Category: Climate News Roundup

• The big news this week was the visit of Pope Francis to the U.S. and his speeches before a joint session of Congress and the U.N. Since they have been covered so extensively in the mainstream media I am not providing links to them here. However, I thought there were two particularly good articles in The Washington Post. One, by Chelsea Harvey, enumerated five important things about climate change that the Pope understands. The other, by Chris Mooney, made the case for why we might gain a little cautious optimism from the Pope’s visit.
• While most attention has been on the Pope’s visit, the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping has resulted in some significant commitments that will have a strong impact on their CO2 emissions. One of them is a nationwide cap and trade system on CO2 from several major sectors of their economy. The Spark, the newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Institute has links to a number of articles about the Chinese and U.S. commitments.
• Last week I gave you links to the first two reports from Inside Climate News (ICN) about Exxon’s climate change research program in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Here is the third installment, plus an infographic that lays out the timeline. In addition, here is a response from Exxon/Mobil.
• Adam Ozimek at Forbes reports on an interesting idea for keeping fossil fuels in the ground patterned after conservation easements.
• Miguel Canete, the EU’s climate chief, has stated that the EU will push for a robust, ambitious, and binding climate change agreement at the UN talks in Paris in December. The EU nations call on all nations of the world to phase out fossil fuel use by 2100. At the same time, some are expressing optimism that the Paris talks in December will lead to a landmark agreement.
• When electrical distribution systems were first being built, the big battle was between alternating and direct current, with alternating current, or AC, winning out. Today the big battle is in the energy storage and automotive technology areas and is between hydrogen and batteries. Who will win? Germany appears to be betting on hydrogen as discussed in this article from E&E News.
• The number of carbon pricing schemes, either taxes or cap and trade systems, have almost doubled worldwide since 2012 according to the World Bank. Unfortunately they still cover only 12% of emissions and are insufficiently high to keep global warming below 2C. Interestingly, a number of large corporations have begun charging themselves a price for carbon emissions as a way for preparing for the day in which carbon is priced globally.
• We’ve known for some time that as the planet warms, permafrost will melt, allowing the organic matter stored in it to decompose, releasing carbon dioxide and methane, which are both greenhouse gases that will cause the planet to warm even more. What we haven’t known are the economic impacts of the additional warming associated with the melting permafrost. Now, a scientist and an economist have teamed up to estimate what those costs are.
• A study just published in Nature Climate Change indicates that if nothing is done to curb global warming, flooding along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts will increase by 35 to 350 times over historical occurrences due to the combined effects of storms and sea level rise. Of course, sea level rise occurs everywhere and this means that birds that nest on low-lying islands will be increasingly vulnerable to its impacts.
• Another study in Nature Climate Change has found that more methane is being emitted by landfills in the U.S. than previously thought because those landfills are receiving more organic waste that undergoes rapid decay.
• Investors representing $2.6 trillion in assets have now pledged to divest from fossil fuels. Also, an increasing number of global corporations are increasing their efforts to fight climate change through actions such as using more renewable energy and stopping deforestation. The effort of the shipping industry to become more fuel efficient is one example.
• In a previous Weekly Roundup I provided material about a possible weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which is a major circulation that carries heat from the equator to the North Atlantic. Now NOAA has released data showing that the North Atlantic is indeed cooling. Chris Mooney of the Washington Post discusses this.
• A report released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration states that the total number of operating coal mines in the U.S. has hit the lowest on record while the number of new coal mines opening has fallen to the lowest point in a decade. Records go back to 1923.
• Scientists at Harvard have published a paper in Science reporting on a new type of flow battery that is made with cheap, non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-flammable, high-performance materials. Such batteries are easily scaleable and are targeted at stationary locations, such as homes and businesses.
• You often hear that 97% of climate scientists believe that climate change is happening and is being driven by human activity. But what about other scientists? Is there such strong acceptance among them? To find out a survey of biological and physical scientists was conducted, finding that 92% of the more than 700 scientists surveyed agreed with the 97% of climate scientists.

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.

