Tag: climate change

Amid flooding and rising sea levels, residents of one barrier island wonder if it’s time to retreat

OCRACOKE, N.Washington Post logoC. — On any normal late-fall day, the ferries that ply the 30 miles between Swan Quarter and this barrier island might carry vacationing retirees, sports fishermen and residents enjoying mainland getaways after the busy summer tourist season.

But two months ago, Hurricane Dorian washed away all signs of normalcy here. After buzz-cutting the Bahamas, the giant storm rolled overhead, raising a seven-foot wall of water in its wake that sloshed back through the harbor, invading century-old homes that have never before taken in water and sending islanders such as post office head Celeste Brooks and her two grandchildren scrambling into their attics.

Ocracoke has been closed to visitors ever since. Island-bound ferries carry yawning container trucks to haul back the sodden detritus of destroyed homes. And O’cockers — proud descendants of the pilots and pirates who navigated these treacherous shores — are faced with a reckoning: whether this sliver of sand, crouched three feet above sea level between the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, can survive the threats of extreme weather and rising sea levels. And if it can’t, why rebuild?

View the complete November 9 article by Frances Stead Sellers on The Washington Post website here.

Trump formally pulls out of landmark Paris climate agreement

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Monday began the yearlong process of withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.

The official announcement cements a promise Trump made in the White House Rose Garden in 2017 when he first announced his intention to withdraw from the global climate change agreement signed by every other country in the world.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move in a statement.

View the complete November 4 article by Rebecca Beitsch on The Hill website here.

As wildfires burn across California, President Trump lashes out at the state on Twitter

Autumn in California now comes not only with fierce, wind-driven wildfires but with routine claims from President Trump that the state’s leaders are to blame for the disasters, followed by assurances from experts that the president doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

The cycle renewed again Sunday, when Trump tweeted that Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) had failed to properly manage the state’s forests, causing a string of recent blazes.

Newsom “has done a terrible job of forest management. I told him from the first day we met that he must ‘clean’ his forest floors regardless of what his bosses, the environmentalists, DEMAND of him. Must also do burns and cut fire stoppers,” Trump said in an early-morning missive on Twitter.

View the complete November 3 article by James Rainey on The Los Angeles Times website here.

Climate change is really about prosperity, peace, public health and posterity – not saving the environment

The story of climate change is one that people have struggled to tell convincingly for more than two decades. But it’s not for lack of trying.

The problem is emphatically not a lack of facts and figures. The world’s best scientific minds have produced blockbuster report after blockbuster report, setting out in ever more terrifying detail just how much of an impact we humans have had on the Earth since the dawn of the industrial revolution. Many people believe anthropogenic climate change – rapid and far-reaching shifts in the climate caused by human activity – is now the story that will define the 21st century, whether anyone’s good at telling it or not.

Nor is it merely a problem of delivery. The past decade has witnessed an explosion of climate change communication efforts spanning nearly every conceivable medium, channel and messenger. Documentaries, popular books and articles, interactive websites, immersive virtual reality, community events — all are being used in increasingly creative ways to communicate the story of climate change. Many of these efforts are beautifully designed and executed, visually and narratively engaging and careful to avoid common traps and shortcomings that have tripped up previous efforts.

View the complete September 27 article by Ezra Markowitz, Associate PRofessor of Environmental Decision-Making at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Adam Corner, Research Director at Climate Outreach & Honorary Research Fellow in Psychology, Cardiff University, on the Conversation website.

When it comes to acknowledging humans’ role in climate change, oil and gas industry lawyer says ‘that ship has sailed’

Washington Post logoIn a closed-door meeting of oil and gas executives this summer in Colorado Springs, industry lawyer Mark Barron offered a bold proposal: Energy companies must accept that fossil fuels are helping to drive climate change.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s real, or not real, or what the issues are,” said Barron, who heads the energy litigation arm of Baker Hostetler. “That ship has sailed from a political perspective.”

Barron added that any American younger than 40 had grown up learning that climate change is “an existential crisis that we need to address.”

View the complete September 26 article by Juliet Eilperin on The Washington Post website here.

Climate Action Caucus Applauds Clean Car Standards

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — The Climate Action Caucus released the following statement in response to Governor Walz’s announcement that Minnesota will adopt clean car standards:

“We applaud Governor Walz’s decision to make Minnesota the first Midwestern state to adopt clean car standards. Promoting fuel-efficient and electric vehicles is one of the most effective ways for our state to combat climate change. It also has significant economic and public health benefits. Minnesotans will see increased consumer choices, savings at the pump, and cleaner air. We are grateful for Governor Walz’s leadership and looking forward to working with him on further efforts to address the climate crisis.”

