wattsupwiththat--2020-12-08--Send the Paris Climate Treaty to the Senate

The most far-reaching international agreement ever must get Senate advice , consent and vote Article II , Section 2 of the US Constitution is simple and direct : “ The President … shall have Power , by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate , to make Treaties , provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur.
” It served America well for 225 years .
Then , in 2015 , the UN ’ s “ international community ” of climate activists gathered in Paris to hammer out language requiring that developed nations slash their fossil fuel use , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years , and become “ carbon neutral ” within a few decades – to prevent a manmade climate chaos forecast by computer models but not supported by Earth history or real-world evidence .
Developing countries would be under no such obligations .
Most incredibly , economic , military and tech powerhouse China was included among the developing countries , and thus is under no such obligations .
In short , the Paris accords would force the United States to engage in a massive , painful transformation of its entire economy – electricity generation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much more – under the aegis of the United Nations and UN and foreign country activists , politicians and bureaucrats .
Aside from ending major wars , what was concocted in Paris is probably the most far-reaching , impactful agreement this country was ever asked to sign .
It is the very embodiment of what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the language requiring Senate debate , advice and consent for all treaties .
However , President Obama unilaterally decreed that Paris was not a “ treaty , ” but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some lesser document that he could personally sign , committing the US to it , making an end-run around our constitutional and democratic process , and giving Congress and America no opportunity to examine , discuss and agree to or reject this intrusive , destructive treaty .
In so doing , Mr. Obama set the stage for coordinated efforts by liberal politicians , activists , bureaucrats , state attorneys general , forum-shopped judges and corporate CEOs to make the Paris language binding on every American .
President Trump recognized how unfair and disastrous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In 2017 , he announced that the United States was withdrawing ; the withdrawal became effective November 4 , 2020 .
Joe Biden has made it clear that he will recommit our nation to the Paris not-a-treaty , possibly within hours of being sworn in as president , if lingering vote issues are resolved in his favor .
Fortunately , President Trump can easily prevent this disaster .
As Paris Treaty experts have suggested , Mr. Trump could and should submit the treaty to the Senate for its advice and consent – and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schedule a debate and vote .
Every Senator will have an opportunity to go on record : for or against a treaty that would make the United States , and every individual state and family , subjects of unelected , unaccountable UN and foreign powers .
President Trump should do this posthaste – thereby preventing another unilateral executive action and what Government Accountability & Oversight lawyer Chris Horner has described as a well-coordinated “ climate litigation industry ” plan to commandeer our courts in an endless series of lawsuits to make every Paris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US state , industry , business and family .
For example , Massachusetts AG Maura Healey promised Michael Bloomberg ’ s State Energy & Environmental Impact Center that , if its deep coffers provided her office with privately hired lawyers whom she could utilize as “ Special Assistant Attorneys General , ” she would put them to work “ ensuring that Massachusetts and neighboring states meet the long-term commitments set forth … in the Paris Agreement ” – whatever those might be or could be creatively interpreted to be .
She ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reviving the reviled Obama era practice of sue-and-settle lawsuits , under which environmentalist groups sue government agencies to implement and impose rules that the litigators and regulators both want but aren ’ t clearly supported by law or would face strong public opposition if they went through a normal rulemaking process .
The parties select a usually cooperative court and , instead of fighting the lawsuit , the government agency caves in , agrees to settle the case , and consents to whatever demands were made by the agency ’ s handpicked pseudo-adversary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the new rules never get their day in court , and rarely find out about the rule until it is imposed on them .
The schemes are audacious , outrageous , an abuse of law and authority , and in many minds treasonous .
Activists will employ them and the Paris Climate Treaty as weapons of mass destruction against America ’ s energy , economy , living standards and freedoms .
Horner also notes that rejoining the Paris Treaty would subject America ’ s energy and economic policy to a UN climate “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ antagonistic ” nations and parties to file complaints about alleged US non-compliance with Paris , block infrastructure development , and impose carbon taxes .
He and Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow Marlo Lewis also point out that : * allowing the Obama “ climate coup ” to stand would allow future presidents to adopt any treaties they and foreign elites want , without Senate review and ratification , simply by deeming them “ not a treaty.
” * the Paris Treaty would imperil American self-government – by empowering administrations to make long-term commitments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US energy and economic policies beholden to the demands of foreign leaders , UN bureaucrats and international pressure groups .
If We the People ultimately decide we do want to transform our energy and economic system , reduce our living standard , curtail our liberties , and subject ourselves to international governance , we can do so through proper nationwide debates and legislative processes .
We should not have these decisions imposed on us via collusion , corruption , chicanery and unconstitutional power grabs .
Too many of our ruling elites disdain business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if ever did serious manual work ; and most often belong to a Democrat Party that once stood up for workers , but now has turned its back on working men and women .
These elites would help ensure that same families pummeled hardest and longest by Covid lockdowns will be punished in perpetuity by Paris Climate Treaty edicts .
All that red on county-by-county 2020 voting maps is where jobs , economies and living standards will hammered hardest .
Many of these counties have manufacturing jobs … farmlands , forests , scenic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , bats and wildlife flourish … and the best wind and solar sites .
This is where land will be blanketed with millions of wind turbines , solar panels , battery complexes and transmission lines , to “ replace ” billions of megawatt-hours of reliable electricity with intermittent power – decimating many rare , threatened , endangered and just plain magnificent species .
It ’ s where new dust bowls will arise , as biofuel crops replace today ’ s grasslands .
It ’ s where factories will close , because the Paris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and petrochemical raw materials too costly or simply unavailable .
Will President Trump and Senator McConnell let a Biden-Harris Administration – in league with squads of America-denigrating politicians and Deep State activists – do this to our country ?
Or will they preserve the Constitution , the Trump energy , economic , employment and military legacy – the livelihoods , living standards and liberties , not only of MAGA Trump voters , but of all Americans ?
This may be their last opportunity to do so .
I therefore urge them – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m joined by tens of millions of my fellow Americans in urging the President and Senate Majority Leader : Present this defective , destructive Paris Climate Treaty to the Senate .
Let the assembled Senators debate it , vote on it – and send it to history ’ s dustbin , where it belongs .
Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow ( www.CFACT.org ) and author of books and articles on energy , environment , climate and human rights issues .