• One of the world’s biggest problems is how to lift people out of poverty while simultaneously reducing the use of fossil fuels. One way of doing this is to help countries leap over fossil fuels and go directly to renewable energy, such as solar panels. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former finance minister of Nigeria and a former director of the World Bank, discusses how this is being done in an op-ed piece in The New York Times.
• Numerous studies have made it clear that the majority of fossil fuels must remain in the ground if humanity is to have any hope of keeping global warming below 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial temperatures. This necessity was emphasized in the most recent IPCC report when it included the concept of a carbon budget. Now, in order to stay within the carbon budget, a group of environmental organizations has called on President Obama to stop new leases for the development of fossil fuels in public lands and waters.
• The G20 nations pledged to end fossil fuel subsidies in 2009. In spite of that, subsidies given in the Powder River Basin total $2.9 billion a year according to a study by Carbon Tracker Initiative and three other organizations. This equates to $8 per tonne, or almost 25% of the sales price. However, the unaccounted for social costs of fossil fuels are even greater.
• Bill McKibben reflects on the first installment of a report by Inside Climate News on Exxon’s understanding of climate change and its causes in the 1970’s and 80’s. The second installment was released Thursday.
• Scientists and economists at Penn. State University have prepared a Climate Impacts Assessment Update for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Because of the proximity of Pennsylvania to Virginia, their findings may provide a clue as to the changes we might expect in a warming world.
• Last week I provided a link to an article about projections indicating that all of the ice in Antarctica will melt if we burn all of the known reserves of fossil fuels. Jedediah Purdy, a professor at Duke Law School, used that article as a springboard for a discussion of the fact that the future of the planet is a political problem.
• Dry lands comprise 40% of Earth’s land surface. They are covered with “biocrust”, a symbiotic mixture of mosses, lichen, and photosynthetic cyanobacteria,
  that glues the surface together, preventing the soil from blowing away. The biocrust also stores a significant amount of carbon, estimated at 25% of the carbon in Earth’s soil. Thus it is disturbing that a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that elevated temperatures, like those expected from global warming, disrupts the biocrust, causing loss of the mosses and lichen with their associated adhesive properties.
• A research paper in the journal Nature Climate Change has found that the drought in California is more severe than any in the past 500 years. While the drought is considered to be part of a natural pattern, a Columbia University study has found that human-caused climate change has made it significantly worse. As if that wasn’t enough, a Stanford University study found that a future of more frequent drought in California is a near certainty. National Geographic provided a detailed report on the implications of these findings.
• Commitments of CO2 reductions made for the Paris talks are inadequate to hold warming below 2C. Carbon Brief discusses a new report about the consequences of exceeding that threshold.
• U.S. and Chinese cities are committing to higher standards for greenhouse gas reductions than their respective nations have. Meanwhile, some cities worldwide are progressing well in their efforts to abandon fossil fuels, whereas others are almost completely reliant on them.
• The National Academy of Sciences has released a new booklet that highlights four ways that changes in the Arctic will reverberate beyond the Arctic: (1) changes in the weather, (2) impacts on our food supplies, (3) increase in sea level, and (4) worsening of global warming. You can download a copy of the booklet (8 MB) for free.
• Two recently published scientific papers used new statistical techniques to conclude that a hiatus in global warming during the past 15 years never actually existed. When combined with other papers published recently the evidence is clear that global warming is continuing unabated.
• Britain’s top climate and weather body, the Met Office, issued a report on Monday that predicted that 2015 and 2016 will be among the very warmest years ever recorded.
• In a sensitive essay entitled “The Age of Loneliness“, Meera Subramanian writes about where we have been and where we might be going during the Anthropocene.
• Here is an essay you just may want to pass on to a mom or dad who doesn’t seem too concerned about climate change.

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.

Before getting into this week’s climate news I want to give a shout out to CAAV Steering Committee member Charlie Strickler who is among the group engaged in a fast outside of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, DC. Thank you Charlie and good luck. Please take care of yourself.

