North Polar Warming Temperatures Above Freezing, Midwinter 2015/2016

Summary: Polar warming temperatures are above freezing, registering 20 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than expected for midwinter 2015/2016.

When the North Pole's temperature rose above freezing Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015: Storm Frank over North Atlantic: Earth @EarthWindMap, via Facebook Dec. 30, 2015

North Polar warming temperatures are 20 degrees Celsius and 36 degrees Fahrenheit higher than expected for midwinter 2015 to 2016, according to announcements Dec. 29, 2015, by Canadian and U.S. weather authorities.

A deep low pressure area over Iceland brought record, unseasonably warm temperatures around the Christmas holiday to Canada, the North Atlantic and the North Polar regions. The atmospheric depression over Iceland churned waves to 9-meter (29.53-foot) heights and winds to hurricane-force, 75-knot (75 nautical-mile; 87-mile; 140-kilometer) speeds throughout north Atlantic Ocean waters.

The high-latitude cyclonic disturbance described a severe storm system that warmed the western North Atlantic but whipped heavy floods and strong winds into the British Isles.

Hot air escaped to the North Pole.

Rises in temperature follow introductions of hot air even in the North Pole, where midwinter temperatures tend to stay below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). They give December 2015 readings that are 20 degrees higher than expected on the Celsius scale and 36 degrees warmer than usual on the Fahrenheit scale.

Nathalie Hasell, Canadian government meteorologist, has access to scientific records of North Polar warming temperatures although compilation is incomplete and inconsistent in regard to previous centuries. She indicates for above-freezing temperatures: “It’s a very violent and extremely powerful depression, so it’s not surprising that hot temperatures have been pushed so far north.”

Climate change joins Storm Frank in accounting for 2015/2016’s North Polar warming temperatures.

James Morison, North Pole Environmental Observatory senior researcher 300 kilometers (186.41 miles) from the North Pole, knows of another surprise peak in North Polar warming temperatures. He lists midweek spikes beyond what Nathalie Hasell calls midwinter’s “bizarre” North Polar temperatures hovering between zero and 2 degrees Celsius (32 and 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit). He mentions North Polar temperatures between Dec. 28 and 30 jumping from minus 37 to minus 8 degrees Celsius (minus 34.6 to minus 17.6 degrees Fahrenheit). He notes that heavier snowfall, melting ice sheets and stronger winds attest to climate change’s average year-round temperature rises averaging 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

Climate change, El Niño and Storm Frank operate to impact North Polar temperatures.

Storm Frank’s atmospheric depression over Iceland promises to extend the disturbance strike zone from the North Atlantic and North Polar regions all the way to Siberia. It quits the North Atlantic in time to make room for another atmospheric and weather system to generate unheard-of rainfall events in December on Baffin Island. David Phillips of Canada’s Environmental Ministry responds to questions about icy, snow-covered Baffin Island experiencing midwinter rains: “It’s doubtless the El Niño effect, venturing further north.”

Meteorologists see El Niño’s (The Baby [Jesus]) tropical weather phenomena of every four to seven Christmases generating droughts, floods and storms throughout Central America and beyond.

Climate change, El Niño and Storm Frank trigger 2015/2016’s North Polar warming temperatures.

Dr. Spinrad, NOAA chief scientist, writes that the Arctic windows Earth's future: NOAA @NOAA, via Twitter Dec. 29, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

When the North Pole's temperature rose above freezing Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015: Storm Frank over North Atlantic: Earth @EarthWindMap, via Facebook Dec. 30, 2015, @ https://www.facebook.com/EarthWindMap/photos/a.1425522031014856.1073741829.1421330998100626/1719220044978385/

Dr. Richard Spinrad, NOAA chief scientist, writes that the Arctic windows Earth's future: NOAA, @NOAA via Twitter Dec. 29, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/NOAA/status/681929828539449344

For further information:

Agence France-Presse. 31 December 2015. "Freak heatwave pushes temperatures at North Pole above freezing." RawStory.
Available @ http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/freak-heatwave-pushes-temperatures-at-north-pole-above-freezing/

CNN Wire. 30 December 2015. "It's going to be above freezing at the North Pole -- in the middle of winter." WTKR.
Available @ http://wtkr.com/2015/12/30/its-going-to-be-above-freezing-at-the-north-pole-in-the-middle-of-winter/

Earth @EarthWindMap. 30 December 2015. "Cyclone Frank moving over Iceland and dominating the North Atlantic." Facebook.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/EarthWindMap/photos/a.1425522031014856.1073741829.1421330998100626/1719220044978385/

Gosden, Emily. 30 December 2015. "North Pole temperatures spike 'above freezing' as Storm Frank sends warm air north." The Telegraph > News > Weather.
Available @ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/weather/12075282/North-Pole-temperatures-spike-above-freezing-as-Storm-Frank-sends-warm-air-north.html

Leopold, Todd. 31 December 2015. "It was warm at the North Pole." Cable News Network > Extreme Weather.
Available @ http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/30/us/north-pole-high-temperature-feat/index.html

