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Climate Progress

Oxfam: Extreme Weather Has Helped Push Tens of Millions into “Hunger and Poverty” in “Grim Foretaste” of Warmed World

By Joe Romm on Nov 29, 2011 at 8:15 pm

Climate Change Endangers Food Security Worldwide

“Extreme weather like the droughts in Russia, China and Brazil and the flooding in Pakistan and Australia [in 2010] have contributed to a level of food price volatility we haven’t seen since the oil crisisof 40 years ago. Unfortunately, this could be just a taste of things to come because in the next few  decades the build-up of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere could greatly increase the risk of  droughts, flooding, pest infestation and water scarcity for agriculture systems already under  tremendous stress.”   — John Beddington, UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser (March, 2011)

Already, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates 1 billion people are starving and another 2.5 billion are malnourished.

“Feeding some 9 billion people by mid-century in the face of a rapidly worsening climate may well be the greatest challenge the human race has ever faced,” as I argued in the journal Nature.  Oxfam has been one of the leaders in making this case (see Oxfam Predicts Climate Change will Help Double Food Prices by 2030: “We Are Turning Abundance into Scarcity”).

On the eve of the international climate talks in Durban, Oxfam has released a new report that opens with Beddington’s quote and warns:

Climate change is likely to have a pernicious effect on food production in two main ways.  Firstly, slow onset changes in mean temperatures and precipitation patterns are expected to put downward pressure on average yields.  Added to this will be crop losses resulting from more frequent and intense extreme weather events.

Research to date has focused almost exclusively on the first impact, modeling the extent of long-run average price rises in the absence of volatility….

But this paints only a partial picture.  More frequent and extreme weather events will compound things further, creating shortages, destabilizing markets and precipitating price spikes, which will be felt on top of the structural price rises predicted by the models.  One need not rely on imagination to understand how this could play out for the world’s poorest people.  Looking at the toll extreme weather events are taking on global food security since 2010 alone paints an alarming picture.

The whole report is worth reading, but here is their summary along with recommendations for Durban:

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Justice

In Stammering Interview, Romney Refuses To Say Whether He Will Deport Undocumented Immigrants

By Faiz Shakir on Nov 29, 2011 at 7:44 pm

At the last GOP presidential debate, Newt Gingrich asserted his support for an immigration plan that would accord an undocumented immigrant “red card” status — that is, give them a legal right to be here without providing a path to citizenship. Mitt Romney then seized a political opportunity to engage in a false attack against Gingrich, slamming the former Speaker for embracing “amnesty.”

Earlier this week, Bloomberg news reported that, in 2006, Romney “took a nearly identical position” as Gingrich, arguing undocumented immigrants living in the United States should not be “rounded up and box-carred out,” and that they should “get in line” to apply for citizenship.

During his interview with Fox News tonight, Bret Baier asked Romney about this hypocritical stand. Romney affirmed that he does believe undocumented immigrants should indeed be given a pathway to citizenship by being placed “in the back of the line.” Baier astutely noted, “Isn’t that what Gingrich is saying?” Romney incorrectly responded that Gingrich’s plan allows them to “become citizens” and provides “amnesty.”

When Baier asked whether Romney was going to send undocumented immigrants home as they apply for legal status, Romney uncomfortably stammered for a few seconds. He then circled around the issue: “Whether they apply here, whether they apply by going home — I think I’ve said in the past I think it makes more sense for them to go home, if we set up a system for them to apply here…” Baier cut him off and asked again what Romney planned to do immediately with undocumented immigrants who are already here. Again, Romney had no response. Watch it:

In 2008, Romney took the view that every undocumented immigrant had to leave. “Under the ideal setting, at least in my view, you say to those who have just come in recently, we’re going to send you back home immediately, we’re not going to let you stay here,” Romney explained. “You just go back home. For those that have been here, let’s say, five years, and have kids in school, you allow kids to complete the school year, you allow people to make their arrangements, and allow them to return back home. Those that have been here a long time, with kids that have responsibilities here and so forth, you let stay enough time to organize their affairs and go home.”

In a recent interview, one Romney adviser explained that his boss’s current position is essentially to make an undocumented immigrant’s life so unbearable here in the United States that the individual decides to pick up and leave voluntarily.

