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Thoughts on everything from climate modeling to energy policy.

Climate Central Leads 2012’s Climate Coverage

Climate Central Leads 2012’s Climate Coverage

Year-end numbers for media coverage of climate change were released Wednesday in an annual report by The Daily Climate, and while that coverage fell 2 percent, there were some interesting numbers. According to The Daily Climate’s archives, worldwide coverage by many major news organizations gave roughly the same amount of coverage this year as the… Read More

New York Times Op-Ed: Rising Seas, Vanishing Coastlines

New York Times Op-Ed: Rising Seas, Vanishing Coastlines

The New York Times featured a Sunday op-ed by Ben Strauss, Climate Central's director of the program on sea level, in which Strauss says there are two basic ways to protect ourselves from sea level rise: reduce it by cutting pollution, or prepare for it by defense and retreat. … Read More

World Bank Ties Ending Poverty with Climate Change

World Bank Ties Ending Poverty with Climate Change

The World Bank called for urgent action on climate change on Sunday after it released a report that examined the economic, ecological and human impacts that a 7.2°F rise in global temperature would have on the world’s population… Read More

Post Sandy, Wetlands Could Help Shore Up NYC’s Defense

Post Sandy, Wetlands Could Help Shore Up NYC’s Defense

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the discussion of how New York City’s shoreline can be protected has taken on new urgency. So-called “soft measures, such as wetlands and oyster reefs, are seeing a burst of new attention as possible alternatives to “hard measures such as storm surge barriers. … Read More

Sandy & Other Disasters Could Hurt Climate Change Cause

Sandy & Other Disasters Could Hurt Climate Change Cause

Hurricane Sandy has proven to be a wake-up call about the potential dangers posed by climate change, and it’s even possible — though by no means certain — that we won’t just hit the snooze button and go back to sleep as the images of destruction in New York and New Jersey begin to fade. Assuming we stay awake, however, there’s a question about… Read More

Scientists Eat Crow on Geoengineering Test. Me, Too

Scientists Eat Crow on Geoengineering Test. Me, Too

Scientists (presumably including Keith) were outraged that such a thing could happen. It’s not that they have anything against algae, but rather that the project was a type of geoengineering — a suite of anti-climate-change strategies that are highly controversial because they have the potential for triggering significant unintended consequences.… Read More

Extreme Weather Can’t ‘Surprise’ Insurance Companies

Extreme Weather Can’t ‘Surprise’ Insurance Companies

Severe weather has been clobbering insurance companies, and the headlines just keep coming. “Drought to cost insurers billions in losses, said the Financial Times a few days ago. “Many U.S. hurricanes would cause $10b or more in losses in 2012 dollars, the Boston Globe said about the latest hurricane forecasts. “June’s severe weather losses near … Read More

Lost in Watergate’s Wake: Nixon’s Green Legacy

Lost in Watergate’s Wake: Nixon’s Green Legacy

Richard Nixon, who resigned 38 years ago today, was a champion of protecting the environment like no president before him since Teddy Roosevelt, and like no president since. The list of his green accomplishments — things he actually initiated, and laws he approved with his signature… Read More