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Britain has lost almost half of its biodiversity since the Industrial Revolution and more than 400 species over the last 200 years.Worse still, that is just the beginning. A further 1,188 could follow over the next century unless rapid action is taken to reverse the impact of humanity and man-made climate change.Of the 8,431 species in Great Britain that have been assessed by conservationists, 13 per cent have been classified as threatened with extinction.That includes 440 plants (18 per cent), 232 fungi and lichens (15 per cent), 111 vertebrates (40 per cent) and 405 invertebrates (12 per cent). Since 1970 alone, 133 species have been lost, from ants, bees, beetles, butterflies and dragonflies, to fish, fleas, fungi, mammals, moths, shrimps, spiders and wasps. Experts now say more than a quarter of the UK's 107 species of mammal are at risk of extinction, while 68 of the fish species found in Britain are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) red list.At least one in seven reptile species in Britain is also threatened with extinction or has recently become extinct.Birds are not safe either. A massive 43 per cent of the country's birds are at risk of extinction, according to the National Biodiversity Network.Not only that, but the British Trust for Ornithology's latest report – Birds of Conservation Concern 5 – has placed more species onto its red list than ever before.MailOnline has put together a list of some of Britain's wildlife that has been lost over the past 200 years – including 421 in England – as well as animals and birds that are at risk of going extinct over the next two centuries without better conservation.MammalsThere are 107 species of mammal in the UK, according to a charity called The Mammal Society, of which 47 are terrestrial and native to Britain.More than a quarter of these (26 per cent) are under threat, experts say, with the wildcat and greater mouse-eared bat the most at-risk.The beaver, grey long-eared bat, red squirrel, and water vole are also all endangered, while the hedgehog, hazel dormouse, Orkney vole, Serotine bat and Barbastelle bat are deemed vulnerable.Hedgehogs, in particular, have experienced a harsh decline over the last 70 years. In 1950 there were an estimated 36 million in the UK, but this had dropped to just one million in 2013 — a third of levels at the start of the century. Disappearing: More than a quarter of Britain's native mammals are under threat, experts say, with the wildcat and greater mouse-eared bat the most at-risk. The beaver, grey long-eared bat and red squirrel (pictured) are also endangered Water voles (pictured) are also endangered, while the hedgehog, hazel dormouse and Orkney vole are deemed vulnerableThere are even fears for the likes of mountain hares, the harvest mouse and the lesser white-toothed shrew, all of which could soon come under threat without action.Meanwhile, the red squirrel has been in decline since the early 20th century and has dwindled to an estimated population of only 140,000. It is now only commonly found in the far north of England and Scotland.These numbers compare to the 2.5 million-strong North American grey squirrels that exist in Britain following the species' introduction to the UK. Marine mammals such as sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and the sei whale are also on the first official Red List for British Mammals.Produced by the Mammal Society for Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, it shows that 11 of the 47 mammals native to Britain are classified as being at imminent risk of extinction. The Serotine bat and Barbastelle bat (pictured) are also classified as vulnerable in the UK. There are even fears for the likes of mountain hares, the harvest mouse and the lesser white-toothed shrew, which could all come under threat without action Hedgehogs in particular have experienced a harsh decline over the last 70 years. In 1950 there were an estimated 36 million in the UK, but this had dropped to just one million in 2013 — a third of levels at the start of the centuryA further five species are classified as 'near threatened' — meaning there is a realistic possibility of them becoming threatened with extinction in the near future.Professor Fiona Mathews, of the Mammal Society and University of Sussex, led the report. She said: 'While we bemoan the demise of wildlife in other parts of the world, here in Britain we are managing to send even rodents towards extinction. 'Things have to change rapidly if we want our children and grandchildren to enjoy the wildlife we take for granted.'Why are these mammals at risk?Humans are a big part of the problem. Although there are many reasons for the decline of mammals across Britain, man-made pollution is one of the key causes.Species such as bats and the hazel dormouse have also been deprived of their habitats by people building on natural lands, while others have been hunted by humans for centuries.The water vole, red squirrel and Orkney vole suffer from the combined effects of habitat degradation and the introduction of non-native species.Dominic Price, director of The Species Recovery Trust, told MailOnline: 'The main reasons are habitat loss (leaving populations fragmented and with far less space to live in) and climate change, which is happening too fast for species to adapt to.' Lisa Chilton, chief executive of the National Biodiversity Network Trust, added: 'We're in the midst of a nature emergency, and it's every bit as damaging as the climate crisis. 'In fact, they're two sides of the same coin — you can't fix the climate crisis without solving the nature emergency, and vice versa. We need to tackle these life-threatening emergencies hand in hand, with equal priority.'She told MailOnline the UK's wildlife had been 'in worrying decline for decades'. 'It's down to a combination of many, many factors — from urban growth and unsustainable farming practices, to overfishing and pollution,' Ms Chilton said.'For some species, climate change could be the last straw. Arguably the biggest threat, though, is simply that we don't value wildlife enough. 'If we truly understood and appreciated all that nature does for us, as a society we'd make better decisions about looking after it. 'So this is also a "nature-connectedness" emergency. We urgently need to rediscover the joy, inspiration and wonder that nature brings, and place a higher value on everything that it provides for us, for the future of people and the planet.' WHICH MAMMALS HAVE BEEN LOST FROM BRITAIN? Species: Eubalaena glacialis (Northern right whale)Extinct: mid-1800sFactors leading to extinction: A decline in its food sourceSpecies: Felis silvestris (Wildcat)Extinct: late-1800s in England and Wales, while currently at brink of extinction in ScotlandFactors leading to extinction: Hunting and habitat loss Species: Myotis myotis (Greater mouse-eared bat)Extinct: 1985Factors leading to extinction: Unknown, although there are no records of this species until the 1950s so it could have been a failed colonisationSpecies: European wolf Extinct: 1760Factors leading to extinction: A combination of deforestation and hunting Source: The Species Recovery Trust What could go next? Critically endangeredWildcatGreater mouse-eared batVulnerableHedgehogHazel dormouseOrkney VoleSerotine batBarbastelle bat EndangeredBeaverRed squirrel Water vole Grey long-eared batNear threatenedMountain hareHarvest mouseLesser white-toothed shrew Leisler's batNathusius' pipistrelle Source: Mammal Society Birds It may seem hard to believe but almost half (43 per cent) of birds in Britain are at risk of extinction.Not only that, but a report by the British Trust for Ornithology also saw more species placed onto its red list than ever before.It now includes 67 species – 15 more than in the last report, which came out just six years earlier – with the Atlantic puffin, whimbrel and turtle dove among them.The latter has nosedived by a massive 97 per cent in numbers since 1970. Such has been the speed of this decline that the bird is now on the Global Red List for Endangered Species.Seven species of breeding birds have been lost to extinction over the past 200 years, including three in the last 25 years alone.'We've lost several species of birds and mammals over the past few centuries,' David Noble, the principal ecologist for the British Trust for Ornithology, told MailOnline.'Some like oriole were always quite rare in Britain but the once common and widespread wryneck is gone and the iconic turtle dove, one of the UK's most rapidly declining species, seems on its way out.' At risk: A report by the British Trust for Ornithology saw more species placed onto its red list than ever before. It now includes 67 species – 15 more than in the last report, which came out just six years earlier – with the turtle dove (pictured) among them Concern: The Atlantic puffin (pictured) and whimbrel have also been added to the British Trust for Ornithology's red list WHICH BIRDS HAVE BEEN LOST FROM BRITAIN? Species: Charadrius alexandrines (Kentish plover)Extinct: 1928Factors leading to extinction: Human disturbanceSpecies: Chlidonias niger (Black tern)Extinct: 1840s-1850sFactors leading to extinction: Loss of wetlands Species: Lanius collurio (Red-backed shrike)Extinct: 1988Factors leading to extinction: Habitat loss, agricultural intensification and egg collectingSpecies: Pinguinus impennis (Great auk)Extinct: 1820sFactors leading to extinction: Hunting Species: Ciconia ciconia (White stork)Extinct: UnknownFactors leading to extinction: No clear understanding Species: Crex crex (Corncrake)Extinct: Early 1990sFactors leading to extinction: The mechanisation of mowing and the earlier mowing of grass cropsSpecies: Otis tarda (Great bustard)Extinct: 1833Factors leading to extinction: Expansion and intensification of agriculture Source: The Species Recovery Trust What could go next? Grey partridgeLapwingGrasshopper warblerPtarmiganWhimbrelHouse martinCapercaillieCurlewWood warblerBlack grouseBlack-tailed godwitStarlingBewick's swanRuffMistle thrushWhite-fronted gooseDunlinCuckoo Merlin Linnet Balearic shearwater Shag FieldfareLong-tailed duck Purple sandpiper Ring ouzel Velvet scoter Woodcock Spotted flycatcher Common scoter Red-necked phalarope NightingaleGoldeneye Kittiwake Whinchat Smew Herring gull House sparrow Tree pipitCorncrake Red-backed shrike Redpoll Willow tit Skylark Yellowhammer PochardRoseate tern Tree sparrow Scaup Arctic skuaRed-necked grebePuffinYellow wagtailSlavonian grebe Hen harrier HawfinchTurtle dove Montagu's harrierGreenfinch Swift Lesser spotted woodpecker Twite Leach's storm-petrel Marsh tit Corn bunting Cirl bunting Source: The Birds of Conservation Concern 5 Red list FishOnly one species of fish has become extinct in Britain in the last 200 years and that is the burbot.It once thrived at the bottom of cool lowland rivers across eastern England but was last seen in Britain in 1969.Climate change, pollution and historical overfishing have all been blamed for this — while also putting a number of other types of fish around the UK at risk of extinction.In fact, 68 species are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's red list. Not a looker: Only one species of fish has become extinct in Britain in the last 200 years and that is the burbot (pictured)These include the Atlantic halibut, European eel and Atlantic bluefin tuna.Multiple sharks, such as the angel, thresher, and smooth hammerhead, are also under threat, while salmon has suffered significant declines since the 1960s. Once widespread in UK rivers, even European sturgeon are now critically endangered because of river dams, fishing and pollutions.'Acidification, caused by the uptake of CO2, has reduced the pH of waters around Europe, apparently more rapidly so in UK waters than in the North Atlantic as a whole,' according to a major report called the State of Nature, published in 2019.'This has the potential to adversely affect organisms that require calcium carbonate. Acidification is also of particular concern as it could further reduce the rate at which CO2 is absorbed from the atmosphere, thus aggravating climate change.' Multiple studies have shown that acidification stops fish reproducing and can also be deadly. Sixty eight species are on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's red list. These include the Atlantic halibut, European eel and Atlantic bluefin tuna (pictured) Multiple sharks, such as the angel (pictured), thresher, and smooth hammerhead, are also under threat, while salmon has suffered significant declines since the 1960s 'CLIMATE CHANGE, WETLAND LOSS AND LAND USE CHANGE ARE MAINLY TO BLAME FOR DYING SPECIES' David Noble, the principal ecologist for the British Trust for Ornithology, told MailOnline that the 'main pressure driving species towards extinction in Britain over the last 50 years is land use change and especially the intensive management of agricultural land which covers 75 per cent of the country.'He added: 'To fight against that, we need to encourage and also help support farmers and other land-owners in implementing environmentally friendly farming practices. 'This means providing semi-natural areas, hedges, field margins, sources of water, reducing pesticide and fertiliser use, and implementing more wildlife friendly mowing and sowing practices. Agri-environment schemes are one way of doing this, some farmers do it on their own initiative but basically we need more land managed in this way and where necessary to direct resources to land-owners that are providing us all with habitats and nature that sustain us all.Other key pressures include (i) climate change (currently having positive and negative impact on different species), (ii) loss of wetlands and over-abstraction of water, (iii) loss of traditional forestry practices leading to wildlife impoverished mono-cultures, (iv) urbanisation and (v) loss of heathlands and grasslands which support specialised species. 'In general, we need to protect and maintain the quality of these special landscapes (ponds, semi-natural grasslands, heathlands) and inject as much habitat diversity into our farmland, woodland and urban areas as possible. Climate change of course requires a global effort.'We've lost several species of birds and mammals over the past few centuries. Some like oriole were always quite rare in Britain but the once common and widespread wryneck is gone and the iconic turtle dove, one of the UK's most rapidly declining species, seems on its way out.' It is not just the UK's seas that are putting fish at risk, either. Every river in Britain falls short of European Union standards on chemical pollution.This is mostly due to agricultural pollution such as nitrates and phosphorous, physical modifications to waterbodies, such as dams, and sewage. Dave Tickner, chief adviser on freshwater at WWF, said: 'Nature is in freefall and the UK is no exception: wildlife struggles to survive, let alone thrive, in our polluted waters.' What could go next? Atlantic halibutEuropean eel Atlantic bluefin tunaAngel shark Thresher sharkSmooth hammerheadSource: WWF Amphibians and ReptilesWhen it comes to amphibians and reptiles, Britain actually fares a lot better than the rest of the world.Half of amphibians globally are currently at risk, but in the UK all seven native species are deemed to be of 'least concern', according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.The main loss is the natterjack toad, which is one of only two species of toad in Britain. In the UK all seven native species are deemed to be of 'least concern', according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The main loss is the natterjack toad (pictured), which is one of only two species of toad in Britain With reptiles, none of the 1,439 at-risk species worldwide are native to the UK. Some, like the leatherback sea turtle (pictured), find their way to Britain but the six types that live exclusively here are considered 'least concern'However, it now only exists in small areas of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, as well as the western coast from Lancashire to Dumfries. Female natterjacks are actually able to lay up to 7,500 eggs during breeding season, but despite this the species is still considered endangered here.With reptiles, none of the 1,439 at-risk species worldwide are native to the UK. Some, like the leatherback sea turtle, find their way to Britain but the six types that live exclusively here are considered 'least concern'.These include the grass snake, common European adder, smooth snake, common lizard, sand lizard, and slow worm.What could go next? Natterjack toad Leatherback sea turtle InvertebratesThousands of invertebrates call Britain home, from insects such as ants and spiders to bees, praying mantises and moths, as well as crustaceans like crabs, shrimps and lobsters.At total of 405 invertebrate species (12 per cent of the overall number) are currently at risk of extinction in the UK.Among them are cicada, which are common throughout Europe but struggling here — with no recorded sightings of the bug in more than 20 years.The wart-biter cricket is also at a high-risk of extinction because of the loss of its habitat on heathland and chalk landscape, as well as its prey. It can only now be found in four locations across East Sussex, Dorset and Wiltshire. At total of 405 invertebrate species (12 per cent of the overall number) are currently at risk of extinction in the UK. Among them are cicada (pictured), which are common throughout Europe but struggling here — with no recorded sightings of the bug in more than 20 yearsBoth the cosnard's net-winged beetle and the bearded false darkling beetle are also at risk of disappearing from Britain, along with the v-moth.This insect is still present across the UK but its population is believed to be less than 1 per cent of its 1960s levels.Half of the country's species of butterfly are also now at risk of extinction. A red list published in May this year named 29 at-risk butterfly species out of the 58 currently living in Britain.Eight species were added to the list since the last assessment in 2010, including the Scotch Argus and Swallowtail, which are both listed as 'vulnerable'.Of the 29, eight of the species are categorised as 'endangered', 16 as 'vulnerable', and five as 'near threatened'. A species that has particularly suffered is the small tortoiseshell (pictured). It was once one of our most common butterfly species, but in 2013 experts revealed its numbers had dropped by 77 per cent in a decade Half of the country's species of butterfly are also now at risk of extinction. A red list published in May this year named 29 at-risk butterfly species out of the 58 currently living in Britain, including the Scotch Argus and Swallowtail (pictured)This represents a 26 per cent increase in the number of at-risk species, according to wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation, which compiled the list. A species that has particularly suffered is the small tortoiseshell. It was once one of our most common butterfly species, but in 2013 experts revealed its numbers had dropped by 77 per cent in a decade.In Victorian times the large tortoiseshell butterfly was widespread in southern England, but it became extinct in 1953 due to Dutch elm disease, which eradicated the main larval food source.The black-backed meadow ant, meanwhile, became extinct in 1988 due to urban development and inappropriate land management.What could go next? CicadaWart-biter cricketScotch Argus butterflySwallowtail butterfly Cosnard's net-winged beetleBearded false darkling beetleV-moth Small tortoiseshell butterfly Fungi, lichens and plants Seventy species of fungus have become extinct in England in the last 200 years, while many more are still being threatened by habitat loss and pollution.A total of 232 fungi and lichens (15 per cent) are currently classified as being at risk across Britain, along with 440 types of plants (18 per cent of those seen in the UK). The Gomphus clavatus or pig's ear fungus became extinct in 1927 due to habitat loss and degradation, while Cladonia peziziformis disappeared in 1968 due to human disturbance, inappropriate use of burning for land management, the natural succession of heathland vegetation and high grazing levels. Gone: The Gomphus clavatus or pig's ear fungus (pictured) became extinct in 1927 due to habitat loss and degradationThe plant Davall's Sedge was once found at a site in Somerset, but in the 19th Century it was drained for development and has never again been seen in this country.Meanwhile, Ivell's Sea Anemone, which was only ever found in England, has become globally extinct following changes in water quality at its one known site.Professor Richard Gregory, head of monitoring conservation science at the RSPB, said: 'Prior to 1970, the UK's wildlife had already been depleted by centuries of persecution, pollution, habitat loss and degradation. 'But there is no let-up in the net loss of nature, with data showing that 41 per cent of species have declined since 1970. 'The biggest threats to nature now includes significant and ongoing changes in the way we manage our land for agriculture, the ongoing effects of climate change and pollution.'He added: 'Whilst the data that the State of Nature report shows are alarming there is also cause for some cautious hope. 'Many exciting new conservation initiatives with partnerships are delivering inspiring results for some of the UK's nature. Species such as Bitterns and Large Blue Butterfly have been saved through the concerted efforts of organisations and individuals.'What could go next? Ghost orchidWood calamintCrested cow-wheatRed helleborine Smut fungusUrocystis primulicolaPrimula farinosaPuccinia libanotidis Source: Woodlant Trust DIED OUT: THE FULL LIST OF 421 SPECIES THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM ENGLANDGroup Species Common name Year extinct Ants Ants Formica pratensis Black-backed meadow ant 1988 Bees Bees Andrena lepida 1952 Bees Bees Andrena loricola 1939 Bees Andrena nana 1930 Bees Andrena nanula 1877 Bees Andrena polita 1934 Bees Andrena tridentate 1944 Bees Andrena vaga 1946 Bees Bombus cullumanus Cullem’s bumblebee 1941 Bees Bombus distinguendus Great yellow bumblebee 1981 Bees Bombus pomorum Apple bumblebee 1864 Bees Bombus subterraneus Short-haired bumblebee 1990 Bees Chalicodoma (Megachile) ericetorum 1844 Bees Coelioxys afra 1892 Bees Dufourea halictula 1953 Bees Eucera nigrescens 1970 Bees Halictus maculates 1930 Bees Halictus subauratus 1850s Bees Hylaeus punctulatissima 1840 Bees Megachile lapponica 1847 Bees Melecta luctuosa 1912 Bees Nomada errans 1982 Bees Osmia xanthomelana 1998 Bees Rhophites quinquespinosus 1878 Beetles Beetles Aglyptinus agathidioides 1912 Beetles Beetles Agonum sahlbergi 1914 Beetles Ampedus sanguineus 1830 Beetles Anthrenus pimpinellae 1895 Beetles Anthrenus scrophulariae 1800s Beetles Apalus muralis c1969 Beetles Apion brunnipes 1937 Beetles Bagous arduus (longitarsis) 1800s Beetles Bagous binodulus 1861 Beetles Bagous diglyptus 1897 Beetles Bagous petro 1895 Beetles Bidessus minutissimus Minutest diving beetle 1908 Beetles Bostrichus capucinus 1908 Beetles Bothynoderes (Chromoderus) afinis 1883 Beetles Cardiophorus gramineus 1863 Beetles Cardiophorus ruficollis 1833 Beetles Ceutorhynchus hepaticus 1909 Beetles Ceutorhynchus syrites 1800s Beetles Chrysomela tremula 1958 Beetles Clytra laeviuscula 1895 Beetles Coniocleonus hollbergi 1815 Beetles Cryptocephalus exiguus Pashford pot beetle 1986 Beetles Cryptocephalus violaceus 1864 Beetles Ebaeus pedicularius 1800s Beetles Endophloeus markovichianus 1927 Beetles Hister illigeri 1800s Beetles Hister quadrinotatus 1800s Beetles Hypera arundinis 1800s Beetles Hypocassida subferruginea 1800s Beetles Hypocoprus latridioides 1902 Beetles Lamia textor 1953 Beetles Lamprohiza splendidula 1884 Beetles Leiodes triepkii nec pallens 1933 Beetles Lepturobosca virens 1800s Beetles Lepyrus capucinus 1897 Beetles Lixus angustatus nec algirus 1928 Beetles Lixus paraplecticus 1958 Beetles Lixus vilis 1905 Beetles Meligethes coracinus 1870s Beetles Meligethes corvinus 1873 Beetles Meloe autumnalis 1952 Beetles Meloe cicatricosus 1906 Beetles Meloe mediterraneus 1800s Beetles Meloe variegatus 1882 Beetles Murmidius ovalis 1831 Beetles Mycterus curculioides 1882 Beetles Nephus bisignatus 1800s Beetles Obrium cantharinum 1929 Beetles Onthophagus nutans 1926 Beetles Paederus rubrothoracicus 1870 Beetles Philonthus confinis 1902 Beetles Plagionotus arcuatus 1800s Beetles Platycerus caraboides Blue stag beetle 1839 Beetles Pleurophorus caesus 1890 Beetles Polyphylla fullo mid-1800s Beetles Pterostichus aterrimus 1973 Beetles Rhynchites auratus 1839 Beetles Rhynchites bacchus 1843 Beetles Rhyncolus (Phloeophagus) gracilis 1897 Beetles Rhyssemus germanus 1800s Beetles Selatosomus cruciatus 1840 Beetles Strangalia attenuate 1845 Beetles Tarsostenus univittatus 1800s Beetles Tilloidea unifasciatus 1877 Beetles Trichodes alvearius 1800s Beetles Trichodes apiarius 1830 Beetles Tychius polylineatus 1909 Birds Birds Charadrius alexandrines Kentish plover 1928 Birds Chlidonias niger Black tern 1840s-1850s Birds Crex crex Corncrake early-1990s Birds Jynx torquilla Wryneck 1970s Birds Lanius collurio Red-backed shrike 1988 Birds Otis tarda Great bustard 1833 Birds Pinguinus impennis Great auk 1820s Butterflies Butterflies Aporia crataegi Black-veined white 1890s/1920s Butterflies Boloria dia Weaver’s fritillary c1890 Butterflies Carcharodus alceae Mallow skipper c1925 Butterflies Carterocephalus palaemon Chequered skipper 1976 Butterflies Euchloe simplonia Mountain dappled white Butterflies Iphicles (Papilio) podalirius Scarce swallowtail c1850 Butterflies Lycaena dispar Large copper 1864 Butterflies Lycaena tityrus Sooty copper c1890 Butterflies Lycaena virgaureae Scarce copper 1860 Butterflies Nymphalis polychloros Large tortoiseshell c1953 Butterflies Parnassius apollo Apollo c1850 Butterflies Pontia daplidice Bath white 1900 Butterflies Pyrgus armoricanus Oberthur’s grizzled skipper c1860 Caddisflies Caddisflies Hydropsyche exocellata 1902 Caddisflies Orthotrichia tragetti 1915 Caddisflies Oxyethira distinctella 1919 Cnidarians Cnidarians Edwardsia ivelli Ivell’s sea anemone 1983 Dragonflies Dragonflies Coenagrion armatum Norfolk damselfly 1958 Dragonflies Coenagrion scitulum Dainty damselfly 1953 Dragonflies Oxygastra curtisii Orange-spotted emerald 1963 Earwigs Earwigs Labidura riparia Tawny earwig c1930 Fish Fish Lota lota Burbot mid-1900s Fleas Fleas Megabothris rectangulatus Vole flea 1912 Flies Flies Aenigmatias brevifrons 1913 Flies Belida angelicae 1936 Flies Centrophlebomyia furcata 1906 Flies Ceromya monstrosicornis 1940 Flies Chrysoscosmius auratus 1943 Flies Clitellaria ephippium 1850 Flies Crossopalpus setiger 1912 Flies Dasypogon diadema 1947 Flies Diaphorus winthemi 1946 Flies Dolichopus melanopus 1872 Flies Entomophaga exoleta 1949 Flies Eudorylas dissimilis 1965 Flies Eudorylas restrictus 1901 Flies Eudorylas ruralis 1901 Flies Eurysthaea scutellaris 1902 Flies Gasterophilus haemorrhoidalis 1917 Flies Hemerodromia melangyna 1913 Flies Hilara aeronetha 1930-33 Flies Hypoderma bovis 2000 Flies Hypoderma lineatum 2000 Flies Laphria gilva 1951 Flies Macrocera inverse 1923 Flies Macrocera propleuralis 1938 Flies Flies Neoitamus cothurnatus 1921 Flies Ochlerotatus communis 1922 Flies Ochlerotatus leucomelas 1919 Flies Ochlerotatus sticticus 1938 Flies Ochthera schembrii 1908 Flies Palaeodocosia alpicola 1923 Flies Peleteria rubescens 1931 Flies Phaonia gracilis 1943 Flies Phaonia scutellata 1898 Flies Phebellia stulta 1929 Flies Phora speighti 1918 Flies Phthiridium biarticulatum c1966 Flies Platypalpus ochrocera 1911 Flies Poecilobothrus majesticus 1907 Flies Rhaphium pectinatum 1868 Flies Scatella fusca 1886 Flies Sciophila cliftoni 1800s Flies Solva varium 1830 Flies Tachydromia halterata 1937 Flies Triphleba smithi 1934 Fungi Fungi Badhamia apiculospora Fungi Badhamia dubia Fungi Badhamia populina Fungi Fungi Bauhinus marginalis 1921 Fungi Bauhinus pustulatus 1924 Fungi Bovistella radicata Rooting puffball 1952 Fungi Clavariadelphus ligula 1953 Fungi Clavariadelphus truncatus 1924 Fungi Clavicorona pyxidata Candelabra coral 1920 Fungi Cortinarius cumatilis 1868 Fungi Cribraria atrofusca Fungi Diderma cingulatum Fungi Didymium elegantissimum Fungi Didymium macrospermum Fungi Didymium sturgisii Fungi Doassansia limosellae 1929 Fungi Elaeomyxa cerifera Fungi Geoglossum peckianum 1910 Fungi Gomphus clavatus Pig’s ear 1927 Fungi Gyromitra ambigua 1907 Fungi Gyromitra gigas 1916 Fungi Haradaea duriaeana 1902 Fungi Hemitrichia chrysospora Fungi Hygrophorus erubescens Blotched woodwax 1877 Fungi Hygrophorus russula Pinkmottle woodwax 1903 Fungi Irpicodon pendulus 1831 Fungi Jamesdicksonia irregularis 1959 Fungi Lamproderma anglicum Fungi Leptoporus mollis 1957 Fungi Lycoperdon decipiens Steppe puffball 1923 Fungi Lycoperdon ericaeum Heath puffball 1883 Fungi Melanotaenium cingens Fungi Melanotaenium hypogaeum Fungi Mycocalia duriaeana Dune cannon 1953 Fungi Panellus ringens 1887 Fungi Perenniporia medulla-panis 1854 Fungi Phragmidium acuminatum 1879 Fungi Physarum carneum Fungi Pithya vulgaris 1888 Fungi Plicariella radula 1853 Fungi Polystigma fulvum 1893 Fungi Poronia erici 1933 Fungi Pterula debilis 1946 Fungi Puccinia albulensis 1936 Fungi Puccinia asparagi Asparagus rust 1936 Fungi Puccinia bulbocastani Great pignut rust 1956 Fungi Puccinia cicutae 1958 Fungi Puccinia cladii 1957 Fungi Puccinia longissima Crested hair-grass rust 1953 Fungi Puccinia pratensis Meadow oat-grass rust 1959 Fungi Puccinia ribis 1947 Fungi Pycnoporus cinnabarinus 1913 Fungi Sarcodon leucopus Fungi Sarcodon regalis Crowned tooth 1969 Fungi Schizonella melanogramma 1951 Fungi Stemonitopsis microspora Fungi Tricholoma aurantium Orange knight 1957 Fungi Uredinopsis filicina Beech fern rust 1936 Fungi Uredo oncidii 1932 Fungi Urocystis alopecuri 1946 Fungi Urocystis avenae-elatioris 1944 Fungi Uromyces colchici 1800s Fungi Uromyces tuberculatus 1944 Fungi Ustanciosporium gigantosporum 1865 Fungi Ustanciosporium majus 1939 Fungi Ustilago corcontica 1944 Fungi Ustilago marina Spike rush smut 1885 Fungi Xylaria bulbosa 1911 Fungi Xylaria digitata 1924 Fungi Xylaria hippotrichoides 1875 Ground beetles Ground beetles Acupalpus elegans 1875 Ground beetles Harpalus cupreus 1914 Ground beetles Lebia marginata 1800s Ground beetles Lebia scapularis 1883 Heteropteran bugs Heteropteran bugs Chlorochroa juniperina 1925 Heteropteran bugs Elasmucha ferrugata 1950 Heteropteran bugs Eremocoris fenestratus 1962 Heteropteran bugs Eurygaster austriaca 1885 Heteropteran bugs Hadrodemus m-flavum 1800s Heteropteran bugs Jalla dumosa 1800s Heteropteran bugs Prostemma guttula 1890 Lichens Lichens Arthonia galactities 1879 Lichens Arthothelium spectabile 1937 Lichens Biatora cuprea 1975 Lichens Biatoridium monasteriense 1981 Lichens Brigantiaea fuscolutea 1960 Lichens Bryoria nadvornikiana 1995 Lichens Buellia asterella 1992 Lichens Caloplaca atroflava 1973 Lichens Chaenothecopsis debilis 1846 Lichens Cladonia peziziformis 1968 Lichens Dictyonema interruptum 1959 Lichens Diplotomma pharcidium 1879 Lichens Lichens Lecania fuscella Liverworts Liverworts Diplophyllum taxifolium 1950s Liverworts Fossombronia mittenii Mitten’s frillwort 1972 Liverworts Liochlaena lanceolata Long-leaved flapwort 1966 Liverworts Scapania praetervisa 1952 Mammals Mammals Eubalaena glacialis Northern right whale mid-1800s Mammals Felis silvestris Wildcat late-1800s Mammals Myotis myotis Greater mouse-eared bat 1985 Mayflies Mayflies Arthroplea congener 1920 Mayflies Heptagenia lonicauda 1933 Mosses Mosses Andreaea mutabilis Changeable rock-moss 1950s Mosses Aulacomnium turgidum Swollen thread-moss 1878 Mosses Bartramia stricta Upright apple-moss 1864 Mosses Bryum calophyllum Matted bryum 1983 Mosses Bryum lawersianum Mosses | Climate Change |
By Jonah FisherBBC Environment CorrespondentImage source, RenoufDesignImage caption, A section of Hurst Castle in Hampshire collapsed in February 2021Castles that have stood for hundreds of years are at risk of being damaged by climate change, conservation charity English Heritage warns. The charity, which manages over 400 historic sites across England, highlighted six castles threatened by coastal erosion and rising sea levels. They include Tintagel in Cornwall and Hurst Castle in Hampshire It is appealing for money to repair walls and improve defences against storms and more powerful waves. "It seems to be that the whole natural dynamics of the coastline in some places have been accelerated by climate change," Rob Woodside, English Heritage's estates director, told BBC News. "What we're trying to do now is essentially buy time, so with places that we value, and people want to look after, we put measures in place to protect them."There is broad consensus among scientists that even if the greenhouse gas emissions that warm the Earth are dramatically cut, global sea levels will continue to rise for several hundred years. Higher sea levels mean more powerful waves coming closer to the shore, and faster coastal erosion. These are the six sites that English Heritage says are most at risk: Hurst CastleImage source, English HeritageImage caption, Sea defences have now been put in place to protect Hurst CastleOriginally built by Tudor King Henry VIII between 1541 and 1544, a section of Hurst Castle's east wing collapsed into the sea in February 2021 after its foundations were eroded. As part of efforts to defend the castle 5,000 tonnes of granite boulders have been put in place to form a barrier, or "revetment".TintagelImage source, English HeritageImage caption, Tintagel in Cornwall is inextricably linked to the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round TableErosion is not a new problem at Tintagel. It has been under attack from wind and sea since being built in the 13th Century. There are regular cliff falls and English Heritage says funding is urgently needed to repair damage from the storms of last winter.Piel CastleImage source, English HeritageImage caption, Piel Castle in Cumbria was built to guard Barrow-in-Furness against pirates and raiders from Scotland.Fourteenth Century Piel Castle is on a low-lying island around half a mile from the coast in Morecambe Bay. Much of the island has already been lost to erosion and some of the castle fell into the sea in the 19th Century. English Heritage says the castle's keep and bastions are now at risk from both erosion and flooding.Bayard's Cove FortImage source, English HeritageImage caption, Bayard's Cove Fort is particularly vulnerable to flooding from rising sea levels.For 500 years, this Tudor fort in Devon has guarded the narrow entrance to the Dart Estuary as the last line of defence to protect Dartmouth from attack from the sea. Garrison Walls Image source, English HeritageImage caption, The Garrison Walls were progressively built to strengthen the Isles of Scilly defences after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588The shape of the Garrison Walls creates pinch points or "armpits", where the tide focuses. English Heritage says these sections are extremely vulnerable to erosion and will be breached in the coming years if not protected.Calshot Castle Image source, English HeritageImage caption, Calshot Castle was built by Henry VIII to defend the approach to SouthamptonCalshot Castle sits on a vulnerable short spit of land in the River Solent. The site is at a low level making it vulnerable to rising sea levels and erosion. | Climate Change |
People walk on Wall St. during the morning commute, as the city deals with record temperatures and the excessive heat, in New York City, U.S., July 20, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBOSTON, July 20 (Reuters) - A heat wave on Wednesday was expected to smother a broad swath of the United States for a second day, pushing temperatures to record highs in many areas and leading forecasters to warn about the dangers of dehydration and exposure.Some 100 million Americans, living from New York City to Las Vegas, will see dangerous heat indices well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 C) and will be under heat warnings and advisories throughout the day, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. It advised people to stay indoors, avoid strenuous activities and stay hydrated with lots of fluids."Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening," it said in an advisory for Dallas, where the high temperature was forecast to reach 112 degrees.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTemperatures were expected to break daily records across Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas on Wednesday, the service said.Air pollution presents yet another health risk during the heat wave. Pollution from the electric grid can more than double when power stations run full tilt during sweltering heat.In New England, carbon dioxide production soared to 123 metric tons per hour just before 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesday. That was more than double the hourly rate earlier in the day (4 a.m. EDT) of just 58 metric tons, according to estimates by ISO New England, the grid operator for the six-state region.Texas grid operator ERCOT asked state environmental regulators this week to use their discretion when power stations exceed pollution limits. The Texas grid needs power stations to run full throttle to handle record-setting electric demand amid extreme heat across the region. read more To give relief to residents without air conditioning, New York City opened cooling centers in libraries, community centers and other city buildings and extended public pool hours. The high temperature was expected to reach 99 degrees on Wednesday in the nation's most populous city.The excessive heat in the United States comes on the heels of a heat wave in Europe this week that has touched off wildfires and set record temperatures. It is kind of weather event that scientists say will become more frequent with climate change. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Tim McLaughlin in Boston, Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
U.S. July 11, 2022 / 3:56 PM / AP The Colorado River in crisis The Colorado River in crisis 01:38 Lake Mead, the largest U.S. reservoir, has shrunk to a record low amid a punishing drought and the demands of 40 million people in seven states who are sucking the Colorado River dry. The megadrought in the U.S. West has been worsened by climate change. Wildfire season has grown longer, blazes have become more intense and scorching temperatures have broken records — and as a result, lakes are shriveling.Receding waters of Lake Mead National Recreation Area have revealed the skeletal remains of two people along with countless desiccated fish and what has become a graveyard of forgotten and stranded watercraft. A bathtub ring of light minerals shows the high water line of Lake Mead near water intakes on the Arizona side of Hoover Dam. John Locher / AP Houseboats, sailboats and motorboats have been beached, creating a surreal scene in an otherwise rugged desert landscape. A buoy that once marked a no-boat-zone sits in the dirt, with not a drop of water anywhere in view. Even a sunken World War II-era craft that once surveyed the lake has emerged from the ebbing waters. The mighty Colorado River that divides Nevada from Arizona once flowed beneath the walls of Black Canyon until the Hoover Dam was erected in 1935 for irrigation, flood control and hydropower. The reservoir is now below 30% of capacity. Its level has dropped 170 feet since reaching a high-water mark in 1983, leaving a bright white line of mineral deposits on the brown canyon walls that looms over passing motor boats as high as a 15-story building. A sign marks the water line from 2002 near Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. John Locher / AP Most of the boat ramps have been gated and marina docks moved into deeper waters. A sign that marks the water level in 2002 stands above a road that descends to boat slips in the distance. The dropping water levels have consequences not only for the cities that depend on the future source of water, but also for boaters who have to navigate shallow waters and avoid islands and sandbars that lurk below the surface before emerging.Craig Miller was motoring around on his houseboat last month when the engine died and he floated to shore. Within days, the knee deep water where his boat came to a rest was gone."It's amazing how fast the water went down," Miller said. "I was landlocked." Craig Miller smokes a cigarette beside his stranded houseboat at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area John Locher / AP He bought pumps and tried to dredge the sand around the boat to create a channel to the water, but couldn't stay ahead. A tow from shallow waters, originally estimated at $4,000, ballooned to a $20,000 salvage job when he became marooned. Miller spent three weeks on the beached boat, spending much of it soaking in the water to stay cool in the triple-digit heat. The day before he was told by park rangers that he had to get the boat off the sand, Dave Sparks, a social media personality known as Heavy D, who had seen a video about Miller's plight, showed up with a crew to pull the boat from the shore and tow it to a marina.Others have flocked to the dried lake bed for selfies in the haunting landscape or against the backdrop of what looks like a colossal ring around a bathtub. Dead and desiccated fish arranged by a visitor. John Locher / AP The dried lake bottom looks like shattered glass, the cracks expanding in the hot sun and mud fading from brown to beige.A small school of dead fish have been propped on their tails and arranged in a circle.As the sun sets to the West over Las Vegas, the light illuminates the translucent hollowed-out body and empty eye socket of one fish; it's mouth is open as if it's attempting to breathe. In: Lake Mead Drought Thanks for reading CBS NEWS. Create your free account or log in for more features. Please enter email address to continue Please enter valid email address to continue | Climate Change |
Here’s what you need to know:The drought is widespread, though it’s not as bad as it could beThe state has declared a Level 2 (significant) drought in the Connecticut River Valley, Central, Northeast and Southeast regions, and a Level 1 (mild) drought in the Western and Islands regions. Cape Cod is still seeing normal conditions. The drought levels go all the way up to Level 4, which is an emergency.Here’s a map of the drought areas:Map of Massachusetts drought statusDrought Management Task ForceThe state has seven drought areas. Click here to check exactly which area your community is in.The problem has been a lack of rain, starting in MarchThe amount of rain has been running below normal. Here are three ways of looking at it.First, here’s a chart showing total precipitation accumulation in Boston since the beginning of the year versus what’s expected. Things appeared to go off track in mid-March.Here’s a chart showing how the first six months of precipitation this year matches up to the first six months of recent years. It was the driest first six months since at least 2000.Finally, this chart shows the average precipitation for the first six months of this year by month, compared with the average for each month. Again, the dry stretch began in March.The impacts go way beyond wilted flowersDroughts can have a variety of impacts on both nature and humans. The state’s 2019 Drought Management Plan lists the following natural impacts: “diminished quantity and quality of streamflow, groundwater, and surface water, which in turn affect aquatic life and habitat; increased fire danger; decline in the health of forests and other vegetation leading to increased vulnerability to storm damage and uprooting, resulting in increased erosion and reduced bank stability; and indirect impacts to forests from insects, whose predators are vulnerable to drought.”Impacts to humans, the plan says, include “diminished water supply quantity and quality; reduced water supply, which may lead to diminished pressure for firefighting, increased stress on the agricultural industry, which may need to secure additional water supplies and potentially alter operations; increased fire risk for people and infrastructure especially those living near forests.”Expect more problems in the future, too. There is ample evidence that climate change is making droughts more intense and frequent, including in New England. That trend is expected to persist, especially absent urgent climate action.Officials are urging residents to conserve waterThe state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs said in a statement that it is “incredibly important” that people conserve water, limiting outdoor watering and planting drought-tolerant plants.The agency urged residents and businesses in Level 2 Drought areas to limit their watering to handheld hoses or watering cans and only water before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m.People in Level 1 Drought areas should limit their watering to once a week, also sticking to those cooler hours so less water evaporates, officials said. “While water supplies are currently doing fine,” many communities are proactively imposing watering restrictions, officials said.The officials also recommended that people address leaks, conduct water audits on larger buildings and businesses, cut down the area of lawn being watered, and harvest rainwater for watering.The situation is being monitored by state and federal agencies. The Drought Management Task Force, which recommended the drought declaration, will continue to meet until water levels return to normal in the affected regions.Forecasts suggest wetter weather may return this fallRodney Chai, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Norton office, said, “Humidity has been low, and there’s not been much rain. Even when it rains, it’s hit and miss.”But, he said, forecasters think that relief may be ahead by the fall.“Fingers crossed, we should be getting to a somewhat more unsettled pattern, which would favor more rainfall, so hopefully we can chip away at the rainfall deficit,” he said.He pointed to forecasts from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center that suggested it’s likely that wetter weather will return. The center also offers a Drought Outlook map suggesting it’s likely the drought will fade by October.National Weather Service long-range forecasters think it's likely the drought will end in Mass. by the end of September.Climate Prediction Center/National Weather ServiceDharna Noor of the Globe staff contributed to this report.Martin Finucane can be reached at [email protected]. | Climate Change |
Met Office boss Paul Davies fears a 35C heatwave such as the one we are baking under this week may become more common - and 40C could hit the UK every three years in 77 yearsHot weather has caused fires around the countryThe UK’s chief meteorologist says the country is entering into scary, uncharted waters as we are hit by a second massive heatwave this year. Met Office boss Paul Davies fears a 35C heatwave such as the one we are baking under this week, may now occur once every five years and annually by the end of the century. And the history-making 40C experienced last month, which caused homes to burn down, our runways to melt and railways to buckle, could hit the UK every three years in 77 years. “That’s a staggering number,” Mr Davies, a world-leading expert in meteorology, told The Mirror. Talking about our changing climate and the brutal 40C seen in Lincolnshire on July 19, he said: “I knew it was possible but to see it unfold in reality is quite scary. Paul Davies from the Met Office (
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Grahame Madge, Met Office) “When I started out as a forecaster, if someone had said in your lifetime you’ll see 40 degrees, I’d have said; ‘No, surely not!’. “We are in uncharted waters. We’re entering areas we’ve never experienced before and it’s not just the UK, it’s the planet as a whole.” Tinderbox Britain is in the grip of “lethally hot” temperatures, with Wiggonholt in West Sussex the hottest at 31.8C. Firefighters have been battling blazes across the country and millions more people face a hosepipe ban in the coming weeks including Thames Water. The Met Office has issued an amber “extreme heat” until Sunday, the UK Health and Security Agency issued a level three heat-health alert, and the AA warned tyres could blow out on the motorways. Another heatwave is hitting the UK this week (
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West Weather) And to those still denying climate change, the Met boss said: “Look at the evidence. All the scientists of this planet – all agreeing – that it is happening. You’re seeing the evidence. That was a wake-up call for people – experiencing those temperatures.” Two years ago, the UK Met Office mocked-up a future weather forecast for July 2050, showing Southampton to Birmingham with highs of 40C. They told of festivals cancelled and power outages. But Mr Davies, a meteorologist for more than 30 years, admits he was taken aback by how quickly their predictions came true. This year is the driest since 1935 for the whole of England, but in some parts of southern England it has been the driest since 1836. And we are heading for 36C on Saturday. Rivers are forecast to be exceptionally low in central and southern England, according to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The UK could see drought conditions until October. But there is hope of rain – on Monday, the Midlands and South of England are expected to get their first downfall in weeks, which will continue into Tuesday as temperatures drop to the mid-twenties. Talking about the 40C milestone last month, Mr Davies said: “I knew theoretically it was possible but it was the speed of which it happened. It was kind of ‘crikey, this is real. This is the real artefact of climate control’. “My colleagues in Spain, Portugal and France had given me the heads up because the heat was building and they said, ‘Look, Paul, this is a different type of beast we are dealing with. This is fierce. Those temperatures have an impact.” A temperature map showing the weather forecast for Friday, August 12 The Met Office told of receiving disturbing amounts of online abuse after issuing the severe heat warnings last month because they linked it to climate change. But a survey they later carried out with the public suggests they could have saved many lives – 97%of people within the red and amber extreme heat warning areas last month were aware of the danger. The survey found 98% within the red warnings were aware and took action and of those in the amber area who were aware, 97% acted. He said of the abuse: “There’s always a minority voice and it can hurt but as we do what’s right and present the facts that’s critical, there’s not much else we can do. Bottles of water supplied by Thames Water for residents of the village of Northend in Oxfordshire (
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PA) “But the reality is we’ve never seen these temperatures before in the UK and we still don’t know what the impact is going to be.” He said it helped a lot to have the UK health security agency, the Environment Agency, the NHS, “supporting each other”. “It’s the majority versus the minority. The majority were understanding, certainly in my village everyone had started to look after their neighbours and the vulnerable,” he said. “When you reach a certain temperature your body can’t cope with it, it shuts down especially in the elderly and vulnerable.“ A forest fire area near Saint-Magne, south-western France (
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SDIS 33/AFP via Getty Images) Now in his 50’s Paul recalls in his childhood seeing 32C would be considered a “good heatwave”. “There are unknowns here. I think 40 degrees was a milestone. That number where we can say ‘this is simply not possible if we did not have climate change’,” he said. “Now even saying that, sometimes I have to pinch myself. Did we really get 40C this year?” he added. Read More Read More | Climate Change |
Firefighters pull up to a burning house during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg, California, on Oct. 27, 2019.Josh Edelson | Afp | Getty ImagesAs climate change threatens the U.S. with more natural disasters, it's becoming increasingly costly for Americans to insure their homes — and it's only expected to get worse, according to experts."These things are occurring more often, and they're causing more damage," said Jeremy Porter, chief research officer at First Street Foundation, a non-profit focused on defining U.S. climate risk.Indeed, there were 20 separate billion-dollar U.S. natural disasters in 2021 — including a deep freeze, wildfires, flooding, tornado outbreaks and other severe weather — costing a total of $145 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More from Personal Finance:5 cities have highest rent but cheaper ones have hidden costsThis can save homebuyers up to $104,000 over mortgage lifeThe Fed is fighting inflation. So is remote workThe uptick in costly climate events, combined with rising costs to rebuild, labor shortages and "demand surges" after natural disasters have triggered higher homeowners insurance premiums, experts say."We're seeing drastic increases," said Pat Howard, managing editor and licensed home insurance expert at Policygenius.Some 90% of U.S. homeowners saw premiums jump from May 2021 to May 2022, costing an average of $134 more per year, according to a Policygenius report.The average increase is 12.1% nationwide, compared to one year ago, but surges have been higher in disaster-prone states like Arkansas, Washington and Colorado, the report found.Some homeowners have hidden flood risksWater-damaged items sit outside a house in Squabble Creek, Kentucky, on July 31, 2022, after historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky.Seth Herald | Afp | Getty ImagesBrad Wright, a certified financial planner and managing partner of Launch Financial Planning in Andover, Massachusetts, said erosion and rising sea levels are growing concerns for clients interested in coastal properties.When someone considers buying a home along the beaches of southern Maine, for example, there are always questions about flood risks and the cost of insuring the property. Depending on the answers, they may choose another home.Still, owners may unknowingly purchase or own in flood-prone areas. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency identified 8 million properties at risk for 1-in-100-year flooding, First Street Foundation found nearly double the amount in a 2020 report. These family houses have been around forever, and they may not have a mortgage, so flood insurance may not be required.Brad WrightManaging partner of Launch Financial PlanningStandard homeowners insurance policies don't cover flooding, but protection is available through FEMA or private coverage, which may be required by mortgage lenders. While the average yearly premium is $985, according to ValuePenguin, experts say the cost may be significantly greater in high-risk areas.Last October, FEMA revamped its program to more accurately assess flood risk, causing insurance premiums for some coastal properties to rise to $4,000 or $5,000 annually, up from just $700 or $800, Porter from First Street Foundation said. These hikes may be prohibitively expensive for lower-income families or retirees, especially those who may be living in a property inherited from family, Wright said. "These family houses have been around forever, and they may not have a mortgage, so flood insurance may not be required," he said. "But they should have it anyway."Wildfire risk may be costly to insureFlames burn during the McKinney Fire in the Klamath National Forest on July 31, 2022.David Mcnew | AFP | Getty ImagesAlthough wildfires are covered as part of the standard homeowners insurance coverage, policy premiums in fire-prone areas have also become more costly, according to Michael Barry, chief communications officer at the Insurance Information Institute."The home insurer is looking to price the policy to reflect the risk," he said.For example, premiums rose by nearly 10% in California from May 2021 to May 2022, according to Policygenius, with the increase in costly wildfires partially to blame.If you move into an area that's prone to wildfires or flooding, that cost goes up dramatically because the carrier is passing that on to the consumer.Bill ParrottPresident and CEO of Parrott Wealth ManagementBill Parrott, an Austin, Texas-based CFP, president and CEO of Parrott Wealth Management, has also seen rising premiums in high-risk regions."If you move into an area that's prone to wildfires or flooding, that cost goes up dramatically because the carrier is passing that on to the consumer," he said. "That's a big expense for a lot of people."Nationwide, at least 10 million properties may have "major" and "extreme" wildfire risk, according to First Street Foundation.How to reduce premiums in high-risk areasRegardless of where you live, it's critical to do your homework before purchasing a property, suggests Barry of the Insurance Information Institute.Before making an offer, you can use free tools like ClimateCheck or Risk Factor to measure long-term climate risk for a specific property. Current homeowners may ask their insurance provider about discounts for taking steps to mitigate possible damage from climate events, such as storm-proofing your home, said Howard from Policygenius.You may also save money by shopping around and bundling home and auto policies. Homeowners insurance is no longer a "set-it-and-forget-it" type of thing, he said. And if you have sufficient emergency savings, you may consider lowering your premiums by increasing your deductible, Howard said. | Climate Change |
With gas prices hitting record highs, the effects of climate change ever more present, Russia making almost $1 billion a day from gas and oil while invading its neighbor, and air pollution killing 10 million people a year worldwide, including nearly 9,000 Californians, the need to transition from fossil fuels has never been greater.
Yet it’s almost always perceived as being too expensive for the average consumer — though with today’s prices, it is clearly cheaper to use clean technology. I believe we are at a unique point in time to make a clean energy transformation.
For example, if I drive round trip from the Bay Area to Sacramento in an electric car, the cost is $11 compared with $50 to fuel a gas-powered car. How do we help all Californians afford electric vehicles and other clean technology?
There is good news: Forty-two new EV models are coming out for 2023, providing more choices across the price spectrum for everyone. The new state budget invests more than $6 billion to accelerate our transition to electric vehicles with $76 million set aside to help low-income consumers buy EVs through Clean Cars for All and other equity programs. We also are working on laws to make charging infrastructure more equitable and reliable, efforts bolstered by $383 million in federal funds in our budget that are prioritized for infrastructure in underserved areas. We also must consider that as California warms, more people will need to cool their homes. Our family house had no air conditioning when we moved in 20 years ago, and extremely hot days were rare. Now there are many more extremely hot days. This summer, we installed a high-efficiency heat pump that runs on electricity and provides greenhouse-gas-free heating and air conditioning with the same system.
California needs to help lower the upfront cost for these technologies as well, so they are accessible to more people. I introduced a bill this year to help unlock financing for building decarbonization. The legislation follows my bill signed into law last year to ease the path for electrification so property owners can more readily retrofit their homes and buildings to accommodate clean energy appliances. The goal behind both measures is to help California achieve 1 million electric buildings and drive down greenhouse gas emissions from our built environment. Menlo Park is helping lead the way on a local level with its new public-private partnership to electrify thousands of homes and buildings. They’ll start in Belle Haven, one of the city’s most climate-impacted communities.
With all these developments, our state government must also “walk the talk” in our operations — a move that will help bring down the cost of clean energy technologies for everyone. I have legislation to make that possible by requiring our government operations to target net-zero carbon emissions by 2035. The bill is part of the legislative package championed by Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins and the Climate Working Group she convened to firmly push the needle on climate action.
The dozen bills in the Senate climate package will drive adoption of clean technologies, bring down costs and speed our move to a 100% clean grid. They are critical to our future as Californians, and we are fast approaching the final month for legislative action on these measures. This will not be easy. Already some strong climate action bills, such as one to have the state divest from fossil fuels, have been defeated in the Legislature. I hope you join us in our efforts to ensure that all Californians can benefit from the clean energy transformation. Please contact my office if you’d like to help. Let’s make sure we harness our collective will to take full advantage of this unique opportunity.