NOAA @NOAA. 29 December 2015. "What happens in the #Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/NOAA/status/681929828539449344

Spinrad, Richard, Dr. 29 December 2015. "The Warming Arctic: Remote But Not Isolated." Medium.
Available @ https://medium.com/@NOAA/the-warming-arctic-6e1045c34457#.qlw664x2x

wochit News. 30 December 2015. "Winter Storm Set to Bring Unseasonal Heat to North Pole." YouTube.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ilD7pczHs

United Front Department Head Kim Yang Gon Dead in Pyongyang Car Crash

Summary: Kim Yang Gon, United Front Department head, is dead in a traffic accident after years of commuting between Pyongyang, North Korea, and Seoul, South Korea.

Kim Yang Gon (second right) at Incheon Asian Games 2014 closing ceremony, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, 20:10:09; official photograph of the Republic of Korea; Jeon Han, official photographer: Republic of Korea (KOREA.NET), CC BY SA 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

An early morning traffic accident accounts for the sudden death of 73-year-old United Front Department head Kim Yang Gon, according to an announcement by the North Korean state media agency in Pyongyang,

The Korean Central News Agency brings news of the diplomat’s demise through pre-existing agreements between the peninsula’s two governments to share news pertinent to both countries. The state media agency release from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea contains few details other than the date and the time of the traffic incident. It describes the occurrence at 6:15 a.m. Korea Standard Time Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 (9:45 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time Monday, Dec. 28, 2015). It expresses praise for the departed’s accomplishments.

Officials in South Korea and in the United States find Kim Yang Gon a familiar face and name for handling North Korea’s relations with the South. The death notice gives to the South Pyongan Province native honors as the “closest comrade-in-arms and steadfast revolutionary comrade” of Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader. Newspapermen at the 80-member state funeral Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, have photos of funeral committee leader Kim Jong Un gazing emotionally at the open casket. Funeral committee lists include Choe Ryong Hae, lieutenant to Kim Jong Un and son of Choe Hyon, defense minister to Kim Jong Un’s grandfather Kim Il-Sung. Analysts of peninsular politico-economic dynamics judge funeral committee membership indicative of rising status.

Specialists on North Korea’s political economy know of Choe Ryong Hae as a name that cannot be found on funeral committee membership lists for November 2015. The omission leads information-collectors and intelligence-gatherers to consider November 2015 as a month of purging and of sending Choe Ryong Hae to the countryside for re-education. It also makes them consider December 2015 as a month of return to governmental favor and of reversal of previously fallen status for Choe Ryong Hae. Analysts note the need for a new hire to fill the position opened by Kim Yang Gon’s death since improved or worsened relations have economic consequences. Family reunions and reinstated tourism projects offer North Korea opportunities for revenue in-flows.

Analysts point to inter-Korea meetings in December 2015 regarding de-escalation of tensions heightened in August 2015 by the explosion of a mine in the Demilitarized Zone. Officials in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and in the Republic of Korea qualify the meetings as failures whose contradictory causes derive from conflicting accounts. But Hong Yong-pyo, Minister of Unification in South Korea, recalls Kim Yang Gon’s efforts to achieve “a meaningful agreement” worthy of warranting a message of condolences.

Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of Washington, D.C.’s Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, suspects punishment for failure: “Seriously, how heavy is traffic [in] downtown Pyongyang?”

Bruce Klingner of D.C.’s Heritage Foundation thinks media-released eulogies mourn "accidental . . . death."

Kim Yang Gon, April 24, 1942-Dec. 29, 2015: Reuters Top News @Reuters, via Twitter Dec. 31, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Kim Yang Gon (second right) at Incheon Asian Games 2014 closing ceremony, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, 20:10:09; official photograph of the Republic of Korea; Jeon Han, official photographer: Republic of Korea (KOREA.NET), CC BY SA 2.0 (news organizations), via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/koreanet/15434329021/

King Yang Gon, April 24, 1942-Dec. 29, 2015: Reuters Top News @Reuters, via Twitter tweet of Dec. 31, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/682496520659308544

For further information:

Cheng, Jonathan. 30 December 2015. “North Korean Official’s Death Raises Suspicion.” The Wall Street Journal > World > Asia.
Available @ http://www.wsj.com/articles/north-koreas-top-official-on-south-korea-relations-dies-in-car-accident-1451445874

Kim, Hyung-Jin. 30 December 2015. “North Korean State Media Say Top Official for South Korea Relations Dies in Car Accident.” U.S. News & World Report > News > World.
Available @ http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015-12-30/n-korea-says-top-official-on-s-korea-dies-in-car-accident

“North Korea Says Top Aide to Leader Kim Dies in Car Crash.” Today Online > World > Dec. 30, 2015. Updated Dec. 31, 2015.
Available @ http://www.todayonline.com/world/top-aide-north-korea-leader-kim-jong-un-dies-car-crash-kcna?page=1

