Washington Post – “More than three-quarters of the members of a federally chartered board advising the National Park Service have quit out of frustration that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had refused to meet with them or convene a single meeting last year. The resignation of 10 out of 12 National Park System Advisory Board members… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Climate Change
NOAA: 2017 was 3rd warmest year on record for the globe
NOAA, NASA scientists confirm Earth’s long-term warming trend continues – “…The average temperature across the globe in 2017 was 1.51 degrees F above the 20th century average of 57 degrees F. 2017 marks the 41st consecutive year (since 1977) with global land and ocean temperatures at least nominally above the 20th-century average. The six warmest years… Continue Reading
A Surprising Feature of Historic Photos of DC – the addition of many trees!
Via Casey Trees [please join me in supporting this or similar groups planting trees in communities throughout our cities] – “…Our fair District is a historic and photogenic city, there is no doubt. When looking a before and after photos of places throughout the city, we found ourselves looking at something else – the evolution… Continue Reading
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): An Overview
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): An Overview – CRS report via FAS – Laura B. Comay, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy; Michael Ratner, Specialist in Energy Policy; R. Eliot Crafton; Analyst in Natural Resources Policy. January 9, 2018. “In the ongoing energy debate in Congress, one recurring issue has been whether to allow oil and gas… Continue Reading
How Climate Change Web Content is Being Censored Under the Trump Administration
“On January 10, 2018 the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) [released] Changing the Digital Climate: How Climate Change Web Content is Being Censored Under the Trump Administration, the third installment of EDGI’s series of reports evaluating the environmental impacts of the first year of the Trump administration. Changing the Digital Climate draws on the… Continue Reading
1980-2017 Q4 – U.S. Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters
“NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) tracks U.S. weather and climate events that have great economic and societal impacts (www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions). Since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 219 weather and climate disasters where the overall damage costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index, as of December 2017). The… Continue Reading
NYC sues major oil companies over climate change
Washington Post: “The New York City government is suing the world’s five largest publicly traded oil companies, seeking to hold them responsible for present and future damages to the city from climate change. The suit, filed Tuesday against BP, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, claims the companies together produced 11 percent of all… Continue Reading
FERC rejects proposal to subsidize coal burning and nuclear power plants
gtm research: “Federal regulators have rejected Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s plan to rewrite energy market regulations that would favor the coal industry in the name of grid reliability, delivering a stark rebuke to what has largely been seen as an effort to reward the coal industry at the expense of ratepayers and the environment. On… Continue Reading
Ocean of Things Aims to Expand Maritime Awareness across Open Seas
DARPA envisions ocean-based “internet of things” made of small, low-cost floating sensors – “The internet of things connects an ever-growing number of smart devices for up-to-the-minute monitoring and tracking of many common events. Head out to most parts of the open ocean, however, and no such capability exists for real-time monitoring of maritime activity. DARPA… Continue Reading
NOAA – 2017 was third warmest year on record for US with record number of climate disasters
Assessing the U.S. Climate in 2017 – “Based on preliminary analysis, the average annual temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 54.6°F, 2.6°F above the 20th century average. This was the third warmest year since record keeping began in 1895, behind 2012 (55.3°F) and 2016 (54.9°F), and the 21st consecutive warmer-than-average year for the U.S. (1997… Continue Reading
Temperature and humidity based projections of rapid rise in global heat stress exposure during 21st century
Temperature and humidity based projections of a rapid rise in global heat stress exposure during the 21st century. Ethan D Coffel. Radley M Horton, and Alex de Sherbinin. Published 22 December 2017. Environmental Research Letters, Volume 13, Number 1. “As a result of global increases in both temperature and specific humidity, heat stress is projected… Continue Reading
2017 Was a Big Year for Scrubbing Science from Government Websites
MotherJones: 2017 Was a Big Year for Scrubbing Science from Government Websites. Here’s the List. Are the changes routine, rebranding, or censorship? “Moments after President Donald Trump took the oath of office last January, nearly all references to climate change disappeared from the White House official website. A page detailing former President Barack Obama’s plans to… Continue Reading
