Browsed by
Category: Climate Change

We are in an age of fire

We are in an age of fire

Caroline Mimbs Nyce writes: To see fire weather—hot, dry, windy conditions—in Hawaii this time of year is not unusual, Ian Morrison, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Honolulu forecast office, told me. The NWS had issued a red-flag warning for the area, which indicates to local residents and officials alike that wildfire potential is high. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the majority of Maui is also abnormally dry or in drought; the western side in particular was parched,…

Read More Read More

Private jets are awful for the climate. It’s time to tax the rich who fly in them

Private jets are awful for the climate. It’s time to tax the rich who fly in them

Sen. Edward J Markey writes: The climate crisis is not in transit, it’s arrived at the gate. It’s in our skies, our water, and our land – with record-shattering heat waves, increasingly severe wildfires and flooding from superstorms and rising seas. We have no time for delays. Tackling this crisis and protecting frontline environmental justice communities will take all of us. And the tax-dodging ultra-wealthy need to stop fueling the problem and start supporting first-class solutions. That’s why, this July,…

Read More Read More

Winter heatwave in Andes is sign of things to come, scientists warn

Winter heatwave in Andes is sign of things to come, scientists warn

The Guardian reports: Exceptional winter heat in the Andean mountains of South America has surged to 37C, prompting local scientists to warn the worst may be yet to come as human-caused climate disruption and El Niño cause havoc across the region. The heatwave in the central Chilean Andes is melting the snow below 3,000 metres (9,840ft), which will have knock-on effects for people living in downstream valleys who depend on meltwater during the spring and summer. Tuesday was probably the…

Read More Read More

Fears over Antarctic sea ice as yearly ozone layer hole forms ‘very early’

Fears over Antarctic sea ice as yearly ozone layer hole forms ‘very early’

The Guardian reports: The hole in the ozone layer has begun to form early this year, prompting warnings that a larger-than-average hole may further warm the Southern Ocean while the level of Antarctic sea ice is at a record low. Satellite data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts suggests the hole has already begun to form over Antarctica. Dr Martin Jucker, a lecturer at the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, said the…

Read More Read More

Behind all the ‘clean energy’ talk, this is what big oil is actually doing

Behind all the ‘clean energy’ talk, this is what big oil is actually doing

Jason Bordoff writes: If you’ve been listening to the world’s major energy companies over the past few years, you probably think the clean energy transition is well on its way. But with fossil fuel use and emissions still rising, it is not moving nearly fast enough to address the climate crisis. In June, Shell became the latest of the big oil companies to curb plans to cut oil output, announcing that it will no longer reduce annual oil and gas…

Read More Read More

DeSantis’s Florida approves climate-denial videos in schools

DeSantis’s Florida approves climate-denial videos in schools

E&E News reports: Climate activists are like Nazis. Wind and solar power pollute the Earth and make life miserable. Recent global and local heat records reflect natural temperature cycles. These are some of the themes of children’s videos produced by an influential conservative advocacy group. Now, the videos could soon be used in Florida’s classrooms. Florida’s Department of Education has approved the classroom use of material from the Prager University Foundation, a conservative group that produces videos that distort science,…

Read More Read More

Just how fast will clean energy grow in the U.S.?

Just how fast will clean energy grow in the U.S.?

Dana Nuccitelli writes: To slash U.S. emissions of climate-warming carbon pollution, many experts have settled on a plan that can be largely described in two steps: Clean up the power grid and electrify everything. If electric vehicles, heat pumps, induction stoves, and some industrial processes can be powered by clean electricity and replace fossil-fueled alternatives, that transition will do most of the work toward decarbonizing the economy and helping the U.S. meet its commitments under the Paris climate agreement. Carbon…

Read More Read More

Racism at heart of U.S. failure to tackle deadly heatwaves, expert warns

Racism at heart of U.S. failure to tackle deadly heatwaves, expert warns

The Guardian reports: Racism is at the heart of the American government’s failure to tackle the growing threat of deadly heatwaves, according to the author of an authoritative new book on the heating planet. Jeff Goodell, an award winning climate journalist, told the Guardian that people of color – including millions of migrant workers who are bearing the brunt of record-breaking temperatures as farmhands, builders and delivery workers – are not guaranteed lifesaving measures like water and shade breaks because…

