Watching the fireworks from my office made me think back to the war in Isreal and the rockets flying between Hamas and the Isreal defense forces. I hope we never live through such times in America.
Stayed late in the office downtown to watch the fireworks
The view from my office of the plaza isn't all that great, it turns out many of the fireworks were actually below the horizon of the Agency buildings.
Monday December 4, 2023 — Alfred E. Smith Building
Decent pile for tonight
NPR
In the video, Ireland's former president Mary Robinson asks al-Jaber to use his position to push for a global agreement to phase out fossil fuels. Such language was not included in the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement, and has been repeatedly blocked by petroleum-dependent countries at subsequent negotiations.
That's despite unequivocal, and long-standing, scientific consensus that humanity must transition to renewable energy sources immediately in order to avoid catastrophic warming, including runaway sea level rise, mass extinction of plants and animals and countless lives lost to extreme weather.
In the video, however, al-Jaber responds to Robinson's suggestion with this incorrect statement: "I respect the science, and there is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what's going to achieve 1.5 [degrees Celsius]."
Cold Reality – Empire Center for Public Policy
This is an interesting propaganda piece and research paper sponsored by the state's propane industry. It really shows how fossil fuel interests are facing dire consequences, at least over time, from the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act -- and how modest the costs of upgrading to heat pumps really is. While they make the numbers seem alarming, a $50k upgrade to a house isn't much when you consider the savings over time, and how much houses cost these days. Definitely read this article.