American capital building in Washington DC .
The most far-reaching international agreement ever must get Senate advice, consent and vote
Paul Driessen
Article II, Section 2 of the US Constitution is simple and direct: “The President … shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur.” It served America well for 225 years.
Then, in 2015, the UN’s “international community” of climate activists gathered in Paris to hammer out language requiring that developed nations slash their fossil fuel use, tighten greenhouse gas emission targets every five years, and become “carbon neutral” within a few decades – to prevent a manmade climate chaos forecast by computer models but not supported by Earth history or real-world evidence.
Developing countries would be under no such obligations. Most incredibly, economic, military and tech powerhouse China was included among the developing countries, and thus is under no such obligations.
In short, the Paris accords would force the United States to engage in a massive, painful transformation of its entire economy – electricity generation, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and much more – under the aegis of the United Nations and UN and foreign country activists, politicians and bureaucrats.
Aside from ending major wars, what was concocted in Paris is probably the most far-reaching, impactful agreement this country was ever asked to sign. It is the very embodiment of what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the language requiring Senate debate, advice and consent for all treaties.
However, President Obama unilaterally decreed that Paris was not a “treaty,” but merely an agreement, an accord – some lesser document that he could personally sign, committing the US to it, making an end-run around our constitutional and democratic process, and giving Congress and America no opportunity to examine, discuss and agree to or reject this intrusive, destructive treaty. In so doing, Mr. Obama set the stage for coordinated efforts by liberal politicians, activists, bureaucrats, state attorneys general, forum-shopped judges and corporate CEOs to make the Paris language binding on every American.
President Trump recognized how unfair and disastrous the Paris Climate Treaty would be. In 2017, he announced that the United States was withdrawing; the withdrawal became effective November 4, 2020.
Joe Biden has made it clear that he will recommit our nation to the Paris not-a-treaty, possibly within hours of being sworn in as president, if lingering vote issues are resolved in his favor. Fortunately, President Trump can easily prevent this disaster. As Paris Treaty experts have suggested,
Mr. Trump could and should submit the treaty to the Senate for its advice and consent – and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should quickly schedule a debate and vote. Every Senator will have an opportunity to go on record: for or against a treaty that would make the United States, and every individual state and family, subjects of unelected, unaccountable UN and foreign powers.
President Trump should do this posthaste – thereby preventing another unilateral executive action and what Government Accountability & Oversight lawyer Chris Horner has described as a well-coordinated “climate litigation industry” plan to commandeer our courts in an endless series of lawsuits to make every Paris Climate Treaty provision legally binding on every US state, industry, business and family.
For example, Massachusetts AG Maura Healey promised Michael Bloomberg’s State Energy & Environmental Impact Center that, if its deep coffers provided her office with privately hired lawyers whom she could utilize as “Special Assistant Attorneys General,” she would put them to work “ensuring that Massachusetts and neighboring states meet the long-term commitments set forth … in the Paris Agreement” – whatever those might be or could be creatively interpreted to be. She’s already doing it.
Another scheme involves reviving the reviled Obama era practice of sue-and-settle lawsuits, under which environmentalist groups sue government agencies to implement and impose rules that the litigators and regulators both want but aren’t clearly supported by law or would face strong public opposition if they went through a normal rulemaking process. The parties select a usually cooperative court and, instead of fighting the lawsuit, the government agency caves in, agrees to settle the case, and consents to whatever demands were made by the agency’s handpicked pseudo-adversary. The citizenry and parties impacted by the new rules never get their day in court, and rarely find out about the rule until it is imposed on them.
The schemes are audacious, outrageous, an abuse of law and authority, and in many minds treasonous. Activists will employ them and the Paris Climate Treaty as weapons of mass destruction against America’s energy, economy, living standards and freedoms.
Horner also notes that rejoining the Paris Treaty would subject America’s energy and economic policy to a UN climate “conciliation commission” that could allow “antagonistic” nations and parties to file complaints about alleged US non-compliance with Paris, block infrastructure development, and impose carbon taxes. He and Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow Marlo Lewis also point out that:
* allowing the Obama “climate coup” to stand would allow future presidents to adopt any treaties they and foreign elites want, without Senate review and ratification, simply by deeming them “not a treaty.”
* the Paris Treaty would imperil American self-government – by empowering administrations to make long-term commitments without congressional authorization, and by making US energy and economic policies beholden to the demands of foreign leaders, UN bureaucrats and international pressure groups.
If We the People ultimately decide we do want to transform our energy and economic system, reduce our living standard, curtail our liberties, and subject ourselves to international governance, we can do so through proper nationwide debates and legislative processes. We should not have these decisions imposed on us via collusion, corruption, chicanery and unconstitutional power grabs.
Too many of our ruling elites disdain business, industry and working classes; rarely if ever did serious manual work; and most often belong to a Democrat Party that once stood up for workers, but now has turned its back on working men and women. These elites would help ensure that same families pummeled hardest and longest by Covid lockdowns will be punished in perpetuity by Paris Climate Treaty edicts.
All that red on county-by-county 2020 voting maps is where jobs, economies and living standards will hammered hardest. Many of these counties have manufacturing jobs … farmlands, forests, scenic and open spaces, habitats where birds, bats and wildlife flourish … and the best wind and solar sites.
This is where land will be blanketed with millions of wind turbines, solar panels, battery complexes and transmission lines, to “replace” billions of megawatt-hours of reliable electricity with intermittent power – decimating many rare, threatened, endangered and just plain magnificent species.
It’s where new dust bowls will arise, as biofuel crops replace today’s grasslands. It’s where factories will close, because the Paris Treaty will make electricity intermittent and expensive, and petrochemical raw materials too costly or simply unavailable.
Will President Trump and Senator McConnell let a Biden-Harris Administration – in league with squads of America-denigrating politicians and Deep State activists – do this to our country?
Or will they preserve the Constitution, the Trump energy, economic, employment and military legacy – the livelihoods, living standards and liberties, not only of MAGA Trump voters, but of all Americans?
This may be their last opportunity to do so. I therefore urge them – and I’m certain I’m joined by tens of millions of my fellow Americans in urging the President and Senate Majority Leader:
Present this defective, destructive Paris Climate Treaty to the Senate. Let the assembled Senators debate it, vote on it – and send it to history’s dustbin, where it belongs.
Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of books and articles on energy, environment, climate and human rights issues.
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wattsupwiththat--2020-12-07--Newly discovered Greenland (mantle) plume drives thermal activities in the Arctic

A team of researchers understands more about the melting of the Greenland ice sheet .
They discovered a flow of hot rocks , known as a mantle plume , rising from the core-mantle boundary beneath central Greenland that melts the ice from below .
The results of their two-part study were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research .
“ Knowledge about the Greenland plume will bolster our understanding of volcanic activities in these regions and the problematic issue of global sea-level rising caused by the melting of the Greenland ice sheet , ” said Dr. Genti Toyokuni , co-author @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region is awash with geothermal activity .
Iceland and Jan Mayen contain active volcanoes with their own distinct mantle plumes , whilst Svalbard – a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean – is a geothermal area .
However , the origin of these activities and their interconnectedness has largely been unexplored .
The research team discovered that the Greenland plume rose from the core-mantle boundary to the mantle transition zone beneath Greenland .
The plume also has two branches in the lower mantle that feed into other plumes in the region , supplying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jan Mayen and the geothermal area in Svalbard .
Their findings were based on measurements of the 3-D seismic velocity structure of the crust and whole mantle beneath these regions .
To obtain the measurements , they used seismic topography .
Numerous seismic wave arrival times were inverted to obtain 3-D images of the underground structure .
The method works similarly to a CT scan of the human body .
Toyokuni was able to utilize seismographs he installed on the Greenland ice sheet as part of the Greenland Ice Sheet Monitoring Network .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ sees the collaboration of researchers from 11 countries .
The US-Japan joint team is primarily responsible for the construction and maintenance of the three seismic stations on the ice sheet .
Looking ahead , Toyokuni hopes to explore the thermal process in more detail .
“ This study revealed the larger picture , so examining the plumes at a more localized level will reveal more information .
”

TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
Research News
IMAGE: A SEISMIC STATION ON THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET INSTALLED BY AUTHORS. SNOW ACCUMULATION IN ONE YEAR IS ~1.5 M, AND THE SOLAR PANELS ARE BURIED IN THE SNOW. SNOW REMOVAL… view more CREDIT: GENTI TOYOKUNI
A team of researchers understands more about the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. They discovered a flow of hot rocks, known as a mantle plume, rising from the core-mantle boundary beneath central Greenland that melts the ice from below.
The results of their two-part study were published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
“Knowledge about the Greenland plume will bolster our understanding of volcanic activities in these regions and the problematic issue of global sea-level rising caused by the melting of the Greenland ice sheet,” said Dr. Genti Toyokuni, co-author of the studies.
The North Atlantic region is awash with geothermal activity. Iceland and Jan Mayen contain active volcanoes with their own distinct mantle plumes, whilst Svalbard – a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean – is a geothermal area. However, the origin of these activities and their interconnectedness has largely been unexplored.
The research team discovered that the Greenland plume rose from the core-mantle boundary to the mantle transition zone beneath Greenland. The plume also has two branches in the lower mantle that feed into other plumes in the region, supplying heat to active regions in Iceland and Jan Mayen and the geothermal area in Svalbard.
Their findings were based on measurements of the 3-D seismic velocity structure of the crust and whole mantle beneath these regions. To obtain the measurements, they used seismic topography. Numerous seismic wave arrival times were inverted to obtain 3-D images of the underground structure. The method works similarly to a CT scan of the human body.
Toyokuni was able to utilize seismographs he installed on the Greenland ice sheet as part of the Greenland Ice Sheet Monitoring Network. Set up in 2009, the project sees the collaboration of researchers from 11 countries. The US-Japan joint team is primarily responsible for the construction and maintenance of the three seismic stations on the ice sheet.
Looking ahead, Toyokuni hopes to explore the thermal process in more detail. “This study revealed the larger picture, so examining the plumes at a more localized level will reveal more information.”
###
From EurekAlert!
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wattsupwiththat--2020-12-07--Fund Manager Advises on Navigating New Zealand’s Uncertain Climate Emergency Investment Landscape

