[MCN] Climate, energy, housing, influence, pandemic, society — Dots that invite connecting

[Lance Olsen]

How severe are Omicron infections? - Nature <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03794-8>
https://www.nature.com › news <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03794-8>
 <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03794-8>
Excerpt  <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03794-8>

On 13 December, Denmark released data showing that hospitalization rates for people infected with Omicron seemed to be on a par with those for people infected with other variants. But this comparison was based on only about 3,400 cases of Omicron infection and 37 hospitalizations.

Similarly, a 16 December report <https://www.imperial.ac.uk/mrc-global-infectious-disease-analysis/covid-19/report-49-Omicron/> from Imperial College London found no evidence of diminished hospitalizations from Omicron infections compared with Delta in England, although this was again based on relatively few cases. Overall, the numbers are still too small to draw firm conclusions about the severity of disease caused by Omicron, says Troels Lillebæk, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Copenhagen.

And a rapidly spreading variant could dangerously strain health-care systems, even if the risk of severe disease or death is relatively low for any individual. “A small fraction of a very large number is still a large number,” says Woolhouse. “So the population-level threat is very real.”

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 <https://www.dailydot.com/debug/proud-boys-schools-vaccines-masks-critical-race-theory/>
Why the Proud Boys are now showing up at school board ... <https://www.dailydot.com/debug/proud-boys-schools-vaccines-masks-critical-race-theory/>
https://www.dailydot.com › debug › proud-boys-school... <https://www.dailydot.com/debug/proud-boys-schools-vaccines-masks-critical-race-theory/>

Nov 10, 2021 — Proud Boys are showing up at school board meetings and protests to capitalize on backlash against masks, vaccines, and critical race theory.

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 <https://www.harvard.com/book/miseducation/>
Miseducation: How Climate Change Is Taught in America <https://www.harvard.com/book/miseducation/>
https://www.harvard.com › book › miseducation <https://www.harvard.com/book/miseducation/>
Nov 9, 2021 — More than one-third of young adults believe that climate change is not man-made, and science instructors are  ...
Publisher: Columbia Global Reports
Format: Paperback
 <https://listen.sdpb.org/environment/2021-11-19/miseducation-how-climate-change-is-taught-in-america>
'Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America ... <https://listen.sdpb.org/environment/2021-11-19/miseducation-how-climate-change-is-taught-in-america>
https://listen.sdpb.org › environment › miseducation-ho... <https://listen.sdpb.org/environment/2021-11-19/miseducation-how-climate-change-is-taught-in-america>
Nov 19, 2021 — Investigative journalist Katie Worth traveled the nation to learn what students in different states are taught about climate change.

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 <https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/11/oil-gas-companies-climate-education.html>
How the Oil and Gas Industry Has Broken Climate Education <https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/11/oil-gas-companies-climate-education.html>
https://slate.com › human-interest › 2021/11 › oil-gas-c... <https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/11/oil-gas-companies-climate-education.html>
Nov 16, 2021 — In years past, some energy education efforts blatantly rejected climate science. In 2002, the American Petroleum Institute launched the ...
 <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/15/big-oil-classrooms-pipeline-oklahoma-education>
Pipeline to the classroom: how big oil promotes fossil fuels to ... <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/15/big-oil-classrooms-pipeline-oklahoma-education>
https://www.theguardian.com › us-news › jun › big-oil-... <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/15/big-oil-classrooms-pipeline-oklahoma-education>
Jun 15, 2017 — Nearly a third of middle-and-high-school science teachers nationwide have wrongly suggested global warming is naturally occurring. A quarter 

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Russia vetoes UN resolution linking climate change, security <https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vYWJjbmV3cy5nby5jb20vVVMvd2lyZVN0b3J5L3J1c3NpYS12ZXRvZXMtcmVzb2x1dGlvbi1saW5raW5nLWNsaW1hdGUtY2hhbmdlLXNlY3VyaXR5LTgxNzI1NTc50gFpaHR0cHM6Ly9hYmNuZXdzLmdvLmNvbS9hbXAvVVMvd2lyZVN0b3J5L3J1c3NpYS12ZXRvZXMtcmVzb2x1dGlvbi1saW5raW5nLWNsaW1hdGUtY2hhbmdlLXNlY3VyaXR5LTgxNzI1NTc5?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
ABC News