• Joni Grady, Doug Hendren, and I were in DC on Thursday to participate in the Grandparents Climate Action Day. The high point of our day was being part of a flash mob in Union Station in the morning. You can see it here.
• How business responds to climate change will have a large impact on how rapidly the world reduces its carbon emissions. Thus, it is discomforting to learn that fewer than half (46%) of the CEOs of the worlds largest companies will prioritize the issue, even if a binding climate agreement is reached in Paris.
• The Syrian crisis began when prolonged drought and an exhausted aquifer forced farmers off their land and into cities where there were no jobs. But, as Peter Mellgard discusses, the European migrant crisis may just be a harbinger of things to come as climate change forces people to leave their homelands. Craig Bennett, CEO of Friends of the Earth, also discusses the issue.
• A new study by the New Climate Economy has shown that cities world-wide could generate savings of up $17 trillion by investing in green urban infrastructure.
• Two recently published studies by different scientific teams provide further evidence that melting glaciers on Greenland could lead to disruption of global ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream. Possible effects range from plunging temperatures in northern latitudes to centuries-long droughts in Southeast Asia.
• In an interesting exercise, Damon Matthews of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada has monetized the CO2 emissions from various nations, dividing them into two groups (debtor and creditor) depending on whether they emitted more or less than the global per capita average. He used the EPA’s social cost of CO2 of $40 per tonne in arriving at his figures, which show that each person in the US has an accumulated debt of $12,000, whereas each person in India has a credit of $2500. Similarly, George Washington University’s graduate program in health administration has released a new visualization based on 2010 data showing the nations most responsible for climate change and the ones most vulnerable to it.
• NASA has an interesting website that you might want to bookmark. It is called “Vital Signs of the Planet” and it tracks CO2, global temperature, sea level, etc. They have recently updated some of the figures so I encourage you to check it out.
• Although it is normal for us to focus on changes occurring in the U.S. weather, we need to remember that changes are occurring all over the world. For example, this summer was especially hot and dry in Europe, as John Abraham reported in The Guardian.
• The folk in Norfolk can look forward to greater than average nuisance flooding this fall, winter, and spring, according to a recent NASA report, going from about 8 flood days to 18.
• A recently published paper by Australian scientists has shown that a single statistic, the ratio of the number of record hot temperatures to the number of record low temperatures in a year, is a good indicator of a changing climate.
• Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 so there has been a lot of interest recently in reducing leakage from natural gas transport and distribution pipelines. Thus it is encouraging that a recent study focusing on Cincinnati, OH and Durham, NC has found that replacing old gas mains has brought about a significant reduction in gas leakage.
• The oceans are major carbon sinks, with about a quarter of emitted CO2 being absorbed by them. Unfortunately, around 1980 the ability of the Southern Ocean to absorb CO2 began declining, which was a cause for concern. Now, new studies based on millions of observations from ships at sea have found that the ability of the Southern Ocean to absorb CO2 has recovered and that it is again a major sink.
• Idaho has been hit particularly hard by wildfires this year, as well as in the past few. This has had a large impact on many sectors of the Idaho economy. Rocky Barker examines those effects and wraps up with a good list of things that have been learned about wild fires in Idaho this century.
• In a “the glass is half full” essay, Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense Fund provides “4 undeniable signs we’re making progress on climate change.” His optimism stems in part from “a deeply reported New York Magazine piece” by Jonathan Chait entitled “The Sunniest Climate-Change Story You’ve Ever Read.”
• While we all hope it will never happen, a recent study investigated the consequences of burning all available fossil fuel reserves. Hint: don’t buy coastal property.
• One impediment to building a consensus for action on climate change is the perception that the risk of extreme warming is low. This stems in part from uncertainty in climate science and in part from a lack of understanding of risk. For example, scientists have reported a range of values for the likely warming associated with a doubling of greenhouse gas concentrations. When we think about that range, we generally think that it follows a bell-shaped curve because the likelihood of so many other things in our lives do. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. It displays a distribution with a “fat tail”. Michael Mann of Penn State explains the impacts of that on the risks associated with rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

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.

• Ivy Main has a new blog post in which she presents her third annual update of Virginia renewable energy law and policy. If you are considering putting solar panels on your house or business this is a post you should read.
• A major news story this week was President Obama’s trip to Alaska. Because of its full coverage in major media I will not repeat it here. Rather, I’ll give you a link to a story in The Atlantic about the difficulties of moving a small Alaskan village that is washing into the sea as a result of sea level rise and the melting of the permafrost. The people there are among the first climate migrants
  in the U.S. Another article has a picture of another Alaskan village that is even more vulnerable to sea level rise.
• Climate migrants are not a future phenomenon, they exist right now. One case is in Zimbabwe. Although this migration is occurring within a single country it is still causing significant problems in the region to which the migrants are moving. Another article addresses the issue of climate displacement and why the term “refugee” is not really appropriate for people displaced by climate change, even when they leave their home country.
• People in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and northwest China depend on melt water from glaciers in the Tien Shan mountain range as a critical part of their water supply. The melt rate of these glaciers has accelerated and by 2050 warmer temperatures driven by climate change could wipe out half of the remaining glacial ice.
• Samuel Alexander (Research Fellow, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia) and Josh Floyd (advisor on energy, systems, and societal futures at Understandascope, and founding partner of the Centre for Australian Foresight) have some interesting ideas about a sustainable future. Some of their ideas may make you uncomfortable, but they certainly deserve consideration.
• And now for some good news: CO2 emissions from electric power plants have hit the lowest point in 27 years. This happened even before the Clean Power Plan was released.
• The World Wide Views Alliance has engaged 10,000 people in 76 countries to learn their views on the desirability of action on climate change. The United Nations Environment Programme has summarized the findings. A synthesis report is also available.
• The world is undergoing a battery revolution and this may well have a big impact on your life. In fact, the second quarter of 2015 saw a 6-fold increase in energy storage deployment over the first quarter.
• Tampa, Florida, Cairns, Australia and Dubai could experience super-charged hurricanes because of climate change, according to a new study from Nature Climate Change. These so called “grey swan” storms, events that are foreseeable but rare, pose a particularly grave threat to these three cities because of their massive storm surge potential.
• A new study provides additional evidence that a warming Arctic can lead to colder winters in North America and Asia. Specifically, the new study identifies two areas in the Arctic that lead to colder winters, one affecting North America and the other Asia. The authors state that their findings will help weather forecasters.
• A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences makes the case that droughts and heat waves have become more likely to overlap in the past 20 years compared to the period from 1960 to 1980. Interestingly, their map indicates that this has not been the case in the Valley, which has experienced fewer overlaps.
• Deforestation has two impacts on climate change. First, as forests are cut down and burned, large quantities of CO2 are released to the atmosphere, directly contributing to warming. Second, the lost forests no longer remove CO2 through tree growth. Thus, it is disturbing that data from the University of Maryland and Google indicate that the world lost more than 45 million acres of tree cover in 2014. Also this week a new paper in Nature indicated that the world has many more trees than previously thought, although there are 46 percent fewer trees than there were before extensive deforestation began.
• A paper in the journal Geophysical Research Letters indicates that the record floods in Texas and Oklahoma in May 2015 were intensified by global warming.
• A study published in the journal Nature/Scientific Reports has found that between 1950 and 2010, 5.7% of the global total land area shifted toward warmer and drier climate types. Modeling studies found that the shift cannot be explained by natural variations, but rather, was driven by anthropogenic factors such as CO2 emissions.
• Even in the face of extreme climate change, life (of some sort) will go on. Lizzie Wade speculates in Wired on how biodiversity might change in a warmer world.