“North Korea Says Top Official Kim Yang-gon Killed in Car Crash.” BBC News > World > Asia > China > 30 December 2015.
Available @ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35196624

Patidar, Som. 30 December 2015. “Kim Jong-un: North Korean Leader’s ‘Closest Comrade’ and ‘Solid Revolutionary Partner’ Kim Yang-gon Dies in Car Crash (BREAKING).” Headlines & Global News > World.
Available @ http://www.hngn.com/articles/164891/20151230/kim-jong-un-north-korean-leaders-closest-comrade-solid-revolutionary.htm

Reuters Top News @Reuters. 31 December 2015. "North Korea says top aide to leader Kim dies in car crash." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/682496520659308544

wochit News. 29 December 2015. "North Korean Top Aid Dies In Car Crash." YouTube.
Available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukCQ2gQWOc4

Christmas Day Bushfires Burn 116 Homes on Australia’s Great Ocean Road

Summary: Christmas Day bushfires burn 116 homes on Great Ocean Road, an Australian National Heritage coastal route in southeastern Australia's Victoria state.

Wye River Fire Brigade members Andrew Hack (front left), Captain Roy Moriarty (front center) and Max McCaffrey (back right); Wye River Fire Brigade Auxiliary president Christine Shaw and member Katrina Blake (first and second from right, second row); photo by Travis Hearn/CFA: CFA (County Fire Authority) @cfavic, via Facebook Dec. 26, 2015

Christmas Day bushfires have destroyed 116 homes along Great Ocean Road, a picturesque Australian National Heritage coastal route, in Australia’s southeastern state of Victoria as dry, windy conditions plague the hot Southern Hemisphere summer.

In a fire zone flyover, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews commends the no-lives-lost outcome. “This is really a very challenging fire but one -- in the planning and the execution, and indeed in terms of the outcomes -- where no person has been harmed. That’s something that we can be very proud of,” the premier observes.

A fire plan put in place earlier in the week plays out smoothly as evacuations are actioned before lunch on Christmas Day.

“They did it in a way that led the community with a lot of confidence, a great community in Wye River, and Separation Creek, to do what they have done,” notes Victoria State Emergency Service commissioner Craig Lapsley. “That’s one of the success factors. That is, they walked away from the fire that had every potential to be a killer, be a killer in every aspect with the intensity levels of that fire.”

A lightning strike on Dec. 19 serves as the fire starter for Christmas Day bushfires that, helped by hot winds, have burned thus far more than 20 square kilometers (2,000 hectares, or 7.7 square miles). A spokesperson for Victoria State Emergency Service confirms the destruction tally at 98 burned homes in the town of Wye River and, about half a mile (1+ kilometers) south, 18 burned homes in the village of Separation Creek.

The Christmas Day bushfires challenge around 500 firefighters and 13 firefighting aircraft. At a community meeting held the next day, Saturday, Dec. 26, in Torquay, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) to the north, where the Great Ocean Road starts, attendees are told that safety concerns will determine whether the County Fire Authority (CFA) will be able to return residents to their Separation Creek and Wye River properties in the afternoon. The attendees give a round of applause in appreciative recognition of phenomenal efforts by fire crews and volunteers.

“This fire doesn’t go away,” commissioner Lapsley notes in a news conference. “We will be back into hot, windy weather in January without a doubt. Everything’s available to burn.”

Separation Creek and Wye River are located on the Otway Coast region of the Great Ocean Road, about 96 miles (155 kilometers) southwest of Melbourne, Victoria’s capital. The popular coastal destination consists of five townships (Kennett River, Separation Creek, Sugarloaf, Wongara and Wye River) and includes the Great Otway National Park.

Australian and international tourists enjoy the park’s walking tracks, waterfalls and wildlife. Designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International, the Otways attract birders from around the world.

Closed on Christmas Day, the 29-mile (47-kilometer) stretch of the Great Ocean Road between Torquay and Lorne, a seaside town in the Surf Coast Shire about 9 miles (15 kilometers) north of Separation Creek, is reopened the next day, Boxing Day, a Commonwealth holiday traditionally celebrated the day after Christmas. The 24-mile (39-kilometer) stretch between Lorne and Skenes Creek, a popular surfing on-the-beach township located 13.6 miles (22 kilometers) south of Wye River, remains closed.

“We’re waiting for updates about what the situation is, and of course we are all thinking about our many friends who are in Wye River, or who have houses in Wye River or Separation,” Lorne resident Jeff Cooper tells 774 ABC Melbourne. “That is the most immediate thing. We’re really worried for them.”