Josh Becker represents the 13th Senate District in the California Legislature. | Climate Change |
Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in to the Supreme Court, shattering a glass ceiling as the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court.The 51-year-old Jackson is the court’s 116th justice and she took the place Thursday of the justice she once worked for. Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement took effect at noon.Moments later, joined by her family, Jackson recited the two oaths required of Supreme Court justices, one administered by Breyer and the other by Chief Justice John Roberts.Jackson, a federal judge since 2013, is the first Black woman to serve as a justice. She joins three women, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett — the first time four women will serve together on the nine-member court.Biden nominated Jackson in February, a month after Breyer, 83, announced he would retire at the end of the court’s term, assuming his successor had been confirmed. Breyer’s earlier-than-usual announcement and the condition he attached was a recognition of the Democrats’ tenuous hold on the Senate in an era of hyper-partisanship, especially surrounding federal judgeships.The Senate confirmed Jackson’s nomination in early April, by a 53-47 mostly party-line vote that included support from three Republicans.She has been in a sort of judicial limbo ever since, remaining a judge on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., but not hearing any cases. Biden elevated her to that court from the district judgeship to which she was appointed by President Barack Obama.Jackson will be able to begin work immediately, but the court just finished the bulk of its work until the fall, apart from emergency appeals that occasionally arise. That will give her time to settle in and familiarize herself with the roughly two dozen cases the court already has agreed to hear starting in October as well as hundreds of appeals that will pile up over the summer.The court issued final opinions earlier Thursday after a momentous and rancorous term that included overturning Roe v. Wade’s guarantee of the right to an abortion. One of Thursday’s decisions limited how the Environmental Protection Agency can use the nation’s main anti-air pollution law to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, a blow to the fight against climate change. | Climate Change |
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHICKMAN, Calif., Aug 25 (Reuters) - California is about to launch an experiment to cover aqueducts with solar panels, a plan that if scaled up might save billions of gallons of otherwise evaporated water while powering millions of homes.Project Nexus in the Turlock Irrigation District launches in mid-October amid Western North America's worst drought in 1,200 years and as human-influenced climate change exacerbates the dry spell.The $20 million project, funded by the state, is due to break ground in two locations. One is a 500-foot (152-meter or about 0.3-mile) span along a curved portion of the canal in the town of Hickman, about 100 miles (160 km) inland from San Francisco. The other is a mile-long (1.6-km long) straightaway in nearby Ceres.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBased on a similar project in the west Indian state of Gujarat, the project is the first of its kind in the United States, said University of California Merced project scientist Brandi McKuin. The Turlock project was inspired by a research paper McKuin published in 2021.Modern California was built thanks to 20th century infrastructure that delivers water from the wet north to the arid south, a network McKuin said now totals 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of canals.Covering those canals with solar panels would reduce evaporation, avoid using other land for solar farms and reduce aquatic weed and algae growth, saving on maintenance costs, McKuin said."It's really exciting to test our hypothesis and the paper we published. We'll have an opportunity to really understand if those benefits pencil out in the real world," McKuin said.It would also help California meet its renewable energy goal of achieving 50% clean energy generation by 2025 and 60% by 2030.If all 4,000 miles of canals were covered with solar panels, it could produce 13 gigawatts of renewable capacity, roughly half of what California needs to meet its carbon-free energy goals, she said.A gigawatt, or 1 billion watts, is enough to power 750,000 homes.McKuin's research also calculated water savings of 63 billion gallons (238 million cubic meters), enough to supply 2 million people and irrigate 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) of cropland.Like other utilities throughout the state, Turlock Irrigation District Water & Power is required to expand its renewable energy capacity."If this is something that works on these first two miles of Project Nexus that we're doing, there's the potential that this could scale to multiple locations," said Josh Weimer, Turlock Water & Power's external affairs manager.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Nathan Frandino; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Donna Bryson and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
A general view of Grand Pacific Hotel, the venue for Pacific Islands Forum, in Suva, Fiji July 11, 2022. REUTERS/Kirsty NeedhamRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSUVA, Fiji, July 12 (Reuters) - The leader of Vanuatu, pushing to take climate change to the international court, said the slow pace of international negotiations over emissions reduction was "totally out of step" with the impact Pacific islands are seeing.Leaders from 15 nations are meeting in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum, where they are discussing how to gather more international support and funding to fight the impact of climate change, as well as China's ambitions for greater security ties across the region."Young people simply cannot wait", Vanuatu's Prime Minister Bob Loughman said, referring to need for urgent action on climate change.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comInternational funding for Pacific islands to rebuild societies threatened by rising sea levels would be boosted if the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issues an advisory opinion on the obligation of states to protect the rights of future generations from the impacts of climate change, he said.Loughman said Vanuatu had gained "unanimous support" from forum members for a call for the United Nations General Assembly to back an ICJ case.Developed nations most responsible for climate change have been reluctant to commit to financing for low-lying island states to deal with the loss and damage caused by rising sea levels.An ICJ opinion would speed up the mobilization of climate funds, put human rights at the centre of the debate and respond to the demands of young people, Loughman told a community dialogue in Suva on the sidelines of the forum."Time seems totally out of step with the reality of climate change’s impact on the lives of Pacific people," he said."Our villages, our islands, our women, our young people, our chiefs...are calling on us, Pacific leaders, to take action to fight this emergency."Climate change is a major focus of the forum, despite the shock withdrawal of Kiribati from the group, discussions over a bid by China to sign a regional trade and security pact, and the announcement United States Vice President Kamala Harris would make a virtual address.Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told the forum on Tuesday the region was in a state of turmoil from the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the threat of climate change, and as superpowers and some middle powers "clamour to shape the world in their favour".He said the most important question for the forum was regional unity: "Will we forge ahead together, will we take individual paths, will we be assertive or leave it to others to decide our fate?"Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters on Tuesday that forum members, including Australia, would seek reconciliation with Kiribati."Competition is one of the challenges the region faces, and it is best faced together," she said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
Climate change. Get the latest.Although the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which passed the House of Representatives on Friday, will be by far the largest federal action ever taken to confront climate change, it will fall short of the U.S.’s pledge in the 2015 Paris climate agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030. While President Biden reaffirmed that commitment at last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, statistical models show the IRA will only reduce emissions by roughly 40% from 2005 levels by the end of this decade.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has calculated that in order to avert catastrophic climate change by staying below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming, global carbon emissions must be cut in half by 2030. Other nations have made it clear in climate negotiations that the United States — the world’s biggest historical emitter and one of the largest emitters per capita — must do its part if it is to persuade all of them to do theirs.And so attention is already turning to what else the government can do to close that gap between the trajectory set by the IRA and what the science and global climate diplomacy require. Even before the bill had passed the House of Representatives, longtime climate leader Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said it is “only the first chapter” in the fight against climate change.“There is more needed: We’re not done after the IRA,” Anand Gopal, executive director of the think tank Energy Innovation, which produced an analysis that estimated the IRA alone would achieve between a 37% and 41% emissions cut by 2030, told Yahoo News.President Biden delivers a speech at the COP26 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 2, 2021. (Evan Vucci/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)The IRA seeks to trim climate pollution through a variety of means, the largest of which is subsidies for the manufacture and purchase of clean energy and electric vehicles.According to experts and activists working on climate policy, there are four main avenues to get additional emissions reductions in this decade: regulations from the Biden administration, future bills in Congress that could target emissions from other sectors and state-level policies. Lastly, to stay below 1.5C, other large emitters such as China will have to adopt their own additional policies.Of course, just as the IRA was the result of many compromises made to get it through the evenly divided Senate, there is a difference between the policies that could work in the abstract and the ones that have an actual chance of becoming law.“In theory, there are any number of plausible next steps,” Barry Rabe, a professor of environmental policy at the University of Michigan, told Yahoo News. “In political terms, it’s not at all clear what would be most likely.”Here is an overview of the major options in each of the four categories.President Joe Biden signs an executive order during an event at the Roosevelt Room of the White House on July 8, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)Regulations from the executive branchWhile no more action on climate change will come from Congress this year — due to unified Republican opposition, Democrats were only able to use the annual budget bill to pass climate action with a simple majority — the Biden administration can take a number of steps to hasten the transition away from fossil fuels. Federal laws such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act require the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate pollutants that are “harmful to human health,” which includes carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.However, in June, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the EPA’s power, when it ruled that the approach to regulating carbon emissions from power plants that the agency attempted under former President Barack Obama was outside the bounds of the law. The Obama-era EPA had proposed a rule that would have set carbon emissions standards based on the reductions in emissions that could be achieved partly through switching from coal to clean sources such as wind and solar power. Instead, the court ruled that it can only make rules based on emissions control technology.“What becomes really interesting essentially the minute after this legislation is approved and signed… [is] how far can the Biden administration go on its own through use of the Clean Air Act or anything else?” Rabe said. “We’re going to see a number of steps to use regulatory powers that will test what the courts are going to allow.”“The most important set of policies that should follow the IRA would be a series of executive actions led by the EPA and supported by other agencies, DOE [the Department of Energy] and DOT [the Department of Transportation],” Gopal said.One very important regulation will be the forthcoming rule limiting carbon emissions from power plants. Most pro-environment observers think that the EPA can set strict limits for carbon pollution by basing the standard on a requirement that coal-fired power plants adopt technology that captures carbon at the smokestack and stores it underground, known as carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS. Fossil fuel industry advocates and conservative legal experts are skeptical that the Supreme Court would uphold such a rule, but the IRA’s subsidies for CCS could help such a rule pass cost-benefit analysis.Transportation has surpassed electricity generation as the sector of the U.S. economy with the biggest carbon footprint, and the Biden administration will be making new rules for cars and trucks as well. EPA announced in June it plans to finalize by March 2024 a new rule for tailpipe emissions on new light-duty passenger vehicles for models in years 2026 through 2030. Environmental experts from groups such as the League of Conservation Voters and the Union of Concerned Scientists are calling for the EPA to require 60% of new car sales be electric by 2030. The agency will also get to write a post-2030 rule for heavy-duty trucks, which Gopal said should require nearly all trucks to have zero emissions by 2040.The Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. Jan. 19, 2020. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)Another significant source of greenhouse gas emissions — one that has largely escaped public scrutiny — is industrial processes such as manufacturing, which frequently require high levels of heat and therefore burn fossil fuels on-site. The IRA includes some money for assisting in the decarbonization of heavy industry, but in the future federal regulators could actually require that, for example, packaged food manufacturers switch from burning gas to using electric heat.“One of the things that is important for EPA and DOE is to consider setting standards for industrial boilers for at least low-temperature heat to incentivize a transition to heat pumps for low-temperature heat,” Gopal said.The IRA also creates the opportunity for regulations to work in concert with some of the spending provisions in the law. The EPA is already writing regulations on the leakage of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in oil and gas wells and pipelines. The IRA applies a fee to methane emissions from oil and gas companies and the coordination of the fee and the regulations could be more effective than either on its own.“[The fee] would create further incentives for industry and states to improve their performance [on methane leakage] because it will take longer for those EPA regulations to take effect, but it’s also possible for firms to avoid the fee entirely if they’re already in compliance with what EPA is proposing ahead of time,” Rabe said. “So there’s an interesting interactive effect here between a fee and a regulation. We’ve never seen that in the climate area before.”Biden will, however, be constrained in reducing fossil fuel extraction. In order to win the support of Sen. Joe Manchin, the centrist Democrat from coal- and gas-rich West Virginia — and in violation of Biden’s campaign promise to end new sales of oil and gas drilling leases offshore and on federal land — the president and Democratic leaders agreed to rules mandating on- and offshore federal fossil fuel leasing in the IRA.Some environmental advocacy organizations, including Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity, are urging Biden to declare climate change a national emergency, which would give him more latitude to restrict fossil fuel development in other ways, such as banning the exportation of crude oil.A general view of the U.S. Capitol Building on May 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)New bills in CongressIn the abstract, the most efficient way to reduce carbon emissions would be for Congress to pass a law that simply limits the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted, typically with credits for carbon emissions that can be bought or sold, or charges a fee for carbon pollution.The politics of that are daunting. In 2009, when Democrats enjoyed much larger congressional majorities, the House of Representatives passed one such scheme, but it died in the Senate. With gas and oil prices having recently risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the chances that even a Democratic Congress musters the votes to charge more for gasoline or home heating fuel are slim.When the IRA’s predecessor, the more ambitious Build Back Better agenda, was first proposed by President Biden, it would have gotten the U.S. to a 50% emissions reduction by 2030 in part through the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), which would have set benchmarks for decarbonization of the power sector and given electric utilities financial rewards for exceeding those targets and charged fees for failing to meet them.Manchin demanded that the CEPP be dropped from the bill. In any case, Republicans are favored to flip at least one house of Congress in this year’s midterm elections.But that doesn’t mean no future climate legislation could ever pass Congress in this decade. If Democrats hold the majority, future bills could offer financial incentives — which can be passed with a simple majority as part of the budget — to cleaning up other sectors of the economy, such as subsidies for replacing fossil fuel-powered industrial boilers with electric heat pumps.California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters during a visit the Antioch Water Treatment Plant on Aug. 11, 2022 in Antioch, Calif.. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)States step upState governments are the primary regulators of electric utilities, and 31 states have already set some goal for drawing a certain percentage of their power from clean sources. But the ambition and timeline vary widely and experts say there is huge room for most states to increase the proportion of their power that comes from zero-emissions sources and to move up the date by which they require it.“States, localities, private entities could, in theory, up their game,” Rabe said.Ford Motor Company and DTE, the largest electric utility in Michigan, announced on Wednesday that by 2025 all of Ford’s facilities in the state will run on clean energy that it buys from through DTE’s MIGreenPower program, which purchases power from zero-emissions sources.“If that model was replicated widely around the nation, that could help close the gap,” Rabe said.States can also choose to go further than the federal government in setting regulations. California has set a goal of all vehicles sold there being electric by 2035. Now state-level activists from groups like Environment California are calling for their states to supplement those rules and the EV subsidies in the IRA with complementary policies like building charging stations.States also can offer their own subsidies that, combined with federal money, can make investments like solar panels affordable to many more of their residents. That approach has led to wide deployment of solar arrays in California. Other environmentally friendly states adopting similar policies would help solar power take off elsewhere.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks in during the opening of the 47th Federal Parliament at Parliament House in Canberra. July 26, 2022. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)International actionThe United States is not the only country to recently take action on climate change, nor is it the only one not yet on pace to cut emissions in half by 2030. Australia’s new government recently passed a bill to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030. But the number one emitter in the world currently is China, and its pledges made in Glasgow — raising the share of its energy from clean sources to 25% by 2030 and peaking its emissions by that year — are not ambitious enough to stay below 1.5C of warming.“Besides the fact that the U.S. needs to meet the full 50-52%, China’s current [nationally determined contribution] is not what we need to be on a 1.5 degree trajectory,” Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director for international climate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Yahoo News.Developing countries such as India also need to speed up their transition to clean energy as they industrialize and start to use much more electricity.There is one way in which the United States is now helping developing countries: by funding research and subsidies for bringing clean energy technology to scale, it is helping to drive down the cost that will also be paid everywhere. It is not a direct subsidy to South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, but it will in effect subsidize their clean energy development.But the U.S. is far below its European counterparts in providing direct financing for clean energy development and adaptation to climate change in the developing world.At the next round of climate negotiations, which will take place in November in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry is expected to press for more ambition in clean energy deployment and preventing deforestation from China and large developing nations such as India and Brazil.According to climate diplomacy experts, the IRA’s passage was a necessary precondition to getting other countries to step up and do more. And so it does not guarantee that catastrophic climate change will be averted, but it gives the world a fighting chance.“The U.S. beginning to show that it has a trajectory to meet more ambitious climate targets is fundamental to the international response to climate change,” Schmidt said. “The Chinese, other countries, have been rightly pointing out that the U.S. talks a big game but has yet to deliver. So this sort of gives the U.S. a much stronger foot to show they are serious about climate change.”_____Global temperatures are on the rise and have been for decades. Step inside the data and see the magnitude of climate change. | Climate Change |
The defence department warned the incoming Labor government it was under intense pressure due to the need to respond to “near persistent” natural disasters, and noted “the impacts of climate change” when requesting more cost-effective ways to manage the continual callouts.The incoming government brief prepared by the defence department – obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws – makes repeated references to the Australian defence force being under pressure.Troops have been increasingly deployed to civilian roles in recent years. They were sent into aged care homes during the Covid pandemic and have responded to numerous floods and bushfire events.Then-shadow defence minister Brendan O’Connor earlier this year floated a new civilian disaster response agency to take pressure off ADF resources while the new defence minister, Richard Marles, and the emergency management minister, Murray Watt, have acknowledged the increasing strain on staff. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning The brief states that giving assistance to the civil community is one of the “competing pressures” the defence department has to balance with strategic challenges such as “regional contingencies”.“The ADF has supported, in near persistent fashion over recent years, the civil community at home and partners abroad in managing a wide range of natural disasters,” the document states.“We need to consider more cost-effective ways for managing what is rapidly becoming a consistent concurrency pressure for Defence, potentially through enhanced community-based disaster response arrangements, which are outside Defence’s remit.”The federal government on Sunday announced another $58m for disaster relief in the Pacific region on the eve of an international conference. It also confirmed the new head of its emergency management agency.Watt last month praised the work of the ADF in disaster recovery but said Labor was considering alternative disaster response arrangements.“We think that there will always be a role for the defence force, but we do have concerns about how far they are being stretched … their core job is the defence of the nation,” he told the National Press Club.The incoming brief states a new defence strategic mobilisation plan would identify how to bolster the department’s ability to respond “to a range of contingencies including large-scale domestic natural disasters and national emergencies”, as well as conducting a risk assessment of the national security implications of climate change.It stated the defence department would engage with other groups to “manage concurrency pressures and maximise the capability available to respond” – noting natural disasters were expected to increase in frequency and strength. The other organisations were redacted as part of the FoI release.“Defence recognises the impacts of climate change and is committed to both sustaining the estate and implementing measures to mitigate the impact of our operations,” the brief said.“Climate and disaster resilience are considered in our strategic guidance and planning, force structure, preparedness, estate and infrastructure planning, and capability development.”The Labor government has pledged to spend more on disaster mitigation and resilience, with plans to overhaul existing federal funding structures and legislate a new Disaster Ready Fund of at least $200m a year. Watt is overseeing the merger of formerly separate disaster agencies into the new National Emergency Management Agency (Nema).On Sunday, Watt announced Nema’s new coordinator general would be Brendan Moon, formerly the chief executive of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. The minister praised the new hire as “one of Australia’s foremost natural disaster professionals” and said the new agency was already working to prepare for the summer high-risk weather season.“By working together with state and local governments our primary goal will be building resilience to future disasters and supporting any response to unfolding events, while remaining deeply connected with communities still recovering from past disasters,” Watt said.“The best way we can collectively deal with more frequent and severe disasters is to be better prepared and adapt to the effects of climate change.”Brendan Moon is the best in the business when it comes to disaster resilience and recovery - we’re proud to be announcing him as Australia’s first Coordinator-General for National Emergency Management. pic.twitter.com/fk1E2tu3NT— Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) September 18, 2022
Some 3,000 delegates from 40 countries are in Brisbane this week for the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. Australia is hosting the event in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.On Sunday, Watt and the minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, confirmed $50m in government funding for the DisasterREADY risk reduction program, the Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s risk reduction program delivered through the Pacific. | Climate Change |
Samsung announced Thursday it will invest more than $5 billion (7 trillion KRW) in its carbon-neutral projects and environmental technologies through 2030, aiming to make its global operations and products net zero carbon emission by 2050 in an effort to tackle the climate crisis.
The company says the strategy includes reducing emissions from the production process and power/water consumption throughout the entire product lifecycle, from raw material sourcing to recycling and disposal.
Samsung plans to remove Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions for all operations in the device experience (DX) business, which includes consumer electronics such as mobile devices, TVs, digital appliances and health equipment, with a goal of reducing about 17 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions by 2030. (Scope 1 means direct emissions from sources owned by a company such as a power plant or a fleet of cars; Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of energy a company purchases like electricity, cooling, heat and steam.) Its device solution (DS) division — the memory chip and foundry business – also targets eliminating carbon emissions across global operations by 2050.
The announcement follows criticisms by activists and investors over the tech giant’s slow reduction of fossil fuel reliance, which accounts for more than 80% of its electricity use.
“Samsung is responding to the threats of climate change with a comprehensive plan that includes reducing emissions, new sustainability practices and the development of innovative technologies and products that are better for our planet,” vice chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics Jong-Hee Han said in a statement.
Samsung has joined the global initiative for corporations committed to using 100% renewable energy, RE100, in which global smartphone and semiconductor makers like Apple, TSMC and Microsoft also participated in the natural reduction commitments. Microsoft announced in 2020 its plans to make carbon negative by 2030; Apple said last year it would commit to carbon neutrality by 2030. Critics have accused some corporations of greenwashing, over similar carbon neutrality claims. As ever, it’s important to continue to monitor the company’s efforts as they progress.
In addition to its investment announcement, the South Korean electronic company has been making efforts to get consumers to recycle via its recycling program. Samsung aims to double down on using recycled plastic in its devices, to 50% of all plastic by 2030 and 100 % by 2050. The company has already used recycled materials such as discarded fishing nets for plastics in the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy S22. Samsung says it will continue collecting used smartphones or electronic waste in about 180 countries for the next decade to reuse them for other purposes, such as IoT devices.
2050 is obviously less aggressive than 2030, but Samsung has such a massive manufacturing operation it’s going to take a long and heavy lift to get there. After all, they make the components that appear in other companies’ devices. | Climate Change |
By Helen BriggsEnvironment correspondentImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Green spaces in cities provide benefits to people and natureClimate change threatens the health and survival of urban trees, with more than half of species already feeling the heat, according to a new study.City-dwelling oaks, maples, poplars, elms, pines and chestnuts are among more than 1,000 tree species flagged at risk due to climate change. Scientists want better protection of existing trees and for drought-resistant varieties to be planted.Trees have cooling effects and provide shade, making cities more liveable.Many trees in urban areas are already stressed because of climate change, and as it gets warmer and drier, the number of species at potential risk will increase, said Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez of Western Sydney University in Penrith, Australia.City and street trees can improve physical and mental health, are important in social integration and can mitigate the effects of temperature rises - something that hit home during the pandemic, he said."All these benefits are mainly provided by big mature trees so we need to make sure that what we are planting today will get to that stage where they can provide all those benefits for future generations," he told BBC News.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, London was among five UK cities studiedThe researchers used the Global Urban Tree Inventory - a database recording more than 4,000 different trees and shrubs planted in 164 cities in 78 countries - to assess the likely impact of global warming on the trees planted along streets and in parks.Of the 164 cities analysed, more than half of tree species are already at risk in some cities due to rising temperatures and changes in rainfall. And by 2050, this proportion is predicted to rise to more than two-thirds.Climate risk for species in urban areas is particularly high in cities in tropical regions, and in vulnerable countries such as India, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.In the UK, the researchers looked at five cities: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, London and York.They found that drier weather under climate change is expected to have a big impact on trees, particularly in York, London and Birmingham.The research is published in the journal, Nature Climate Change. | Climate Change |
Across Europe, rivers have sunk to historic lows because of brutal heat waves fueled by climate change. In Britain, conservationists are urging the government and water companies to take action to counter devastating droughts. Meanwhile, the source of the legendary River Thames has dried up and moved several miles downstream, further than it's ever gone before. Malcolm Brabant reports. Amna Nawaz: Across Europe, rivers have sunk to historic lows because of brutal heat waves fueled by climate change. In Britain, conservationists are urging the government and water companies to plant trees and restoring wetlands to counter devastating droughts.Meanwhile, the source of the legendary River Thames has dried up and moved several miles downstream, further than it's ever gone before.Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant has been in search of the vanishing headwaters. Malcolm Brabant: Normally, you find the source of the Thames near this public 100 miles west of London. Now the name is misleading, because this aquifer has run dry.Alisdair Naulls works for a nonprofit striving to make Britain's rivers more resilient. Alisdair Naulls, Engagement Lead, The Rivers Trust: What special is the limestone. About 65 percent of the water that comes into the Thames is coming from down there.We are taking too much out, and we are not allowing it to be this great big, lovely, cool, shading watery sponge that it has always been. This is so much greener than it was just four or five days ago. It was just ocher.If you're kind of used to the Thames in London, which, obviously, it's such a big, iconic, famous river, if you have visited London and want to know where it starts. it starts there.So, if we just come down here, there you go. That's the start of the Thames. It's a maybe a little bit underwhelming, but this is the source of the Thames. Malcolm Brabant: In normal times, what would we see? Alisdair Naulls: Well, in normal times, you would see this. This source does dry up each year, pretty much.But you can come here when you have got normal levels of rain and you have had a normal wet winter. And we'd be still in a pond. Malcolm Brabant: We headed east along the river's normal course. Deep water? There wasn't a trickle. Moisture from recent light rain had evaporated. But, eventually, there were signs of life near a meadow in Cricklade, known as the first town on the Thames.So, at last, I'm standing in the River Thames, and we found flowing water. But we had to drive eight miles from the original source towards London to be able to find it. At the moment, the water is up to my ankles, but, in better times, it would come up to my knees.Mainland Europe has been similarly afflicted. In Serbia, the Danube is impassable in places and no longer blue, shrunk by heat and water extraction to help this year's harvest.The stresses on nature alarms marine expert Marija Trivuncevic. Marija Trivuncevic, Vojvodine Angling Association (through translator): The circumstances are dire. Although it hasn't been the worst yet, the trend indicates that things will only get worse. Malcolm Brabant: France's longest river, the Loire, resembles a Mediterranean beach. The consequences could be disastrous for vineyards reliant on its water.In Italy, the River Po's low levels have hit hydroelectric power production, commercial shipping and all manner of agriculture. In Switzerland, shrinking glaciers, rivers of ice are another specter of looming catastrophe.This year, the melt at the Morteratsch Glacier is twice as bad as the previous worst-case.Belgian hiker List Neyt: List Neyt, Hiker: We talk about it. You don't see it always in nature, the consequences, and now you really see it. Like, oh, my God, I was here 15 years ago, and now the snow is gone and the rivers in the mountains are not there anymore. Dr. Laurence Wainwright, Oxford University: Rivers are very, very good barometer as to the health of the natural environments. And when rivers dry up, there are significant consequences for all other ecosystems. Malcolm Brabant: Dr. Laurence Wainwright specializes in Europe's blighted rivers. Coming to Britain from hot Australia was a shock. Dr. Laurence Wainwright: This has been a huge wake up call for the U.K. and for all of Europe that this is not some far-off, distant thing. It's not our children's children. This is now. It's very, very serious. The consequences are potentially devastating across all aspects of society, economically, socially. Malcolm Brabant: The consequences will be particularly dire for Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse. Barges carrying German goods to the sea along the Rhine are bearing lighter loads or have stopped completely because the river is now so shallow. Dr. Laurence Wainwright: The last time this happened in 2018 — and mind you, this time is worse — we saw one-and-three-quarters of economic growth go down by half-a-percent. And that may sound quite small, but it's very, very significant. We're talking billions — billions of euros here.And the biggest problem, of course, is that we combine this with all of the other compounding factors going on at the moment, rising cost of living, inflation, this energy crisis, and the surge in energy bills around the world. So, things are already in trouble. Malcolm Brabant: Back to the Thames, halfway to London, and hydrologist Hannah Cloke.Hannah Cloke, University of Reading: So, you can see here that the water level is very, very low. Malcolm Brabant: The levels have been exacerbated by abstraction to compensate for Britain wasting 20 percent of its water through leaks. Hannah Cloke: We have been taking a lot of water out of the rivers as well to irrigate our crops, in terms of keeping the crops growing and making sure they have got enough water, but also for drinking water and industry as well. Malcolm Brabant: Evidence of the crisis is in the color of the landscape. Alisdair Naulls: It's quite interesting to see the autumnal colors of these trees. They're dropping so many lilies, yellow, brown, blackened leaves the trees are dropping in response to this heat stress.So, when we think about rivers, you have got to think of those blue and green arteries that flow through our countryside with life in them and all down them. And all of that life is under stress. Malcolm Brabant: Critics accuse water companies of maximizing profit's and not investing enough in rivers or infrastructure. So what can be done? Alisdair Naulls: We have got to really plan, invest in putting the wetness back into nature, because it is very, very good at managing water. It has done it for 4.5 billion years. Put trees back in the right place. Let's bring back wetlands. Let's create wetlands. Let's allow our peat bogs to thrive. All of these environments hold water. Malcolm Brabant: Can you feel that? Alisdair Naulls: The rain? Yes, it's great, isn't it? But it's not enough. It's not enough. Malcolm Brabant: Heavier rain should help the source of Old Father Thames to come back here. But the fear is that being parched will be an annual event.For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in England. | Climate Change |
LONDON — Britain is currently a land of two parallel universes.In one, the country has been plunged into two days of brutal, extreme heat, smashing 360-year-old temperature records, sparking unprecedented wildfires and bringing daily life for many to a stultifying halt.In the other universe is the Conservative Party leadership contest — a realm where global warming is barely mentioned at all.The winner automatically becomes prime minister, following Boris Johnson’s scandal-prompted resignation this month, and will likely guide environmental policy for the world’s sixth-largest economy for years.Right now those vying to become prime minister are accused of ignoring climate change and this week's heat wave.It’s “a leadership contest that’s out of touch with reality,” said Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, who rates some of the candidates’ promises on tax cuts as equally fantastical. “They just don’t want to talk about it because, inevitably, it’s going to involve some sacrifices and disruption for people.”Britain's foreign secretary, and leadership hopeful, Liz Truss during a Cabinet meeting at No. 10 Downing St. on Tuesday. Stefan Rousseau / AFP - Getty ImagesThe reason for this green equivocation isn't necessarily ideological but rather more likely electioneering, Bale and other experts say.Climate science denial is rare in mainstream British politics. And the remaining leadership candidates — Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt — have all committed to keeping Britain's target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the same as Washington's.But like many in the right-of-center party, they have worried aloud about the supposed economic risks of being seen as too gung-ho on environmentalism. And that's in the rare moments they have discussed it at all.“If we go too hard and too fast” toward net zero “then we will lose people,” Sunak, the current front-runner, warned during an ITV News debate this week. Truss said she wanted to find better ways to achieve the goal that don't “harm people and businesses.” Mordaunt, meanwhile, said that green policies “mustn’t clobber people.”These candidates know that mainstream British voters really do worry about the environment, with only the economy and health care considered more important issues by the general public, according to a weekly survey by pollster YouGov.Unfortunately for the vast majority of the United Kingdom’s 48 million registered voters, they have no say in choosing their next leader. The winner will instead be selected by the 350-odd lawmakers and 200,000 members of the ruling Conservative Party.That’s less than 0.3% of the population, a tiny subset that skews way to the right of the British political center. Conservative members are 97% white — around 10% higher than the rest of the U.K. — and they tend to be richer, older men living in the affluent southeast.Few prioritize reducing carbon emissions, with just 4 percent deeming net zero the most important task for their incoming leader, another YouGov poll found this week. The highest priority was simply beating the opposition Labour Party at the next election, the poll conducted for Britain’s The Times newspaper said.Many economists, climate scientists and activists say this is a false dichotomy between climate and economy: If there's anything wrecking the economy, it's the too-slow progress on stemming the climate crisis.That reality came crashing into the foreground for Britain this week as it broke its temperature record, topping 104 degrees Fahrenheit Tuesday, making it hotter than 98% of the planet.Much of this typically mild archipelago with scant air conditioning was brought to a standstill. The government advised people to stay indoors and millions drew their curtains in a fruitless attempt to keep the heat out. Many live in brick, terraced houses built in the 1800s that are designed to stay warm, not cool. | Climate Change |
The bridge from Fort Myers to Pine Island, Florida, was one of the multiple lines of connection severed by Hurricane Ian.Photo: Gerald Herbert (AP)Hurricane Ian has killed dozens of people. Though the full toll of the storm remains unclear, most deaths have been reported in Lee County, Florida, where Ian made landfall last Wednesday as a powerful Category 4 storm. Reuters reported Monday morning that at least 85 are dead, with 81 of the fatalities in Florida and more than 40 of those in Lee County. Other outlets, including the New York Times and NBC News, also placed the total count so far over 80.OffEnglishHowever, the Associated Press put the official number of confirmed dead lower, with 68 total—61 in Florida, four in North Carolina where Ian made landfall on Friday, and three in Cuba. Regardless of the currently reported numbers, the death toll is projected to change over time as more clarity comes from local authorities and as search and rescue efforts continue.On Sanibel Island, Pine Island, Fort Myers Beach, and in other hard-hit areas of southwestern coastal Florida, emergency workers are still going door to door to ensure they locate as many people as possible, according to another report from the New York Times. Efforts include tasks like knocking loudly on building elevators to ensure nobody is stuck inside and searching through rubble and debris. More than 1,600 people had reportedly been found alive and rescued by emergency crews as of Sunday. Some people have become desperate enough from lack of food and other supplies to mount an exodus on foot. Yet others are resisting rescue, opting instead to remain in communities cut off from services and battered by the storm. On Sanibel, where the only route to the mainland—the island’s causeway—has been destroyed, about a hundred people (out of 6,500 year-round residents) were still choosing to stay, according to the Washington Post. In addition to no road connectivity, much of Sanibel is also without electricity and potable water. In total, more than 600,000 customers in Florida remain without electricity. Full grid recovery could take a month, according to a report from Bloomberg. And though taps may be flowing in most regions, lots of places have been left without water that’s safe to drink. 25 Florida counties are under active boil water notices in the aftermath of Ian due to damaged pumps and other infrastructure issues.Though in other ways, far too much water remains a major concern. Streets and homes are still flooded across the state, and in some areas of Central Florida, flood waters have continued to rise due to a combination of saturated soil and swollen waterways shifting the inundation downstream. The storm dumped nearly 2 feet of rain in some parts of the state.Using peer-reviewed techniques, scientists have attributed at least 10% of Hurricane Ian’s precipitation to climate change, in an analysis from Stony Brook University and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. To come to that 10% figure, the researchers relied on previously published and vetted models to assess how the storm might have looked without the added warming from human’s greenhouse gas emissions. “These are conservative estimates,” Michael Wehner, a climate scientist involved in the analysis, wrote in a tweet.Although research has found that warming temperatures seem to be leading to fewer Atlantic tropical cyclones overall, human-caused climate change may be intensifying the ones that do occur. Past research has demonstrated that hurricanes are wetter because of climate change and that the most extreme storms may become more common.With maximum wind speeds of 155 mph at first landfall, Hurricane Ian is the fourth strongest storm on record to ever hit the mainland United States. Since 2017, more Category 4 or 5 hurricanes have hit the U.S. than in any previous six-year period on record. | Climate Change |
The founder of the outdoor brand Patagonia has relinquished his ownership in the business and directed its profits to fight climate change. Yvon Chouinard, who became famous for alpine climbs in Yosemite National Park and then as a manufacturer of outdoor gear, has transferred his family's ownership of Patagonia to two new entities, one of them a nonprofit organization that will use the businesses' annual profits to fight climate change, the company said in a news release Wednesday. "Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source. We’re making Earth our only shareholder," Chouinard, 83, said in the statement.In a letter to customers, Chouinard said Patagonia is now owned by a trust that will determine the company's direction and a new nonprofit group called the Holdfast Collective, which is dedicated to protecting nature and other environmental causes. The company's leadership has not changed. "While we’re doing our best to address the environmental crisis, it’s not enough," Chouinard wrote. "... Each year the money we make after reinvesting in the business will be distributed as a dividend to help fight the crisis."The company expects to contribute roughly $100 million to the Holdfast Collective through an annual dividend depending on the businesses' success. In a question-and-answer section appended to Chouinard's letter, the company said Patagonia continues to be a for-profit business as a certified B Corp, a designation for companies that consider factors such as social and environmental impacts of their businesses.It also said that the Chouinard family will continue to "guide the Patagonia Purpose Trust, electing and overseeing its leadership" and sit on Patagonia's board. The company "will keep doing its best to be a great employer."Denis Hayes, who coordinated the first Earth Day and later became the CEO of the environmentally focused Bullitt Foundation in Seattle, said Chouinard has long been a strident environmentalist willing to make bold moves and challenge convention. The Patagonia brand, Hayes noted, charges a premium, in part, because of the values it represents. "Apparently, they’re putting it into the structure that will institutionalize that beyond his lifetime," said Hayes, whose foundation operates a for-profit building it claims is the greenest in the world. Hayes said businesses in manufacturing or extractive industries in a capitalist economy that requires growth ultimately run into conflicts with environmental and climate values. "The concept of putting this together in a new structure and being experimental and bold is exactly the kind of innovation we need to be trying," Hayes said.Chouinard started selling climbing equipment such as pitons in 1957, usually out of his car. Later, Chouinard became an advocate of so-called "clean climbing," in which protective gear is placed and removed in rock walls so it does not cause damage from hammering pitons. He holds several patents, including one for aluminum climbing chocks designed to cause less destruction of rock. Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News. He can be reached at [email protected]. | Climate Change |
LONDON -- The U.K. on Tuesday posted its highest temperature on record, breaking 40 degrees Celsius for the first time, after government officials declared a national emergency and issued unprecedented health warnings."London Heathrow reported a temperature of 40.2°C at 12:50 today," the Met Office said.The Met Office earlier on Tuesday had provisionally recorded a record-breaking temperature of 39.1 degrees Celsius (102.38 Fahrenheit) In the village of Charlwood, England. Temperatures are likely to rise throughout the day, they said.Monday night saw the U.K. experience the hottest night on record, the Met Office said.For the first time, the Met Office has issued a “Red warning” in response to the extraordinary heat.The heat wave in Britain, which has been linked to climate change, follows a weekend of wildfires and soaring deadly temperatures in France, Portugal and Spain.A man sits on a bench on the south bank of river Thames, in London, on July 18, 2022.Alberto Pezzali/AP PhotoThousands have been forced to flee wildfires in southern France and Spain, and more than 1,000 deaths have been linked to the heat wave in Portugal and Spain since earlier in July by the countries’ respective health ministries. France could experience its hottest day on record on Monday, according to local media.A firefighter creates a tactical fire in Louchats, France, as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region, on July 17, 2022.Sarah Meyssonnier/ReutersThe previous hottest day on record in the U.K. stands at 38.7 C (101.6 F.) But that is expected to be surpassed on Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 40°C (104 F) in parts of the U.K.“Nights are also likely to be exceptionally warm, especially in urban areas,” the Met Office’s Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said in a statement. “This is likely to lead to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure. Therefore, it is important people plan for the heat and consider changing their routines. This level of heat can have adverse health effects.”Government scientists have warned that the frequency, intensity and duration of similar heat waves will increase in the coming century as the world continues to experience the effects of climate change.A cyclist rides through Richmond Park at sunrise during a heatwave in London, on July 18, 2022.Hannah Mckay/Reuters “We hoped we wouldn’t get to this situation but for the first time ever we are forecasting greater than 40°C in the U.K.,” Dr. Nikos Christidis, a climate attribution scientist at the Met Office, said. “Climate change has already influenced the likelihood of temperature extremes in the U.K. The chances of seeing 40°C days in the UK could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence.”Despite the heat, schools are expected to remain open. However, there are concerns that U.K. infrastructure is ill-equipped to deal with such weather events. While offices are generally equipped with air-conditioning, only a small number of homes have air-conditioning units.Commuters wait for their train on a platform at West Norwood station in south London, on July 18, 2022, amid disruption warnings over extreme heat.Niklas Halle'n/AFP via Getty ImagesOne Met Office meteorologist, Steven Keates, warned that the heat was not something to celebrate.“This is not just another heatwave,” Keates told The Telegraph. “This is dangerous heat, because we’re not used to it. It’s simple --our infrastructure is not geared up for weather like this.”“Do as little as possible,” he added. “Because heat is fatiguing and we are in slightly uncharted territory.” | Climate Change |
(Photo by Joran Quinten on Unsplash) You don’t need a PhD in agriculture to know that water is critical to crop production. But for years, people like Jonathan Proctor, who has a PhD in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of California Berkeley, have been trying to explain why the importance of water isn’t showing up in statistical models of crop yield. “Studies analyzing how crop yields respond to temperature and rainfall tend to find that temperature matters much more than water, even though we understand from plant physiology that temperature and water supply are both really important for crops,” said Proctor, a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Peter Huybers’ group at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “Solving this puzzle is critical for quantifying how climate change will affect global crop yields.” The research team had a hypothesis: What if the models were measuring the wrong type of water? Rather than measuring precipitation, as previous studies had done, the Harvard team used satellites to measure soil moisture around the root zone for maize, soybeans, millet, and sorghum growing around the world. The team found that models using soil moisture explain 30% to 120% more of the year-to-year variation in yield across crops than models that rely on rainfall. “Rainfall and soil moisture can differ pretty dramatically due to evaporation, infiltration and runoff,” said Proctor. “What falls from the sky is not necessarily what’s in the soil for the crops to drink — and we find that what’s in the soil for the crops to drink is what actually matters for their yield.” Using satellite-derived observations of soil moisture together with a statistical approach, the team was able to better separate and understand the individual influences of temperature and water supply on yield, which are often confused because heat and dryness are strongly correlated. Specifically, the team found extreme heat to be less damaging to crop yields than previous models estimated, which lowered projected damages from warming. But the team also found heightened sensitivity to drought and flooding. “When it comes to predicting agricultural productivity in a changing climate, we need to consider how temperature and water availability will evolve together,” said Huybers, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at SEAS and Earth and Planetary Sciences. “In comparison to temperature, changes in water availability will be more regional and seasonal, such that regional planning and management strategies come more to the fore in coping with climate change.” The team plans to use this improved understanding of how soil moisture and temperature influence global agricultural productivity to explore how climate change may affect other aspects of human wellbeing, such as migration decisions or the stability of food supplies. The paper was published in Nature Food. The research was co-authored by Angela Rigden and Duo Chan. It was supported by the Harvard Google Data+Climate Project. | Climate Change |
By Esme StallardBBC News Climate and ScienceImage source, Justin HofmanHigh-speed drones whizz along an avalanche's deadly wall of tumbling snow, rare Siberian tigers hunt hibernating prey, and microscopes capture ice breaking. More than a decade on from the first series, Frozen Planet II returns, using new technology to give BBC viewers an unprecedented insight into life in the coldest parts of our planet, many of which are under huge threat from climate change.It took the BBC Natural History Unit (NHU) four and a half years of filming across 18 different countries to produce the six-part series.The result, Sir David Attenborough reveals in the opening sequence, captures "natural phenomena never before seen by humans".The success of the series in revealing new animal behaviour has already led to one scientific publication on the Lapland bumble bee - with more expected to follow. From episode one, viewers will see an endangered Amur tiger (formerly know as the Siberian tiger) prowling for potential sources of food sleeping out the winter in caves - the first time this activity has been filmed. They are so elusive - with less than 550 left in the world - it took three years to get them on camera. Image source, Ondrej Prosicky//ShutterstockImage caption, Siberian tigers, 95% of which live in Russia, are one of the most difficult species to filmThe benefit of waiting 11 years for a new series is that camera technology has moved on considerably.Microscopes were used to film ice cracking below baby emperor penguins' feet as they made the treacherous journey to the sea. Motion-triggered time lapse cameras were set to catch a tiger on the move. The NHU even partnered with space-imaging experts to document the great ice melt on a global scale.Perhaps most impressive is the first ever use by the NHU of a new generation of light-weight fast-response drones. This enabled the team to capture the terrifying first-hand experience of flying down the mountainside alongside an avalanche. Image source, Shutterstock / Lysogor RomanImage caption, The documentary captures a real avalanche from Mountain Shkhara in the Caucasus region of RussiaThese drones were also used to document a mammoth ice calving in Greenland - a fast and difficult to predict event. For more than four weeks the team watched on rotation for 24 hours a day, ready to send the drones nearly a mile across the ocean to reach the vast Store Glacier. The resulting clips immerse the viewer in towering blocks of ice, some 100ft (30m) high, as they break away from the glacier.Mark Brolow, executive producer of the series, points out that Frozen Planet II is not just about capturing nice footage but also "draws attention to changes going on now".Greenland and Antarctica are currently losing ice six times faster than 30 years ago, and Greenland's ice sheet has been shrinking continuously for the last 25 years due to climate change, according to the UN.Image source, BBC StudiosImage caption, BBC NHU worked with scientists from around the world to track animal behaviour and glacier meltingThere is humour and heartbreak - and efforts to build a connection with the "characters" - as the series producer Elizabeth White likes to refer to the animals. In one sequence you're desperately willing newborn musk oxen to make it through the first days of their brutal lives in the barren world of the frozen tundra. Amid the animal drama it's easy to forget that someone was enduring the same extremes behind the camera to capture such moments.Alex Lanchester, Frozen Planet II producer, said that "the camera operator who filmed the musk ox story had to camp out in the Arctic in blizzard conditions". "He towed behind him a garden shed on his Skidoo and he lived in that."Besides the difficulties that always come with filming in the most treacherous places on Earth, this was all done during a global pandemic. One film crew had to quarantine for 42 days in South Africa before even beginning their trip to Antarctica. Image source, Tim FlachImage caption, Japanese Macaques, from episode 3, are captured grooming each other as they relax in thermal baths high in the mountainsAlthough the stars of Frozen Planet II are no doubt the animals, the series brings some A-list quality in the soundtrack.Hans Zimmer scored the music for the series, and worked with Camila Cabello to produce a new song for the trailer. Camila told the BBC: "To be able to combine my passion for the planet we live on and my music is a dream come true. "Sir David's narration is deeply powerful as we try to protect these incredible ecosystems from global warming."Frozen Planet II begins on BBC One at 20:00 BST on Sunday.Frozen Planet II is made by BBC Studios' Natural History Unit, co-produced by BBC America, the Open University, Migu Video, ZDF and France Televisions.Around the BBCRelated Internet LinksThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | Climate Change |
In an opening speech to the UNHCR’s Executive Committee, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi appealed to member states to provide protection to people fleeing conflict and persecution, regardless of ethnicity and nationality. The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) reports the number of people forcibly displaced by armed conflict, violence, discrimination, persecution, and climate shocks has hit an all-time high of 100 million.
High Commissioner Filippo Grandi says the climate emergency increasingly drives displacement, making life harder for those already uprooted. He says the link between climate change and displacement is clear and growing.
“We see it in the Horn of Africa, for example, where people are forced to flee by a combination of conflict and drought — more than one million have been displaced in Somalia alone since January 2021. Around 80% of refugees are from countries that are most affected by the climate emergency,” he said. FILE - People swim next to their overturned wooden boat during a rescue operation by Spanish NGO Open Arms at south of the Italian Lampedusa island at the Mediterranean sea, Aug. 11, 2022. Most African refugees flee for safety to neighboring countries. However, many make the perilous journey to Europe in search of asylum and a better life.
Grandi notes that they and refugees fleeing conflict and persecution from other parts of the world, such as Afghanistan and the Middle East, too often are turned back by European countries.
He says the reception of these refugees stands in stark contrast to the generous welcome by European countries to some seven million Ukrainian refugees who fled Russia’s invasion of their country.
“The Ukrainian crisis debunked so many myths that we have heard over the years from some politicians: ‘Europe is full!’ ‘Public opinion is against taking in more refugees.’ ‘Relocation is impossible,’” he said. FILE - Members of the German armed forces Bundeswehr help to register refugees from Ukraine, fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, inside a tent at a newly built arrival centre on the tarmac of the former Tegel airport in Berlin, March 22, 2022. He says efforts to deny access to territory for those seeking asylum, often through violent pushbacks, must be rejected.
“I also reject what we have heard some politicians on this continent tell their voters: that Ukrainians are ‘real refugees’ while others — fleeing similar horrors, but from different parts of the world — are not. There is only one word to define this attitude: racist,” he said.
Grandi adds failures on the part of member states to uphold their international protection obligations is deeply worrying and concerning. | Climate Change |
Only 60 MPs are expected to attend an emergency climate briefing by the UK government’s chief scientific adviser in parliament on Monday, the Guardian has learned.The briefing, organised by the climate change all-party parliamentary group, will be an updated version of the slides that the chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, showed Boris Johnson before the UN climate summit Cop26 in Glasgow in November. But the APPG told the Guardian fewer than 10% of MPs had signed up to watch.The slides, due to be presented at 3.30pm on Monday, show the latest climate science, including the rise in carbon dioxide concentration and global mean temperatures in recent decades. Johnson credited them with giving him a “road to Damascus” moment on climate change.He said at the time: “I got them [government scientists] to run through it all and, if you look at the almost vertical kink upward in the temperature graph, the anthropogenic climate change, it’s very hard to dispute. That was a very important moment for me.”The briefing was made possible after the activist Angus Rose staged a 37-day hunger strike outside parliament, calling for the information to be given to all MPs.He was backed by 79 of the UK’s leading climate scientists in an open letter, who said a briefing similar to those given during the Covid-19 pandemic would be useful to MPs.The briefing, which will include the health, environmental and other impacts of the climate emergency relevant to UK citizens, will be updated to take account of recent IPCC reports, which warned: “We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a livable future. We have the tools and knowhow required to limit warming.”Scientists and politicians hope that the MPs assembled will be spurred on to demand more urgent action to tackle the climate crisis.Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BSTCaroline Lucas, the Green party MP who runs the APPG, urged her colleagues to attend. She said: “It’s three years since parliament declared a climate emergency, yet ministers are still not heeding the scientists’ dire warnings about the climate emergency and MPs are still not all fully informed about the latest climate science.“It’s therefore hugely welcome that the government’s chief scientific adviser and a panel of climate scientists are going to brief MPs and peers, and answer their questions, in large part thanks to the actions of Angus Rose. “[I] would urge parliamentarians from all parties to attend and to equip themselves with the knowledge and understanding they need to protect us now and into the future.”Vallance’s team have been contacted for comment. | Climate Change |
Bahamas's Prime Minister Philip Edward Davis gestures as he speaks at the Leaders' Second Plenary Session during the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake/FilesRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNASSAU, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Caribbean countries should pressure developed nations to provide more financing to mitigate the effects of climate change at the upcoming COP27 climate talks, the prime minister of The Bahamas said at a summit of regional officials on Tuesday.The members of the Caribbean community need to ensure that developed countries honor past pledges for climate assistance and create new criteria for determining which countries can obtain such aid at the November climate talks in Egypt, Bahamian PM Philip Davis said in a speech."If we advance our interests merely as individual Small Island Developing States, our voices will be dispersed, unable to be heard above louder, wealthier, carbon-producing interests," he said.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comEighteen Caribbean countries were invited to the two-day gathering in Nassau, which is expected to yield an "outcome paper" that will be presented at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly referred to as COP27.Davis said he was encouraged by recent climate change mitigation efforts by the United States and Australia.But he added that "we are commitment-fatigued and we are pledge-fatigued," noting that rich nations had not met a promise to provide $100 billion in climate aid to poor countries by 2020.Caribbean leaders have for years said their countries' per-capita income is too high for them to qualify for aid, a metric many say does not take into account heavy debt burdens generated by paying for the effects of climate change.Davis said Caribbean countries should back a new index based on vulnerability to climate shocks, which could help provide new resources to the region.Caribbean nations are among the world's most vulnerable to climate change due to the outsized impact of tropical storms, as well as growing problems caused by droughts and flooding.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Jasper Ward in Nassau; Additional reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
The US Air Force says it will slash the use of fossil fuels to reduce the military’s massive carbon footprint.The Department of the Air Force has announced it will reduce its reliance on fossil fuels as both aviation fuel and as an energy source in a newly-released Climate Action Plan.The carbon footprint of all branches of the US military is similar to entire countries such as Denmark and Portugal, according to research from Boston University.“Make no mistake – the department’s mission remains to fly, fight, and win, anytime and anywhere,” said Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force.“Our mission remains unchanged, but we recognise that the world is facing ongoing and accelerating climate change and we must be prepared to respond, fight, and win in this constantly changing world.”The plan outlines how the Department of the Air Force expects to maintain air and space dominance in the face of climate risks, including strengthening the climate resilience of airbases, optimising energy use and pursuing alternative energy sources.As well as seeking alternative energy for its bases and sustainable aviation fuel, the Air Force said it plans to educate both air staff and other workers about the risks of climate change.The Air Force will also complete a pilot scheme using microreactors, or small nuclear devices, that can power an entire base.Ed Oshiba, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations and environment, told NBC News: “I think Russia’s invasion of Ukraine kind of showed us just how fragile our energy supply chain can be, and the impact it can have.“It underscores the need and the impetus to move forward as fast as we can on finding alternative energy sources.” | Climate Change |
Unprecedented and societally disruptive extreme weather events, including heat waves, droughts, dust storms and torrential rains, will soon become a reality unless immediate, ambitious, and transboundary climate action is taken, warns latest scientific assessment of state-of-climate in the region. A new report prepared by an international group of scientists and published in the authorative journal “Reviews of Geophysics”, identifies the EMME* as a climate change hot spot, and concludes that the region is warming almost two times faster than the global average, and more rapidly than other inhabited parts of the world. For the remainder of the century, projections based on a business-as-usual pathway indicate an overall warming of up to 5°C or more, being strongest in the summer, and associated with unprecedented heatwaves that can be societally disruptive. Further, the region will experience rainfall shortages that compromise water and food security. Virtually all socio-economic sectors are expected to be critically affected, with potentially devastating impacts on the health and livelihoods of the 400 million people of the EMME, with worldwide implications. The report, which was prepared under the auspices of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and The Cyprus Institute, in preparation to COP27, which will take place in Egypt in November 2022, provides an updated, comprehensive assessment of measurement data and recent climate analyses, covering a wide range of time scales, phenomena and possible future pathways. It identifies the region as a climate change hot spot, and also signals that the EMME is rapidly overtaking the European Union as a source of greenhouse gases, and becoming a major emitter at the global scale.In addition to the average increase in temperatures, the researchers call attention to the emergence of extreme weather events with potentially disruptive societal impacts. These include the strongly increasing severity and duration of heatwaves, droughts and dust storms, and torrential rains which are expected to trigger flash floods. The assessment also comprises a discussion of atmospheric pollution and land-use change in the region, considering urbanization, desertification and forest fires, and includes recommendations for possible climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.“Business-as-usual pathways for the future”, meaning projections assuming no immediate, ambitious climate action to avert the current climate trajectories, “imply a northward expansion of arid climate zones at the expense of the more temperate regions”, explains Dr George Zittis of the Cyprus Institute, first author of the study. As a result, mountainous climate zones with snow will diminish during this century. The combination of reduced rainfall and strong warming will contribute to severe droughts. The sea level in the EMME is projected to rise at a pace similar to global estimates, though many countries are unprepared for the advancing seas. “This would imply severe challenges for coastal infrastructure and agriculture, and can lead to the salinization of costal aquifers, including the densely populated and cultivated Nile Delta”, warns Zittis.The projected changes will critically affect virtually all socio-economic sectors, particularly under a business-as-usual scenario. Jos Lelieveld, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Institute Professor at the Cyprus Institute and coordinator of the assessment, notes: “People living in the EMME will face major health challenges and risks of livelihood, especially underprivileged communities, the elderly, children and pregnant women.” To avoid the most extreme of severe weather events in the region, the scientists highlight that immediate and effective climate action is urgent. “The motto of COP 27 is well chosen: Together for just, ambitious implementation now”, states Jos Lelieveld. “Since many of the regional outcomes of climate change are transboundary, stronger collaboration among the countries is indispensable to cope with the expected adverse impacts. The need to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement has become more important than ever”, concludes Lelieveld. The study notes that meeting the main Paris Agreement targets could stabilize the annual temperature increase in the EMME to about 2°C by the end of the century, rather than the devastating 5°C which is projected under a business-as-usual scenario.Possible adaptation options and policy recommendations noted in the report to contribute to meeting these targets stress the need for rapid implementation of decarbonization actions with a particular emphasis on the energy and transportation sectors, which dominate greenhouse gas emissions in the EMME. The report also stresses the importance of transformational changes toward climate resilience to adapt to increasingly challenging environmentally conditions. Priority areas include the coping with limited water resources and preparing for more frequent weather extremes such as heat waves that will be particularly challenging for the growing urban population.The report has been published in the American Geophysical Union Open Access Journal with the highest impact factor in Earth sciences. It was motivated by the Cyprus Government Initiative for Coordinating Climate Change Actions in the EMME, launched in 2019, aiming at the development of a joint Regional Climate Action Plan to address the specific needs and challenges EMME countries are facing, and advance coordinated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. At the political level, an EMME Heads of State Summit will be held in autumn 2022 when the Regional Action Plan is expected. * The 17 countries included in the analysis of the report are Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.Affiliations:- Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C), The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus- Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research, Department of Meteorology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia- Department of Geophysics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris, France- IMBE, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, Avignon University, Aix-en-Provence, France- Nature Palestine Society, Palestine- College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia- Environmental and Geophysical Sciences (ENGEOS) Lab, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE- College of Natural and Health Sciences (CNHS), Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE- Computational E-Research Unit, Advanced Research Centre, Royal Scientific Society, Amman, Jordan- Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece- Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Crete, Greece- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR/Physics),University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Revohot, Israel- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia- Department of Geography, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany- Center for international Development and Environmental Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany- Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, corresponding author: Jos Lelieveld | Climate Change |
Marios Lolos/Xinhua via ZUMA Press This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
The Russian tanks and armored vehicles had barely begun to roll into Ukraine before the fossil fuel industry in the US had swung into action. A letter was swiftly dispatched to the White House, urging an immediate escalation in gas production and exports to Europe ahead of an anticipated energy crunch.
The letter, dated February 25, just one day after Vladimir Putin’s forces launched their assault on Ukraine, noted the “dangerous juncture” of the moment before segueing into a list of demands: more drilling on US public lands; the swift approval of proposed gas export terminals; and pressure on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an independent agency, to greenlight pending gas pipelines.
By the winter of 2022, there should be “virtual transatlantic gas pipelines” flowing from the US to Europe, the authors envisioned. Six months on from the letter, Russia’s invasion has stalled and in places retreated, but the US gas industry has achieved almost all of its initial objectives. Within weeks, Joe Biden’s administration adopted the gas industry’s major demands as policy. They paved the way for new pipelines and export facilities, established a new taskforce to boost gas exports to Europe and approved $300m in funding to help build out gas infrastructure on the continent.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how much the momentum has changed for companies in the United States that have wanted to bring their projects forward and just haven’t been able to get long-term contracts,” said a jubilant Fred Hutchison, president of LNG Allies, the industry group that sent the letter, just three weeks after both the military and lobbying pushes started.
