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Dan Gearino at the Pulitzer-winning InsideClimate News writes—Coronavirus 'Really Not the Way You Want To Decrease Emissions'. Cheap oil, lower investment in renewables and a post-virus rebound will likely offset the emissions drop, but there are climate lessons in the response to the virus:
As the global economy shudders in reaction to the coronavirus, lessons are emerging about what that response can—and cannot—tell us about fighting climate change.
Economists and policy analysts say they are most concerned about how the current financial disruption could harm the efforts of countries, international organizations and companies to reduce emissions. They think any drop in emissions tied to the virus will be short-lived, while the continuing drop in oil prices could encourage more consumption and hurt demand for low- or no-carbon products like electric vehicles.
At the same time, the response to COVID-19 is demonstrating that in the face of a large and imminent threat, it is possible to get people to change their behavior—something climate change activists have been trying to do for decades. Some of those changes—an increase in telecommuting, for example—have climate benefits that could last beyond the current crisis.
"The plus side is, if there's a sense of social cooperation that emerges from this in response to a threat, that could be a very good sign for communities and leaders to come together," said Michael Lazarus, U.S. director at the Stockholm Environment Institute. [...]
The drop in emissions could end up being just a blip that contributes to other problems, said Samantha Gross, a fellow at the Brookings Institution. One of those problems is that falling costs of oil and other fossil fuels could discourage investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and could encourage people to use more oil and gas.
"I actually worry about environmentalists getting too happy and worked up about the fact that emissions are going down, because this is really not the way you want to decrease emissions," she said.
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“Many diseases including malaria, dengue, meningitis - just a few examples - these are what we call climate-sensitive diseases, because such climate dimensions for rainfall, humidity and temperature would influence the epidemics, the outbreaks, either directly influencing the parasites or the mosquitoes that carry them.” ~~Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization (2006-2017)
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2010—Local Jobs Proposal Demonstrates Smart Approach:
While the worst of the layoffs in the private sector are over, we're on the cusp of major layoffs, furloughs and paycuts in the public sector as states and municipalities face revenue shortfalls that could total more than $350 billion in the next two years. State and local payrolls have already been trimmed by 191,000 jobs from August 2008 until January 2010. How bad the situation may become is illustrated by a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, which noted that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued pink slips Friday to 17,000 of the city's 26,000 workers. Most will be rehired for a shorter workweek amounting to a 6.25% pay cut. Los Angeles has begun cutting 4000 city workers from its payroll. And it's the same from Abilene, Texas, to Columbia, South Carolina.
Rep. George Miller is seeking support in the Democratic Caucus for his Local Jobs for America Act, H.R. 4812, a two-year $100 billion that he hopes will leverage a million public and private sector jobs. It's precisely the kind of medicine the economy needs. But Republicans and deficit hawks among the Democrats aren't likely to find it to their liking.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: We're into the "things are closing" stage of everyone's favorite pandemic. Don't worry, Greg Dworkin is here. The primaries march on, with a big night for Biden. The House goes 1-1 in the DC Circuit, winning access to redacted Mueller grand jury material.
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