COP30 protesters crash venue & clash w security, On Demand News Nov 12 3.2-min report, footage- Heating Planet blog

"It was scary, because they were pushing each other. There were girls that were were being pushed and we got very worried. They tried to grab one of my companions, but we managed to free him." [footage] Watch: Protestors Force Their Way Into COP30 Venue and Clash With Security- On Demand NewsTRANSCRIPT: cont'd 2.39 They were not doing this because they are bad people. They are doing this because they are desperately trying to protect their lands. They are desperate desperately trying to protect the river. They are riverside communities that have so many limitations where they live. [footage] 

Earth record heat getting hotter, now come the impacts- APT Nov 12 SCIENCE report w transcript, Heating Planet blog

There's no new normal, because it's not static. We're still moving; At 1.5 C we're halfway to the Pleistocene, the last time Earth was quite warm. Where people live, we are seeing the impacts of climate change in extreme heat. WATCH & READ Earth Hits Record Heat: What the Science Says About Climate Change- APT[APT News YouTube channel- Accurate, Powerful, Timely international news coverage. From the United States since 2016] TRANSCRIPT:

[Music] [footage of recent heatwave in Italy, people and traffic]

1.48

Right. The most important thing are the long-term trends. Right. We've warmed the planet by about 1.5 degrees Celsius since the since the 19th century. And that is halfway to the Pleistocene. And the Pleistocene was the the period 3 million years ago. That was the last time that it was actually quite warm, and that was only three degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial. So, we're halfway there, but not in millions of years. In 150 years. [Footage melting glaciers, flooding water- drone footage, melted glacier ice rocking on ocean surface,] [wow] 

4.13

We do detect some acceleration in the last 20 years compared to the previous 20 years. Um whether that means that temperatures are going to like suddenly rocket up exponentially that seems a little unlikely. but we're seeing the impacts of the changes that we have. I mean whether we can formally detect an acceleration in that, that is what we expect right and we expect that because we still haven't really started reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. until we do then we have our foot on the accelerator pedal of of global warming. 

[Music] [underwater footage]

5.30

Now it's large enough that we're seeing that signal- we’re not just at the global mean, not just to the continental mean, not just in the regional mean, but at the local mean, at the weather stations where people live. We are seeing the impacts of climate change on extreme heat. We're seeing it on extreme rainfall. We're seeing it on sea level rise and storm surges if you're in a coastal area. We're seeing it in wildfires; and it is now no longer possible to just say oh you know this is just something that the scientists worry about. It doesn't affect normal people. It's affecting normal people. It's affecting them all over the world. 

6.11

[Music] hurricane footage, wildfire footage, 

11.15

Well, but there's no normal because that implies that we're just going to stay where we are. And we're not. We're things are continuing to get worse. for us to stabilize global warming even at the level that it is now, effectively, we have to get to net zero. We have to stop emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And that's that's a huge challenge. so, you know, that isn't going to happen anytime soon. 

And so that means that while that's not happening, temperatures are going to increase and the extremes are going to become more extreme. Now you know whether you know one year or another is like warmer or cooler than than the previous year. Okay? You're not going to see that in the in the weather statistics. But we have reached a point now where this isn't the new normal because it's not static. We're still moving. but the baselines are shifting., and so what was normal for the 1980s is no longer the case. Right? So, if you're making plans based on what extreme weather was doing in the 1980s, then you're way out of date with what's actually going to happen. 

[KE: Everything climate scientists predicted about global warming since the 1970s is coming true, only faster][Because instead of lowering emissions we increased them and now it's happening faster every year.]

COP 30 protest turns aggressive- Watch Guardian News video from Nov 11 at Heating Planet blog

Protesters stormed the restricted section of the COP 30 climate talks on Tuesday night. They clashed with security. An indigenous man shouted, "You want our territory free. But the business of oil exploration, mineral exploitation, and logging continues." WATCH Protesters force their way into Cop30 climate summit. Guardian News report late last night

Local media reported that one security guard was injured but it's unclear how severely. The protesters left the venue after the confrontation, and officers formed a cordon to block the entrance. Activists have been growing in number over the past week, all of them have been peaceful until now- KE Blogger

Newsom blasts Trump at COP30, says America has abdicated climate leadership- Video w transcript, Heating Planet blog

