Tag: climate change

Death Valley just hit the second hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth

Death Valley broke a record on July 13, when it clocked the hottest temperature on Earth since 2017 at a spicy 128 degrees Fahrenheit. One hundred and twenty eight degrees! That’s 28 degrees hotter than 100, for those counting.

Recorded at Furnace Creek, the Valley’s aptly named weather station, the temperature follows a number of record-breaking highs all across the United States as the nation undergoes a sweltering heatwave. The heatwave itself follows climate change trends long predicted by scientists, who warned this would happen. Multiple times.  View the post here.

Why it’s so damn hot in the Arctic right now

Siberia’s triple-digit heat wave and wildfires are a glimpse into the future of the Arctic

The Arctic is continuing to swelter in a heat wave, as temperatures around the Arctic Ocean this week top 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

The recent heat follows an even more stunning data point: Last month, Verkhoyansk, Russia, hit a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers are still working to confirm the result, which may be recognized as a record high for the Arctic Circle. This is a town that holds the record for the coldest temperature above the Arctic Circle, -90 degrees Fahrenheit in 1892.

“That is a fantastical degree,” said Roman Vilfand, head of Russia’s weather service, during a press conference this week. Continue reading.

Farmers are coming around on climate change

Flooded fields, persistent droughts or ravaging wildfires are giving many a change of heart

Major farm and livestock groups held a press conference in February to project a united voice on an issue they’ve long avoided. The coalition leaders said they wanted to join the fight against climate change rather than remain cast as villains avoiding the responsibility.

The approach was a sharp departure for an industry that less than a year earlier looked more like a victim as photos circulated of nearly 20 million acres so saturated and flooded that farmers, mostly in the Midwest, couldn’t get into their fields. The federal crop insurance program paid out more than $4 billion in claims.

But farmers and ranchers now acknowledge that they have to change their practices. In myriad ways, the agriculture sector pumps carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and methane into the atmosphere, contributing to a warming planet. They suffer the effects in flooded fields, persistent droughts or ravaging wildfires partly fueled by trees killed by insects that are increasingly flourishing because of mild winters. Continue reading.

In fast-warming Minnesota, scientists are trying to plant the forests of the future

Washington Post logoMINNESOTA — Almost everywhere he looks, Lee Frelich sees the fingerprints of climate change on the forests he has studied since he was a boy half a century ago.

Birds from southern Minnesota are now popping up far north in Ely, on the edge of the famous Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Splashes of red maple leaves are now visible each fall amid the pines and spruces of the iconic North Woods, where they once would have been harder to find.<

Frelich, the director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology, thinks that if the state’s warming trend remains unchecked, such subtle changes will become starker and more devastating in the decades ahead. He thinks the boreal forests that soak up huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could disappear entirely, taking with them a third of the state’s native species of trees, flowers, birds and pollinators. Continue reading.

The western U.S. is locked in the grips of the first human-caused megadrought, study finds

Washington Post logoOnly one drought in the past 1,200 years comes close to the ongoing, global warming-driven event

A vast region of the western United States, extending from California, Arizona and New Mexico north to Oregon and Idaho, is in the grips of the first climate change-induced megadrought observed in the past 1,200 years, a study shows. The finding means the phenomenon is no longer a threat for millions to worry about in the future, but is already here.

The megadrought has emerged while thirsty, expanding cities are on a collision course with the water demands of farmers and with environmental interests, posing nightmare scenarios for water managers in fast-growing states.

A megadrought is broadly defined as a severe drought that occurs across a broad region for a long duration, typically multiple decades. Continue reading.

Researcher warns: A recession ‘the likes of which we’ve never seen before’ could be on its way

AlterNet logoAmerican companies are ignoring the risks of climate change at their own peril, according to a researcher warning that extreme weather caused by the climate crisis could result in a devastating economic recession.