Coming soon to the USA ?
Pathfinder Ethical Investment Fund manager John Berry advising on what sectors to avoid to protect your money from New Zealand ’ s Climate Emergency .
But the reality is there is likely now no safety from damaging political interference , even if your interest is green energy .
OPINION : This week , our government announced a climate emergency , following the lead of the UK , France , Canada and Argentina .
This reinforces our target to be carbon neutral by 2050 and supports our Paris accord commitments .
Declaring a climate emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on corporate operations and profitability .
The most widely used tool for investing responsibly is exclusions .
This means avoiding investments that cause harm , and is typically applied to weapons , gambling and alcohol companies .
But simply avoiding companies will not bring change .
For this reason , exclusions do not go far enough .
A positive lens to investing can be applied by using environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) factors to assess companies alongside traditional financial metrics .
There ’ s plenty of research globally showing this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performing portfolios .
A final strategy for responsible investors concerned about climate change is to narrow the investment universe only to positive themes that benefit our planet .
These themes could include water companies , forestry and renewable energy like wind and solar manufacturers .
John Berry is co-founder of ethical investment manager Pathfinder Asset Management , and ethical KiwiSaver provider CareSaver .
What a nasty uncertain regulatory environment for New Zealand investors .
At any moment oil companies or airlines could be slammed with punitive taxes , under the aegis of addressing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that when unfashionable but vital business sectors begin to collapse under the weight of punitive regulations , they could also receive surprise government handouts to enable them continue operating .
Australia is already in the midst of experiencing this sorry mess .
When vital coal power plants started closing thanks to a hostile business environment maintained through successive administrations , the Australian government panicked and started signing murky support deals which likely included substantial cash subsidies to keep ageing coal plants operating – Australia still needs the power they produce .
But you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to save your investment , or being continued for a predictable period – so those decrepit coal plants are likely being run into the ground with minimal maintenance .
Nobody is interested in replacing them with new plants .
“ Ethical ” green investments are no better .
Even if you stick to Berry ’ s advice and invest in wind farms or solar plants , the subsidies your investment needs to be profitable only exist at the pleasure of politicians and bureaucrats .
As Green investors in Spain learned in 2010 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warning if the government runs out of money .
Even fostering a special relationship with government won ’ t necessarily provide protection ; plenty of very large investors , regardless of what relationships they thought they had , were badly caught out when Spain abruptly broke all their agreements and slashed renewable energy subsidies .
The unpredictable investment landscape created by New Zealand ’ s climate emergency declaration amounts to a substantial reason not to invest in New Zealand , even if your interest is green energy .
Politicians have effectively seized control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investment capital of New Zealand investors is now effectively under the control of politicians and bureaucrats .
Profits now exist at the whim of social justice warriors .
History suggests fair treatment of investors will be at the bottom of a very long list of SJW concerns .

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern. By Newzild – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, link
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Coming soon to the USA? Pathfinder Ethical Investment Fund manager John Berry advising on what sectors to avoid to protect your money from New Zealand’s Climate Emergency. But the reality is there is likely now no safety from damaging political interference, even if your interest is green energy.
Monday thoughts: Investors can’t afford to ignore climate change John Berry
05:00, Dec 07 2020 OPINION: This week, our government announced a climate emergency, following the lead of the UK, France, Canada and Argentina. This reinforces our target to be carbon neutral by 2050 and supports our Paris accord commitments. Declaring a climate emergency challenges investors by highlighting the future impact on corporate operations and profitability. … The most widely used tool for investing responsibly is exclusions. This means avoiding investments that cause harm, and is typically applied to weapons, gambling and alcohol companies. … But simply avoiding companies will not bring change. For this reason, exclusions do not go far enough. A positive lens to investing can be applied by using environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to assess companies alongside traditional financial metrics. There’s plenty of research globally showing this analysis helps create lower risk, better performing portfolios. … A final strategy for responsible investors concerned about climate change is to narrow the investment universe only to positive themes that benefit our planet. These themes could include water companies, forestry and renewable energy like wind and solar manufacturers. … John Berry is co-founder of ethical investment manager Pathfinder Asset Management, and ethical KiwiSaver provider CareSaver. Read more: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300176326/monday-thoughts-investors-cant-afford-to-ignore-climate-change
What a nasty uncertain regulatory environment for New Zealand investors.
At any moment oil companies or airlines could be slammed with punitive taxes, under the aegis of addressing the climate emergency. But history suggests that when unfashionable but vital business sectors begin to collapse under the weight of punitive regulations, they could also receive surprise government handouts to enable them continue operating.
Australia is already in the midst of experiencing this sorry mess. When vital coal power plants started closing thanks to a hostile business environment maintained through successive administrations, the Australian government panicked and started signing murky support deals which likely included substantial cash subsidies to keep ageing coal plants operating – Australia still needs the power they produce.
But you cannot rely on handouts arriving in time to save your investment, or being continued for a predictable period – so those decrepit coal plants are likely being run into the ground with minimal maintenance. Nobody is interested in replacing them with new plants.
“Ethical” green investments are no better. Even if you stick to Berry’s advice and invest in wind farms or solar plants, the subsidies your investment needs to be profitable only exist at the pleasure of politicians and bureaucrats. As Green investors in Spain learned in 2010, such subsidies can be withdrawn without warning if the government runs out of money.
Even fostering a special relationship with government won’t necessarily provide protection; plenty of very large investors, regardless of what relationships they thought they had, were badly caught out when Spain abruptly broke all their agreements and slashed renewable energy subsidies.
The unpredictable investment landscape created by New Zealand’s climate emergency declaration amounts to a substantial reason not to invest in New Zealand, even if your interest is green energy. Politicians have effectively seized control of the formerly free market. The investment capital of New Zealand investors is now effectively under the control of politicians and bureaucrats. Profits now exist at the whim of social justice warriors.
History suggests fair treatment of investors will be at the bottom of a very long list of SJW concerns.
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The blame game

How the ‘ blame game ’ gets in the way of solving complex societal problems .
An essay on how attempting to identify blame for complex societal problems can get in the way of finding solutions to these problems .
What the climate ‘ blame game ’ can learn from the Covid-19 ‘ blame game.
’ Manmade climate change is an emergent problem caused mainly by the abundance and usefulness of fossil fuels in providing cheap , reliable energy .
In his book The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels , energy theorist Alex Epstein outlines the benefits that the development @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gas have had on mankind , including improved health , increased lifespan , and expansion of material welfare .
Economist Richard Tol evaluated the private benefit of carbon , which is the value of energy services produced by fossil fuels .
He finds that the private benefit of carbon is much greater than the social cost of carbon that causes damage via climate change ; these benefits are related to the benefits of abundant and reliable energy .
So , who is to blame for fossil fuel emissions and manmade climate change ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ power , transportation , and steel , which are produced using fossil fuels ; or • electric utilities providers and manufacturers of the internal combustion and jet engines that use fossil fuels ; or • oil/gas and coal companies that produce fossil fuels ; or • governments who have the authority to regulate fossil fuel emissions .
The blame for manmade climate change is occasionally placed on national governments .
The Urgenda ruling ordered the Dutch government to step up its climate actions in reducing emissions .
In the Juliana civil lawsuit , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declining to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol , pass a carbon tax and trade bill and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement .
However , most often in civil litigation , the blame is placed on oil/gas and coal companies that produce the fuels .
The role of climate science in the carbon blame game is an interesting one .
As a basis of responsibility , a key element is the causal link between the actor and the harm .
Responsibility is also based on the ability to foresee the harm , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally , responsibility relates to the ability to prevent the harm .
Recent developments in attribution science are seeking to identify the culpability of individual or groups of oil/gas and coal companies as related to local sea level rise , ocean acidification and extreme weather events .
A new wave of private climate litigation has been motivated by publication of the Carbon Majors study by Richard Heede .
Heede ’ s research shows that nearly two-thirds of anthropogenic carbon emissions originated from just 90 companies and government-run industries .
Among them , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of world carbon emissions from fossil fuels and cement production since the Industrial Revolution .
Four of the eight companies are owned by national governments , whereas the other four are multinational corporations .
Heede ’ s research was a turning point in the debate about apportioning responsibility for climate change .
While Heede ’ s work helped identify individual defendants or groups of defendants related to climate change , it did not resolve the question of whether these emitters are responsible for specific climate change-related impacts and events .
Arriving at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based on increasing atmospheric CO and global mean surface temperature .
By tracing company emissions over time , Ekwurzel et al .
( 2017 ) attribute fractions of the accumulation of CO in the atmosphere , increases in atmospheric temperature and elevation of the sea level to the Carbon Major companies .
Ekwurzeil et al .
mentioned in the conclusions the idea of extending this attribution logic to extreme weather events .
A recent paper by Lickey et al .
( 2019 ) attempts to attribute ocean acidification to Carbon Majors .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not at all straightforward .
There are two specific issues here : whether climate models are valid sources of legal evidence for climate change attribution/cause ; and also the importance of determining partial causation in the context of natural climate variability .
Attribution of harm associated with the weather , climate change or sea level rise is complicated by the existence of multiple causes .
Assuming that some percentage of the harm can be justifiably attributed to fossil fuel emissions , does it make sense to attribute this harm in a legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , e.g .
coal and oil/gas companies ?
David Victor is a global thought leader on climate change policy and the energy-systems transformation that is required for a low-carbon future .
Victor dismissed Heede ’ s work on the Carbon Majors as part of a “ larger narrative of trying to create villains , ” seeking to distinguish between producers as being responsible for the problem and everyone else as victims .
Victor stated : “ Frankly we ’ re all the users and therefore we ’ re all guilty.
” [ link @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Heede ( author of the Carbon Majors report ) concedes that the responsibility is shared .
He stated : “ I as a consumer bear some responsibility for my own car , et cetera .
But we ’ re living an illusion if we think we ’ re making choices , because the infrastructure pretty much makes those choices for us.
” Heede makes a key point by saying that the infrastructure pretty much makes the choices for us .
The demand for fossil fuels is driven by electric utility and transportation infrastructures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a limited number of other options , unless they forego grid electricity and do not avail themselves of transportation systems that run on fossil fuels .
Individual consumers and companies are responsible for the demand for electric utilities and transportation , but are arguably indifferent to the source of electric power or transportation , provided that it is abundant , reliable , safe and economical .
If there were no demand for fossil fuels , then there would be nothing to blame on the Carbon Majors .
The fact that there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indicates that the issue of blame is not straightforward .
A change from fossil fuels to cleaner fuels is not simple or cheap , owing to infrastructure .
For electric power , this includes generation and transmission infrastructure .
For transportation , this includes vehicle engines and their manufacture plus refueling infrastructure .
David Victor states : “ To create a narrative that involves corporate guilt as opposed to problem-solving is not going solve anything.
” A problem-solving focus on infrastructure is needed for progress , but exactly what the infrastructure should look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , economics and public policy .
Covid-19 provides an interesting case study regarding ‘ blame.
’ The origin of the virus is generally regarded to have occurred in Wuhan , China .
However , it is difficult to blame the worldwide spread of the virus on Wuhan .
While Covid-19 statistics coming from China are incomplete and have been judged to be not trustworthy , China appears to have done a better job at containing the internal spread of the virus than many other countries .
Currently , the ‘ blame ’ is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lockdown and mask wearing requirements plus the politicians who aren ’ t requiring them to do so .
With the advent of Covid-19 vaccines , the Covid-19 discussion is now dominated by the vaccine , with the origin of the disease receiving little attention .
The cure to the pandemic is technological , in the form of vaccines ; not worldwide behavioral change ( although behavioral change has worked in some smaller regions/countries ) .
In many countries , behavioral modifications to limit transmission that were associated with mandatory lockdowns simply didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic infeasibility , concerns about psychological well being associated with isolation , and general political non-viability .
In context of the climate debate , the lesson from Covid-19 is this .
A technological solution ( analogous to development of the vaccine ) in terms of better electricity generation and transmission would quickly silence the climate ‘ blame game ’ by solving the problems to the environment caused by burning fossil fuels .
Suffering from insufficient electric power or electric power that is too expensive or unreliable ( analogous to the Covid lockdowns ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Again , the solution is problem solving and new technologies , not blame .
While isolation and austerity can be invoked for short time periods , they are not solutions .
The Covid-19 blame game didn ’ t get in the way of finding a solution ( i.e .
vaccine ) .
However , the rush to blame the fossil fuel companies and punish them is getting in the way of a sensible transition away from the worst impacts of fossil fuels on the environment .
A sensible transition involves continued use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ avoids massive infrastructure investments in wind energy that have dubious net benefits over the life cycle of the wind turbines , and developing an improved energy infrastructure for the 21st century .
Abundant , secure , reliable , economical , and clean .
How do we prioritize among these , and to what extent should ‘ clean ’ trump the others ?
Do we define ‘ clean ’ only in terms of emissions , or do we also include mining/exploration , land use , life cycle issues , etc.
?
I am still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the name of the ‘ climate crisis ’ , preventing the development of grid electricity in the poorest regions of Africa that can support development of an advanced economy .
I suspect that I will be waiting a long time for such a justification , because there isn ’ t one .
Playing the carbon ‘ blame game ’ is an excuse for punishing certain companies without actually solving societal problems .
The net effect is continued suffering in developing countries , failure to make much headway on reducing emissions and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the climate in any way .