The rhetoric of the Biden administration, which styled itself as deeply committed to tackling the climate crisis, had “changed substantially” within just a week, Hutchison noted. Biden’s creation of the gas export task force was a “direct response to the proposal put forward by LNG Allies”, the group boasted in March.
But the embrace of liquified natural gas—or LNG, gas that has been cooled to -260F, turning it into a liquid that can be shipped overseas—as an act of defiance to Putin has dismayed climate activists who warn it will lock in decades of planet-heating emissions and push the world closer to climate catastrophe.
“The fact that just weeks after those demands were laid out, President Biden was turning industry wishes into policy is a damning indictment of a president who had promised to tackle the climate crisis,” said Zorka Milin, senior adviser at Global Witness, which shared a new report on the escalation in gas infrastructure with the Guardian.
Milin said the US gas industry was “licking its lips” at the onset of the Ukraine war. “There is no doubt that Biden’s apparent capitulation to the gas industry has opened the door for these companies to continue to profit off the backs of those suffering in Ukraine, those living close to new gas infrastructure in the US and the millions affected by climate change globally,” she added.
LNG Allies, which is the operating name of the US LNG Association but does not publicly disclose its members or donors, has notched a number of notable wins since the start of the war. The group wanted six specific gas export applications to be expedited, and within three weeks the US Department of Energy granted two of them, Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass project in Louisiana and its Corpus Christi operation in Texas.
The licenses, which allow the two facilities to export 720 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, will act as an “important component to global energy security” by helping US allies in Europe, the department said, noting that American LNG exports are set to grow an additional 20 percent by the end of this year. Hutchison marked the news by declaring “two [licenses] down and four to go!”
By the end of April, two further LNG export licenses had been issued. “Four down and two to go!” LNG Allies exclaimed in a news release. New gas terminals have a lifespan that is measured in decades, which jars with agreed climate goals: the International Energy Agency has said no new fossil fuel infrastructure can be built if the world is to avoid dangerous global heating.
Undeterred, the Biden administration has vowed to supply the European Union with at least 15 billion cubic meters of gas, equivalent to about half the amount of gas burned by Spain each year, by the end of 2022. The Department of Energy did not respond to questions as to how the new gas operations fitted with Biden’s goal of slashing US emissions in half this decade. The US only began shipping LNG overseas in 2016 but has now become the largest exporter in the world, surpassing longtime export leaders Qatar and Australia. The majority of the gas is fracked in the Permian basin, an oil- and gas-rich area in Texas and New Mexico, before being taken in pipelines and by train to the Gulf of Mexico coast, where it is chilled and loaded on to ships.
Three export facilities under construction on the coast are set to further cement American dominance of the sector when they are fully operational by 2025, sandwiched in a landscape already thick with petroleum refineries and plastics companies that cause severe air pollution and noise that blights nearby residents, mostly people of color.
Much of the new gas infrastructure won’t be operational for several years, which may be beyond the timeframe of the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has squeezed supplies and caused gas prices to spike. So much LNG export is planned or under construction, adding up to about half of all total US gas production, that it will probably cause gas prices to climb for domestic American users, according to Clark Williams-Derry, analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
“It’s beginning to eat into the amount of gas available to domestic consumers,” said Williams-Derry. “We will see very severe impacts on domestic US gas prices. We will see the impacts for as long as the eye can see.”
The crisis in Ukraine has, however, helped several LNG companies record bumper profits this year. The export company Cheniere earned $3.8bn more in cash from its operations in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, while Sempra, a gas liquifying company, has enjoyed an eightfold increase in LNG sales to Europe.
Gas has long been touted as a helpful “bridge fuel” in dealing with the climate crisis as it emits less carbon dioxide than coal or oil and provides energy for processes such as steel making that renewables can’t quite manage yet. “The choice isn’t gas or renewables at the moment—it’s gas or coal. Gas can help drive home that transition to clean energy,” said David Dismukes, an energy expert at Louisiana State University. “The news at the moment will grease the wheels for more development of LNG, as it’s shaping up to be a tough winter for Europe.”
But the extraction, transportation and liquefaction required to create LNG for export creates almost as much emissions as burning the gas itself, according to a 2020 analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The NRDC said these extra emissions mean LNG’s greenhouse gas impact is “at best, only modestly smaller than that of other fossil fuels.” A key problem is that gas drilling produces a large amount of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is far more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide.
Climate campaigners argue that the US and Europe should invest heavily instead in renewable energy such as solar and wind, to help negate future price shocks as well as slash emissions. “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, rising energy prices and the devastating impacts of climate change should be the biggest prompt yet to end the world’s dependence on fossil fuels,” said Milin. “Instead, an already rich industry is trying to seize the moment and force the world to double down on the very mistakes that have led us to this situation.” | Climate Change |
Getty Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.I can’t forget to turn the kettle on before bed. In the morning, I’ll need that water to wash my hands and brush my teeth. The rest I’ll carefully store in the fridge, away from light and bacteria. It’s a routine I shared with at least 1,500 neighbors—for the better part of a week—when E. coli bacteria tainted West Baltimore’s water, bringing risks from stomach bugs to lethal kidney disease. Welcome to life without clean, running water.
Across the country, extreme weather is accelerating breakdowns decades in the making. Storms are battering old water and wastewater networks, many with parts built a century ago or more for vastly different climate conditions. Floods are overwhelming existing facilities, sometimes contaminating water at the source.
Baltimore officials still can’t pinpoint a cause, but storms caused dire flooding here in August, and that’s contaminated the water before. Such storms are getting more common and less predictable, with climate change the likely reason. Rising sea levels make coastal floods even more dangerous, despite mitigation plans. A 2019 storm even flooded our harbor with more than a million gallons of sewage. And Baltimore is far from the only example.
Running water is everything, which you don’t realize fully until you’re without. Your morning coffee? Bottled or pre-boiled water. Pets? They need theirs bottled or boiled, too. Showers? Fine, if you keep your mouth closed throughout. But that’s harder for kids, and the CDC recommends using bottled or boiled water (cooled first!) to bathe them. Are you one of the lucky few who found powdered infant formula? Don’t forget to use bottled water, too. But city officials, after telling us to do just that, set up exactly three bottled-water pickup spots for everybody at risk.
This is all more likely to sound familiar if you live in a largely Black or Indigenous zip code. In Nevada, a recent report found that the number of Native families without indoor plumbing is actually increasing, and there remain Indigenous communities from South Dakota to Alaska without running water at all. Residents of Jackson, Mississippi, endured close to two months under a boil-water notice that was lifted last week.
Jackson’s water system was already subject to a 2012 EPA consent decree. Its pipes and sewers are riddled with breaks, driving sewage problems that, despite the decree, only got worse. Torrential rainfall in July, which led to floods at a water treatment facility, were the final straw. A broken pump left thousands of residents with undrinkable water—or none at all. My five days were a breeze by comparison.
Much of the wider national water system traces to massive, state-funded postwar development projects, or retrofits to meet the new standards of the 1972 Clean Water Act. But the lifespan of a typical drinking water plant is 60 to 70 years. A 2020 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers says we’re in a “replacement era”: most drinking water pipes in the country need to be repaired or replaced by 2040. In 2019, ASCE found, we’d have needed $129 billion in public funding to stay on track—but “total capital spending on water infrastructure at the local, state, and federal levels was approximately $48 billion,” leaving a gap almost double the size.
Water, it turns out, can’t flow unless cash does. You need “continual funding, so that you can have projects planned,” explains Natalie Exum, an environmental health scientist at Johns Hopkins University. Projects like water-source protection, reliable drinking water treatment, and installing new piping are how communities avoid the reactive “band-aid” projects that you’re stuck with in a crisis.
We already pay a high price for disinvestment. Some six billion gallons of treated water—imagine 9,000 swimming pools—are lost daily to broken water mains. Meanwhile, from 1977 to 2017, federal spending on water infrastructure fell from 63 percent to just 9 percent of total need. Another study found that closing the roughly $81 billion water infrastructure underfunding gap could generate up to $200 billion in economic activity, and as many as 1.3 million jobs.
The same principle holds at the household level: if you can spend in advance, you’ll be much safer. Most people can’t. In almost every way, I was unusually prepared. After begging our landlord for months, I got a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle—but many neighbors didnt, and had to wash dishes in any boiled water they could spare. I’ve reported on too many climate and water disasters not to keep a large Costco pack of bottled water at home, and my partner is the son of doomsday preppers, so we have food-safe containers and water filters in the closet.
But E. coli first appeared in Sandtown-Winchester, an almost entirely Black neighborhood now best known as Freddie Gray’s home. One-third of its row houses are empty; one-third of people living there are in poverty. And emergency preparation isn’t too cheap. (The public school where my partner teaches didn’t have to change a thing—its water was already unsafe, thanks to lead pipes.)
Austerity gets expensive sooner than later. The infamous Flint, Michigan, water crisis started with a plan to save $5 million by making the Flint River the city’s main water source. Its costs have been almost unimaginable: $626 million to help treat some 20,000 children exposed to dangerous levels of lead, $53 million in legal fees alone. Then there are the social and economic knock-on effects—among them, kids coping with lead-based brain damage are more likely to age into worse jobs, less money, and higher odds of arrest and criminalization. That still leaves the unquantifiable value of human life. By CDC estimates, low-level lead poisoning took about 1760 years of healthy life from Flint’s kids.
The Biden Administration is trying to fill some of the underlying holes. Its Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act sets aside EPA funding for water programs to the tune of $50 billion over five years, the largest contribution to water infrastructure that the federal government has ever made. More than $20 billion will go to safe drinking water, and another $15 billion to replacing lead pipes. Even that pales next to some of the bill’s spending, and it’s a drop in a well that we’ve been depleting for decades. But its spending on water does include earmarks for underserved communities and those most at risk, bringing them an estimated 40,000 jobs.
Our crisis in Baltimore overlapped not just with Jackson’s, but another in a Manhattan public housing complex, where 2,600 people went eight days without water after now-disputed tests surfaced arsenic. A month earlier, 130,000 Michigan residents went a hot August day without water when a main failed. All evidence points to the likelihood that we’ll see more boil-water notices and system disruptions each year.
Water failures and natural disasters are closely tied, one of many relationships that mean we can’t tackle climate and infrastructure separately—or guard public health without deep investments in both. “You want to have those water notices be short-lived, so that you can still maintain the public’s trust,” says Exum, the environmental scientist. “But the more frequently it’s happening, the harder it is to trust the system.” | Climate Change |
Richer countries have a "responsibility" to help Pakistan deal with flooding and prevent future disasters because they've caused climate change, its planning minister has said.More than 1,000 people are reported to have died so far and over a million homes have been damaged.
Historic monsoon rains have also swept away roads, bridges and crops - and planning minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan was feeling the effects of climate change caused by richer nations and their "irresponsible development"."Our carbon footprint is lowest in the world," said Mr Iqbal."The international community has a responsibility to help us, upgrade our infrastructure, to make our infrastructure more climate resilient, so that we don't have such losses every three, four, five years."
"Those areas which used to receive rainfall aren't receiving rainfall and those areas which used to receive very mild rains are receiving very heavy rainfall," he added.The cost of recovering from the disaster is estimated at more than $10bn (£8.54bn) and might take about five years, Mr Iqbal said in an interview with Reuters news agency. More on Pakistan Why Pakistan is at 'ground zero' of the climate crisis after suffering deadly flooding Pakistan flooding: Pictures reveal devastation caused after monsoon rains Pakistan floods: 'Monster monsoon' kills more than 1,000 as Queen says she is 'deeply saddened' But he said formal requests for financial help will have to wait until the full scale of the damage is clear. Image: Ahsan Iqbal says richer countries have a responsibility to Pakistan Read moreWhy Pakistan is at 'ground zero' of the climate crisis after suffering deadly flooding Some countries have already sent help: tens of thousands of blankets, tents and waterproof tarps have been dispatched by China, while Canada has donated $5m (£4.2m).Cargo planes from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have also started arriving in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.Pakistan is also considering importing vegetables from its arch-rival India to alleviate shortfalls after food prices shot up due to lost crops, said finance minister Miftah Ismail. Image: People float belongings through a flooded area on the outskirts of Peshawar. Pic: AP Much of the country has been ravaged by floods since mid-June and more than 30 million people are affected in the country of about 220 million.There are fears the situation could get even worse.Peter Ophoff, from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told Sky News: "The monsoon season should have stopped by the end of July."We are now in the end of August, and we still have very heavy rain. Many people are thinking that we haven't reached a peak yet." Image: Flood damage to homes on the outskirts of Quetta. Pic: AP He said the floods were the worst in decades and that access is the biggest problem because about 3000km (1,860 miles) of roads have been washed away, as well as 160 bridges.The Queen and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have both issued messages of support, with the monarch saying she was "deeply saddened to hear of the tragic loss of life and destruction".The floods come on top of economic problems in Pakistan caused by factors such as high inflation and a currency that's been losing value. | Climate Change |
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Major cities across the country decided to close schools, send students home early, or revert to pandemic-era remote learning in the early days of the new school year, and the Department of Education is blaming climate change.The decisions in cities such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and Cleveland come as heat waves affect regions throughout the country, and it is too hot in some school buildings."No one is immune from the impacts of climate change," a DOE spokesperson told Fox News.In Philadelphia, more than 100 schools had early dismissals due to the weather. In Baltimore, 14 schools had early dismissals while two closed entirely. San Diego also had early dismissals.STUDENTS' MATH, READING SCORES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC SAW STEEPEST DECLINE IN DECADES: EDUCATION DEPARTMENTIn Cleveland, some schools kept classes in session but switched to remote learning. "The move, which was made possible by our practice of providing a device to every student in the District, allowed those schools to remain in session and avoid taking a calamity day," the Cleveland Metropolitan School District said in a statement reported by local Fox8.The statement added that school district CEO Eric Gordon called to look into the possibility of using federal funding from the American Rescue Plan to get portable air conditioning units for the schools that had gone remote.MINNEAPOLIS TEACHERS UNION AGREEMENT STIPULATES WHITE TEACHERS BE LAID OFF FIRST, REGARDLESS OF SENIORITYAs it turns out, the U.S. Department of Education has already addressed the impacts of climate change when it comes to schools, allocating loads of cash for initiatives meant to help the outdoor environment as well as the environment inside school buildings.That money, however, is not available yet.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPA $500 million grant program through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allows schools to use federal funding "to make energy efficiency, renewable energy, and alternative fueled vehicle upgrades and improvements at public schools." Among the eligible uses listed by the DOE: heating, ventilation and air conditioning.Potential grantees had from April 4 to May 18 to respond to the DOE's request for information, with an estimated application opening date of some time during the fourth quarter of 2022. | Climate Change |
Politics August 8, 2022 / 9:45 AM / CBS News Washington — More than a year after President Biden unveiled his sweeping domestic spending plan, the Senate on Sunday approved a more narrow $740 billion package that aims to tackle health care costs, tax large corporations and make historic investments in combating climate change.The plan, called the Inflation Reduction Act, passed the upper chamber along party lines, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. Democrats used a legislative process called budget reconciliation to pass the measure amid unanimous opposition from Republicans.The House is set to briefly return to Washington from its summer recess Friday to take up the package, and is expected to send the bill to Mr. Biden's desk for his signature. Approval of the legislation by the 50-50 Senate capped a months-long fight over the president's domestic policy priorities, with negotiations coming in fits and starts as Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, expressed concerns about new federal spending amid rising consumer prices.But a breakthrough emerged late last month with a surprise agreement from Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, with Democrats now poised to notch a key win as they fight to maintain their hold on Congress in November's midterm elections. Here is what's in the new health care, tax and energy package:Climate and energyOn Sunday, Schumer heralded the plan as the "boldest climate package in U.S. history.""This bill will kickstart the era of affordable clean energy in America," he said in remarks on the Senate floor. "It's a game-changer, it's a turning point, and it's been a long time in coming."The legislation invests nearly $400 billion in energy security and climate change proposals and would help reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40% by 2030, Democrats said in a summary of the provisions. To incentivize consumers to purchase technologies to lower emissions and energy prices, the bill includes $9 billion in consumer home energy rebate programs, a $4,000 consumer tax credit to purchase used electric vehicles and a $7,500 tax credit to buy new clean vehicles, both of which are available only to lower and middle income individuals. The bill's energy section invests $30 billion in production tax credits to speed U.S. production of solar panels, wind turbines, batters and critical minerals processing; $10 billion in tax credits to build clean technology manufacturing facilities, such as those that make electric vehicles and and solar panels; and $500 million through the Defense Production Act for heat pumps and critical minerals processing.For rural communities, the plan invests more than $20 billion for "climate-smart agriculture practices," grants for fire-resilient forests, forest conservation and urban tree planting, and $2.6 billion in grants for conservation and restoration of coastal habitats.It also imposes a charge of up to $1,500 per metric ton on oil and gas companies for methane emissions, and reinstates oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.Tax revenueDemocrats' tax revenue proposal has two components: a 15% corporate minimum tax imposed on most corporations that make more than $1 billion each year, and nearly $80 billion for stricter tax enforcement and compliance by the Internal Revenue Service.The enhancement of tax enforcement resources will bring in an additional $204 billion in revenue over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.Democrats' package will reduce federal budget deficits by $102 billion over 10 years, the agency found, an estimate that did not factor in the new revenue from beefed-up IRS enforcement. The corporate tax provision was a point of contention as senators neared a final vote on Sunday. Seven Democrats joined all Republicans to approve an amendment put forward by GOP Sen. John Thune of South Dakota that exempts some firms with private equity backing from the 15% minimum corporate tax rate. Health careThe new legislation includes a policy that allows Medicare to negotiate for the price of prescription drugs starting in 2023, a top Democratic priority that is expected to save hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years. It also sets an annual cap of $2,000 on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare patients enrolled in drug plans.For Medicare enrollees, the price of insulin is also capped at $35 per month. Democrats attempted to waive reconciliation rules and maintain a provision that would have capped the price of insulin at $35 a month for those covered under private health care plans, but Republicans blocked the proposal.Under Democrats' proposal, enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies would also be extended through 2025. The premium subsidies were included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package enacted last year and were set to lapse at the end of the year. | Climate Change |
A man rows his boat as he passes through flooded market, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Bajara village, at the banks of Manchar lake, in Sehwan, Pakistan September 6, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSEHWAN, Pakistan, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Eighteen more people have died in Pakistan, authorities said on Wednesday, taking to 1,343 the toll in unprecedented floods that have inundated more than a third of the South Asian nation, making hundreds of thousands homeless.As many as 33 million of a population of 220 million have been affected in the disaster blamed on climate change, which officials estimate to have caused losses running into a minimum of $10 billion.Many of the affected are from the southern province of Sindh, where Pakistan's largest freshwater lake is dangerously close to bursting its banks, even after having been breached in an operation that displaced 100,000 people.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comNational disaster officials said eight childen were among the dead in the last 24 hours. The floods were brought by record monsoon rains and glacier melt in Pakistan's northern mountains.With more rain expected in the coming month, the situation could worsen further, a top official of the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned.Already, the World Health Organization has said more than 6.4 million people need humanitarian support in the flooded areas.The raging waters have swept away 1.6 million houses, 5,735 kilometres (3,564 miles) of roads, railways, 246 bridges, telecommunication systems, 750,000 livestock, and swamped more than 2 million acres (809,370 hectares) of farmland.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Syed Raza Hassan in Sehwan and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
Richer countries have a "responsibility" to help Pakistan deal with flooding and prevent future disasters because they've caused climate change, its planning minister has said.More than 1,000 people are reported to have died so far and over a million homes have been damaged.
Historic monsoon rains have also swept away roads, bridges and crops - and planning minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan was feeling the effects of climate change caused by richer nations and their "irresponsible development"."Our carbon footprint is lowest in the world," said Mr Iqbal."The international community has a responsibility to help us, upgrade our infrastructure, to make our infrastructure more climate resilient, so that we don't have such losses every three, four, five years."
"Those areas which used to receive rainfall aren't receiving rainfall and those areas which used to receive very mild rains are receiving very heavy rainfall," he added.The cost of recovering from the disaster is estimated at more than $10bn (£8.54bn) and might take about five years, Mr Iqbal said in an interview with Reuters news agency. More on Pakistan Why Pakistan is at 'ground zero' of the climate crisis after suffering deadly flooding Pakistan flooding: Pictures reveal devastation caused after monsoon rains Pakistan floods: 'Monster monsoon' kills more than 1,000 as Queen says she is 'deeply saddened' But he said formal requests for financial help will have to wait until the full scale of the damage is clear. Image: Ahsan Iqbal says richer countries have a responsibility to Pakistan Read moreWhy Pakistan is at 'ground zero' of the climate crisis after suffering deadly flooding Some countries have already sent help: tens of thousands of blankets, tents and waterproof tarps have been dispatched by China, while Canada has donated $5m (£4.2m).Cargo planes from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have also started arriving in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.Pakistan is also considering importing vegetables from its arch-rival India to alleviate shortfalls after food prices shot up due to lost crops, said finance minister Miftah Ismail. Image: People float belongings through a flooded area on the outskirts of Peshawar. Pic: AP Much of the country has been ravaged by floods since mid-June and more than 30 million people are affected in the country of about 220 million.There are fears the situation could get even worse.Peter Ophoff, from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told Sky News: "The monsoon season should have stopped by the end of July."We are now in the end of August, and we still have very heavy rain. Many people are thinking that we haven't reached a peak yet." Image: Flood damage to homes on the outskirts of Quetta. Pic: AP He said the floods were the worst in decades and that access is the biggest problem because about 3000km (1,860 miles) of roads have been washed away, as well as 160 bridges.Dr Liz Stephens, associate professor in Climate Risks and Resilience at Reading University said "questions need to be asked" about why these floods are similarly damaging to those in 2010, when nearly 2,000 people died.Though forecasting science has "considerably" improved since the 2010 floods, early warning messages must "reach the communities who are most at risk so that they can move out of harm's way," she said."Unprecedented flooding affects people who could not possibly conceive they were at risk. This is a big challenge, not only for managing risk, but also for the effective communication of early warnings," Dr Stephens warned.The Queen and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have both issued messages of support, with the monarch saying she was "deeply saddened to hear of the tragic loss of life and destruction".The floods come on top of economic problems in Pakistan caused by factors such as high inflation and a currency that's been losing value. | Climate Change |
PHOENIX (AP) — A debate among the four candidates seeking two seats on the commission that regulates Arizona utilities revealed sharp differences in their approaches to the job as the state adjusts to climate change and a shrinking water supply.
The two Republicans on the November ballot for the Arizona Corporation Commission said they would leave it up to the utilities to decide if they wanted to pursue clean energy sources such as solar and wind. And they said the state should not be involved in helping communities that are seeing coal-fired power plants shuttered — mainly on tribal lands or in small eastern Arizona communities — replace the jobs and tax revenue.
The Democrats strongly disagreed, saying that tribes and communities adjusting to life without coal plants need the commission’s help and that setting standards for the minimum amount of energy utilities should get from renewable energy is critical. “We are on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” Democratic candidate Lauren Kuby said in the Clean Elections Commission debate broadcast on Arizona PBS Monday night. “But with crisis comes opportunity, and we need to leave a clean energy transition for our state. ”
Kuby, a former Tempe city councilwoman, and Democratic candidate Sandra Kennedy, a current commissioner seeking re-election, said the commission needs to also work to encourage energy efficiency, which they said pays off in both lower consumer costs and avoiding building new power plants.
The state currently requires 15% of electricity be obtained from renewable sources by 2025 under commission rules adopted in 2006, but the commission has twice rejected much more robust requirements in the past 18 months. Kuby said current standards have saved huge amounts of water used in traditional power plants and saved ratepayers $2 billion.
“So those rules that were established by the Corporation Commission, which sometimes our Republican opponents have said they want to roll back, had been supreme in saving consumers money,” Kuby said.
They noted that solar is now the cheapest form of new power plants available.
The two Republicans, Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson, said the commission made mistakes by requiring utilities to build some renewable plants, pointing to one that Arizona Public Service had built near Gila Bend that is more costly to operate than expected.
Myers is a former software engineer and businessman who is now a policy advisor to current Republican commissioner Justin Olson. Thompson is a Mesa city councilman and Air Force veteran who worked as an engineer for Southwest Gas, one of the companies overseen by the commission.
“We can’t continue to mandate and force the companies to shift,” Thompson said, arguing it leads to locked in costs that the commission is required to force ratepayers to fund.
“Anytime you mandate a company to do something, you are virtually guaranteeing they will get that back and ratepayer money,” Myers said. “You’re basically taking away their accountability.”
On whether to help tribes and communities that are seeing coal plants shuttered, they said the state should not be involved. Instead, Myers and Thompson said the federal government is responsible for helping tribes and communities recover, although they proposed placing new “micro-nuclear” plants in the region to replace the jobs.
“This is something that the federal government has forced upon Arizona, and it should be the federal government, they should be the ones that are bailing out these communities if there’s a bailout,” Thompson said.
“But the bigger issue here and is it’s not the job of the ratepayers in Arizona to get into foreign aid,” Myers said. “If you’re talking about tribal lands, that’s the foreign aid comes under the federal government.”
They said a more fair transition is to work to pull in new technologies to the area.
For their part, Kuby and Kennedy said it absolutely is the commission’s role to help. And Kuby noted that it is cheaper now to build and run a solar plant than to buy the coal needed to run an existing coal-burning power plant.
“We’ve been able to grow our cities, Tucson, Phoenix, all of our cities because of extracting resources from these coal-based communities,” Kuby said. “These communities have been dependent on coal, and we cannot leave them behind.” We want to hear from you.
Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here. Comments | Climate Change |
As the flash floods in Kentucky claim lives and continue to leave behind a trail of devastation, residents and officials in the state are increasingly grappling with the costly impacts of the climate crisis.Earlier this week, the state saw eight to 10 inches of rainfall in a 24-year period, marking what experts are calling a 1-in-1,000 year rain event. Amid the onslaught of rain and catastrophic flash flooding, at least 26 people have died while dozens more are reported injured.Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has warned that the death toll will likely continue to rise as officials struggle to reach certain areas of the state that have been badly affected by the floods. On Sunday morning he told NBC it was raining hard in the region and there are renewed warnings of additional flooding.On Thursday, Beshear said that the flooding was the worst that he has seen in his lifetime. “I wish I could tell you why we keep getting hit here in Kentucky. I wish I could tell you why areas where people may not have much continue to get hit and lose everything. I can’t give you the why, but I know what we do in response to it. And the answer is everything we can,” he said.However, to climate scientists, the answer to such frequent and drastic weather events can be attributed to climate change that has largely been human-caused and expedited.Jonathan Overpeck, an earth and environmental sciences professor at the University of Michigan, explained that because human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels have significantly warmed the atmosphere in recent years, the atmosphere now holds more moisture than it used to. As a result, whenever rainfall occurs, it is more drastic.“This means the risk of flooding is going up dramatically over much of the planet where people live, and Kentucky is one of those places. The evidence is clear that climate change is a growing problem for Kentucky and the surrounding region–more floods like this week, and more floods when wetter tropical storms track north over the state,” Overpeck told Inside Climate News.Flash floods happen as a result of torrential rainfall that occurs within a short period of time, often resulting in the water having nowhere to go. Because grounds can often be already saturated, they are unable to absorb all the excess water.“It gathers speed, it gathers power, it can pick up debris. And that is a flash flood. It’s really dangerous. It can carry away cars, it can carry away houses, and it can kill people,” said Rebecca Hersher from NPR’s climate team.Opeck explained that in addition to more frequent flash floods, Kentucky will also likely experience more tornado risks in the future. Last December, Kentucky faced its deadliest tornado outbreak when numerous tornadoes tore through the state and killed 80 people. Among the multiple tornadoes, one cut through over 165 miles and was nearly half a mile wide.“Heatwaves are clearly getting more dangerous and deadly due to human-caused climate change, and there is growing evidence that thunderstorms are getting supercharged by the warming atmosphere as well, and that can mean higher tornado risks,” he said.As the eastern region of Kentucky struggles with rebuilding efforts that will likely take years, residents from the western parts of the state are also feeling the impacts of climate change in various ways.Steve Fisher, a 61-year old farmer told the Guardian that the floods have driven him to use increased fungicide on his crops due high moisture content.Additionally, volatile weather conditions have forced farmers like Fisher to change their farming methods and routines. One method Fisher now uses is no-till farming, a technique used to address soil erosion that washes away the topsoil which supports plant growth and helps to retain moisture during long periods of drought.“We’ve gone from tilling the soil up and making the soil real loose to no-till farming which basically drills the seed into the ground without having to work the soil up to save the moisture in the ground to prevent moisture loss and soil erosion,” he said. | Climate Change |
Washington, D.C. (September 14, 2022)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, held a hearing to examine how the fossil fuel industry is weaponizing the law to stifle First Amendment protected speech and stymie efforts to combat climate change by abusing Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and anti-protest laws. “Wealthy and powerful corporate entities are thus dragging citizens and public interest opponents through meritless but protracted and expensive litigation to expose anyone who dares stand up to them to financial and personal ruin,” said Chairman Raskin in his opening statement. “It is crucial that Congress protect the rights of American citizens and civic groups to engage in lawful political protest and organizing without being subjected to ruinously expensive and meritless retaliatory litigation.” The Subcommittee heard testimony from Prof. Anita Ramasastry, Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law, University of Washington School of Law; Elly Page, Senior Legal Advisor, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law; Deepa Padmanabha, Deputy General Counsel, Greenpeace; Anne White Hat, Sicangu Lakota, L’eau Est La Vie Camp. Members and witnesses examined how the fossil fuel industry uses SLAPPs to target environmental activists and non-profits to deter them from speaking out against proposed fossil fuel pipelines and other projects that contribute to climate change. Ms. Padmanabha testified: “[M]ore than six years from when the first SLAPP was filed against us, [we are] still forced to invest time and resources into these legal battles that otherwise would have been used to protect communities and the environment from toxic pollution and the existential threat of climate change. While our window to fight the climate crisis continues to shrink, we have to win because the voices of those who protect our planet and our communities cannot be silenced.” In response to a question from Rep. Pressley, Professor Ramasastry explained: “There’s a larger strategy here, which isn’t not only within the United States, but global . . . .We’ve seen the results are in these suits that the companies typically don’t prevail, but they prevail in terms of the duration of the suits, the cost of the suits, the inequality of resources that governments or civil society groups have, right?” She continued, “These suits really represent that inequality of resource and power.” In response to a question from Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Padmanabha said: “[SLAPPs] have a tremendous impact. Any of us can imagine one day waking up and having a 300-million-dollar lawsuit served on us. I mean what would that do? And the thing that is so problematic about SLAPPs is that it is the mere filing of the suit that creates the chilling effect and I think that’s what we really need to keep in mind.” She continued, “most SLAPPs are not filed against big organizations they are filed against individuals who are trying to protect their water, protect their land from developers, that is the history of the SLAPP suit and so those stories don’t get the attention because and the mere filing of the suit when they think about putting food on the table, it silences them. They need to think about the ability to survive.” Witnesses discussed the wave of anti-protest laws passed in recent years and how they are selectively enacted and enforced to target environmental activists and protect corporate interests. In her opening statement, Ms. White Hat explained: “As a mother with children in high school, I never intended to get arrested. However, on September 18, 2018, I was arrested and charged with two felony counts under new amendments to Louisiana’s critical infrastructure law. I was told that I was being arrested for trespassing two weeks earlier on remote land being worked on by the pipeline company in the Atchafalaya Basin, despite my having the express permission of landowners to peacefully protest there. A Louisiana state court later ruled that it was, in fact, the pipeline company Energy Transfer that was trespassing and yet we were the ones arrested by uniformed sheriffs’ deputies working privately for the pipeline company.” In response to a question from Congresswoman Norton, Ms. Page explained: “So we know at least from express statements in a number of cases from the sponsors of this legislation, that they are introducing these laws because of protests they’ve seen either in their own states or elsewhere. So, the sponsor of the Oklahoma bill, for instance, that became the basis of the ALEC model law, said that protests like the one at Standing Rock was the quote-unquote, ‘main reason,’ behind his bill. In South Dakota, the governor Kristi Noem explicitly said that the bills she introduced were designed to cut off funding for pipeline protesters.” Members and witnesses explored how the fossil fuel industry’s use of SLAPPs and anti-protest laws not only stifles free speech but also helps to enable disinformation about climate change. Ms. Page testified: “The U.S. has seen a rise in protests against the construction of gas and oil pipelines, driven by concerns about pipelines’ harm to the environment, indigenous land, and landowner rights. In response, fossil fuel interests have promoted new laws that can limit and chill the First Amendment rights of individuals who protest near pipelines and other infrastructure sites. States across the country have enacted the laws, which create vague criminal offenses and extreme penalties that can cover nonviolent protest activity.” In response to a question from Rep. Wasserman Schulz, Ms. White Hat explained, “Everyday wondering if they’re gonna come knocking on the door to take me to jail and having to make plans for my children, etc. But in terms of just being out there and going out, it really is a chilling effect on us as frontline organizers. Not just for us to be able to have and go do the work that we do. It also impacts other First Amendment rights like freedom of religion. One of the gentlemen involved in our lawsuit was denied the right to travel to go to practice his religious activities. So, it’s not just it quells our activism, but it also hurts other parts of our First Amendment rights as well.” Ms. Padmanabha explained: “The fossil fuel industry has been attempting to control the narrative not only through silencing dissent, but also trying to flip the switch on whose speech is being attacked. And so, when it comes to misleading consumers about the effects of climate change and everything that is coming out now about how long fossil fuel companies have been aware of how their business practices affect climate change, there is this attempt to flip the switch to regain the narrative to, for example, file an anti-SLAPP motion in Massachusetts and say, we’re the victims here.” Witnesses expressed the need for federal anti-SLAPP laws to fill important gaps in the law to prevent First Amendment abuses and protect the ability of people and organizations to publicly participate in the democratic process. Professor Ramasastry testified: “Congress should address the trend [of SLAPP abuse] and restore balance and promote avenues for free expression and assembly. I believe a key solution is the adoption of anti-SLAPP laws that allow courts to review cases at an early stage in the proceedings to see whether they are indeed of public concern and whether the SLAPP suit itself is frivolous or has merit.” Ms. Padmanabha testified: “Now is a critical moment for Congress to act and introduce federal anti-SLAPP legislation. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted common sense anti-SLAPP legislation, and all were introduced in a bipartisan or nonpartisan fashion. While federal legislation might not put an end to all SLAPPs, it would be a significant step towards becoming a nation of justice where our fundamental right to speak truth to power is protected.” ### | Climate Change |
Lessons in Leadership Now playing Patagonia founder says 'Earth is now our only shareholder' Now playing This is what Chevron's CEO thinks about climate change Now playing Senator asks Twitter whistleblower about alleged Chinese spying. See his response Now playing Twitter whistleblower responds to Chinese spying allegations John General/CNN Now playing Billionaire investor: Powell would 'say he made a mistake' with inflation CNN Now playing CEO on why in-office work requirement is 'foolish' Senate Banking Committee Now playing Warren to Powell: Don't drive this economy off a cliff Now playing Gary Cohn: Fed was late on interest rate hikes Now playing MicroStrategy CEO on crypto: It's clear people are confused Now playing How raising rates could threaten demand and production WBAL Now playing Hear from Apple employees on union victory Now playing How raising rates could threaten demand and production Now playing Lego is building up its manufacturing footprint in the US CNN Now playing Why L'Oréal's CEO is not worried about inflation CNN Business — Patagonia’s founder is transferring ownership of the company after nearly 50 years into two entities that will help fight the climate crisis. Patagonia is a private company based in Ventura, California, that sells outdoor apparel and equipment. Yvon Chouinard founded the company in 1973. Patagonia said in a press release on Wednesday that, effective immediately, Chouinard and his family will transfer their entire ownership stake into two newly created entities. Those entities will ensure that the company’s values will continue to be upheld — and that Patagonia’s profits are used to combat climate change. “If we have any hope of a thriving planet 50 years from now, it demands all of us doing all we can with the resources we have,” Chouinard said in a statement Wednesday. “Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source.” The biggest share of the company — or 98% of Patagonia’s stock — will now be under the Holdfast Collective. This nonprofit will make sure that the company’s annual profits, about $100 million per year, will be used to “protect nature and biodiversity, support thriving communities and fight the environmental crisis.” The rest of the company’s stock will fund the newly created Patagonia Purpose Trust. This trust will create a permanent legal structure so that the company can never deviate from Chouinard’s vision: That a for-profit business can work for the planet. “Two years ago, the Chouinard family challenged a few of us to develop a new structure with two central goals,” said Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert in the press release. “They wanted us to both protect the purpose of the business and immediately and perpetually release more funding to fight the environmental crisis. We believe this new structure delivers on both and we hope it will inspire a new way of doing business that puts people and planet first.” Patagonia has long been known as a conservationist company and has been outspoken on hot-button issues outside of its stores over the years. Patagonia’s corporate activism is a large part of its brand identity. In 2017, the company sued then-President Donald Trump over his administration’s move to dramatically shrink two national monuments in Utah. “The president stole your land,” Patagonia’s website said at the time. “This is the largest elimination of protected land in American history.” The company emerged as one of the most vocal corporate opponents of Trump’s environmental policies. Last year, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert called for companies to join the brand in pressuring Facebook to fix its platforms and the company donated $1 million to voting rights groups in Georgia. - CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn contributed to this report | Climate Change |
Icebergs float in the Baffin Bay near Pituffik, Greenland on July 15, 2022 as captured from the ground during a NASA mission along with University of Texas scientists to measure melting Arctic sea ice. New observations from ICESAT-2 show remarkable Arctic Sea ice thinning in just three years.Kerem Yucel | AFP | Getty ImagesA massive ice sheet in Greenland is set to raise global sea levels by nearly a foot by the end of this century, in a melting event driven by human-caused climate change, according to a study published on Monday.The findings in the Journal Nature Climate Change show that 3.3% of Greenland's ice sheet will melt, which is equivalent to 110 trillion metric tons of ice. The ice loss will prompt about 10 inches of sea level rise between now and 2100.Scientists warned the melting is inevitable even if the world immediately stops emitting planet-warming greenhouse gases. The study's forecast of an absolute minimum of ten inches of sea level rise is more than twice as much sea level rise as researchers have previously predicted from the melting of Greenland's ice sheet.Greenland's ice sheet is the second biggest in the world behind the Antarctic ice sheet and covers 80% of the island. Previous research has suggested that if the ice sheet were to melt away altogether, global sea levels could rise by as much as 23 feet.Scientists located in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.S. conducted the study by using satellite measurements of ice losses from Greenland and the shape of the ice cap between 2000 and 2019.The researchers assessed the ratio of replenishment from snowfall to loss from melting ice in Greenland, and concluded that 3.3% of Greenland's total ice volume will melt no matter how quickly the world curbs carbon emissions.Climate change from the burning of fossil fuels has fueled longer summers in Greenland and accelerated the retreat of glaciers and the Greenland ice cap.A one-foot rise in global sea levels would have major consequences for coastal communities, as sea level rise threatens to displace almost 200 million people by the end of the century. In the U.S., coastal residents represent 40% of total the total U.S. population and $7.9 trillion in gross domestic product, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.An iceberg lies off Nuuk during low tide, Greenland, September 7, 2021.Hannibal Hanschke | Reuters | Climate Change |
J Acad Nutr Diet. 2022 Sep 20;S2212-2672(22)01020-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2022.09.015. Online ahead of print. Affiliations 1 Research Associate, Department of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, SPH I 3866, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. 2 Associate Professor of Nutrition and Human Development, Department of Human Ecology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA. 3 Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition and Public Health, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA 01845, USA; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. 4 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. 5 Assistant Professor, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA. 6 Assistant Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48108, USA. PMID: 36150669 DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2022.09.015 Abstract Background: Red meat production is a leading contributor to food-related greenhouse gas emissions. Decreasing red meat intake can mitigate climate change and lower risk of diet-related diseases. Objective: The goal of this study is to evaluate university students' perceptions of climate-friendly behaviors, and to assess how these perceptions are associated with the frequency of red meat intake. Design: Cross-sectional survey SETTING: A large, public California university and a large, public Michigan university PARTICIPANTS: Undergraduate students from a California university (n=721) and a Michigan university (n=568). Main outcome measures: Perceptions of climate-friendly behaviors and frequency of red meat intake. Statistical analysis: Differences in perceptions by student characteristics were compared using t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Associations between perceptions of climate-friendly behaviors and red meat intake frequency were examined using generalized linear models, adjusted for sociodemographic covariates. Results: Across both universities, students rated reducing meat intake as less effective than other climate change mitigation behaviors such as recycling and using less plastic. However, students who reported: (1) making food and beverage choices that "are good for the environment," (2) making food and beverage choices that "reduce climate change impact," or (3) agreeing that "eating less meat is an effective way to combat climate change," reported 10-25% lower frequency of red meat intake for each point higher on the agreement scale. In contrast, making food and beverage choices motivated by health was not associated with frequency of red meat intake. Conclusions: Sustainability motivations and perceptions of meat's climate impact were associated with lower frequency of red meat intake, despite the overall moderate rating of eating less meat as an effective climate change mitigator. This research lends support to behavioral interventions, public education campaigns, and policies aiming to reinforce sustainable dietary patterns in young adults. Keywords: Red meat; climate change; environmental attitudes; plant-based diets; young adults. Copyright © 2022 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. | Climate Change |
Marine animals could die off at a level rivaling the biggest mass extinctions in geologic history if people don’t curb greenhouse gas emissions. That’s the takeaway from a study published Thursday in the journal Science, which found that many ocean creatures could face conditions too warm and with too little oxygen to survive if we don't turn things around. The more warming, the fewer species are likely to survive, the results show. The new analysis applies what the research team previously learned about the "Great Dying" 252 million years ago — when more than two-thirds of all marine life in the Permian Period went extinct — as well as other historic extinctions to today’s climate projections. Under a high emissions scenario, the results were disturbing. "If we don’t act to curb emissions, that extinction is quite high. It registers on the geological scale among the major biotic collapses of diversity in the Earth’s history," said Curtis Deutsch, an author of the paper and a professor of geosciences at Princeton University.The new models suggest Earth could approach Permian levels of marine extinction by 2300 if emissions continue to increase. As temperatures rise, according to the research, species richness will decline near the tropics, with some animals migrating toward higher latitudes. Polar species are most at risk, as their habitat becomes a "disappearing climate niche," the paper explains. But that fate is far from sealed. If emissions stay near the levels world leaders set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, marine animals would fare far better, the study says."Extinctions are largely avoided" under that scenario, said Justin Penn, a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton who co-authored the study. Still, the analysis is a reminder that the pace of change on Earth today may be comparable to the most extreme events in history. "In the next few decades, we're determining if we’re really going to go deep into a mass extinction again — because of us, because of what we’re doing," said Eric Galbraith, a professor at McGill University studying human and Earth system dynamics, who was not involved in the new study. "It’s hard to wrap our heads around the importance of what we choose to do as a species in the coming decades."Previous work from the team behind the new analysis revealed runaway global warming and a loss of oxygen in the ocean to be the causes of the Great Dying. Their model’s results matched patterns paleontologists had observed in Permian fossil records, giving it credibility. The revelation that extreme changes to the climate were the likely causes "was a real eureka moment," Deutsch said. Before that die-off, there was only one landmass — Pangea — and the Permian ocean teemed with marine creatures. Scientists think these animals had similar traits, like metabolisms and oxygen needs, as those today. Scientists knew from prior studies of fossilized teeth that surface temperatures during this period soared about 10 degrees Celsius in the tropics, leading many sea animals to go extinct. The researchers suspected volcanic eruptions triggered the changes, so they modeled those conditions.The results showed that many species were pushed past their physiological limits. As the climate warmed, animals needed more oxygen to perform bodily functions like breathing. But warmer water doesn’t contain as much dissolved oxygen — which made it more difficult for species to survive."Imagine facing inflation while your hours are also being cut or your salary is going down," Deutsch said. "The ocean is giving less oxygen to organisms in spite of the fact they have this inflationary need." A similar process is happening now, Penn said: "The Permian event was caused by climate warming and ocean oxygen loss — two environmental changes underway today."The question driving Deutsch and his colleagues’ latest research was "how much of the same phenomenon would manifest" in Earth’s future.They found stark differences depending on how much warming takes place. Extinctions grow at a linear rate in the model as temperatures increase, Deutsch said. "There’s a strong sentiment out there, probably among some of your readers and viewers: 'It's too late or the window is closed,'" he said. "That’s not what our results show." Currently, the world’s average surface temperatures are on pace to rise roughly 3.2 degrees Celsius (5.8 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century relative to preindustrial times. But limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius — a goal agreed to in the Paris accord — would lower the severity of extinctions by more than 70 percent, the paper found. "There’s still time to conserve the diversity that evolution has gradually built up in the ocean," Deutsch said. However, if emissions continue to increase, nations remain divided on climate goals and temperatures soar by nearly 5 degrees Celsius by century’s end, marine biodiversity would start to trend toward rates observed in previous mass extinctions.Galbraith said the research relied on "mature" models, with conclusions based on simple, "reliable" equations."I hope this is a fairy tale — these terrible impacts on the marine ecosystem," he said. "It's just a question of building new infrastructure that gets us off fossil fuel infrastructure. We should be able to do that in the next couple decades." Galbraith added that the future of ocean life also depends on addressing other harmful human activity, such as intensive fishing or pollution, that could cause cascading effects in combination with climate change. “This is really just looking at one dimension of pressure,” he said. | Climate Change |
Crew members on the Nakajomaru katsuo (skipjack tuna) fishing boat catch katsuo using traditional ipponzuri (single pole fishing method), in Tosa Bay, Kochi Prefecture, Japan, May 15, 2022. Locals and experts say fatty katsuo indicates climate change and a risk for the fish numbers already under threat due to growing demand and overfishing. It "must have something to do with the water temperature," captain Takeo Nakajo, 70, said. "I have a sense of urgency thinking what if katsuo doesn't come to the bay some day." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryPhoto essay:NAKATOSA, Japan, July 12 (Reuters) - For half a century, Takeo Nakajo has been catching katsuo, or skipjack tuna - indispensable in Japanese cuisine whether eaten raw, dried or used as a base for the broth.But he and other fishermen in Kure, in Kochi prefecture in southwest Japan, have seen something worrying in the past two years - an unprecedented number of unusually fatty katsuo.While heavier katsuo means more money, locals and experts say it indicates climate change and a risk for katsuo numbers already under threat due to growing demand and overfishing.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"The fatty katsuo must have something to do with the water temperature," said the 70-year-old Nakajo. "I have a sense of urgency thinking what if katsuo doesn't come to the bay some day." (Photo essay: https://reut.rs/3AFtYSQ)Noriaki Ito, the head chef at a century-old restaurant Tsukasa in Kochi City, said he too had "never seen such fatty katsuo during this season of the year".This is worrying as changes in the sea and climate have already wiped out some other fish "including a shellfish called chambara-gai that used to be Kochi's speciality", Ito added.Originally from tropical waters, some Pacific katsuo migrate northward on a warm ocean current every spring, making Kochi's arc-shaped bay a fertile fishing ground.The average surface temperature of the bay in winter has risen by 2 degrees Celsius in the four decades to 2015, local fisheries lab data shows, and the fatter katsuo may be due to ample prey in the warmer sea.But longer term, this warming may prevent mineral-rich water from rising to the surface, resulting in a drop in plankton and smaller fish to feed on, leading to fewer katsuo, said Hiroyuki Ukeda, an agroscientist and vice president of Kochi University.This comes as Japan's ageing population is threatening the sustainability of local fishing and related businesses such as the production of dried and fermented katsuo, and wasabi horseradish - an eye-watering condiment tucked under fish in a piece of sushi. read more In Kure, a district in Nakatosa town, many fishermen have gone out of business in the past three decades, said Takahiro Tanaka, a fourth-generation owner of a fishmonger who calls himself a "katsuo sommelier"."We can distinguish different tastes of katsuo, just like ordinary French farmers may savour subtleties of wine ... this place might be one of Japan's last communities where katsuo is part of the daily culture," he added."But without fishers, this won't last," Tanaka said.Fisherman Nakajo also rued the ageing community and fewer successors. "I asked my grandson if he would take over, but he's now studying to work at a government office," Nakajo said.SUSHI CULTURE AT RISKOverfishing has already hit catch numbers and dealt a blow to the fishermen in Kochi who have stuck to traditional single pole fishing methods versus large-scale seine fishing across the western Pacific.Government data shows catch numbers in Kochi are only at a quarter of their 1980s peak."We have observed a catastrophic decline in landings over the last 10 years or so," said Ukeda."A growing number of people fear we may no longer be able to eat katsuo in the near future if things continue like this."Production of katsuobushi, dried and fermented katsuo, often used as a shaved condiment over traditional Japanese dishes or as a broth base, is already suffering.The number of katsuobushi manufacturers in Kochi has plunged from dozens some forty years ago to only a few, said Taichi Takeuchi, who runs one in the town of Usa."I'm really unsure if we can continue this," said Takeuchi.Wasabi, the tangy horseradish that is an essential for Japanese food, especially sashimi and sushi, is facing similar production challenges. read more Typhoons and rising temperatures have hurt production in Okutama, a mountainous area to the west of Tokyo, said Masahiro Hoshina, 72, head of the local wasabi growers' association."I am extremely worried about the future of our farming," Hoshina said.The number of farmers in the area is down 75% from the 1950s due to depopulation, and unless something changes, some worry sushi itself could be endangered."The combination of raw fish and spice, as in katsuo and wasabi, is an art, and we must maintain both," said Ukeda. "I never want to think about a future" without them, he added.(The story corrects name in paragraph 8, Hiroyuki Ukeda not Hideyuki Ukeda)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Kantaro Komiya in Nakatosa; Additional reporting by Kim Kyung-hoon and Irene Wang; Editing by Elaine Lies and Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
World Sep 17, 2022 2:22 PM EDT ISLAMABAD (AP) — The World Health Organization raised the alarm Saturday about a “second disaster” in the wake of the deadly floods in Pakistan this summer, as doctors and medical workers on the ground race to battle outbreaks of waterborne and other diseases.
The floodwaters started receding this week in the worst-hit provinces but many of the displaced — now living in tents and makeshift camps — increasingly face the threat of gastrointestinal infections, dengue fever and malaria, which are on the rise. The dirty and stagnant waters have become breeding grounds for mosquitos.
The unprecedented monsoon rains since mid-June, which many experts link to climate change, and subsequent flooding have killed 1,545 people across Pakistan, inundated millions of acres of land and affected 33 million people. As many as 552 children have also been killed in the floods.
“I am deeply concerned about the potential for a second disaster in Pakistan: a wave of disease and death following this catastrophe, linked to climate change, that has severely impacted vital health systems leaving millions vulnerable,” WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a statement.
“The water supply is disrupted, forcing people to drink unsafe water,” he said. “But if we act quickly to protect health and deliver essential health services, we can significantly reduce the impact of this impending crisis.”
WATCH: Millions of flood victims in Pakistan now at risk of waterborne disease
The WHO chief also said that nearly 2,000 health facilities have been fully or partially damaged in Pakistan and urged donors to continue to respond generously so that more lives can be saved.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif left for New York on Saturday to attend the first fully in-person gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly since the coronavirus pandemic. Sharif will appeal for more help from the international community to tackle the disaster.
Before his departure, Sharif urged philanthropists and aid agencies to donate baby food for children, along with blankets, clothes and other food items for the flood victims, saying they were desperately waiting for aid.
The southern Sindh and southwestern Baluchistan provinces have been the worst hit — hundreds of thousands in Sindh live now in makeshift homes and authorities say it will take months to completely drain the water in the province.
READ MORE: Pakistan scrambles to deliver aid as flood death toll continues to rise
Nationwide, floods have damaged 1.8 million homes, washed away roads and destroyed nearly 400 bridges, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
Imran Baluch, head of a government-run district hospital in Jafferabad, in the district of Dera Allah Yar in Baluchistan, said that out of 300 people tested daily, nearly 70% are positive for malaria.
After malaria, typhoid fever and skin infections are most commonly seen among the displaced, living for weeks in unhygienic conditions, Baluch told The Associated Press.
Pediatrician Sultan Mustafa said he treated some 600 patients at a field clinic established by the Dua Foundation charity in the Jhuddo area in Sindh, mostly women and children with gastrointestinal infections, scabies, malaria or dengue.
Khalid Mushtaq, heading a team of doctors from the Alkhidmat Foundation and the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association, said they are treating more than 2,000 patients a day and were also providing kits containing a month’s supply of water-purification tablets, soaps and other items.
On Friday, the representative of the U.N. children’s agency in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil, said after visiting Sindh’s flood-hit areas that an estimated 16 million children had been impacted by the floods. He said UNICEF was doing everything it can “to support children and families affected and protect them from the ongoing dangers of water-borne diseases.”
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Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. Left: Children play outside their families' tents, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Sehwan, Pakistan,Sept. 13, 2022. Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters | Climate Change |
An environmental campaigner has been ejected from an event sponsored by the power station operator Drax at the Labour party conference after attacking the company’s use of biomass.The owner of the North Yorkshire power station sponsored a debate on Tuesday on Britain’s net zero climate goals on the fringes of the political party’s conference in Liverpool. The company’s group director of corporate affairs, Clare Harbord, was on the panel.Climate campaigners have accused Drax of greenwashing and argue that its biomass operations, which burn wood to produce electricity, are far from green and can even increase the CO2 emissions driving the climate crisis.The talk in Liverpool was titled “Reaching net zero: how can the UK boost energy security and invest in green jobs?”Several campaigners interrupted the discussion to question Drax’s green credentials.Environmental campaigners ejected from event at Labour party conference – videoOne woman was forcibly removed from the room while she said: “How can you talk about net zero and green jobs as the UK’s biggest carbon emitter and the world’s biggest tree burner?”Another said: “As the largest carbon emitter in the UK, how can you talk about net zero and green jobs when you’re responsible for the destruction of forests around the world?”Drax was accused of being part of a “culture of spin for climate criminals” by another audience member, who said: “How dare you be here, it’s a disgrace.”The incident happened a day after the Guardian reported that the UK government had been accused of funding environmental racism by giving £2m a day in subsidies to an energy company that has paid out millions over claims it breached pollution limits in the US. Drax denies it committed any violations at its Louisiana plants, after agreeing to the settlements without accepting liability.An investigation by Unearthed, Greenpeace’s investigative unit, found Drax Biomass paid millions of dollars to US regulators over claims it exceeded limits on chemicals emissions at wood chip plants close to black and low-income communities.One person at the Liverpool event referenced the report and said: “All you are doing is pushing this so you keep on burning trees and polluting communities. You’re polluting communities in southern America, in southern US … these are poor, mostly communities of colour and you are polluting them.”The panel was originally due to include Alan Whitehead, the shadow minister for the green new deal and energy, but the shadow business and industry minister Bill Esterson attended instead. Drax argues that its biomass is made from sawmill residues and low-grade wood left behind when forests are harvested for wood used in other sectors such as construction.A Drax spokesperson said: “A very small number of people attending the event tried to disrupt the discussion and were unwilling to listen to the views of the panellists who were in agreement that in order to reach net zero the world needs to use a range of energy solutions including wind, solar, biomass and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.“Climate change is the biggest challenge this generation faces. Over the last decade Drax has reduced its carbon emissions from fossil fuels by almost 100% using sustainable biomass.” | Climate Change |
Officials in the south of Pakistan have warned that more flooding is to come, with Lake Manchar swelling from unprecedented monsoon rains that have killed nearly 1,300 people.Downpours in recent weeks have left devastation in their wake and been blamed on climate change.
Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the world to stop "sleepwalking" through the deadly climate crisis.The floods have affected more than 33 million people, or one in seven Pakistanis, with satellite images showing the devastation caused by the flooding.Sky News international correspondent Saima Mohsin has seen the heart-breaking impact of the flooding firsthand - in the same part of the country where more flooding is thought to be on the way:
Over the past week we have tried to report every angle and really communicate what people here are going through.After their escape, rescue and exodus, we wanted to show how people are living now. We found an entirely displaced neighbourhood that's travelled from a village close to Manchar Lake to Dadu. More on Pakistan Pakistan floods: £13.5m raised for disaster relief efforts Pakistan floods: Men trek 20 miles from cut-off town to get food for their stranded families Watch live: Pakistan floods special It's as if the neighbourhood left their homes and set up home in a refugee camp. They remain neighbours, they still live down the way from one another.Floodwater besieged their village in minutes in the middle of the night at 3am. And they all travelled here. Many share their shelters side by side with their livestock - humans and animals - one as weak as the other, barely able to stand. But saving their livestock is an important lifeline. I spotted Firaani Bibi - the wrinkles on her face told her story, with all the dignity and grace of her 96 years.She tells me how terrifying it was when the water entered her family home in the middle of the night: "We are poor people and it was a mud and brick house."A wall collapsed on her legs. She's in incredible pain. She's been sitting on this wooden bed in the hot sun for three weeks. Relying on handouts from locals.Waiting patiently for something to change. She tells me all she wants is to go home."I just about got away with my life," she says."The water came like a river. There was so much water this old woman (referring to herself) almost got swept away by it. We almost drowned."All they have is their goat and her rusty walking frame.She looked deeply in my eyes and told me: "See for yourself, do we have anything? Nobody is giving us anything. Nothing to drink. I am in pain."We are worried and suffering. We have no money to buy anything. We're just sitting here. What can we do?" Every time we get out of the car people approach us, some hope we are doctors, others hope we have brought food, some ask if we know if the water in their hometown has receded.I meet Arbaab Khatun - she is young and confident and tells everybody to let me do my job.We smile. I shake her hand and introduce myself.She fled her home with five of her children. Her husband stayed back with the older ones. She doesn't know if they are dead or alive.Read more:Men trek 20 miles from cut-off town to get food for their stranded families'No one came here to help': Pakistan's massive floods reveal the cost of global apathyShe tells me she wants to show me the state they are living in because it's just not okay."Look at this!" She lifts the tarpaulin that is draped on some wooden posts to imitate a tent."It's torn. We don't even have a proper tent. It's got holes in it everywhere, the sun is so strong. I've got small kids. My youngest has been very ill in this heat" There's a makeshift cradle for her toddler. A cloth tied at both ends to the posts to form a hammock."This is where the little one sleeps. All we have is the floor. We have nothing. I have these dishes. Nothing else. No food to cook. Everything's empty."She throws the empty pots and pans to the ground in anger. In resentment.She does not want to rely on handouts but feels she deserves at least more than this.All they have is the clothes they were wearing when they fled and the few items she has shown me.They have no shoes, her feet are bleeding - injuries from her escape. Her children are riddled with mosquito bites, their eyes infected, swollen and red. The youngest, Khadija, is listless and caked in mud."We have nothing. We wake up, sit in the sun and go to sleep again. We have no rations, no food, no water - not even a sip of tea. Look!" She points to a terracotta pot on two bricks."That's my stove. But there's nothing on it. Just an empty chapati skillet."Some days they eat, some days they don't. When the children cry it breaks my heart and I cry too, she tells me. "What else is there to do? What else can we do?"And then she said something that broke my heart too."We are desperate. My little one has resorted to eating the mud. We have nothing." | Climate Change |
Carlos Echavarria / MERI Foundation In the Gulf of Corcovado, off southern Chile, whales are abundant. Nine species can be found in these waters, and it's one of the largest feeding grounds in the southern hemisphere for the endangered blue whale (pictured). Daniel Casado / MERI Foundation But it's also a busy shipping channel, with both industrial and small-scale fishing boats. Many are linked to the area's salmon-farming industry. Alex Machuca / MERI Foundation This has led to collisions between ships and whales, so conservationists are looking to implement an acoustic warning system that will alert ships to a whale's presence. Pictured, the blow hole through which a whale breathes. MERI Foundation In October, MERI Foundation, a scientific research organization based in Chile, will deploy an acoustic buoy (like the one pictured) in the Gulf of Corcovado. It is equipped with technology that can monitor and identify sounds, as well as sensors that gather oceanographic data. When the buoy detects the sounds made by a whale, it will automatically alert Chile's navy, which sends a message to nearby vessels, encouraging them to change course or reduce their speed. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution / MERI Foundation Protecting whale populations is important for the wider ecosystem. Known as the ocean's "ecosystem engineers," whales help to recycle nutrients and their feces (the red-brown plume shown in this photo) supports plankton growth. Carlos Echavarria / MERI Foundation The Gulf of Corcovado is in an area of northern Patagonia known as the Chiloé ecoregion, which is recognized as a vital marine ecosystem, due to its great diversity of organisms. Contra / MERI Foundation The region also includes Melimoyu National Park, which is a protected area, home to dolphins, penguins, seals, and sea lions. Eduardo Sorensen / MERI Foundation Bright cold-water corals and starfish (pictured) can also be found deep in Patagonia's fjords. Editor’s Note: Call to Earth is a CNN initiative in partnership with Rolex. Michel Andre is a Rolex Awards Laureate. CNN — In the ocean, where light only penetrates a few hundred feet underwater, animals depend on sound to locate food, navigate and to communicate with each other. But even well into the last century, humans were unaware of the soundscape beneath the waves. Unable to hear the low frequencies that travel furthest underwater, explorers and scientists believed the ocean was a “silent world,” according to French bioacoustics expert Michel André. “We (humans) ignored this acoustic dimension,” he says. “We contaminated the ocean with sound, without even having the first idea that this could have damaged it.” In recent decades, the ocean’s depths have become noisier, with the rumble of ship engines, the intense pings of military sonar and seismic blasts used to locate oil and gas deposits. This cacophony of human-made sound is drowning out marine life’s natural chatter, and the impact is life-threatening. Mammals such as whales have become isolated from their mates, their migration routes have been disrupted, and in some cases noise pollution has caused permanent hearing loss, which can be fatal. “Sound is life in the ocean,” says André. “If we pollute this channel of communication … we are condemning the ocean to irreversible change.” André and other scientists believe that increased noise pollution has led to more collisions between ships and whales, as the ocean giants – which use echolocation or biological sonar to “see” objects – can struggle to locate a vessel over the constant din, while some individuals have become so deaf they cannot hear the approaching danger. Since 2007, the International Whaling Commission has logged at least 1,200 collisions between ships and whales globally, but many more are likely to have gone unnoticed. Technology that uses acoustics to detect the presence of whales in shipping lanes could help to avert these collisions. André and his team at the Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics in Barcelona have developed software called Listen to the Deep Ocean Environment (LIDO), which monitors acoustic sources in real time and uses artificial intelligence to identify them. In October, a two-meter-long buoy equipped with this technology and other sensors will be dropped into the Gulf of Corcovado, off the coast of Chile, an area busy with both whales and ships. Using LIDO, it will be able to detect whales within at least a 10-kilometer radius and automatically send an alert to Chile’s navy, which will in turn send a message to nearby vessels, encouraging them to change course or reduce their speed. Ship engines make less noise at lower speeds, which makes it easier for whales to home in on their location. 04:20 - Source: CNN This man has made it his mission to listen to the Earth The buoy will be the first of a wider network deployed as part of the Blue Boat Initiative, a program founded in 2020 by MERI Foundation, a scientific research organization based in Chile. The long-term goal is to have these kinds of buoys running along the coast of South America and beyond, providing a safe passage for migrating whales and other marine species, says Sonia Español-Jiménez, MERI’s executive director. The Gulf of Corcovado was an obvious place to start. The body of water, which stretches more than 50 kilometers between Chiloé Island and the mainland of southern Chile, is a hotspot for whales – home to nine species – and the largest feeding ground in the southern hemisphere for the endangered blue whale. But the area is also subject to intense marine traffic, with many vessels belonging to the salmon farming industry. However, research in the US has shown that reducing ship speed is a simple and cost-effective method for avoiding collisions with whales. In May 2021, after a run of deadly collisions on Chile’s coastline, more than 60 Chilean scientists made a plea to the government to reroute ships from sensitive regions, set speed limits in certain shipping lanes and establish an alert system to warn vessel pilots. Susannah Buchan, an associate researcher at the University of Concepción in Chile, was one of the signatories and is currently working with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on adapting a similar acoustic alert system for Chilean waters. WHOI technology has already deployed in the Santa Barbara Channel, off the coast of California, and off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. While she sees “great potential in acoustic alert systems,” Buchan says it is important that they are fully validated in scientific literature and by a peer-review process. She also warns that acoustic alert systems are not a “silver bullet” that will end all ship strikes and must be complemented with other solutions such as slow-down zones. Related: In the ocean’s twilight zone, this diver is discovering vibrant new species The acoustic buoys deployed as part of the Blue Boat Initiative will not only work as an early warning system for vessels but will also use sensors to gather data such as water temperature, pH, and oxygen levels, which can be used to study ocean health and the impact of climate change. They could also be used to help monitor local whale populations. “Every whale has a unique sound,” explains Español-Jiménez, and the buoy’s LIDO technology can identify and classify four of the whale species found in the Corcovado Gulf from their song – humpbacks, blue whales, right whales and sei whales. She adds that as the buoys gather more data, LIDO can be trained to identify other marine species. Together all this data can be used to inform government policy and action on marine conservation and climate change, she says. Technology is transforming our understanding of the ocean, says André. “It has brought back this capacity to hear underwater and to listen to creatures underwater and understand the need for them to survive in this environment.” A pioneer in bioacoustics, André’s work began in the 1990s, when he started investigating the cause of ship and whale collisions on a busy ferry route in the Canary Islands. His research found that whales’ exposure to noise was leading to “acoustic trauma,” with their inner ear receptors becoming severely damaged over time. It was then that he had the idea to create an acoustic anti-collision system for whales, but the Blue Boat Initiative is the first time his technology will be implemented in the real world. Related: Smart tech is helping to save China’s giant pandas André would like to see it become more widespread, crossing countries and continents. “My hope is that we can replicate this effort along the Pacific coast so we can cover the tracks of these whales up to Alaska,” he says. By providing tools to identify sources of sound and to monitor biodiversity, André believes that humans can reconnect with nature and help it recover: “If we find a way to monitor, to listen, and to understand the message from sound, then we have a way to understand the health status of the Earth.” | Climate Change |
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks to tout the benefits of the "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act," at Boston Logan International Airport's Terminal E in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., September 12, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will celebrate his climate change and drug pricing law, The Inflation Reduction Act, on Tuesday with an event at the White House to highlight Democrats' commitment to progressive priorities ahead of the November election.Biden signed the $430 billion bill, seen as the biggest climate change package in U.S. history, into law last month in a low-key ceremony.The Tuesday event on the White House South Lawn will bring together more lawmakers and interest groups who worked at getting it passed, and give Biden an opportunity to talk about key elements of the law that are important to his political base.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comHe will also use it to take aim at Republicans. Biden plans to argue they should have supported the package but instead "unanimously opposed lowering costs for the American people," the White House said in a preview of his remarks.Republicans suggest the legislation will lead to higher energy prices and aggressive audits from the Internal Revenue Service.In addition to providing incentives for the clean energy industry, the law allows Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for the elderly, seeks to ensure corporations and wealthy people pay their taxes through beefed-up IRS resources, and aims to combat inflation by reducing the federal deficit.Biden had hoped to secure a trillion-dollar-plus "Build Back Better" bill with measures to fight global warming and tackle other social issues but could not get it through the 100-member U.S. Senate, which is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans and whose rules require 60 votes to advance most legislation.Support from Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a conservative Democrat who opposed the more expensive bill, helped get the smaller one passed. At the Aug. 17 signing ceremony, Biden gave Manchin the pen he used to sign the legislation into law.As a presidential candidate Biden promised to make fighting global warming a top priority. He returned the United States to the international Paris climate accord, from which Republican President Donald Trump had withdrawn, and has sought to revamp the U.S. economy to prioritize clean energy, electric vehicles, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.Younger, left-leaning voters are especially eager to fight climate change, and the president has sought to appeal to them ahead of the congressional elections in November in which Democrats risk losing control of the House of Representatives and Senate.Inflation is a top political headache for Biden, though, and one of the reasons the bill was named for efforts to fight it.A key measure of inflation, August's consumer price index, will be released on Tuesday and is expected to show a decline from July, led by falling gasoline prices.U.S. consumer prices, which have been climbing at the fastest pace in four decades, rose 8.5% over the 12 months through July.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
People get on a boat as they look for shelter during a widespread flood in the northeastern part of the country, in Sylhet, Bangladesh, June 19, 2022. REUTERS/Kazi Salahuddin RazuRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - Scientists say that climate change was likely to have made the rains that unleashed catastrophic flooding across Bangladesh worse.While South Asia's monsoon rains follow natural atmospheric patterns, the rains will become more erratic and torrential as global temperatures continue to climb, scientists say.It would take months to determine exactly how much of a role climate change played in last week's heavy rains.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBut scientists note that warmer air can hold more water vapour before rain clouds eventually burst, meaning more rain eventually pours down."The strong monsoon winds in the Bay of Bengal can carry a lot more moisture," said Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. "The large amount of rainfall that we see now might be a climate change impact."The South Asia monsoon season, from June to September, is governed by several, overlapping patterns in the ocean and atmosphere, including the El Nino-La Nina weather cycle and the Indian Ocean Dipole. Currently, those systems are driving strong, southwesterly winds over the Bay of Bengal.But the monsoon patterns have shifted in recent decades, as the average temperature for Bangladesh has risen at least 0.5 degrees Celsius since 1976."Instead of having moderate rains spread out through the monsoon season, we have long dry periods intermittently with short spells of heavy rains," Koll said. "When it rains, it dumps all that moisture in a few hours to a few days."On Tuesday, Bangladeshi troops were navigating dinghys through brackish floodwaters to rescue those in need or deliver food and water to some of the 9.5 million people marooned. Officials say at least 69 people have died in the disaster.Last week's heavy rains, which caused Bangladesh's rivers to breach their banks, followed less than a month after the neighbouring Indian state of Assam was hit by similar rain-triggered flooding, which killed at least 25 people there.Bangladesh is considered one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, with a 2015 analysis by the World Bank Institute estimating about 3.5 million Bangladeshis are at risk of river flooding every year. The floods also threaten the country’s agriculture, infrastructure and clean water supply.The region's countries "all suffer if there’s no rain. They suffer when there’s too much rain," said Anders Levermann, a climate scientist at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Columbia University. "What they would need is a steady rainfall, as we had in the past and as is threatened now under global warming." (This story corrects to cut extraneous word in the first paragraph)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Gloria Dickie; Editing by Katy Daigle and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
In the eyes of many people, conservatism and environmentalism are incompatible ideologies. Progress against climate change has largely been associated with liberal politics, but conservatives have made significant strides. President Donald Trump’s continuous denial of our evolving climate, however, was the perfect opportunity for Republicans to step up to the plate. The media have fought tooth and nail to exploit conservatives as “impossible to persuade” and recently labeled the GOP as the party of “climate denial.” Although many consider Trump as the party’s leader, his past actions do not reflect the reason I began working toward conservative climate solutions, and they certainly do not represent the party’s ambition to lead the climate movement. At a time when young people are demanding action against climate change, Republicans are leading the charge to counter the effects of rising greenhouse emissions. In early June, the American Conservation Coalition hosted its inaugural summit with hundreds of young activists with one goal in mind: solving climate change in a bipartisan and economic manner. Contrary to the mainstream narrative, President Joe Biden and his congressional allies have been more bark than bite when it comes to fighting climate change. Detrimental energy policies that hurt our climate and lackluster leadership have robbed consumers at the gas pump, leaving their wallets hurting and Biden’s approval numbers plummeting. On the flip side, Republicans have established the beginning of a new era as climate change becomes an increasingly important subject for many across the nation — and this is nothing new. From creating the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency to passing landmark environmental legislation, Republicans have spearheaded monumental climate action that has left us with incredible progress. Unfortunately, federal environmental regulation has become one of the most partisan topics that Washington has faced in recent times. When Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations, liberals saw that as the official party stance. The narrative of the GOP being strong-armed by corporate influence from the fossil fuel industry became the portrayal of a party once known for advancing environmental initiatives. Now Republicans have done an about-face to tackle the challenge of our evolving climate head-on. With the launch of the Conservative Climate Caucus, as well as the passage of the Energy Act of 2020 and the Great American Outdoors Act, Republicans have reversed the image of being climate-hesitant and replaced it with striving to protect our nation’s natural resources. This type of GOP leadership is especially important as the public faces an unprecedented energy crisis and Democrats have failed to protect their constituents. Consumers are paying more for electricity, even though the service they are paying for is becoming less reliable through flawed domestic and foreign policy. One assessment found that more than half of the country is at high risk of facing energy shortages this summer, which may lead to blackouts during extreme temperatures. While the Biden administration is blocking American energy production, Republicans are bolstering viable energy solutions that benefit the country in an effort to beat climate change. Liberals have used climate change policy as a Trojan horse to supercharge an expansive agenda that only benefits the party and not the people. But not inviting a competitive alternative into the mix disincentivizes anyone with a different approach and any possibility to unleash America’s innovation. The days of positioning the GOP as the boogeyman to all things climate-related are over. The environmentalist movement has been overtaken by angry activists and extreme radicalism, but Republicans see right through the theatrics. America deserves an economically sound environmental policy that acts in the interests of their livelihoods and promotes the well-being of our nation. While Democrats are falling behind in their quest to fight climate change, Republicans are just getting started in their new era of introducing extraordinary energy solutions that will strengthen our country for generations to come. Jorge Velasco (@velascoAjorge) is an executive communications intern for the American Conservation Coalition. He is a sophomore at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. | Climate Change |
The company motto is “Be Human, Be Well, and Be Planet”, a harmonious ideal in line with the yoga world where sports clothing mega-brand lululemon got its start.“We are deeply connected to ourselves, each other and our planet; each part elevating one another,” the Canada-based company says on its sustainability website.But now a climate change campaign is targeting lululemon, saying its reliance on coal-powered factories in Asia is inconsistent with its public branding.So far 477 yoga teachers and more than 500 yoga students across 28 countries have signed an open letter asking lululemon to source its products from factories using renewable energy.“Burning coal to make hoodies and ‘Hotty Hot’ high-rise pants is unacceptable,” says one yoga teacher.“The pollution from the production of lululemon’s apparel is a threat both to human health and climate change,” writes another.Among the yoga teachers signing the letter are current and former ambassadors that have helped the company grow to a multibillion-dollar-a-year behemoth by leading public classes inside lululemon stores.But it is the contrast between the company’s branding and ethos, and its use of coal that endangers lives and drives the climate crisis, that has made it a prime target.“They really stand out with a huge disconnect between what they say they value and what they do,” said Laura Kelly, the head of campaigns at Action Speaks Louder, which is organising the campaign alongside North America-based Stand.earth.“Almost half of the energy which powers lululemon factories comes from coal. But you would be hard pressed to find a company that says they are more ethical.“Given lululemon’s influence in the market, it’s important for people buying their clothes to understand these two faces. The business has been built by taking a grassroots approach to their marketing and that was founded in the yoga community.”Yoga teachers from the US, Europe, UK and Australia are among the signatories of the open letter. The South Australian yoga teacher and current lululemon ambassador, Prasanna Djukanovic, is among them.He said: “Yoga teachers and students are consciously siding with the planet. lululemon need to lead in response to the climate crisis and reduce the harm their products are doing.”Lululemon has a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the facilities it owns and operates by 60% by 2030.According to disclosures made last year to CDP – an organisation allowing companies to record details on climate targets – lululemon was responsible for emitting 20,374 tonnes of CO2-equivalent through activities it could directly control.But these were massively outweighed by the 381,797 tonnes of CO2e from the company’s supply chain – known as Scope 3 emissions.The company has a target to cut these emissions per dollar of revenue by 60% by 2030, which means while emissions per dollar may go down, if revenue rises then actual emissions could go up.A company report on its social and environmental impact released this week said its emissions per dollar had risen by 4% since 2018.Earlier this month, the company reported expected net revenue of about US$7.9bn for this year with annual revenue growing at about 26%. The company says it is aiming to double revenue between 2021 and 2026.The company told CDP most of its suppliers at fabric mills were in Taiwan and China “where electricity and energy are expensive and predominately fossil-fuel based,” the company wrote.“Raw materials suppliers, in general, are higher energy consumers than finished goods suppliers because of the use of steam and hot water in dyeing processes,” the submission said.The company, which employs 29,000 people directly and has 240,000 working for its suppliers, told CDP it had piloted initiatives focusing on energy efficiency, and said “opportunities also exist for our raw materials suppliers to switch from coal to natural gas, biomass and/or to renewable electricity (eg onsite solar).”Good on You – an organisation that rates clothing brands on their environmental and social impacts – also says lululemon’s policies and practices are “not good enough”.In 2019, the company launched an investigation after female workers at a factory in Bangladesh claimed they were beaten, forced to work overtime and were paid less in a month than the price of one pair of leggings.In a statement, the company said it was focused on helping “create a garment industry that is sustainable and addresses the serious implications of climate change through goals and strategies that include a rapid transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency.”The company report released this week was a sign of the company’s transparency in reaching goals, the statement said. The company was powering its own operations with 100% renewable energy and had cut emissions by 82% in its own operations.The statement added: “We know that a majority of impact is in Scope 3 [greenhouse gas emissions], including industry supply chains, and we are committed to continuing to innovate across the supply chain and are actively working with industry partners to be a part of the solution.“As members of the UN Fashion Charter for Climate Action and founding backers of the Apparel Impact Institute-led Fashion Climate Fund, we are working to accelerate collective climate action within our industry. We are also members of working groups engaging with select suppliers to phase out any direct use of coal, among other initiatives that drive transition to renewable energy.” | Climate Change |
Many parts of the UK are today counting the cost of the country's hottest day on record, with homes and businesses claimed by wildfires as temperatures topped 40C. Flames ripped through homes as Britain was scorched by extreme heat and the country glimpsed what could be the new reality in the summer months.
A ring of fires in and around London saw a major incident declared in the capital, with people being evacuated and many taken to hospital.Thunderstorm alert for parts of UK today - heatwave latest London mayor Sadiq Khan said yesterday was the "busiest day for the fire service in London since the Second World War". He continued: "On a normal day, the fire service receives, roughly speaking, 350 calls on a busy day. Yesterday they received more than 2,600 calls."
Mr Khan also said 41 properties were destroyed in London and 16 firefighters were injured to some extent. More on Heatwave Hottest day on record: How did the UK cope? How much will it cost to keep your fan on while you sleep tonight? Major incident declared across London after 'huge surge' in fires and homes destroyed on UK's hottest-ever day He added that a least some of them were taken to hospital because of "heat stress".The London mayor continued: "It is really important for us to recognise that one of the consequences of climate change are these sorts of temperatures which lead to the sort of fires you're seeing behind you."All around the country firefighters were inundated with calls, with one fire chief calling the "brutal" day a "game-changer" and a preview of the effects of climate change.The Met Office said 34 observation sites across England provisionally broke the previous all-time record, ranging from Bramham, in West Yorkshire, to Charlwood, in Surrey, while a further five had equalled it on Tuesday. Twitter Due to your consent preferences, you’re not able to view this. Open Privacy Options Temperatures are expected to drop by up to 10C in some areas on Wednesday, with heavy showers and thunderstorms to lash parts of the country, potentially causing localised flooding.However other parts of the UK will still see highs of up to 30C and with little rain for months in some areas, the threat of wildfires remains. Image: A map of fires around Greater London In the village of Wennington on the outskirts of east London, several houses were destroyed and others were severely damaged after grass fires broke out, engulfing properties, as black smoke billowed into the air.Aerial footage showed flames tearing across tinder-dry fields and approaching a historic church.Asked what conditions were like, a firefighter at the scene replied: "Absolute hell."A total of six sites, mostly in Greater London, saw temperatures reach or exceed 40C. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Wildfires destroy crops and fields in South Yorkshire Major incidents were also declared by fire brigades in Leicestershire and South Yorkshire as dozens of fires broke out amid the sweltering heat. Dave Walton, deputy chief fire officer for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said Tuesday was a "peek into the future" amid huge demand for firefighters.He said: "It's about a completely and fundamentally different operating environment where fires burn with such ferocity, and spread with such speed in suburban areas that you can't stop them. Analysis by Professor Ed Galea, Fire Safety Research Group Leader at University of Greenwich I think this is an indication of things to come. I think we need to be prepared for experiencing a lot more of these wildfires as the climate changes, as it gets hotter and drier in the UK, we're likely to see more of these types of incidents. And we need to be prepared for them, not just in terms of the way the fire service responds, but also how we design our urban environment, especially what's known as the WUI - the wildland urban interface – as we’re seeing in Wennington - an urban environment on the edge of wildland. And we can learn from other countries around the world that have had to face this sort of problem for many, many years. And so, for example, you build fire breaks around your properties. You pick the type of plantings that you have in close proximity to your property so that they are less likely to easily combust. I'm from Australia originally and it was not uncommon to have days like today. And we would have days of total fire ban. So it would be illegal to have a barbecue outside, for example, anywhere, even in your own backyard. You could not have a naked fire anywhere on days of total fire ban. We need to be prepared…This threat is not going to go away. "We've seen the kind of conditions faced by international colleagues just miles from our capital city, and in towns, villages and cities the length and breadth of the country."Today was about climate change, the hottest UK day on record - ever!"Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke said the government will "stand by" those impacted by the fires."I'm absolutely certain the government will look at whatever is needed to make sure that people are looked after at a time like this," he told Sky News."The government will stand by people who need assistance after an emergency event, as we always do." | Climate Change |
People raise placards as they take part in a global climate protest march, at Omotesando district in Tokyo, Japan September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Issei KatoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBRUSSELS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Young activists rallied for climate action on Friday, staging protests from New Zealand and Japan to Germany and the Democratic Republic of Congo to demand that rich countries pay for the damage that global warming is inflicting upon the poor.The protests take place six weeks before this year's U.N. climate summit, known as COP27, where vulnerable countries plan to push for compensation for climate-related destruction to homes, infrastructure and livelihoods.Demonstrations were planned in around 450 locations worldwide by youth movement Fridays for Future. They are timed to coincide with global leaders meeting in New York City at the U.N. General Assembly.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"One day, it could be my house that gets flooded," said 15-year-old Park Chae-yun, one of around 200 protesting in Seoul, South Korea. "I'm living with a sense of crisis, so I think it is more important to deliver my concerns to the government to take preventive measures rather than going to school."A protester who gave their name as Meta had the same worry in Indonesia: "If Jakarta is flooded, everyone who has money can leave. Where do I go? I will drown here in Jakarta."Around 400 young activists gathered in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, chanting slogans such as "Act for Africa, protect our planet" and carrying cardboard signs reading "Climate Justice" and "Climate SOS" while walking on the shoulder of a busy thoroughfare.Escalating and irreparable damage caused by climate change has heightened developing country demands for "Loss & Damage" compensation to be addressed at COP27 in Egypt in November.Leaders from these countries note the world is already facing climate-fuelled disasters, including deadly floods engulfing large parts of Pakistan, wildfires ravaging Morocco and Canada, and record-breaking heatwaves in Britain and India."The Least Developed Countries are bearing the brunt of the devastating consequences of climate change," Senegal's environment minister Abdou Karim Sall told a meeting in Dakar last week."The fundamental priority is to ensure new and additional funding to deal with it," he said.The United States and 27-country European Union have historically resisted steps that could potentially assign liability for causing climate change, by requiring rich nations to pay compensation.The COP27 meeting in Sharm El Sheikh is not expected to yield a landmark deal like the one struck at the COP26 summit last November in Glasgow, which asked countries to do much more to curb planet-warming carbon emissions.But it will be a litmus test for countries' willingness to cooperate on climate action, despite the fractious geopolitical backdrop, as many governments scramble to tame soaring inflation and grapple with the upheaval in energy markets caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Kate Abnett; Editing by Katy Daigle and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
Triple-digit temperatures persisted in the typically cool region for days.Medical examiners are investigating whether the deaths of 10 people who died during a brutal heat wave in the Pacific Northwest last week were heat related, according to officials.Temperatures in the triple digits were recorded across much of the Pacific Northwest that started Tuesday and lasted through the weekend -- a region that is rarely used to seeing temperatures exceed the 90-degree mark.As of Sunday, potential heat-related deaths were reported in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, as well as Umatilla County, Marion County and Clackamas County, according to a statement from the Oregon state medical examiner's office. The deaths occurred from Thursday through Saturday, officials said.Jalen Askari, 7, right, plugs his nose as he falls into the pool he is playing in with his siblings, from left, Amari, 5, Bella, 2, and DJ, 10, in Portland, Ore., July 26, 2022. Wide swaths of western Oregon and Washington are well above historic average temperatures.Craig Mitchelldyer/APExcessive heat warnings were in effect for much of the region last week. On Tuesday, Portland hit 102 degrees, while temperatures reached 102 degrees in Redding, California, and 107 degrees in Yakima, Washington.Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer. On average, more people in the U.S. die from extreme heat than any other severe weather event, including tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding combined, according to the National Weather Service.Portland saw temperatures exceeding 95 degrees for seven days straight, beating a previous record of six days.Vulnerable populations, including impoverished and marginalized communities and those with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma and heart disease, are most at risk when temperatures begin to skyrocket, Ladd Keith, an assistant professor in the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning at the University of Arizona, told ABC News in June.Rory Lidster, 55, carries in his belongings after checking into a cooling center in Portland, Ore., July 26, 2022.Craig Mitchelldyer/APThe extreme heat prompted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency that lasted through Sunday. The majority of households in the Pacific Northwest are not equipped with central air conditioning.Last week's heat wave drew parallels to the two historic heat waves that hit the region in the summer of 2021. Scientists later found that these heat waves would have been "virtually impossible" had it not been for climate change and rising global temperatures.The heat is expected to move out of the Pacific Northwest on Monday and toward eastern Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, where triple-digit high temperatures are possible. | Climate Change |
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave a message of “encouragement” on behalf of Prince William at a climate change event in New York on Wednesday.The Prince of Wales personally asked Ms Ardern to deputise at the Earthshot Prize innovation summit while the royal family continues a private mourning period following Queen Elizabeth’s death.The Earthshot Prize grants five individuals £1 million (AU$1.7 million) each to continue their environmental work as they lead sustainability efforts globally.It was co-founded by Prince William and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough.Stream more Global news with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022Ms Ardern was introduced as a “global leader on climate change” who had “devoted her life to building a better world”.The New Zealand leader honoured Her Majesty in her speech and said the world needed to face the climate change challenge with the same “fortitude and longevity” as the Queen."She is someone who was focused, committed and demonstrated what can be achieved when you show fortitude and longevity," Ms Ardern said."We need all of those same characteristics to take on the environmental challenges ahead of us.”Ms Ardern said she was an “exceptionally poor substitute” for Prince William as the Prime Minister delivered a motivating speech to attendees."My message today is one of gratitude and encouragement,” she said."As governments we have a responsibility to create the incentives and the space for you to flourish... and the accountability that comes with guardianship."We think often of our challenges but imagine for a moment what can be achieved by channelling our potential."Ms Ardern confirmed New Zealand's efforts to combat climate change which included legislating the country’s emissions to 1.5C and creating an independent agency to oversee progress.Although Prince William was not present, he delivered a heartfelt message in his first public address since Her Majesty’s funeral about the cause “close to my grandmother’s heart”.“During this time of grief, I take great comfort in your continued enthusiasm, optimism and commitment to The Earthshot Prize and what we are trying to achieve,” Prince William said in a pre-recorded speech.“Protecting the environment was a cause close to my grandmother’s heart, and I know she would have been delighted to hear about this event and… the next generation of environmental pioneers.”The Prince of Wales called for a “team effort” and “innovative solutions” to the global challenge of environmental sustainability.“Together in this room are the people and organisations who will help us to achieve the Earthshot mission: to repair, restore and rejuvenate our planet within this current decade,” he said.He finished his address by thanking participants and announced his “excitement” to attend the awards ceremony with Princess Catherine in Boston in December. | Climate Change |
Solar panels are pictured at a solar energy park in Saelices, Spain, May 11, 2022. Picture taken May 11, 2022. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Guillermo MartinezRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryMinisters meet to seek deals on package of climate lawsMoves to weaken some measures as energy shock bitesMinisters discuss plans to reduce gas demandEU contingency planning for further Russian gas cutsBRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) - Ministers from European Union countries will meet this week to attempt to agree joint plans to fight climate change, with some diplomats saying countries under economic pressure might water down some of the most ambitious targets proposed by Brussels.The previously scheduled meeting by EU energy ministers will also give them a chance to discuss emergency plans to reduce gas demand, which Brussels is expected to draw up in coming weeks in case of further cuts in supply from Russia.The energy ministers meeting on Monday, and environment ministers meeting the following day, are expected to agree common positions on proposed laws to meet a 2030 target to cut net emissions by 55% percent from 1990 levels. The laws would expand renewable energy, revamp the EU carbon market and ban sales of new cars running on fossil fuels from 2035.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBrussels says the energy supply crisis this year caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine means the 27 EU countries should move even faster to wean themselves off fossil fuels. But the threat of an economic slump from surging energy prices has also made some countries more cautious about swift change that they fear might bring more disruption.Energy ministers are expected to back targets proposed by the EU Commission last year to get 40% of energy from renewable sources and cut energy consumption 9% against expected levels by 2030.Brussels hiked those goals to 45% and 13% last month, in a bid to speed up the end of countries' reliance on imported - and increasingly expensive - fossil fuels. Ministers are expected to approve the original proposals, and put off considering the upgraded versions until later this year when they negotiate the final laws with the EU parliament.Renewables accounted for around 22% of EU energy in 2020.Countries are considering weakening other parts of the laws, according to deals drafted ahead of the ministers' meeting seen by Reuters.The draft agreements would make some targets voluntary rather than legally binding, including a target to reduce primary energy consumption and a target for renewables to account for 2.6% of transport fuels by 2030.Countries are also considering lowering a target for half of hydrogen used by industry to come from renewable sources by 2030.Some diplomats raised concerns that the changes, if approved, would cause the EU to miss its climate goals. But others said they expected countries to preserve the core elements needed to meet emissions targets.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Kate Abnett
Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler faced a grilling on Capitol Hill on Thursday, with the agency head defending the SEC’s approach to issues including climate disclosure and cryptocurrency regulation. The SEC’s proposed climate disclosure rules — which it released in March — would require publicly traded companies to calculate and publish the risks that climate change poses to their operations and what they are doing to address it. Republicans have criticized the rules as onerous, arguing they are an example of the SEC conducting policy beyond its mandate. Gensler joined two other Democratic commissioners in voting for the proposed rules in March, while the SEC’s lone Republican commissioner, Hester Peirce, voted no. GOP lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday attempted to paint SEC climate disclosure policy as a backdoor and likely ineffectual attempt to reduce global temperatures. “What bothers me is why we’re spending trillions of dollars of scarce resources while China gets 60 percent of its energy from coal,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. “We spend all this money and world temperatures are not reduced.” Gensler sidestepped the line of questioning, saying he refused to accept the premise that the SEC is attempting to influence global temperatures — a key tenet of broader Republican charges that the agency is pursuing policymaking beyond its mandate. He stressed that neither he nor his deputies were “motivated” by the drive to reduce global temperatures. “It’s about actually helping investors get more consistent information, even if they want to invest in what might be ‘brown’ assets rather than ‘green’ assets,” Gensler said, referring to fossil fuels and other carbon-intensive investments. Such investors “will get more consistent information and will probably avoid some of the greenwashing that’s out there,” he added, referring to misleading marketing of unsustainable investments. In a later exchange with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Gensler steered away from a question about whether the purpose of environmental, social and governance disclosure was to help newer investors who are focused on “going green.” “There are also investors that are just thinking that because of climate risk, it could affect the financial performance of a company. It could affect their supply chain, it could affect their competition, it could affect regular future regulation, Gensler said. “So they’re thinking about how to value today that future transition risk,” he added, referring to the financial risk that the transition from fossil fuels could pose to a company’s bottom line. He emphasized that the SEC’s primary immediate goal is to ensure “truth in advertising.” “There are asset managers managing trillions of dollars that are saying to the public, ‘We will invest your money, your money in something that’s carbon neutral, or green and the like,’” he said. “And so we put out some proposals earlier this year to address what is what stands behind a name — literally the name of a fund. And are you living up to the obligations that you made or commitments you’ve made to investors when you ask for their money?” During the hearing, Gensler weighed in on the concept of “materiality” — the idea that the SEC should only require the disclosure of information that is relevant to an investor’s decision to buy or sell. He argued that climate risk is material because investors consider it material. “Many investors are considering it — and why are they considering it? Because there’s a future chance of transition risk. [Companies] might have changed their operations. Competitors might change their operations. Laws might change. These companies that are listed here in the U.S. operate around the globe.” Gensler said that “the Supreme Court says investors get to decide what risks they take,” adding that 14,000 investors had written the SEC in support of the proposed climate disclosure rule. “If you look at the top 300 or 400 of the investors, the big asset managers, that adds up to $50 trillion of assets under management that have come in mostly supportive of this,” he added, arguing many are looking for “the ability to make an informed choice.” The SEC head also addressed cryptocurrencies, another issue where the agency has taken fire from the GOP for pursuing new financial tools that Republicans argue go beyond its mandate. Gensler countered that most cryptocurrencies are “securities” that fall well within the agency’s purview. “It’s a fairly straightforward, because of these 10,000 crypto tokens — without prejudging any one of them — I believe that the vast majority are securities, because there’s a somebody in the public is betting on a better future. They are betting on anticipating profits on a common enterprise with a group of entrepreneurs in the middle.” He noted that such middlemen can hold securities in the same trading platforms they operate, raising the risk of the sort of manipulations that would be illegal on traditional exchanges. “Frankly, there’s a fair amount of noncompliance, and so we’re going to continue to try to work with the intermediaries get them inside and regulated — and if need be use our regulatory toolkit,” he said. | Climate Change |
There is almost no facet of society that will be left untouched by the ravages of the climate crisis and how we respond to it. The crisis poses fundamental questions for the economy; it affects public health and jobs, and its threats range from food security to national security. That is why it will be among the central concerns of my government and why I believe any responsible world leader must make it a priority.Climate change drives the droughts that affect the provision of water; destroys lives and livelihoods; cripples food production, and destroys our homes and infrastructure. Extreme temperatures affect migration patterns and exacerbate conflicts as hundreds of thousands flee to seek alternative livelihoods for survival.Our response to this crisis cuts across every issue, from the sources of our energy, to how we transport ourselves, from the jobs that will sustain us in the future, to the quality of the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink.The climate emergency is here and now. Across Kenya, communities today are suffering the consequences. Millions of Kenyans and millions more from the Horn of Africa are on the brink of famine due to devastating drought.It is not too late to respond, but to tackle this threat we must act urgently to keep the increase in global heating to below 1.5C (2.7F), help those most in need, and end our addiction to fossil fuels.Africa is the continent most affected by climate change and yet the least responsible for it. Despite this, the continent has the opportunity to lead the world and show that we do not need to destroy the climate to prosper.We have immense potential for renewable energy, and this abundance of wind and solar energy can power the development of Africa. Rather than trudging in the fossil-fuel footsteps of those who went before, we can leapfrog this dirty energy and embrace the benefits of clean power.Kenya is home to the world’s largest windfarm and our electricity supply is already 92% renewable, with 74% of our overall energy use powered by clean energy. I am reaffirming our commitment to move this to 100% clean energy by 2030. We call on all African states to join us in this journey.Plummeting costs make clean energy the most economical choice. A report by the International Energy Agency published last month showed that there are already more jobs globally in clean energy than fossil fuels, and its forecasts are for this gap to grow as more countries decarbonise. A transition to clean energy is a no-brainer. It will create jobs, protect local economies and accelerate the sustainable industrialisation of Africa.As Africans, we will call for a rapid and just transition – delivering on the commitment by heads of state to double Africa’s installed energy capacity through renewables by 2030. Together, we can deliver energy access to almost half of Africa’s people, who remain underserved by the dirty energy systems of yesterday, by transitioning rapidly to the clean energy systems of the future.As members of the international community, we will support a successful Cop27 international climate summit in Africa this November by demanding delivery of the finance and technology needed by Africa to adapt to climate impacts, support those in need, and manage the energy transition. At this meeting, we must move decisively from talk to on-the-ground action that benefits every African.Among the outcomes from this global gathering must be a financing framework that enables Africa’s planned and orderly transition from fossil fuels; supports our workers, communities and national economies; and advances our development. Finance and technology must be provided to our developing countries while enabling all African countries to accelerate our transition to clean energy.The global transition to clean energy is now more urgent than ever. The current energy crisis, partly caused by the war in Ukraine, underlines the need for less reliance on fossil fuels and much greater investment in renewables. As the German finance minister, Christian Lindner, said, renewables are “the energy of freedom”. The wind cannot be stockpiled to drive up its price; the sun’s rays cannot be switched off by a single person wishing to weaponise energy. Wind turbines and solar panels are quick to construct and can generate and deliver power far more quickly and easily than a new oil rig, and with much less harm to our fragile climate. Already renewables are the world’s cheapest form of new energy.The energy crisis is a wake-up call that fossil fuels are the opposite of freedom, yet the world has become shackled to them. We need to break free from those chains, to accept there is a better way to power the world’s economy. It is one that is fairer, cheaper and less destructive to ourselves and our communities, to our families’ future, and to the natural environment on which we all depend.This is a crossroads in history. Kenya is ready to rise to the challenge and help build a better world for Kenyans and all of humanity. William Ruto is the president of KenyaSign up for a different view with our Global Dispatch newsletter – a roundup of our top stories from around the world, recommended reads, and thoughts from our team on key development and human rights issues, delivered to your inbox every two weeks:Sign up for Global Dispatch – please check your spam folder for the confirmation email | Climate Change |
In calculations designed to help nations hurt by climate change get compensation for decades of carbon pollution from rich, high-emitting nations, researchers have calculated just how much losses and benefits each country has caused to others.
The new figures quantify what scientists, officials and activists have long called the inequity in national climate histories with the rich nations benefiting and the poor ones hurting from the production of greenhouse gas emissions. The two Dartmouth scientists behind the study published in Tuesday’s journal Climatic Change say it can be used in courtrooms and in long-contentious and unresolved international climate negotiations about payments from rich nations, that caused the problem with burning of coal, oil and gas, to poor ones, where the biggest damages are.
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For example, the data shows that the top carbon emitter over time, the United States, has caused more than $1.9 trillion in climate damage to other countries from 1990 to 2014, including $310 billion in damage to Brazil, $257 billion in damage to India, $124 billion to Indonesia, $104 billion to Venezuela and $74 billion to Nigeria. But at the same time, the United States’ own carbon pollution has benefited the U.S. by more than $183 billion, while Canada, Germany and Russia have profited even more from American emissions.
“Do all countries look to the United States for restitution? Maybe,” said study co-author Justin Mankin, a Dartmouth College climate scientist. “The U.S. has caused a huge amount of economic harm by its emissions, and that’s something that we have the data to show.”
Developing nations have convinced rich nations to promise to financially help them decarbonize for the future, but haven’t been able to get restitution for damage already caused, a term called “loss and damage” in global climate talks. In those negotiations, the biggest carbon emitters, like the United States and China have had a “veil of deniability” that their actions caused specific damages, said study lead author Christopher Callahan, a climate impacts researcher at Dartmouth. This lifts that veil, he said.
“Scientific studies such as this groundbreaking piece show that high emitters no longer have a leg to stand on in avoiding their obligations to address loss and damage,” said Bahamian climate scientist Adelle Thomas of Climate Analytics, who wasn’t part of the study. She said recent studies “increasingly and overwhelmingly show that loss and damage is already crippling developing countries.
While carbon emissions have been tracked for decades on the national levels and damages have been calculated, Callahan and Mankin said this is the first study to connect all the dots from the countries producing the emissions to countries affected by it. The studies also tallies benefits, which are mainly seen in northern countries like Canada and Russia, and rich nations like the U.S. and Germany.
“It’s the countries that have emitted the least that are also the ones that tend to be harmed by increases in global warming. So that double inequity to me is kind of a central finding that I want to emphasize,” Callahan said.
To do the study, first Callahan looked at how much carbon each nation emitted and what it means for global temperatures, using large climate models and simulating a world with that country’s carbon emissions, a version of the scientifically accepted attribution technique used for extreme weather events. He then connected that to economic studies that looked at the relationship between temperature rise and damage in each country.
“We can actually fingerprint U.S. culpability on Angola’s economic outcomes,” Mankin said.
After the U.S. the countries that caused most damage since 1990 — a date researchers chose because that’s when they say a scientific consensus formed and nations no longer had an excuse to say they didn’t know about global warming — are China ($1.8 trillion), Russia ($986 billion), India ($809 billion) and Brazil ($528 billion), study authors figured. Just the United States and China together caused about one-third of the world’s climate damage.
The five nations that were hit the most in overall dollars were Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, but that’s because they had the biggest economies of nations in the most vulnerable hot zone. But the countries that took the biggest hit based on GDP are the UAE, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Mali, Callahan said. Brazil and India are also among the countries that produce the most emissions and damage and haven’t filed lawsuits to try to get repaid for climate damages.
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The question of fairness over which countries make sacrifices and how to prepare for and repair climate impacts as the global community tries to slow warming has become more significant in recent international climate talks. Some nations, local communities and climate activists have called for the largest historical carbon emitters to pay ” climate reparations ” for the damage their economic gain has caused countries and communities that have already been negatively affected by systems of oppression, like colonialism and slavery. This study adds momentum to this idea, some in the climate in the community told The Associated Press.
“In this sense, the study reinforces arguments regarding loss and damage that are gaining traction” in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Nikki Reisch, director of the climate and energy program for the Center for International Environmental Law, told the AP.
There has been push back at the international level from high-emissions countries about paying for loss and damages who worry that poor countries are not going to use climate finance as intended.
Still, Mankin said he hopes the study empowers “the powerless and in the face of global climate change.” But others in the climate community who have read the study said that more than information is needed to ensure that those most affected by climate change are compensated for their losses. The information and data in the study are valuable, they said, but it will take pressuring those responsible for shaping climate policy to actually get the richer nations to pay for the damage they’ve caused poorer nations.
Basav Sen, climate justice project director for the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tanks, saw the study and said “demonstrating the link of causation is very helpful.”
But, he added, “it is only one piece in the popular pressure campaign needed to translate this information into actual financial flows from wealthier, higher-emitting countries to compensate lower-income countries experiencing more adverse climate impacts.”