Read More Read More

Amazon deforestation falls over 60% compared with last July, says Brazilian minister

Amazon deforestation falls over 60% compared with last July, says Brazilian minister

The Guardian reports: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by at least 60% in July compared to the same month last year, the environment minister, Marina Silva, has told the Guardian. The good news comes ahead of a regional summit that aims to prevent South America’s largest biome from hitting a calamitous tipping point. The exact figure, which is based on the Deter satellite alert system, will be released in the coming days, but independent analysts described the preliminary data…

Read More Read More

19 ‘mass extinctions’ had CO2 levels we’re now veering toward, study warns

19 ‘mass extinctions’ had CO2 levels we’re now veering toward, study warns

Live Science reports: Within a human lifetime, concentrations of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere could reach levels associated with 19 “mass extinctions” that have taken place in the last 534 million years, new research suggests. By 2100, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could rise to 800 parts per million by volume (ppmv) — almost double the concentration of roughly 421 ppmv recorded this year — if we fail to curb emissions from burning fossil fuels and converting land for agriculture. That would…

Read More Read More

Ocean heat record broken, with grim implications for the planet

Ocean heat record broken, with grim implications for the planet

BBC News reports: The oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change, with dire implications for our planet’s health. The average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record this week, according to the EU’s climate change service Copernicus. It reached 20.96C (69.73F) – far above the average for this time of year. Oceans are a vital climate regulator. They soak up heat, produce half Earth’s oxygen and drive weather patterns….

Read More Read More

A Republican 2024 climate strategy: more drilling, less clean energy

A Republican 2024 climate strategy: more drilling, less clean energy

The New York Times reports: During a summer of scorching heat that has broken records and forced Americans to confront the reality of climate change, conservatives are laying the groundwork for a 2024 Republican administration that would dismantle efforts to slow global warming. The move is part of a sweeping strategy dubbed Project 2025 that Paul Dans of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank organizing the effort, has called a “battle plan” for the first 180 days of a…

Read More Read More

‘Project 2025’: A plan to dismantle U.S. climate policy for next Republican president

‘Project 2025’: A plan to dismantle U.S. climate policy for next Republican president

The Guardian reports: An alliance of rightwing groups has crafted an extensive presidential proposal to bolster the planet-heating oil and gas industry and hamstring the energy transition, it has emerged. Against a backdrop of record-breaking heat and floods this year, the $22m endeavor, Project 2025, was convened by the notorious rightwing, climate-denying thinktank the Heritage Foundation, which has ties to fossil fuel billionaire Charles Koch. Called the Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, it is meant to guide the first…

Read More Read More

‘Era of global boiling has arrived,’ says UN chief as July set to be hottest month on record

‘Era of global boiling has arrived,’ says UN chief as July set to be hottest month on record

The Guardian reports: The era of global warming has ended and “the era of global boiling has arrived”, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, has said after scientists confirmed July was on track to be the world’s hottest month on record. “Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” Guterres said. “It is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C [above pre-industrial levels], and avoid the very worst of climate change. But only…

Read More Read More

As the world confronts the reality of the climate crisis, the GOP remains stuck in denial

As the world confronts the reality of the climate crisis, the GOP remains stuck in denial

HuffPost reports: Unless you’ve been living underground or have a vested interest in turning a blind eye to reality, you know that climate change has sent temperatures soaring to dangerous levels around the planet this summer. Two global climate organizations on Thursday confirmed that July is on track to be the single hottest month on record. It is also likely the hottest monthlong stretch in 120,000 years. Nearly 200 million people — 60% of the U.S. population — are currently…

Read More Read More

Modern ‘sixth mass extinction’ event will be worse than first predicted, says report

Modern ‘sixth mass extinction’ event will be worse than first predicted, says report

GrrlScientist writes: Tragically, the global mass extinction event that we find ourselves in the midst of will be even worse than originally predicted, according to a recent study (ref). The international team of scientists came to their conclusion after analyzing population trends data for more than 71,000 animal species — including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects — from around the world to see how their numbers have changed since record-keeping first began. Generally, scientists agree that an extinction…

Read More Read More