Reposted from Climate Etc.
Posted on December 7, 2020 by curryja
by Judith Curry
How the ‘blame game’ gets in the way of solving complex societal problems.
An essay on how attempting to identify blame for complex societal problems can get in the way of finding solutions to these problems. What the climate ‘blame game’ can learn from the Covid-19 ‘blame game.’
The blame for climate change
Manmade climate change is an emergent problem caused mainly by the abundance and usefulness of fossil fuels in providing cheap, reliable energy. In his book The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, energy theorist Alex Epstein outlines the benefits that the development of coal, oil, and natural gas have had on mankind, including improved health, increased lifespan, and expansion of material welfare. Economist Richard Tol evaluated the private benefit of carbon, which is the value of energy services produced by fossil fuels. He finds that the private benefit of carbon is much greater than the social cost of carbon that causes damage via climate change; these benefits are related to the benefits of abundant and reliable energy.
So, who is to blame for fossil fuel emissions and manmade climate change?
consumers and industries who demand electric power, transportation, and steel, which are produced using fossil fuels; or
electric utilities providers and manufacturers of the internal combustion and jet engines that use fossil fuels; or
oil/gas and coal companies that produce fossil fuels; or
governments who have the authority to regulate fossil fuel emissions.
The blame for manmade climate change is occasionally placed on national governments. The Urgenda ruling ordered the Dutch government to step up its climate actions in reducing emissions. In the Juliana civil lawsuit, the U.S. federal government was blamed for declining to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol, pass a carbon tax and trade bill and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. However, most often in civil litigation, the blame is placed on oil/gas and coal companies that produce the fuels.
The role of climate science in the carbon blame game is an interesting one. As a basis of responsibility, a key element is the causal link between the actor and the harm. Responsibility is also based on the ability to foresee the harm, in terms of scientific understanding. And finally, responsibility relates to the ability to prevent the harm. Recent developments in attribution science are seeking to identify the culpability of individual or groups of oil/gas and coal companies as related to local sea level rise, ocean acidification and extreme weather events.
Carbon Majors
A new wave of private climate litigation has been motivated by publication of the Carbon Majors study by Richard Heede. Heede’s research shows that nearly two-thirds of anthropogenic carbon emissions originated from just 90 companies and government-run industries. Among them, the top eight companies account for 20 percent of world carbon emissions from fossil fuels and cement production since the Industrial Revolution. Four of the eight companies are owned by national governments, whereas the other four are multinational corporations.
Heede’s research was a turning point in the debate about apportioning responsibility for climate change. While Heede’s work helped identify individual defendants or groups of defendants related to climate change, it did not resolve the question of whether these emitters are responsible for specific climate change-related impacts and events.
Arriving at a dangerous climate outcome includes a causal chain based on increasing atmospheric CO 2 and global mean surface temperature. By tracing company emissions over time, Ekwurzel et al. (2017) attribute fractions of the accumulation of CO 2 in the atmosphere, increases in atmospheric temperature and elevation of the sea level to the Carbon Major companies. Ekwurzeil et al. mentioned in the conclusions the idea of extending this attribution logic to extreme weather events. A recent paper by Lickey et al. (2019) attempts to attribute ocean acidification to Carbon Majors.
The science of attribution, or causality, is not at all straightforward. There are two specific issues here: whether climate models are valid sources of legal evidence for climate change attribution/cause; and also the importance of determining partial causation in the context of natural climate variability.
Blame sharing
Attribution of harm associated with the weather, climate change or sea level rise is complicated by the existence of multiple causes. Assuming that some percentage of the harm can be justifiably attributed to fossil fuel emissions, does it make sense to attribute this harm in a legal sense to the producers of fossil fuels, e.g. coal and oil/gas companies?
David Victor is a global thought leader on climate change policy and the energy-systems transformation that is required for a low-carbon future. Victor dismissed Heede’s work on the Carbon Majors as part of a “larger narrative of trying to create villains,” seeking to distinguish between producers as being responsible for the problem and everyone else as victims. Victor stated: “Frankly we’re all the users and therefore we’re all guilty.” [link]
In the same article, Richard Heede (author of the Carbon Majors report) concedes that the responsibility is shared. He stated: “I as a consumer bear some responsibility for my own car, et cetera. But we’re living an illusion if we think we’re making choices, because the infrastructure pretty much makes those choices for us.”
Heede makes a key point by saying that the infrastructure pretty much makes the choices for us. The demand for fossil fuels is driven by electric utility and transportation infrastructures. Individual consumers and companies are faced with a limited number of other options, unless they forego grid electricity and do not avail themselves of transportation systems that run on fossil fuels. Individual consumers and companies are responsible for the demand for electric utilities and transportation, but are arguably indifferent to the source of electric power or transportation, provided that it is abundant, reliable, safe and economical.
If there were no demand for fossil fuels, then there would be nothing to blame on the Carbon Majors. The fact that there is continued and growing demand for fossil fuels indicates that the issue of blame is not straightforward. A change from fossil fuels to cleaner fuels is not simple or cheap, owing to infrastructure. For electric power, this includes generation and transmission infrastructure. For transportation, this includes vehicle engines and their manufacture plus refueling infrastructure.
David Victor states: “To create a narrative that involves corporate guilt as opposed to problem-solving is not going solve anything.” A problem-solving focus on infrastructure is needed for progress, but exactly what the infrastructure should look like depends on available and planned technologies, economics and public policy.
Covid-19 analogy
Covid-19 provides an interesting case study regarding ‘blame.’ The origin of the virus is generally regarded to have occurred in Wuhan, China. However, it is difficult to blame the worldwide spread of the virus on Wuhan. While Covid-19 statistics coming from China are incomplete and have been judged to be not trustworthy, China appears to have done a better job at containing the internal spread of the virus than many other countries. Currently, the ‘blame’ is focused on transmitters who are not adhering to lockdown and mask wearing requirements plus the politicians who aren’t requiring them to do so.
With the advent of Covid-19 vaccines, the Covid-19 discussion is now dominated by the vaccine, with the origin of the disease receiving little attention. The cure to the pandemic is technological, in the form of vaccines; not worldwide behavioral change (although behavioral change has worked in some smaller regions/countries). In many countries, behavioral modifications to limit transmission that were associated with mandatory lockdowns simply didn’t work, for reasons of economic infeasibility, concerns about psychological well being associated with isolation, and general political non-viability.
Conclusion
In context of the climate debate, the lesson from Covid-19 is this. A technological solution (analogous to development of the vaccine) in terms of better electricity generation and transmission would quickly silence the climate ‘blame game’ by solving the problems to the environment caused by burning fossil fuels. Suffering from insufficient electric power or electric power that is too expensive or unreliable (analogous to the Covid lockdowns) is economically damaging and politically unviable.
Again, the solution is problem solving and new technologies, not blame. While isolation and austerity can be invoked for short time periods, they are not solutions.
The Covid-19 blame game didn’t get in the way of finding a solution (i.e. vaccine). However, the rush to blame the fossil fuel companies and punish them is getting in the way of a sensible transition away from the worst impacts of fossil fuels on the environment.
A sensible transition involves continued use of relatively clean and dispatchable natural gas, avoids massive infrastructure investments in wind energy that have dubious net benefits over the life cycle of the wind turbines, and developing an improved energy infrastructure for the 21st century. Abundant, secure, reliable, economical, and clean. How do we prioritize among these, and to what extent should ‘clean’ trump the others? Do we define ‘clean’ only in terms of emissions, or do we also include mining/exploration, land use, life cycle issues, etc.?
I am still waiting for a moral argument that justifies, in the name of the ‘climate crisis’, preventing the development of grid electricity in the poorest regions of Africa that can support development of an advanced economy. I suspect that I will be waiting a long time for such a justification, because there isn’t one.
Playing the carbon ‘blame game’ is an excuse for punishing certain companies without actually solving societal problems. The net effect is continued suffering in developing countries, failure to make much headway on reducing emissions and certainly a failure to ‘improve’ the climate in any way.
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wattsupwiththat--2020-12-08--Fauci: “We have entered the Pandemic Era” because of Climate Change