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.

• New Orleans is getting a lot of press right now because of the upcoming tenth anniversary of Katrina. While most of that coverage has focused on the people and how their lives have changed, Chris Mooney and colleagues at the Washington Post have pulled together an interesting piece on building new wetlands to help protect New Orleans when the next hurricane strikes. Turns out that not everyone is happy about the new wetlands. In addition, Kerry Emanuel, Prof. of Atmospheric Sciences at MIT, examines what scientists have learned about the impact of climate change on hurricanes.
• So far this year, the U.S. has been very fortunate in not being hit by a hurricane. Unfortunately, other parts of the world have not been so lucky. Typhoon Goni hit Okinawa with record winds of 159 mph after hitting the Philippines, where 15 were killed.
• Altered precipitation patterns are one consequence of a warming world. Around one-fifth of the countries in the world will face acute water shortages by 2040 as climate change disrupts rainfall patterns according to a new study by the World Resources Institute. Water stress will be particularly important in Central America and the Middle East in coming years. This will likely have a negative impact on their efforts to relieve poverty. Chelsea Harvey of The Washington Post summarizes the findings of one study.
• Based on data from NASA satellites, it looks like 2015 is on track to being a low surface ice year in the Arctic. In addition, glaciers on Greenland have been found to be much more vulnerable to melting from below by seawater than previously thought. The latter does not bode well for sea level rise. In fact, NASA held a press conference on Wednesday to announce that they will be undertaking an “intensive research effort” on sea level rise. Chris Mooney summarized the major news from the announcement. It struck me as ironic that the ad preceding a new NASA animation showing ice loss from Greenland in The Washington Post article was for Porsche and focused on exhaust pipes! The Carbon Brief also has a good summary.
• California’s salmon, steelhead, and smelt are in danger of being wiped out because the long-term drought is reducing river flows and making them hotter. These problems for the fish are being exacerbated by dams and other water projects built over the years to provide water for agriculture in the state.
• The wildfires in Washington state continue to burn. The Okanogan fire is now the largest in state history, covering more than 400 square miles.
• Jim Pierobon has an interesting essay about the innovations of Tony Smith and Secure Futures in bringing solar power to nonprofits such as Eastern Mennonite University.

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.

