Fwd: The Paris climate agreement is now official

Keep it in the ground updates The Paris climate agreement is now official Environment groups hail 'momentous occasion' but warn governments need to cut carbon emissions more steeply to avoid dangerous global warming The French president and foreign minister, along with the UN secretary general and UN climate chief, celebrate agreeing the Paris climate change deal. Photograph: Francois Mori/AP The significance of the Paris agreement coming into force today is easy to miss: it may seem like an anti-climax, given the travails that led up to its signing last December. But the moment is of huge importance. This is the first time that a legally-binding agreement, signed by all of the world's functioning governments, has laid down a commitment to limit the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere with the goal of preventing global warming exceeding 2C above pre-industrial levels. This figure was not plucked out of the increasingly carbon-rich air. It is the limit of what scientists regard as safety, beyond which climate change will run out of control, unstoppable in its damaging effects. There are caveats. The Paris agreement is legally binding in forcing governments to accept and cater for the 2C limit. But the commitments on curbing greenhouse gas emissions in line with that goal are not legally binding. This means incoming governments can renege upon them. There are no sanctions for governments that flout the goals. The outcome of the US presidential election will be key. Donald Trump, the Republican candidate whose polling has improved markedly in recent days, has vowed to cancel the US's participation in the Paris agreement. Russia has also failed to ratify the agreement, along with several other nations. China has ratified, but if US participation is not forthcoming under a future Trump government, that may be off. So while the agreement should be hailed as a massive and historic step forward in international efforts to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, it is potentially fragile. Meanwhile, the signs of danger are growing increasingly strong. This year is almost certain, according to Nasa, to be the warmest on record, following last year's record-setting temperatures. This gives the lie to the claims of warming-dismissers that the upward march of global temperatures has "paused". Next year may not set records, but the trend is clear. We are on a trajectory that may lead to warming that is unprecedented and potentially irreversible. While there are other encouraging signs - the growth in renewable energy use around the world, the small reductions in emissions in some major economies - we should be in no doubt. The real work of Paris remains to be done. Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent, The Guardian Manage your emails | Unsubscribe | Trouble viewing? Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396

I am ashamed to be an American!!!

So many American voting for a climate change denier - I am seriously shocked and ashamed for this nation that has lost all its ideals and greatness!

The Alternative: Instead of Dirty Fossil Energy - Clean Renewables

From the Daily Telegram 11/8/2016

LANSING

Solar project set

More East Lansing residents will have the opportunity to cut their electric bill next year due to a community solar project that’s planning to nearly double in scope from 1,000 panels to about 1,800 panels.

Albion-based Patriot Solar Group has partnered with the Lansing Board of Water & Light on the project, the Lansing State Journal reported.

Residents who get electricity from the board will be able to pay nearly $400 to lease a solar panel for 25 years, said company president and CEO Jeff Mathie. Electricity generated from the panels will feed into the electric grid, and the board will credit the lessee on their bill, he said.

Hopefully the City of Adrian will work towards a similar deal. This company is based in Albion:

Patriot Solar Group

1007 Industrial Blvd.
Albion, MI, USA 49224

info@patriotsolargroup.com
Ph: 517.629.9292
Fx: 517.629.9296

Why Oklahoma Can't Turn Off Its Earthquakes - Bloomberg

Sunday night's 5.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Cushing, Okla., is the latest and, in some ways, the most troubling in a series of temblors that has rocked the Sooner State over the past few years. Not only did it strike within a mile of what is arguably one of the country's most important strategic assets—Cushing is the largest crude oil trading hub in North America, with almost 600 million barrels of stored crude—but its occurrence raises questions over the state's ability to do anything about the significant rise in seismic activity, which has been linked to oil and gas activity.



Full Story:



Why Oklahoma Can't Turn Off Its Earthquakes - Bloomberg

Savoy Energy has withdrawn its permit application for the proposed Creque 3-20 SWD well, Underground Injection Control draft permit #MI-091-2D-0004

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Simmons, Lilly" <simmons.lilly@epa.gov<mailto:simmons.lilly@epa.gov>>
Date: October 18, 2016 at 18:24:07 EDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: withdrawal notice to commenter MI-091-2D-0004

Dear Commenter:

As of September 20, 2016, Savoy Energy has withdrawn its permit application for the proposed Creque 3-20 SWD well, Underground Injection Control draft permit #MI-091-2D-0004. Therefore, the draft permit is no longer under consideration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA will take no further action regarding this draft permit and will not hold a public hearing or respond further to comments collected during the comment period. Should the company propose the well again, it must submit a new application to EPA, which would undergo review and public notice.

Siena Heights University ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES FALL 2016

Environmental Documentaries Series

ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES SCHEDULED FOR FALL 2016
​SHU Students can enroll for a 1-credit hour course and earn credit for attendance, short quizzes and essays (Course number ENV200D, Instructor: Tom Wassmer, twassmer@sienaheights.edu). All events are open and free to anybody. This faculty-led program and any related discussion is for educational benefit only.
Documentaries shown last year are available through the SHU Library or Online as pay-per-view for a small fee.
There will be a short introduction before the showing of the documentaries. Following the showings, there will be an optional discussion on the topic of the movie and how well the issue was covered. This faculty-led program and any related discussion is for educational benefit only.

All events will take place on Thursday evenings between 7-9 pm in the Science Auditorium SCI 131.

Date	Title(s)	Topic
Fall 2016
10/20/2016	The Tax Free Tour (53) TTIP: Might is Right (49)	Money, Globalization
10/27/2016	Underkastelsen – Submission (87)	Chemicals – Pollution
11/3/2016	Tin Trouble (28) e-Stewardship (12) Offline is the new luxury (46)	E-trash / Connected Disconnect
11/10/2016	Forest in the Sky (El Triunfo) (15) Stop the Burning (10) The Marvelous Musical Report of the Marine National Monuments (10) Moving the Giants (11) Message in a bottle (15)	Conservation, Species extinction, Global Warming
11/17/2016	Battling the Bloom: Lake Erie (7) Algae Blooms in the Great Lakes (27) A Balanced Diet for Lake Erie (11) Predicting Harmful Algal Blooms (2) Red Tide and Human Health (4) Dead Zones of the Pacific Northwest (3) Happening Now: Dead Zone in the Gulf (2) EarthEcho Expeditions: Beyond The Dead Zone (19)	Algae Blooms
11/24/2016	Thanksgiving Break
12/1/2016	Resistance (71) Panorama: Antibiotic Crisis (28)	Antibiotic Resistance
12/8/2016	Wrenched	Environmental Advocacy
12/15/2016	Acid Ocean (52) Disobedience (41)	Climate change, Ocean Acidification and Environmental Advocacy

Canada to set national carbon tax from 2018 – Trudeau

Published on 04/10/2016, 10:57am

Prime minister Justin Trudeau told parliament carbon pricing was the way to green Canada’s economy and meet climate targets

"Canada is back," say Justin Trudeau and Catherine McKenna (Pic: Environment and climate Canada)

By Megan Darby

Canada will impose a tax on carbon dioxide emissions nationwide from 2018, prime minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.

Read the full story here:

http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/10/04/canada-to-set-national-carbon-tax-from-2018-trudeau/