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | Climate Change |
Beijing is freezing its cooperation with Washington on global warming, but experts are hoping that, for the sake of humanity, the cold spell between the world's two largest emitters is only temporary.The unraveling relationship comes not long after China and the United States announced a surprise agreement to strengthen climate action at the UN COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in 2021.US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan this week, however, has prompted Beijing to end cooperation with the United States on several key issues."It's obviously worrying and raises concerns," Alden Meyer, a senior associate at the E3G think tank told AFP.It's "impossible to address the climate emergency if the world's number one and number two economies and number one and number two emitters are not taking action," he said. "And it's always preferable that they do that in a collaborative way."Cooperation between the two countries is essential on all of the world's "most pressing problems," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' press secretary told reporters on Friday.Above all, China's announcement raises questions, including what the consequences will be for the COP27 climate conference in Egypt in November."What are the conditions to re-open dialogues? Are these conditions climate or geopolitical?" Greenpeace's Li Shuo asked on Twitter."Is this a tactical move or is it a longer term strategic move?" questioned Meyer. "Is China saying the cooperation is impossible as long as there are tensions between the US and China?"- 'Total disaster' -Earth's temperature has risen by an average of nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, multiplying heat waves, droughts, floods and storms on all continents.However, the mercury could rise by 2.8 degrees Celsius by 2100 even if countries abide by their commitments, according to UN climate experts at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).Apart from the US-China spat, commitments have already been weakened by the economic crises stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which notably led to the relaunch of coal-fired power stations.IPCC author Francois Gemenne called China's decision a "total disaster for the climate... comparable to the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement," which aims to limit end-of-century warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels -- and preferably not beyond 1.5 degrees.Former president Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement, but his successor Joe Biden returned the country to the accord in 2021.The temporary US withdrawal has nonetheless been accompanied by backtracking on domestic and foreign climate policy, experts say.China's announcement, on the other hand, is "certainly not a withdrawal from the world stage on climate issues or a rejection of climate action," David Waskow, director of the World Resources Institute's international climate initiative, told AFP.Mohamed Adow, founder of the Power Shift Africa energy think tank echoed that sentiment, adding that "breaking off diplomacy doesn't mean China is backtracking on its commitments," particularly as, "in many respects, China is way ahead of the US when it comes to action on climate change."Biden has pledged to cut US emissions by 50 to 52 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.But his ambitions have been thwarted by failure to push green energy projects and climate initiatives through Congress, although some progress has been made in recent days.For its part, China, which is the leading emitter of greenhouse gases in absolute value but far behind the US in emissions per capita, has committed to reaching peak emissions in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060.Meanwhile, even if it's not cooperating with the United States, "there will be pressure on China from others including the EU, including vulnerable countries," Meyer said.abd/bfm/sw | Climate Change |
ExxonMobil and the Energy Transition: CNBC’s David Faber begins his comprehensive look at ExxonMobil with a journey to the company’s New Mexico operations in the Permian Basin, the world’s most productive petroleum region. He also dives into the history of ExxonMobil, explores criticism that the company fostered public uncertainty about climate change and recounts the 2021 shareholder rebellion that led to three new directors being named to Exxon’s board. Faber interviews CEO Darren Woods on the pressures he faces to increase production, decrease carbon emissions, and keep his shareholders happy. With an examination of Exxon’s energy transition projects in Houston and New Jersey, Faber also finds out that some experts question whether the company’s goals are adequate or feasible. He interviews activists who fear ExxonMobil is prolonging society’s dependence on fossil fuels and delaying progress of an essential shift towards sustainable, renewable energy. For more CNBC Documentaries: cnbc.com/documentaries More by CNBC | Climate Change |
Image source, Getty ImagesThe world has finally agreed on a long-term plan to curb carbon emissions from flying. At a meeting in Montreal, the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), pledged to support an "aspirational" net zero aviation goal by 2050. The plan, seen as a compromise by many, was accepted by the 193 countries who are members of ICAO.However green groups say the deal is weak and not legally binding.When the world came together in Paris in 2015 to agree on a long-term plan to tackle climate change, two key industries were missing - aviation and shipping. The airline industry contributes around 2.5% of global carbon emissions, but scientists believe it has a much higher impact on climate change than this figure suggests.This is because of the multiple impacts of flying including the altitudes planes fly at and the effects of contrails - the water-vapour trails produced by engines.US Special Presidential envoy on climate change, John Kerry, welcomed the deal.In a tweet he said: "Thrilled to see international aviation commit at @icao 41st Assembly to a sustainable future with a long-term climate goal... to help put aviation on the path to net zero by 2050."Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Covid saw a global fall off in air travelWith 193 member countries, ICAO is the UN body tasked with regulating the carbon footprint of air travel - they've been under increasing pressure from consumers and scientists to try to find ways to decarbonise air travel for several years, with limited success.However at their triennial assembly in Montreal this week they finally agreed to support a net zero target for 2050, despite grumbles from China and Russia.Environmentalists are concerned that this new plan is not binding, meaning the ICAO has no power to enforce the decision. "You shouldn't be fooled by the results of this assembly. This isn't going to solve aviation's problem," said Jo Dardenne of campaign group Transport & Environment."The only way we're going to solve it is to stop burning kerosene. The way that you stop burning kerosene is by pricing kerosene more effectively and investing in alternative solutions."At the meeting countries agreed that the best way of dealing with future emissions is through a system of carbon offsets.Offsetting is a process where companies or individuals buy carbon credits from schemes such as forestry plantations to cancel out carbon emissions from activities like flying. Image source, Getty ImagesUnder the scheme airlines would agree a baseline year and all future emissions above the level of that period would have to be offset. Initially they had planned to use an average of flying emissions in 2019 and 2020 - but the onset of the Covid pandemic saw air transport decline rapidly. While campaigners were delighted with the prospect of a low baseline that would have forced airlines to offset far more of their emissions, the industry baulked. After discussions in Montreal the threshold has now been set as 85% of 2019 carbon emissions, allowing a higher level of carbon dioxide pollution before airlines must purchase offsets.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Planting trees is one of the most common methods of offsetting carbon emissionsIn previous analysis, campaigners found that CORSIA would add just €2.40 to the price of a long-haul flight in 2030 to offset passenger's emissions. They now say that the scheme agreed in Montreal will only cover 22% of future emissions in 2030. Despite the serious deficiencies, some say the assembly's decisions did provide some form of hope that airlines will now push ahead with more sustainable jet fuels. "A goal is better than nothing but it is up to member states now to implement the proper regulations," said Jo Dardenne."Once this target is there, even if it is non-binding, politically it still forces member states to be ambitious in their climate plans." | Climate Change |
The wildfires that have raged in Europe, Africa and North America in recent days have provided some dramatic front pages for newspapers across the world.Among the worst fires have been in Portugal, where the Correio de Manha has a front page headline reading “Panic and despair”.In neighbouring Spain, the ABC newspaper declares an “Avalanche of fires out of control”.The Observer splashes on a warning from Alok Sharma, the Tory cabinet minister who led last year’s landmark Cop26 UN climate summit, that he may resign if the incoming prime minister fails to commit to net zero plans.The Daily Mirror saying the British PM is having another party while the UK scorches, and has the headline “Boris’ heatrave”.A stark image on the front of Croatian newspaper 24sata shows the normally idyllic Dalmation coast with the simple headline “hell”.In Greece, the paper Kathimerini has been reporting on wildfires that have again lit the country in flames.French newspaper Libèration also urges the public of the foreboding effects of climate change and fast-rising temperatures.From the Turkish Milliyet, readers are confronted with the “Red nightmare” that terrorises the country.Canada suffered some of its worst ever fires last year and they are back again this year with a large blaze burning near the town of Lytton, the Vancouver Sun reports, which was destroyed in 2021’s disaster.The Vancouver Sun’s coverage of the Lytton wildfire. Photograph: Vancouver SunRising temperatures are also causing alarm in Asia, where the Global Times has this front page. | Climate Change |
The three liberal justices joined in a dissent written by Justice Elena Kagan that said the majority opinion “deprives EPA of the power needed — and the power granted — to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.”“And let’s say the obvious: The stakes here are high,” Kagan wrote. “Yet the Court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions. The Court appoints itself — instead of Congress or the expert agency — the decisionmaker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening. Respectfully, I dissent.”Yet Congress has proved unable to agree on any kind of major climate legislation, and so for the foreseeable future seems unlikely to authorize new restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.Massachusetts and neighboring states have strong policies regulating power plant emissions, including a so-called cap-and-trade effort among 11 Eastern states that aims to reduce carbon emissions. Hours after the court ruled Thursday, Massachusetts issued a blueprint for aggressively transitioning the state from fossil fuels to renewable energy.But other states with coal-burning plants don’t have such controls, and the decision means the EPA can’t force them to shift to cleaner power without Congress’s say-so.That will put even more onus on states such as Massachusetts, California, and New York to lead on emissions cuts. But climate change is a global problem, and the United States’ sky-high emissions are generated all across the country — meaning no one state can do it alone.The ruling will also likely further weaken the country’s standing in international climate negotiations, and some environmentalists fear the collateral damage could doom efforts to avert the worst of global warming.The court decision stems from the Barack Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which would have capped power plant emissions, directing states to meet them mostly by switching to renewable sources such as wind and solar. But that plan was blocked by the Supreme Court and never went into effect.Donald Trump’s administration repealed that rule and replaced it with a much weaker one that focused on efficiency and did not put limits on overall emissions. In January 2021, a federal appeals court dismissed the policy and rejected Trump’s repeal of Obama’s original plan.Shortly after, conservative state attorneys general, including from West Virginia, challenged the appeals court ruling, arguing it gave the EPA too much power to control what energy sources states use. Only Congress has the authority to make rules of such major consequence, they argued. And the Supreme Court sided with them.The new ruling will curtail the Biden administration’s plans for tough new power emissions standards and limit the ability of federal agencies to create other rules.Yet the court ruling did leave a path forward for the EPA, and on Thursday President Biden vowed to “take action.”“My administration will continue using lawful executive authority, including the EPA’s legally upheld authorities, to keep our air clean, protect public health, and tackle the climate crisis,” the president said.The administration still plans to issue tougher regulations on methane emissions, as well as stricter limits on other pollution from power plants.Moreover, part of Biden’s stalled climate agenda could be revived in more modest form by Congress; a version that passed the House last year includes $300 billion in clean energy tax incentives for clean electricity and electric vehicles.The key player is another West Virginia politician, Senator Joe Manchin, who blocked Biden’s initial effort but has since restarted talks with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York., about prospects for a less ambitious version. Under Senate rules, that bill must be passed by Sept. 30, leaving Democrats limited time to reach an agreement that has eluded consensus for the past year.Still, advocates say, the court ruling removes one of the EPA’s best tools to avert the worst of the climate crisis by limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures.The United States is responsible for 14 percent of the world’s emissions from fossil fuels, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, with nearly a third coming from power plants. Regulating those emissions has been at the center of a battle between Republican and Democratic legislators for years.The decision comes as climate disasters mount around the world, with millions in Bangladesh and India devastated by deadly flooding, and persistent heat domes in Europe and parts of the United States.“It’s just so heartbreaking,” said Elizabeth Turnbull Henry, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts. “Any notion of moral authority or global leadership feels further and further out of our grasp.”Legal experts warned the ruling will extend well beyond regulation of carbon into other federal environmental regulations. Later this year, for instance, the court will hear a challenge to the Clean Water Act based on the same argument about agency overreach.“This could have devastating consequences for environmental law,” said Patrick Parenteau of the Vermont Law School.The ruling also raises broader questions about federal agencies’ ability to write regulations that have the force of law. John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who supported West Virginia’s position, welcomed the court’s dictate.“Certain basic policies have to be made by Congress, by our elected representatives, and can’t be transferred off to agencies,” he said.Coal burning plants that continue to operate elsewhere will only worsen air quality in New England, which sometimes is called the “tailpipe of the nation” because wind currents carry pollutants here from across the country.Those impacts won’t be felt equally; communities with the worst air quality tend to be lower income and more racially diverse. “It’s going to have massive impacts for environmental justice communities who are the ones impacted first and worst by our air quality,” said Staci Rubin of the Conservation Law Foundation in Massachusetts.The stakes get higher in later years in New England as the ocean around it is warming significantly faster than the rest of the globe, according to recent studies. And while the seas will rise due to historic greenhouse gas pollution, how much they rise is dictated by how quickly emissions are cut.Still, Massachusetts can to step into the breach and help push climate action forward. One key opportunity: Cooperation with other states.New England states already join together, soliciting offshore wind projects that boost demand and help to lower prices. And the court’s ruling makes such partnerships all the more important, said Melissa Birchard, an attorney at the Acadia Center.Jay Duffy, an attorney at Clean Air Task Force who represented environmental groups that challenged the repeal of the Clean Power Plan, believes the federal government could find ways to regulate emissions despite the decision.“We need to remain hopeful and optimistic and use all the tools available to us,” he said.Material from Globe wire services was used in this story.Dharna Noor can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @dharnanoor. Sabrina Shankman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @shankman. | Climate Change |
Without the ocean, climate change on land would be even more catastrophic. The seas have absorbed over 90 percent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, essentially saving humanity from itself. But it’s taking a toll: The ocean, too, is rapidly warming. And just as we have heat waves on land, parts of the ocean can experience temperature spikes too.New research exposes just how bad the problem has gotten. Researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium began their calculation by analyzing surface temperature data from 1870 to 1919, sampled from across the globe. (Yes, ships have been taking the ocean’s temperature for 150 years.) Once they knew the historical high temperatures for each month in different parts of the ocean, they had a baseline for marine temperature extremes before the escalation of climate change. In the 19th century, only 2 percent of the ocean surface experienced such extremes. Then they compared this data to readings in the same places taken from 1920 to 2019. Their results show that by the year 2014, half of the ocean surface was logging temperatures once considered extreme—exceeding those historical highs. By 2019, that figure was 57 percent. In 150 years, the occurrence of extreme heat had become the new normal. These spikes are different from the overall rise in water temperature, which is also caused by global warming. For one thing, a particular region can come back down off of a high when winter arrives. And the location of the spikes can vary over time, meaning some places were affected earlier than others. So while half the ocean surface was logging temperature extremes by 2014, the South Atlantic had actually crossed that threshold back in 1998. “And that is ludicrous,” says ecologist Kyle Van Houtan, president and CEO of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, who coauthored today’s paper in the journal PLOS Climate describing the findings. (Van Houtan did the research in his previous role as the chief scientist at the aquarium, with marine biologist Kisei Tanaka, now at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.) “There's some major changes going on right now in the ocean, and we think that this calculation, this index, of marine heat that we built is helping to describe why,” he continues. “I think extreme marine heat is much more of a problem than we thought it was. It's actually common today, which is scary, because historically it was just extreme—it was rare.”“The trends they're seeing are consistent with results from a lot of other papers that conclude that marine heat waves are becoming more frequent, they're warmer, and they're lasting longer,” says Bridget Seegers, an oceanographer at NASA, who wasn’t involved in the work. (She was, though, among the researchers who recently reported that 2021 was the sixth hottest year ever recorded.)Courtesy of Monterey Bay AquariumTake a look at the map above. The redder the area, the more months that it logged temperatures higher than that historical baseline measured between 1870 and 1919. Or, put another way, what used to be extreme is now normal in those red areas. Notice how in the 1980s the extreme heat was mostly around Antarctica, but by the 2010s it had spread all over the world, particularly around the equator.“Now, that's really concerning,” says Van Houtan, “because obviously that's the distribution of corals. Coral reefs in the past decade have had dramatic and widespread bleaching events.” This happens when warming waters stress the corals, causing them to release the photosynthetic algae that help them produce energy. Without energy, the corals die, contributing to the collapse of the reef ecosystem.Courtesy of Monterey Bay AquariumThe graphic above shows another way of looking at it by country. The areas that tallied the most months of extreme marine heat are the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, Tanzania on the east coast of Africa, and Micronesia in the Pacific—all of them are along the equator. You might have noticed a glaring exception to the overall heating trend in the first map. The Pacific Ocean off South America—that big blue blob on the map—resists extreme heat because of the upwelling of cold, deep waters. But, Van Houtan cautions, this shouldn’t be read as an indicator that this area is unaffected by climate change. “This is not a map of warming. Everywhere is warming,” he says. “This is a map of the occurrence of extreme heat. And so those large blue areas may be warming—and in fact, are warming—but they are areas that historically have had a lot of variability in those systems.” “Different places actually kind of take turns increasing rapidly,” agrees Daniel Rudnick, a physical oceanographer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who wasn’t involved in the new research. For example, Rudnick studies the North Pacific, where he saw a major increase in heat in 2014. “I think that's going to be the story in general, that different regions will kind of take their turns. There is a general trend for the whole Earth to warm, but how it will be happening in any region will be different.” Ocean depth plays a big role in how regions are affected. While the depth of the middle of the Pacific Ocean allows cooler waters to upwell, the shallower areas around tropical islands get no such relief. Island nations are at additional risk because water gets bigger as it gets hotter, a phenomenon known as thermal expansion. “The same mass of water takes up more volume, and so there you go—sea level rise,” says Rudnick. The world is getting warmer, the weather is getting worse. Here's everything you need to know about what humans can do to stop wrecking the planet.In fact, roughly half of human-caused sea level rise is from runoff from melting glaciers, and the other half is from warmer waters just taking up more space. But more locally, almost all of the regional variability in sea level rise is due to thermal expansion, Rudnick adds. The hotter the coastal water, the more the sea rises. This can happen quickly with extreme heat events, whereas sea level rise from ice melt happens at a, well, more glacial pace.The ecological consequences of rising heat—both in terms of overall warming and spikes from extreme heat—are both obvious and subtle. Species with the ability to flee, like fish, are moving toward the poles. “Like lobster, for example. We're seeing some dramatic changes in the geographic distribution of that fishery off the northeast US,” says Van Houtan. “There used to be a fishery in New York and New Jersey, and that is essentially nonexistent. And now Maine is thriving, but in 10 years Maine may be on the back side, and it may just be a Canadian fishery moving forward.” Similarly, subsistence fishers in the tropics may lose their livelihoods as entire fish populations move away.But species that are fixed in place, like sponges and corals, can’t leg it (or fin it) to cooler areas. “The fixed ones are likely going to be seeing absolute thresholds of heat that they can't coexist with, and so you're going to see a decline of those,” says Van Houtan. Extreme heat poses an additional danger, even for species that are already in the process of gradually migrating to cooler areas. “When you have these abrupt events like marine heat waves, they don't give any time for adaptation,” says Seegers. “So they can result in really high mortality. This happens across ecosystems from coral reefs to kelp forests, and they can cause seabirds to die.”“It can take the system years to recover,” Seegers adds, “because if you have a lot of mortality, it's not going to necessarily go right back to normal.”Further complicating matters, these heat extremes often coincide with low winds. The wind plays an important role in the ocean food chain, because it mixes the water, bringing up nutrients from the depths. Tiny photosynthetic organisms called phytoplankton rely on these nutrients, just the way the plants in your garden rely on fertilizer. These phytoplankton feed animal species called zooplankton, which feed fish, which feed marine mammals and seabirds. Losing the phytoplankton to extreme heat, then, assaults the base of the food web.And crucially, phytoplankton produce most of the oxygen in our atmosphere. “The reality is that we have two lungs on the planet: One of them's green—the forests—and the other one's blue—the ocean. The ocean supplies more than half of the oxygen that we breathe,” says Van Houtan. “It's no understatement to say that the ocean is the beating heart of our climate system, and the ocean is absolutely critical for sustaining human life on this planet.”The only way to keep that life support system online is by massively cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and fast. The oceans can’t take much more of this heat.More Great WIRED Stories📩 The latest on tech, science, and more: Get our newsletters!The quest to trap CO2 in stone—and beat climate changeThe trouble with Encanto? 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Published July 21, 2022 9:14AM article US Post Office, mail carrier loading truck. (Photo by: Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service said it will substantially increase the number of electric-powered vehicles it’s buying to replace its fleet of aging delivery trucks, after the Biden administration and environmental groups said the agency’s initial plan had too few electric vehicles and fell short of the administration’s climate change goals. The Postal Service now wants 50% of its initial purchase of 50,000 next-generation vehicles to be electric, up from the previous plan for 20% being electric. The first of those should be rolling onto delivery routes next year. It also proposes buying an additional 34,500 commercially available vehicles over two years, officials said. The Postal Service’s fleet currently includes 190,000 local delivery vehicles. A plan announced in February would have made just 10% of the agency’s next-generation fleet electric. The Environmental Protection Agency said the initial plan by the Postal Service, an independent agency, "underestimates greenhouse gas emissions, fails to consider more environmentally protective feasible alternatives and inadequately considers impacts on communities with environmental justice concerns." READ MORE: If you want an electric Toyota, you should buy it soon. Here's why The new environmental proposal effectively pauses the purchases at 84,500 total vehicles — 40% electric — even as the Postal Service seeks to buy up to 165,000 next-generation vehicles over a decade to replace delivery trucks that went into service between 1987 and 1994. More than 141,000 vehicles in service are the boxy, recognizable Grumman LLV model, which lack safety features like air bags, anti-lock brakes or backup cameras. Environmentalists have been fighting to reduce the number of gasoline-powered next-generation vehicles the Postal Service will buy. Those will get 14.7 miles per gallon (23.7 kilometers per gallon) without air conditioning, compared to 8.4 mpg (13.5 kpg) for the older vehicles, the Postal Service said. Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Wednesday he was happy to see the Postal Service committing to more electric vehicles, which he said will reduce operating costs for its fleet over the long run. "Electric vehicles are the future of the automotive industry and that is why I have been pressing the Postal Service to purchase more of them," said Peters, D-Mich. READ MORE: Tesla to open up Superchargers to non-Tesla electric vehicles in US later this year, White House says The proposal, to be posted in the Federal Register on Thursday, came after 16 states, environmental groups and a labor union sued to halt purchases of next-generation delivery vehicles under the initial plan that was skewed heavily toward gas-powered trucks. Future purchases would focus on smaller amounts of vehicles in shorter intervals than the original 10-year environmental analysis, officials said. The goal is to be more responsive to the Postal Service’s evolving operational strategy, technology improvements and changing market conditions, the Postal Service said in a statement. A public hearing on the new proposal will be held next month. The Postal Service was cleared to place the initial order with the manufacturer, Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense, in late February after announcing it cleared a final administrative hurdle. But a government watchdog testified in April that the Postal Service relied on false assumptions as it evaluated the original plan. This comes against a backdrop of U.S. automobile manufacturers expanding the number of electric vehicle models targeting the mainstream market. READ MORE: Why Chevrolet is offering partial refunds to Bolt owners Earthjustice, which joined in one of the lawsuits, said the Postal Service is starting to get the message on the need for electric delivery vehicles. "Ultimately, the entire postal fleet needs to be electrified to deliver clean air in every neighborhood in the country and avoid volatile gas prices," said Adrian Martinez, senior attorney on Earthjustice’s Right to Zero campaign. In addition to modern safety equipment, the next-generation delivery vehicles are taller, which makes it easier for postal carriers to grab the packages that make up a greater share of volume. They also have improved ergonomics and climate control. | Climate Change |
A bleached ‘bathtub ring’ is visible on the banks of Lake Mead near the Hoover Dam on August 19, 2022 in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona.Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)Officials out West are worried that crucial reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin states are going to run dry in only three years if significant water reductions aren’t implemented soon.OffEnglishAt a conference last Friday, Colorado River Water Conservation District General Manager Andy Mueller told attendees that major cuts need to be made to preserve water in those reservoirs for years to come, E&E News reported. “If we don’t reduce our demands, we’re going to really see those reservoirs really hit a crisis,” Mueller said, according to E&E News. “I’m not talking about in 20 years, I’m talking about in the next three or four years.”Mueller told conference attendees that scientists recommend water managers in Basin states—Nevada, Arizona, California, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico—plan on using about a fourth less water than the amount used in 2021, CPR News reported. This recommendation comes after an effort to lower water usage this past summer. During a Senate hearing discussing the Western drought in June, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation gave water managers in the Colorado River Basin states 60 days to create an emergency plan to significantly lower water usage to preserve the Colorado River. They were ordered to stop using up to 4 million acre-feet of water by the next year, according to CPR News. That’s more than 1.3 trillion gallons of water. The Basin states failed to meet the mid-August deadline.There’s a reason for the urgency. The Colorado River is a critical body of water that flows for over 1,400 miles and provides water to seven states that are considered part of the Colorado River Basin. They’re divided into the Lower Basin, which includes Nevada, Arizona, and California, and the Upper Basin, which includes Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The river provides water to more than 40 million people across that region and helps irrigate about 50 million acres of farmland, according to CPR News. But the ongoing drought has lowered its water levels, and earlier this year, it took on the sobering title of America’s Most Endangered River of 2022.G/O Media may get a commission40% OffSamsung Galaxy Buds LiveListen upThese are some of the best earbuds Samsung users can get and feature active noise cancelling, incredible sound quality, and a long-lasting fast-charging battery. Officials have drawn water from Upper Basin reservoirs in recent years, like the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming, to support Lake Powell’s ability continue generating hydropower. But Mueller said it was unsustainable to continue drawing water from the Upper Basin. “The idea that our water users and communities would suffer the economic harm associated with reducing water use, only to continue to feed that lower basin addiction, is untenable from our perspective,” he said, according to CPR News. Western states are naturally drier than other regions of the U.S., but a combination of increased water usage and climate change have created drier-than-normal conditions this year. There have been signs of the widespread trouble to come for some time: the American West is in the middle of the worst megadrought in over 1,000 years, supercharged by climate change.This past winter was the driest in about 128 years out West. Snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains is supposed to be about 5 feet at the end of the season, but earlier this year there was only 2.5 inches of snow. This meant that there wouldn’t be enough snowmelt to help refill drying waterways and reservoirs. NOAA predicted widespread drought for this spring and summer. By mid-July, Western states had water restrictions and major reservoirs were seeing historically low levels. | Climate Change |
October 10, 2022 08:12 PM For William Shatner, one of the biggest feelings he felt during his trip to space last year was grief. The 91-year-old actor, famous for playing Capt. James Kirk in Star Trek, reflected on his actual space journey in a book titled Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, which was released on Tuesday. Once he and his other crew members made it out into space, Shatner described the view of space as a "cold, dark, black emptiness," unlike the mystery and majestic view he was expecting to see, according to Variety. "It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered," Shatner wrote. "The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna ... things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind. It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral." WATCH: SUN SPEWS PLASMA CLOUD IN GIANT SOLAR PROMINENCE CAUGHT ON VIDEO William Shatner attends the Shatner on Shatner panel on Day One of Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 21, 2022, in San Diego. In an excerpt from Shatner’s new book, Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, he described his trip into space in 2021 as "among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered" when looking into the deepness of space. Richard Shotwell/Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Shatner wrote that he was not alone in his feelings, as other astronauts — including Yuri Gagarin, Michael Collins, and Sally Ride — have experienced similar feelings during their trips to space. The feeling is known as the “Overview Effect,” which occurs in someone when he or she travels to space and feels "a sense of the planet’s fragility" when looking at Earth from orbit, Shatner wrote. In June, Shatner stated that he broke into tears following his space flight when he thought about climate change. After landing back on Earth, he told Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Blue Origin, that he wished to "never recover from this." "It's going to get worse!" Shatner said. "It's like somebody owing money on a mortgage, and they don't have the payments, and they think, 'Oh well, let's go to dinner and not think about it.'" CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Thursday will mark the first anniversary of Shatner's flight, in which he became the oldest person to travel to space in a rocket at 90 years old. The four-member crew traveling on the Blue Origin rocket included Shatner, tech mogul and entrepreneur Glen de Vries, Blue Origin Vice President Audrey Powers, and former NASA engineer Dr. Chris Boshuizen. | Climate Change |
Published July 1, 2022 3:49PM Updated 4:19PM LAS VEGAS - A sunken boat dating back to World War II is the latest object to emerge from a shrinking reservoir that straddles Nevada and Arizona. The Higgins landing craft that has long been 185 feet (56 meters) below the surface is now nearly halfway out of the water at Lake Mead. The boat lies less than a mile from Lake Mead Marina and Hemingway Harbor. It was used to survey the Colorado River decades ago, sold to the marina and then sunk, according to dive tours company Las Vegas Scuba. LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, NEVADA - JULY 01: A sunken World War II-Era Higgins landing craft that used to be nearly 200 feet underwater is being revealed near the Lake Mead Marina as the waterline continues to lower on July 01, 2022 in the L (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Higgins Industries in New Orleans built several thousand landing craft between 1942 and 1945, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Around 1,500 "Higgins boats" were deployed at Normandy on June 6, 1944, known as D-Day. The boat is just the latest in a series of objects unearthed by declining water levels in Lake Mead, the largest human-made reservoir in the U.S., held back by the Hoover Dam. In May, two sets of human remains were found in the span of a week. Experts say climate change and drought have led to the lake dropping to its lowest level since it was full about 20 years ago. As water levels drop at both Lake Mead and Lake Powell upstream on the Arizona-Utah line, states in the U.S. West increasingly face deeper cuts to their supply from the Colorado River. The lower levels also impact hydropower produced at Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back Lake Powell. LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, ARIZONA - JUNE 24: A 'bathtub ring' of mineral deposits left by higher water levels is visible at the drought-stricken Lake Mead on June 24, 2022 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona. The U.S. Bureau (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton said last month that the agency would take action to protect the system if the seven states in the Colorado River basin don’t quickly come up with a way to cut the use of up to 4 million acre-feet of water — more than Arizona and Nevada’s share combined. An acre-foot is about 325,850 gallons (about 1.23 million liters). An average household uses one-half to one acre-foot of water a year. The two states, California and Mexico already have enacted voluntary and mandatory cuts. Water from some reservoirs in the upper basin — Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah — has been released to prop up Lake Powell. Farmers use a majority of the river’s supply. Related stories Lake Mead: Drought-stricken reservoir near Vegas hits new lowest level since 1930sTucson may forego some water to help keep Lake Mead level upBody in barrel could be first of more gruesome discoveries at Lake Mead as drought worsens | Climate Change |
MSNBC host Chris Hayes called the Supreme Court EPA decision a "threat to the planet." NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! On Thursday, the Supreme Court made another consequential ruling that caused leftists to meltdown on social media.The Court dealt the progressives and the climate change agenda a blow with its highly anticipated decision in the West Virginia v. EPA case. The 6-3 decision ruled "that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot pass sweeping regulations that could overhaul entire industries without additional congressional approval," Fox Business reported.In the Court’s opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts claimed, "it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme." He added that such regulatory power "rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body."The case originated from the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan which was started in 2015 to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. As Fox Business noted, the Court put Obama’s plan "on hold" in 2016 until it was repealed by the Trump administration and replaced by the Affordable Clean Energy Rule.AOC CALLS SUPREME COURT EPA RULING ON POWER PLANT EMISSIONS 'CATASTROPHIC' FILE - Steam billows from a coal-fired power plant Nov. 18, 2021, in Craig, Colo. The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 30, 2022, limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. ((AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File))This latest decision puts a cap on the executive branch’s power in making large-scale environmental regulations.However, this check on executive power was met with scorn from progressive politicians and leftist journalists.Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., raged on Twitter, demanding that Democrats discard the filibuster for the sake of the planet. "Catastrophic. A filibuster carveout is not enough. We need to reform or do away with the whole thing, for the sake of the planet."Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., put out an alarmist tweet, writing, "Our planet is on fire, and this extremist Supreme Court has destroyed the federal government’s ability to fight back."She then slammed the Court’s legitimacy, adding, "This radical Supreme Court is increasingly facing a legitimacy crisis, and we can't let them have the last word."MSNBC host Chris Hayes expressed shock over the decision, tweeting, "Run out of words to describe this court, but, among other things, it's now a threat to the planet." Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., lamented the SCOTUS decision in West Virginia v. EPA. Photo credit: iStock HOW MITCH MCCONNELL PLAYING 'LONG GAME' SHAPED THE SUPREME COURT AND LED TO THE END OF ABORTION LANDMARK ROEMSNBC executive Kyle Griffin shared Senator Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., remarks on the decision over Twitter. Schumer reportedly claimed, "The Republican-appointed majority of the MAGA Court is pushing the country back to a time when robber barons and corporate elites have complete power and average citizens have no say."Former President Barack Obama tweeted about the urgency of the Court’s decision. "No challenge poses a greater threat to our future than a changing climate. Every day, we’re feeling the impact of climate change, and today’s Supreme Court decision is a major step backward."ABC White House correspondent Mary Alice Parks tweeted fearfully, "Who is going to save the planet?"Former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather similarly took to Twitter to offer this hostile take on the ruling, "Dear Supreme Court, Thanks for nothing. - Planet Earth."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., claimed the "extremist Supreme Court has destroyed the federal government’s ability" to fight climate change. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Gabriel Hays is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @gabrieljhays. | Climate Change |
A haze of wildfire smoke obscures the afternoon sun in Oakland, California, September 8, 2020.Michael Mechanic Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Millions of Americans are now routinely exposed to unhealthy plumes of wildfire smoke that can waft thousands of miles across the country, scientists have warned.
Wildfires cause soot and ash to be thrown off into the air, which then carries the minuscule particles that can be inhaled by people many miles away, aggravating a variety of health conditions. The number of people in the US exposed to unhealthy levels of these particulates from wildfires at least one day a year has increased 27-fold over the last decade, a new study found, with 25 million people in 2020 alone breathing in potentially toxic air from fires.
Pockets of deeply unhealthy air have emerged mainly in the US west, the staging ground for wildfires of increasing intensity that have been fueled by years of fire suppression and global heating, priming forests to burn. Six of the seven largest wildfires in California’s recorded history have occurred since 2020.
Wildfire smoke can result in the closure of schools, the postponement of flights and even cause cycling races and Pearl Jam concerts to be canceled. But its most pervasive impact is a regression in air quality barely seen since the advent of the Clean Air Act in 1970, which helped lift dangerous, choking smog conditions from many polluted US cities.
“We are seeing the undoing of a lot of that clean air progress, especially in the west,” said Marshall Burke, a scientist at Stanford University and co-author of the study published in Environmental Science and Technology.
“There’s been really dramatic increases in wildfire smoke as air pollution, in some places fully reversing the impact of the Clean Air Act. It’s been remarkably quick. Our air pollution regulations are not designed to deal with this. It’s a worrying problem.” The new study is based on a model that calculates how wildfire smoke has raised background pollution levels in locations across the US. It measures the presence of PM2.5, tiny particles about one-thirtieth of the width of a human hair that can travel through the air and bury themselves deep in the lungs of people when inhaled.
Wildfire smoke has added about five micrograms of these particles to locations in the US west, on average, which is a sizable increase from national levels, which are about 10 micrograms from other sources of particulate pollution, such as the emissions from cars, trucks and power plants.
Unlike these other sources, which are regulated by government, wildfire smoke is less predictable, reaches farther and is more egalitarian in whom it affects—the wealthy and white as well as poor people of color who are disproportionately exposed to pollution from nearby highways and factories.
“Wildfires produce an amazing amount of particulates that can travel thousands of miles, unlike other pollution,” said Burke. Last summer, New York experienced some of the worst air quality in the world due to smoke from wildfires several thousand miles away on the west coast of the US.
A decade ago, fewer than 500,000 people in the US were exposed to any days of an air quality index of 100 or above due to smoke, a level that is deemed unhealthy. Now, Burke said, 5 million Americans are living in areas with such levels at least one day a year.
“If you don’t live near a highway or power plant your air quality is likely to be fairly good, but incursion from wildfire smoke is changing that and there’s evidence this will increase,” he said. “Honestly, it was surprising to see how quickly these extreme exposures have gone up.”
The dangers posed by wildfire smoke are of increasing concern for experts in various places around the world—a summer of intense wildfires in Spain, France and Portugal has resulted in Europe’s highest wildfire emissions in 15 years. The probability of catastrophic wildfire events around the globe will increase by 30 percent by the end of the century even if planet-heating gases are rapidly cut, according to the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
“As the globe warms, wildfires and associated air pollution are expected to increase, even under a low emissions scenario. In addition to human health impacts, this will also affect ecosystems as air pollutants settle from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface,” said Petteri Taalas, secretary general of the World Meteorological Organization.
“We have seen this in the heatwaves in Europe and China this year when stable high atmospheric conditions, sunlight and low wind speeds were conducive to high pollution levels.”
Research has linked wildfire smoke to the worsening of several conditions. Fierce wildfires in California in 2020 caused people to inhale smoke that raised their risk of heart attacks by up to 70 percent, a study found, with the smoke causing an estimated 3,000 deaths in people older than 65.
A separate study published in May found that people living within 31 miles of wildfires over the past decade had a 10 percent higher incidence of brain tumors and a 5 percent higher chance of developing lung cancer compared with people living farther away.
Breathing in wildfire smoke while pregnant, meanwhile, raises the risk of premature birth and even worsens outcomes for people who contract Covid-19. Francesca Dominici, a Harvard University professor who led the research on the link between wildfire smoke and Covid, said Burke’s new study is “well validated” and an “exciting area of research.”
“The results are interesting and concerning,” Dominici said, adding that there is “emergent evidence” that PM2.5 from smoke is more toxic than particles from other sources.
George Thurston, an environmental health scientist at the NYU School of Medicine, said that there is still more to be learned about the impact of wildfire smoke, with some research suggesting fossil fuel combustion is in fact more harmful, but that the new study is an “important addition” to the estimates of exposure of wildfire smoke.
“We need studies like this to assess how big a risk this is, because the Environmental Protection Agency exempts these fires from air quality standards,” Thurston said. “This sort of work helps us to work out if new standards are required.”
Burke said the threat of smoke became obvious to many in California in 2020 when the skies over the San Francisco Bay Area turned orange. Some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the world have suffered from poor indoor air quality due to smoke, alleviated only by air filtration.
“The sun never came up in the Bay Area, which really brought home this is a different era we are living in,” Burke said. “We naively thought we were safe in our homes but the health guidance is inadequate. In my own home I closed all the windows and doors and yet I got a monitor and found the indoor air quality was appalling.”
Drastic cuts to greenhouse gases, better forest management where fuels are thinned or burned away in a controlled manner and improved guidance to households will all be required to improve the situation, Burke said. “We shouldn’t think about wildfires just in terms of numbers of homes burned down but also how many people have been exposed to pollution, because there are huge impacts that we just aren’t thinking about,” he said. | Climate Change |
EnvironmentReferenceDetermining a carbon footprint is easier said than done, and it’s not clear how much weight we should put on it.As awareness of climate change grows, so does the desire to do something about it. But the scale of the problems it causes—from wildfires to melting glaciers to droughts—can seem utterly overwhelming. It can be hard to make a connection between our everyday lives and the survival of polar bears, let alone how we as individuals can help turn the situation around.One way to gain a quantifiable understanding of the impacts of our actions, for good and bad, is through what is known as a carbon footprint. But while the concept is gaining traction—Googling “How do I reduce my carbon footprint?” yields almost 27 million responses—it is not always fully understood.What is a carbon footprint?So, what exactly is a carbon footprint? According to Mike Berners-Lee, a professor at Lancaster University in the UK and author of The Carbon Footprint of Everything, it is “the sum total of all the greenhouse gas emissions that had to take place in order for a product to be produced or for an activity to take place.”For most consumers in developed countries, these products and activities tend to fall into four principal categories: household energy use, transport, food, and everything else, which is mostly the products we buy, from utensils to clothes to cars to television sets.Each of these activities and products has its own footprint; a person’s carbon footprint is the combined total of the products they buy and use, the activities they undertake, and so on. A person who regularly consumes beef will have a larger food footprint than his vegan neighbor, but that neighbor’s overall footprint may be larger if she drives an hour to work and back in an SUV each day while our meat-eater bicycles to his office nearby. Both their footprints may pale in comparison to the businesswoman across the street, who flies first-class cross-country twice a month.Unsurprisingly, in general terms the size of a person’s carbon footprint tends to increase with wealth. In his book, Berners-Lee writes that the average global citizen has a carbon footprint that is equivalent to the emission of seven tons of carbon dioxide per year. However, that figure is approximately 13 tons for the average Briton and roughly 21 tons per person in the United States.; The “average American takes just a couple of days to match the annual footprint of the average Nigerian or Malian,” he writes.How is a carbon footprint calculated?It isn’t easy to calculate a carbon footprint; indeed, Berners-Lee calls it the “essential but impossible” measurement.Consider, for example, the personal carbon cost of taking a commercial flight. On the one hand, the calculation is straightforward: take how much fuel a plane burns and how many greenhouse gases are emitted during the course of a flight and divide by the number of passengers. But the footprint is larger for first-and-business-class passengers, because they take up more space and because their higher cost creates an extra incentive for the flight to actually take place. Other considerations include how much cargo the plane is carrying, and the altitude at which the plane flies.Even so, it is a relatively simple calculation compared to assessing the emissions involved in every step of, say, the manufacture of a car: the emissions that take place at the assembly plant, the generation of electricity to power that plant, the transport of all the component items, the factories at which the components were made, the creation of the machinery used at those factories and at the assembly plant and so on, all the way back to the extraction of the minerals that are the car’s building blocks.Because of the complexity involved in such calculations, Berners-Lee concedes that in such cases it is “never possible to be completely accurate.” The good news, he argues, is that for most individuals, that doesn’t matter. “Usually, it’s good enough just to have a broad idea,” he says.What steps a person can take to reduce their personal footprint the most of course depends on the kind of lifestyle they presently live, and the same actions are not equally effective for everyone. For example, switching to an electric car is far more impactful in Vermont, where more than half the state’s electricity is generated by hydropower, than in West Virginia, where it is almost entirely generated by coal. Berners-Lee notes that, “for some people, flying may be 10 percent of their footprint, for some people it’s zero, and for some it’s such a huge number that it should be the only thing they should be thinking about.”A cornucopia of calculatorsTo that end, in recent years, a veritable cornucopia of personal carbon footprint calculators has emerged online. By entering information about your household energy use, food consumption, and travel habits, for example, these calculators aim to provide you with an approximation of the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted to support your way of life. This one from the Nature Conservancy focuses on home energy use, transportation, diet, and shopping; this, from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, also considers transportation and energy use but adds in waste—specifically, how much you recycle. It also enables you to calculate how much your footprint could be reduced by taking steps such as insulating your home, driving less, or procuring a more fuel-efficient vehicle. This one shows just how much of an idealized personal carbon budget is taken up by consuming two large cheeseburgers a month or spending two nights in a hotel.Are carbon footprints just fossil fuel propaganda?It has been claimed that the earliest such calculator appeared in 2004 as part of the “Beyond Petroleum” campaign of oil giant BP—a fact that causes some observers to criticize the pressure to reduce personal carbon footprints as a “sham” to “promote the slant that climate change is not the fault of an oil giant, but that of individuals.”“A few years ago, Shell promoted a tweet into my thread that asked, ‘What are you doing to reduce your carbon footprint?’” recalls Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a professor at Texas Tech University. “So, I replied with something along the lines of, ‘You are responsible for 2 percent of global emissions, equivalent to the entire country of Canada; when you have a plan to get rid of those, I’d be happy to talk to you about my personal carbon footprint.’ And they hid my reply.”“It’s really important that all of us think about what we’re consuming, whether it’s fish or furniture or air conditioning: where it came from, what impact it had,” says Kert Davies, director of the Climate Investigations Center. “But industry then turned it around and made it: ‘It’s not our fault, you’re using our product. You deal with it.’”That is all the more egregious, he argues, given that the fossil fuel industry has directly fought to limit some of the measures that are often cited as ways for people to reduce their personal carbon footprints: more fuel-efficient vehicle standards, or clean energy technology, for example.“If not for fossil fuel companies, you would already be driving an EV, your house would be more efficient to run if industry hadn’t blocked solutions and obscured the truth about the urgency of addressing climate change,” Davies adds.Do carbon footprint calculators have a role?Hayhoe argues that there are other problems with the concept of personal carbon footprints, not least the fact that many of the proposed means to reduce those footprints are unavailable to those who, for example, don’t have access to public transport, or can’t afford the upfront cost of an electric car or a heat pump, or who live in food deserts, where healthier, lower-impact foods such as vegetables and grains are harder to come by.“There’s a role for the personal carbon footprint concept in high income countries among middle-to-high income people,” she explains. “There’s a very big role for the personal carbon footprint among the very richest people in the world. But we have to realize it is a limited concept—it does not apply to everyone.”In addition, she argues, acting by ourselves is just one small part of what is required to affect change in a system that, despite the best individual efforts, remains dominated by the production and use of fossil fuels.“I would say personal carbon footprint calculators are a useful tool to assess the impact of your immediate actions: where you live, where you travel, what you eat,” she says. “But what’s much more important than your personal carbon footprint is your climate shadow. Where do you keep your money? How do you vote? What about the businesses you work with, or the university you’re a part of, or the Rotary Club of which you’re a member—what are they doing, and how could you advocate for change?“So, in a nutshell, when people ask me what they should do, I say: Do something, anything, but then talk about it. The only way to bring the carbon footprint of everybody in rich countries to where it needs to be for a sustainable planet is to change the system, and to change the system we have to use our voice.” | Climate Change |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Equating the oil and gas industry to Big Tobacco, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that “fossil fuel producers and financiers have humanity by the throat.” But President Joe Biden wasn’t quite itching for a fight.
Watch Biden’s remarks in the player above.
With both soaring energy prices and a warming planet weighing on the world at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, Biden talked about trying to ease the pain of high gas prices while pushing more long-term green policies.
Dismissing the idea of boosting gasoline production, the United Nations’ top diplomat threw out traditional diplomatic niceties and bluntly vilified the fossil fuel industry at a virtual session that included oil rich Saudi Arabia, China, Europe and Egypt, which is hosting the next United Nations summit on climate change. It was the first time Guterres compared the energy industry to tobacco interests, saying they use “the same scandalous tactics” to delay action that is good for people and the planet.
Biden reiterated his goal to lower gasoline prices that are averaging a record $5 a gallon in the U.S. while also shifting away from fossil fuels in order to limit climate change and the risks it presents.
“I’m using every lever available to me to bring down prices for the American people,” Biden said. “But the critical point is that these actions are part of our transition to a clean and secure and long-term energy future.”
Biden is also expected to visit Saudi Arabia next month. The White House recently praised the kingdom after OPEC+ announced that it would pump more oil to boost the global supply.
READ MORE: We have the tools to save the planet from climate change. Politics is getting in the way, new IPCC report says
Guterres dismissed more drilling, saying “nothing could be more clear or present than the danger of fossil fuel expansion.”
“Even in the short-term, fossil fuels don’t make political or economic sense,” Guterres said.
“Had we invested earlier and massively in renewable energy, we would not find ourselves once again at the mercy of unstable fossil fuel markets,” Guterres said. “Let’s make sure the war in Ukraine is not used to increase that dependency.”
“It is very interesting to see the change in tone from the secretary-general. His language is blunter than any secretary general before him,” said Niklas Hohne of the New Climate Institute in Germany. “This comes at a time when we indeed observe a goldrush to new fossil fuel infrastructure… Such expansion is counterproductive to climate policy as it would lock the world into a high greenhouse gas future.”
In a statement, the American Petroleum Institute said governments and the industry need to work together: “Rising energy costs worldwide and current geopolitical tensions prove it is more important than ever to ensure continued access to affordable, reliable energy while reducing emissions. As populations grow and economies expand, the world will demand more energy, not less.”
Biden sounded the alarm on extreme weather events in an Oval Office interview on Thursday with The Associated Press.
“We have more hurricanes and tornadoes and flooding,” he said. “People saw what — I took my kids years ago to Yellowstone Park. They call me, ‘Daddy did you see what happened at Yellowstone, right?’ Well, it’s unthinkable. These are 1,000-year kinds of events.”
READ MORE: Nationwide average for gasoline tops $5 per gallon, AAA says
But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has scrambled Biden’s climate goals by driving up the cost of gas. Facing political pressure to get prices under control in a midterm election year, the Democratic president has urged U.S. oil refiners to produce more fuel even as companies say they lack the long-term incentives to do so because the administration is accelerating the move to clean energy.
“Well, I say in the short term, do the right thing,” Biden said Thursday, stressing his view that energy companies should increase production instead of trying to maximize their profits.
Biden comes to the summit with foreign leaders with far less of the climate ambition and hope he declared at the outset of his presidency, when he vowed to make the United States a leader again on slashing fossil fuel emissions to stave off the worst scenarios of global warming. Republicans and some Democrats since then have stalled and all but killed Biden’s most ambitious climate legislation.
While Biden has succeeded in securing funding to boost electric vehicles and some other climate measures, the setbacks have left Biden focused on voluntary pledges and initiatives like those Friday, which can easily be abandoned or reversed by future leaders.
That leaves Guterres, who doesn’t have the power or political limitations of Biden, to aim directly at the fossil fuel industry, saying they’ve “invested heavily in pseudo-science and public relations – with a false narrative to minimize their responsibility for climate change and undermine ambitious climate policies.”
Andrew Weaver, a University of Victoria climate scientist and former Canadian legislator, said Guterres’ equating the fossil fuel and tobacco industry “is a straight out comparison.”
But Stanford University climate scientist and environment program director Chris Field said Guterres’ call to action “as exactly right” but said “we need to make sure that we don’t let the focus on fossil fuel companies as bad guys slow progress on solutions.”
Ellen Knickmeyer and Josh Boak contributed to this report from Washington. | Climate Change |
drone footage of flooded houses Floods across Pakistan forced tens of thousands of people out of their homes overnight. Torrential rains and flooding have submerged a third of Pakistan and killed more than 1,191 people, including 399 children as the United Nations appealed for aid on Tuesday for what it described as an "unprecedented climate catastrophe."
The country has received nearly twice as much rain than the 30-year average in the quarter through August this year, totalling 390.7 millimetres (15.38 inches). Sindh province, with a population of 50 million, was hardest hit, getting 471% more rain than the 30-year average. A dot plot graphic showing how heavy this year’s rain is compared to Pakistan's 30 year average. It is 188% above the normal rainfall expected across the country with the province of Sindh experiencing 471% more rain than normal. The floods have affected the southeastern province of Sindh and neighbouring Balochistan the most. Sindh is the second most populated province after Punjab, and Balochistan is the largest but the least populated. "One third of the country is literally under water," Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman told Reuters, describing the scale of the disaster as "a catastrophe of unknown precedent"._x000b_
She said the water was not going to recede anytime soon. This a map of Pakistan showing the density of population across the country. It shows that most of the population is close to the Indus valley basin and is concentrated near its main cities of Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. This a zoomed in map of Sindh showing the extent of flooding across the entire region. The deluge of the floods has spread far beyond the river basin and is home to about 30 million people. The area of the map covers nearly the entire region of Sindh, the worst affected area of the flooding. Sindh and Balochistan have also the most damage to human life and infrastructure, though other parts of the country are also severely affected._x000b__x000b_Satellite imagery shows extensive damage even in the south of Punjab province in an area called Rojhan. Houses on the banks of the Indus have been swept away and many farming towns have lost their crops. Two satellite images put side by side showing how the monsoon has affected and destroyed villages and homes. One image is town that is now partially underwater due to the rain, but still has building According to the National Disaster Management Authority, floods since mid-June have fully damaged over 370 thousand houses while over 730 thousand more have been partially damaged. Eight-four percent of this damage has been reported from Sindh province alone. The northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eastern Punjab provinces also saw extensive damage.
Sindh and Balochistan also accounted for more than 50% of the flood-related deaths in this monsoon season.
As of Wednesday, half of Pakistan’s districts have been declared calamity-hit according to the NDMA.
Colossal volumes of water are pouring into the Indus river, which flows down the middle of the country from its northern peaks to southern plains, bringing flooding along its length. Casualities from June 14 to Aug. 31 Damage to houses from June 14 to Aug. 31 The country has also reported damage to about 5,000 km of road and 243 bridges. Balochistan has lost about a half million head of livestock in the floods.
The flood waters have washed away roads, crops, infrastructure and bridges, and have affected telecommunication services in some parts of Pakistan. A main supply route from the port city of Karachi has been cut for more than a week after a bridge linking it to Balochistan was swept away, while dozens of small dams in the province were overwhelmed.
Provisional data from provincial Education Departments show that at least 17,566 schools have been damaged or destroyed, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest report on the floods.
According to Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, early estimates put the damage from the floods at more than $10 billion. A group of people travel in a boat as it passes submerged houses amid flood waters, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Mehar, Pakistan, August 31, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroA general view of the submerged houses, following rains and floods during the monsoon season, in Dera Allah Yar, Jafferabad, Pakistan August 30, 2022. REUTERS/StringerA man walks through rain waters, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Jacobabad, Pakistan August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro Pakistan had been reporting flood-related deaths and injuries for the past two months, though the numbers have shot up at a faster pace in recent weeks. About a quarter of all the deaths have been reported over the past week. Deaths reported Add a description of the graphic for screen readers. This is invisible on the page. "Pakistan is awash in suffering," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video message, as the United Nations launched an appeal for $160 million to help the South Asian nation. "The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids - the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding."
Nearly 300 stranded people, including some tourists, were airlifted in northern Pakistan on Tuesday, a state-run disaster management agency said in a statement, while over 50,000 people were moved to two government shelters in the northwest.
"Life is very painful here," 63-year-old villager Hussain Sadiq, who at a shelter with his parents and five children, told Reuters, adding that his family had "lost everything" Note
Data as of Aug. 31, 2022
Sources
Global Precipitation Measurement, NASA; Natural Earth; Shuttle Radar Topography Mission; Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority; Worldpop; Maxar Technologies; Landsat; OpenStreetMap
Edited by
Anand Katakam and Robert Birsel | Climate Change |
In northern Italy, a helicopter team is on a grim mission.They're heading to the site of a fatal glacier collapse.
Their job is to locate the dead."If we see anything like parts of equipment or clothes, I'll retrieve it," says Riccardo Manfredi, one of the Guardia di Finanza search and rescue team.On Sunday, a huge chunk of the glacier on Marmolada mountain broke off, triggering a landslide as it hurtled down the slope. Experts say 260,000 cubic metres of snow, rock and ice fell at speeds of more 300km an hour. There was little warning; no chance to escape.
At least 10 people have been confirmed dead. More on Italy Rescuers find body parts after deadly avalanche on Italian glacier Worst drought in 70 years causes state of emergence in northern Italy Deadly glacier avalanche linked to climate change, says Italian PM 'It's not normal'As the helicopter flies closer to the mountain, you can clearly see the hollowed-out area where the collapse happened.It's believed a warm winter with less snow and a summer heatwave melted the ice, making it unstable. Image: The Guardia di Finanza search and rescue team Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi has said the incident is "without doubt" linked to climate change.The rescue teams have also noticed the changing environment."It's not normal this high temperature - and we see the glacier has melted. Probably, in the next decade the glacier will have disappeared," says Mr Manfredi.Soaring temperatures have sparked a state of emergency in five areas of northern Italy due to drought.Water levels have dropped eight meters in some stretches of Italy's longest river, the Po. Image: Boats sunk during WWII are now visible in the Po In the town of Gualtieri in Emilia-Romagna, boats sunk during World War Two are again clearly visible due to the plummeting river level."I've never experienced a situation like this in my all life. It's so dramatic. We know well what the lack of water means in this area [for the economy]. I've never seen a situation like this," local mayor Renzo Bergamini tells us.But experts say the sizzling summer is part of a wider trend."This kind of summer is actually what we expect for climate change. It's a signal of climate change," says Susanna Corti, director of research at the Italian National Research Council."In the future, in the different [scientific] scenarios and, in particular, in the more extreme scenarios where there is no mitigation in terms of emission of CO2, we would expect exactly what we are seeing." Image: Parmigiano Reggiano in Italy Even the world-famous cheese Parmigiano Reggiano is being affected - the extreme heat is hitting milk supplies.Parma-based farmer Luca Cotti says the drought has damaged the tightly regulated crops needed to feed his cows.The high temperatures also stress the herd, reducing the amount of milk they produce.Read more:Britain could hit 40C by mid-July Image: Luca Cotti is a dairy farmer "In the stables, the high temperatures cause the animals' appetites to decline, [causing a] decrease in production and in the long-run a decrease in fertility," he explains."We must survive. We are already designing air-conditioned stables to adapt our business. Another solution, our 'Coldiretti' organisation has been calling for, is for authorities to create water containment basins."People here have no choice; they must adapt: saving water, changing crops, and braving the heat as Italy bakes. | Climate Change |
By Andre Rhoden-PaulBBC NewsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The average temperature in England this summer was 17.1CEngland has had its joint hottest summer on record, the Met Office says. Provisional figures show the summer of 2022 - covering June, July and August - had an average temperature of 17.1C.This year's summer tied with 2018 for the warmest, according to records stretching back to 1884. It means four of the five warmest summers on record have happened since 2003, as the effects of climate change are felt on the nation's summer temperatures, the Met Office said. This year's summer included the record-breaking heat in July when temperatures in the UK exceeded 40C for the first time as part of a widespread heatwave. Hot and dry conditions have dried up rivers, damaged crops and fuelled wildfires, as well as leaving much of England in drought. For both England and the UK as a whole, it has been the driest year so far since 1976, according to the UK meteorological service's provisional data. For England, 2022 has also seen the sixth driest summer since records began in 1836.Overall, the UK saw just 62% of its average summer rainfall. Dr Mark McCarthy, from the National Climate Information Centre, said: "For many this summer's record-breaking heat in July - where temperatures reached 40.3°C at Coningsby in Lincolnshire - will be the season's most memorable aspect. "However, for England to achieve its joint warmest summer takes more than extreme heat over a couple of days, so we shouldn't forget that we experienced some persistently warm and hot spells through June and August too." Fourth warmest summer for UKFor the UK overall, 2022 was provisionally the fourth warmest summer. It was also the eighth warmest summer for both Scotland and Wales and the 12th warmest for Northern Ireland. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, This summer has also been the driest year so far for both the UK and England since 1976, according to provisional figuresDr McCarthy added: "The average temperature for January to August for the UK in 2022 has been 10.51°C, making this year so far warmer than the previous record of 10.2°C in 2014. "It is too early to speculate on how the year overall will finish, but the persistent warm conditions are certainly notable and have certainly been made more likely by climate change." A spokesman for the Met Office said it was not uncommon for provisional figures to change slightly after verification. He added average temperature data was used to make the hottest joint summer declaration as it was a robust measure taking into account day and night temperatures. | Climate Change |
Prak Nhorn has no hope for his rice crop this year.
“When I transplant seedlings, they die out. The salt is still in the soil,” said the farmer from Slab Ta Aon village, a riverside settlement roughly 150 kilometers southwest of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, and 4 kilometers from the green, mangrove-lined coast of Kampot province.
The farmer said that saltwater has destroyed rice paddies in Slab Ta Aon village for the past two years. Prak Nhorn, 55, doubts that he and the other villagers will be able grow rice in the future.
Slab Ta Aon’s problem is no environmental fluke. It is an omen of a global environmental crisis that has been brewing for decades, destabilizing food systems that feed millions.
Around the world, saltwater is seeping further and further inland from the coasts, tainting soils and fresh water with salt. A complicated interplay between groundwater extraction, river damming for hydropower, and riverbed mining is sinking shorelines as climate change raises the seas, drawing seawater inland. A rice farmer plants seedlings in Slab Ta Aon, Cambodia. (Sun Narin for VOA) River deltas are especially vulnerable. Fan-shaped plains that form where rivers spill into the sea, deltas often boast fertile soils thanks to nutrient-rich sediments delivered from upstream. Increasing salinity puts these special agricultural regions at risk.
The threat is perhaps most grave in Asia, where vast “megadeltas” are vital for growing the continent’s staple crop — rice. High salinity can make it impossible to grow rice.
“You really see a solid layer … a white layer on the soil from where saltwater was,” said Bjoern Ole Sander of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Rice plants growing in saline soil “look like straw,” he continued. “If you touch them, they’re hollow. There’s nothing.”
Food, drinking water at risk
In Southeast Asia, saltwater threatens rice paddies in the Mekong River and Red River deltas in Vietnam, and the deltas of the Chao Phraya River in Thailand, and the Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar.
In South Asia, it degrades soils and taints drinking water in the densely populated Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta of Bangladesh and India and the Indus Delta of Pakistan.
China’s Yangtze River Delta also faces rising salinity.
Beyond Asia, saltwater intrusion affects the Nile Delta in Egypt and the Mississippi Delta in the United States — both important agricultural regions.
For subsistence farmers like Prak Nhorn, rising salinity directly threatens food security and access to drinking water. About 76% of Cambodians live in rural areas and many depend on natural resources for food. This makes many of the country’s 17.2 million inhabitants vulnerable to changes in the environment. Undernutrition rates in Cambodia hover around 15%. Cambodian rice farmer Prak Nhorn. (Sun Narin for VOA) Cambodian farmers have reported issues with salinity for years and “there is saltwater intrusion” in the country, said Hak Mao, director of Cambodia’s Climate Change Department at the Ministry of Environment. But “limited technical capacity” means the true extent of the problem in Cambodia is not known, he said.
In neighboring Vietnam, however, the costs of saltwater intrusion have been clear for decades.
“If there’s fresh water, we can grow rice all year round,” said farmer Khau Van Ngoan of Vietnam’s Long An province. “If there’s none, nothing can be grown.”
Vietnam grows more than half of its rice in one region — the Mekong River Delta.
There, salinity has “really been on the rise,” said hydrologist Gijs Simons of FutureWater, a consultancy that uses satellite data to assess salinity for the Mekong River Commission (MCR). The area affected by severe salinity, which makes it nearly impossible to grow rice, has roughly “doubled since the '90s or even almost tripled for some years,” he said.
In the past, saltwater would seep about 30-50 kilometers inland. Now it can reach areas more than 100 kilometers inward from the coast, said hydrologist Binh Doan Van of the Vietnamese-German University, who studies saltwater intrusions in the Mekong River Delta. One particularly severe salinity intrusion in 2016 affected 270,000 hectares of rice, said Andrew Wyatt, who oversees projects in Southeast Asia for the environmental organization International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN. The damage totaled an estimated $455 million, or 1.5% percent of Vietnam’s annual rice yield. Cambodian rice farmer Prak Nhorn says storms, floods and salt water are ruining rice paddies in his village. (Sun Narin for VOA) Shrimp alternative
But it’s possible to see rising salinity as an opportunity rather than a disaster.
Rice can’t tolerate salty water, but shrimp can — and shrimp fetch a better price than the rice Vietnam produces for export to low- and middle-income countries.
“Shrimp is better business than rice. It’s more lucrative,” said Dang Thi Vich, a shrimp farmer from Ben Tre province.
Some farmers in the Mekong River Delta took advantage of this as salinity rose, growing shrimp instead of rice during the dry season when conditions are most saline. The Vietnamese government and NGOs later launched programs to help more farmers adopt this rice-shrimp rotation system.
“Shrimp farming began about some 20 years ago and it’s become very popular,” said Vich. “Everyone grew rice before that.”
Things are changing fast. In 2018, 15% of farmers in the delta gave up rice farming for something else, usually shrimp farming, said Bradford Mills, an economist at Virginia Tech who studied the switch. The next year, another 10% stopped growing rice. Simons noted that the shift from rice paddies to shrimp ponds is visible in his satellite data.
Experts say the Vietnamese government plans to scale back rice farming and diversify the Mekong River Delta’s economy. This will mean upping shrimp and other aquaculture along the coast and growing “high quality” rice for export to rich countries. This diversification “is in line with Vietnam's move from a low-income country to a middle-low-income country,” said Wyatt.
But researchers have expressed concerns that adaptions to rising salinity in Vietnam are coming at a social cost, widening the gap between rich and poor.
“For the country scale, [shrimp farming] may be good,” said Binh. “But for [the] local scale, for individuals, that's I think [it] still has some problems.”
Ben Tre province farmer Nguyen Thi Be Lieu said she tried shrimp farming a couple of years ago, “but business didn’t take off. We spent more than we earned, so we stopped.”
Switching from rice to shrimp aquaculture is risky. Not everyone can afford to. Those who can’t — and who don’t receive aid — can have no choice but to sell or lease their land and migrate to find work.
There’s also evidence that shrimp aquaculture isn’t always environmentally sustainable. While Wyatt noted that rice-shrimp rotation is more sustainable than farming rice or shrimp exclusively for lands at the mouth of the Mekong, it isn’t a good solution everywhere it is being adopted. If there’s not enough freshwater flow from upstream, dry-season shrimp ponds can leave salt in the soil, which over time makes it hard to grow rice at all in the wet season. Ponds can get so salty that even shrimp can’t survive. Salinity is killing Cambodian rice farmer Prak Nhorn's crop. (Elise Cutts/VOA) “Saline soil is bad for business, even shrimp farming,” said Long An province farmer Pham Van Bay. “There’s absolutely nothing you can do with saline soil.”
Aquaculture can also pollute waterways, a problem Binh says should be managed to ensure that it stays sustainable and profitable for the future.
Still, if these challenges can be overcome, sating wealthy countries’ appetites for shrimp and high-quality rice could pay off for many farmers and the Vietnamese economy as a whole, said Binh and Wyatt.
‘How can we have rice to eat?’