• Ivy Main had a post about the EPA’s Clean Power Plan for Virginia. She calls it a “powderpuff.”
• A study from DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that the price of installed photo-voltaic panels fell for the fifth consecutive year.
• You are aware of the seriousness of climate change or you wouldn’t be reading this email. Have you ever wondered why society seems unable to do anything about the problem? Perhaps the findings of psychologists can supply the answer.
• Eric Holthaus has a very interesting essay in Rolling Stone summarizing the extreme responses of the climate system that have been observed just this year. While it may be a bit scary to read, it contains things that we should all be aware of.
• July 2015 was the Earth’s hottest month on record. The current El Niño is expected to intensify in the latter half of the year. This, in combination with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation moving into a positive phase, is expected to make 2015 significantly hotter than 2014. Joe Romm summarizes the evidence for these events and discusses their implications for the climate.
• Most studies on climate change focus on the physical and biological consequences, but research by Geoffrey Heal and Jisung Park focused on the economic impacts, which can be significant. Unfortunately, not enough attention is being paid to how rising temperatures will impact worker productivity.
• This week the U.S. EPA released new proposed regulations for methane leaks from the natural gas supply system. There has been much attention given to this in the media, but in case you missed it you can learn more here. What you may not have heard is that a new study has found that leaks from natural gas gathering facilities are much worse than had been thought, being about eight times greater than EPA estimates. In addition, Joe Romm takes everyone to task, including the EPA, for low-balling the global warming potential of methane in the press releases and news articles.
• The wildfire situation in the western U.S. is dire, with five states battling 10 or more fires each. As a consequence the U.S. is at a Wildfire Preparedness Level 5, the highest, and has been since Aug. 13.
• International organizations have been overestimating the CO2 emissions from China’s coal-fired power plants by around 14%.
• Greenland’s Jakobshavn glacier just calved a huge area of ice, around 5 sq. miles, from its face, causing its calving line to retreat markedly. This has several implications for the future, which are discussed in the article.
• Global investment bank Citigroup joins the chorus of studies showing that acting on climate change by investing in renewable energy results in significant savings; in this case, $1.8 trillion by 2040. In addition, the study finds that electricity from solar PV panels will be competitive with electricity from conventional fossil fuels by 2030 so there is a strong economic incentive for their installation.
• Writing in The Atlantic, John Light asks “What will it take to get climate change on the Republican agenda?”
• You are probably aware of Bill McKibben’s article on the “Terrifying New Math” in the July 19, 2012 issue of Rolling Stone that launched the fossil fuel divestment movement. What you may be less aware of is the work of Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI), which provided the data for McKibben’s article. Ed King has an interesting essay at RTCC that provides the story of CTI and the response of the financial industry to their report on the need to keep fossil fuels in the ground.
• As we contemplate the consequences of a warming world, one concern with severe economic consequences is the rate and magnitude of sea level rise. Melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica is an important contributor to sea level rise. Unfortunately, our knowledge about ice sheet collapse is still too limited for accurate projections, although new research is increasing our understanding. Chris Mooney at the Washington Post summarizes recent research on this important topic.
• In an effort to help us get to know the people who are working for global change on the climate issue, Elizabeth Kolbert has profiled Christiana Figueres, who heads the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the organization convening the Paris Conference in December.

Final roundup from me.  Les will resume next week.  It’s been fun.  Hard too because there’s so much information.  Wish more of it was hopeful.

But let’s at least start off with articles that are.
• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-11/u-s-public-republicans-included-seen-warmer-on-climate-action
• http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2015/0809/Climate-change-crusade-goes-local

Maybe this is more positive than negative.  What’s your opinion?  Check out the slides and the interactive map on people’s opinions about climate change.  VA’s is 64%.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/folks-in-these-us-states-dont-believe-in-global-warming-2015-08-13

These two items give some food for thought on Virginia’s renewable energy policies and laws.  Certainly not all-encompassing but….
• http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_8e545711-1356-52f2-9600-6c16035bfeca.html
• http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2015/08/more-questions-about-virginias-solar-energy-policy.html

More on the EPA’s CPP.
• http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/250858-epa-confident-in-climate-rules-future
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-gop-wants-say-over-clean-power-plans-implementation/2015/08/10/f775e636-3f9a-11e5-b2c4-af4c6183b8b4_story.html
• http://www.courier-journal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2015/08/12/kentucky-power-coops-talk-energy-policy-clean-power-plan/31563465/

What’s up with energy efficiency?  A bit nerdy.
• http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060022688
• http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2015/08/buildings-air-conditioning-behavioral-energy

What about green bonds?  Also somewhat wonky.
http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/08/the-rise-of-green-bonds-explained/400940/

Jon Stewart, thanks for the memories…and the climate information.
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060023265

Religious leaders on climate change.  The Pope’s still beating the drums for the environment.  And so are some Muslim imams.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/10/us-climatechange-pope-day-idUSKCN0QF19Z20150810
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/08/13/islamic-leaders-to-release-climate-change-declaration/

Help for Native Americans.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/08/10/obama-gives-tribes-118-million-climate-change-assist-161322

Bad news for butterflies and trees and food and New Orleans.
• http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/10/uk-butterfly-species-at-risk-of-extinction-due-to-climate-change-says-study
• http://kjzz.org/content/177791/new-forest-study-reveals-missing-piece-climate-change-models
• http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/14/food-production-shocks-will-happen-more-often-extreme-weather
• http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/gulf-eats-coast-levee-protected-orleans-33077353