Bushfires flare in Wye River, a small coastal town along the Otway Coast section of southeastern Australia's Great Ocean Road: CFA (County Fire Authority) @cfavic, via Facebook Dec. 25, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Wye River Fire Brigade members Andrew Hack (front left), Captain Roy Moriarty (front center) and Max McCaffrey (back right); Wye River Fire Brigade Auxiliary president Christine Shaw and member Katrina Blake (first and second from right, second row); photo by Travis Hearn/CFA: CFA (Country Fire Authority) @cfavic, via Facebook Dec. 26, 2015, @ https://www.facebook.com/cfavic/photos/a.456802769415.241316.7390614415/10153910434884416/

Bushfires flare in Wye River, a small coastal town along the Otway Coast section of southeastern Australia's Great Ocean Road: CFA (County Fire Authority) @cfavic, via Facebook Dec. 25, 2015, @ https://www.facebook.com/cfavic/photos/a.456802769415/10153907100174416/

For further information:

CFA (County Fire Authority) @cfavic. "Rain overnight has provided a reprieve from the Lorne fire, however the fire is not yet under control. . . .Photo courtesy of Keith Pakenham CFA." Facebook. Dec. 25, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/cfavic/photos/a.456802769415/10153907100174416/

CFA (County Fire Authority) @cfavic. "We would like to commend the Community Volunteers (wearing orange vests) who were vital to the successful evacuations of Wye River and Kennett River areas." Facebook. Dec. 26, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/cfavic/photos/a.456802769415.241316.7390614415/10153910434884416/

McCall, Christopher. "More than 100 homes lost in Australia's Christmas Day bushfires." Reuters > Technology. Dec. 26, 2015.
Available @ http://in.reuters.com/article/us-australia-bushfires-idINKBN0U900C20151226

Sarah Henderson MP @SHendersonMP. "Rye River from above. Some parts of town saved, other areas devastated. For all Great Ocean Rd, a fire plan vital." Twitter. Dec. 27, 2015. Tweet.
Available @ https://twitter.com/SHendersonMP/status/681328863364820992

The Telegraph. "Great Ocean Road bushfire in Australia claims 100 homes." YouTube. Dec. 26, 2015.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkyK1VR07JU

"Victorian bushfires: Three Surf Coast communities evacuated as Great Ocean Road conditions worsen." ABC Australia > News. Dec. 31, 2015.
Available @ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-31/victorian-bushfires-coastal-residents-urged-to-evacuate/7061106

Narragansett Bay Humpback Whale Breaches and Plays Out of Season

Summary: A Narragansett Bay humpback whale breaches and plays out of season in a 45-minute acrobatic show witnessed Monday, Dec. 28, by harbormaster Ed Hughes.

A humpback whale breaches during an unexpected visit to Narragansett Bay; photograph by North Kingstown, Rhode Island, harbormaster Ed Hughes: Boston.com @BostonDotCom, via Twitter Dec. 28, 2015

North Kingstown, Rhode Island, harbormaster Ed Hughes witnessed the unexpected treat of a 45-minute acrobatic show as a Narragansett Bay humpback whale breached and played near Allen Harbor on a “cold, windy and miserable” Monday morning, Dec. 28, 2015.

A gigantic splash at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time drew Hughes’ attention to activity in Narragansett Bay waters near North Kingstown’s Allen Harbor. The sight of a huge humpback whale breaching and splashing in the marine mammal’s characteristic playfulness quickly dispelled initial worries of a boating accident.

“I thought it was a boat and thought, ‘oh, great,’” recalled Hughes. His reaction upon discovering the actual source of the colossal splashing was: “You got to be kidding me!”

The Narragansett Bay humpback whale is thought to be a juvenile lingering in unseasonably warm waters and following the food trail. Carol “Krill” Carson, marine biologist and president of the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance explained the youngster’s uncommon presence in the bay to The Boston Globe: “It’s not that unusual for juveniles to wander into areas that are not always used by the main population.”

Rhode Island state climatologist Lenny Giuliano explained the wayward Narragansett Bay humpback whale’s presence to CNN as: “It must have followed a school of fish into the bay.”

“It’s extremely unusual to see them in Narragansett Bay,” harbormaster Hughes, formerly a world-traveling charter boat captain, told United Press International (UPI). “First one I have ever seen. I have seen them this time of year south of Jamestown in the ocean. There is a herring run happening and my guess is they stay and feed.”

Hughes informed the state’s Department of Environmental Management about the unexpected marine visitor. Departmental officials who checked on the Narragansett Bay humpback whale determined that it was in good health and estimated the whale’s length at about 50 feet (15.24 meters). After witnessing the impromptu playtime, Hughes last sighted the Narragansett Bay humpback whale heading south down the bay toward the Atlantic Ocean.

Photos quickly snapped by Hughes captured the Narragansett Bay humpback whale’s above-surface leaps, known as breaches, against the backdrop of Prudence Island, the bay’s sparsely populated, third largest island. The Mount Hope Bridge, which dominates the photo’s eastern background, links Bristol on mainland Rhode Island with Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island and demarcates the transition from Narragansett Bay to Mount Hope Bay.

“It was breaching, and it was tail-flapping. With its fin, it was slapping the water. It was having a great ol’ time,” Hughes told The Boston Globe. “I was absolutely, seriously stunned.”