Apparently Smallpox , Polio , Malaria , Typhoid , Scarlet Fever and the Black Death were the feeble products of the pre-pandemic world , before global warming made things worse .
How Climate Change Is Ushering in a New Pandemic Era A warming world is expanding the range of deadly diseases and risking an explosion of new zoonotic pathogens from the likes of bats , mosquitoes , and ticks Jennifer Jones spent most of her summer at home , as so many of us did , trying to avoid the plague .
Jones , 45 , lives in Tavernier , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ south of Key Largo , and passed a lot of time in her yard , puttering around with plants .
At some point , a mosquito landed on her .
That ’ s not unusual in Florida , and Jones doesn ’ t remember this mosquito bite in particular .
But it was not a garden-variety backyard mosquito .
It was Aedes aegypti , an exquisitely designed killing machine that is one of the most deadly animals in human history .
By one count , half the people who have ever lived have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aegypti , which first arrived in North America on slave ships in the 17th century , is capable of carrying a whole arsenal of dangerous diseases , from yellow fever to Zika .
The Covid-19 pandemic is often compared to the 1918 influenza , which killed at least 50 million people globally .
But it is perhaps more accurately seen as a preview of what ’ s to come .
“ We have entered a pandemic era , ” wrote Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NIAID colleague David Morens .
The paper cites HIV/AIDS , which has so far killed at least 37 million , as well as “ unprecedented pandemic explosions ” of the past decade .
It ’ s a deadly list , starting with the H1N1 “ swine ” influenza in 2009 , chikungunya in 2014 , and Zika in 2015 .
Ebola fever has burned in large parts of Africa for the past six years .
In addition , there are seven different known coronaviruses that can infect humans .
SARS-CoV spilled over from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cat , in 2002–03 , and caused a near-pandemic before disappearing .
Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS ) coronavirus jumped from camels to people in 2012 , but never found a way to spread efficiently among humans , and died out quickly .
Now we have SARS-CoV-2 , the virus that causes Covid-19 .
The reasons for this new era of pandemics are complex , but as Fauci and Morens point out , one of the main drivers is the climate crisis , which is shaking up the natural world and rewriting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ permafrost in the Arctic is releasing pathogens that haven ’ t seen daylight for tens of thousands of years .
The Vibrio bacteria that causes cholera , a diarrheal disease that haunted big cities like London and New York in the 19th century and still kills tens of thousands each year , thrives in warmer water .
An even more deadly strain of the same bacteria , Vibrio vulnificus , while rare , has been detected more and more frequently in bays and estuaries on the East Coast , particularly around Chesapeake Bay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to eat shellfish , might give you a bad stomachache ( in rare cases , it can be fatal ) .
If the bacteria gets in a cut or wound , however , it becomes a flesh-eating horror and kills one in five people who come in contact with it .

Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Apparently Smallpox, Polio, Malaria, Typhoid, Scarlet Fever and the Black Death were the feeble products of the pre-pandemic world, before global warming made things worse.
How Climate Change Is Ushering in a New Pandemic Era
A warming world is expanding the range of deadly diseases and risking an explosion of new zoonotic pathogens from the likes of bats, mosquitoes, and ticks
By JEFF GOODELL
DECEMBER 7, 2020 7:00AM ET
Jennifer Jones spent most of her summer at home, as so many of us did, trying to avoid the plague. Jones, 45, lives in Tavernier, a community in the Florida Keys just south of Key Largo, and passed a lot of time in her yard, puttering around with plants. At some point, a mosquito landed on her. That’s not unusual in Florida, and Jones doesn’t remember this mosquito bite in particular. But it was not a garden-variety backyard mosquito. It was Aedes aegypti, an exquisitely designed killing machine that is one of the most deadly animals in human history. By one count, half the people who have ever lived have been killed by mosquito-borne pathogens. Aedes aegypti, which first arrived in North America on slave ships in the 17th century, is capable of carrying a whole arsenal of dangerous diseases, from yellow fever to Zika.
…
The Covid-19 pandemic is often compared to the 1918 influenza, which killed at least 50 million people globally. But it is perhaps more accurately seen as a preview of what’s to come. “We have entered a pandemic era,” wrote Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in a recent paper he co-authored with his NIAID colleague David Morens. The paper cites HIV/AIDS, which has so far killed at least 37 million, as well as “unprecedented pandemic explosions” of the past decade. It’s a deadly list, starting with the H1N1 “swine” influenza in 2009, chikungunya in 2014, and Zika in 2015. Ebola fever has burned in large parts of Africa for the past six years. In addition, there are seven different known coronaviruses that can infect humans. SARS-CoV spilled over from an animal host, likely a civet cat, in 2002–03, and caused a near-pandemic before disappearing. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus jumped from camels to people in 2012, but never found a way to spread efficiently among humans, and died out quickly. Now we have SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
The reasons for this new era of pandemics are complex, but as Fauci and Morens point out, one of the main drivers is the climate crisis, which is shaking up the natural world and rewriting disease algorithms on the planet. Thawing permafrost in the Arctic is releasing pathogens that haven’t seen daylight for tens of thousands of years. The Vibrio bacteria that causes cholera, a diarrheal disease that haunted big cities like London and New York in the 19th century and still kills tens of thousands each year, thrives in warmer water. An even more deadly strain of the same bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, while rare, has been detected more and more frequently in bays and estuaries on the East Coast, particularly around Chesapeake Bay. Vibrio vulnificus, if you happen to eat shellfish, might give you a bad stomachache (in rare cases, it can be fatal). If the bacteria gets in a cut or wound, however, it becomes a flesh-eating horror and kills one in five people who come in contact with it.
…


wattsupwiththat--2020-12-09--HURRICANE SEASON 2020	UPDATE (11/29/2020)

