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submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by relianceschool@slrpnk.net to c/climate@slrpnk.net

The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to take up a closely watched lawsuit brought by 21 young people challenging the federal government’s fossil fuel energy system.

The high court’s decision Monday in Juliana v. United States ends a 10-year legal effort to hold the government accountable for knowingly endorsing an energy system that would destabilize the climate. The complaint claimed the situation infringed on the young plaintiffs’ rights to life, liberty and property and called on the government to phase out carbon emissions and implement national plans to address the energy and environmental problems they created.

The Supreme Court offered no reason for declining Juliana. Rodgers said the organization was considering options. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 12 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Thank you for sharing! I'm a big proponent of the planetary boundaries framework, it's a great way to visualize overshoot. While climate change is a big (perhaps the biggest) issue facing global civilization right now, it's extremely important that we don't get tunnel vision and try to solve for one variable without looking at our biosphere holistically. (That's how we get carbon capture and geoengineering.)

A few more links/resources for those interested:

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

The IPCC, FAO (UN), and the World Resources Institute put emissions from (all) agriculture at around 20%-25% of total emissions.

This article cites a single paper in opposition, which claims that emissions from animal agriculture are more than double that number. I don't have the time or expertise to comb through that paper with a critical eye, but the reports of the above organizations cite dozens of studies so it seems the weight of evidence is tilting towards the 20% figure.

This isn't to say that animal agriculture isn't an issue - it's a huge issue, and not just for the climate. But I think it's important to acknowledge that these emissions numbers aren't widely accepted.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 4 points 4 days ago

Some key findings from this report:

  • A review of 50 research articles finds there is strong evidence climate activism influences public opinion and media coverage, but it depends on the tactics used and the way the media covers the events.
  • There is moderate evidence that climate activism influences voting behavior and policymaker attention.
  • More research is needed on the influence of climate activism on policy change and environmental outcomes.

The YPCC summarized the findings below:

The review finds strong evidence that climate activism influences public opinion and media coverage, although the specific relationship depends on the kind of actions taken and the way the media covers the events. The evidence shows that protest usually increases support for the movement when protests are peaceful, but not when they are violent. But there was also evidence that the influence of activism on public perceptions could be positive or negative, depending on the tone of the media coverage of the protests.

The review found moderate evidence that climate activism can influence voting behavior and policymaker attention. One study in Germany found that areas that experienced Fridays for Future protests had a higher share of the vote go to the Green Party, and that repeated protests increased the effect. Multiple studies in the UK found that protests successfully increase communications by policymakers about climate change or pro-climate actions.

There was less evidence that climate activism leads directly to policy change or improvements in environmental quality. This is not necessarily because climate activism does not affect these outcomes or others we reviewed—it is likely because studies that capture these outcomes are difficult to conduct.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The vast majority of pollution is created by the vast majority of people. The impact of the ultra-wealthy is large individually, but small collectively.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 2 points 5 days ago

I don't believe that we should be pursuing growth in an era of global overshoot, but I do believe that this kind of messaging has a better chance of getting through to people who care more about the economy than the biosphere.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

The difficulty in regulating mining in international waters are precisely why companies are rushing into this market. It's much harder to stop something that's already been started, and regulatory agencies are notoriously slow.

What we do know of seabed mining is that it's incredibly destructive to marine ecosystems. As Peter Watts writes,

Very little research has been done on the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining. The only real study was undertaken thirty years ago, led by a dude called Hjalmar Thielon. It was a pretty simple experiment. They basically dragged a giant rake across 2.5 km2 of seabed, a physical disturbance which— while devastating enough— was certainly less disruptive than commercial mining operations are likely to be. Today, thirty years later, the seabed still hasn’t recovered.

But what's more concerning is what we don't know, as very little research has been conducted on its impact. Moreover, many of these ecosystems are largely uncharted. We could very well destroy something before we have the chance to understand it.

On a higher level, this is what happens when you attempt to solve for one variable (climate change, in this case the transition to renewables and its associated mineral demand) instead of looking at an issue holistically (i.e. the total integrity of our biosphere).

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 2 points 5 days ago

Beautiful! I'm hoping I can get some established as well.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Ignorance, petulance, and a willful dismissal of the truth are the new norms for this "administration." But information wants to be free, and this is a good example of how the internet can be a force for good.

Thank you to Fulton Ring for making the raw data publicly available on their Github. I'll be downloading this data and hosting the risk maps on my website as well; the more copies of this information out there, the better.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 11 points 5 days ago

The level of obstinacy and stupidity in this administration never ceases to amaze me.

Each year the WEF publishes a Global Risk Report, surveying over 300 global experts and leaders from business, government, and academia on what they believe are the most pressing threats facing the world. For the past 3 years, climate change and its associated impacts have consistently ranked #1, #2, and #3 among all quantified threats.

To not only downrank this threat, but pretend that it presents no risk entirely implies that the US doesn't even have object permanence at this point.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I'm on my 4th year with my pollinator garden (Colorado), and the goal from here is filling in every square inch of uncovered earth with ground cover and spreading plants. I love Western Sunflower for that purpose, and I've been trying unsuccessfully to get Violets established (I know, right? They're considered a weed in most places) so I'm going to give that another go.

Trying out Blue Flax, Wild Strawberry, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Wild Garlic, Wild Geranium, and Wild Phlox this year as well. Learned about Figwort's amazing pollinator benefits last year, so going to plant out more of that in the side yard!

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 2 points 6 days ago

Right, but it's the same part of the year that you're able to hike, bike, and garden.

[-] relianceschool@slrpnk.net 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

For those who are coming straight to the comments, essentially the Fish & Wildlife Service is proposing culling tens of thousands of Barred Owls in order to prevent them from displacing Spotted Owls. The issue is that landowners can also apply for a culling permit, and the two species are close enough in appearance as to be indistinguishable from each other (especially at night), which means Spotted Owls are just as likely to be killed as Barred Owls.

In short: a good intention, a very bad idea.

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relianceschool

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