The Climate Action Caucus includes Reps. Patty Acomb (DFL – Minnetonka), Kristin Bahner (DFL – Maple Grove), Robert Bierman (DFL – Apple Valley), Jeff Brand (DFL – St. Peter), Hunter Cantrell (DFL – Savage), Shelly Christensen (DFL – Stillwater), Raymond Dehn (DFL – Minneapolis), Heather Edelson (DFL – Edina), Steve Elkins (DFL – Bloomington), Peter Fischer (DFL – Maplewood), Mike Freiberg (DFL – Golden Valley), Rick Hansen (DFL – South St. Paul), Alice Hausman (DFL – St. Paul), Kaohly Her (DFL – St. Paul), Frank Hornstein (DFL – Minneapolis), Michael Howard (DFL – Richfield), John Huot (DFL – Rosemount), Ginny Klevorn (DFL – Plymouth), Jamie Long (DFL – Minneapolis), Mohamud Noor (DFL – Minneapolis), John Persell (DFL – Bemidji), Dave Pinto (DFL – St. Paul), Laurie Pryor (DFL – Minnetonka), Steve Sandell (DFL – Woodbury), Zack Stephenson (DFL – Coon Rapids), Jean Wagenius (DFL – Minneapolis), Ami Wazlawik (DFL – White Bear Lake), and Jay Xiong (DFL – St. Paul). 

Statement from Speaker Hortman on Clean Car

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — House Speaker Melissa Hortman released the following statement on today’s announcement from Governor Walz that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will be implementing clean car standards:

“I applaud Governor Walz for taking this important step. Climate change threatens the health of Minnesota’s crops, wildlife, lakes — and our people. Transportation accounts for a large portion of carbon pollution — and while we have significantly reduced carbon pollution from electricity by moving to renewable energy like wind and solar — it is time to reduce the carbon pollution coming from cars. As a result of the Walz Administration decision today, Minnesota consumers will have access to a wider selection of efficient vehicles – which will save them money.”

Watch how the climate could change in these US cities by 2050

In some cities, it’ll be like moving two states south.

month was the second-hottest April on record on planet Earth. Arctic sea ice hit a monthly record low.

Clearly, the planet is warming. And more records are likely to be broken this year.

As the climate crisis accelerates, it’s worth asking what to expect if we aggressively cut greenhouse gas emissions now, and what would happen if we do nothing. As part of our Weather 2050 project, we used the latter scenario to look at what could happen to temperature and precipitation in US cities by the middle of the century.

View the complete May 24 article by Umair Irfan and Kavya Sukumar on the Vox website here.

North America has lost 3 billion birds in 50 years

Washington Post logoSlowly, steadily and almost imperceptibly, North America’s bird population is dwindling.

The sparrows and finches that visit backyard feeders number fewer each year. The flutelike song of the western meadowlark — the official bird of six U.S. states — is growing more rare. The continent has lost nearly 3 billion birds representing hundreds of species over the past five decades, in an enormous loss that signals an “overlooked biodiversity crisis,” according to a study from top ornithologists and government agencies.

This is not an extinction crisis — yet. It is a more insidious decline in abundance as humans dramatically alter the landscape: There are 29 percent fewer birds in the United States and Canada today than in 1970, the study concludes. Grassland species have been hardest hit, probably because of agricultural intensification that has engulfed habitats and spread pesticides that kill the insects many birds eat. But the victims include warblers, thrushes, swallows and other familiar birds.

View the complete September 19 article by Karin Brulliard on The Washington Post website here.

House DFL legislators announce the formation of the Climate Action Caucus

SAINT PAUL, MN — Today, legislators announced the formation of the Climate Action Caucus. House DFLers have created the new caucus to show support for young Minnesotans who are participating in the Youth Climate Strike, a worldwide demonstration scheduled to take place Friday, September 20.

“Climate change is one of the top issues that my colleagues and I hear about from community members, particularly young people,” said Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL – Minnetonka), Chair of the Climate Action Caucus. “As Chair of the newly-formed Climate Action Caucus, I’m looking forward to working with Minnesotans on a bold, comprehensive plan to combat climate change. Together, we can secure a future in which we all thrive.”

Climate Action Caucus members will create an ambitious agenda based on input from Minnesotans. The Minnesota Climate Action Plan will draw on the unique advantages of our state – generous, hard-working people; innovative businesses; world-class colleges and universities; and vast natural resources – to find solutions and establish Minnesota as a national leader in the fight against climate change. Continue reading “House DFL legislators announce the formation of the Climate Action Caucus”