The question, said Sander, “is of course: where do you produce the rice instead? Because demand is still there. And shrimp cannot replace rice on people's plates.” A rice paddy in Slab Ta Aon, Cambodia. (Elise Cutts/VOA) Vietnam is the third-biggest rice exporter worldwide, and more than 90% of its exports come from the Mekong River Delta. Countries that are “big rice importers … are hit also by climate change impacts and salinity impacts in the Mekong Delta,” said Sander. For instance, the Philippines imports nearly 80% of its rice from Vietnam.
Demand for rice is increasing as the world population grows. IRRI estimates that rice production globally needs to increase by 1% to 1.2% every year to keep rice prices low enough to be affordable for billions of people who depend on the grain.
For the Mekong River Delta, Binh said that adapting to rising salinity involves a combination of pricey infrastructure to keep saltwater out — which can come with its own environmental problems — and changes to how people live and work, like adopting rice-shrimp systems. Other agricultural deltas face similar choices.
Countries that import a lot of rice from salinity-affected regions will need to find new sources to meet their growing demand for rice, or consumers will simply pay more for it. Many farmers will need to adapt. And some will just need to find a way to survive.
Suos Sovann lives just a stone’s throw away from Prak Nhorn’s farm in Slab Ta Aon village. She is a rice farmer — or was. Saltwater now floods her 7,000-square-meter farm every year, making her soil infertile.
Unable to grow rice for herself and her family, Suos Sovann now depends on money sent by two of her children who work in a nearby garment factory. Combined, they send her about $50 every month. She will spend $30 of it on rice.
She wonders if perhaps her children could send more money, but she doesn’t dare ask. There’s nothing to do but bear with it, she says.
"If we don’t farm," asked Suos Sovann, "how can we have rice to eat?”
The Vietnamese journalist who contributed to this report is not named for their safety. | Climate Change |
Mike Schroepfer, chief technology officer of Facebook Inc., listens during the Wall Street Journal Tech Live global technology conference in Laguna Beach, California, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. The event brings together investors, founders, and executives to foster innovation and drive growth within the tech industry.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWhen longtime Facebook executive Mike Schroepfer left his job as Meta's chief technology officer earlier this year, he said he would spend his new free time and energy focusing on addressing the climate crisis. That decision makes him one of a growing number of tech workers who are turning their attention, time and skills to climate change.Schroepfer started giving to climate philanthropically in early 2020 by funding basic scientific research through his organization, Additional Ventures. There wasn't a single "aha!" moment that made the tech executive decide he wanted to try to use his resources to contribute to responding to climate change. It was a combination of several factors that collectively pushed him over the tipping point to decide to act."Something flipped in 2020. I am not sure what, I think it might be the age of my kids," Schroepfer told CNBC in a video interview on Wednesday. (He declined to be any more specific about his children or family for the sake of privacy.) He imagined a hypothetical future where his children might look at him and ask, "'Dad, what were you doing? Why didn't you try to help?'"Also, climate change has started to affect his and his family's daily life."We live in California, and we now have a thing called wildfire season, and smoke season where we check the AQI every day before we go out," he said, referring to the air quality index, a measurement of air pollution and its potential impact on human health. "And we now have HEPA filters and masks. It's a real health risk for people immediately. And wildfires happen — but they're a lot worse, because of drought. And that is directly linked to climate change."So in 2020, Schroepfer started making grants for climate-related scientific research through Additional Ventures, a philanthropic organization he set up. He educated himself about climate change, talked to people who knew more than he does about the issue and hired people to do research for him and get him up to speed.We want a livable planet for our children and our children's children. And, you know, it's not a foregone conclusion. We have agency here. Let's start making progress.Mike Schroepferoutgoing CTO, FacebookOne of the hardest and most critical parts of deciding to take action in responding to climate change, for Schroepfer and others he has spoken to, is figuring out how their skillset could be most helpful."The good news, bad news is, there's a lot of options. And so that's good news. But it then becomes quickly overwhelming. It's sort of like the menu that's way too large. And so you just can't choose what to do, right?" Schroepfer told CNBC. "Because what we're talking about is changing almost everything in the economy — transport, food, everything we do, buildings, everywhere we live is going to change. And that's good and exciting, but it's also sort of overwhelming, but it does mean, we need everyone."Funding ocean carbon removal researchSchroepfer is staying on at Meta as a senior fellow, working on recruiting and artificial intelligence, among other things. But a lot of his attention has already turned toward new ventures."As an R&D executive, I've overseen lots of things from building data centers, to building an AI Lab to, scaling products to billions of people. And part of what you get good at is trying to understand the landscape and where the opportunities are," Schroepfer said.For his first climate research, Schroepfer and the Additional Ventures team are focused on studying the potential of storing carbon dioxide in the ocean.Carbon removal is an area of the climate technology and innovation landscape that Schroepfer sees as desperately necessary and very far behind where it needs to be."We need to be taking about 10 gigatons of carbon out of the atmosphere every year. And we're doing hardly anything," Schroepfer said. "And it's very expensive to do it. And so we need more money to do it. And we need to technology and solutions that are scalable, and cheaper."Meta was one of a collection of companies, led by Stripe, and also including Google and McKinsey, to join a $925 million commitment to pay for removing carbon as a way of jump-starting the nascent industry and giving innovators in the space some certainty that there will be demand for the technology they're building. But that, he said, is just a start, and is "1,000 times less than what needs to be sent spent annually," he said.One area of the carbon removal landscape that's gotten a fair amount of interest but is not yet anywhere close to commercialization is the idea of storing carbon in the ocean, or "enhance this natural pump already existing," as Schroepfer said."Most importantly, there was almost no funding in this space. And these are deep scientific questions," Schroepfer said. "This is early days. And so it felt like a place where we could really contribute because there was so little funding here that we could really help catalyze basic scientific questions of does this work? And is it safe? Which we need to know if we want to explore this as a possibility in the future."Also with his philanthropic efforts, Schroepfer has also given money to Carbon Plan, a nonprofit climate science data organization, and Carbon180, a nonprofit working to advance carbon removal policies, and Activate, a nonprofit that helps scientists scale their research into a commercial scale business to address climate change.Innovation, not limitationIn addition to his philanthropic work, Schroepfer is investing in companies that are addressing climate change. He declined to name any of his investments, but said they're all early-stage companies, some still in stealth mode without a website yet. But he's been impressed with the sophistication of the innovators who are working on climate."I'm seeing tons of really passionate entrepreneurs starting tons of different companies focused on climate from capturing carbon in creative ways to fusion, to massively decarbonizing shipping," Schroepfer told CNBC.Perhaps unsurprisingly, Schroepfer is a believer in the potential of technology to address climate change, because he says it opens doors to new ways of doing things as opposed to asking consumers to do less with less."Why I've been in technology for 25 years is, technology has this magic ability to remove hard decisions, to remove constraints," he said.Instead of thinking about how people need to cut back, limit and constrain their consumption, Schroepfer is of the mindset that new technology can power continued growth, but in a climate conscious way. "If we change our economy, we can decarbonize a lot of what we're doing. It's good for people's health right now, it's good for us in the future, and it actually can build a lot of prosperity, better products."Electric vehicles are a prime example, he said. "If you've ever driven an electric car, it's just better than a than a gas car. It requires less maintenance, it's faster, like it's quieter, it doesn't pollute literally where your kids and family are. It's just a better product," Schroepfer said.Why I've been in technology for 25 years is, technology has this magic ability to remove hard decisions, to remove constraints.Mike Schroepferformer CTO of FacebookHydro-foiling ships are going to become increasingly common, Schroepfer predicts, for the same reason: They're massively more efficient than current cargo ships, and they are a better, smoother ride, he told CNBC. "Ten years from now, are there going to be hydro-foiling boats in the New York Harbor and on the Hudson River and in the San Francisco Bay? Oh, heck yeah."That model can and should be replicated in other categories, too. "And that's just very much what I'm about in technology and engineering is how do we sort of make a bigger pie make it better for everyone, as opposed to make hard trade-offs," he said. It's worth noting Schroepfer also recognizes technology innovation alone isn't enough to solve climate change.Optimism with rigorSchroepfer is not alone in his interest in investing in climate tech. The sector has grown significantly in the past couple two two five years, even if it's still not close to sufficient to respond to climate change: "There is 1% of the enthusiasm we actually need to solve these problems, so I hope we get a whole lot more."But the growing sector is going to have its share of failures. That's a given, he said. When considering a company to invest in, Schroepfer looks at whether the company will be able to make money, in addition to whether the company will be able to scale its climate impact."The way I approached this is sort of like a whole, massive dose of optimism, but a whole lot of rigor on the other end," he said. He builds out a company's financial models and if the company doesn't have a runway to start selling a product at a profit, he won't invest. On the whole, at scale, people are not going to pay more for a product because it is better for the climate."Most people can't afford to pay a green premium. So you have to build businesses saying this is as good or better, for the same or lower price, and it happens to have a lot less carbon intensity," Schroepfer said.That problem is particularly challenging for carbon removal technologies, which in the United States do not have an existing market beyond a handful of companies that are voluntarily opting to pay for carbon removal. When pressed on where the demand was going to come from to scale the carbon removal industry beyond large companies that care and can afford to be proactive, Schroepfer acknowledged the challenge."You've put your finger on the the hardest problem here, which is why I spend a bunch of my time on this," Schroepfer said. "I agree with you that it's not solved as of 2022. But it is one of the things that I think a lot of people are working on to figure out."But he says it's a fundamental reality that people will need to remove carbon from the atmosphere. And so Schroepfer believes there will be a growing market for carbon removal technologies in the future, spurred by growth from companies volunteering to purchase carbon removal, companies that have to pay for carbon removal to meet their own ESG goals, mounting public pressure, and, eventually, carbon emissions governmental regulations.None of these changes will come easily or quickly, but Schroepfer said he's motivated to keep contributing because there isn't another option for the Earth."We want a livable planet for our children and our children's children. And, you know, it's not a foregone conclusion. We have agency here. Let's start making progress, and we can do it incrementally, and it can be slow, and we can get there. And it can make a better life for people altogether," Schroepfer said.About that belief: The day after this interview, Schroepfer emailed this reporter to point to the compromise reconciliation deal reached by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. That reconciliation deal includes, among a cornucopia of other things, a tax credit, called 45Q, for carbon sequestration."Reason for optimism," the email's subject line read. | Climate Change |
Britain is expected to endure its hottest day on record next week with unprecedented 41C (106F) highs on Monday and Tuesday, forecasters confirmed today as the Met Office issued its first-ever 'red' extreme heat warning.Meteorologists say there is now a 60 per cent chance of breaking the all-time UK record of 38.7C (101.6F) set in Cambridge on July 15, 2019 – a probability that has doubled since the start of this week when it was at 30 per cent.Parts of London are now set to hit 41C (106F) both next Monday and Tuesday according to BBC Weather – and either would break the record, which itself overtook a previous high of 38.5C (101.3F) in Kent on August 10, 2003. Bookmaker Ladbrokes is now making it odds on at 1/2 that the UK's hottest day on record will come next week. The warmth is coming up from Spain and Portugal which have also had a record heatwave with 47C (117F) highs.The Met Office has warned of 'widespread impacts on people and infrastructure' from Sunday to Tuesday, which has led to Hammersmith Bridge being wrapped in silver insulation foil to reflect the sun during the heatwave.The Grade II*-listed bridge in West London has had a £420,000 'temperature control system' fitted to reduce stress on its cast-iron pedestals, on which fractures widened in an August 2020 heatwave and forced it to be shut.The bridge - which was reopened to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic in July 2021 - now has what the council labelled as a 'giant air conditioning unit on each of the four pedestal chains', which are anchored to the river bed and regulated to be kept under 13C (55F) in the summer. If any of them reach 18C (64F), the bridge will be shut.The cooling system is now being run through the night and parts of the chains that are above the water level on the 135-year-old bridge over the River Thames are being wrapped in silver insulation foil which reflects the sun.It comes as schools are preparing to send pupils home early, scrapping PE lessons and banning children from playing outside in a series of measures being considered as the country braces for the record-breaking heat.Students at three primary schools in Herefordshire have already been told they will not be allowed to play outside after the Met Office issued a 72-hour amber warning for 'extreme heat' posing 'a danger to life' from Sunday. Schools are also encouraging pupils to wear a T-shirt and shorts instead of normal clothes to help them stay cool.The Hereford Academy announced an earlier start and finish to the school day, while parents at Marlbrook, Little Dewchurch and St Martin's primary schools were told PE lessons will be scrapped and pupils will not be allowed outside to play. A letter added: 'We are also giving parents the option to keep children at home on Monday.'Meanwhile Crestwood Community School in Eastleigh, Hampshire, is among the schools to cancel sports day, saying that 'we do not feel that it is safe for students to be out in the heat all day, taking part in physical activity.'In East London, the headteacher of Clapton Girls' Academy warned of an early finish amid fears school facilities will be unable to cope with the heat. Anna Feltham told parents: 'Already, many classrooms are very hot, even with fans, and students are struggling to keep cool, drink enough water and maintain concentration in lessons. People walk past Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in London today as the warm weather continues in the capital NEXT WEEK: The Met Office has issued this forecast map to accompany the extreme heat warning next Monday and Tuesday People walk across Westminster Bridge in London today as the warm weather continues in the capital A runner make his way through barley fields at Dunsden in Oxfordshire today in the early morning sunshine Two people taking a selfie opposite the Houses of Parliament in London today as the hot weather continues Pastel-coloured skies at dawn at Dunsden in Oxfordshire today ahead of the Met Office heat warning beginning on Sunday People walk alongside the River Thames this morning opposite the Houses of Parliament in London as the warmth continues A fire coloured sky above St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the North East coast of England just before sunrise today A beautiful sunrise this morning in the Oxfordshire countryside at Dunsden as the warm weather continues Meanwhile in Scotland... Fans shelter from the rain during day two of The Open at the Old Course at St Andrews today'Next week's heatwave will make many teaching rooms unbearably hot by lesson two and five. We have reviewed a number of options but do not have sufficient 'cool' rooms to re-room lessons into.'And Red Hall Primary School in Darlington has banned children from playing outside in the scorching heat unless they wear a hat, saying it was a 'real concern' that many pupils were attending school without one this week. What are the potential impacts of extreme heat during amber warning?The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat for the whole on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - covering most of England and some of Wales. The extreme heat warning system ranges from yellow to red and indicates how likely and how much of an impact the weather will have on public life. An amber warning states that temperatures are likely to have a high impact.The warning states the 'extreme heat' could lead to 'widespread impacts on people and infrastructure'.Forecasters say the heatwave could impact the health of everyone – not only the vulnerable – while it could also impact electricity, gas and water supplies. Here is how it could impact different parts of daily life:RAIL TRAVELThe Met Office says that delays and cancellations to rail travel are possible with 'potential for significant welfare issues for those who experience even moderate delays'. Network Rail has warned that services across the UK may be subject to speed restrictions to avoid tracks buckling, with Avanti West Coast, South Western Railway and Heathrow Express among the operators warning of potential disruption. West Midlands Trains and London Northwestern Railway have already imposed limits on sections of their network this week.ROADS The Met Office says that delays on roads and road closures are possible during the heat alert period. The RAC has urged motorists to 'think carefully before they drive, and do everything they can to avoid a breakdown'. It says motorists should check the coolant and oil levels under the bonnet when the engine is cold. It added: 'If temperatures were to go as high as around 40C as some are predicting, then people should question their decision to drive in the first place.'Hampshire County Council is preparing to deploy gritters in response to melting roads, saying that the machines will be spreading light dustings of sand which 'acts like a sponge to soak up excess bitumen'.Motorists who find tar stuck to their tyres are advised to wash it off with warm soapy water.AIRPORTSThe Met Office has warned that air travel could also be disruption during the heat. This is because planes can become too heavy to take off in very hot weather due to reduced air density resulting in a lack of lift.This happened during a heatwave in summer 2018 at London City Airport when some passengers had to be removed so the services become light enough to take off on the relatively short runway.UTILITIESThe Met Office has warned that a failure of 'heat-sensitive systems and equipment' is possible. This could result in a loss of power and other essential services, such as water, electricity and gas. Hot weather can lead to high demand on the power network because people are turning on fans and air conditioning - and the heat can also lead to a drop in the efficiency of overhead power cables and transformers.WORKPLACESThe Met Office says that 'changes in working practices and daily routines will be required' in the extreme heat. There is no specific law for a maximum working temperature, or when it is too hot to work.But employers are expected to ensure that in offices or similar environments, the temperature in workplaces must be 'reasonable'. Companies must follow follow health and safety laws which include keeping the temperature at a comfortable level, known as 'thermal comfort'; and providing clean and fresh air.The Trades Union Congress says that during heatwaves staff should be allowed to start work earlier, or stay later, leave jackets and ties in the wardrobe and have regular breaks. It is also calling for an absolute maximum indoor temperature of 30C (86F) - or 27C (81F) for strenuous jobs - to legally indicate when work should stop.HEALTH The Met Office has said that adverse health effects could be 'experienced by all, not just limited to those most vulnerable to extreme heat, leading to serious illness or danger to life' during the amber warning. In addition, charity Asthma and Lung UK has warned up to three million asthma sufferers could be affected by high pollen levels, so should use their inhalers. SCHOOLS Plans to cope with the heat, created by the NHS and UKHSA, say children should not do 'vigorous physical activity' when temperatures rise above 30C (86F).Some sports days have been cancelled this week, while official advice suggests moving school start, end and break times to avoid the hottest points in the day.Official word from the Government on how schools should respond to the heat could be sent later this week - but it may be left to headteachers to decide.Health chiefs fear the NHS will be overwhelmed by a number of heat-related casualties if the mercury does indeed rise to levels only usually seen at Death Valley in California, which is the world's hottest place.The Met Office warning from Sunday to Tuesday - which was issued earlier this week - said the weather could cause health problems across the population, not just among people vulnerable to extreme heat, leading to potentially serious illness or danger to life.Rail firm Avanti West Coast has warned passengers who wish to use services between London Euston and Scotland to plan ahead due to the impact of the heat on rail lines. The company said that weekend services may be cancelled at short notice while journeys on Monday and Tuesday will be subject to amended timetables.And parched rivers and reservoirs photographed this week have shown the reality of the bone-dry country.Some parts of the UK have seen barely a drop of rain since the start of July, spelling issues for farmers after the first half of the year was one of the driest on record - and raising the prospect of still higher food prices.With forecasters issuing doom-laden warnings of 'hundreds if not thousands of excess deaths' in a 'frightening' scorching hot spell beginning on Sunday, ministers yesterday held their second Cobra civil contingencies committee meeting of the week.Teaching unions say the weather will make it 'potentially dangerous' for children to take part in physical activity in the blazing sunshine, while the NHS is facing a 'surge' in demand from heat-related conditions.The Met Office is still predicting temperatures on Monday or Tuesday could exceed the record 38.7C (102F) recorded in Cambridge in 2019.Forecasters say there is currently a 60 per cent chance of breaking this record. BBC Weather expects highs of 39C (102F) next Monday and 40C (104F) next Tuesday.But the second heatwave in a week could end with a bang with the prospect a wave of thunderstorms.Reservoirs were yesterday particularly low in Yorkshire, where five million customers have been warned that a hosepipe ban - a measure not seen in Britain for a decade - cannot be ruled out. Others in the Peak District appeared down to little more than a trickle, although ministers say they are 'not concerned' about water supplies.Some rivers were also running dry, with water levels on the Waveney in Suffolk 'exceptionally low' at around 30 per cent of normal for the time of year, according to the Environment Agency.East Anglia as a whole has seen two-thirds of its average rainfall over the first half of the year - the driest January to June period since 1996, and the 11th driest since records began in 1836.Meanwhile Wales - normally the wettest part of Britain - also saw far less rainfall than normal between March and June, with the River Teifi in Ceredigion at record low levels.Fishing has been banned in the rivers Wye and Usk, with exceptionally warm water already killing fish.West Sussex, the Isle of Wight and the City of London all recorded just 0.1mm (0.003ins) of rain between July 1 and July 12, according to the Met Office.Across England, average rainfall in the first 12 days of the month was 5.1mm (0.2 ins), less than a tenth of the average for the whole of July, 66.48mm (2.62ins).Wales was also far drier than normal, with 8.8mm (0.35ins) of rain compared to an average across July of 98.56mm (3.88ins).With the exception of Yorkshire Water, which has seen reservoirs dwindle to levels not seen since 1995, water companies around the UK say supplies are still healthy - although all have urged customers to cut down on how much they use during sunny weather.Farmers have warned the dry soil could cut yields of barley, wheat and other crops, potentially further exacerbating the cost of living crisis.Robert Anthony, who farms more than 1,200 hectares in the Vale of Glamorgan, said the lack of rainfall 'is having a huge impact on all our crops'.Rhys Lougher, who has a herd of 120 dairy cows near Bridgend, South Wales, said milk yield has dropped by five litres a day per cow as the animals struggle in the heat.'They can cope with the odd hot day, but a prolonged spell takes its toll and we are worried about this weekend,' he told Farmers' Weekly.Richard Bramley, chairman of the National Farmers' Union's environment forum, said the industry's approach to water management was 'way behind' the challenges of a changing climate.The end of this week has seen near-average temperatures and a scattering of showers following four consecutive days of temperatures above 30C (86F).But an 'amber' extreme heat warning remains in place for much of England and Wales from Sunday through to Tuesday night.It prompted former BBC weatherman John Hammond to warn of 'hundreds if not thousands of excess deaths' next week in 'frightening' heat.He told GB News yesterday: 'We all like nice weather but this will not be nice weather, this will be potentially lethal weather for a couple of days. It will brief, but it will be brutal. '40C (104F) is the sort of temperature that this country, I'm afraid, is just not geared up to cope with. So if you're an employer, I'd be worried about early next week how your workers are going to safely get to work. Hammersmith Bridge in West London, picturd today, has been wrapped in silver insulation foil to reflect the sun amid the heat The Grade II*-listed Hammersmith Bridge in West London has had a £420,000 'temperature control system' fitted The 'temperature control system' fitted to Hammersmith Bridge is intended to reduce stress on its cast-iron pedestals Hammersmith Bridge now has what the council labelled as a 'giant air conditioning unit on each of the four pedestal chains' Parts of the chains that are above the water level on Hammersmith Bridge are being wrapped in silver foil to reflect the sun Hammersmith Bridge in West London has been wrapped in silver insulation foil to reflect the sun during the heatwave Hammersmith Bridge has been wrapped in silver insulation foil and fitted with a £420,000 'temperature control system' 'And if you're an employee, then I would be asking my employer with potentially railway lines going buckled and lots of infrastructure disruption, how am I going to get to work, should I be getting to work?' What are Britain's ten hottest days on record? 1) 38.7C - July 25, 20192) 38.5C - August 10, 20033) 37.8C - July 31, 20204) 37.1C - August 3, 1990=5) 36.7C - July 1, 2015=5) 36.7C - August 9, 19117) 36.6C - August 2, 19908) 36.5C - July 19, 2006=9) 36.4C - August 7, 2020=9) 36.4C - August 6, 2003After chairing a second meeting of Cobra yesterday, Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse said the Government was preparing for a 'surge' in demand on the NHS and other services.He told BBC Radio 4's The World At One that 'individual behavioural change' was of 'critical' importance.That meant doing 'all the stuff they would do when it is very hot - wear a hat, drink water', but also keeping an eye on vulnerable groups such as the elderly and young babies.However he insisted water supplies nationally were 'fine', saying 'at the moment we are not concerned'.Mr Malthouse said: 'The key thing we can do is prepare the Government services for what may be a surge in demand - not least the health service and elsewhere - but also critically communicate that the first line of defence is actually individual behavioural change.'People need to take care, do all the stuff they would do when it is very hot - wear a hat, drink water - but critically also (with) the most vulnerable groups - the elderly, those with cardiovascular problems and the very young - that people look out for them and take care.'And he warned: 'The current forecast is that we will be in the mid to high-30s but there is a smaller possibility that we could exceed that and possibly hit 40C which would be an all-time record.'Experts describe extreme heat as a 'silent killer', with more than 2,500 heat-related deaths recorded in England in the summer of 2020.Unions have urged firms to allow staff to work from home or leave the office early to avoid overheating, with some firms already telling staff not to come to work on Monday.Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, urged people to check on older relatives, friends and neighbours to see if they needed anything during the high heat. Heat is set to hit Avanti West Coast rail services An Avanti West Coast train at Wolverhampton station (file)A rail firm is warning of disruption to major train lines, cancellations at short notice and extended journey times as temperatures are set to soar over the coming days.Avanti West Coast warned passengers who wish to use services between London Euston and Scotland to plan ahead due to the impact of the heat on rail lines.The company tweeted yesterday that services on Saturday and Sunday may be cancelled at short notice. It also warned that services on next Monday and Tuesday will be subject to amended timetables and extended journey times.Steel rails absorb heat easily and tend to hover around 20C above the surrounding air temperature, according to Network Rail.With temperatures as high as 40C (104F) expected in London early next week, the hot weather - particularly direct sunlight - could cause track temperatures to reach up to 50C (122F). In such conditions, rails can bend, flex and, in some cases, buckle from the heat. Trains, therefore, run at slower speeds in extremely hot weather to put less strain on the rails.Network Rail's west coast south route director James Dean said: 'Keeping passengers moving is always our top priority. But we want people to be prepared.'If the soaring temperatures do lead to us having to put in place slower speeds for safety reasons, please bear with us while our engineers work to fix the problem. It may mean some journeys take longer. For those who must travel by rail, we'd remind people to carry some water with them so they can stay hydrated and always check before travelling so they know exactly what to expect.''Any older person who is already coping with significant health issues, especially if they impact their heart or their lungs, is going to find the coming heatwave a challenge,' she warned.Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said the weather would make it 'potentially dangerous' for school children to take part in physical activity in the sun - although most will already have held their summer sports days.Wales's Deputy Chief Medical Officer told BBC Radio Wales that 'people will need to change some of their plans', with official advice warning against vigorous activities at school.Already organisers of tomorrow's, Rabbit Run through sand dunes at Merthyr Mawr, near Bridgend, have been advised to reduce their normal pace.Owners have also been asked to take extra care of animals at the Royal Welsh Show next week.Met Office forecaster Aidan McGivern said there would be a 'notable decline' in temperatures from midweek, with the 'most likely scenario' seeing a 'vortex' of moisture-laden air swirling up from the Bay of Biscay, bringing with it thundery showers.And climate change lecturer John Grant told the Mirror: 'I think hundreds are going to die in the UK if not thousands, that's my fear if we hit temperatures of 40C (104F).'It's terrifying what will happen if we don't have a management plan and get cooling centres ready.'Today will begin with outbreaks of showery rain moving south-east across northern and central areas of the UK.Meanwhile, people in the South and South West can expect warm sunshine.London is forecast to experience 26C (79F) today, while 23C (73F) is predicted for Cardiff, 20C (68F) in Belfast and 19C (66F) in Edinburgh.Saturday is also set to start with overcast skies and scattered showers in northern areas, before turning dry across the nation as the extreme heat moves in.Despite the recent heat, June 17 still stands as the hottest day of 2022 so far when 32.7C (90.9F) was recorded in London. But this high will almost certainly be broken over the coming days.Also today, vets warned owners of rabbits and other small animals such as guinea pigs to take extra care to protect them from heatstroke and even death.Dr Samantha Butler-Davies, veterinary clinical services manager at Vets4Pets, said: ‘The warmer weather can be incredibly dangerous for our furry friends including rabbits and other small animals such as guinea pigs.‘Simply put, the hot weather poses a genuine risk of death for rabbits. The temperature of their homes can increase rapidly in warm weather and a hot garden with no shelter can soon turn into a death trap if your rabbits don't have access to cool areas.’ NHS faces 'surge' in demand during heatwaveThe NHS is facing a 'surge' in demand from the heatwave, amid warnings extreme temperatures next week could cause death, illness and disruption.An 'amber' extreme heat warning for much of England and Wales is in place for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures likely to peak in excess of 35C (95F) across southern, central and eastern areas of England.The Met Office warning says the extreme heat could cause health problems across the population, not just among people vulnerable to extreme heat, leading to potential serious illness or danger to life.People are being urged to stay out of the sun in the middle of the day, stay hydrated, look out for vulnerable people, never leave children or pets in a parked car, and keep curtains closed to keep out the sun.Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, urged people to check on older relatives, friends and neighbours to see if they needed anything during the high heat.'Any older person who is already coping with significant health issues, especially if they impact their heart or their lungs, is going to find the coming heatwave a challenge,' she warned.The Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse has said the Government is preparing for a 'surge' in demand on the NHS and other services due to the expected heatwave.After chairing a meeting of the Cobra civil contingencies committee in Whitehall, Mr Malthouse urged the public to look out for people who were particularly vulnerable in the heat.'The key thing we can do is prepare the Government services for what may be a surge in demand - not least the health service and elsewhere - but also critically communicate that the first line of defence is actually individual behavioural change,' he told BBC Radio 4's The World At One.'People need to take care, do all the stuff they would do when it is very hot - wear a hat, drink water - but critically also (with) the most vulnerable groups - the elderly, those with cardiovascular problems and the very young - that people look out for them and take care.'Vets also warned Britons to protect rabbits from ‘flystrike’ - when flies lay eggs in rabbit fur which then hatch into maggots that burrow into the skin, which can cause irreparable damage, severe illness and death.They said live maggots are the most obvious signs of flystrike, but owners should also look out for rabbits becoming quiet or tired, a loss of appetite or not drinking, and a strong smell coming from them or their living space.Drivers with older cars have been warned to consider alternative methods of travelling during the extreme temperatures.Edmund King, the organisation's president, told the Daily Telegraph: 'People who've got an older car, maybe the air conditioning doesn't work, maybe it hasn't been serviced for a while – the likelihood of it overheating is higher.'The risks are things like melting roads, getting stuck in traffic and then having problems, but you can drive in these temperatures – but your car has got to be in good shape.'I would say as a general rule of thumb cars over 10 years old might be the ones with problems. Most cars within the last ten years will probably have air conditioning, will probably be relatively reliable, as long as they've been looked after.'He also encouraged people to leave early in the morning or later in the evening, particularly if travelling with children.Meanwhile Gatwick Airport yesterday ran out of water as families flew out as the south east experiences one of the hottest heatwaves in years.A burst water main nearby disrupted the supply from SES Water, leaving only a limited number of toilets working at Britain's second busiest airport.Gatwick apologised to passengers and said it was distributing bottled water.Raquel Rodrigues, 49, from Worthing and flying to Spain, said: 'We had a flight cancelled already and now there are no toilets.'There are only two working in the whole terminal and you can imagine what the queues are like.'A Gatwick spokesman said: 'An issue with the supply of SES Water to Gatwick and the surrounding area this morning has led to lower water pressure than normal across the airport. 'We are working closely with SES Water to ensure this issue is resolved as quickly as possible.'Bottled water is being made available to passengers and staff across the airport and other contingency measures are being put in place to ensure the welfare of our passengers.'A spokesman for SES Water said: 'We have identified a burst water main in Shipley Bridge, Crawley, and are working hard to resolve this.' YESTERDAY - People sit on Bournemouth beach in Dorset yesterday as they make the most of the very hot weather in England YESTERDAY - A woman sunbathes on Bournemouth beach yesterday as the very hot conditions continue for the country YESTERDAY - Stormy skies and a rainbow are seen at Marsden Bay near South Shields in Tyne and Wear yesterday evening Parents at Marlbrook, Little Dewchurch and St Martin's primary schools in Hereford were told PE lessons will be scrapped and pupils will not be allowed outside to play. A letter added: 'We are also giving parents the option to keep children at home'Meanwhile Toolstation revealed that sales of fans have risen by 641 per cent over the last week compared to the week before as tradesmen and women struggle to stay cool.The company also said sales of builders' shorts have increased by 50 per cent and T-shirts by 35 per cent. Sales of smart tech that controls temperatures has increased by 95 per cent and water cans by 21 per cent. Meanwhile sales of ride on mowers are up by 11 per cent and hose reels have increased by 56 per cent.Experts have warned of the need to adapt homes, cities and infrastructure in the UK for a future of more intense and deadly summer heat. Professor Emily Shuckburgh, from the University of Cambridge, said: 'Extreme heat is a silent killer with more than 2,500 heat-related deaths recorded in England in summer 2020, with the elderly especially vulnerable. Climate change is meaning life-threatening heatwaves are becoming more intense and more frequent.'She said the 'descent into a dangerous future' could only be halted by a rapid transition to net zero, and said solutions such as providing more green space in cities could both cut climate emissions and limit the impacts of extreme temperatures. | Climate Change |
Thousands of people have been ordered to flee their homes and businesses near a fast-moving wildfire near Yosemite National Park on Saturday.The bush fire which started on Friday afternoon has now exploded to cover more than 26 square kilometres (10 square miles) according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Evacuation orders are now in place for more than 6,000 people living across a sparsely populated rural area. Image: Pic: AP "Explosive fire behaviour is challenging firefighters," said the department, describing the blaze as "extreme with frequent runs, spot fires and group torching".The fire had destroyed 10 residential and commercial structures by Saturday morning and was threatening 2,000 others. It has prompted numerous road closures, including of Highway 140 which is one of the main routes into Yosemite. Image: Pic: AP More than 400 firefighters are battling the blaze in the Sierra Nevada foothills, armed with water-dropping helicopters and other firefighting aircraft, as well as bulldozers.The blaze has been fuelled sparked by hot weather, low humidity, and extremely dry vegetation caused by the worst drought in decades, although its initial cause is unknown. Image: Pic: AP Daniel Patterson, a spokesman for the Sierra National Forest, said that climate change has made the region much warmer and drier over the past 30 years which has led to California experiencing increasingly large and deadly wildfires.Last year, by August nearly 43,000 Californians were under evacuation orders as a dozen large wildfires raged across the state."The fire is moving quickly. This fire was throwing embers out in front of itself for up to two miles yesterday. These are exceptional fire conditions," warned Mr Patterson. Image: Pic: AP Residents have been sharing pictures on social media of an enormous pyrocumulus cloud stretching up into the atmosphere.Andy Bollenbacher, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service, said that the cloud top has stretched up to 30,000 feet into the sky on Friday night.The risk is that in extreme conditions wildfires can begin creating their own weather system when the smoke forms a pyrocumulonimbus cloud, similar to to normal cumulonimbus or thunder clouds which produce hail, thunder and lightning.In the current condition such weather - and the attendant lightning strikes and stronger winds - could cause even more fires in a chain reaction of destruction. | Climate Change |
By Esme Stallard, Owen Pinnell & Jess KellyBBC NewsImage source, Hussein Faleh/BBCMajor oil companies are not declaring a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, a BBC News investigation has revealed.The BBC found millions of tonnes of undeclared emissions from gas flaring at oil fields where BP, Eni, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell work.Flaring of natural gas is the "wasteful" burning of excess gas released during oil production.The companies said their reporting method was standard industry practice.Flared gases emit a potent mix of carbon dioxide, methane and black soot which pollute the air and accelerate global warming.The BBC has also found high levels of potentially cancer-causing chemicals in Iraqi communities near oil fields where there is gas flaring. These fields have some of the highest levels of undeclared flaring in the world, according to our findings. In response, David Boyd, UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, compared these communities to "modern sacrifice zones, areas where profit and private interests are prioritised over human health, human rights and the environment".The deadly impact of the oil giants' toxic air pollution on children and the planet is revealed in this BBC News Arabic investigation from the front line of climate change in Iraq.The documentary is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer (UK only) and is also being broadcast on BBC World News at 08:10 GMT on Saturday 1 October.Companies have long recognised the need to eliminate all but emergency flaring.BP, Eni, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell are committed to a 2015 World Bank pledge to declare and end routine flaring by 2030 - in Shell's case by 2025.But the companies say that where they have contracted with another company to run day-to-day operations, it is that other firm's responsibility to declare flaring emissions. Such fields are a major part of oil production - accounting for 50% of these five companies' portfolios, on average.However, through months of analysis the BBC found dozens of oil fields where these operators are not declaring the emissions either, meaning no-one is.Using World Bank flare-tracking satellite data, we were able to identify the emissions from each of these sites. We estimate that in 2021, almost 20 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent went unreported from these flares. That is equal to the greenhouse gas emissions 4.4 million cars would produce in a year.In response, all five firms said that the approach to reporting emissions only from the sites they directly operate was standard industry practice. Shell and Eni additionally said that they do give an overall emissions figure which includes flaring from non-operated sites, but said this is not broken down or included in their World Bank pledge to cut emissions. A BBC News Arabic investigation indicates that flaring increases the risk of some cancers for people living near oil fields in Iraq.People living in some of the world's biggest oil fields in Basra, south-east Iraq - Rumaila, West Qurna, Zubair and Nahran Omar - have long suspected that childhood leukaemia is on the increase, and that flaring is behind it. Image source, Hussein Faleh/BBCImage caption, Gas flaring has become the backdrop to children's lives in BasraIn the Basra region, new cases of all types of cancer rose by 20% between 2015 and 2018, according to a leaked Iraq Health Ministry report seen by BBC News Arabic. It blames air pollution. BP and Eni are the lead contractors at Rumaila and Zubair oil fields respectively, but as they are not the operators they do not declare the emissions. Neither do the sites' operators. BBC News Arabic worked with environment and health experts near the four sites in 2021 to test for cancer-causing chemicals associated with flaring over two weeks. The air tests indicated levels of benzene, linked to leukaemia and other blood disorders, reached or exceeded Iraq's national limit in at least four places. Urine samples we collected from 52 children indicated that 70% had elevated levels of 2-Naphthol, a form of the possibly cancer-causing substance naphthalene. Dr Manuela Orjuela-Grimm, professor of childhood cancer at Columbia University, said: "The children have strikingly high levels … this is concerning for [their] health and suggests they should be monitored closely." Image source, Hussein Faleh/BBC NewsImage caption, Prof Shukri, one of our local environmental experts, took air pollution measurements in communities surrounding the oil fieldsWhen she was 11, Fatima Falah Najem was diagnosed with a type of blood and bone cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Exposure to benzene can increase the risk of people developing this condition. Fatima lived with her parents and six siblings near Zubair oil field, where Eni is the lead contractor. Neither Eni nor Zubair's operating company declare flaring emissions there. For health reasons, Iraqi law prohibits flaring within six miles (10 km) of people's homes. But the flares in Zubair blaze almost continuously, just 1.6 miles from the family's front door. Fatima drew the "fiery flames" that surrounded her home, during her chemotherapy treatment. She told us she enjoyed watching them at night, and came to normalise them.But for her father, watching her get sick was "like being on fire without being able to extinguish it".Fatima died last November as her family desperately sought a bone marrow transplant. She was 13.Image source, Jess Kelly/BBC NewsImage caption, Fatima remained strong even on her last day, her mother told usAsked for a response, Eni said it "strongly rejects any allegation that its own activities are endangering the health of the Iraqi people". Eni said that it does not contractually have responsibility for flaring in Zubair.Rumaila oil field, 25 miles away, flares more gas than any other site in the world, according to BBC calculations - enough to power nearly three million UK homes a year.BP is the lead contractor - it helped establish and now supervises the operator, Rumaila Operating Organisation (ROO). Neither declares any flaring from the oil field. ROO's operating standards, which BP signed, say: "Those who are impacted by pollution levels that exceed national limits are legally entitled to compensation." But Ali Hussein Julood, a 19-year-old leukaemia survivor, says that he and his father were met with silence when they sought compensation from BP in 2020 and 2021.BP said: "We are extremely concerned by the issues raised by the BBC - we will immediately review those concerns." On the leaked report on cancer in the Basra area, Iraq's Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail told us: "We instructed all the contracted companies operating in the oil fields to uphold international standards." If all the natural gas flared globally were captured and used it could replace more than nine-tenths of Europe's gas imports from Russia, based on figures from the International Energy Agency.Image source, Essam Abdullah Mohsin/BBC NewsImage caption, Aerial shot of West Qurna oil fieldCapturing the gas can be initially expensive and technically difficult, according to the World Bank. It estimates that ending all routine flaring could cost as much as $100bn (£92bn).But Mark Davis, chief executive of Capterio, which advises oil companies on capturing flared gas, told the BBC that countries like Norway have shown it is possible with the help of strong regulation. Additional reporting from: Becky Dale and Christine Jeavans (Data & Analysis) | Climate Change |
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSummaryUnprecedented floods have swamped a third of country33 million affected, with 1,325 killedU.N. warns of deteriorating situation with more rain seenJAMSHORO, Pakistan, Sept 6 (Reuters) - As the United Nations warned of more misery to come, Pakistan scrambled on Tuesday to widen a breach in its biggest lake in a bid to prevent it from overflowing amid unprecedented floods that have inundated a third of the South Asian nation.Flooding, brought by record monsoon rainfall and glacier melt in the north, has impacted 33 million people and killed at least 1,325, including 466 children, the national disaster agencysaid.About 636,940 displaced people have been housed in tent villages, it said, adding the raging waters had swept away 1.6 million houses, roads, rail and telecommunication systems, and inundated over two million acre of farmland, destroying both standing and stored crops.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReuters' drone footage over Sindh province showed agricultural and residential areas completely submerged in water, with just the tops of trees and buildings visible.Rice fields resembled massive lakes of several miles in diameter, according to aerial video footage by the Pakistani military.Officials have estimated economic cost of the losses minimum at $10 billion.With more rain expected in the coming month, the situation could worsen, a top official of the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) warned."We fear the situation could deteriorate," said Indrika Ratwatte, the agency's director for Asia and the Pacific."This will increase challenges for flood survivors, and likely worsen conditions for nearly half a million displaced people, forcing more to abandon their homes."DISEASE RISKA key concern was country's largest Manchar freshwater lake, in Sindh province, which was close to bursting its banks."We have widened the earlier breach at Manchar to reduce the rising water level," provincial irrigation minister Jam Khan Shoro told Reuters on Monday.Already, 100,000 people have been displaced in efforts to keep the lake from overflowing, and if it breaches its banks, it could affect hundreds of thousands more, authorities said.Men use a makeshift raft as they cross a flooded street in a residential area, following rains during the monsoon season in Hyderabad, Pakistan September 5, 2022. REUTERS/Yasir Rajput/File PhotoThe region already faces the dangers of water-borne and skin diseases, dengue fever, snake bites and breathing issues, Azra Fazal Pechuho, health minister for the southern province, told a news briefing.She said 856,000 patients had been treated since flooding began in July, mostly from field and mobile hospitals."Over 1200 of our health facilities are under water," she said, adding the field hospitals were receiving nearly 20,000 diarrhoea and 16,000 malaria cases daily.The World Health Organization has said over 6.4 million people need humanitarian support in the flooded areas.To help the medicine stocks, Pechuho said, the UNHCR's aid has arrived.The UNHCR is working with Pakistani authorities to step up humanitarian supplies, Ratwatte added. Three more UN relief flights arrived on Tuesday, foreign ministry said.RESIDENTS PROPPING UP DIKES"Till yesterday there was enormous pressure on the dikes of Johi and Mehar towns, but people are fighting it out by strengthening the dikes," district official Murtaza Shah said on Tuesday, adding that 80% to 90% population of the towns had already fled.Those who remain are attempting to strengthen existing dikes with machinery provided by district officials.The waters have turned the nearby town of Johi into a virtual island, as a dike built by locals holds back the water."After the breach at Manchar, the water has started to flow, earlier it was sort of stagnant," one resident, Akbar Lashari, said by telephone, following Sunday's initial breach of the lake.The rising waters have also inundated the nearby Sehwan airport, civil aviation authorities said.The floods have followed record-breaking summer heat. Pakistan and the United Nations both have blamed climate change for the extreme weather and resulting devastation.Pakistan has received nearly 190% more rain than the 30-year average in July-August, totalling 390.7mm (15.38 inches), with the southern Sindh province getting 466% more rain than the average.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Syed Raza Hassan in Jamshoro, Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Emma Farge in Geneva; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
Sept 27 (Reuters) - Methane leaks have emerged as a top threat to the global climate, with the latest incident involving two Russian gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea that are at the heart of an energy crisis since Russia invaded Ukraine.Methane, the main component of natural gas, can leak from pipelines and drill sites, and is also emitted from farming and food waste.Research increasingly shows that reducing emissions of methane is vital to limiting planetary warming to 2 degrees Celsius or less above pre-industrial times to avert the worst impacts of climate change.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAfter decades focusing on the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, policymakers have begun to recognise the threat posed by methane, and last year over 100 nations signed a pledge to slash methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.MATTER OF URGENCYAfter being largely ignored for decades, scientists now know that methane is much more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas in the short term, even though it lingers for only a decade in the atmosphere before breaking down while CO2 lingers for centuries.Scientists normally compare the warming effects of methane and carbon dioxide over one century, and over that timescale methane is 28 times worse. Over 20 years, however, methane is 80 times worse, according to recent research.That's important because the world is on track to exceed the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to less than 2 degrees in mere decades."If I thought we had 100 years to deal with climate change, I'd be an awful lot more relaxed about it," Mike Berners-Lee, expert and author on carbon footprints, said. "If you're interested in the climate impacts we'll be experiencing in 2050 ... you'd be absolutely screaming about methane emissions."Methane's frontloaded climate impact is doubly worrying because the world is closer than previously thought to crossing "tipping points" at which climate feedback loops kick in to make global warming self-perpetuating.A study in September suggested that some of the events that could touch off those feedback loops, like the collapse of the Greenland Ice Sheet or the melting of Arctic permafrost, are imminent.WHERE IT COMES FROMThree-fifths of the world's estimated methane emissions are from human activity; the rest, from natural sources like swamps.Of the human-caused emissions, two-thirds are from livestock farming and fossil fuels, with much of the rest from decomposing waste as well as rice cultivation, Climate and Clean Air Coalition data shows.But emitters have not kept good records and scientists trying to improve them in the past decade have had a shock."Everywhere we looked, methane emissions turned out to be higher than agencies said they should be," said Robert Jackson, who co-authored a February study on methane's warming impacts. "That was true of oil and gas fields, landfills and feedlots."While scientists can accurately measure the level of methane in the atmosphere, understanding where it is coming from is crucial for policymakers seeking to impose regulations that reduce the emissions.WORSE THAN COAL?Petroleum-producing companies and nations are lobbying hard for natural gas as a "bridge fuel" to renewables as the world undertakes a clean energy transition to fight climate change. Their argument: burning natural gas emits half as much carbon per kilowatt as coal.But factor in gas industry leaks from drill pads, pipelines, compressors, and other infrastructure, and those gains can quickly be erased."There's a break-even point in how much methane is leaked for ... natural gas (to be) actually worse than coal for the climate," said Sam Abernethy, co-author of the February study.World governments, including the United States, are introducing requirements that the oil and gas industry detect and repair leaks after studies showed leaks in the industry were a huge problem.The European Union recently endorsed labeling some natural gas projects as "green" in a major boost to the industry.Read more:What is known about the Nord Stream gas pipeline leaksEXCLUSIVE-Mexican regulator has no record of Pemex reporting methane leak(This story corrects to make clear Jackson and Abernethy authored a February study on methane, not the September one on tipping points, paragraphs 14 and 18)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Tim Cocks in Johannesburg; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court on Thursday limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming.The court’s ruling could complicate the administration’s plans to combat climate change. Its proposal to regulate power plant emissions is expected by the end of the year.President Joe Biden aims to cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade and to have an emissions-free power sector by 2035. Power plants account for roughly 30% of carbon dioxide output.“Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible ‘solution to the crisis of the day,’” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his opinion for the court.But Roberts wrote that the Clean Air Act doesn’t give EPA the authority to do so and that Congress must speak clearly on this subject."A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body,” he wrote.In a dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the decision strips the EPA of the power Congress gave it to respond to “the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.”Kagan said the stakes in the case are high. She said, "The Court appoints itself—instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decisionmaker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening.”The justices heard arguments in the case on the same day that a United Nations panel’s report warned that the effects of climate change are about to get much worse, likely making the world sicker, hungrier, poorer and more dangerous in the coming years.The power plant case has a long and complicated history that begins with the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. That plan would have required states to reduce emissions from the generation of electricity, mainly by shifting away from coal-fired plants.But that plan never took effect. Acting in a lawsuit filed by West Virginia and others, the Supreme Court blocked it in 2016 by a 5-4 vote, with conservatives in the majority.With the plan on hold, the legal fight over it continued. But after President Donald Trump took office, the EPA repealed the Obama-era plan. The agency argued that its authority to reduce carbon emissions was limited and it devised a new plan that sharply reduced the federal government’s role in the issue.New York, 21 other mainly Democratic states, the District of Columbia and some of the nation’s largest cities sued over the Trump plan. The federal appeals court in Washington ruled against both the repeal and the new plan, and its decision left nothing in effect while the new administration drafted a new policy.Adding to the unusual nature of the high court’s involvement, the reductions sought in the Obama plan by 2030 already have been achieved through the market-driven closure of hundreds of coal plants.Power plant operators serving 40 million people called on the court to preserve the companies’ flexibility to reduce emissions while maintaining reliable service. Prominent businesses that include Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Tesla also backed the administration.Nineteen mostly Republican-led states and coal companies led the fight at the Supreme Court against broad EPA authority to regulate carbon output.___Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Cathy Bussewitz in New York contributed to this report. | Climate Change |
Norway’s $1.2 trillion wealth fund, the world’s largest, said on Tuesday it would decarbonise its holdings by pushing firms to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to nil by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement. The fund invests the petroleum revenues from Western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer for future generations in stocks, bonds, property and renewable projects abroad. “Our long-term return will completely depend on how the companies in our portfolio manage the transition to a zero emissions society,” Chief Executive Nicolai Tangen of Norges Bank Investment Management said in a statement. Tuesday’s plan follows a proposal made in April by the Norwegian government, which said the fund should push the 9,300 companies it invests in to cut their emissions to nil by 2050. “We will engage the companies to reach this target by setting credible preliminary targets and creating plans to reduce their direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases,” Chief Governance and Compliance Officer Carine Smith Ihenacho said. Still, the fund has previously said it would not divest from big emitters to achieve these targets but instead be an “active shareholder” to effect change. The fund owns on average owns 1.3% of all listed global stocks and its size is equivalent to $219,000 for every Norwegian man, woman and child. The fund published its first expectations on how companies should address climate change more than a decade ago. It tracks climate-related risks, defined as the impact climate change may have on the assets the fund invests in, but also the opportunities that could arise for individual firms successfully adapting to it. | Climate Change |
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSANTIAGO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Higher temperatures and rainfall that weaken ice walls caused part of a hanging glacier to break off at a national park in Chile's Patagonia region in an event captured on video by tourists.In a video that went viral Monday, a glacier that sits atop a mountain about 200 meters (656 feet) high rumbled and broke off at Queulat National Park, located more than 1,200 kilometers(746 miles) south of Chile's capital.Detachments between masses of ice are normal, says University of Santiago climate scientist Raul Cordero, but he noted that the frequency of these events is troubling.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com"Because this type of event is triggered by heat waves or by intense liquid precipitation events and both things are also happening more and more frequently throughout the planet, not only in Chile," Cordero said.A glacier is pictured calving into the river, in Queulat National Park, in Aysen, Chile September 9, 2022. Courtesy Surreal Travel/Handout via REUTERS According to Cordero, there was a heat wave with "very abnormal" temperatures in that area of Patagonia before the collapse.Cordero added that an "atmospheric river" consisting of relatively warm air laden with moisture was also recorded. When this "river meets with Andean and Patagonian topography, it forms large clouds and discharges precipitation."One of the consequences of global warming is that it is destabilizing several glaciers and in particular some unstable glacier walls," said Cordero. "That is the case of what happened in the last few days in Patagonia in a similar way to what happened a couple of months ago in both the Himalayas and the Alps."Scientists say sharp spikes in warming is linked to human-caused climate change and greenhouse emissions. The U.N. climate science panel earlier this year said governments and industries should drastically reduce fossil fuel emissions to contain warming and limit climate impacts. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Natalia Ramos and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he hosts the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change (MEF) in the South Court Auditorium at the White House Complex in Washington, U.S., June 17, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday the Supreme Court ruling that limited federal power to curb carbon emissions risks damaging the United States' ability to tackle climate change."While this decision risks damaging our nation’s ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis," Biden said in a statement.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