Hughes’ Narragansett Bay humpback whale normally is expected to leave summer high-latitude feeding grounds, such as the Atlantic Ocean’s Gulf of Maine and the Pacific Ocean’s Gulf of Alaska, with the onset of winter. Wintry migrations lead to calving grounds in subtropical or tropical waters, such as in the Atlantic Ocean around the Dominican Republic and in the Pacific Ocean around the Hawaiian Islands.

Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay area has been experiencing record-breaking warm temperatures for the end of the year. The Providence Journal reported on Christmas Eve that “December 2015 is on track to be the warmest December on record in Providence, with the average temperature through Dec. 23 running 10.2 degrees above normal at 46.1 degrees, the Weather Service says.”

Narragansett Bay covers ten percent of the United States’ smallest state. The bay stretches for 25 miles (40.2 kilometers) from its Atlantic Ocean entrance inland to the state’s historic capital, Providence. Allen Harbor is located about halfway between Narragansett Bay’s West Passage and Providence.

“Truly amazing,” Ed Hughes told CNN. “What a way to end the year!”

photo by Ed Hughes: Providence Journal @projo, via Twitter Dec. 29, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

photo by Ed Hughes: Boston.com @BostonDotCom, via Twitter Dec. 28, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/BostonDotCom/status/681609336972509184

A humpback whale breaches during an unexpected visit to Narragansett Bay; photograph by North Kingstown, Rhode Island, harbormaster Ed Hughes: Providence Journal @projo, via Twitter Dec. 29, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/projo/status/681870440294400001

For further information:

Associated Press. "Humpback whale spotted miles inside Narragansett Bay." Fox News. Dec. 28, 2015.
Available @ http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/28/humpback-whale-spotted-miles-inside-narragansett-bay.html

Boston.com @BostonDotCom. "Humpback whale spotted miles inside Narragansett Bay." Twitter. Dec. 28, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/BostonDotCom/status/681609336972509184

Conlon, Kevin. "Rare humpback whale sighting dazzles Rhode Island." CNN. Dec. 31, 2015.
Available @ http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/29/us/rhode-island-humpback-whale/

Cotter, Pamela Reinsel. "Wickford harbormaster spots humpback whale in waters off North Kingstown / Photos." Providence Journal. Dec. 28, 2015.
Available @ http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151228/NEWS/151229435

Hays, Brooks. "Humpback whale visits Narragansett Bay." UPI > Science News. Dec. 29, 2015.
Available @ http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2015/12/29/Humpback-whale-visits-Narragansett-Bay/9301451418421/

"Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)." NOAA Fisheries.
Available @ http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/humpback-whale.html#description

MacQuarrie, Brian. "Humpback whale seen splashing around in R.I.'s Narragansett Bay." The Boston Globe. Dec. 29, 2015.
Available @ https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/12/29/humpback-whale-spotted-miles-inside-narragansett-bay/50xOw166YLC58p8MhLkrQL/story.html

Perry, Jack. "Providence sets new record-high temperature for Christmas Eve." Providence Journal. Dec. 24, 2015.
Available @ http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151224/NEWS/151229551

Providence Journal‏ @projo. "ICYMI: #Wickford harbormaster spots humpback whale in waters off #NorthKingstown." Twitter. Dec. 29, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/projo/status/681870440294400001

Big Oil Companies Argue, Design and Polarize Against Climate Change

Summary: Big oil companies and energy sector researchers disagree why big energy companies polarize problem-solving but protect themselves against climate change.

A symbol of big oil companies; Troll A offshore natural gas platform in Troll gas field off Norway’s west coast claims the record as the largest object ever moved by humans relative to the Earth’s surface; the engineering marvel stands on the sea floor 994 feet (303 meters) below the surface of the North Sea; an elevator in one of the platform’s concrete cylindrical legs travels from the above-surface platform to the sea floor in about 9 minutes. View of Troll A platform taken from southeast; Saturday, June 21, 2008, 10:13: Swinsto101, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Big oil companies are inconsistent in arguing, but self-protecting, against climate change science, according to papers published in the online journals Nature Climate Change and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Justin Farrell, sociologist at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and study author, bases his findings upon energy-related, three-decade-long interactions among environmentalists, industrialists, officials and scientists. Twentieth and 21st century scientific consensus communicates informed environmentalist and governmental opinions since the 1980s regarding climate change’s glacial melt, global warning and sea level rises.

James Hansen, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientist, describes “with 99% confidence” acknowledging the real-time occurrence of global warming through temperature rises worldwide.

Carbon dioxide emissions emerge as prime suspects.

Carbon dioxide emission culpability furnishes the impetus for the politico-economic reaction of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, formed in 1988, supporting emission reductions. It generates different politico-economic responses from energy companies through coal companies creating the Global Climate Coalition and securing American Petroleum Institute funding from the 1990s onward. API support heads William O’Keefe, American Petroleum Institute executive vice president, to the Global Climate Coalition as board member in 1993 and as chairman shortly afterward. Conclusions that “something has to be done” against impending climate change regulations inspire the O’Keefe chairmanship’s receiving $1.5 million revenues every year for 10 years.