From Canada, update on Keystone.​
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/transcanada-quietly-plots-response-as-keystone-xl-rejection-seems-imminent-1.3185105
• http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_KEYSTONE?SITE=MOJOP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
• http://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2015/aug/11/canadian-government-spent-millions-on-secret-tar-sands-advocacy

If you want to follow the Paris Climate Conference, here’s one source.
http://www.theroadthroughparis.org/

Climate Change and the Arts.​
http://grist.org/climate-energy/move-over-moma-new-yorks-new-climate-change-museum-is-about-to-be-the-hottest-place-in-town/

Alaska in the spotlight.
https://www.adn.com/article/20150813/white-house-video-previews-president-obamas-trip-Alaska

These news items have been compiled by Joy Loving, member of the CAAV steering committee and leader of Solarize efforts in the valley.

There was so much news this week that I decided to release 2 roundups.  This is the 1st and I’ll send out the 2nd over the weekend.  These offerings are a mix of topics, and most of the news won’t make you cheerful.

Enjoy eating west coast and Alaskan salmon?  Well maybe not for long.
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060023067

Last week we read about Alaska’s wildfires.  Here’s an opinion piece from someone who lives there.
http://www.newsminer.com/opinion/community_perspectives/time-for-climate-action-is-now/article_882952de-3d7b-11e5-bf2a-fff69e9fd2a5.html

Who knew wetlands did a lot more than harbor mosquitoes?
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/06/the-global-threat-to-river-deltas-and-the-people-who-live-on-them/
• http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6248/638

Does Katrina’s aftermath offer lessons for VA, given our sinking coast?

Here’s another NY times piece, this time an op-ed by Tom Friedman.  I received it from Former SC Congressman Bob Inglis’ Energy and Enterprise group.  The spokesman called it a “gem” and added “At the heart of his column, Friedman address accountability as a conservative concept as it relates to the gas tax and transportation bill. He took it a step further in addressing climate change by referencing out friends at the libertarian Niskanen Center.”

No doubt you’ve heard about subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.  Turns out they’re more than tax breaks.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3049407/the-huge-hidden-costs-of-our-fossil-fueled-economy

Remember VA’s uranium mining moratorium?
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_7e509d5f-876a-5745-9dcf-6e5274e5d420.html

And then there’s coal.
http://www.wboy.com/story/29454104/murray-energy-corporation-sues-obama-epa-for-unconstitutional-rule

More on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-02/wind-and-solar-cheer-as-coal-vows-legal-battle-on-energy-plan

On a 2014 trip to the southwest, I saw one of the Navaho power plants discussed in this article.
http://www.abqjournal.com/625021/biz/biz-most-recent/navajo-nation-faces-new-challenges-from-us-clean-power-plan.html

Last week we had an article about the Great Barrier Reef.  Here’s one that might be a bit encouraging.
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_ocean_waters_heat_up_a_quest_to_create_super_corals/2900/

​On the other hand, here’s a scary one about carbon and the oceans.
http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/08/11/algae-dominates-coral-reef-carbon-dioxide-ocean-acidification

​​Some of you know that CAAV members have more than a passing interest in solar energy.  We sponsored Solarize Harrisonburg in 2014; 68 area residents went solar.  Some who didn’t do it then have said they want another chance, so CAAV is sponsoring Massanutten Regional Solar Coop, which launches at the end of this month and will serve Harrisonburg and Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Page Counties.  What you may not know is CAAV is also working on Weatherize, an effort to bring energy efficiency and eventually, hopefully, solar to low and lower middle income people who want it.  We’re not alone in thinking this is important.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3049425/these-ex-white-house-staffers-are-developing-solar-systems-for-the-rest-of-us

One more item on solar–utility solar, that is.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/utility-solar-may-cost-less-but-its-also-worth-less

An overview of the effects of climate change, from Rolling Stone of all sources.  Warning:  This piece paints word pictures you will find disturbing.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-point-of-no-return-climate-change-nightmares-are-already-here-20150805

These news items have been compiled by Joy Loving, member of the CAAV steering committee and leader of Solarize efforts in the valley.

This week just about everything is about the EPA’s issuance of its final rules called the Clean Power Plan (CPP); thus many of the links below are related to that.  But not all of them.  Warning:  There’s a lot here and even more that I couldn’t include.