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Warmer winters can wreak as much havoc as hotter summers, say scientists <https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiXGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS9lbnZpcm9ubWVudC8yMDIxL2RlYy8xNy93YXJtZXItd2ludGVycy1jbGltYXRlLWNyaXNpcy1zY2llbnRpc3Rz0gFcaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2Vudmlyb25tZW50LzIwMjEvZGVjLzE3L3dhcm1lci13aW50ZXJzLWNsaW1hdGUtY3Jpc2lzLXNjaWVudGlzdHM?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
The Guardian

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Environmental Research Letters December 16, 2021

Compound hot temperature and high chlorophyll extreme events in global lakes
R Iestyn Woolway, Benjamin M Kraemer, Jakob Zscheischler and Clément Albergel

OPEN ACCESS pdf
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac3d5a/pdf <https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac3d5a/pdf>

Abstract

An emerging concern for lake ecosystems is the occurrence of compound extreme events i.e. situations where multiple within-lake extremes occur simultaneously. Of particular concern are the co-occurrence of lake heatwaves (anomalously warm temperatures) and high chlorophyll-a extremes, two important variables that influence the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Here, using satellite observations, we provide the first assessment of univariate and compound extreme events in lakes worldwide. Our analysis suggests that the intensity of lake heatwaves and high chlorophyll-a extremes differ across lakes and are influenced primarily by the annual range in surface water temperature and chlorophyll-a concentrations. The intensity of lake heatwaves is even greater in smaller lakes and in those that are shallow and experience cooler average temperatures. Our analysis also suggests that, in most of the studied lakes, compound extremes occur more often than would be assumed from the product of their independent probabilities. We anticipate compound extreme events to have more severe impacts on lake ecosystems than those previously reported due to the occurrence of univariate extremes.

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Nature Published: 15 December 2021 <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03981-7#article-info>

Biogeochemical extremes and compound events in the ocean

Nicolas Gruber <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03981-7#auth-Nicolas-Gruber>, Philip W. Boyd <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03981-7#auth-Philip_W_-Boyd>, Thomas L. Frölicher <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03981-7#auth-Thomas_L_-Fr_licher> & Meike Vogt <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03981-7#auth-Meike-Vogt> 
Abstract
The ocean is warming, losing oxygen and being acidified, primarily as a result of anthropogenic carbon emissions. With ocean warming, acidification and deoxygenation projected to increase for decades, extreme events, such as marine heatwaves, will intensify, occur more often, persist for longer periods of time and extend over larger regions. Nevertheless, our understanding of oceanic extreme events that are associated with warming, low oxygen concentrations or high acidity, as well as their impacts on marine ecosystems, remains limited. Compound events—that is, multiple extreme events that occur simultaneously or in close sequence—are of particular concern, as their individual effects may interact synergistically. Here we assess patterns and trends in open ocean extremes based on the existing literature as well as global and regional model simulations. Furthermore, we discuss the potential impacts of individual and compound extremes on marine organisms and ecosystems. We propose a pathway to improve the understanding of extreme events and the capacity of marine life to respond to them. The conditions exhibited by present extreme events may be a harbinger of what may become normal in the future. 

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Ice shelf holding back Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday glacier’, is fracturing and ‘won’t last long’, scientists warn <https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEEDQ3RlovCbqRf4M4D2dM9sqFwgEKg4IACoGCAowzdp7ML-3CTDz5OwG?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
The Independent <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBggKMM3aezC_twk?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>

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Arctic Fires Are Melting Permafrost, a Key Carbon Sink | Time <https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vdGltZS5jb20vNjEyODA1OC9pbmNyZWFzaW5nLWFyY3RpYy1maXJlcy1hcmUtbWVsdGluZy1wZXJtYWZyb3N0LXRoYXQta2VlcHMtY2FyYm9uLXVuZGVyZ3JvdW5kL9IBAA?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
TIME

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Global Coal Power Expected to Hit Record Despite Climate Fight <https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-coal-power-expected-to-hit-record-despite-climate-fight-11639737307?mod=hp_lista_pos2>
Global coal-fired power generation is expected to rise 9% and hit a record by the end of 2021 as electricity demand from the economic recovery outstrips a shift to cleaner energy sources.