We have a president of the United States who simply doesn't understand how enthusiastic President Xi is today that the Trump administration is nowhere to be found at COP30. Point to the insurance crisis induced and exacerbated because of climate change, global warming is an economic issue. WATCH DRM News Nov 11 2025 READ transcript belowDRM News Nov 11 2025 TRANSCRIPT:

0.07

In California we have over the course of this calendar year nine out of 10 days run at a portion of the day at 100%, 100% clean energy. And that's because of our very intentional policies that are nation-leading, including our cap and invest program that we just extended to 2045. So I point that as aspect of contrast to what's going on in Washington DC. I don't want that to shape your perception of my country. 

We also recognize that climate risk is also financial risk and increasingly we are struggling as a nation with home building and access to mortgages because of the insurance crisis that has been induced and exacerbated because of climate change. I say that to reinforce the economic imperative to address from a cost of living perspective the importance of changing the way we produce and consume energy. 

1.10

Final point, I'm not naive about our biggest competitor in the United States of America. And I say this not with a closed fist, but my eyes wide open. As an American, I respect and admire what China is doing at scale as it relates to supply chains and manufacturing. In the United States, America better wake up to that. Our legacy automobile manufacturers better wake up to that. 

This is not about electric power. This is about economic power. And we in the state of California are not going to cede that race to China. We're going to compete in that market. And I think one of the great abdications, final point, is the own goal of a president of the United States who simply doesn't understand how enthusiastic President Xi is today that the Trump administration is nowhere to be found at COP30  today. Thank you. 

2.20

We'll continue to take a few questions from the media. If you're interested, please raise your hand. Go over to the gentleman over there. 

Oh yes. Thank you. James Thawn from Internews's Earth Journalism Network and the Climate Change Media Partnership. I'm also from California, Governor Newsom, and our home, our state. Here we go. Right here. There you Uh yeah, our state is home to social media firms and AI companies that of course power our economy, but they're also spreading climate disinformation and causing a surge in electricity demand. What do you think we should do, if anything, about that? 

N: Well, as you know, we're the first state in the country uh to regulate um AI enterprises. We've led the nation as it relates to truth and trust policies, as it relates to social media companies. We can do a lot more. I'm not naive about that. 

We're also home the top  AI companies in the world. So, we're not naive about the impacts, particularly from a consumption perspective, not just electricity, energy, broadly defined, but also water. 

3.33

And I also recognize our responsibility to continue our nation-leading innovation not just in these technologies but in new technologies like fusion, new technologies like modern nuclear; and looking at those kinds of investments that are happening disproportionately the research and development in those spaces disproportionately in my home own home state. So that's the way we approach these things, we're not naive about the world we're inventing and not naive about the impacts of that world not just in our state but globally as well. 

Thank you. We'll take a couple more questions. We are a bit short on time. We go over to Oh, excuse me, the minister of cities will have to go back to his meeting and uh thanks thanks for joining us today. Thank you. We go over there to the second row, please. The lady in white. Second row, third, fourth from the left. 

4.45

Governor Somini Sanup from the New York Times. You have said a couple of times that you want to reframe climate action as an economic issue. How should Democrats in the United States be talking about climate change? Because when they tried to talk about climate change in the last presidential election, it was one of the issues among others that did not seem to resonate with voters. 

N: Well, that's why I said it's not about electric power, it's about economic power. I think we have to reframe it as a cost of living issue. And we've seen the estimates from the New York Times among others reported, the estimates of Donald Trump's attack and assault on Joe Biden's policies as it relates to his low carbon green growth initiatives will cost the average ratepayer 10% more in bills this calendar year. That's a kitchen table issue. That's a cost of living issue. It's about people. It's about places. It's about lifestyles. It's about traditions. 

5.51

I think we have to use different language. I've said this before with respect to the global audience. The vast majority of my audience doesn't know what Celsius is. You talk 1.5 degrees Celsius. How many what how many more degrees is that Fahrenheit? We talk about greenhouse gas emissions. Is where are they? Do they float in the sky or where do they land? We don't understand. We have to use better metaphors. We have to change our language. We have to talk in terms that people understand a pollution benefit. We have to talk in terms that I think can unite people uh and not look at this in the abstract. 