Coalition videos from the 1990s juxtapose higher emissions and yields with ending hunger.

Environmental activism keeps big oil companies arguing against regulations but redesigning against climate change’s coastal erosion, glacial melt, permafrost thaw, sea level rise and storm intensification.

Chris Graham, Shell offshore engineer, lists waters and waves “really showing” rises and heights prompting Troll’s 1- to 2-meter-uplifted (3.28- to 6.56-feet-uplifted), $3-billion North Sea platform.

Mobil’s 1996-designed Sable, Nova Scotia, gas field project specifications mention “An estimated rise in water level, due to global warming, of 0.5 meters may be assumed.”

Romke Bijker, Dutch engineer co-writing Europipe specifications, notes as “the most important aspects we have to include if we look 50 years ahead” climate change-aggravated storms.

Arguing and designing against climate change offers no contradiction for big oil companies.

Criticisms prompt Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers’ statement: “These risks would naturally include a range of environmental conditions, some of which could be associated with climate change.”

Mobil-paid, New York Times and Washington Post-circulated advertisements question: “Scientists cannot predict with certainty if temperatures will increase, by how much and where changes will occur.”

William O’Keefe, now George C. Marshall Institute chief executive officer, reveals that for energy-related, multi-billion-dollar investments “Companies always take into account a range of possible outcomes.”

Professor Farrell’s studies suggest a “multi-year effort” by energy companies to prevent falling living standards and rising prices and unemployment and protect multibillion-dollar infrastuctures and investments. Their conclusions turn big oil companies into opponents of bipartisan climate change problem-solving.

Yale University sociologist Justin Farrell examines encouragement of public skepticism of climate change via corporate-funded content and language: Yale University @Yale, via Twitter Nov. 29, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

A symbol of big oil companies; Troll A offshore natural gas platform in Troll gas field off Norway’s west coast claims the record as the largest object ever moved by humans relative to the Earth’s surface; the engineering marvel stands on the sea floor 994 feet (303 meters) below the surface of the North Sea; an elevator in one of the platform’s concrete cylindrical legs travels from the above-surface platform to the sea floor in about 9 minutes. View of Troll A platform taken from southeast; Saturday, June 21, 2008, 10:13: Swinsto101, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Troll_A_Platform.jpg

Yale University sociologist Justin Farrell examines encouragement of public skepticism of climate change via corporate-funded content and language: Yale University @Yale, via Twitter Nov. 29, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/Yale/status/671026592802463744

For further information:

Briggs, William M. 27 November 2015. “There’s Big Money in Global Warming Alarmism.” The Stream.
Available @ https://stream.org/big-money-in-global-warming-alarmism/

Davis, Josh L. 24 November 2015. “20-Year Study Finds That Corporate Funding Has Affected the Public’s Perception of Climate Change.” IFL Science > Environment.
Available @ http://www.iflscience.com/environment/why-climate-change-such-polarizing-subject-0

DeMelle, Brendan. 23 November 2015. “Research Confirms ExxonMobil, Koch-Funded Climate Denial Echo Chamber Polluted Mainstream Media.” Desmog Blog.
Available @ http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/23/research-confirms-exxonmobil-koch-funded-climate-denial-echo-chamber-polluted-mainstream-media

Farrell, Justin. 23 November 2015. “Corporate Funding and Ideological Polarization about Climate Change.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 113, no. 1 (Jan. 5, 2016): 92-97. Published online before print. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1509433112
Available @ http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/11/18/1509433112.full.pdf

Farrell, Justin. 30 November 2015. “Network Structure and Influence of the Climate Change Counter-Movement.” Nature Climate Change > Advance Online Publication> Abstract.
Available @ http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2875.html

Geiling, Natasha. 25 November 2015. “Who Funds the Climate Misinformation Campaign & How?” Ecological Buddhism > Science > Fossil Fuel Capitalism.
Available @ http://www.ecobuddhism.org/science/coal_oil_nuclear/wfclah

Gertz, Emily J. 30 November 2015. “Funding from Exxon or Koch Brothers Gave Deniers a Megaphone in Climate Change Debate.” Yahoo! News.
Available @ https://www.yahoo.com/news/funding-exxon-koch-brothers-gave-deniers-megaphone-climate-160619367.html?