The Wall Street Journal December 17 2021

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Don’t Look Up on Netflix review: If we can’t beat the apocalypse, we’ll laugh at it <https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEFL7EWrlhX76aM3VGkSW_LoqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowlOzSATCaiDUwzdjoBQ?uo=CAUiUGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnZveC5jb20vMjI4MjA1NTcvZG9udC1sb29rLXVwLW5ldGZsaXgtc2lsZW50LW5pZ2h0LXJldmlldy1hcG9jYWx5cHNl0gEA&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
Vox.com <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMJTs0gEwmog1?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>

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A new ratings industry is emerging to help homebuyers assess climate risks <https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEORey1t4I7owc-45r3gYZ3cqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow6-PzCjD7sNQCMKLRwQY?uo=CAUib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnBicy5vcmcvbmV3c2hvdXIvc2NpZW5jZS9hLW5ldy1yYXRpbmdzLWluZHVzdHJ5LWlzLWVtZXJnaW5nLXRvLWhlbHAtaG9tZWJ1eWVycy1hc3Nlc3MtY2xpbWF0ZS1yaXNrc9IBAA&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>

PBS NewsHour <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMOvj8wow-7DUAg?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>

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14-Dec-2021 <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
Extreme weather research shows household income impacts of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
 <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
Previous studies had only looked at impact on businesses
 <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATION <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
In a recently published paper, “Structural Path Analysis of Extreme Weather Events: An Application to Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy” (Applied Geography, November 2021), Illinois Institute of Technology Associate Professor of Social Science Yuri Mansury examines the impact of the two storms on households’ income and properties, looking at which populations saw the most economic harm from the storms, and why. <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
JOURNAL <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
Applied Geography <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
 <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924 <https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937924>

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 <https://patch.com/pennsylvania/hellertown/bp--how-a-right-sized-1950s-home-became-a-tight-fit-in-2012>
How a 'Right-Sized' 1950s Home Became a 'Tight Fit' in 2012 <https://patch.com/pennsylvania/hellertown/bp--how-a-right-sized-1950s-home-became-a-tight-fit-in-2012>
https://patch.com › pennsylvania › hellertown › bp--ho... <https://patch.com/pennsylvania/hellertown/bp--how-a-right-sized-1950s-home-became-a-tight-fit-in-2012>
In the 1950s, the size of the typical new home increased to 950 square feet

Have American Homes Changed Much Over the Years? Take... <https://compasscaliforniablog.com/have-american-homes-changed-much-over-the-years-take-a-look/#:~:text=1960s%3A%20The%20average%20new%2Dhome,2.5%20bedrooms%20and%201.5%20bathrooms.>
https://compasscaliforniablog.com › have-american-home... <https://compasscaliforniablog.com/have-american-homes-changed-much-over-the-years-take-a-look/#:~:text=1960s%3A%20The%20average%20new%2Dhome,2.5%20bedrooms%20and%201.5%20bathrooms.>
1960s: The average new-home size grew to 1,200 square feet, giving its 3.33 residents a spacious 360 square feet of room apiece. The bedroom-bathroom ratio flipped from the previous decade, with 2.5 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.
 <https://bestlifeonline.com/huge-houses-50-years-ago/>
This Was Considered a "Huge House" 50 Years Ago - Best Life <https://bestlifeonline.com/huge-houses-50-years-ago/>
https://bestlifeonline.com › huge-houses-50-years-ago <https://bestlifeonline.com/huge-houses-50-years-ago/>
In 2018, the average new construction single-family home spanned more than 2,600 square feet 

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Editorial: Shortcut to affordable housing or shortcut to sprawl? | Opinion | bendbulletin.com <https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.bendbulletin.com/opinion/editorial-shortcut-to-affordable-housing-or-shortcut-to-sprawl/article_2dffa0e4-5e9c-11ec-b529-37ee0860786c.html&ct=ga&cd=CAEYAioTNjk1NjA4NjY1MDY4MTgwNTU1ODIaZDVhZmM1NmM3NzNiOGU5ODpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNEtoccqMDc9JftcDTwmx1bN0wxuSw>
Bend Bulletin
Holiday season means it's nearly legislative season. Next year the Oregon Legislature will meet for a short session. Will it bring walkouts?

Will Washington be the next state to end single-family zoning? - The Olympian <https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.theolympian.com/news/state/washington/article256627801.html&ct=ga&cd=CAEYAyoTNjk1NjA4NjY1MDY4MTgwNTU1ODIaZDVhZmM1NmM3NzNiOGU5ODpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNHyJbGsjvH0yPsuSCkBe6uUseEA6A>
The Olympian
Single-family zoning laws restrict the number of homes that can be ... restrict the supply of housing and encourage wasteful suburban sprawl.

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“if Americans were asked point blank whether they would agree to reduce their energy consumption by one-half, many would probably recoil in apprehension and reject the idea. Yet energy consumption in 1960 was about half of what is now [ 1970 ]. Many of us remember 1960. Surely we had a civilized country then, with roads, electricity, entertainment, and so on. Yet we we were consuming half the energy.”

