It’s been six months since I posted this (semi-viral?) thread👇

So let’s take a renewed look: How has the debate between these two competing “climate urgency science narratives” evolved over the last half year?
🧵

https://twitter.com/ryankatzrosene/status/1710108929789759812

1) The thread noted a divide between what I called “accelerationists” who were sounding alarm that 2023’s remarkable warming was the beginning of SOMETHING NEW, and those I (later) called “observationalists”, who claimed 2023’s extreme warmth fits within EXPECTED WARMING trends.

This post by @FoodProfessor claims that the Trudeau Government purposely built the @ClimateInstit and @SP_Inst as part of its "lobbying machine" and that they are "mandated to advocate blindly" for the carbon tax.

This is a baseless claim.

Thread...🧵 1) This story starts in 1988 when the Mulroney government created an Independent advisory council of experts called the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy. For 25 years it produced numerous reports on environmental policy, advising governments.

🧵REQUIEM for a unified green left...

I don't know if the left has ever been unified, but today there seems to be a massive and growing rift about the environment - and especially climate - amongst socialists.

I now worry these differences are irreconcilable... 2. The discord seems to come down to fundamentally different worldviews shaping interpretations and definitions of modernity, development, progress, capitalism, justice, Marx's intentions, strategy, the future...

Many people seem absolutely fed up with "the other side". FED. UP.

It's worth emphasizing that because the scheduled carbon tax rate increase is flat ($15/tonne/year through to 2030), the *relative* weight increase declines over time.

There's a few ways that the carbon tax increase may *feel* less consequential as time goes on. Mini 🧵

https://twitter.com/chrispyross/status/1775271218956161198

First, as Chris has pointed out, this year it's a 23% increase on the tax rate relative to last year. But next year it will be an 18.75% increase and so on until it just stays fixed at $170/tonne - no longer increasing any more, year after year...

Here's the abridged story of how NEOLIBERALISM became dominant (as I understand it). This is also a story with CLIMATE implications.

I draw on works by Harvey, Klein, Helleiner, Ruggie, and others.

(Keen to hear amendments, additions, critiques from fellow political economists) 1) It's 1944 and the soon-to-be victors of WWII gather at Bretton Woods to design the Post-War global economy. They develop an international monetary system largely seeking stability; one that fosters cooperation and prosperity through international trade and growth.

1. Speaking of tipping points: I believe the world has recently tipped into the early stages of one of the most profound transformations humanity has ever endured. It will take place over the next 50 years or so.

🧵on this fascinating and terrifying time to be alive! 2. The transformation is being ushered in by major demographic, technological, and ecological changes. These are mutually-reinforcing in some ways, making the transformation feel lightning fast (in human terms). The late 21st Century will look fundamentally different from today.

OK, let’s talk about the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect…

A thread🧵 2/ It is well known that cities warm more than surrounding rural areas. As the IPCC recently wrote in AR6: “Urban areas experience air temperatures that can be SEVERAL DEGREES Celsius warmer than surrounding areas, especially during the night”

A blast of extreme cold air has plunged deep into central North America. Some places have set record cold temperatures. It turns out there’s a bit of a scientific debate about whether these types of cold snaps can be linked to… *global warming*

🧵on what the science says… The general idea is that melting sea ice within the warming Arctic is causing instability in the jet stream, resulting in large Rossby waves which during the winter season can push frigid Arctic air deep into areas where they wouldn’t in a more stable climate…

https://twitter.com/historian_steve/status/1745920780624711886

This year’s insane heat has coincided with (perhaps driven?) a bit of a wedge between two leading “climate urgency science narratives”…
🧵 On one side there are what we might call “the traditionalists”. These folks emphasize how this heat falls within the boundaries of how we would expect the Earth system to behave given the historical trajectory of fossil Carbon emissions, combined with an El Niño transition year.

I see the "livestock CH4 is/is not the same as fossil CH4" debate has resurfaced again🙄

Y'all! This is very well studied. Here's a thread on the science.

First tho, both these claims are untrue:
- livestock and fossil CH4 are the same
- livestock CH4 doesn't warm the planet 1) A molecule of CH4 emitted by an animal and from a fossil fuel project are very, very similar: One Carbon atom, four Hydrogen atoms. But they are not identical. We know this because they have slightly different carbon isotopic signatures.
doi.org/10.1029/2021GB…

Here's a story: After being emitted, most Methane (CH4) molecules spend about 12 years in the atmosphere before being broken down by a short-lived molecule called Hydroxyl Radical (OH) - a molecule which typically only lives for about 1 second! OH is typically formed by a two-step process in the atmosphere: First, Ozone (O3) reacts with UV light, splitting into O2 + O. Then the rogue Oxygen atom reacts with water vapour (H2O) to create two Hydroxy Radical (OH) molecules...