And so I think we have some work to do as a party uh as a nation uh and that progress we're trying to make and promote here at COP. Thank you. We go over to the gentleman in the front here. 

Governor Newsom, we see between these uh US administrations a climate action whiplash? Uh, how do we uh how can the United States move uh beyond that and to the point where the basic direction of travel on on fundamental issues like moving away from fossil fuels becomes a nonpartisan issue. 

7.04

N: Let me give you a proof point. In Trump's first administration, four years, he doubled solar production. We reduced coal use and greenhouse gases were reduced despite his policies. The market is moving in this direction. States are moving in this direction. I happen to be co-chair of four different partnerships in the United States of America. I just left America all-in partnership, a bipartisan leadership group of n subnational and local particularly state and local leaders. I'm the co-chair uh of the US climate alliance. 24 governors were part of initiatives on clean car initiatives as relates to zero emission vehicles of which roughly a third of our new car purchases were zero emission vehicles. 

Our Pacific Coast collaborative states are partnering despite the headwinds in Washington DC. So I think it's incredibly important not to look at the prism of the United States through one lens federal but federalism states local government th amendment of the constitution United States. The federal vision is realized at the local level and remarkable things continue to happen all across the United States in cities large and small and states large and small-

And if the mayor of Mo want to share some comments. 

8.30

Okay. Then I would like to underline that what governor just said about creating a new language. I really think it's important to talk in a way that build trust and I think in the case of my city we use we started to transform the city due to the industrial crisis and today I would say that we have a strong support from our citizens since they saw the change with a strong focus on the green transition create a lot of new green jobs. Uh we had a very problematic situation with problems uh due to the industrial crime-

END OF VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT

[KE: I was not going to run any speech transcripts at the blog from COP 30, but I have been a constituent of Newsom since he was mayor of San Francisco and I have a lot of Hope for what he can do for the USA and the world.]

Hawaii Island wildfire burns over 2,100 acres, 60% contained as of this AM- Hawaii News Now Nov 11 report, Heating Planet blog

Latest on a wildfire that has burned for days on Hawaii Island on the slopes of Mauna Kea. At last check, the Mana Road Fire is 60% contained and has scorched about 2100 acres since it started Friday morning Nov 7. It is burning about 7 miles from Mauna Kea Access Road. Thankfully officials tell us it does not pose a threat to any residents or structures. Nov 11, 2025- WATCH:  Firefighters continue to battle a wildfire near Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island... belowrelated MSM- 

Spectrum News

Mana Road wildfire north of Hilo 60% contained as of Monday

An update from the County of Hawaii Mayor's Office on Monday stated the wildfire located on the Hilo side of Mana Road and 7 miles from the...

[KE: Everything climate scientists predicted about global warming since the 1970s is coming true, only faster]

 

COP30 day 2 talks in Brazil as The Philippines still underwater- 3.5-hour Reuters video- Watch at Heating Planet blog

No transcript, just running it here for history REUTERS streamed this AM, MEANWHILE Posted this AM at Heating Planet blog: https://cityofangels25.blogspot.com/2025/11/philippines-typhoon-death-toll-up-many.html

-KE Blogger

Philippines typhoon death toll up, many buried in landslides- Nov 11 DW News 6.5-min even more vivid report w transcript, Heating Planet blog

With the nation still under a state of emergency, relief trucks are wading through flooded neighborhoods, hundreds of roads are completely impassible. WATCH DW News Nov 11 Philippines: Have the billions of dollars invested in flood control helped at all? TRANSCRIPT: The Philippines is recovering from the second destructive storm in less than a week. Super typhoon Fun Wong left a trail of destruction across the north, killing at least 18 people and cutting off entire towns. More than 1.4 million people have been displaced with huge numbers now sheltering in schools and community halls. 

A storm so strong it's shaking the suspension bridge like a string. Waves as high as buildings pound the coastline. Flash floods, storm surges, landslides, and gale force winds tearing through villages. 

This drone footage from the coastal Aurora province shows the aftermath. It's here that Fun Vong first made landfall. 

All our belongings are now soaked. We weren't able to save anything. Our house is now filled with mud. 

I've lived here my whole life, but this is the strongest typhoon we've experienced. The river has overflowed into our houses. Our crops are gone. 