Page 181 : The Conserver Society. Harper Colophon Books. Copyright 1979 by Kimon Valaskakas et al

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A rush to mine lithium in Nevada is pitting climate advocates and environmental groups against each other <https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEII1SLshpTZAlbgl2bp4p9wqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMMSUnAY?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
CNN <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMKHL9QowkqbaAg?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>

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How the holiday buying season adds fuel to a rapidly warming planet <https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vdGhlY29udmVyc2F0aW9uLmNvbS9ob3ctdGhlLWhvbGlkYXktYnV5aW5nLXNlYXNvbi1hZGRzLWZ1ZWwtdG8tYS1yYXBpZGx5LXdhcm1pbmctcGxhbmV0LTE3Mjg1NNIBamh0dHBzOi8vdGhlY29udmVyc2F0aW9uLmNvbS9hbXAvaG93LXRoZS1ob2xpZGF5LWJ1eWluZy1zZWFzb24tYWRkcy1mdWVsLXRvLWEtcmFwaWRseS13YXJtaW5nLXBsYW5ldC0xNzI4NTQ?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
The Conversation CA
14 hours ago

The Holiday 'Buying Season' Can Have a Catastrophic Cost, And Not to Your Wallet <https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEEcMg-ef-0qkcSxJUUUi9aAqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowlv_6CjDu3vICMPvo5QY?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
ScienceAlert <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMJb_-gow7t7yAg?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
5 hours ago

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Excerpt

”Someday I must tell my son what I have done." 

"I search for political solutions, an advocacy muted by the cowardice of my personal choices. In the end, I am responsible for the gases that are changing the climate and, in raising my son in comfort and convenience, am passing on that responsibility and guilt to him.”

Kate Marvel, PhD physicist, climate scientist

https://onbeing.org/blog/kate-marvel-we-should-never-have-called-it-earth/ <https://onbeing.org/blog/kate-marvel-we-should-never-have-called-it-earth/>

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Excerpt 

Individual responsibility has become something of a flashpoint in the climate discourse. 

On the one hand, oil companies love to harp on about personal carbon footprints as a way of distracting from their much larger contributions to the climate crisis, both through the fossil fuel products they make and their longstanding, ongoing efforts to delay climate action and misinform the public. 

At the same time, prominent journalists and scientists have waved off individual climate actions as a distraction from the systemic changes that are needed to solve the crisis — changes like overhauling our electricity and transit systems through governmental investments in clean energy, better regulation, and carbon pricing. 

They’re joined by a growing chorus of climate justice advocates who rightly point out that asking poor people to make difficult dietary shifts or give up the car they need to get to work is completely unfair.

That’s not what Nicholas is doing. Her message isn’t aimed at folks struggling to make ends meet, but at people making a middle-class income or higher who live in a wealthy country like the United States, Germany, or France. Far from a distraction, Nicholas argues that the climate impact of the carbon elite is something we need to focus on — individually    and systematically. She points out that globally, more than two-thirds of climate pollution can be attributed to household consumption, and that the richest 10 percent of the world population — those making more than $38,000 a year — is responsible for about half of those emissions. 

Book review : Under the Sky We Make. Kimberly Nicholas, PhD

https://grist.org/culture/cutting-your-carbon-footprint-matters-a-lot-if-youre-rich/ <https://grist.org/culture/cutting-your-carbon-footprint-matters-a-lot-if-youre-rich/>

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Democratic governors worry about threat to democracy but don't see it as a winning message for 2022 <https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiENbX5FMPWzk33p84-1O3eIgqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowocv1CjCSptoCMPrTpgU?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
CNN <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMKHL9QowkqbaAg?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>

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Biden: ‘I’ve never seen anything like the unrelenting assault on the right to vote’ – live <https://news.google.com/articles/CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS91cy1uZXdzL2xpdmUvMjAyMS9kZWMvMTcvam9lLWJpZGVuLWJ1aWxkLWJhY2stYmV0dGVyLWFjdC1jb25ncmVzcy11cy1wb2xpdGljcy1saXZl0gFuaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL3VzLW5ld3MvbGl2ZS8yMDIxL2RlYy8xNy9qb2UtYmlkZW4tYnVpbGQtYmFjay1iZXR0ZXItYWN0LWNvbmdyZXNzLXVzLXBvbGl0aWNzLWxpdmU?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen>
The Guardian
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Greta Thunberg: “Doing our best is no longer good enough”
https://www.animalagricultureclimatechange.org › greta…

“Doing our best is no longer good enough. We must now do the seemingly impossible. And that is up to you and me. Because no one else will do it for us.”.

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