Financial markets are failing to account for the risks that increasingly frequent and worsening floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events pose to the economy, according to an article published in the journal Nature Energy this week.

“If the market doesn’t do a better job of accounting for climate, we could have a recession—the likes of which we’ve never seen before,” said study author Paul Griffin, an accounting professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Continue reading.

New State Legislation to Address the Climate Crisis

Hello Climate Action Community,

We introduced legislation to address the climate crisis yesterday! Minnesotans have been telling Climate Action Caucus members about the urgent need to address climate change, and we’ve been listening. We used what we heard from you during the series of community conversations that we held and other feedback and suggestions that you shared while preparing this package of bills.

Our proposal contains one-time investments that will enable Minnesotans to participate directly in solutions that address the climate crisis, including energy efficiency, solar energy, transportation, local government projects, and environment projects. Public schools, homeowners, local governments, and nursing homes all stand to benefit. A fact sheet with more information is available here. Continue reading “New State Legislation to Address the Climate Crisis”

Legislators, Youth, and Labor announce one-time appropriations for climate action

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – A coalition of state lawmakers, youth, and organized labor today announced a new proposal of one-time appropriations to address the climate crisis. The new investments will reduce greenhouse gases and benefit public schools, homeowners, local governments, and nursing homes. A fact sheet with more information is available here. A video recording will be made available later today here.

Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka), who chairs the Minnesota House Climate Action Caucus, says the new proposal uses “carrots, not sticks” and will preface a comprehensive policy plan expected to be introduced in coming weeks.

“Minnesotans have been telling legislators about the urgent need to address climate change,” said Rep. Acomb. “The new investments we are proposing today would enable Minnesotans to participate directly in solutions like energy efficiency, solar, electric vehicles, and conservation.”

Mona Meyer, President of the CWA State Council, says she supports the proposal because it expands Minnesota’s fleet of electric buses manufactured by her union’s members.

“This proposal includes significant investments in new electric buses for schools and public transit,” said Meyer. “We’ve got highly-skilled working men and women who would see a positive impact on their livelihoods if it gets signed into law.”

Anna Grace Hottinger, a high school student from Shoreview and a steering committee member of the 100% Campaign, says Minnesota’s youth want their elected officials to take immediate action to protect the health of the planet they will inherit.

“The decisions made by elected officials today have major consequences for my generation and future generations,” said Hottinger. “Me and my peers are confused and scared about what our future will look like. I’m here to thank state lawmakers who are listening to us and working hard to put our ideas into action.”

Minnesotans can visit www.house.mn/ClimateActionCaucus to sign up for email updates and learn more about the work state lawmakers are doing to address the climate crisis.

Trump’s budget steps on GOP’s new climate message

As Republican lawmakers take tentative steps forward on climate change, Trump’s budget would drag them back.

Most GOP voters support climate action, recent polls show, and Republican lawmakers want to shed the party’s reputation for rejecting the scientific consensus on global warming.

But the White House budget proposal released this week would eliminate or cut funding for climate, clean energy and efficiency research, even as Republican lawmakers on Wednesday offered the first pieces of what they say will be an effective legislative response to global warming.

While Congress will almost certainly disregard the cuts pushed by the White House, the proposal nevertheless reflects President Donald Trump’s priorities as leader of the Republican Party. That’s likely to mute and confuse the message House Republicans are trying to send, said Bob Inglis, a former Republican congressman who now leads an organization, RepublicEN, advocating for free-market climate solutions. Continue reading.

A Crisis Right Now: San Francisco and Manila Face Rising Seas

New York Times logoWhat do you do when the sea comes for your home, your school, your church?

You could try to hold back the water. Or you could raise your house. Or you could just leave.

An estimated 600 million people live directly on the world’s coastlines, among the most hazardous places to be in the era of climate change. According to scientific projections, the oceans stand to rise by one to four feet by the end of the century, with projections of more ferocious storms and higher tides that could upend the lives of entire communities. Continue reading.