Here are several CPP-related items, from different perspectives and varying sources, including some of the business response.
The Guardian’s take:  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/03/obamas-clean-power-plan-hailed-as-strongest-ever-climate-action-by-a-us-president?CMP=ema_565
Advanced Energy Economy’s press release:  https://www.aee.net/articles/statements-from-advanced-energy-economy-on-epa-s-final-rule-under-section-111-d-of-the-clean-air-act-clean-power-plan
The President’s Executive Order:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/03/fact-sheet-president-obama-announce-historic-carbon-pollution-standards
How can the states implement the new rules?
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/05/3688236/carbon-rule-state-flexibility/
What New Jobs? ​The CPP and jobs….​
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/250482-obama-admin-launches-jobs-program-for-climate-rule
What about coal-powered power plants?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-02/safety-net-for-dying-power-plants-surfaces-in-u-s-carbon-rule
And how about nuclear power?
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/07/31/usa-climatechange-cleanpowerplan-idUKL1N10B1K820150731
What do some of “we the people” think?
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/05/3687684/gop-primary-voters-vs-candidates/
National Journal’s take on winners and losers:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/energy/obama-climate-change-epa-rule-20150802

On the other hand….
How about suing if you don’t like the new rules?
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/internal-debate-over-clean-energy-plan-pitted-ambition-against-legal-worries/2015/08/02/9e0c1c94-3966-11e5-9c2d-ed991d848c48_story.html
• http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/06/3688652/first-shot-at-finalized-clean-power-plan-arrives/
The new rules certainly aren’t popular in the House of Representatives, apparently.
http://about.bnef.com/bnef-news/democrats-walkout-fails-to-stop-measure-blocking-climate-rules/
VA House Republicans issued a press release for which I could not locate a link. Here it is as a pdf: Matthew Moran Press Release for VA House Republicans on CPP
Former Republican Bob Inglis’ RepublicEn.org (The Energy and Enterprise Initiative) has a video of an interview with Mr. Inglis, who supports an alternative approach to addressing climate change.  Mr. Inglis tweeted this when the CPP was released:  “”We can do better. Whole economy, not sector-by-sector. A price signal, not regulations. A smaller government, not a bigger one. Free enterprise, not command-and-control. The country and the world have been waiting for conservatives to step forward with the better solution. Now’s the time.”
http://blog.republicen.org/video-bob-inglis-talks-clean-power-plan-problems-real-solutions-on-msnbc
How about “cap and trade”?
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/08/don-t-like-obama-s-clean-power-plan-fine-here-s-cap-and-trade.html

Should you happen to be a bit of a policy wonk and haven’t read enough yet, NextGen Climate America has assembled a resource library that puts a lot of info at your disposal:  http://nextgenamerica.org/blog/clean-power-plan-resource-roundup/
For further wonky details, Synapse Energy Economics Inc. gives us “Eight Things You Need to Know about the Clean Power Plan”.
http://synapse-energy.com/about-us/news/eight-things-you-need-know-about-clean-power-plan
More data…  The states and their carbon emissions–VA isn’t the worst or the best.
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/08/03/clean-power-plan-your-state-by-state-greenhouse-gas-emissions

Enough about the CPP already!  Let’s move on…

Not sure about Congress, but DoD takes climate change seriously, it seems:
http://mashable.com/2015/07/29/pentagon-global-warming-present-threat/

Nature’s wreaking havoc in the US West; last week we had an article about Alaska wildfires.  This week it’s our Pacific Northwest and a chilling (opposite of a pun) map of current US active wildfires.  Plus, there’s a map showing the effect on air quality of fossil fuel emissions.  The fires, of course, aren’t helping.
• http://grist.org/climate-energy/what-happens-when-a-rainforest-burns/
• http://grist.org/climate-energy/terrifying-map-shows-depths-of-hell-that-is-western-u-s/
• http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/03/california-wildfires-destroy-forests-threaten-homes
• http://grist.org/climate-energy/how-dirty-is-your-air-this-map-shows-you/

Let’s hope there is some hyperbole here.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/03/stop-burning-fossil-fuels-now-no-co2-technofix-climate-change-oceans

Just how clean is natural gas?

From down under, Solar Choice tells us that “Utility-scale solar will soon be competitive in USA–with fossil fuels, even without tax credit”.
http://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/news/utility-scale-solar-competitive-in-years-310715

Also from below the equator (by a lot) comes a story about some good news for Glapagos penguins, at least for a while.
http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/08/04/climate-change-endangered-galapagos-penguins

100% Renewable Energy??  A bit wonky but…
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/07/world-moves-toward-100-percent-renewable-energy-first-electricity-then-heating-cooling-and-finally-transportation.html

Here’s another more upbeat article about some islands’ actions.
http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/08/07/how-and-why-islands-are-becoming-renewable-energy-trendsetters

If you’re getting this email, then you’re part of the 60%.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/27/these-are-the-factors-that-affect-how-people-feel-about-climate-change-and-whether-they-even-know-it-exists/

I could go on and on and clearly already have.  Congratulations if you’ve made it this far.