There's been all kinds of assertions out there about how CLIMATE CHANGE IS or IS NOT related to the current wildfire and smoke emergency...

Here's a quick thread on Wildfires and Climate Change in CANADA - what we KNOW and EXPECT based on the Science:
🧵 FIRST, let's clear the confusion around TRENDS for NUMBER OF FIRES:

The total number of wildfires in Canada has *DECLINED* in recent decades.

HOWEVER, the total number of LARGE wildfires (>200ha) has INCREASED in recent decades.

Canada's top 11 methane 'hot spots', and their equivalent warming emissions in terms of barrels of oil consumed.

Number 11: JBS's stockyards in Brooks, AB. 9000 kg CH4 (warming equivalent to burning 521 barrels of oil).

https://twitter.com/ryankatzrosene/status/1571604783684898825?s=20&t=pkvssVlBf8Mn5t8MRLiUDA

10th highest emitter: Canada's in situ oilsands well-pads near Conklin, AB. 10,000 kg CH4/year. Warming equivalent burning 579 barrels of oil.

Between "climate radicalism" and "climate pragmatism"...

A thread on my predicament🧵 There's a tension between, on one hand, "radical" perspectives that start from the premise that things are so bad, and the situation is so urgent, that the only way we get out of this mess is through transformational change to the system; AND...

Lots of prospective and current PhD students applying for SSHRC grants these days. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU ALL! For those struggling with research statements, may I suggest the following formula for your first paragraph... /1 I recommend a short, punchy, 3-sentence (or 3-sentiment) paragraph that tells the evaluator what your Phd is about, what the specific research problem is, and how your PhD research specifically addresses that problem. Be succinct, avoid jargon, write so any peer would get it /2

This is a timely new report by a team of top notch climate researchers laying out some ground rules for effective carbon offsetting. I've added it to flyinglessresourceguide.info

Reading through, it's clear there is still A LOT of work to be done in this area of study....

https://twitter.com/EliMLarson/status/1310865835888726018

At the present moment the whole offsetting sector is like the wild west, and most offsets have been shown to have deeply troubling social (and even climatic) consequences. But as the report shows, institutions could be making progress in laying out more constructive...

I've learned a lot about transcription and closed captioning while putting together the @EcopoliticsP-odcast, and this has informed my understanding of accessibility challenges with virtual learning:
Main takeaway 👉 AI-transcription is pretty amazing, but humans are way better! We realized that we can't rely on the AI-transcription software to produce captions for our podcasts - or moreover that the transcripts need to be closely reviewed and edited by a human...

It's taken a while to finally get this in peer-reviewed form, but here's my latest article comparing the carbon footprints of long-distance rail travel and commercial aviation in Canada!
dx.doi.org/10.1111/cag.12… Rail has a reputation as being a sustainable mode of transportation... and *usually* that's true (internationally, rail is the most energy-efficient mode). But long-distance passenger rail in Canada is, well, relatively terrible for the environment....

Pleased to be one of the three recipients of the @uOttawa's ‘Knowledge Mobilization Award’, for my project on “The Future of Sustainable Protein”
research.uottawa.ca/news/research-…

@uOttawaPoli @uOttawaResearch @uOttawaCIPS @uOttawaSustain The project takes a narrative approach to the complex challenge of producing more environmentally friendly, ethically and culturally appropriate, and nutritionally fulfilling global diets!
futureofprotein.ca

Excellent new paper (and explainer thread) on how and whether international shipping emissions can be brought within the global CO2 budget for 1.5C.👇

https://twitter.com/simonbullock/status/1271411243014852608

Like aviation, the shipping sector takes up about 2% of global emissions. And like emissions from international aviation, emissions from international shipping aren’t reported by nations as part of the UNFCCC’s intended contribution process...

@ESACCanada recently pulled off a 100% Virtual Conference, with the support of @ideas_idees and AV Canada. A couple reflections on the organizing side of things… aimed mostly at fellow scholars organizing virtual conferences these days…

/long thread, starting w practicalities PLATFORM: We did ours through a modified Zoom platform, where each conference room was essentially a Zoom call. In the past we’ve had success with BlueJeans too. Zoom seems to be the platform most scholars are becoming acquainted with, and that DOES count for something...