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Blog
Media Roundup: Linking Harvey & Irma to Climate & Environmental Justice
September 11, 2017
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Screenshot from Sept 7, 2017, 8:27 UTC, showing Hurricanes Katia, Irma, & Jose. Source: https://earth.nullschool.net/ |
The increase in frequency and intensity of natural disasters impacting the USA and world right now --- from the extreme wildfires in the US West, to the floods in South Asia that have killed over 1,000 and displaced 41 million people, to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma -- is a resounding clarion call for action to stabilize the climate and deepen our solidarity with marginalized, impacted communities.
While all of these disasters call our attention and call us to act, this roundup of news reports and editorials is particularly focused on how Hurricanes Harvey and Irma link to climate change and environmental justice:
Link Between Climate Change & Mega-Hurricanes
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What We Know about the Climate Change–Hurricane Connection: Some links are indisputable; others are more subtle, but the science is improving all the time - Michael E. Mann, Thomas C. Peterson, Susan Joy Hassol,Scientific American, Sept 8, 2017
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Hurricane Harvey Shows What Climate Disruption-Amplified Flooding Can Do - Dahr Jamail, Truth-Out, Aug 29, 2017
“Sea-surface temperatures near Texas were between 2.7° and 7.2°F above average, making them some of the warmest ocean temperatures on Earth. This caused Harvey to ramp up from a tropical depression to a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane in merely two days' time.”
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Houston is experiencing its third ‘500-year’ flood in 3 years. How is that possible?-Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post, Aug 29, 2017
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Will Irma Finally Change the Way We Talk About Climate?- New York Magazine, David Wallace-Wells, Sept 9, 2017
UUA and UU Ministry for Earth Sign the Lofoten Declaration
August 30, 2017
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) have signed on to the Lofoten Declaration for a Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Production around the World. The Lofoten Declaration was written in August 2017 at a gathering in the Lofoten Islands of Norway of academics, analysts, and activists, all of whom recognize that globally we have a window of opportunity – and a strategic need – to limit the expansion of the oil and gas industry, in order to achieve the Paris climate goals. We invite other organisations worldwide to join the call.
Why is it called the Lofoten Declaration? The oil industry is lobbying hard for the seas around Lofoten to be opened to oil drilling – which would be devastating to the climate and to Lofoten's natural beauty – but activists have successfully managed to block these plans for years. This strategy must be expanded around the world to oppose the oil and gas industry.
Read the text and signatories of the declaration at http://www.lofotendeclaration.org/