1.20

this storm ripped across 2/3 of the archipelago. Just days ago, Typhoon Kalmaegi battered this same region, killing hundreds before families could even begin to recover, Fun Wong delivered another blow. Salvador de la Cruz is rebuilding what's left of his home again. 

A huge wave 4 m high hit my house and destroyed it. The water reached further down the road and it was waist deep here. 

Now that super typhoon Fun Wong has moved on, authorities are racing to restore power and reopen roads. With the nation still under a state of emergency, relief trucks are wading through flooded neighborhoods. 

Across the islands, communities are pulling together, sharing supplies and opening shelters. Street by street, volunteers are pressing on, making sure no one is left behind. 

Let's cross now to Kalumpit in the Philippines where we can get the very latest from journalist Dave Grunbal. good to see you Dave. Can you give us an update on the situation there where you are? 

2.51

Well, the death toll is now up to 18 people. Authorities say that many of them were buried in landslides and that's an ongoing concern here. While close to a million and a half people evacuated ahead of the storm, there's close to a quarter million people still in evacuation centers. And authorities say that they for a lot of them they just don't know when it will be safe for these people to go home because to the north of me here you've got mountainous terrain and the ground is just so saturated. 

So authorities are really concerned that there may be landslides in the days ahead. 

Also on top of that there are hundreds of roads that are just completely impassible including dozens of major roads. Some of these roads got swept over by flood waters which severely damaged the roads or in other cases debris was brought on that still needs to be cleared. And some of these roads were buried in landslides with giant trees that are on them now. And even when they get these major roads open, they still got to get clear clear through secondary streets and tertiary streets to get all the debris out of there. 

3.42

So some of these villages are just completely cut off and they just have no idea of the extent of the damage in some of these communities right now. When the Chico River burst through its banks, people had just minutes and many of them just scrambled to their rooftops, the only place they could go as they watched the river just flow through their villages carrying cars in some cases like they were just mere toys. 

Now, the government ahead of the storm pivoted about 2,000 soldiers from field exercises to humanitarian aid where they're now working side by side with Red Cross workers and NOS's providing food, clothing, water, shelter to so many evacuees. And as I said, some of these evacuees could be there for quite some time. I mean, keep in mind, this storm had a diameter of 1,800 km, sustained wind speeds of 185 km per hour. Just an absolute monster. 

It sounds like a really really serious situation. Dave, you you mentioned a couple of times there the flooding as a result of the the storms. I believe the Philippines has spent billions of dollars on flood control projects. Did they help at all reduce the effects of the typhoons? 

4.51

In some cases, yes, but in some cases absolutely not. In many cases, absolutely not. This country in recent years has spent about 8 billion US dollars on flood control projects, but investigators have determined that some of these projects that were marked as complete are nowhere near finished. Some of these projects that were marked as complete were never even started. We've got ghost projects here. 

And even some of these projects that were complete, investigators found that there are total design flaws and engineering flaws that- they are just not up to standards. The community that I'm in right now, this neighborhood, this neighborhood, they had a flood control project and investigators determined that it did not meet standards. It's one of many across the country. 

The flood control products we're talking about here include dikes and pumping stations. For this community, it was a dyke. But people are furious about it. It has led to massive protests. One in September drew more than 50,000 people. People are saying they want full investigations. Some government officials have resigned over this, but people are saying that's just not enough. They want full accountability and they want full investigations to determine who's involved with this. Were there kickbacks to government officials? And if so, which government officials took them? Which private contractors pay them? And people are saying, if this all turns out to be true, they want anyone responsible locked up. 

journalist Dave Grunbau reporting from the Philippines. Dave, thank you so much.

