Sinking Towns, 2 Interactives & the Lowdown on Drought
All sorts of news on drought, two interactives plus a drought map, and a sinking Alaska town. … Read More
More Frequent Heat Waves by 2020 ‘Almost Certain’
Stand by for extreme weather. Prepare for heat waves on a scale that was once unprecedented. For once, there are no “ifs” in the forecast, no caveats about modeling business-as-usual-scenarios rather than dramatic reductions of emissions for near-term warming Even if governments abandon fossil fuels everywhere, immediately, and invest only in gree… Read More
Can Extreme Weather Make Climate Change Worse?
Devastating drought in the Southwest, unprecedented wildfire activity, scorching heat waves and other extreme weather are often cited as signs of a changing climate. But what if those extreme weather events themselves cause more extreme weather events, fueling climate change? That’s one of the possibilities raised by a study released Wednesday … Read More
This Is What Global Warming Looks Like
Global warming has accelerated during the past three decades, which have each been unusually warm. In fact, the most recent decade, from 2001-2010, was the warmest since instrumental records began in 1850, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). While the rate of global warming has slowed in the past several years, possibly due … Read More
150 Years in 30 Seconds: Sea Level Debt Sinking U.S. Cities
Measurements tell us that global average sea level is currently rising by about 1 inch per decade. But in an invisible shadow process, our long-term sea level rise commitment or "lock-in" — the sea level rise we don’t see now, but which carbon emissions and warming have locked in for later years — is growing 10 times faster, and this growth rate is… Read More
Arctic’s Rapid Sea Ice Loss Threatens Wildlife
The loss of Arctic sea ice is bad news for the Pacific walrus, and for polar bears: the walrus has further to swim to dig for clams on the sea floor, and the polar bear has less chance of catching seals. But the real problems begin at the base of the food chain. Since the end of the last century, more than two million square kilometers of sea ice … Read More
Sea Level Rise to Play Bigger Role in NYC Storms: Study
Hurricane Sandy caused upward of $60 billion in damage including an estimated $19 billion in damage and economic losses in New York City alone. Sea level rise played a relatively minor role in contributing to these losses. However, a new study finds that that might not be the case for future storms, even those that pack less of a punch than Sandy.… Read More
Hybrids Better for Climate than Leaf, Tesla in Most States
An electric car is only as good for the climate as the electricity used to power it. And in states that rely heavily on fossil fuels like coal and natural gas for their electricity there are many conventional and plug-in hybrid vehicles that are better for the climate than electric cars.… Read More
