U.S. Shows Rapid Rise of Temps Since First Earth Day
In commemoration of Earth Day, 2013, Climate Central has just released a new report that provides a state-by-state analysis of temperature trends since the first Earth Day took place in 1970. That occasion marked a significant change in America’s environmental consciousness, and led to the creation of, among other things, the Environ… Read More
How the Old Amazon May Help Explain the New
What will be the effect of global warming on the Amazon rainforest? Over the last 30 years, forest fires, most of them deliberately started to clear land by cattle ranchers and soy farmers, have destroyed thousands of square miles of forest. This has increased carbon emissions, reduced rainfall and made the forest more vulnerable to drought. In 20… Read More
NASA to Launch New Earth-Observing Satellite
If the weather holds, NASA will launch its newest Earth-observing satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California late Monday morning. An Atlas V rocket is scheduled to carry Landsat 8 into space just after 11 a.m. Pacific time. Once in orbit, the $855 million probe will begin capturing detailed images of Earth’s surface, adding to… Read More
Climate Change Set to Batter U.S. Agriculture, Forests
Climate change is likely to transform U.S. agriculture by mid-century, reducing yields of many staple crops and the productivity of livestock operations, according to a new government analysis. Rising temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns will also harm the nation’s forests, increasing their vulnerability to fires, insect infestations … Read More
Low Snowfall Raises Concerns About Drought Recovery
The total extent of the persistent national drought receded slightly during the past week, but in many places, conditions look no better now than they did when winter began. In particular, thin snow cover in some Western states is raising concerns that the drought’s impacts in some of the hardest-hit regions will only get worse when temperatures… Read More
Climate Change Moves to Forefront in Obama’s Address
"We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations," Obama said. He made a carefully calibrated appeal to Republicans, situating a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy in a religious and conservative framework of God and constitution.… Read More
What’s Causing Australia’s Heat Wave?
It is very unusual to have such widespread extreme temperatures — and have them persist for so long. On those two metrics alone, spatial extent and duration, the last two weeks surpasses the only previous analogue in the historical record (since 1910) — a two-week country-wide hot spell during the summer of 1972-1973.… Read More
Energy, Water, Land Intertwined & Threatened, Says Report
Water resources, energy and land use are so mutually dependent that climate-related disruptions to any one of them could lead to economically devastating ripple effects — especially as a growing population puts increasing strains on all three. That’s one conclusion of a recent report issued by a federal advisory committee charged with assessing how… Read More