Lieberman, Amy; and Susanne Rust. 31 December 2015. “Big Oil Braced for Global Warming While It Fought Regulations.” Los Angeles Times > Occasional Articles > Oil Operations > Strategic Decisions.
Available @ http://graphics.latimes.com/oil-operations/

Roston, Eric. 30 November 2015. “Unearthing America’s Deep Network of Climate Change Deniers.” Bloomberg > Business.
Available @ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-30/unearthing-america-s-deep-network-of-climate-change-deniers

Shelton, Jim. 24 November 2015. “Study Looks at the Role of Corporate Funding in Climate Change Discussion.” Phys.Org > Earth > Environment.
Available @ http://phys.org/news/2015-11-role-corporate-funding-climate-discussion.html

Yale University @Yale. 29 November 2015. "Study looks at the influence of corporate funding in climate change discussion." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Yale/status/671026592802463744

Yirka, Bob. 24 November 2015. “Sociologist Suggests Corporate Disinformation at Root of Climate Change Polarization.” Phys.Org > Earth > Environment.
Available @ http://phys.org/news/2015-11-sociologist-corporate-disinformation-root-climate.html

New China Taiwan Hotline Has Cabinet Heads of Two Republics Talking

Summary: A new China Taiwan hotline has cabinet heads handling relations between the republics, not deputy directors or semi-official organizations, talk directly.

Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan (Executive Branch), Republic of China, is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and now has a hotline with Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in Beijing: Voice of America, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A new China Taiwan hotline allows the respective cabinet heads who are responsible for relations between the two republics to speak directly for the first time, according to announcements Dec. 30, 2015.

The new China Taiwan hotline bridges distances between the cabinet heads of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei and of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing. The communication first comes about as the direct result of another first, the first meeting between the two leaders of China and of Taiwan since 1949. It derives from the meeting and dinner of Ma Ying-jeou, 6th President of Taiwan, and Xi Jinping, 7th President of China, in Singapore Nov. 4, 2015.

Officials expect the hotline to ease tensions.

The new hotline finds a precedent in pre-existing hotlines to connect the deputy directors of Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan and Taiwan Affairs Office in China.

Pre-existing hotlines get their most pivotal use by semi-official organizations that assume roles as negotiators in a series of agreements in the absence of formal ties. Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson at the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, hopes that the new, higher-level hotline will advance mutual trust and facilitate mutual communications. She indicates for the new China Taiwan hotline: “We hope the two authorities will make efforts to maintain and promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.”

China judges as equally important Taiwan’s acceptance of island and mainland as one.

Acceptance or rejection of the island as politico-economically distinct from the mainland since the civil war keeps government officials, political parties and registered voters divided politically.

Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan’s president-elect in 2008, leaves office in 2016 after a presidency that is pro-China in policies promoting direct trade and travel and intertwining economies. The Taiwan Affairs Office in China makes no mention of island presidential elections scheduled for Jan. 16, 2016, in Taiwan, perhaps because of the predicted outcome. Analysts of Taiwan’s politico-economic trends note the strong chance of Tsai Ing-wen, presidential candidate of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, becoming the island’s president in 2016.

Tsai Ing-wen opposes endorsing China’s claim to the island and mainland as one.

A perception of cultural, political and social differences prompts Tsai Ing-wen to assert the formal independence of Taiwan as a Chinese nation distinct from the mainland.

Tsai questions predicating the new China Taiwan hotline with deference by the insular Republic of China to the sovereignty of the mainland People’s Republic of China. She also refrains from any imminently permanent, radical change in the current status of Taiwan as politico-economically independent by fact if not by law from China. She stresses among priorities in the next presidency the need to stabilize relations between China and Taiwan rather than to destabilize with immediate declarations of independence.

China takes the stance that formalizing independence may be met with military force.

(left to right) Ma Ying-jeou, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan; ROC), and Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, in Singapore, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 (Reuters/Edgar Su): Reuters World @ReutersWorld, via Twitter Dec. 30, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan (Executive Branch), Republic of China, is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and now has a hotline with Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in Beijing: Voice of America, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mainland_Affairs_Council_from_VOA.jpg

(left to right) Ma Ying-jeou, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan; ROC), and Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, in Singapore, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 (Reuters/Edgar Su): Reuters World @ReutersWorld, via Twitter Dec. 30, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/ReutersWorld/status/682152916447178752

For further information:

Bodeen, Christopher. 30 December 2015. “China, Taiwan Inaugurate Upgraded Hotline between Sides.” The Washington Post > Asia & Pacific.
Available @ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-taiwan-inaugurate-upgraded-hotline-between-sides/2015/12/30/18c7d9d0-aeb7-11e5-b281-43c0b56f61fa_story.html

Botelho, Greg; Kevin Wang; and Katie Hunt. 4 November 2015. “Call Me Mister: Taiwan, China Presidents to Hold Historic Meeting.” Cable News Network > World.
Available @ http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/asia/taiwan-china/index.html

CCTV News. 29 December 2015. "Hotline between Chinese mainland & Taiwan administrations launched." YouTube.
Available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dweeiGMzgcA

Reuters World‏ @ReutersWorld. 30 December 2015. "China, Taiwan open first hotline in tension reducing measure." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/ReutersWorld/status/682152916447178752

Dec. 30 Strong Geomagnetic Storm; New Year's Eve Auroras Aplenty

Summary: NOAA's Dec. 30 strong geomagnetic storm (G3) upgrade should trigger New Year's Eve auroras aplenty, beyond the aurora's normal polar latitudes.

