important things we can do as policymakers is make sure clean technology can move from the lab to the market – that’s what creates jobs, that’s what cuts pollution, that’s what makes America a leader in the clean energy economy we have to build to solve the climate crisis.

Colorado in particular has been a leader in the clean energy revolution. In the 2019 legislative session, the governor and Colorado legislature have added to Colorado’s clean energy legacy by enacting several bills focused on deploying more energy efficiency, renewable energy and electric vehicles. Equally important, they also created new programs to support the energy workforce. Today we will be learning more about those policies and their benefits from a variety of perspectives to inform the Select Committee’s work....