***** First report today was vivid too

Philippines 2 typhoons in 6 days, 1.4 million evacuated- Sky News vivid 2.5 min report Nov 10 w/transcript- Heating Planet blog

in the last six days, this nation has been battered

COP30: Press Conference day one as The Philippines go underwater- Watch 38-min UN video at Heating Planet blog

Streamed live Nov 10 Watch the press conference for COP30 Day 1 from Belém, Brazil. No transcript, just here to view for history:
[Meanwhile posted earlier today: https://cityofangels25.blogspot.com/2025/11/philippines-2-typhoons-6-days-14.html they are meeting for 30th year while climate disasters increased exponentially]

Philippines 2 typhoons in 6 days, 1.4 million evacuated- Sky News vivid 2.5 min report Nov 10 w/transcript- Heating Planet blog

in the last six days, this nation has been battered. First, Typhoon Kalmaegi hit, killing at least 224 people. And now, this, the aftermath of what began as a super typhoon, Fun Wong. These villagers know exactly what flooding can do. But there are still surprises, still bewildering sights. lives turned upside down with increasing frequency thanks to climate change. WATCH Sky News Nov 10 2025 report, How climate change is affecting the Philippines- read hereTRANSCRIPT: The Philippines is no stranger to storms, but in the last six days, it's been battered. First, Typhoon Kalmaegi hit, killing at least 224 people. And now, this, the aftermath of what began as a super typhoon, Fun Wong. These villagers know exactly what flooding can do. But there are still surprises, still bewildering sights. lives turned upside down with increasing frequency thanks to climate change. 

This has been a very very intense monsoon period and there's been a lot of criticism even protests about a lack of flood defensive and allegations of corruption too. Now we're in a place called Suma Cab Norte and just behind me we’ve been told there is a whole community that's effectively been cut off around  300 homes about 15 hundred residents. 

1.00

There were winds of up to 185 km an hour when it hit, making this bridge look like it was made of paper, crashing into Aurora in the northeast as it made landfall, some swimming through the streets. In all, 1.4 million people were evacuated. 

Jennifer fled with her five children and grandchildren. This was what they faced, trying to wade through waste deep water. We feared for our lives, she says that we might drown. It's sad and it's hard for us because we're poor and now that we're flooded, we need to start all over again. 

Marie also escaped. For now, the cleanup operation looks pretty overwhelming. 

2.09

We're scared because the impact of the wind that night, it's so very fast and so very scary. And the flood, it's so very fast. 

Do you think you'll be able to get back soon? 

I hope so. I hope so. We come back soon. 

The typhoon is headed for Taiwan. downgraded and here not as devastating as feared. But extreme weather is becoming more common and life for many in the Philippines a lot less secure. Sky News in the Philippines.

[KE: Everything climate scientists predicted about global warming since the 1970s is coming true, only faster]

Since starting Heating Planet blog September 1, I've been impeded by the Trump admin DOE and MAGA zombie-run Facebook, both trying to block this information from coming out. It only caused a temporary setback, this blog will not stop. There is a PayPal button in the top left column if a reader wants to send me a high $5 or more, as I am a food stamp survivor in USA and I could use some help; it will be a couple years before these ads start earning me any money. Thank you.

‪Kay Ebeling in Tahoe‬ ‪@rogueagent48.bsky.socia

Connect with me on Blue Sky

COP30: Opening Ceremony 2025- Climate leaders talk while typhoons swallow nations Watch at Heating Planet blog

COP30: Opening Ceremony | UN Climate ChangeNo transcript, just posting it here for people to watch and see what cop 30 was doing while the other side of the world was going underwater. https://cityofangels25.blogspot.com/2025/11/philippines-chilling-video-typhoon-fung.html

Philippines chilling video- Typhoon Fung-wong leaves floods, landslides- Mirror Now 5.5 min Nov 10 ominous report, Heating Planet blog

Typhoon Fung-wong exited northwestern Philippines after triggering floods, landslides, and power outages, killing eight and displacing 1.4 million. Super Typhoon Fung-Wong Strikes Philippines Triggers Landslide, Floods, Power Outs: Chilling Video Mirror Now Nov 10 The storm hit Aurora province with 185 kph winds before weakening over northern regions. Still reeling from Typhoon Kalmaegi’s 224 deaths, the Philippines now braces as Fung-wong heads toward Taiwan and Vietnam

[KE: Everything climate scientists predicted about global warming since the 1970s is coming true, only faster]

Drone footage Fung-wong destroys Philippine coastal highway- Watch Earth Uncut at Heating Planet blog

Drone Footage Destroyed Philippines Highway From Typhoon Storm Surge Earth Uncut TV Nov 10

Philippines battered by 21st storm of year as COP leaders confab for 30th time- Firstpost Nov 10 report w transcript, Heating Planet blog

In one part of the world, families are fleeing rising water. In another, delegates are debating rising costs. One country is fighting to survive another typhoon. The rest are still fighting over who should pay for prevention. WATCH & READ: Philippines Battles 21st Storm as COP30 Climate Summit Begins in Brazil | Vantage With Palki SharmaTRANSCRIPT: Now, let's talk about climate change. The Philippines is underwater again. Another typhoon has slammed into the islands. It's called Fun Wong. More than a million people have been evacuated and at least five people have been confirmed dead. This is the 21st storm to hit the country this year. The 21st this year. Every few weeks, a new storm arrives. It is stronger, wetter, and deadlier. 