The computer modeling made it plain: If people continued to overextract finite resources, pollute on a massive scale, and balloon the human population in an unsustainable way, civilization could collapse within a century. It sounds like that modeling could have been done last week, what with climate change, water shortages, and microplastics corrupting every corner of the Earth. But in fact it dropped in the 1972 book The Limits to Growth, published by the Club of Rome, an international organization of intellectuals founded in 1968. The book sold millions of copies and was translated into at least 30 languages, attracting a storm of controversy. It was, after all, very early computer modeling—completed on a punch-card machine at MIT—and a highly simplified simulation of complex global systems. And it was making rather grand and consequential predictions. (As the old quip goes: All models are wrong, but some are useful.) That model spit out scenarios in which humanity either got more sustainable and equitable, and thus flourished, or continued letting capitalists plunder the planet and our civilization to death.“What came from the simulations is that most of the cases—but not all, and it's important to say not all—the evolution of a number of variables like population, production, pollution, was showing that around the mid-21st century, we would have a scenario of collapse of human civilization,” says Carlos Alvarez Pereira, vice president of the Club of Rome and co-editor of the new retrospective book Limits and Beyond: 50 Years on From The Limits to Growth, What Did We Learn and What’s Next? “The whole thing was framed into doomsday prophecy. We didn't succeed in bringing the message that it was not about that. It was really about: We have the capacity to choose. We have, as humanity, the capacity to decide what kind of future we want.” To mark the book’s 50 year anniversary, WIRED sat down with Alvarez Pereira to talk about how that future is shaping up, what’s changed in the half-century since Limits, and how humanity might correct course. The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. WIRED: For folks who aren't familiar with the original report, can you give a background?Carlos Alvarez Pereira: It was an attempt to open the space of possibilities for the future of humanity. In the ’60s and early ’70s, the fundamental question was: Is it possible to expand the concept of human development we had at the time to the whole planet, without negative consequences? Limits to Growth was, I think, a serious and rigorous attempt to use the best, not only knowledge, but also computer tools, which at the time were quite primitive, to simulate a number of scenarios for the future, to inquire on this big question. In some scenarios it was conceivable to find a balance between human well-being or human development, and the finiteness of resources on Earth. WIRED: Let’s take two of the report’s extreme scenarios. What factors produce collapse, and which produce a more sustainable future where we avoid collapse? Is it bringing down pollution? Is it bringing down consumption? CAP: The main variables are a set of five: population, food production, industrial production, natural resources, and pollution. What produces collapse in most of the scenarios is the combination—it's not all only one thing. In the case of fossil fuels, it's both the consumption of the reserves of fossil fuels and the pollution. What could lead to a more sustainable scenario, or a scenario of balance? Fundamentally, it is about equity, managing the resources in an equitable way, knowing in advance that they're limited. Realizing that it's not higher and higher consumption which makes us live in a good way, have a healthy life and well-being. It's the quality of our relationships with other humans, with nature, that makes possible the scenarios in which you can decouple well-being and the growth of consumption.We have incredible capacities to develop new technologies, but the point is that we don't use them under the assumption that they should reduce the ecological footprint. This is not a criteria of design. And let's remember that ecological footprints are extremely unequal. Typically, the average footprint in the US is 20 to 40 times the average footprint in Africa. WIRED: Right, there's this notion that first and foremost the problem we have is population growth. But that ignores the fact that the United States alone is responsible for a quarter of historical emissions. It's not so much the fact that we have more people, it's that we have unsustainable lifestyles. CAP: We already have an ecological footprint that is far too high compared to what the Earth can carry. It's a matter, in my view, of considering that well-being comes with relationships, not necessarily a high degree of material consumption. It's a matter of considering that we can dramatically reduce the ecological footprint of the so-called rich countries. I know that it sounds weird, because we are so used to associating well-being with material consumption. Saying this is like, “Oh, we are proposing going back to the Middle Ages.” No, not at all. WIRED: I think you could safely characterize the reaction to Limits to Growth as an uproar. Did that come from scientists or capitalists or politicians? Or maybe all of the above? What were the main points of contention?CAP: We have to be in a good balance with the planet where we live. And that part of the message was completely lost, very rapidly. Jimmy Carter, when he was president, was listening to this kind of approach. And then of course, the political mood changed a lot with the rise of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Reagan himself has a discourse in which he says, literally, there are no limits to growth. So from a political point of view, there was a complete denial of what the book was saying.What creates a little bit of frustration is that in the scientific domain, there was not enough controversy, because somehow the book was discarded by many. Not by everybody. By many, it was discarded as a doomsday prophecy. And for sure, we were not successful among economists at the time. WIRED: Presumably economists weren't too fond of it because growth is inherent to capitalism. And unchecked growth really, a kind of maniacal, ecologically-destructive growth at all costs that's built into the system.CAP: What the system has done, as a mechanism to continue with growth at all costs, is actually to burn the future. And the future is the least renewable resource. There is no way that we can reuse the time we had when we started this conversation. And by building up a system which is more debt-driven—where we keep consumption going, but by creating more and more debt—what we're actually doing is burning or stealing the time of people in the future. Because their time will be devoted to repaying the debt.WIRED: It seems obvious that we’ll eventually run out of finite resources. But there was even pushback against that idea when the report came out. Where does that insistence come from? CAP: The paradox is that capitalism is also based on the notion of scarcity. Our system is organized around the idea that resources are scarce, then we have to pay for them, and people in the value chain will profit from this idea of scarcity. Conventional capitalism is saying that while these resources might be finite, we will find others: Don't worry, technology will save us. So that we continue in the same way. WIRED: 50 years on from the original report, are we on the right course as a species?CAP: No, if you look at the reality. And no, in particular, if you look only at what governments and corporations do, if you look at what the decision makers decide, and the systems of governance we have, whether national or global. We're not better in terms of pollution, because we have climate warming, an existential issue. We're not better in terms of biodiversity. We are not in terms of inequality. So there are plenty of reasons to say no.But there are also good reasons for optimism of the will. And those reasons are possibly less obvious, less evident, less in the headlines in the media and elsewhere. We definitely think there is an ongoing cultural change often hidden in plain sight. Many are experimenting, often at the community level, trying to find their own pathways towards that balance of well-being within a healthy biosphere. A change that brings hope to me is the change in the status of women, the increasing roles of women. And I would say that if you look at what’s happening with the younger generations, there is a big change as well. So politically, at the level of corporations, at the official level, things are going pretty much in the wrong direction. Culturally, below the line, my bet is that a lot of things are happening in the good direction. The human revolution is already happening—it's just that we don't see it. And maybe it's good that we don't see it yet, until the very moment where it makes a lot of things shift. | Climate Change |
People cool off at the Mediterranean Sea on a beach on a hot summer day in Rincon de la Victoria, near Malaga, Spain, July 9, 2022. REUTERS/Jon NazcaRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comLISBON, July 29 (Reuters) - High temperatures across Europe this month have unleashed a prolonged marine heatwave in the Mediterranean Sea that could ravage ecosystems and kill off several species in the coming weeks, scientists have warned.The extreme heat in recent weeks has already sparked wildfires and led to thousands of heat-related deaths in Europe, but that warmth hasn't been limited to the land.The warmer air along with shifting ocean currents and a stable sea surface have warmed coastal Mediterranean waters several degrees Celsius beyond the average temperature of 24°C to 26°C for this time of year.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWaters between Spain's Balearic Islands and the Italian coast were up to 5°C warmer than at the same time last year, Spain's AMET weather agency said Friday – while also warning that temperatures around the Spanish coast would be 3°C to 4°C higher until at least mid-August.Spain's ports' authority said in a statement the water in Cabo de Gata, in the country's southeastern corner, registered a ten-year temperature record of nearly 28°C on Monday.Marine heatwaves, which are far less researched than heatwaves on land, are becoming more frequent due to climate change, adding pressure to ecosystems already struggling from over-fishing and plastic pollution.Ocean scientist Jean-Pierre Gattuso told Reuters that water near the French coastal city of Nice was measured at 29.2°C on June 25 - around 3.5°C higher compared to the same day last year."This is an absolute record since at least 1994 and very likely earlier," he said."The ocean and sea are kind of a sponge for the heat," Gattuso explained. Marine heatwaves also struck the Mediterranean in 2015 to 2019, leading to mass die-offs of marine life, according to a study this week from Spain's Institute of Marine Sciences.This year's heatwave is worse."It is [lasting] longer, and also the magnitude is larger," Gattuso said. The die-offs "will probably come later in August."Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Catarina Demony in Lisbon, Gloria Dickie in London and Emma Pinedo Gonzalez in Madrid; Editing by Katy Daigle and David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Climate Change |
Swathes of England are officially in drought today as supermarkets began rationing bottled water today to prevent panic buying and millions of households edge closer to a hosepipe ban.Residents in the South West, Southern and Central England and East of England have been move into drought status where they are being urged to be frugal with water use because of the driest summer in 50 years.It is the first drought declared in the UK since 2018 – although that one was rapidly brought to an end by heavy rain - but despite the threat of torrential downpours and thunderstorms on Monday, much of southern England is unlikely to see significant rain until September.The move will also put pressure on water companies to do more to conserve supplies after a number of major leaks in recent weeks wasting millions of gallons of water.Hosepipe bans have already been announced for around 17million people – and another 15million could soon join them. Parts of southern England had the driest July since records began, and reservoir levels have fallen to their lowest levels in last 30 years.Sainsbury's and Aldi have put up posters limiting customers to between three and five bottles of drinking water each.Temperatures are expected to hit 95F (35C) today - making the country hotter than parts of the Caribbean and threatening crops like potatoes, apples, hops, broccoli and sprouts.Today, Yorkshire Water became the fifth company in England and Wales to announce a hosepipe ban for its five million customers. Southern Water, South East Water, Welsh Water and Thames Water have all announced hosepipe bans either now or in the coming weeks. South West Water and Severn Trent have all indicated they will also bring in restrictions. Together, they would cover more than 32 million people.Yorkshire Water will bring in a hosepipe ban from August 26, with its director of water, Neil Dewis, saying parts of the county had seen the lowest rainfall since records began more than 130 years ago. Under the restrictions, customers are banned from using a hosepipe to water their gardens, clean their vehicles, fill their swimming pools or clean their homes.However, they are still permitted to complete those activities with tap water from a bucket or watering can, or using water that is not sourced from taps. Businesses will only be allowed to use a hosepipe if it is directly related to a commercial purpose.An official drought is set to be announced today after a 10.30am meeting of the National Drought Group, which brings together the Environment Agency, water companies and groups such as the National Farmers' Union and the Angling Trust. Insiders last night said they expect the drought declaration to be a 'formality' for areas of southern England.It would be the first drought declared in the UK since 2018 – although that one was rapidly brought to an end by heavy rain. A general view of dry grass on the football pitches at Hackney Marshes. The Met Office has issued an amber extreme heat warning which came into force on Thursday and covers the rest of this week Cattle search for drinking water on Dartmoor, Devon at what until recently was an established watering hole, but is now completely dry An aerial view of the harvest during the heatwave in Scampton, Lincolnshire. Parts of southern England have had the driest July since records began, and reservoirs are at their lowest level for 30 years. Sources last night said they expect the drought declaration to be a 'formality' Low water level is pictured yesterday at Pontsticill Reservoir amid the ongoing heat wave near Merthyr Tydfil, Wales An image of scorched Britain captured on July 10 showed how ongoing drought conditions have affected the country Anglian Water staff handing out energy bottles of water to the residents of Haddenham in Cambridgeshire on Thursday afternoon The driest first seven months of the year in decades and hot spells have left parts of the UK facing looming drought, prompting hosepipe bans and warnings about the impact on agriculture, rivers and wildlife. Pictured: A dried out pond in Churchill Gardens, Bromley, east London New oak trees in Windsor Great Park begin to grow next to dead oak trees which still provide a vital habitat for insects A completely dry pond in Wanstead Park in northeast London, as heatwaves and drought caused by climate change continue in the UK A dried riverbed in Kemble, Gloucestershire, near the source of the River Thames is pictured yesterday Firefighters put out a grass fire at Hollow Ponds in Leytonstone, East London, yesterdayThe National Drought Group - made up of Government and agency officials, water companies and other groups such as the National Farmers' Union (NFU) - is set to meet tomorrow to discuss the prolonged dry weather Drought Q&A: Who decides if we're in one, could if affect food supplies, and at what stage are standpipes brought in?Who decides if it's a drought?The Environment Agency's National Drought Group declares when there is a drought. The group is made up of powerbrokers in the water sector with representatives from government ministries, water firms, unions and regulators and is chaired by Harvey Bradshaw, director of the agency.What makes it a drought?There is no single definition for a drought or set of measures that must be met. Instead, the group looks at rainfall, water supplies in rivers, reservoirs and lakes and temperature forecasts. If they decide the factors have combined in a certain way to warrant a warning, they will raise the alarm and offer a prediction of how severe the drought will be and how long it will last.There are two stages of drought they could declare:1. Amber – where there is a risk of stress on water supplies, reduced crop yields and increased wildfires.2. Red – involving a risk of widespread environmental damage, wildfires, failure of crops and of water supplies. The last severe drought was in 2011.What happens under each scenario?AMBERIn an amber-level drought, water supplies come under stress, wildlife habitats are harmed, wildfires break out and farmers suffer lower crop yields, according to the National Drought Group. Prolonged dry conditions are already causing problems for crops like potatoes, apples, hops, broccoli and sprouts, and there are fears Britain risks a looming vegetable shortage. Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association, said Britain 'could be in a major deficit position', where domestic supplies cannot meet demand. He said: 'The temperatures we are seeing here are being replicated around Europe so European production sites are facing similar challenges. This could lead to less product and less choice.' Long dry periods are problematic for wildlife because they can reduce the amount of food available to animals. Fish may also be affected by lower oxygen levels in the water. RED The impacts of a red-level drought include the 'failure of public and private water supplies', the National Drought Group says. Along with 'widespread' wildfires, the failure of crops and plants for fodder would increase food prices and worsen shortages of certain produce. The extremely dry summer of 1975 saw sheep, pigs and calves die in the high temperatures, while milk yields fell and lambs and cattle took longer to fatten, according to a Royal Society paper. Crops suffered not only from a lack of water but also from an increase in pests and diseases. What restrictions will water companies bring in? AMBER Once a drought is declared, the National Drought Group can limit the amount of water companies can take from rivers and ensure there are suitable plans for dealing with drought incidents. In some situations, the group will perform an 'emergency fish rescue' from drying-out bodies of water. It can also stop businesses using spray irrigation as well as advising the public how to conserve water.There could also be hosepipe bans and further restrictions on non-essential water use, including car washes and swimming pools. There would be 'prolonged' restrictions on canal and river navigation due to low water levels, and companies that consume large amounts of water would be forced to apply for permits to continue doing so. REDA severe drought could lead to water rationing and the introduction of standpipes or mobile water tanks. A huge emergency response would include the convening of COBRA, the government's emergency committee. Water companies could impose rationing at certain times of day and the introduction of standpipes or mobile water tanks. The permit regime would also be substantially toughened up to protect public water supplies. All other amber restrictions would be further strengthened. Parts of southern England have seen the driest July since records began, and reservoir levels have fallen to their lowest levels in 30 years. Sources last night said they expect the drought declaration to be a 'formality'. A four-day amber warning for extreme heat from the Met Office is in place for much of England and Wales until Sunday as temperatures are forecasted to rise to 99F (37C) over the weekend with warnings of health impacts and disruption to travel. There are also fears rain after the dry weather will cause flash floods, the Met Office said, with warnings set for northern parts of the UK next week. This has already prompted farmers like TV star Jeremy Clarkson to harvest their crops early. 'It may be the wrong type of rain because it falls very fast and very hard,' Paul Davies, the Met Office chief meteorologist, told the BBC. 'When it comes against the hard ground then the water flows very fast, taking debris and causing flash flooding, whereas other areas may see very little at all.' A drought would be the first declared in the UK since 2018 – although that one was rapidly brought to an end by heavy rain. The move will be announced after a meeting of the National Drought Group today, led by the Environment Agency and including water firms and groups such as the National Farmers' Union and the Angling Trust. It comes as: A Met Office amber warning for extreme heat came into force yesterday that will last until Sunday Forecasters said temperatures could hit 37C (99F) in Birmingham and London between today and the end of the weekend Fire chiefs saw eight times as many grass fires this week compared to a year ago Police say arsonists have targeted tinder-dry fields and parks Sainsbury's became the latest supermarket to stop the sale of disposable barbecues Meteorologists said showers next week are unlikely to be enough to replenish reservoirs While an official declaration of drought will not trigger any specific action by water companies, it creates a 'sense of urgency' for them, according to Government sources. An Environment Agency spokesman said firms were under no obligation to take action. There has been criticism that water firms in England and Wales let 681 million gallons of water leak from their pipes every day, equivalent to 1,245 full Olympic swimming pools. Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak yesterday vowed to crack down on leaking water companies if he becomes prime minister, saying 'nothing is off the table'. But aides in Liz Truss's camp said this amounted to a policy U-turn as he had previously supported hosepipe bans. The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said it would require 'exceptional' rainfall over the next one to three months to replenish water stocks. Satellite images show huge areas of England looking yellow and parched under the extreme dry weather. According to the Sun, some supermarket shelves were stripped dry from water bottles. Hosepipe bans also in turn have an effect on farmers, which could threaten crops. Jerry Knox, a professor of agricultural water management at Cranfield University, told the Guardian: 'We are starting to see real issues for crops such as potatoes. We will see reduced yields and particularly reduced quality.''Potatoes are set to become more expensive while farmers are already abandoning plans to grow brassicas like cabbages,' Professor Jerry Knox of Cranfield University told the Times. 'The autumn and winter will be critical to to return to normal conditions.'Professor Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said: 'Drought will not disappear in a matter of days — it's going to take a long period of sustained rainfall.'The UK Health Security Agency has put a heat health alert in place. Temperatures hit 34.2C (93.6F) at Wiggonholt, West Sussex, yesterday.Forecaster Craig Snell said: 'It's going to be an incredibly hot day, and very sunny across the board, with temperatures slightly higher than what we saw on Thursday.' There is also a heat health alert in place from the UK Health Security Agency, with experts advising people to look out for those who are older or with existing health conditions, as well as young children. The ongoing dry conditions, combined with last month's record-breaking heatwave, have depleted rivers, reservoirs and aquifers and dried up soils, hitting agriculture, water supplies and wildlife and raising the risk of wildfires. Four water companies in England and Wales have already brought in hosepipe bans or have signalled their intention to do so, while the Wildlife Trusts have called for an England-wide hosepipe ban to protect nature and rivers. Brits have been trying to beat the hosepipe band by coming out with initiative solutions to get around the measure Pictured: West Midlands fire service are warning Britons to stay safe in the heat and keep hydrated throughout the heatwave A fire which broke out on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire yesterday as the UK is warned of more wildfires at the weekend Firefighters attend to a fire yesterday, following a long period of hot weather and little rain in Rainham, EssexFirefighters attend to a fire in Rainham, Essex yesterday, following a long period of hot weather and little rain A water tanker in Northend, Oxfordshire, yesterday as dozens of homes in the Oxfordshire village were left without water after E.coli was found in a nearby reservoir Grass wildfire on Canvey Island yesterday. A wildfire started very close to the big Morrison's store and spread very quickly A man is pictured walking on a path amongst dead grass in Victoria Park, east London. The Met Office has issued an amber heat warning running between Thursday and Sunday, which could see temperatures peak at 36C across southern England and eastern Wales What is your water company doing to cope with the dry weather? Five water companies have announced hosepipe bans in the UK as another heatwave scorches the country.Yorkshire Water was the latest to say it expects to implement a temporary usage ban (TUB) in the coming weeks due to the dry weather.Here are each water company's current guidelines concerning hosepipe bans and water usage across the UK, alongside water leakage statistics for those based in England and Wales:- Anglian Water Area: East of England and HartlepoolCustomers: Six millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 86 litresA spokesman said: 'We have no hosepipe bans currently in place across our region and we're working hard to keep it that way, but we're watching river levels very closely right now as things can change quickly and the forecast for this month remains dry and warm.'- Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru)Area: Most of Wales and parts of western England on the border with WalesCustomers: Three millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 116 litresThe company has introduced a hosepipe ban for customers in the region of Pembrokeshire and a small part of Carmarthenshire, which will come into effect on August 19.The TUB will be in place 'until we have had enough rain to replenish our water resources'.- Hafren DyfrdwyArea: North-east and mid-WalesLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 134 litresThe water provider does not currently have any restrictions in place but has not ruled out implementing 'joint policies' along with the Welsh government should the situation with the dry weather worsen.A spokesman said: 'Whilst we don't have any concerns about raw water position for Hafren Dyfrdwy, we continue to monitor the situation and are a part of the Welsh Government's Taskforce, working closely with them to create joint policies and processes in the event of drought action.'- Northumbrian WaterCustomers: 2.7 millionArea: Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and parts of North YorkshireLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 110 litresThe website says there are 'no plans in place to implement any drought measures such as hosepipe bans', but adds it is 'good practice' to use water wisely.- Severn Trent WaterArea: From the Bristol Channel to the Humber and from mid-Wales to the East MidlandsLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 112 litresThe region covered by Severn Trent Water currently has no hosepipe bans in place.However, the company said it will continue to monitor reservoir levels and demand for water 'closely', as it does every year, for any changes.- South West WaterArea: Devon, Cornwall, parts of Dorset and SomersetCustomers: 1.7 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 118 litresSouth West water customers are at risk of 'formal restrictions' being introduced over the coming weeks.The last water restriction in the region was in 1996, but the company said on August 3 it may have to make the 'difficult decision' to introduce restrictions 'if the exceptional levels of demand and sustained dry weather continues'.- Southern WaterArea: The south-west of England, including Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, most of Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire and HampshireCustomers: 2.5 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 87 litresA hosepipe ban has been in place for customers in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight since August 5.The company has applied for a Drought Permit on the River Test from the Environment Agency to allow them to continue to 'take water if levels continue to drop'.- Thames WaterArea: London and the Thames ValleyCustomers: 15 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 161 litresThames Water said it is planning to issue a hosepipe ban in the coming weeks 'given the long term forecast' of hot and dry weather for the region.It added: 'The timing is not confirmed due to a number of operational and legal procedural requirements but we will be updating our customers, partners, regulators and stakeholders at the earliest time to ensure a co-ordinated approach.'In the meantime, we continue to urge our customers to only use what they need for their essential use.'- United UtilitiesArea: The North West in a region from Crewe to CarlisleCustomers: More than three millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 130 litresA company spokesman said it is 'not considering any restrictions on use' of water at present but did encourage customers to use water wisely.- Wessex WaterArea: The South West including Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and HampshireCustomers: 2.8 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 111 litresNo hosepipe bans are planned by Wessex Water but the company does warn that reservoir and groundwater levels are low and urges customers to 'use water responsibly'.- Yorkshire WaterArea: West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of DerbyshireCustomers: More than five millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 130 litresA spokesman said: 'Parts of Yorkshire have seen the lowest rainfall since our records began more than 130 years ago,' he said.'The hot, dry, weather means that Yorkshire's rivers are running low and our reservoirs are around 20% lower than we would expect for this time of year. We've been doing everything we can to avoid putting in restrictions but, unfortunately, they're now necessary as part of our drought planning.'We've been monitoring reservoir levels, weather forecasts and other environmental indicators closely to determine whether we might need to put further measures in place.'- Affinity WaterArea: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and other parts of the South EastCustomers: 3.83 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 120 litresParts of the South East covered by Affinity Water are 'unlikely' to see any hosepipe ban this year.The company's website says: 'At current levels, it's unlikely we'll need to introduce restrictions this year.'- Bristol WaterArea: Bristol city, north east Somerset and south GloucestershireCustomers: More than 500,000Leakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 69 litresAt the end of July, the company said: 'We will continue to monitor the situation, but with our current water resource outlook we do not foresee any issues in supply to customers.'- Portsmouth WaterArea: Portsmouth and the surrounding areaCustomers: 698,000Leakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 79 litresDespite Southern Water issuing a temporary usage ban for nearby Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth Water reassured customers on Twitter on Tuesday 'there is no hosepipe ban in the Portsmouth Water area of supply'.It added: 'But please, please, please use water responsibly! We're all in this together.'- South East WaterArea: The south-east of England, including Eastbourne, Maidenhead and North KentCustomers: 2.2 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 99 litresA hosepipe ban will come into force on Friday for customers in Kent and Sussex.The company announced: 'We have been left with no choice but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers from 12.01am on Friday August 12 within our Kent and Sussex supply area until further notice.'On its website, South East Water said: 'We are taking this step to ensure we have enough water for both essential use and to protect the environment.'This will enable us to also reduce the amount of water we need to take from already stressed local water sources.'- South Staffs WaterArea: West Midlands, South Staffordshire, South Derbyshire, North Warwickshire and North WorcestershireCustomers: 1.3 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 111 litresHead of water strategy and environment Natalie Akroyd said: 'With the recent hot weather and less-than-average rainfall for this time of year, we continue to monitor our water resources and encourage our customers to use water wisely.'We currently don't have any plans in place to introduce hosepipe bans.'- SES WaterArea: Parts of Surrey, Kent and south LondonCustomers: 745,000Leakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 82 litresSES Water wholesale director Tom Kelly said: 'The prolonged dry weather, coupled with higher demand for water, continues to affect our levels of resources, which are less than we'd expect for this time of year.'85% of our supplies come from groundwater resources, which is water stored in aquifers underground, and the remaining 15% is abstracted from rivers into our Bough Beech reservoir in Kent.'These resources are refilled by rainwater between October to April and so, unlike some other water companies, we don't rely on summer rainfall to replenish.'We'll be monitoring rainfall levels during the winter months, as that's when our groundwater sources refill, in case restrictions need to be brought in next spring.'While they have still been affected by the dry weather, it's the increase in demand for water that's the main cause for the decline in water resource levels.'Customers playing their part to save water is helping us from having to introduce restrictions.'We continue to closely monitor our resources on a daily basis and won't rule out bringing in a hosepipe ban if we feel it is required.'In the meantime, we're asking customers to keep using water responsibly, as we play our part to keep leakage as low as we can, and together we can make sure there's enough for everyone this summer.'- Scottish WaterA Scottish Water spokesman told PA there were no plans for water usage restrictions in Scotland.He added: 'We are monitoring and managing our water resources and, in some instances, reservoirs are being topped up from alternative water sources to ensure supply resilience for customers.'- Northern Ireland WaterA spokesman for Northern Ireland Water said: 'The amount of water in our impounding reservoirs is kept under continuous review and we are content with our current level of storage. However, it is imperative that customers continue to use water wisely, especially given the forecast for the next number of days.'At this point in time, NI Water is not introducing a hosepipe ban. The situation is, however, being closely monitored and if storage reduces significantly or demand became excessive, NI Water would have to consider the possibility of putting in place measures in order to protect water supplies.'Water leakage information was compiled by the information dashboard Discover Water and is based on information agreed by water companies, the water regulators, the UK and Welsh Governments and the Consumer Council for Water. Council suspends food and garden waste collections for a MONTH - in the middle of heatwave Waltham Forest Council gave residents just five days notice that their food bins and garden waste bins will not be collected until September 12Some Londoners have been left outraged after being informed by their council that food bins will not be collected from their homes for more than a month despite the next heatwave looming.Waltham Forest Council took to social media to let people know that from August 15, both food and garden waste bins will not be collected until September 12.Furious residents of the north-east London borough have fired back, highlighting that their 'rotting' food will be left uncollected during the UK heatwave. And Waltham Forest deputy group leader for the Conservatives Afzal Akram revealed that him and his colleagues were 'flabbergasted' when they heard about the suspension.Cllr Akram told MailOnline: 'We are flabbergasted by this decision being made and by the way it has been communicated.'We as councillors only heard about it once the council put it out on social media. It's one of those blue sky thinking moments that you think of something and straight away you should throw it in the bin.'But for them to go and implement it is ridiculous. We are in a heatwave and they expect residents to leave food lying their for month - the stench, the stink is going to be unbelievable.'The council believes that the 'temporary' measure will allow it to focus on other services over the summer and reduce unnecessary journeys.It highlighted that less garden waste has had to be collected given the lack of rainfall in the UK this summer.The council has told homeowners to dispose of any garden and food waste in brown bins until collection resumes.Some water companies have failed to meet their own targets for cutting household leaks and domestic use, with many blaming the coronavirus pandemic as more people have been at home. Ofwat, the water regulator. said in a statement: 'Progress has been made in the past few years but there is much further to go, which is why we are pushing companies to reduce leakage, fix their environmental performance and become more financially resilient while keeping bills affordable and helping customers reduce their consumption. 'Where we find that companies have fallen short, we will act - over the last five years, for example, we have imposed penalties and payments of over £250 million.' It comes after temperatures reached 34.2C at Wiggonholt, West Sussex, on Thursday afternoon, while many areas in southern England and Wales hit the low 30s. Fires broke out in different areas, including London, Essex, Gloucestershire, Surrey and Cheshire, yesterday. The London Fire Brigade were called at 11:36am yesterday to a fire at Hollow Ponds on Whipps Cross Road in Leytonstone, where around 75 square metres of grass and shrub land were alight. Two fire engines and around 10 firefighters attended the scene and the inferno was under control around an hour later. The cause of the blaze is still being investigated.National Highways have also urged Britons to be 'prepared' with bottles of water before setting out amid more train strikes scheduled this weekend. Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: 'The risk is very high across much of central, southern and eastern England. Going into Friday and the weekend, it starts to increase further, going into the highest category of exceptional risk.'Heatwave thresholds - which are met at different temperatures in different parts of the country - are likely to be hit in much of the UK.Temperatures reached 34.2C at Wiggonholt, West Sussex, on Thursday afternoon, and climbed above 33C in a number of places from Shropshire to the south east of England. Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page also said: 'Persistent high pressure over the UK means temperatures have been rising day-on-day through this week and it is important people plan for the heat.'Temperatures are expected to peak at 35C on Friday and possibly 36C over the weekend.'We will also see increasingly warm nights, with temperatures expected not to drop below the low 20s for some places in the south.'He said temperatures would drop early next week, with heavy showers and thunderstorms likely in some areas - but it was 'impossible to say yet exactly where and when they will occur'.Britain has been told to brace for a sweltering heatwave this week as a Level 3 Heat Health Alert also came into effect Tuesday and has been extended until Saturday - with little rain expected to help relieve the threat of drought which has prompted hosepipe bans and fire warnings. Mark Hardingham, the chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said that he 'can't remember a summer like this' in his entire 32-year career in the fire service. A cyclist braves the soaring temperatures across Britain yesterday as the Met Office has also raised its Fire Severity Index to exceptional A woman was pictured walking near Big Ben in London yesterday as heatwaves and prolonged dry weather are damaging landscapes, gardens and wildlife, the National Trust has warned Algal blooms are smothering parts of the Jubilee River in Slough, Berkshire yesterday. As the heatwave continues an Amber Level 3 Heat Health Alert remains in force with temperatures forecast to peak on Saturday Firefighters put out a grass fire at Hollow Ponds in Leytonstone, East London on Thursday afternoon as parts of the UK have become a tinder box due to the extreme hot weather Pictured: A view from the runway of Gatwick Airport sees smoke billowing in the distance from a suspected wildfire from the Crawley area earlier today. The heat and constant dry weather in the south west has risen concerns about serious drought and wildfiresHe told The Telegraph: 'We're not going to see temperatures as hot as we saw three weeks ago, but that doesn't matter because the ground couldn't get any drier than it already is. The good, the bad and downright cheeky: How cunning Brits are BEATING (and flouting) the hosepipe ban– filling up pools from their baths, taking showers standing in buckets and using 'grey water' from their sinks to water their plants More than 30 million people across the UK are facing hosepipe bans as temperatures continue to soar.The Isle of Man has had the ban in place since Friday, August 5, while Southern Water introduced it in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight yesterday. Southeast Water, which serves Kent and Sussex, will enforce the ban tomorrow.Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Essex, Gloucestershire, and parts of Wiltshire will also face the restrictions in coming weeks.The rule means that hosepipes cannot be connected to a main hose pipe for any reason, including watering plants, filling paddling pools or washing cars.But savvy Brits are finding tricks to get around the ban, while others are brazenly ignoring it with some even boasting about it on social media.One woman on TikTok was seen to be breaking the ban by attaching her hosepipe directly to her bath tap.She then proceeded to turn on the tap and run the hose to her outdoor paddling pool.In the video the woman can be seen miming: 'I am not allowed, I know I am not allowed. 'I've done it now, it's too bleeding late. What they going to do? What's going to happen?'Are they going to shoot me? I doubt it, they'd have to catch me first. I'm like a whippet'.In London, one resident was caught filling up a large blue paddling pool using a public tap in St George's Square, Pimlico. Westminster Council said in response to the local's hack that the water is for the shrubs and pla | Climate Change |
The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change is colliding with preservation of one of the U.S. West's most spectacular predators — the golden eagle — as the species teeters on the edge of decline.
Ground zero in the conflict is Wyoming, a stronghold for golden eagles that soar on 7-foot (2-meter) wings and a favored location for wind farms. As wind turbines proliferate, scientists say deaths from collisions could drive down golden eagle numbers considered stable at best.
Yet climate change looms as a potentially greater threat: Rising temperatures are projected to reduce golden eagle breeding ranges by more than 40% later this century, according to a National Audubon Society analysis.
That leaves golden eagles doubly vulnerable — to the shifting climate and to the wind energy promoted as a solution to that warming world.
"We have some of the best golden eagle populations in Wyoming, but it doesn't mean the population is not at risk," said Bryan Bedrosian, conservation director at the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, Wyoming. "As we increase wind development across the U.S., that risk is increasing." Ecologist Bryan Bedrosian with the Teton Raptor Center prepares to return a young golden eagle to its nest after banding the bird for future tracking as part of a long-term population study of the species, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 near Cody, Wyo. Turbine blades hundreds of feet long are among myriad threats to golden eagles, which are routinely shot, poisoned by lead, hit by vehicles and electrocuted on power lines.
The tenuous position of golden eagles contrasts with the conservation success of their avian cousins, bald eagles, whose numbers have quadrupled since 2009. There are an estimated 346,000 bald eagles in the U.S., versus about 40,000 golden eagles, which need much larger areas to survive and are more inclined to have trouble with humans.
Federal officials have tried to curb turbine deaths, while avoiding any slowdown in the growth of wind power as an alternative to carbon-emitting fossil fuels — a key piece of President Joe Biden's climate agenda.
In April, a Florida-based power company pleaded guilty in federal court in Wyoming to criminal violations of wildlife protection laws after its wind turbines killed more than 100 golden eagles in eight states. It was the third conviction of a major wind company for killing eagles in a decade.
Despite the deaths, scientists like Bedrosian say more turbines are needed to fight climate change. He and colleague Charles Preston are finding ways wind companies can reduce or offset eagle deaths, such as building in areas less frequented by the birds, improving habitat elsewhere or retrofitting power poles to make them less perilous when eagles land. Researcher Charles "Chuck" Preston places a young golden eagle into a bag so it can be returned to its nest after the bird was temporarily removed as part of research into the species' population, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 near Cody, Wyo. "It's robbing Peter to pay Paul, but it's a start and I think it's the way to go," Preston said. "It's a societal question: Is there room for them and us? It's not just golden eagles. They are kind of a window into the bigger picture."
Dangling from a rope 30 feet (9 meters) above the ground with a canvas bag slung around his neck, Bedrosian shouldered his way into a golden eagle nest lodged in a cliff ledge in northwestern Wyoming. As an adult eagle circled in the distance, the scientist made an awkward grab for the young eagle in the nest, slid a leather hood over its head then wrestled the bird into the bag.
The 6-week-old bird was lowered and carefully extracted by Preston, a zip tie around its feet as a precaution against talons more than an inch long.
"The key is not to forget later to cut the zip tie," Bedrosian said.
The eaglet went on a scale — about 7 pounds (3.2 kilograms). Bedrosian drew some blood from a wing to test for lead exposure, and Preston clamped onto each leg a metal band with numbers for identification if the eagle's recaptured or found dead. The talons of a six-week-old young golden eagle are seen as the bird's feet are held by Charles "Chuck" Preston during research work at a nesting site, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, near Cody, Wyo. Golden eagles don't mate until about 5 years old and produce about one chick every two years, so adult eagle deaths have outsized impacts on the population, Bedrosian said.
Illegal shootings are the biggest cause of death, killing about 700 golden eagles annually, according to federal estimates. More than 600 die annually in collisions with cars, wind turbines and power lines; about 500 annually are electrocuted and more than 400 are poisoned.
"Wind mortality wasn't a thing for golden eagles 10 years ago," Bedrosian said. "I don't want to pick on wind as the only thing. ... But it's the additive nature of all these things and several are increasing. Vehicle strikes are increasing. Climate change is increasing. Wind is increasing."
Federal officials won't divulge how many eagles are reported killed by wind farms, saying it's sensitive law enforcement information. The recent criminal prosecution of a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, one of the largest U.S. renewable energy providers, offered a glimpse into the problem's scope.
The company pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and was ordered to pay more than $8 million in fines and restitution after killing at least 150 eagles — including more than 100 goldens at wind farms in Wyoming, California, New Mexico, North Dakota, Colorado, Michigan, Arizona and Illinois. Clouds cast shadows near wind turbines at a wind farm along the Montana-Wyoming state line on Monday, June 13, 2022. Government officials said the mortality was likely higher because some turbines killed multiple eagles and carcasses are not always found.
Prosecutors said the company's failure to take steps to protect eagles or to obtain permits to kill the birds gave it an advantage over competitors that did take such steps — even as NextEra and affiliates received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal tax credits for wind power.
The company remained defiant after the plea deal: NextEra President Rebecca Kujawa said bird collisions with turbines were unavoidable accidents that should not be criminalized.
Utilities Duke Energy and PacifiCorp previously pleaded guilty to similar charges in Wyoming. North Carolina-based Duke Energy was sentenced in 2013 to $1 million in fines and restitution and five years probation following deaths of 14 golden eagles and 149 other birds at two of the company's wind projects.
A year later, Oregon-based PacifiCorp received $2.5 million in fines and five years probation after 38 golden eagle carcasses and 336 other protected birds were discovered at two of its sites.
The number of wind turbines nationwide more than doubled over the past decade to almost 72,000, according to U.S. Geological Survey data, with development overlapping prime golden eagle territory in states including Wyoming, Montana, California, Washington and Oregon.
USGS scientists concluded in a recent study that if anticipated growth in wind energy by 2040 occurs, increased turbine-caused deaths could cut golden eagle populations by almost half over 10 years.
However, the fact that no population-wide declines have been seen in recent years suggests some uncertainty in the projections. said lead author Jay Diffendorfer.
Federal wildlife officials are pushing wind companies to enroll in a permitting program that allows them to kill eagles if the deaths are offset.
Companies with permits can pay utilities to retrofit power poles, so lines are spaced far enough that eagles can't be easily electrocuted. Every 11 poles retrofitted typically means one eagle death avoided annually.
Nationwide, 34 permits in place last year authorized companies to "take" 170 golden eagles — meaning that many birds could be killed by turbines or lost through impacts on nests or habitat.
For each loss, companies are responsible for ensuring at least one eagle death is avoided somewhere else. Using conservative estimates that overcount potential deaths could even mean a gain of eagles in the long run, said Brian Millsap, who heads the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's eagle program.
"This sounds crass but it's realistic. Eagles are going to be incidentally killed at wind farms," he said. "We've got to reduce other things that will allow wind energy development."
Agency officials would not disclose which companies hold permits. An Associated Press public records review shows most are wind farms. Power lines stand near hills outside Cody, Wyoming on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Federal officials collect golden eagle death data through an online reporting system used by government agencies, companies, scientists, tribes and private groups.
Fish and Wildlife Service officials declined to release the data because they said it could be used in future law enforcement cases.
The nests where Bedrosian and Preston are doing population studies are about 60 miles (96 kilometers) from the nearest wind farm — 114 turbines that PacifiCorp began operating about two years ago near the Wyoming-Montana border.
Personnel on site scan the skies with binoculars for eagles and can shut down turbines when the birds approach.
"We tend to see more golden eagles in prairie areas where you're going to have the best wind regimes," said Travis Brown, a biologist with PacifiCorp. "It's almost like competition for the wind resource because the birds are using it for movement."
Ten PacifiCorp wind farms have permits authorizing the incidental killing of eagles and an application is pending for two more, the company said.
Company representatives declined to say how many eagles have died under its federal permits. They said PacifiCorp's been building a "bank" of retrofitted power poles to offset eagle deaths and also wants to try new approaches such as painting turbine blades to be more visible and easier to avoid.
"We're working as hard as we can to avoid and minimize (deaths) up front, and then anything we can't we're mitigating on the back end," Brown said. | Climate Change |
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY FIVETHIRTYEIGHT / GETTY IMAGES The last few weeks have been tumultuous for the issues of climate change and immigration. Record-setting summer temperatures, historic floods and devastating hurricanes have raised the stakes for the climate-change provisions contained within the Inflation Reduction Act. Meanwhile, Republican governors in Florida and Texas have attracted media attention for paying to transport migrants and asylum seekers to liberal areas of the country. These two issues aren’t obviously linked, but they have one major commonality: They rank among the most partisan in the United States. Those on the left care a great deal about climate change, while those on the right are more likely to identify immigration and border security as an important issue. In light of recent developments in both these areas, we decided to focus the fifth wave of our FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos poll on climate change and immigration. Using Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel, we’ve been asking the same group of about 2,000 Americans what they feel are the country’s most important issues. In our latest poll, “inflation or increasing costs,” “crime or gun violence” and “political extremism or polarization” continued to appear on Americans’ list of most important issues, as they’ve ranked among the top three in each wave of our survey since we began polling in late April. But climate change (20 percent) and immigration (19 percent) were next in our most recent wave, as the chart below shows.1 Few issues had a wider partisan split than climate change or immigration. Overall, 36 percent of Democrats and just 5 percent of Republicans ranked climate change as a top issue facing the country. Conversely, 38 percent of Republicans and 6 percent of Democrats cited immigration as a top concern. This split has appeared consistently across all five waves: In each, 21 percent to 36 percent of Democrats have named climate change as a top issue, and 32 percent to 38 percent of Republicans have said the same of immigration. When it comes to climate change, Americans are divided by party on more than simply its importance. When asked how much of climate change is caused by humans, 88 percent of Democrats and just 35 percent of Republicans said that it was “entirely” or “mostly” caused by humans, with independents between the two at 65 percent.2 When asked whether the U.S. should pass regulations related to climate change that were “more strict,” “less strict” or “about as strict as they are today,” 76 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of independents and only 17 percent of Republicans wanted stricter regulations.3 And when asked to choose between two approaches to dealing with climate change, 89 percent of Democrats and 68 percent of independents supported prioritizing changes today that would reduce the effects of climate change before they happen, while 57 percent of Republicans preferred adjusting to climate change as it’s happening to minimize disruptions to daily life. Willie Yelverton, a 50-year-old Black man from Pennsylvania who identified as a Democrat, told us that even seemingly mundane changes would be important to reducing the impact of climate change. “[The government will] need to institute standard issue tax breaks for reusable materials,” he said. “There’ll have to be bans on goods that don’t have a path to be recycled and or reused going forward. Those are small line items, but it’s a very tough pill to swallow.” However, we did find more agreement across party lines when it came to legislative action to address climate change. We asked Americans whether they supported three climate-change measures included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which became law last month (we asked this without referring to the Inflation Reduction Act by name). As the chart below indicates, Americans across the political spectrum were at least somewhat receptive to them.4 Overall, more than 60 percent backed each of the three proposals, which included an increased emphasis on developing and using alternative energy sources, increased government regulation on corporations’ carbon emissions and giving tax credits to corporations that reduce carbon emissions. This included a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents, too, save for increasing government regulation of business’ carbon emissions — although a plurality of Republicans still backed this idea (47 percent). Despite decently strong support for these proposals, Americans were largely unfamiliar with the Inflation Reduction Act, with only 38 percent stating that they were “very” or “somewhat” familiar with it.5 We also found that, regardless of party, a respondent’s concern about climate change related to whether he or she had experienced unusual climate events. Republicans displayed a striking worry gap based on experience: Forty-six percent of those who had encountered extreme weather in the past five years said they were worried about climate change, compared with just 17 percent who hadn’t (a gap 8 percentage points larger than the one seen among Democrats, who already had a majority of respondents express worry about climate change independent of their experiences).6 A 61-year-old man from Florida who identified as a person of color and a Republican said he had recently experienced an extreme weather event, noting particular concern over “the obvious destruction of natural resources due to excessive heat, diminished water reserves and unusual number of heat domes impacting climate across multiple continents.” With the media spotlight hovering over immigration, partisan divides toward immigration should also come as little surprise. When we asked if rules surrounding legal immigration should become “more strict,” “less strict” or “remain about the same,” a plurality of Republicans (43 percent) preferred stricter rules, while 36 percent preferred the status quo, and 12 percent backed looser regulations (the remainder didn’t know or skipped the question). By comparison, only 11 percent of Democrats favored more restrictive rules, with 73 percent split evenly between wanting things to remain about the same or become less strict. Meanwhile, Republicans were more unified on the issue of illegal immigration, as 78 percent said they wanted stricter rules toward those entering the country without proper authorization, compared to just 24 percent of Democrats who said the same. Michael Ritchie, a 27-year-old white man from Texas who identified as a conservative-libertarian independent, told us he wanted the government to incentivize legal immigration and disincentivize immigrants entering the country without legal permission. “I don't think there can ever be enough boots on the ground, per se, to completely secure the border,” he said. “But creating new policies or revamping immigration policies that would keep people from coming here simply for free rides or anything like that, but also make it easier for people to come here legally.” That aligns with another finding in our poll: Among the 1 in 5 respondents who named immigration as a top issue facing the country, 95 percent said undocumented immigration was a bigger issue for the country, compared with just 1 percent who said legal immigration. “The federal government abandoned its duty to protect our borders. The flow of immigration outside the proper process is a symptom that anything can cross it without control,” said a 41-year-old Hispanic man from New York who identified as Republican. And unlike the policy ideas to tackle climate change, Americans were more split on the best ways to address immigration concerns. When we asked whether respondents supported or opposed five immigration-related proposals, the only one that received majority support was the U.S. accepting more refugees from Ukraine. But as we’ve seen in other polls, Americans view refugees differently based on where they’re from, as only 45 percent overall wanted to accept more refugees from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Republicans were far and away most supportive of expanding the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico (80 percent) and further restricting the number of visas given out (62 percent), while solid majorities of Democrats opposed these ideas (75 percent and 60 percent, respectively). Outside of supporting an increase in Ukrainian refugees and opposing the building of a border wall between the U.S. and Canada, independents were split pretty evenly on these proposals. Of course, it’s not as if these issues stand apart from each other. A 24-year-old multiracial woman from California who identified as a Democrat said, “[Climate change] will have such a large impact on America’s future, yet it’s turned into a ‘political issue’ with so much disinformation being spread. People are refusing to make the changes necessary to reverse climate change because of politicians who tell them lies.” Others tied immigration to issues such as health care. “Illegal immigration is a burden on the health care, judicial, education, etc. systems in the U.S. Even legal immigration hurts the U.S. with overpopulation,” said a 63-year-old white man from New York who identified as a Republican. And how these issues motivate or persuade voters to back one party or the other will be of vital importance when voters go to the polls in November. With fewer than six weeks until the midterms, 46 percent of respondents told us they were certain or almost certain to vote, up from 42 percent back in the first wave in the spring. And among those likely voters, Democrats and Republicans are about evenly split on the generic ballot, with 41 percent saying that they plan to vote for a Democrat and 40 percent planning to vote for a Republican (which is within the margin of error). Still, 17 percent of likely voters told us they intended to vote for a third-party option or didn't know how they planned to vote. Based on their highly partisan nature in today’s political environment, climate change and immigration may not immediately jump out as issues that help undecided voters make up their minds. But we’ll get a firmer answer to this question next month, when we take a closer look at which issues voters are thinking about the most when they cast their ballots. Art direction by Dan Dao. Copy editing by Maya Sweedler. Story editing by Santul Nerkar. Footnotes Conducted Sept. 6-19, 2022, among 1,564 respondents. As was the case in the previous waves of our survey, we asked respondents about the most important issues in three different ways: an open-ended question where they could write what issue or issues were most important to them, and then two multiple-choice questions where respondents could choose up to three issues from a list of 20, including “other” or “none of these,” that they were either personally worried about or that they thought were most important to the country. The sample is weighted to match the general population. This poll’s margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Independents included respondents who identified as “independent” or “something else,” or who skipped the question for party identity. Respondents were also given the options of “barely” or “not at all” caused by humans, “don’t know” and skipping the question.
Respondents were also given the option of “don’t know” and skipping the question.
Respondents were classified as in support of these three proposals if they said they “strongly support” or “somewhat support” a proposal. Respondents could also say that they “somewhat oppose” or “strongly oppose,” or that they were “not familiar” with a proposal.
Other options included “heard of, but that is about it,” “never heard of,” or skipping the question.
