#60 Michael Mann (Penn State)
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Hello! Welcome to the first podcast of 2020! There\\u2019s no better guest to start the year with than the indefatigable\\xa0Michael Mann, world renowned climate scientist from Penn State University. Michael\\u2019s spent the past month on a sabbatical in Australia, which has unfortunately meant that he\\u2019s seen the devastation of the wildfires in person. Climate change has had such an adverse effect on wildfires around the world, that there\\u2019s essentially no wildfire season anymore. In parts of Australia, they\\u2019re literally creating their own weather systems. Below is a post-game analysis of everything we discussed. Enjoy. \\U0001f9d0
Dangerous Climate Change Is Here, Now
Michael couldn\\u2019t have picked a better, or worse, time to take a sabbatical in Sydney. On one hand, spending a month in a country that\\u2019s literally on fire isn\\u2019t ideal, but on the other, having Michael to testify and contextualize the damage first hand is a silver lining. As part of his research into the linkages between climate change and extreme weather events, Michael visited the Great Barrier Reef, the world\'s largest\\xa0coral reef\\xa0system, which will completely disappear within decades unless a dramatic reduction in global carbon emissions occurs. Michael also travelled to another of Australia\\u2019s natural wonders, the Blue Mountains, which is currently on fire and faces irreparable damage. The fires first started more than four months ago in September, and don\\u2019t show any sign of slowing.
Visualizing the Destruction Down Under
Unless you\\u2019ve seen a wildfire up close, it\\u2019s hard to imagine their severity. Thank the lord for the immense talent of the visual teams at The Guardian and the New York Times for contextualizing how bad the wildfires are.
The temperature in Sydney has regularly topped 100\\xb0\\xa0Fahrenheit, including a handful of days of more than 110\\xb0\\u2026
Based on current data, this is likely to be Australia\\u2019s worst bout with wildfires on record.
And now we know just how dangerous it is to live in parts of Australia right now\\u2026
But not dangerous enough for the Australian Open tennis tournament to be postponed\\u2026
Australia\\u2019s Atrocious Climate Change Record
I\\u2019m sorry to do this, but the misery gets worse. Scott Morrison, Australia\\u2019s prime minister, is as terrible as they come when it involves climate change policy. Don\\u2019t be confused: Morrison\\u2019s Liberal Party are anything but liberal, and are weirdly the major right-wing party in Australia, whose climate change policies are utterly insufficient. According to the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index (page 9), Australia is 53rd of the 58 countries ranked, and rubs shoulders with the likes of Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Spoiler alert: the U.S. is last, but we knew that, right?
It\\u2019s okay though, because Morrison insists his policies are adequate with no need for anyone to panic. No really, he actually said that. And that comes after he decided it would be fine to take a family vacation to Hawaii in the midst of his country burning to the ground. To be fair to the bloke, he did apologize for leaving his country when it needed him most, and compared his dilemma to a plumber deciding whether to accept a contract on a Friday afternoon. \\U0001f937\\u200d\\u2642\\ufe0f
Please Like Me, Thanks
Before you read on, please like this edition of\\xa0Inside The Newsroom\\xa0by clicking the \\u2764\\ufe0f below the title. That way I\\u2019ll appear in clever algorithms and more people will be able to read.
Celebrities Are Donating More Than Oil Companies
Prime minister Morrison announced a $2 billion Australian dollar ($1.4 USD) relief fund for victims, but this reactive measure isn\\u2019t anywhere near enough. Australia\\u2019s Climate Council said recently that the total damage from lost productivity may reach A$19 billion\\xa0by 2030, A$211 billion\\xa0by 2050 and an insane A$4 trillion\\xa0by 2100, according to Bloomberg. So who\\u2019s left to make up the paltry help from the government? Celebrities.
Thanks to analysis from Emily Atkin \\u2014 SUBSCRIBE TO HER NEWSLETTER \\u2014 we know Nicole Kidman\\u2019s $250,000 donation equates to roughly $738 for the average American who makes $59,000. Compare that to Chevron\\u2019s $1 million donation, which equates to about $3.96 for the average American, based on the $15 billion Chevron made in 2018. And of course don\\u2019t forget Exxon Mobil\\u2026
Want more of Emily? We had an hourish chat on all things climate change.
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Dutch Supreme Court\\u2019s Landmark Ruling
Alas, you\\u2019ve made it to the end. For that, you shall be rewarded with some hope. On December 20, the supreme court in the Netherlands upheld a ruling ordering the country\\u2019s government had explicit duties to protect its citizens\\u2019 human rights because of climate change. The government must now reduce emissions by at least 25 percent compared with 1990 levels by the end of 2020. The landmark judgement had been in the courts for six years after the Dutch government fought the litigation at every stage.
David Boyd, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, said it was \\u201cthe most important climate change court decision in the world so far,\\u201d which has already inspired similar lawsuits in Pakistan and New Zealand. According to this database created by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, there are currently 325 climate litigation cases in the courts around the world as we speak.
Isabella Kaminski, The Guardian
Climate Change Episodes\\u2026
#53 \\u2014 Emily Atkin (Heated Newsletter)
#42 \\u2014 Kait Parker (Weather.com)
#37 \\u2014 Josh Morgerman (Hurricane Man)
#30 \\u2014 Art Markman (University of Texas)
#23 \\u2014 Michael Mann (Penn State University)
Next Week\\u2026
We\\u2019ll have Rachel Botsman on to talk about how people prefer to believe opinions over facts, and how the media begins to gain the trust of the public again.
Job Corner
Each week I\\u2019ll feature a selection of new journalism jobs. This week,\\xa0I\\u2019ve listed a range of openings covering climate change.
Climate Nexus: Media Relations Intern
Inside Climate News: Climate Change Reporter
NPR: Supervising Editor, Climate
OCCRP: International Environment Editor
Quartz: Energy and Climate Change Reporter
Reuters: Climate Change Editor
WYSO: Climate Change and Environmental Issues
This is a public episode. If you\\u2019d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit insidethenewsroom.substack.com/subscribe'