Scientists have warned about this for years. A warmer planet means stronger storms. And yet, halfway across the world, leaders are paying lip service to climate change. 

They've gathered in Brazil for COP30. It's the global climate summit. These leaders are meeting in the Amazon to talk about saving the planet, but the reality is hard to ignore. The biggest polluters are not even at the table. The same pledges are being repeated, the same deadlines are being pushed, and the action the world needs is still missing. Here's a report. 

1.00

The Philippines is underwater again. Typhoon Fun Wong has torn across the islands with winds close to 200 km an hour. It is the 21 st storm to hit the country this year. More than 1.4 million people have been evacuated and at least five people have been confirmed dead. 

For two days, relentless rain and wind battered communities across the islands. Rivers burst their banks, cutting off towns. Power lines collapsed, plunging thousands into darkness. 

Rescue teams used boats to reach families stranded in their homes. It is a scene the country has seen too many times before and too often this year. 

Just days earlier, another typhoon tore through the same region. A storm called Kalmeigi killed more than  people and left thousands in makeshift shelters. Many were still living there when Typhoon Fun Wong arrived. For them, it wasn't a new disaster, just the next one. 

2.10

The ground was still soaked. The rivers were still high, and the damage from one storm simply merged into the next. Each season now feels shorter, each recovery harder. Because in the Philippines, the break between storms has almost disappeared. Experts say the pattern is no longer random. Warmer oceans means stronger typhoons. A hotter atmosphere carries more moisture and more rainfall. 

For millions in the country, climate change is not a theory. It is the weather outside their door. Yet, while the Philippines counts the cost, another kind of storm is unfolding thousands of kilome away. In Brazil, world leaders are meeting under the banner of COP30, the annual climate summit. It is being held in Belem on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. 

The idea to find solutions to the same crisis that is now flooding homes across the world. But the summit is already showing familiar cracks. The United States has not sent a senior delegation. Around 160 countries are represented only by ministers or deputies, and the targets discussed a decade ago in Paris remain largely unmet. 

3.30

Brazil's president says he brought the meeting to the Amazon so that delegates could see the reality. He's calling for a global fund to protect rainforests and a road map to phase down fossil fuels. However, the discussions sound much like those from past summits. Funds promised are still unpaid. Timelines are still disputed, and the gap between words and action keeps widening. It has been 30 years since the first COP30 meeting. 30 years of plans, declarations, and photo opportunities. Yet, global emissions keep rising and the storms keep coming. 

This week, the contrast is impossible to miss. In one part of the world, families are fleeing rising water. In another, delegates are debating rising costs. One country is fighting to survive another typhoon. The rest are still fighting over who should pay for prevention. 

4.25

Climate change is no longer a projection on paper. It is a pattern in the sky, in the soil, and in the storms. And as talks continue in air conditioned rooms, the Philippines is once again cleaning up after the consequences. 

END OF TRANSCRIPT

[KE: Everything climate scientists predicted about global warming since the 1970s is coming true, only faster. But no one foresaw this Trump / Gatsby like separation of leaders from people on the ground, which leads to no leadership at all. Enjoy your hors d'ouvres.]