The 2020 hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin is the most active in history with 30 named storms , breaking the previous record set in 2005 ( which had 28 ) .
6 storms were major storms including Iota , setting a record for the latest Major hurricane .
The Gulf and Central America were hard hit , reminiscent of the 1988 to 1900 period ( see ) .
Despite the busy Atlantic , the Pacific was quiet and the hemisphere as a whole had a quieter than normal ( 80 % of normal ) season .
The ACE of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the top year 1933 .
An active season was expected -‐ several factors pointed to it .
LA NINA AND LOW SHEAR IN THE ATLANTIC We have a La Nina in place .
Gerry Bell showed how La Ninas produce fewer east Pacific storms and less shear to the east which favors more Atlantic storms .
Weak easterly shear is seen in the Main Development region and Caribbean consistent with persistent La Nina Pacific suppression .
2017 was a no shear year with a much higher ACE ( ranked 7th with 224.9 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Strong westerly shear was seen from 2014 to 2016 .
The pressure anomalies reflect the low pressure and storm tracks beneath the 40N ridge .
The warm Atlantic not surprisingly generates more storms .
In the figure above , the red columns represent the seasonal AMO and black lines the number of Atlantic names storms Hodges and Elsner ( FSU ) found low solar led to colder high atmosphere favoring more instability and perhaps stronger storms .
Indeed check out the 100mb temperature anomalies since July in the Atlantic Basin including the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perfect storm ’ in the Atlantic Basin with a La Nina leading to low vertical shear , the warm mode of the AMO providing more heat energy and low solar leading to a colder high atmosphere and greater instability .
Even with the large number of storms and 6 majors , the ACE index still trails years like 2017 and 2005 and 10 others .
Not every meteorologist believes 2020 holds the record for most named storms .
Due to advances in technology , forecasters are able to identify smaller subtropical storms that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ When one wants to do a fair comparison of storms now versus storms in the past , you really have to be careful about how to interpret the raw number , ” Christopher Landsea , chief of the tropical analysis and forecast branch at the National Hurricane Center , said , according to the New York Times .
“ There has been a lot of hype about the record number of storms and , yes , it ’ s been a busy year .
There have been horrific impacts .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answer is no.
” The ACE supports that .
And the decadal trend for landfalling hurricanes and major hurricanes has been down .
• Yes most named storms in the Atlantic .
Weatherbell underdone on total names • Yes highest impact year on the US coast ( no surprise as we made a huge deal about that from April ) • ACE at 180 within our ACE range from March !
13th highest on recordBTW another abysmal year by the Euro models .
We put out that ACE in March .
At that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of average • Here is where it gets interesting : ACE/Storm was 6 ranking DEAD LAST way back in Last as far as ACE/Storm .
How bad was it ?
The AVERAGE ACE/STORM in the other 21 seasons was 12 !
The closest to this year was another mega named year 2005 but that was a respectable 9 • Some of these should not have been named or would not have been in previous years .
Now if you don ’ t want to accept that fine , but it means more storms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ astounding to see the ace/storm HALF the average of the all the other samples.But it gets worse as far as the hype : • The total ignoring of the lack of activity in the Pacific Basin and globally .
I keep hearing global this and global that which of course applies only if one is going to ignore the fact that the number one area for ACE ( Pacific ) was so far below normal -‐ Western Pacific was 52 % , the eastern Pacific 56 % .
The total ACE between the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so far , ACE there was 226 .
So the basin with 4 times the normal of Atlantic , is only 50 % of its normal !
For the northern hemisphere was 80 % of normal .
So even with the hyper Atlantic season .
GLOBALLY we were BELOW average .
So there is no question the impact of the western hemisphere is a huge record breaking deal , and should be talked about , But if you want perspective and the whole picture , there is plenty to counter the idea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind of atmospheric apocalypse , But you have to look and if you do , you will see that there is plenty to talk about on the other side of the coin .
Of course the coin that is flipped when it comes to pushing ideas today always seem to come up one way .

Joe D’Aleo CCM, Weatherbell.com
The 2020 hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin is the most active in history with 30 named storms, breaking the previous record set in 2005 (which had 28). 6 storms were major storms including Iota, setting a record for the latest Major hurricane.
The Gulf and Central America were hard hit, reminiscent of the 1988 to 1900 period (see).
Despite the busy Atlantic, the Pacific was quiet and the hemisphere as a whole had a quieter than normal (80% of normal) season.
The ACE of 179.8 ranks 13th behind 2017 and 2005 and the top year 1933.
An active season was expected -‐ several factors pointed to it. LA NINA AND LOW SHEAR IN THE ATLANTIC
We have a La Nina in place.
Gerry Bell showed how La Ninas produce fewer east Pacific storms and less shear to the east which favors more Atlantic storms.
Weak easterly shear is seen in the Main Development region and Caribbean consistent with persistent La Nina Pacific suppression.
2017 was a no shear year with a much higher ACE (ranked 7th with
224.9 versus 179.8 so far in 2020). Strong westerly shear was seen from 2014 to 2016.
The pressure anomalies reflect the low pressure and storm tracks beneath the 40N ridge.
WARM ATLANTIC MODE OF THE AMO
The Atlantic is warm.
The warm Atlantic not surprisingly generates more storms.
In the figure above, the red columns represent the seasonal AMO and black lines the number of Atlantic names storms
LOW SOLAR AND COLD HIGH ATMOSPHERE
Hodges and Elsner (FSU) found low solar led to colder high atmosphere favoring more instability and perhaps stronger storms.
Indeed check out the 100mb temperature anomalies since July in the Atlantic Basin including the Caribbean.
So we had the ‘perfect storm’ in the Atlantic Basin with a La Nina leading to low vertical shear, the warm mode of the AMO providing more heat energy and low solar leading to a colder high atmosphere and greater instability. Even with the large number of storms and 6 majors, the ACE index still trails years like 2017 and 2005 and 10 others.
NOT UNPRECEDENTED
Not every meteorologist believes 2020 holds the record for most named storms. Due to advances in technology, forecasters are able to identify smaller subtropical storms that may have gone unnoticed in the past.
“When one wants to do a fair comparison of storms now versus storms in the past, you really have to be careful about how to interpret the raw number,” Christopher Landsea, chief of the tropical analysis and forecast branch at the National Hurricane Center, said, according to the New York Times. “There has been a lot of hype about the record number of storms and, yes, it’s been a busy year. There have been horrific impacts. But is this really a record? The answer is no.”
The ACE supports that. And the decadal trend for landfalling hurricanes and major hurricanes has been down.
Weatherbell’s hurricane lead Guru Joe Bastardi commented on the season.
Summing Up the N Hemisphere Tropical Season
Yes most named storms in the Atlantic. Weatherbell underdone on total names Yes highest impact year on the US coast (no surprise as we made a huge deal about that from April) ACE at 180 within our ACE range from March! 13th highest on recordBTW another abysmal year by the Euro models. We put out that ACE in March. At that time the Euro was forecasting 80% of average Here is where it gets interesting: ACE/Storm was 6 ranking DEAD LAST way back in Last as far as ACE/Storm. How bad was it? The AVERAGE ACE/STORM in the other 21 seasons was 12! The closest to this year was another mega named year 2005 but that was a respectable 9
The obvious conclusion is 2 fold,
Some of these should not have been named or would not have been in previous years. Now if you don’t want to accept that fine, but it means more storms, but weaker. It is absolutely astounding to see the ace/storm HALF the average of the all the other samples.But it gets worse as far as the hype: The total ignoring of the lack of activity in the Pacific Basin and globally.
I keep hearing global this and global that which of course applies only if one is going to ignore the fact that the number one area for ACE (Pacific) was so far below normal -‐ Western Pacific was 52%, the eastern Pacific 56%.
The total ACE between the two is normally 426. This year, so far, ACE there was 226. So the basin with 4 times the normal of Atlantic, is only 50% of its normal! For the northern hemisphere was 80% of normal. So even with the hyper Atlantic season.
GLOBALLY we were BELOW average.
So there is no question the impact of the western hemisphere is a huge record breaking deal, and should be talked about, But if you want perspective and the whole picture, there is plenty to counter the idea that this is an example of some kind of atmospheric apocalypse, But you have to look and if you do, you will see that there is plenty to talk about on the other side of the coin.
Of course the coin that is flipped when it comes to pushing ideas today always seem to come up one way.
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wattsupwiththat--2020-12-08--Speculation on ice-trapped whales: science-based fiction vs. dishonest science

