Today's Climate

September 27, 2021

Children Will Experience Three Times as Many Climate Disasters as Their Grandparents, Study Says

If the planet continues to warm at its current pace, the average 6-year-old will live through roughly three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents, a new first-of-its-kind study says. That means today’s children will see twice as many wildfires, 1.7 times as many tropical cyclones, 3.4 times more river floods, 2.5 times more crop failures and 2.3 times as many droughts as people born in 1960.

The Washington Post

California Utility Charged With Manslaughter in Wildfire That Killed Four People

California prosecutors have charged the California utility company Pacific Gas and Electric with manslaughter in connection with the Zogg Fire, a wildfire that burned nearly 57,000 acres and killed four people last year, The Hill reports. Besides the four manslaughter charges, the utility faces multiple charges related to the smoke emissions caused during the fire.

The Hill

EPA Targets Potent Greenhouse Gases, Bringing US Into Compliance With the Kigali Amendment

The United States will begin to phase down the use of powerful greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons that are commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. The new regulation, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency last week, could bring about major benefits for the climate. But challenges remain, including environmental justice concerns.

Inside Climate News

Hurricane Sam, Now a Category 4 Storm, Looks Likely to Miss the United States

Hurricane Sam is quickly picking up strength as it churns north through the Atlantic Ocean. But the Category 4 storm appears likely to miss landfall in the United States, forecasters said Sunday, though islands in the Caribbean may still feel its effects. Sam is the 18th named storm of a busy hurricane season fueled by climate change, and it’s the fourth major storm of 2021. 

The Hill

The Fires That Raged on This Greek Island Are Out. Now Northern Evia Faces a Long Road to Recovery

Wildfires are not uncommon on Greece’s Evia Island, but this year, during the country’s worst heat wave in 30 years, they swelled to massive proportions. Starting in August, the fires raged for 10 days, burning hundreds of thousands of acres and devouring a third of the island’s pine forests and olive groves. Now that the blazes are out, residents face a long road to recovery.

Inside Climate News

Warming Trends: Katherine Hayhoe Talks About Hope, Potty Training Cows, and Can Woolly Mammoths Really Fight Climate Change?

A startup wants to genetically revive the woolly mammoth, claiming it will benefit the climate, among other things. Some scientists are skeptical. A new study suggests that cows can be easily potty trained, with potential environmental boons. And melting sea ice is isolating a Norwegian polar bear population, leading to a decline in genetic diversity. That and more in this week’s Warming Trends.

Inside Climate News

September 24, 2021

A Friday for the Future: The Global Climate Strike May Help the Youth Movement Rebound From the Pandemic

The massive youth strikes of 2019 measurably shifted public concern about climate change, say researchers. But the pandemic dampened activism, showing just how important mass demonstrations are for the movement. With at least 1,300 climate strikes planned around the world on Friday, including about 300 in the United States, is a youth climate movement comeback at hand?

Inside Climate News

After Ida, Louisiana Struggles to Tally the Environmental Cost. Activists Say Officials Must Do Better

Big hurricanes are big pollution events, especially when they hit fossil fuel hubs, as was the case with Hurricane Ida. The storm unleashed oil and chemical spills and prompted the venting and flaring of hazardous gases, something scientists say will only get worse as the planet warms. It’s especially concerning for the Black, Brown and Indigenous communities often living next to these facilities.

Inside Climate News

Countries Sign Onto UN Pledge to Stop Building New Coal Power Plants

Seven countries have signed an international pledge initiated by the United Nations to stop building new coal power plants, with the aim of gathering more signatures before the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next month, Bloomberg reports. Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Montenegro, Sri Lanka and the U.K. signed the pledge, the latest global attempt to phase out the world’s dirtiest fuel source.

Bloomberg

California Governor Signs $15 Billion Package Aimed at Tackling Climate Change

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $15 billion package on Thursday that will fund programs to tackle drought and climate change in the state after a devastating wildfire season, Reuters reports. The package of 24 bills will focus on climate adaptation, clean energy efforts and wildfire preparedness, including a $5.2 billion provision for emergency drought relief and expanding water supplies.

Reuters

Boston University to End Endowment Investments in Fossil Fuels

Boston University’s endowment will divest from fossil fuels, the school announced, following a vote from the university’s board of trustees on Wednesday. It’s the latest university to make such a move, amid growing calls from climate activists and students for academic institutions to bear more responsibility in how their investments affect global warming.

The Hill

Sinema’s Income Tax Stance Has Democrats Looking Anew at a Carbon Tax

Arizona’s Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is refusing to support corporate and income tax rate increases as a way to pay for the Democrats’ proposed $3.5 trillion budget bill, prompting party members to scramble for alternatives to pay for the package, including drafting a carbon tax, the New York Times reports. Democrats had previously shied away from a carbon tax, seeing it as a huge political risk.

The New York Times

September 23, 2021

United Nations Health Agency Sets Higher, Tougher Bar for Air Quality

Noting that air pollution causes adverse health effects at lower levels than previously thought, the World Health Organization announced on Wednesday a new standard for policymakers and the public, in the first update of its air quality guidelines in 15 years, the Associated Press reports. The U.N. agency’s new guidance came as the U.N. met in New York this week, with climate change a leading topic. 

Associated Press

Arctic Sea Ice Hits Annual Low, but It’s Not as Low as in Recent Years

Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has reached its minimum extent after the summer melt season, and coverage is not as low as it has been in recent years, scientists said Wednesday. Shrinking to an estimated 1.82 million square miles, Arctic ice extent this week was at its 12th-lowest total since recording began in 1979, but about 25 percent higher than last year.

The New York Times

Inside Clean Energy: Natural Gas Prices Are Rising. Here’s Why That Helps the Cleanest (and Dirtiest) Electricity Sources

Natural gas prices have surged, hitting $5 per million BTUs in the United States this month, about double the price of six months ago and the highest September price since 2008. The trend is likely to lead to price hikes across the economy, including in the power sector. So what is causing the unusual spike and which energy sources stand to gain? That and more in the latest Inside Clean Energy.

Inside Climate News

China’s Pledge to Stop Building Coal Power Plants Overseas Is the ‘New Normal’

Australia and Indonesia, the world’s biggest coal exporters, face an accelerated decline in global demand for their coal shipments, after China said at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that it would stop building coal-fired power plants overseas, Reuters reports. The head of the Indonesia Coal Miners Association called the move “the new normal” for the industry.

Reuters

Foundations Pledge $5 Billion in Record Funding for Biodiversity

On Wednesday, nine foundations pledged a total of $5 billion to protect and conserve 30 percent of the planet by 2030, marking the largest-ever private funding commitment to biodiversity, The Hill reports. The foundations aim to create and expand conserved and protected spaces while drawing on the leadership and management capabilities of Indigenous people on the ground.

The Hill

Critics Blast Facebook Pledge to Curb Climate Change Misinformation

Facebook’s latest pledge to curb climate change disinformation on its platform is getting a skeptical reception from activists and industry watchdogs, Yahoo News reports. The social media giant last week said that it would donate $1 million to organizations that work to combat climate misinformation and would launch a new page aimed at providing accurate information. But critics weren’t impressed.

Yahoo News