'We Are The Asteroid' CO2 n rate of change now is 10x higher than previous Earth extinctions- Yale Climate report w transcript, Heating Planet blog

Scientists piece together Permian extinction with parallels to our situation today, with human caused climate change. James Hansen: A given temperature line is now moving pole-ward at a rate of 50 to 60 kilometers per decade- WATCH & READ: We Are The Asteroid, report from Yale Climate Connections posted by greenmanbucket Oct 11[MSM related report] Climate change and declining biodiversity are the two biggest environmental crises facing humankind today, but predicting how they’ll play out together is tricky. Ideally, scientists would study how life on Earth responded to previous periods of drastic climate change, but the fossil record for most species is spotty. The fossils of foraminifera are an exception, however: They’re everywhere] https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/06/the-history-of-the-ocean-as-told-by-tiny-beautiful-fossils/

**********

TRANSCRIPT:

Some of the bigger concerns that we have are species extinctions which are ramping up and getting larger and larger. Already we're in a very very large extinction period just from human beings competing with plants and animals for space on the planet. But now as climate is changing, we're seeing an acceleration in that. 

James Hansen: A given temperature line is now moving poleward at a rate of about 50 to 60 kilometers per decade, about 35 miles per decade. And it's been doing that now for 30 years. Species can live within certain climatic zones. So those at the high latitudes in effect we're pushing them off the planet. We're removing the conditions in which they can survive. 

Several scientists: 

It's going to have an impact on biodiversity, which in my opinion is even bigger than sea level rise, right? The decay of species. 

A lot of species, plants, animals, microbes are unknown to science. They live on Earth, but we don't know that they exist and they don't have even a scientific name. Every time we destroy a tropical forest, we pollute a river, we destroy a temporary forest, some mangroves or some coral reef, most likely we're losing a species. But because we don't know them, obviously it is impossible to say which ones are becoming extinct.

1.20

Every time a species goes extinct, you have lost whatever it learned throughout its becoming a species in terms of how to adapt, how to live, the medicines. 

75% of the active compounds of the methods that we use right now come from plants and animals in the wild. 

There's knowledge encoded in the DNA of every species out there because every species managed to survive. and every time we lose one of those, we lose valuable information. 

The rate at which we're losing species today is much much higher than the rate at which species naturally originate. And so that means that global diversity is is going down. 

2.00

One of the points I think it's really important for people to understand. We're sort of inured to news of extinctions. You know, the pandas are going extinct. You know, we hear it all the time. So we're just like, oh, that must be natural. But in fact, extinction should take place extremely rarely. You should really not know of any animals going extinct in the course of a human lifetime for all intents and purposes. So if you know of creatures that have gone extinct, it is a very unusual moment in Earth history. 

So every time that we're losing one species, we're losing, we're eroding the capabilities of Earth to maintain life in general and to maintain human life in particular. 

No matter what the cause of extinction, we see that the recovery time scale is millions of years. If you have several million years to wait around, the planet should be fine. If you are planning for your lifetime or your grandchildren's lifetime or their grandchildren's lifetime, if you're planning for the continuation of the nation that you live in or the society that you feel like you belong to, those won't be here when recovery happens from the kinds of changes that we're causing today. 

3.08

Do you have a favorite global catastrophe that you like to study?

Oh, I mean there are lots of good ones. 

The fifth extinction, if you will, was the extinction of the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago, which there's a pretty broad scientific consensus was caused by an asteroid impact. 

Some of the other mass extinctions have volcanic activity associated with them. And so, a more common thread seems to be climate change and volcanism. When we look back in Earth history, we find events where the drivers for those environmental changes and biotic changes were tied to releases of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere just like the modern climate change is being driven by releasing of fossil fuel to the atmosphere. 

3.54

So, the Permian mass extinction is the largest one in Earth history to the best of our knowledge. It's estimated upwards of 95% of all species on the planet went extinct. 

This happened about 250 million years ago. 

At the end of the Permian era, the planet entered one of the most extreme periods of volcanism in its history. As a region of Siberia the size of Europe erupted for thousands of years, greenhouse gas emissions were comparable to human industrial emissions today. 

The magnitude the the total amount of carbon released and the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in these major geological events is comparable to but probably somewhat larger than than our capacity to increase atmospheric CO2 through fossil fuel burning. 

However, the rate of change today is about 10 times faster than in these massive events in Earth history. The rate of carbon addition, the rate of climate change and environmental change that is occurring today is unprecedented in Earth history. 

One of the things about what's happening now is it's happening on a a speed that is um quite a bit faster than anything else that's been seen in the past. 

And now you will hear scientists say, I have heard scientists say that that we are the asteroid because of these very radical ways that we're changing the planet.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

[KE: Everything climate scientists predicted about global warming since the 1970s is coming true, only faster.]