Ice entrapment of whales is known to happen across the Arctic , including Davis Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence .
How common such phenomena were in the past or might be in the future are subjects of conjecture .
However , while speculation is the bread-and-butter of science-based fiction , it is the bane of peer-reviewed science .
I ’ ve written two novels informed by science set a bit in the future ( 2025-2026 ) in Eastern Canada : EATEN was set in Newfoundland and my latest book UPHEAVAL –see a review here – is set in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In UPHEAVAL , one of the issues I explore is ice entrapment of large whales , like North Atlantic right whales .
I speculate in the story whether carcasses of ice-killed whales might provide a powerful enough attraction to lure Davis Strait polar bears down from Labrador and the Strait of Belle Isle into the Gulf of St. Lawrence – and if they did , what might be the repercussions of that shift in distribution .
Here I argue that a novel is the appropriate place for this kind of speculation and researchers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a way that conflates a science-informed guess with evidence-based fact risks eroding public trust in science .
Both of my novels are set in regions that few would call ‘ the Arctic ’ yet both have seasonal sea ice and ice-associated marine mammals , including harp seals , polar bears , belugas , and north Atlantic right whales .
There is also a long history of hunting these animals and recent successes in conservation efforts aimed at their recovery have had some unintended consequences .
For example , after decades of over-hunting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in harp seal numbers off Newfoundland and Labrador over the last 30 years that has helped polar bear numbers in Davis Strait to recover from centuries of over-hunting because harp seals are a critical food source for these bears .
EATEN explored the possibilities of what might happen if that food resource suddenly failed .
Similarly , effective conservation of North Atlantic Right whales ( below ) has also resulted in increased numbers after having been over-hunted for centuries .
However , in recent years some have become trapped in the sea ice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died .
The timing and location of some of these ice-entrapment events suggests a few right and blue whales have re-discovered traditional feeding areas in the northern Gulf , along the south shore of Quebec – which we know about because that ’ s where Basque whalers set up hunting operations in 1520-1625 .
The following excerpt ( my bold ) is from a commentary article published in the Halifax ( Nova Scotia ) Chronicle Herald 22 March 2019 ( by Paul Brodie , a former DFO employee specializing in whale research ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to migrating right whales : Early commercial whaling was conducted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence by Basque whalers from 1520 to 1625 , after fishermen returned with news of abundant whale stocks .
Right and bowhead whales , attracted to the northern Gulf by concentrations of zooplankton , were in numbers sufficient to sustain whaling for generations using existing technology .
The present global numbers for right whales may be as high as 20,000 , consisting of several populations that are either stable or increasing .
Of this number , the 425-450 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine appear to be of greatest concern .
Collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear were the main causes of mortality .
Numbers of this monitored population have shifted to the Gulf of St. Lawrence , where some 30-40 per cent now reside during the summer .
However , this comes at the cost of an additional source of mortality : that of exposure to shifting pack ice .
Should right whales rediscover the ancient feeding and whaling grounds of the northern Gulf , they will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of what must amount to hundreds of large whales being ice-trapped and smothered , and more recently in 2015 , at least six blue whales were trapped and died in heavy ice .
In the spring of 2017 , there was record pack ice off Newfoundland and Labrador and Newfoundland , trapping many fishing vessels .
It was well-documented by the media .
There was also a sequence of right whale carcasses in various stages of decomposition , drifting in the ice water to the southern Gulf , probably released as northern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Several mortalities were attributed to ship strikes and gear entanglement , and the majority to “ blunt force trauma , ” which can occur when hundreds of square kilometres of wind- and current-driven rafted pack ice ( each square kilometre weighing 500,000 to one million tonnes ) encases and smothers large whales for days or weeks .
Blue whales wintering on the continental shelf begin exploring the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the Cabot Strait as early as late March , moving northward along the ice edge as they pass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ observation was of two blue whales feeding close to the ice front in the Strait of Belle Isle in April 1967 , which seemed rather perilous should the pack ice shift toward the shore .
In the spring of 2015 , six or more blue whales , as well as humpbacks and sperm whales were lost .
Should right whales occupy their historic northern feeding areas , they would suffer a similar fate .
The year 2017 was one of record pack ice along the Newfoundland and Labrador northern coasts : a year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were discovered in the central and southern Gulf .
Read the whole thing here .
In constructing the storyline for UPHEAVAL , I wondered whether these whale victims of ice entrapment in the Gulf could become an attractant for polar bears , as has been recorded across the Arctic from Wrangel Island to Pond Inlet and Disko Bay , Greenland , amongst others .
I speculated whether carcasses of ice-killed whales might provide a powerful enough attraction to lure Davis Strait polar bears down from Labrador and the Strait of Belle Isle into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if they did , what might happen next , especially if the region is hit by a tsunami while it ’ s covered in sea ice .
Speculation such as this is what science-based fiction is all about and is the appropriate forum for this kind of guesswork .
Contrast this with a paper published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal that involved similar levels of imagination but was passed off as ‘ science ’ .
Without any evidence whatsoever , Kristin Laidre , Ian Stirling and others ( Laidre et al .
2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ survived low-ice levels during the Eemian Interglacial and other warm periods by scavenging carcasses of dead whales during the ice-free season – and then used this baseless premise to advance their advocacy opinion that polar bear survival in the future is doomed because of man-made climate change .
Of course , the media ignored the groundless nature of the original premise and presented something that might have occurred in the past as something that definitely happened – see here , here , and here .
In other words , they sold the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guess made by biologists was a scientifically verified fact .
Bottom line : Presenting speculation informed by science as fiction is an appropriate way to explore intriguing scientific questions but passing off such conjecture as evidence-based science is dishonest and risks eroding public trust in science , especially when it ’ s used to advance an agenda .
Laidre , K.L.
, Stirling , I. , Estes , J.A.
, Kochnev , A. and Roberts , J .
2018 .
Historical and potential future importance of large whales as food for polar bears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doi:10.1002/fee.1963

Reposted from Polar Bear Science
Posted on December 6, 2020 |
Ice entrapment of whales is known to happen across the Arctic, including Davis Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. How common such phenomena were in the past or might be in the future are subjects of conjecture. However, while speculation is the bread-and-butter of science-based fiction, it is the bane of peer-reviewed science.
I’ve written two novels informed by science set a bit in the future (2025-2026) in Eastern Canada: EATEN was set in Newfoundland and my latest book UPHEAVAL –see a review here – is set in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. In UPHEAVAL, one of the issues I explore is ice entrapment of large whales, like North Atlantic right whales. I speculate in the story whether carcasses of ice-killed whales might provide a powerful enough attraction to lure Davis Strait polar bears down from Labrador and the Strait of Belle Isle into the Gulf of St. Lawrence – and if they did, what might be the repercussions of that shift in distribution.
Here I argue that a novel is the appropriate place for this kind of speculation and researchers who offer such conjecture to the public in a way that conflates a science-informed guess with evidence-based fact risks eroding public trust in science.
Both of my novels are set in regions that few would call ‘the Arctic’ yet both have seasonal sea ice and ice-associated marine mammals, including harp seals, polar bears, belugas, and north Atlantic right whales. There is also a long history of hunting these animals and recent successes in conservation efforts aimed at their recovery have had some unintended consequences. For example, after decades of over-hunting, there has been a huge increase in harp seal numbers off Newfoundland and Labrador over the last 30 years that has helped polar bear numbers in Davis Strait to recover from centuries of over-hunting because harp seals are a critical food source for these bears. EATEN explored the possibilities of what might happen if that food resource suddenly failed.
Similarly, effective conservation of North Atlantic Right whales (below) has also resulted in increased numbers after having been over-hunted for centuries. However, in recent years some have become trapped in the sea ice of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and died. The timing and location of some of these ice-entrapment events suggests a few right and blue whales have re-discovered traditional feeding areas in the northern Gulf, along the south shore of Quebec – which we know about because that’s where Basque whalers set up hunting operations in 1520-1625.
The following excerpt (my bold) is from a commentary article published in the Halifax (Nova Scotia) Chronicle Herald 22 March 2019 (by Paul Brodie, a former DFO employee specializing in whale research), Pack ice could pose new threat to migrating right whales:
Early commercial whaling was conducted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence by Basque whalers from 1520 to 1625, after fishermen returned with news of abundant whale stocks. Right and bowhead whales, attracted to the northern Gulf by concentrations of zooplankton, were in numbers sufficient to sustain whaling for generations using existing technology. … The present global numbers for right whales may be as high as 20,000, consisting of several populations that are either stable or increasing. Of this number, the 425-450 North Atlantic right whales initially summering in the Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine appear to be of greatest concern. Collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear were the main causes of mortality. Numbers of this monitored population have shifted to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where some 30-40 per cent now reside during the summer. However, this comes at the cost of an additional source of mortality: that of exposure to shifting pack ice. Should right whales rediscover the ancient feeding and whaling grounds of the northern Gulf, they will be further compromised. There is a long history of what must amount to hundreds of large whales being ice-trapped and smothered, and more recently in 2015, at least six blue whales were trapped and died in heavy ice. In the spring of 2017, there was record pack ice off Newfoundland and Labrador and Newfoundland, trapping many fishing vessels. It was well-documented by the media. There was also a sequence of right whale carcasses in various stages of decomposition, drifting in the ice water to the southern Gulf, probably released as northern pack ice opened up and deteriorated. Several mortalities were attributed to ship strikes and gear entanglement, and the majority to “blunt force trauma,” which can occur when hundreds of square kilometres of wind- and current-driven rafted pack ice (each square kilometre weighing 500,000 to one million tonnes) encases and smothers large whales for days or weeks. … Blue whales wintering on the continental shelf begin exploring the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the Cabot Strait as early as late March, moving northward along the ice edge as they pass Port aux Basques. My first direct observation was of two blue whales feeding close to the ice front in the Strait of Belle Isle in April 1967, which seemed rather perilous should the pack ice shift toward the shore. In the spring of 2015, six or more blue whales, as well as humpbacks and sperm whales were lost. Should right whales occupy their historic northern feeding areas, they would suffer a similar fate. The year 2017 was one of record pack ice along the Newfoundland and Labrador northern coasts: a year when at least 12 right whale carcasses were discovered in the central and southern Gulf.
Read the whole thing here.
In constructing the storyline for UPHEAVAL, I wondered whether these whale victims of ice entrapment in the Gulf could become an attractant for polar bears, as has been recorded across the Arctic from Wrangel Island to Pond Inlet and Disko Bay, Greenland, amongst others. I speculated whether carcasses of ice-killed whales might provide a powerful enough attraction to lure Davis Strait polar bears down from Labrador and the Strait of Belle Isle into the Gulf of St. Lawrence – and if they did, what might happen next, especially if the region is hit by a tsunami while it’s covered in sea ice.
Speculation such as this is what science-based fiction is all about and is the appropriate forum for this kind of guesswork.
Contrast this with a paper published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal that involved similar levels of imagination but was passed off as ‘science’. Without any evidence whatsoever, Kristin Laidre, Ian Stirling and others (Laidre et al. 2018) suggested that polar bears ‘likely’ survived low-ice levels during the Eemian Interglacial and other warm periods by scavenging carcasses of dead whales during the ice-free season – and then used this baseless premise to advance their advocacy opinion that polar bear survival in the future is doomed because of man-made climate change.
Of course, the media ignored the groundless nature of the original premise and presented something that might have occurred in the past as something that definitely happened – see here, here, and here. In other words, they sold the general public a lie by suggesting a guess made by biologists was a scientifically verified fact.
Bottom line: Presenting speculation informed by science as fiction is an appropriate way to explore intriguing scientific questions but passing off such conjecture as evidence-based science is dishonest and risks eroding public trust in science, especially when it’s used to advance an agenda.
REFERENCES
Laidre, K.L., Stirling, I., Estes, J.A., Kochnev, A. and Roberts,J. 2018. Historical and potential future importance of large whales as food for polar bears. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment doi:10.1002/fee.1963
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wattsupwiththat--2020-12-09--Axios: Suspected Chinese Spy Helped Fundraise for Climate Radical Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA)