Extreme weather includes events such as extreme heat or cold, large wildfires, excessive rain, snow or drought. Respondents could select “yes,” “no,” “don’t know” or skip the question. Respondents were considered worried if they selected “very” or “somewhat” worried. They were also given the options of “not very worried,” “not at all worried,” “don’t know” or skipping the question. Holly Fuong is FiveThirtyEight’s data editor. @holly_fuong Geoffrey Skelley is a senior elections analyst at FiveThirtyEight. @geoffreyvs | Climate Change |
A secondary school and a residents’ association have teamed up with Barcelona city council to create a solar energy community with the capacity to grow – rooftop by rooftop – across large areas of the city.The solar panels on the roof of Quatre Cantons secondary school in the former industrial district of Poblenou supply power to the school and 30 households in the surrounding area.Each household has 500W of free electricity at its disposal, equivalent to a 25% cut in their bill.The idea was first proposed in 2019, says Marike Charlier, spokeswoman for the residents’ association, and began to become a reality in discussions with the Quatre Cantons school.César Ochoa, a maths teacher at the school who also sits on its sustainability committee, said the school’s desire to cut energy consumption dovetailed with the residents’ plans and, in a first for an energy community of this nature, the council agreed to foot the €94,000 (£80,000) cost of installing solar panels on the school’s roof.Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BSTThe 30 households then became clients of Barcelona Energia, the council-run electricity company, replacing the private company Endesa, although the latter has been slow to cede the connection.“Once it’s operational, the school will get 30% of the electricity generated,” Ochoa says. “That will supply only some of its needs, but this is just a pilot project. Obviously, during school holidays this energy will be available to whoever else needs it.”Solar power went into decline in Spain under the previous, conservative government after it imposed a “sunshine tax” on individual consumers or energy communities, which the big power companies claimed were unfair competition.The tax was scrapped under the current government and solar installation is soaring, accompanied by a move towards localised, rooftop installations, such as Quatre Cantons, rather than huge solar parks miles from centres of population.Last year Spain produced around 46% of its energy through renewables but solar (1.8%) still lags behind wind (23%) and hydro (11.4%).Under Spanish law, solar installations can only supply power within a 500m radius (the rule is 2km in France and Portugal) but the idea was always to extend it beyond 500m from the school, says Charlier.She points out that there are 11 other public buildings within 500m (1,640ft) of Quatre Cantons where further installations could radically increase the power available and extend the scheme across the neighbourhood.The city council has set itself a goal of a five-fold increase in solar power across the public and private sector by 2030.“These energy communities are really special and they make it possible to find solutions that wouldn’t otherwise be viable, but it isn’t scalable for the whole city,” says Eloi Badia, councillor for climate change and ecological transition. “In the end, the solution for Barcelona is for everyone to have solar panels on their roof.” | Climate Change |
The Blue Frontier founding team testing a prototype at Oak Ridge National Labs. From left to right: Matt Graham (VP of Engineering), Daniel Betts (CEO) and Matt Tilghman (CTO).Air conditioning has the potential to keep people cool as climate change keeps making the planet hotter. At the same time, conventional air conditioning technology uses a lot of energy, meaning it's contributing to climate change — and will have a bigger effect as more people need air conditioners to stay comfortable or even survive.Currently, air conditioning is responsible for nearly 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an analysis by scientists from the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center released in March. Those emissions are expected to get worse as more people install air conditioners, especially in India, China, and Indonesia, according to a joint statement from the NREL and Xerox PARC."It's a good and a bad thing," Jason Woods, an NREL senior research engineer and co-author of the new study, said in a statement about the research. "It's good that more people can benefit from improved comfort, but it also means a lot more energy is used, and carbon emissions are increased."Conventional air conditioner technology uses a vapor compression cycle to cool the air. In that system, refrigerant is used to do the cooling.Chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons used to be part of the most common refrigerants in air conditioners, but those chemicals deplete the ozone layer and they're being phased out. There are a couple dozen alternatives that don't harm the ozone layer, but they still have a high global warming potential.In addition, a lot of energy in a conventional air conditioner is used to over-cool the air in order to make it less humid and more comfortable.Read more about energy from CNBC ProOf the 1,950 million tons of carbon dioxide released each year from the energy used to power air conditioning, 531 million of those tons are to cool the air and 599 million tons are to remove the humidity, according to the NREL and Xerox PARC research. An additional 820 million come tons from the leakage of refrigerants and from greenhouse gasses emitted during the manufacturing and transporting of the air conditioner units."We've already made the existing, century-old technology nearly as efficient as possible," Woods said in the statement. "To get a transformational change in efficiency, we need to look at different approaches without the limitations of the existing one."That's the goal of Blue Frontier. The startup is working on technology that will make air conditioning more efficient with fewer harmful environmental by-products, and just scored a $20 million round led by Bill Gates investment fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures.It started with anthraxBlue Frontier uses one-third to one-fifth the amount of refrigerants that would be required for a conventional system, and because the construction of the machine is different than a conventional air conditioner, it can use a refrigerant with a lower global warming potential. "The combined effect is an 85% to 87% reduction in our system's contribution to global warming," CEO Daniel Betts told CNBC.The technology was actually discovered in efforts to kill airborne anthrax, which is a potential bioterrorism weapon, according to Betts. It's based on liquid desiccants, which are chemicals with a lower level of vapor pressure than water. When humid air is passed over that liquid desiccant, the water is pulled out, dehumidifying the air."Liquid desiccants are excellent antiseptics and bactericides. So the contact of anthrax with the liquid desiccant would kill it. This initial research led to innovations and discoveries that form the basis of Blue Frontier's technology," Betts told CNBC. "In fact, one of the advantages of Blue Frontier air conditioning technology would be a general improvement of indoor air quality and a healthier indoor environment."The Blue Frontier system getting tested at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.Courtesy Blue FrontierSome refrigerant is used in the Blue Frontier system but it is not used to do the cooling, it is used for operating the heat pump that regulates the salt concentration of the desiccant."Thus, the refrigerant and refrigerant carrying equipment never meets air entering the building or the interior of the building," Betts told CNBC. "This gives us an enormous advantage to use readily available refrigerants that are mildly flammable, without putting at risk the safety of the people in the building."Air conditioners that store energy, tooThe liquid desiccant that Blue Frontier uses can be stored inside the air conditioning machine in a small plastic tank, essentially storing the cooling capacity to be used when it's most needed. That's critical for a decarbonizing grid that will be increasingly dependent on renewables, like wind and solar, which are both intermittent sources of energy."The storage also allows us to consume the bulk of our energy when renewable energy is abundant and when electric grid congestion is low. We avoid consuming electricity during peak demand periods that are powered by fossil fuel peaking plants," Betts told CNBC."Summer peak demand is not just a problem because it causes brown-outs, it increases the cost of electricity, and produces more greenhouse gas emissions. It is also a cause of forest fires. When everyone consumes electricity for air conditioning during the hottest days of the year, the large amount of electricity flowing through the transmission and distribution lines heats them up and makes them sag," said Betts. "This increases the probability that they will come in contact with vegetation, causing forest fires."For VoLo Earth Ventures, another investor in the round announced Thursday, that storage capacity is also a key reason why Blue Frontier's solution is attractive."Blue Frontier's technology is a game changer for both cooling decarbonization and grid efficiency," Kareem Dabbagh, co-founder at VoLo Earth Ventures, said in written statement. "Their intersection of novel cooling technology and energy storage enables new opportunities to flatten large afternoon grid peaks in cooling demand, saving money for consumers and utilities."The prototype for the Blue Frontier air conditioner.Photo courtesy Blue Frontier.Learning from past mistakesBefore launching Blue Frontier, Betts launched another air conditioner start-up, Be Power Tech, which aimed to commercialize technology that both was an air conditioner and a source of energy. The startup failed, and Betts learned that building a company on two technologies that aren't yet developed is too much."I made the cardinal mistake of technology startups which is I put two completely new technologies dependent on each other and merged them," Betts told CNBC. "So, double the risk, double the money required. And so that company did not do that great."But he learned a lot about launching a product into a market that will be adopted and used."The insight was that we need to do something that does not change how people interact with the air conditioner in the building," Betts said. "To the installer, and to the builder, or to the building owner, it should just be a replacement or conventional air conditioner with ours."So that is what Betts and his team is trying to do.They're taking the technology, which has been been proven in prototypes tested at National Renewable Energy Laboratory and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and scale it up for commercial buildings first.Some test units will be installed in buildings in 2022, and another round of pre-commercial units are expected to go into buildings in 2023 and then the first commercial product for commercial buildings will be available in 2025. And if all goes well, a residential product will be on the market by 2026 or 2027, Betts told CNBC. | Climate Change |
America’s towns are not ready for climate catastrophes. Here’s how one is hanging on. By Evan Bush Sept. 23, 2022 EVERSON, Wash. – As much as 5 feet of water rushed down Main Street here on the morning of Nov. 15. The currents, strong enough to push around a police Humvee, trapped people in their vehicles. Floodwaters submerged City Hall. Sewage spilled into homes from backed up wastewater pipes Everson, in the northwest corner of the state, was mostly cut off from outside help, leaving locals at the helm in dozens of rescues, some using the buckets of tractors to pluck people from roaring floodwaters. One man died after his vehicle was washed off Main Street and into a nearby blueberry field. His faint shouts, reported to police from a nearby home, weren’t enough to locate him in the murky waters. Two weeks later, another flood roared through. A pipe-bursting freeze and a blanket of snow followed, leaving some residents to boil drinking water, make emergency repairs and navigate insurance claims in the cold. “Our family has been here 95 years and gone through a lot of floods,” said Jim Glass, a retired Everson city worker. “It’s just been getting worse.” Flooding has vexed Everson for more than a century, but climate change and years of inaction have raised the stakes, threatening to wash parts of the community away and leaving some residents wondering if they can live here in the long term. That makes Everson part of a slow-churning crisis playing out in eastern Kentucky, the suburbs of St. Louis and other towns across America. Historic rainfall – associated with climate change – is causing a dramatic rise in flooding and pushing communities to the brink. In Everson, record-breaking rainfall and soaring temperatures that melted alpine snow combined to send the Nooksack River over its banks and into the town’s center. Canadian researchers estimated that the probability of such powerful streamflows across the region – in Washington and British Columbia – was 120% to 330% more likely because of climate change. In the future, the researchers expect more damaging floods. A knot of problems now face Everson’s leaders, including a lack of housing, squabbles over river dredging and rising risks from climate change. NBC News spoke with about two dozen residents of Everson and nearby communities, including many who questioned whether the town could withstand future floods and were demanding that the government take measures to reduce risk and impacts. So far, local officials don’t have answers. Nor do state or federal officials. All have a hand in how the river – and flood risk – are managed. In recent decades and despite a bevy of studies, officials have taken few tangible steps to protect Everson and the surrounding communities, with efforts slowed by bureaucracy, a lack of funding and competing priorities. International leaders are also desperate to find solutions. The floodwaters that cascaded through Everson later contributed to hundreds of millions of dollars in insured damages in nearby British Columbia. Reene Cabrera purchased a home in Everson in September 2021 — only for it to be inundated nearly two months later. After the flooding, “we didn’t know what we were going to do – if it was safe to rebuild, if it was safe to come back home, if it was better to just walk away,” Cabrera said, standing in the backyard of his now-empty home, where hedges yellowed at the floodline and a bicycle remained, unused for months. “If nothing is done in regards to the river, we’re probably sitting ducks again.” ‘Everyone was taken off guard’ Before dawn on Nov. 15, Mike Brevik sat inside the cab of his bucket loader tractor, pointing his headlights into the inky floodwaters. Tearing up, he texted his children and then called his wife – afraid. “I love you,” she said. “Come home for dinner tonight.” Everson, a town of about 3,000, has only five public works employees. Brevik, a private construction contractor, occasionally helps with its roads or parks. That morning, at 4 a.m., Brevik rushed over to the Everson Fire Station, where he met John Perry, Everson’s mayor, and other public safety leaders, hoping to lend a hand. “I get to the fire station and they’re like, ‘What do we do? The county’s not coming, the state’s not coming,’” Brevik would recount later. “Everybody was taken off guard.” Everson Mayor John Perry stands in front of sandbags that lined the roadway for months after the 2021 flooding. Mike Brevik, a local contractor, used his front-end loader to rescue dozens of residents from the floodwaters. (Jovelle Tamayo for NBC News) Everson Mayor John Perry stands in front of sandbags that lined the roadway for months after the 2021 flooding. Mike Brevik, a local contractor, used his front-end loader to rescue dozens of residents from the floodwaters. (Jovelle Tamayo for NBC News) County officials the night before said in a news release that they expected flooding as significant as the region experienced in early February 2020 (known as “the Super Bowl flood”), when a few dozen Everson homes were damaged. This was so much worse. Climate change has intensified flooding risks across the U.S., and scientists have linked its influence to the storm patterns that devastated Everson. The atmospheric river storms that produced historic rainfall near Everson caused landslides and flooding in other areas of Washington state and in British Columbia. These storms are often called “Pineapple Expresses” in the Northwest because they draw moisture and warmth from Pacific waters near Hawaii. On weather radar, they look like fire hoses. Researchers would later evaluate three factors during the event — the atmospheric rivers, the amount of precipitation and the streamflow that resulted. The fingerprint of climate change made each anomaly more likely, according to a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Weather and Climate Extremes. Atmospheric rivers are plumes of concentrated moisture that flow through the sky. Last November, several atmospheric rivers that originated near Hawaii brought drenching rain to northwest Washington and caused widespread flooding and landslides. Scientists later determined that the probability of receiving such a strong atmospheric river had increased by at least 60% because of climate change. (CIMSS) Atmospheric rivers are plumes of concentrated moisture that flow through the sky. Last November, several atmospheric rivers that originated near Hawaii brought drenching rain to northwest Washington and caused widespread flooding and landslides. Scientists later determined that the probability of receiving such a strong atmospheric river had increased by at least 60% because of climate change. (CIMSS) And Everson received a direct hit. In some parts of town, the water was high enough to overtop the 4-foot tires on Brevik’s front-end tractor. Swift currents and whitecapped waves made driving even the heavy machinery frightening. Winds lashed the rain sideways across the cab. At about 5 a.m., Brevik drove into some of the highest waters, navigating the front-end loader on Main Street, Everson’s primary commercial strip, which features a pie shop, a schnitzel restaurant and small grocery store. A green minivan bobbed in the current — like a “balloon on wheels.” Its submerged headlights formed a semicircle glow in the murky water. Brevik navigated the machine beside the van, reached down and helped pull its door open. He guided the man inside into the front-loader’s bucket and then drove to higher ground. It was the first of about 40 rescues. With the bucket of his machine, Brevik plucked a young man shaking on the roof of his pickup as waves pounded the vehicle, scooped up about a dozen people from the second-story window of a flooded home, and discovered a postal worker shivering for hours inside his tipped truck. Between coordinating calls, the mayor or fire chief joined in to help with rescues. In 36 hours, the Everson police department responded to 64 calls for rescues, welfare checks or to deal with other flooding hazards, according to city records. The floodwaters ultimately seeped into about one-third of Everson’s housing, forcing some 300 families from their homes. Insufficient steps A little more than a week after the worst of the flooding, with two-story mountains of flood debris still piled up in Everson, local officials held a community meeting at Nooksack Valley High School to discuss the flood recovery. Residents of Everson and nearby towns let officials have it. “I’m getting so irritated standing back there — I’ve been working with families in the last week and a half — with families who have been decimated,” said Ashley Butenschoen, a firebrand in local conservative politics who would later become the vice president of a flood recovery nonprofit. Everson, which lies just west of the Cascade mountain foothills, has been flooding for more than a century. More than a dozen damaging floods have been recorded since homesteaders settled the town in the 1850s. A photograph, likely taken in 1909, shows a man riding a horse on city streets with water rising to the animal’s belly. In 1990, the Veteran’s Day flood caused more than $21 million in damage in Everson and surrounding areas. In 1990, the Veteran’s Day flood caused more than $21 million in damage in Everson and surrounding areas. That deluge sent town officials scrambling for solutions. “I remember going to a meeting after the ‘90 floods. People were up in arms,” Glass, the former city worker, said. He recalled running around town documenting watermarks to prepare for the next big flood. But the process of preparing for floods and the recovery that follows, involves more than a dozen government agencies and stakeholders, and can sometimes get bogged down by bureaucracy, waning public interest and lack of funding. Meanwhile, flooding risks in Everson and many American communities have only increased. While triggers vary locally, an atmosphere warmed by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels can absorb more moisture and deliver heavier rainfall. In the same week this summer, eastern Kentucky and the St. Louis suburbs both had damaging flood events that could be expected once every 1,000 years. The U.S. has seen a steadily rising trend in both the number of federal disasters declared each year and in the number of inflation-adjusted billion-dollar disasters of all types, according to federal data. “Our entire system is not built for the conditions today. The law goes back to the 1970s. The data goes back to the 1970s,” said Melissa Roberts, the executive director of the American Flood Coalition, a nonpartisan nonprofit group. After the flooding in 1990, Everson’s mayor at the time pushed through a levee extension project, hoping to protect the town. An international commission was appointed to address flooding in the U.S. and Canada. Local officials formed working groups and created comprehensive plans. Everson City Council minutes show town leaders contemplating whether to move facilities to higher ground. But over time, public attention fizzled. At the flood meeting in late November, with damage still fresh, officials faced a charged audience. Residents acknowledged that something had changed and that the floods were different now, though few viewed climate change as the primary cause. Speaker after speaker sidled up to the microphone demanding action. Gravel mining on the Nooksack River, which ended in 1997, became a flashpoint. The Nooksack carries more sediment than any river in Washington state. Sometimes that gravel fills the river bed, takes up space and leaves less room for floodwaters. That dynamic causes the river bed to shapeshift and makes predicting how much flooding to expect difficult, according to Paula Harris, flood manager for Whatcom County. The process is part of the reason local officials were caught off guard. In the auditorium, Butenschoen directed questions toward two lawmakers on stage, both Democrats. “What are you going to do to cut through the red tape? What are you going to do to jump the administrative hurdles to dredge the river?” Butenschoen said. “Stop screaming ‘climate change’ when we haven't dredged the river.” Brevik, the contractor, threatened to dig the river out himself if officials wouldn’t take action. Sovereign tribal nations are among the groups that have opposed dredging in the Nooksack, in part because it could harm threatened species, like juvenile Chinook salmon, which the federal government has a trust obligation to protect and whose population is dwindling. Dredging is expensive, said Ned Currence, a fisheries and resource protection manager for the Nooksack Tribe, adding that he believes it is also impractical at a large scale and would do more harm than good. “That’s treating your symptoms,” he said. A long-term solution, he said, would improve habitat and offer more permanent flood protection. To Perry, Everson’s mayor, “climate change isn’t creating the sediment blockage we’re seeing in the river, but the frequency and intensity of the storms we're getting makes that situation even worse.” Perry views dredging as unrealistic, but has grown frustrated that after months of meetings among flood stakeholders, he still can’t deliver to impatient residents a plate of straightforward solutions. Everson area residents in their own words Many American communities, including Everson, are struggling to catch up as climate change intensifies flood risk. Federal rainfall mapping for Washington state, which underlies decisions about infrastructure and flood risk, dates to 1973. In Whatcom County, where Everson is, Federal Emergency Management Agency data suggests nearly 5,900 properties are in areas of special flood hazard, indicating they have a 1% chance to flood each year and that purchasing flood insurance is almost always mandatory, Roberts said. The First Street Foundation, which incorporates climate data into a similar analysis, finds some 14,500 properties are at risk there. “The hundred-year flood definition has not kept up with the changes we’re seeing, and at this point it’s doing more harm than good because it’s more confusing to people,” Roberts said, referring to a common benchmark used to determine who needs insurance. Flooding and housing Flooding spurred by a warming climate twisted Everson’s most urgent problem – housing – into an emergency. Before the flooding, Everson, like many U.S. communities, was mired in a housing crisis. The pandemic only added fuel to a sizzling market as urbanites sought homes near Everson – many looking for space and Cascade mountain air. Developers couldn’t keep up with the torrid growth. Some Everson residents couldn’t keep up with the soaring prices. The local housing authority in recent years restricted who could join its waitlists for public and subsidized housing because these queues stretched several years long. Whatcom County had a 1 percent vacancy rate for rental apartments before the flood struck, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research. Meanwhile, home prices in the county soared about 23 percent from the first quarter of 2021 to the same period of 2022. Then the floodwaters forced 300 families from their homes and into that dismal rental market. It also led to the closure of low-income apartments in Everson, an acknowledgment that parts of this community couldn’t be restored, even though they’ve been there for decades. “The housing crisis — it just compounds any effects the flood had,” Perry said. “I don’t think we’ll ever catch up.” For Perry, the part-time mayor of Everson, floodwaters scrambled most everything in his life. Perry’s grandson was trapped by floodwaters and required Brevik to scoop him up. Fourteen properties that Perry’s family manages in nearby Sumas flooded, forcing renters away and requiring repair. After the waters receded, Perry began to shoulder the dual, and sometimes dueling, responsibilities of housing Everson residents and leading the town’s recovery while also seeking permanent solutions to redirect future floodwaters or move people from their path. During an early May visit to Everson, many homes remained gutted, with sandbags and flood debris still littering some yards. Residents continued to live in hotels, in trailers outside their unlivable houses or with friends elsewhere. Some teetered on the edge of homelessness. Some were waiting for funds from private insurance to rebuild. Others were waiting on contractors to elevate their homes or were weighing the possibility of buyouts. Decisions over what should be rebuilt or torn down intensified the housing squeeze. In early May, residents in a low-income housing unit called Everson Meadows received notices they needed to vacate within a month. The local housing authority planned to demolish the complex, which housed about 50 school-aged children. Floodwaters poured into the Everson Meadows apartment complex on the morning of Nov. 15. The 24-unit complex will be shuttered during the fall. (Courtesy of Rich and Katie Turner) Floodwaters poured into the Everson Meadows apartment complex on the morning of Nov. 15. The 24-unit complex will be shuttered during the fall. (Courtesy of Rich and Katie Turner) For many residents, moving was a daunting prospect. “Even after what’s occurred, we have to leave?” said Juan Gonzalez Lara, a 63-year-old Everson Meadows resident. Gonzalez Lara had fled his apartment just after 3 a.m. on Nov. 15 when floodwaters reached his knees. He returned a day later and found his bed, clothing and TV ruined and his floors coated in mud. That day, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him and his daughter rushed him to the hospital, where he received a heart surgery he attributes now to flooding’s stress. Now, back in his once-flooded apartment and recovering, he faced displacement – again. “Without work, without money — where are we going to go?” Gonzalez Lara said. The notices to leave had gone out early by mistake, said Brien Thane, CEO of the local housing authority. The organization planned to help relocate Everson Meadows residents by October 31. Thane said the organization couldn’t justify renovating the 24-unit building, which had structural and mold concerns even before the flood. The housing authority hopes to build elsewhere, on higher ground. After flooding, low-income housing is often among the last to return, if it does at all, said Roberts, the flood coalition director. “Anytime you’re taking housing stock out of commission, we know it increases price pressure, and we know affordable housing is often in the floodplain,” Roberts said. “After natural disasters, affordable housing is less likely to be rebuilt.” For Perry and Everson, the closure was devastating. “We don't have 24 available rental units in the area,” Perry said. “They're part of the community, and we don't want to lose that.” Meantime, despite the desperate need of housing stock, Perry found himself asking residents to vacate their homes for good. The City of Everson, and Whatcom County, in February sent more than a dozen letters gauging the interest of property owners in flood-prone areas in a potential buyout program. Nearby Sumas contacted 550 property owners. Claudia Vizcarra, left, and other representatives of the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group visit Everson Meadows residents on May 5. The aid group formed in the wake of the flooding to help fulfill unmet needs. Housing remains a struggle. “What do you do when there’s a natural disaster in the middle of a housing crisis? That’s been the million-dollar question,” said Lacey De Lange, a case manager with the group. (Jovelle Tamayo for NBC News) Claudia Vizcarra, left, and other representatives of the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group visit Everson Meadows residents on May 5. The aid group formed in the wake of the flooding to help fulfill unmet needs. Housing remains a struggle. “What do you do when there’s a natural disaster in the middle of a housing crisis? That’s been the million-dollar question,” said Lacey De Lange, a case manager with the group. (Jovelle Tamayo for NBC News) The county is seeking federal grant money in hopes it could move some residents away from the floodway or floodplain. Property buyout projects often take more than five years to complete, Roberts said. Acquisition funding is typically approved within two years. Tony Chunkapura’s four-bedroom home remained empty and gutted in September with a four-foot “flood cut” of drywall exposing its studs. Chunkapura hopes to receive a buyout backed if the city can secure federal grants, but is leery of the lengthy process and concerned rising housing values will price him out of his community. Chunkapura, who is living in a rented room in nearby Bellingham, considered buying a motorhome or RV for housing during the buyout process, but struggled to find somewhere to park it. “One location had a list of 60 people in the waiting line,” Chunkapura said. Tapping out Everson suffered death and devastation. For many families, recovery has not been smooth. Global warming, and flooding, dim the town’s long-term prospects. Still, it’s in a better position than many communities after disaster strikes. Some wait years for federal disaster funds, Roberts said. Everson has received substantial disaster relief already. Many communities lack the wherewithal to seek grants for buyouts, Roberts said. “This process is not possible to navigate for many communities, and a lot of them just end up tapping out,” she said. Most Everson families are back in their homes. Meanwhile, about one-third of Sumas remains unoccupied to this day. In Everson, hope remains. Perry, Currence and Harris are among the local leaders evaluating targeted buyouts, constructing dikes around affected towns and other options that could reduce risks. With enough funding, they think they can protect people without compromising the environment. Officials this fall plan to excavate and reopen a side channel near Everson as a first step. The project could develop new salmon habitat and make a “modest” increase in how much water can flow without overtopping the river bank. “It’s something. It’s not nearly enough,” Perry said. Some residents are keeping faith. “We felt confident to rebuild and come back home and just hope that we have some help from the government to be able to fix the river,” Cabrera said. “That’s the gamble we are taking." Senior Photo Editor:Matt Nighswander Photo Director:Zara Katz Art Director:Chelsea Stahl | Climate Change |
Firefighters work to contain a grass fire near Maidstone in Kent on 14 August amid a heatwave that saw UK temperatures top 40C. REUTERS/Kevin CoombsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comAugust 17 - An extreme heatwave that sent temperatures to 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in the UK; prolonged drought conditions imperilling food production and water supplies; sky-high energy costs. These are exactly the factors that might lend themselves to a public dialogue on climate change, and how to tackle it. Instead, there’s been silence.The UK government’s net-zero strategy recognised the importance of public engagement and set out a series of commitments and principles including sending clear regulatory signals and presenting a vision for getting to net zero.But in its progress report to parliament in June, the government’s climate advisor, the Climate Change Committee, said there was no overarching plan for how to engage people and no communications strategy to help them understand the changes the government is proposing and how best to promote the benefits of net zero. Reaching out to households (and business) is critical because their actions are now essential to decarbonise.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWhile opinion polling in the UK suggests citizens are more worried about climate change following July’s heatwave, they’re not any more willing to make lifestyle changes (like buying an electric car or eating less red meat) to tackle climate change. This suggests the government has its work cut out.The bulk of the emissions cuts achieved already have been unseen, through changes to the energy grid, but what must come next will mean all of us adapting.Jacob Ainscough, an environmental social scientist at Lancaster university, believes the government “has not been upfront with people”.As chancellor, prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak offered oil and gas companies a tax rebate if they invested in new infrastructure. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleHe thinks there’s a general hesitancy within government to be seen to be telling people what to do, coupled with a belief that technology will come to the rescue instead. This has stymied “any sort of public conversation about the choices we have to make … about how we make those decisions, (and) what those changes look like”.It has not asked us to fly less to cut emissions but is placing its faith in innovations such as electric aircraft. Such a strategy doesn’t impact behaviour.Then there’s the response to the energy crisis. While so much focus is rightly on alleviating hardship, fossil fuel subsidies are still in place: witness former chancellor (and potential prime minister) Rishi Sunak’s decision to offer oil and gas companies a tax rebate if they invest in new infrastructure. There’s no discussion of demand-side measures that could cut consumption, and simultaneously reduce emissions.“You would think it’s the opportunity to come up with bolder policy ‒ ramping up insulation rates and (installing) low-carbon heat appliances in the next five to 10 years – because you can frame it within the context of what's going on and the need to move away from gas,” suggests Ainscough.But there’s an information gap too – knowing what needs to be done on energy efficiency, for example, and where to go for that information. The government also has to find ways of overcoming inertia.Another elephant in the room is infrastructure: it’s not possible to get people onto buses if the buses aren’t there, or onto bikes if there aren’t safe places to cycle. Chandrima Padmanabhan, programme manager for Europe at the Centre for Public Impact, has found that typically governments try to identify incentives or disincentives to people taking up proposed interventions (like cycling), as opposed to their capacity to respond, such as whether they have been taught to ride a bike.At Lancaster, Ainscough and his colleagues are trying to change perceptions of what public engagement means so that information flows both ways, stimulating a dialogue about potential solutions.How can such dialogues be achieved? One mechanism is a climate assembly, where randomly selected individuals come together to learn about the climate crisis and make recommendations. They can help politicians gather information and understand potential flash points so they can develop better policy.Cyclists take to the middle of the road and ride two-abreast in the street, in London. REUTERS/May JamesThe Dutch government has just announced plans to set up an assembly. A climate assembly in France did ultimately help shape a wide-ranging climate law, even though many of its recommendations were watered down or dropped.The UK also convened a climate assembly in 2020. It’s not clear whether policy will be influenced by its deliberations, although the Climate Change Committee did take them into account when formulating some of its recommendations to government.Implementation is the biggest gap, says Padmanabhan. While national dialogues give legitimacy to the importance of issues such as climate change, governments also need to signal that they see climate as an emergency that warrants urgent action, she adds.Then there are structural issues to tackle to give cities the resources to address climate change and engage their citizens. From Padmanabhan’s experience, “the most helpful conversations are had closer to the ground”.Ainscough suggests much more targeted approaches are now needed in the UK, where there is more consensus than some other countries on the direction of travel. So, how are we going to decarbonise heat (for example), as opposed to considering climate change as one single issue.But citizen assemblies might be fruitful where citizens are split along ideological lines.The United States is generally viewed as being a hotbed of climate change scepticism, but a recent survey from the Pew Research Center (carried out before President Biden won backing for climate legislation) indicates that view may be outdated, as Americans are increasingly exposed to extreme weather events.A survey of 10,282 U.S. adults, carried out in May this year, found that 71% of Americans have experienced extreme weather in the past year.And while there are deep partisan divisions over Biden’s approach to climate change, a majority of Americans (58%) think the federal government is doing too little, while only 18% say it is doing too much on climate change.Perhaps the broad support for measures such as requiring power companies to use more renewables (72%), and massive tree planting programmes (90%) could be used as a starting point for dialogue.In the U.S., as in Europe and elsewhere in the world, whatever approach governments decide to take, public engagement is urgently needed.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOpinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Sustainable Business Review, a part of Reuters Professional, is owned by Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News.Angeli MehtaAngeli Mehta is a science writer with a particular interest in the environment and sustainability. Previously, she produced programmes for BBC Current Affairs and has a research PHD. @AngeliMehta | Climate Change |
President Joe Biden issued a statement slamming Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that limits the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate power plants' greenhouse gas emissions. The 6-3 ruling delivers a blow to Democratic and environmental groups that want the agency to crack down on emissions from power plants and other sources to mitigate climate change. In his statement, Biden vowed to fight back. SUPREME COURT SHARPLY LIMITS EPA POWER TO REGULATE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS "The Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia vs. EPA is another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards," he said. "While this decision risks damaging our nation’s ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, I will not relent in using my lawful authorities to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis." Biden has directed his legal team to work with the Department of Justice and "affected agencies" to review the decision and find ways to fight against it legally, according to the statement. The president noted that the Clean Air Act of 1970 has led to improved air quality over the last 52 years, cutting pollution by 78% even as the economy quadrupled in size. He blamed the Supreme Court decision on special interests. The case in question, West Virginia v. EPA, stems from a petition from a mix of coal-producing states and coal companies that asked the high court justices to establish whether the Clean Air Act gives the agency broad authority to restrict power plant emissions. Legal experts described the case as a surprising one for the court to take on, considering it dealt with the merits of the Trump-era Affordable Clean Energy Rule and the Obama-era Clean Power Plan — neither of which Biden's administration has any stated interest in defending. The Biden administration had urged the court not to take the case in the first place, and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued before the court that the justices should not rule because the administration was drafting its own rule, expected to be proposed this year. The decision to limit the EPA's authority to regulate power plant emissions constrains the agency's ability to act on Biden's agenda to slow climate change and get the ball rolling on his target of decarbonizing the power sector by 2035. "The science confirms what we all see with our own eyes — the wildfires, droughts, extreme heat, and intense storms are endangering our lives and livelihoods," Biden said. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The statement concluded with Biden pledging to take action. "My Administration will continue using lawful executive authority, including the EPA’s legally-upheld authorities, to keep our air clean, protect public health, and tackle the climate crisis," he said. "We will work with states and cities to pass and uphold laws that protect their citizens. And we will keep pushing for additional Congressional action, so that Americans can fully seize the economic opportunities, cost-saving benefits, and security of a clean energy future." | Climate Change |
Large parts of England are set to be officially declared in a state of drought today - forcing water companies to bring in even tougher restrictions on water use and threatening the closure of canals. The hardest-hit areas in the South and East of the country are expected to be officially classified as drought-stricken. The move will put pressure on water companies to do more to conserve supplies.Temperatures are expected to hit 95F (35C) today - making the country hotter than parts of the Caribbean and threatening crops like potatoes, apples, hops, broccoli and sprouts.Today, Yorkshire Water became the fifth company in England and Wales to announce a hosepipe ban for its five million customers. Southern Water, South East Water, Welsh Water and Thames Water have all announced hosepipe bans either now or in the coming weeks. South West Water and Severn Trent have all indicated they will also bring in restrictions. Together, they would cover more than 32 million people.Yorkshire Water will bring in a hosepipe ban from August 26, with its director of water, Neil Dewis, saying parts of the county had seen the lowest rainfall since records began more than 130 years ago. Under the restrictions, customers are banned from using a hosepipe to water their gardens, clean their vehicles, fill their swimming pools or clean their homes.However, they are still permitted to complete those activities with tap water from a bucket or watering can, or using water that is not sourced from taps. Businesses will only be allowed to use a hosepipe if it is directly related to a commercial purpose.An official drought is set to be announced today after a 10.30am meeting of the National Drought Group, which brings together the Environment Agency, water companies and groups such as the National Farmers' Union and the Angling Trust. Insiders last night said they expect the drought declaration to be a 'formality' for areas of southern England.It would be the first drought declared in the UK since 2018 – although that one was rapidly brought to an end by heavy rain. A general view of dry grass on the football pitches at Hackney Marshes. The Met Office has issued an amber extreme heat warning which came into force on Thursday and covers the rest of this week Cattle search for drinking water on Dartmoor, Devon at what until recently was an established watering hole, but is now completely dry An aerial view of the harvest during the heatwave in Scampton, Lincolnshire. Parts of southern England have had the driest July since records began, and reservoirs are at their lowest level for 30 years. Sources last night said they expect the drought declaration to be a 'formality' Low water level is pictured yesterday at Pontsticill Reservoir amid the ongoing heat wave near Merthyr Tydfil, Wales An image of scorched Britain captured on July 10 showed how ongoing drought conditions have affected the country Anglian Water staff handing out energy bottles of water to the residents of Haddenham in Cambridgeshire on Thursday afternoon The driest first seven months of the year in decades and hot spells have left parts of the UK facing looming drought, prompting hosepipe bans and warnings about the impact on agriculture, rivers and wildlife. Pictured: A dried out pond in Churchill Gardens, Bromley, east London New oak trees in Windsor Great Park begin to grow next to dead oak trees which still provide a vital habitat for insects A completely dry pond in Wanstead Park in northeast London, as heatwaves and drought caused by climate change continue in the UK A dried riverbed in Kemble, Gloucestershire, near the source of the River Thames is pictured yesterday Firefighters put out a grass fire at Hollow Ponds in Leytonstone, East London, yesterdayThe National Drought Group - made up of Government and agency officials, water companies and other groups such as the National Farmers' Union (NFU) - is set to meet tomorrow to discuss the prolonged dry weather Drought Q&A: Who decides if we're in one, could if affect food supplies, and at what stage are standpipes brought in?Who decides if it's a drought?The Environment Agency's National Drought Group declares when there is a drought. The group is made up of powerbrokers in the water sector with representatives from government ministries, water firms, unions and regulators and is chaired by Harvey Bradshaw, director of the agency.What makes it a drought?There is no single definition for a drought or set of measures that must be met. Instead, the group looks at rainfall, water supplies in rivers, reservoirs and lakes and temperature forecasts. If they decide the factors have combined in a certain way to warrant a warning, they will raise the alarm and offer a prediction of how severe the drought will be and how long it will last.There are two stages of drought they could declare:1. Amber – where there is a risk of stress on water supplies, reduced crop yields and increased wildfires.2. Red – involving a risk of widespread environmental damage, wildfires, failure of crops and of water supplies. The last severe drought was in 2011.What happens under each scenario?AMBERIn an amber-level drought, water supplies come under stress, wildlife habitats are harmed, wildfires break out and farmers suffer lower crop yields, according to the National Drought Group. Prolonged dry conditions are already causing problems for crops like potatoes, apples, hops, broccoli and sprouts, and there are fears Britain risks a looming vegetable shortage. Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association, said Britain 'could be in a major deficit position', where domestic supplies cannot meet demand. He said: 'The temperatures we are seeing here are being replicated around Europe so European production sites are facing similar challenges. This could lead to less product and less choice.' Long dry periods are problematic for wildlife because they can reduce the amount of food available to animals. Fish may also be affected by lower oxygen levels in the water. RED The impacts of a red-level drought include the 'failure of public and private water supplies', the National Drought Group says. Along with 'widespread' wildfires, the failure of crops and plants for fodder would increase food prices and worsen shortages of certain produce. The extremely dry summer of 1975 saw sheep, pigs and calves die in the high temperatures, while milk yields fell and lambs and cattle took longer to fatten, according to a Royal Society paper. Crops suffered not only from a lack of water but also from an increase in pests and diseases. What restrictions will water companies bring in? AMBER Once a drought is declared, the National Drought Group can limit the amount of water companies can take from rivers and ensure there are suitable plans for dealing with drought incidents. In some situations, the group will perform an 'emergency fish rescue' from drying-out bodies of water. It can also stop businesses using spray irrigation as well as advising the public how to conserve water.There could also be hosepipe bans and further restrictions on non-essential water use, including car washes and swimming pools. There would be 'prolonged' restrictions on canal and river navigation due to low water levels, and companies that consume large amounts of water would be forced to apply for permits to continue doing so. REDA severe drought could lead to water rationing and the introduction of standpipes or mobile water tanks. A huge emergency response would include the convening of COBRA, the government's emergency committee. Water companies could impose rationing at certain times of day and the introduction of standpipes or mobile water tanks. The permit regime would also be substantially toughened up to protect public water supplies. All other amber restrictions would be further strengthened. Parts of southern England have seen the driest July since records began, and reservoir levels have fallen to their lowest levels in 30 years. Sources last night said they expect the drought declaration to be a 'formality'. A four-day amber warning for extreme heat from the Met Office is in place for much of England and Wales until Sunday as temperatures are forecasted to rise to 99F (37C) over the weekend with warnings of health impacts and disruption to travel. There are also fears rain after the dry weather will cause flash floods, the Met Office said, with warnings set for northern parts of the UK next week. This has already prompted farmers like TV star Jeremy Clarkson to harvest their crops early. 'It may be the wrong type of rain because it falls very fast and very hard,' Paul Davies, the Met Office chief meteorologist, told the BBC. 'When it comes against the hard ground then the water flows very fast, taking debris and causing flash flooding, whereas other areas may see very little at all.' A drought would be the first declared in the UK since 2018 – although that one was rapidly brought to an end by heavy rain. The move will be announced after a meeting of the National Drought Group today, led by the Environment Agency and including water firms and groups such as the National Farmers' Union and the Angling Trust. It comes as: A Met Office amber warning for extreme heat came into force yesterday that will last until Sunday Forecasters said temperatures could hit 37C (99F) in Birmingham and London between today and the end of the weekend Fire chiefs saw eight times as many grass fires this week compared to a year ago Police say arsonists have targeted tinder-dry fields and parks Sainsbury's became the latest supermarket to stop the sale of disposable barbecues Meteorologists said showers next week are unlikely to be enough to replenish reservoirs While an official declaration of drought will not trigger any specific action by water companies, it creates a 'sense of urgency' for them, according to Government sources. An Environment Agency spokesman said firms were under no obligation to take action. There has been criticism that water firms in England and Wales let 681 million gallons of water leak from their pipes every day, equivalent to 1,245 full Olympic swimming pools. Tory leadership candidate Rishi Sunak yesterday vowed to crack down on leaking water companies if he becomes prime minister, saying 'nothing is off the table'. But aides in Liz Truss's camp said this amounted to a policy U-turn as he had previously supported hosepipe bans. The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said it would require 'exceptional' rainfall over the next one to three months to replenish water stocks. Satellite images show huge areas of England looking yellow and parched under the extreme dry weather. According to the Sun, some supermarket shelves were stripped dry from water bottles. Hosepipe bans also in turn have an effect on farmers, which could threaten crops. Jerry Knox, a professor of agricultural water management at Cranfield University, told the Guardian: 'We are starting to see real issues for crops such as potatoes. We will see reduced yields and particularly reduced quality.''Potatoes are set to become more expensive while farmers are already abandoning plans to grow brassicas like cabbages,' Professor Jerry Knox of Cranfield University told the Times. 'The autumn and winter will be critical to to return to normal conditions.'Professor Liz Bentley, chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, said: 'Drought will not disappear in a matter of days — it's going to take a long period of sustained rainfall.'The UK Health Security Agency has put a heat health alert in place. Temperatures hit 34.2C (93.6F) at Wiggonholt, West Sussex, yesterday.Forecaster Craig Snell said: 'It's going to be an incredibly hot day, and very sunny across the board, with temperatures slightly higher than what we saw on Thursday.' There is also a heat health alert in place from the UK Health Security Agency, with experts advising people to look out for those who are older or with existing health conditions, as well as young children. The ongoing dry conditions, combined with last month's record-breaking heatwave, have depleted rivers, reservoirs and aquifers and dried up soils, hitting agriculture, water supplies and wildlife and raising the risk of wildfires. Four water companies in England and Wales have already brought in hosepipe bans or have signalled their intention to do so, while the Wildlife Trusts have called for an England-wide hosepipe ban to protect nature and rivers. Brits have been trying to beat the hosepipe band by coming out with initiative solutions to get around the measure Pictured: West Midlands fire service are warning Britons to stay safe in the heat and keep hydrated throughout the heatwave A fire which broke out on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire yesterday as the UK is warned of more wildfires at the weekend Firefighters attend to a fire yesterday, following a long period of hot weather and little rain in Rainham, EssexFirefighters attend to a fire in Rainham, Essex yesterday, following a long period of hot weather and little rain A water tanker in Northend, Oxfordshire, yesterday as dozens of homes in the Oxfordshire village were left without water after E.coli was found in a nearby reservoir Grass wildfire on Canvey Island yesterday. A wildfire started very close to the big Morrison's store and spread very quickly A man is pictured walking on a path amongst dead grass in Victoria Park, east London. The Met Office has issued an amber heat warning running between Thursday and Sunday, which could see temperatures peak at 36C across southern England and eastern Wales What is your water company doing to cope with the dry weather? Five water companies have announced hosepipe bans in the UK as another heatwave scorches the country.Yorkshire Water was the latest to say it expects to implement a temporary usage ban (TUB) in the coming weeks due to the dry weather.Here are each water company's current guidelines concerning hosepipe bans and water usage across the UK, alongside water leakage statistics for those based in England and Wales:- Anglian Water Area: East of England and HartlepoolCustomers: Six millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 86 litresA spokesman said: 'We have no hosepipe bans currently in place across our region and we're working hard to keep it that way, but we're watching river levels very closely right now as things can change quickly and the forecast for this month remains dry and warm.'- Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru)Area: Most of Wales and parts of western England on the border with WalesCustomers: Three millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 116 litresThe company has introduced a hosepipe ban for customers in the region of Pembrokeshire and a small part of Carmarthenshire, which will come into effect on August 19.The TUB will be in place 'until we have had enough rain to replenish our water resources'.- Hafren DyfrdwyArea: North-east and mid-WalesLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 134 litresThe water provider does not currently have any restrictions in place but has not ruled out implementing 'joint policies' along with the Welsh government should the situation with the dry weather worsen.A spokesman said: 'Whilst we don't have any concerns about raw water position for Hafren Dyfrdwy, we continue to monitor the situation and are a part of the Welsh Government's Taskforce, working closely with them to create joint policies and processes in the event of drought action.'- Northumbrian WaterCustomers: 2.7 millionArea: Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and parts of North YorkshireLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 110 litresThe website says there are 'no plans in place to implement any drought measures such as hosepipe bans', but adds it is 'good practice' to use water wisely.- Severn Trent WaterArea: From the Bristol Channel to the Humber and from mid-Wales to the East MidlandsLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 112 litresThe region covered by Severn Trent Water currently has no hosepipe bans in place.However, the company said it will continue to monitor reservoir levels and demand for water 'closely', as it does every year, for any changes.- South West WaterArea: Devon, Cornwall, parts of Dorset and SomersetCustomers: 1.7 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 118 litresSouth West water customers are at risk of 'formal restrictions' being introduced over the coming weeks.The last water restriction in the region was in 1996, but the company said on August 3 it may have to make the 'difficult decision' to introduce restrictions 'if the exceptional levels of demand and sustained dry weather continues'.- Southern WaterArea: The south-west of England, including Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, most of Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire and HampshireCustomers: 2.5 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 87 litresA hosepipe ban has been in place for customers in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight since August 5.The company has applied for a Drought Permit on the River Test from the Environment Agency to allow them to continue to 'take water if levels continue to drop'.- Thames WaterArea: London and the Thames ValleyCustomers: 15 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 161 litresThames Water said it is planning to issue a hosepipe ban in the coming weeks 'given the long term forecast' of hot and dry weather for the region.It added: 'The timing is not confirmed due to a number of operational and legal procedural requirements but we will be updating our customers, partners, regulators and stakeholders at the earliest time to ensure a co-ordinated approach.'In the meantime, we continue to urge our customers to only use what they need for their essential use.'- United UtilitiesArea: The North West in a region from Crewe to CarlisleCustomers: More than three millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 130 litresA company spokesman said it is 'not considering any restrictions on use' of water at present but did encourage customers to use water wisely.- Wessex WaterArea: The South West including Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and HampshireCustomers: 2.8 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 111 litresNo hosepipe bans are planned by Wessex Water but the company does warn that reservoir and groundwater levels are low and urges customers to 'use water responsibly'.- Yorkshire WaterArea: West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of DerbyshireCustomers: More than five millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 130 litresA spokesman said: 'Parts of Yorkshire have seen the lowest rainfall since our records began more than 130 years ago,' he said.'The hot, dry, weather means that Yorkshire's rivers are running low and our reservoirs are around 20% lower than we would expect for this time of year. We've been doing everything we can to avoid putting in restrictions but, unfortunately, they're now necessary as part of our drought planning.'We've been monitoring reservoir levels, weather forecasts and other environmental indicators closely to determine whether we might need to put further measures in place.'- Affinity WaterArea: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and other parts of the South EastCustomers: 3.83 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 120 litresParts of the South East covered by Affinity Water are 'unlikely' to see any hosepipe ban this year.The company's website says: 'At current levels, it's unlikely we'll need to introduce restrictions this year.'- Bristol WaterArea: Bristol city, north east Somerset and south GloucestershireCustomers: More than 500,000Leakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 69 litresAt the end of July, the company said: 'We will continue to monitor the situation, but with our current water resource outlook we do not foresee any issues in supply to customers.'- Portsmouth WaterArea: Portsmouth and the surrounding areaCustomers: 698,000Leakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 79 litresDespite Southern Water issuing a temporary usage ban for nearby Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth Water reassured customers on Twitter on Tuesday 'there is no hosepipe ban in the Portsmouth Water area of supply'.It added: 'But please, please, please use water responsibly! We're all in this together.'- South East WaterArea: The south-east of England, including Eastbourne, Maidenhead and North KentCustomers: 2.2 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 99 litresA hosepipe ban will come into force on Friday for customers in Kent and Sussex.The company announced: 'We have been left with no choice but to restrict the use of hosepipes and sprinklers from 12.01am on Friday August 12 within our Kent and Sussex supply area until further notice.'On its website, South East Water said: 'We are taking this step to ensure we have enough water for both essential use and to protect the environment.'This will enable us to also reduce the amount of water we need to take from already stressed local water sources.'- South Staffs WaterArea: West Midlands, South Staffordshire, South Derbyshire, North Warwickshire and North WorcestershireCustomers: 1.3 millionLeakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 111 litresHead of water strategy and environment Natalie Akroyd said: 'With the recent hot weather and less-than-average rainfall for this time of year, we continue to monitor our water resources and encourage our customers to use water wisely.'We currently don't have any plans in place to introduce hosepipe bans.'- SES WaterArea: Parts of Surrey, Kent and south LondonCustomers: 745,000Leakage per property per day in 2020/2021: 82 litresSES Water wholesale director Tom Kelly said: 'The prolonged dry weather, coupled with higher demand for water, continues to affect our levels of resources, which are less than we'd expect for this time of year.'85% of our supplies come from groundwater resources, which is water stored in aquifers underground, and the remaining 15% is abstracted from rivers into our Bough Beech reservoir in Kent.'These resources are refilled by rainwater between October to April and so, unlike some other water companies, we don't rely on summer rainfall to replenish.'We'll be monitoring rainfall levels during the winter months, as that's when our groundwater sources refill, in case restrictions need to be brought in next spring.'While they have still been affected by the dry weather, it's the increase in demand for water that's the main cause for the decline in water resource levels.'Customers playing their part to save water is helping us from having to introduce restrictions.'We continue to closely monitor our resources on a daily basis and won't rule out bringing in a hosepipe ban if we feel it is required.'In the meantime, we're asking customers to keep using water responsibly, as we play our part to keep leakage as low as we can, and together we can make sure there's enough for everyone this summer.'- Scottish WaterA Scottish Water spokesman told PA there were no plans for water usage restrictions in Scotland.He added: 'We are monitoring and managing our water resources and, in some instances, reservoirs are being topped up from alternative water sources to ensure supply resilience for customers.'- Northern Ireland WaterA spokesman for Northern Ireland Water said: 'The amount of water in our impounding reservoirs is kept under continuous review and we are content with our current level of storage. However, it is imperative that customers continue to use water wisely, especially given the forecast for the next number of days.'At this point in time, NI Water is not introducing a hosepipe ban. The situation is, however, being closely monitored and if storage reduces significantly or demand became excessive, NI Water would have to consider the possibility of putting in place measures in order to protect water supplies.'Water leakage information was compiled by the information dashboard Discover Water and is based on information agreed by water companies, the water regulators, the UK and Welsh Governments and the Consumer Council for Water. Council suspends food and garden waste collections for a MONTH - in the middle of heatwave Waltham Forest Council gave residents just five days notice that their food bins and garden waste bins will not be collected until September 12Some Londoners have been left outraged after being informed by their council that food bins will not be collected from their homes for more than a month despite the next heatwave looming.Waltham Forest Council took to social media to let people know that from August 15, both food and garden waste bins will not be collected until September 12.Furious residents of the north-east London borough have fired back, highlighting that their 'rotting' food will be left uncollected during the UK heatwave. And Waltham Forest deputy group leader for the Conservatives Afzal Akram revealed that him and his colleagues were 'flabbergasted' when they heard about the suspension.Cllr Akram told MailOnline: 'We are flabbergasted by this decision being made and by the way it has been communicated.'We as councillors only heard about it once the council put it out on social media. It's one of those blue sky thinking moments that you think of something and straight away you should throw it in the bin.'But for them to go and implement it is ridiculous. We are in a heatwave and they expect residents to leave food lying their for month - the stench, the stink is going to be unbelievable.'The council believes that the 'temporary' measure will allow it to focus on other services over the summer and reduce unnecessary journeys.It highlighted that less garden waste has had to be collected given the lack of rainfall in the UK this summer.The council has told homeowners to dispose of any garden and food waste in brown bins until collection resumes.Some water companies have failed to meet their own targets for cutting household leaks and domestic use, with many blaming the coronavirus pandemic as more people have been at home. Ofwat, the water regulator. said in a statement: 'Progress has been made in the past few years but there is much further to go, which is why we are pushing companies to reduce leakage, fix their environmental performance and become more financially resilient while keeping bills affordable and helping customers reduce their consumption. 'Where we find that companies have fallen short, we will act - over the last five years, for example, we have imposed penalties and payments of over £250 million.' It comes after temperatures reached 34.2C at Wiggonholt, West Sussex, on Thursday afternoon, while many areas in southern England and Wales hit the low 30s. Fires broke out in different areas, including London, Essex, Gloucestershire, Surrey and Cheshire, yesterday. The London Fire Brigade were called at 11:36am yesterday to a fire at Hollow Ponds on Whipps Cross Road in Leytonstone, where around 75 square metres of grass and shrub land were alight. Two fire engines and around 10 firefighters attended the scene and the inferno was under control around an hour later. The cause of the blaze is still being investigated.National Highways have also urged Britons to be 'prepared' with bottles of water before setting out amid more train strikes scheduled this weekend. Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said: 'The risk is very high across much of central, southern and eastern England. Going into Friday and the weekend, it starts to increase further, going into the highest category of exceptional risk.'Heatwave thresholds - which are met at different temperatures in different parts of the country - are likely to be hit in much of the UK.Temperatures reached 34.2C at Wiggonholt, West Sussex, on Thursday afternoon, and climbed above 33C in a number of places from Shropshire to the south east of England. Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page also said: 'Persistent high pressure over the UK means temperatures have been rising day-on-day through this week and it is important people plan for the heat.'Temperatures are expected to peak at 35C on Friday and possibly 36C over the weekend.'We will also see increasingly warm nights, with temperatures expected not to drop below the low 20s for some places in the south.'He said temperatures would drop early next week, with heavy showers and thunderstorms likely in some areas - but it was 'impossible to say yet exactly where and when they will occur'.Britain has been told to brace for a sweltering heatwave this week as a Level 3 Heat Health Alert also came into effect Tuesday and has been extended until Saturday - with little rain expected to help relieve the threat of drought which has prompted hosepipe bans and fire warnings. Mark Hardingham, the chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said that he 'can't remember a summer like this' in his entire 32-year career in the fire service. A cyclist braves the soaring temperatures across Britain yesterday as the Met Office has also raised its Fire Severity Index to exceptional A woman was pictured walking near Big Ben in London yesterday as heatwaves and prolonged dry weather are damaging landscapes, gardens and wildlife, the National Trust has warned Algal blooms are smothering parts of the Jubilee River in Slough, Berkshire yesterday. As the heatwave continues an Amber Level 3 Heat Health Alert remains in force with temperatures forecast to peak on Saturday Firefighters put out a grass fire at Hollow Ponds in Leytonstone, East London on Thursday afternoon as parts of the UK have become a tinder box due to the extreme hot weather Pictured: A view from the runway of Gatwick Airport sees smoke billowing in the distance from a suspected wildfire from the Crawley area earlier today. The heat and constant dry weather in the south west has risen concerns about serious drought and wildfiresHe told The Telegraph: 'We're not going to see temperatures as hot as we saw three weeks ago, but that doesn't matter because the ground couldn't get any drier than it already is. The good, the bad and downright cheeky: How cunning Brits are BEATING (and flouting) the hosepipe ban– filling up pools from their baths, taking showers standing in buckets and using 'grey water' from their sinks to water their plants More than 30 million people across the UK are facing hosepipe bans as temperatures continue to soar.The Isle of Man has had the ban in place since Friday, August 5, while Southern Water introduced it in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight yesterday. Southeast Water, which serves Kent and Sussex, will enforce the ban tomorrow.Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Essex, Gloucestershire, and parts of Wiltshire will also face the restrictions in coming weeks.The rule means that hosepipes cannot be connected to a main hose pipe for any reason, including watering plants, filling paddling pools or washing cars.But savvy Brits are finding tricks to get around the ban, while others are brazenly ignoring it with some even boasting about it on social media.One woman on TikTok was seen to be breaking the ban by attaching her hosepipe directly to her bath tap.She then proceeded to turn on the tap and run the hose to her outdoor paddling pool.In the video the woman can be seen miming: 'I am not allowed, I know I am not allowed. 'I've done it now, it's too bleeding late. What they going to do? What's going to happen?'Are they going to shoot me? I doubt it, they'd have to catch me first. I'm like a whippet'.In London, one resident was caught filling up a large blue paddling pool using a public tap in St George's Square, Pimlico. Westminster Council said in response to the local's hack that the water is for the shrubs and plants only.The local authority added: 'We'd not advocate filling up pools or any other receptacle in our green spaces, especially during a heatwave.' Drought is expected to be declared for some parts of England, as another heatwave scorches the country after months of low rainfall.Warnings are in place over the health impacts of extreme heat and the risk of wildfires, as temperatures are expected to climb as high as 36C in some areas.The National Drought Group - made up of Government and agency officials, water companies and other groups such as the National Farmers' Union (NFU) - is set to meet on Friday to discuss the prolonged dry weather.There are expectations drought could be declared for the most affected areas of England in the south and east, after the driest July on record for some area | Climate Change |
Europe is on pace to set a record for the extent of its wildfires this year, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). Since the beginning of the year, 1.6 million acres, an area equal to one-fifth of the landmass of Belgium, or more than eight New York Cities, has burned.That’s the most at this point in the year since continentwide record keeping began, in 2006, and it’s double the average year to date. Compared to the prior record, set in 2017, more than 56% as much land has already burned this year. The unusually high number of fires is even more striking: More than four times as many fires have broken out this year than at this point in an average year.Fire at the Pont de Vilomara and Manresa, which is already under control and which led the fire brigade of the government of Catalonia to the limit of its extinction capacity and coincided with a strong heat wave in Europe, July 18. (Eric Renom/NurPhoto via Getty Images)The cause is a series of record-setting heat waves that have hit Europe this summer, combined with drought conditions in much of the continent. In July, temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. More than 2,000 people died from heat-related causes in Portugal and Spain. Temperature records were set across both countries.After a spring with 19% less rainfall than average in the European Union and U.K., followed by unusually early and intense heat waves, the European Commission’s Joint Research Center announced in July that a majority of the EU and U.K. were either at “warning” or “alert” levels for drought risk.These conditions, and the resulting wildfires, have been made more likely to occur because of climate change.“The situation in terms of drought and extremely high temperatures has affected all Europe this year and the overall situation in the region is worrying, while we are still in the middle of the fire season,” the EFFIS coordinator, Jesús San-Miguel, told Agence France-Presse.Fires this year have destroyed buildings and forced people to evacuate their homes in Austria, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.A firefighter walks near flames during a wildfire raging in the Monts d’Arrée, near Brasparts, France, on July 19. (Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images)Last Friday, the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) warned “a large proportion of western Europe is in ‘extreme fire danger’ with some areas of ‘very extreme fire danger.’”Wildfires are not only caused by climate change, but they also contribute to it, as burning wood releases carbon dioxide. Wildfire carbon emissions have broken records in France and Spain, according to CAMS.Historically, only the countries in southern Europe have had to contend with wildfires, but global warming has caused that to change. Since 2010 there have been more fires in northern Europe.Firefighters are being spread thin as a result. Last week, firefighters from Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania and Poland helped more than 1,100 French firefighters contain the biggest fire in France, the Landiras Fire, near the department of Gironde.“The overall fire season in the EU is really driven mainly by countries in the Mediterranean region, except in years like this one, in which fires also happen in central and northern regions,” San-Miguel told AFP._____Global temperatures are on the rise and have been for decades. Step inside the data and see the magnitude of climate change. | Climate Change |
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! FIRST ON FOX: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spent $4.3 million in funds from President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package on environmental justice and climate change programs promoting activities like tree planting, "pruning workshops," and achieving "greater acceptance of trees" in cities.Last April, the EPA announced it was awarding $200,000 each to dozens of projects "focusing on COVID-19 impacts, as well as climate and disaster resiliency" in "underserved communities" through its Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program. The program awarded a total of 34 organizations using $4.3 million in funds from Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, as well as $2.5 million from the EPA’s annual appropriation for environmental justice. President Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)One Indianapolis-based organization called Keep Indianapolis Beautiful was awarded $200,000 for an initiative called "Greening Urban Neighborhoods" which included educating residents about "the benefits of trees" and increasing "acceptance of trees in the City."Another organization, the New Mexico-based Tree New Mexico, received ARP funds to plant trees in the "underserved area of the southeast quadrant of Albuquerque." That project included "pruning workshops" and providing "tree care education" with the goal of more residents becoming "citizen tree stewards committed to caring for newly planted trees and older trees," and to decrease the "heat island effect" that occurs in urbanized areas.EPA SPENT $7M IN AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDSTO REPLACE DIESEL SCHOOL BUSES WITH ELECTRIC BUSESThe Houston-based Black United Fund of Texas received ARP funds through the EPA program for a project developing "a shipping container farm, residential gardens, green technology, tree and native habitat planting, workforce development, and public education."According to the EPA website, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based Hourcar was also awarded EJCPS funds, funded by the ARP, to launch "Evie carshare, a new all-electric carsharing program featuring 150 shared electric vehicles supported by 70 curbside charging stations, with a focus on service to low-income and BIPOC communities."The USASpending.gov website, which documents government spending, says that the $200,000 in ARP funds for the grant was "obligated."Just before Democrats passed the ARP in March 2021, without any Republican support, Biden described every allocation of funds in the legislation as essential. "We need Congress to pass my American Rescue Plan that deals with the immediate crisis — the urgency," the president said at the time. "Now, critics say my plan is too big, that it costs $1.9 trillion. So that’s too much. Well, let me ask them: What would they have me cut? What would they have me leave out?" U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks about the American Rescue Plan in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on July 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Now, the ARP is facing intensifying scrutiny for its role in the current inflation crisis, which hit a whopping 8.6% last month. Some economists, including former Obama administration economic advisers, have blamed the ARP for overheating the economy."While our nation is $30 trillion in the hole and hemorrhaging money on the federal level, news like this should outrage every taxpayer," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who sits on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "These examples are not appropriate functions of government, and are just the tip of the iceberg. The EPA – and I would argue every agency – must be held to account for how they’re utilizing public funds."Fox News Digital previously reported that the EPA also used $5.25 million in ARP funds through its Environmental Justice Small Grants Program in 2021 to award grants for projects that had virtually little to do with addressing COVID-19 or the effects of the pandemic. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spent $4.3 million in funds from President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package on environmental justice and climate change programs, including "pruning workshops." (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)One of the nonprofits that received a grant through that program was the Massachusetts-based organization Speak for the Trees for a project utilizing "storytelling" and "tree walks," among other techniques, aimed to "increase awareness and dialogue surrounding inequitable tree canopy cover and its implications on the health of residents living in [environmental justice] communities."Clean Air Carolina, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, received a grant for a project to install a public Level 2 EV charging station and to create an educational video as a way for "community members to get involved to mitigate air pollution."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPIn a statement provided to Fox News Digital Wednesday evening, the EPA said all applications for the EJCPS program "went through a rigorous scoring and approval process to ensure project activities and goals align with statutory authorities and the language and intent of ARP.""All applications selected for funding were reviewed by EPA’s Office of General Counsel," the statement read. "The EJ grants program funds community-driven projects. A basic tenet of environmental justice is that communities speak for themselves and are in the best position to know how to resolve challenges that they are facing. The EJ grants program, now with almost three decades of experience at awarding effective grants to communities across the country, has a record of investing taxpayer dollars in responsible ways and in places that meet communities’ needs and support longer term goals for community revitalization." Jessica Chasmar is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @JessicaChasmar. | Climate Change |
Experts have said higher summer temperatures caused by the climate crisis will fuel an increase in cases of potentially deadly skin cancers such as melanoma.The UK recorded its highest ever temperature of 40.2C last month, as climate scientists stressed the heatwave was not a one-off and high temperatures were likely to become more frequent.Now medics are warning that the changing climate will cast a long shadow should people spend more time in the sun and have greater exposure to UV radiation.“As a clinician treating patients with melanoma, I am definitely concerned that a sustained trend in hotter summers will lead to more cases of melanoma and more deaths from melanoma,” said Sarah Danson, a professor of medical oncology at the University of Sheffield.Julia Newton-Bishop, a clinician scientist leading the melanoma research group at the University of Leeds, said: “Melanoma is caused essentially by sunburn, and this weather is so extreme that I am concerned that sunburns will increase and later so will the incidence of melanoma.”According to data from Cancer Research UK, skin cancer death rates among men in the UK have more than tripled since the 1970s, with increases also recorded among women. It is thought the rise may be down to a number of factors including greater sun exposure due to package holidays, with Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, warning that getting sunburn just once every two years can triple the risk of skin cancer.Prof Dann Mitchell, an expert in climate science at the University of Bristol, noted that the relationship between warmer weather and health could be indirect. “One of the clearest signals of climate change is hotter temperatures, not just in summer, but all year around,” he said. “This shift in temperatures also shifts behavioural patterns, and people in the UK tend to go outside more when the temperatures are warm. This leads to more exposure to sunlight throughout the year, and crucially more exposure to the UV part of that sunlight, which is a known risk factor for skin cancer.”Mitchell added that long-term health consequences of the climate crisis were not discussed enough.“This is because we cannot say a specific heatwave caused a specific cancer. Rather, we link the increased risk of cancer to the integration of many warmer days, with these warmer days made more likely due to human-induced climate change,” he said, adding that more research in the area was needed. Karis Betts, a senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said it was too early to know the impact of the recent heatwaves on skin cancer cases as cancer usually takes many years to develop.But she added: “It’s important to remember that it’s the ultraviolet rays from the sun rather than its heat that cause sunburn and skin cancer. The sun can be strong enough to burn from mid-March to mid-October here in the UK, whether it’s a heatwave or not.”Danson said there were a number of steps that could be take to reduce sun exposure and avoid getting sunburn, including staying out of the sun completely from 11am to 3pm, sitting in the shade, covering up with shirts and hats, and wearing and reapplying sunscreen.“Anyone with concerns about a new or changing mole should seek advice from their GP immediately as early diagnosis is really important and we have treatments available,” she said. | Climate Change |
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