NOAA's coronal mass ejection data for end-of-December 2015 geomagnetic storms: NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center @NWSSWPC, via Facebook Dec. 30, 2015

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is upgrading to a G3 strong geomagnetic storm watch for Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, while a G1 minor storm watch remains in effect for New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31.

NOAA’s forecast, published Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 17:43 Coordinated Universal Time (12:43 Eastern Standard Time), finds that impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun with the Earth’s magnetosphere is likely to occur soon after mid-UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) day on Dec. 30. The mid-day impact is expected to generate a G3 level geomagnetic response on Earth. Residual effects of the coronal mass ejection’s mid-day impact likely will linger into New Year’s Eve, at the lowest level of a G1 minor geomagnetic storm.

NOAA’s forecast also notes that visibility of the aurora may extend as far as Illinois and Oregon. A plus of geomagnetic storms is the expansion of visibility of the aurora beyond the colorful charged particles’ normal polar latitudes, north of the Arctic Circle (66 degrees North) and south of the Antarctic (60 degrees South) Circle.

According to the Aurora Notify website, auroral displays triggered by the Dec. 30 strong geomagnetic storm will color skies throughout northern Europe, Trans-Tasmania, Canada, Alaska and much of the northern United States, possibly as far south as Utah, for two successive nights through New Year’s Eve.

The coronal mass ejection responsible for 2015’s end-of-December geomagnetic storms is linked to an M1 solar flare of long duration that peaked on Dec. 28 at 12:45 Coordinated Universal Time (7:45 a.m. Eastern Standard Time). Dec. 28’s solar flare is responsible for a weak radio blackout, identified as R1 minor on NOAA’s five-level Radio Blackout Scale. A solar flare presents an intense flash of brightness as magnetic energy, built up in the solar atmosphere, is released.

NOAA’s Space Weather Scale for geomagnetic storms consists of five levels: G1 minor, G2 moderate, G3 strong, G4 severe and G5 extreme. Dec. 30’s upgraded G3 watch points to intermittent high frequency (HF) radio transmissions and satellite navigation as well as false alarm triggers and voltage problems on power system protection devices, increased drag on low-Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems for spacecraft.

New Year’s Eve’s G1 watch expects weak fluctuations for power systems, minor impacts on spacecraft operations and visibility of the aurora at high latitudes, such as Maine and northern Michigan.

The watches for Dec. 30 and 31 are issued in response to forecasts by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) and results of the Wang-Sheeley-Arge-Enlil (WSA-Enlil) physics-based model for predicting the impacts of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar winds on the inner planets of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. WSA-Enlil specifically models effects on power systems, spacecraft operations and other human instrumentation.

Solar winds flow as constantly streaming spirals of charged particles from the sun. In fluctuations from ambient to strong, solar winds are able to disturb instrumentation systems on Earth.

As fast, strong eruptions, coronal mass ejections travel to Earth within three or four days. Coronal mass ejections are responsible for geomagnetic storms that produce auroras and disrupt technology, such as aviation systems, Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation systems and power grids.

New Year's Eve display may extend beyond aurora's normal polar latitudes: PNNL @PNNLab, via Twitter Dec. 30, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

NOAA’s G3 graphic: NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center @NWSSWPC. "The G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storming watch has been extended into 31 December as the anticipated CME has yet to arrive.": NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center @NWSSWPC, via Facebook Dec. 30, 2015, @ https://www.facebook.com/NWSSWPC/photos/a.233373770047193.67030.232532740131296/1221219054595988/

New Year's Eve display may extend beyond aurora's normal polar latitudes: PNNL @PNNLab, via Twitter Dec. 30, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/PNNLab/status/682233578617307137

For further information:

"Auroras due December 30." Aurora Notify. Dec. 29, 2015.
Available @ http://auroranotify.com/2015/12/29/auroras-due-dec-30/

Bailey, Caitlin. "What is the WSA-ENLIL Model?" NASA Goddard Space Weather Research Center > Videos > Informational Videos.
Available @ http://swc.gsfc.nasa.gov/main/enlilvideo

"G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storming Likely 30 December." NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Dec. 29, 2015.
Available @ http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g3-strong-geomagnetic-storming-likely-30-december

NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center @NWSSWPC. "The G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storming watch has been extended into 31 December as the anticipated CME has yet to arrive." Facebook. Dec. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/NWSSWPC/photos/a.233373770047193.67030.232532740131296/1221219054595988/

PNNL‏ @PNNLab. "Solar eruption may ring in New Year with massive Aurora Borealis display." Twitter. Dec. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/PNNLab/status/682233578617307137

Tomlinson, Stuart. "Northern Lights: Coronal mass ejection on the sun could produce Aurora borealis over Oregon." Oregon Live > Pacific Northwest News. Dec. 30, 2015.
Available A http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/12/northern_lights_coronal_mass_e.html