h/t Breitbart ; Axios claims a suspected Chinese spy attempted to infiltrate and influence the Obama administration , with an alleged string of sordid sexual liaisons and political activities , including prolific fundraising for Green New Deal supporter Eric Swalwell ( D-CA ) .
Note there is no suggestion the targets of the alleged espionage were aware of any nefarious activity .
A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians , including a U.S. congressman , in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China ’ s main civilian spy agency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a yearlong investigation .
The woman at the center of the operation , a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang , targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage .
Among the most significant targets of Fang ’ s efforts was Rep. Eric Swalwell ( D-Calif. ) .
• None Fang took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell ’ s 2014 re-election campaign , according to a Bay Area political operative and a current @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office was directly aware of these activities on its behalf , the political operative said .
That same political operative , who witnessed Fang fundraising on Swalwell ’ s behalf , found no evidence of illegal contributions .
• Federal Election Commission records don ’ t indicate Fang herself made donations , which are prohibited from foreign nationals .
• None Fang helped place at least one intern in Swalwell ’ s office , according to those same two people , and interacted with Swalwell at multiple events over the course of several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s office provided to Axios said : “ Rep .
Swalwell , long ago , provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago , and whom he hasn ’ t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI .
To protect information that might be classified , he will not participate in your story.
” • in 2013 , according to a flyer from the event Fang shared on Facebook .
She appeared in photos over multiple years with a host of California politicians , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • None She positioned herself “ to be the connector between the Asian American community and members of Congress , ” recalled a Bay Area political operative who knew her .
While serving on the House of Representatives Committee on Science , Space and Technology , Rep Eric Swalwell pushed hard for the acceptance of radical climate positions .
One freshman on the Democratic side couldn ’ t resist adding his own brand of insults , aimed not at the witness but at his Republican colleagues .
“ I have to say that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this point you should be prepared to address whether the Earth is round or flat , or whether indeed gravity is happening .
You just never know what could fly at you , ” said Representative Eric Swalwell ( D–CA ) , whose northern California district includes two Energy Department national laboratories .
His scorn also took him far afield from the subject of the hearing .
“ And I have to say that , with 97 % of scientists stating that climate change is manmade , I ’ m encouraged to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the aisle have given voice to the minority 3 % , ” Swalwell continued , his voice dripping with sarcasm .
“ This is encouraging for the other minorities that my colleagues across the aisle have not helped out , including immigrants waiting for comprehensive immigration reform , women who have not received equal pay for equal work , and those who are affected by changes in the Voting Rights Act.
” Swalwell currently serves on the House Intelligence Committee .
Swalwell reportedly thinks the spy scandal story is President Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether the alleged Chinese spy genuinely wanted to help radical green Democrat candidates like Swalwell , or whether she just used her fundraising efforts and other activities to stroke egos and gather information .
And of course , there may be active Chinese spies working to infiltrate other parties just as hard as Fang allegedly worked a string of Democrat politicians .

Alleged Chinese Spy Christine Fang
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
h/t Breitbart; Axios claims a suspected Chinese spy attempted to infiltrate and influence the Obama administration, with an alleged string of sordid sexual liaisons and political activities, including prolific fundraising for Green New Deal supporter Eric Swalwell (D-CA). Note there is no suggestion the targets of the alleged espionage were aware of any nefarious activity.
Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Zach Dorfman of the Aspen Institute A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation. … The woman at the center of the operation, a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang, targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage. … Among the most significant targets of Fang’s efforts was Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). Fang took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign , according to a Bay Area political operative and a current U.S. intelligence official. Swalwell’s office was directly aware of these activities on its behalf, the political operative said. That same political operative, who witnessed Fang fundraising on Swalwell’s behalf, found no evidence of illegal contributions.
, according to a Bay Area political operative and a current U.S. intelligence official. Swalwell’s office was directly aware of these activities on its behalf, the political operative said. That same political operative, who witnessed Fang fundraising on Swalwell’s behalf, found no evidence of illegal contributions. Federal Election Commission records don’t indicate Fang herself made donations, which are prohibited from foreign nationals.
Fang helped place at least one intern in Swalwell’s office , according to those same two people, and interacted with Swalwell at multiple events over the course of several years. A statement from Swalwell’s office provided to Axios said: “Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story.” … Fang helped with a fundraiser for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) in 2013, according to a flyer from the event Fang shared on Facebook. She appeared in photos over multiple years with a host of California politicians, including Khanna, Swalwell, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and then- Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) . … She positioned herself “to be the connector between the Asian American community and members of Congress,” recalled a Bay Area political operative who knew her. … Read more: https://www.axios.com/china-spy-california-politicians-9d2dfb99-f839-4e00-8bd8-59dec0daf589.html
While serving on the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Rep Eric Swalwell pushed hard for the acceptance of radical climate positions.
… One freshman on the Democratic side couldn’t resist adding his own brand of insults, aimed not at the witness but at his Republican colleagues. “I have to say that, frankly, Dr. Holdren, at this point you should be prepared to address whether the Earth is round or flat, or whether indeed gravity is happening. You just never know what could fly at you,” said Representative Eric Swalwell (D–CA), whose northern California district includes two Energy Department national laboratories. His scorn also took him far afield from the subject of the hearing. “And I have to say that, with 97% of scientists stating that climate change is manmade, I’m encouraged to see that some of my colleagues from across the aisle have given voice to the minority 3%,” Swalwell continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “This is encouraging for the other minorities that my colleagues across the aisle have not helped out, including immigrants waiting for comprehensive immigration reform, women who have not received equal pay for equal work, and those who are affected by changes in the Voting Rights Act.” … Read more: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/03/house-science-panel-hearing-sarcasm-rules
Swalwell currently serves on the House Intelligence Committee. Swalwell reportedly thinks the spy scandal story is President Trump’s fault.
It is difficult to know whether the alleged Chinese spy genuinely wanted to help radical green Democrat candidates like Swalwell, or whether she just used her fundraising efforts and other activities to stroke egos and gather information. And of course, there may be active Chinese spies working to infiltrate other parties just as hard as Fang allegedly worked a string of Democrat politicians.
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