For an understanding of all the GOP presidential candidates’ views on immigration, check out our compilation here.

Politics

Romney Claims George W. Bush Flip-Flopped On Abortion Too

By Faiz Shakir on Nov 29, 2011 at 6:56 pm

During an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier this evening, Mitt Romney defended himself from his record of flip-flopping on abortion by arguing that George W. Bush did it, too. “I am pro-life. I did not take that position years ago. And that’s the same change that occurred with Ronald Reagan, with George W. Bush, with some of the leaders in the pro-life movement.” Watch it:

Romney’s claim is surprising. Having researched George W. Bush’s record, we’re not aware of any point at which Bush was pro-choice. In fact, in his memoir Decision Points, Bush says his mother showed him a dead fetus in a jar at a young age, which solidified his pro-life views forever. Romney told Baier tonight that he has read Decision Points.

Perhaps Romney was trying to allude to Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, who was pro-choice for the early part of his career.

Update

Politico reports that “a Romney source” says Romney was referring to the elder Bush. But Politico also notes that Romney has made this same mistake before.

Alyssa

Are Political Relatives Really A Draw For Networks?

By Alyssa Rosenberg on Nov 29, 2011 at 6:37 pm

Lost in the ongoing kerfuffle over whether Chelsea Clinton is qualified to report human interest segments for NBC News, and whether her hiring represents a conflict of interest for the network, seems to be a quality question: is the very private daughter of the man who was president more than a decade ago actually a draw for anyone? I kind of get the Meghan McCain thing as entertainment, if not as news — she’s got a well-cultivated personality, she’s built a following on social media; at the USA Network-The Moth storytelling event I went to earlier this fall, she comported herself with a winning degree of sophistication and self-deprecation. But I don’t know that anyone tunes in to MSNBC for her.

And it’s even more bewildering to think that people would tune in for Chelsea Clinton. One of the more admirable things the Clintons ever did as parents was to fight hard to protect Chelsea’s privacy, especially at a time when Bill’s behavior was inviting withering media scrutiny. As an adult, she kept to that pattern, working a series of bland private sector jobs and venturing out only to campaign for her mother in 2008. I looked at some of her wedding pictures (Hillary rocked a really awesome caftan in the days beforehand) in a cursory way. But the same preservation of her privacy and stringent avoidance of public life or public service that don’t make her a particularly qualified journalist don’t make her a particularly interesting person either. I have no idea what Chelsea Clinton’s unique lens on the world is, and nothing about the deal with NBC has made it seem like I should really care. I say this not to be callous, but to suggest it’s puzzling that the network would pursue a hire that invites disapproval without a clear upside.

NEWS FLASH

GOP Lawmaker Behind Pennsylvania’s Election Rigging Scheme Is Considering A Run For U.S. Senate | This fall, Pennsylvania Republicans tried their hands at rigging the 2012 election for the GOP by proposing that the state divide up its Electoral College votes according to which candidates carried each Congressional district, essentially guaranteeing as many as 12 of the state’s 20 electoral votes to the Republican presidential candidate “for free.” Now, the man behind that the devious effort — state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R) — is considering a U.S. Senate bid against Sen. Bob Casey (D). Pileggi told PoliticsPA yesterday that he has “been approached by a number of people” and that he has “deep concerns about the direction our nation is taking.” According to PoliticsPA, Pileggi “has already met with national Republicans to discuss a bid, along with party leaders in Harrisburg and southeast Pennsylvania.” While “flattered by the question,” he has “made no decision but will continue to listen on how I can best serve the Commonwealth and the Country.”

By Tanya Somanader on Nov 29, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Climate Progress

McKibben: Britain’s Promotion of Canada’s Tar Sands Oil Is Idiotic

By Climate Guest Blogger on Nov 29, 2011 at 5:55 pm

A deal to sell tar sands oil in Europe would outweigh any good the UK might do with all its other climate change measures

– by Bill McKibben, first published in the UK Guardian

Tar sand extraction in Alberta, Canada

The EU has provisionally imposed penalties severe enough to make it difficult for Canada to sell tar sands oil in Europe, but Britain is working to undermine that stance. Photograph: Jeff Mcintosh/AP

Here’s the essential fact to bear in mind. The tar sands of northern Alberta are the second-largest pool of carbon on earth, second only to Saudi Arabia. It’s burning Saudi Arabia, more than any other single thing, that has raised the temperature of the planet by a degree so far. But when oil was discovered in the Middle East, we knew nothing about climate change – it’s not surprising that we started pumping. In the case of Canada, however, we’ve taken 3% of the oil from the sands. We’re still at the start.

