- Bill McKibben imagines what it might have been like if Exxon had been up front about climate change. ExxonMobil has been pushing back against the investigative reports by Inside Climate News but in doing so they have overstated the uncertainty in climate science, according to John Cushman, Jr. of Inside Climate News.
- A study published recently in the journal Nature Communications indicates that California will face twice as many droughts and three times as many floods in 2080 compared to historical occurrences if we continue to emit CO2 and other greenhouse gases in a business-as-usual manner.
- Rep. Lamar Smith (R. Texas), chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, has inserted politics into climate science by demanding all records and data related to a paper published in Science during the summer by NOAA scientists showing that the pause or hiatus in global warming had not actually occurred. This caused ranking committee member Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D. Texas) to send a strong letter to Rep. Smith. Late Tuesday NOAA refused to provide Smith with all of the records he demanded, citing confidentiality concerns and the integrity of the scientific process. A NOAA spokeswoman said “We have provided data, all of which is publicly available online, supporting scientific research, and multiple in-person briefings…. We stand behind our scientists who conduct their work in an objective manner.” Mashable has a good overview.
- I’ve posted information previously about the surface melting on Greenland and its importance to sea level rise (20 ft if all Greenland ice melted). This article is a close-up look at a research team collecting data on melt rates to make more accurate estimates of how melting is proceeding. I recommend it for two reasons. First, the photography and the graphics are spectacular and the story is fascinating. Second, it provides an excellent illustration of the possible impacts of Rep. Lamar Smith’s war on climate science.
- Differences between developed and developing nations resurfaced at the climate negotiations in Bonn last week in preparation for the December Paris climate summit. Although attempts had been made prior to the Bonn meeting to pare the draft document down to a size that would be manageable in Paris, issued were raised that caused the document to more than double in length. Sophie Yeo of Carbon Brief provides an analysis of what transpired.
- The pledged reductions in greenhouse gas emissions received so far in advance of the Paris climate summit are insufficient to keep warming below 2 degrees C by 2100. Rather, they will allow 2.7 degrees of warming to occur if they are all carried out.
- The Paris climate summit may well signal the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. One result could be increased vulnerability of fossil fuel companies to legal damages, either from those who have suffered from climate-related impacts or from investors if those companies downplay the decreased value of fossil fuel reserves. Meanwhile, the president of Appalachian Power, West Virginia’s largest electric utility, told a group of energy executives that coal is not coming back, regardless of what happens with the U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan.
- We all know that portions of West Virginia have suffered economically as natural gas has replaced coal for electric power generation in parts of the U.S. We may be less familiar with the fact that portions of China have also suffered economic loss as a result of decreased demand for coal.
- A new poll conducted by the University of Texas at Austin has found that 90% of Democrats, 59% of Republicans and 75% of the general public now accept the scientific consensus on climate change.
- Nuclear fusion occurs when two atoms are squeezed together so tightly that they merge, releasing a large amount of energy. It is the reaction that fuels the sun. For years, people have sought to achieve and sustain nuclear fusion here on Earth because it would provide an almost limitless supply of energy without producing either greenhouse gases or radioactive waste. Unfortunately, attainment of fusion has been very difficult, in spite of billions of dollars being invested by governments around the world. Now venture capitalists are stepping in to fund private companies pursuing different approaches. The question is whether they will succeed where government efforts have failed.
- A new study published in Nature Climate Change has found that some cities in the Persian Gulf region will be too hot and humid for human habitation by the end of the century if humans continue emitting CO2 in a business-as-usual manner. Robert McSweeney of Carbon Brief has a good background explanation while Joby Warrick of The Washington Post puts the study in a broader context.
- Cristina Maza of the Christian Science Monitor provides an overview of carbon pricing schemes. The New Carbon Economy has released a new working paper entitled “Implementing Effective Carbon Pricing.” It shows that carbon pricing works and can be consistent with strong economic growth. Nevertheless, carbon pricing is not likely to be part of the Paris climate accords.
- A report and policy statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics states that climate change poses a significant threat to children from natural disasters, heat stress, air pollution, infectious diseases, and effects on food and water. The report’s lead author is from Virginia Commonwealth University’s school of medicine.
- The cod fishery in the Gulf of Maine is collapsing because of rapidly warming waters and a failure to consider the impacts of that warming when setting quotas for commercial fishing. Meanwhile, further north in Canada the cod population is doing much better.
- Earlier this year we learned that Totten glacier in East Antarctica is rooted deep below sea level and therefore is subject to melting due to warm water from below. A new study finds that Totten glacier will be harder to destabilize than the West Antarctic glaciers, but is indeed subject to melting from below, although the rate at which that will occur is still uncertain.
These news items have been compiled by Les Grady, member and former chair of the CAAV steering committee. He is a licensed professional engineer (retired) who taught environmental engineering at Purdue and Clemson Universities and engaged in private practice with CH2M Hill, the world’s largest environmental engineering consulting firm. Since his retirement in 2003 he has devoted much of his time to the study of climate science and the question of global warming and makes himself available to speak to groups about this subject. More here.
Climate Action Alliance of the Valley 