These news items have been compiled by Joy Loving, member of the CAAV steering committee and leader of Solarize efforts in the valley.

No surprise here–VA’s isn’t the only coastline that is facing the challenge of rising sea levels (or recurrent flooding as VA likes to say).  China has a lot of coastline.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/25/climate-change-threatens-chinas-booming-coastal-cities-says-expert

In last week’s roundup, we saw articles about Dr. James Hansen’s recent study results.  Here’s a follow-up from Mashable.
http://mashable.com/2015/07/22/james-hansen-scary-new-climate-study/

A Guardian article on the EPA Clean Power Plan gives some insight into what to expect once these rules are issued.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/30/obama-will-use-veto-to-defend-climate-change-plan-if-necessary?CMP=EMCENVEML1631

You may have heard of “fee and dividend”, one way to use the market to drive down fossil fuel use and emissions.  Here’s an op ed piece from The New York Times included in the weekend summary of The Daily Climate, suggesting another possibility.  I am including it as a pdf file (see below) in case you can’t see it from the link.  Also, here’s a Renewable Energy World article on the same subject.
• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/opinion/a-third-way-to-fight-climate-change.html?_r=0
• http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/07/us-clean-power-plan-could-include-carbon-trading.html?cmpid=renewable07312015&eid=291085651&bid=1139109
• https://climateactionallianceofthevalley.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ny-times-article-july-24-2015-a-third-way-to-fight-climate-change.pdf

This next link isn’t directly about climate per se, but hopefully you’ll appreciate the pictures of our planet and the commentary by Astronaut Scott Kelly.
https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse/a-new-blue-marble-39c2fe1b5b3c

Sir Roland Sanders, a columnist for the Jamaica Observer gives a thought-provoking piece on the plight of the world’s island residents.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Climate-change–Time-for-talking-is-over_19220441

In another opinion piece, this time from the Chicago Sun Times, the Chicago Archbishop and the EPA Administrator tell us “We have a moral obligation on climate change”.  This is a follow-up to Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/7/71/820711/archbishop-cupich-epa-mccarthy-climate-change

Three items related to the Paris talks: 
• From The Guardian comes a July 22nd piece by reporter Dana Nuccitelli related to the upcoming Paris talks.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/jul/22/global-warming-deniers-are-an-endangered-species
• The Diplomat’s Kamal Madishetty ponders India’s role there in a July 24 article.
http://thediplomat.com/2015/07/climate-change-can-india-take-the-lead-in-paris/
• And, Renewable Energy World reprinted a Bloomberg July 27 article on corporate support for carbon re ahead of Paris.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/2015/07/major-us-corporations-pledge-to-increase-renewable-energy-usage-decrease-carbon-footprint.html

Riskybusiness.org just published a lengthy report titled “Come Heat and High Water:  Climate Risk in the Southeastern U.S. and Texas”.  What got my attention right away were the 3 names of the committee co-chairs–Michael Bloomberg, Henry Paulsen, and Tom Steyer–not to mention other committee members, bi-partisan & many from the corporate world.  No doubt you won’t want to digest the whole thing, but take a quick look at the Executive Summary and the material on Virginia.

Click to access Climate-Risk-in-Southeast-and-Texas.pdf

Inside Climate included a Jul 26 Washington Post article on the connection between Alaska’s wildfire season and climate change.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/2015/07/major-us-corporations-pledge-to-increase-renewable-energy-usage-decrease-carbon-footprint.html

Here are 3 items about food–one of them a bit encouraging:
• If you like Australian wines, then you might want to peruse this article from down under.  Well, maybe climate change will leave other wine-growing regions alone.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/climate-change-hitting-where-it-hurts-your-wine-20150726-gikmuc.html
• Who doesn’t love olive oil?  It’s getting pricier–guess why?
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/24/olive-oil-prices-surge-drought-disease-spain-Italy
• Some Northwest Native Americans see problem coming with their traditional food supply.  Should the rest of us?
http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/tribes-preparing-for-climate-change-impact-on-first-foods/

The Union of Concerned Scientists believes that some of the self-described “science” behind climate change wants to deceive us or cast doubt on what is happening.  The detailed article, “Documenting Fossil Fuel Companies’ Climate Deception”, printed in their Summer 2015 Catalyst magazine isn’t yet available online, but here’s a link to their summary of it.  If you’ve seen the documentary “Merchants of Doubt”, you’ve heard this before, but the information hasn’t gotten less troubling.
http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/catalyst/su15-firstprinciples.html#.VbvTT8LbK01

Hardly a​l​l the news that’s ​fit to print or available, but I think enough for this week….

These news items have been compiled by Joy Loving, member of the CAAV steering committee and leader of Solarize efforts in the valley.