If, knowing what we now know about climate change, we just keep going, then we’re idiots.

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NEWS FLASH

Former Israeli Intel. Chief Warns Of Regional War If Israel Strikes Iran | Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warns that a military strike against alleged Iranian nuclear weapons facilities will lead to a regional war with Iran, Hezbollah and possible Syria. Dagan, who previously described an Israeli air strike on Iran as the “stupidest thing I have ever heard,” pushed back against critics like Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Barak had slammed Dagan for openly criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hawkish rhetoric toward Tehran. “We are not living in an undemocratic country; in democratic countries, even people like me have the right to express their opinions,” said Dagan in an interview on the Israeli television program “Uvda.”

By Eli Clifton on Nov 29, 2011 at 5:51 pm

NEWS FLASH

Sen. Grassley Praises Judge Who Blocked Citigroup Settlement: ‘Judge Rakoff Is Right’ | Yesterday, Federal Judge Jed Rakoff formally rejected a deal between Citigroup and the Securities and Exchange Commission that would have allowed the bank to pay $285 million to settle charges that it misled investors in mortgage securities. Rakoff said that there is “an overriding public interest in knowing the truth about the financial markets,” after previously deriding the settlement as “just for show.” Today, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) threw his support to Rakoff, saying in a statement, “Judge Rakoff is right to ask for information. The SEC needs to provide a clear rationale for the enforcement penalties in this case and in others. Otherwise, the public is in the dark about whether the settlements are adequate and the court’s role is reduced to a rubber stamp. A settle and slap-on-the-wrist approach has not and will not deter the defrauding of investors.”

NEWS FLASH

Interior Streamlines Clean Energy Empowerment For Tribal Lands | Highlighting Secretary Ken Salazar’s commitment to clean energy development, the Department of Interior has announced new rules intended to accelerate the construction of wind and solar energy projects on Native American lands. Old regulations for the 56 millions acres held by Interior in trust for Native American tribes required a review for every lease, no matter the size, by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Under the proposed rules, the bureau will have a 30-day time limit on residential leases, and a 60-day limit on solar and business leases, with some activities only requiring tribal review.

By Brad Johnson on Nov 29, 2011 at 5:40 pm

Health

Rick Perry’s Memo To The 50 Million Uninsured: ‘Everyone In America Has Access To Health Care’

By Igor Volsky on Nov 29, 2011 at 5:32 pm

Gov. Rick Perry (R) — whose home state of Texas has the highest uninsurance rate in the nation — told a crowd in Saint Anselm College this afternoon that “everyone in the state of Texas has access to health care, everyone in America has access to health care,” adding, “from the stand point of all people in this country, our government requires that everyone is covered.” Watch it:

Perry is referring to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act or (EMTALA), a law Ronald Reagan signed, which requires hospitals that accept Medicare or Medicaid funding to treat patients for emergency medical conditions regardless of legal status or ability to pay. But EMTALA only applies to medical emergencies. “So, yes, if you’re actively giving birth, you can expect to receive care at an emergency room,” Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll explain. “If you’re actively having a heart attack, you can also get emergency room care. If you’ve been seriously harmed in a car accident, you can go to the emergency room.”

Patients with chronic conditions that don’t require emergency interference, however — the millions of Americans with diabetes who need “regular access to medication to stay alive,” asthma patients, or women diagnosed with breast cancer — would not be able to find needed treatments under the Act and Perry himself would not have received the care or back surgery he needed under the “requirement.” Fortunately, he has benefited from years of tax payer funded health insurance coverage as governor and seems to believe that other Texans have as well.

Update

President George W. Bush made the same claims in 2007, saying, “People have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room”:

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