Axios: “Millions of Americans live in parts of cities where the “urban heat island” effect can significantly increase temperatures, especially during heat waves, per a new analysis by nonprofit climate research group Climate Central. Why it matters: Heat islands — wherein heat is trapped by heat-absorbing surfaces and structures — can make cities less livable… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Climate Change
Climate Zones
The Pudding – Visualization: How will your city feel in the future – “This project looks at 70 global cities, and tracks their classification from present day to 2070. And with climate change, your city isn’t just getting hotter: it will resemble the distinctive climate of completely different places…A 2018 study, led by climatologist Hylke… Continue Reading
The World’s Power Grids Are Failing as the Planet Warms
Bloomberg [unpaywalled] – Outages from Albania to Texas show how electricity networks aren’t ready for climate change. “…The climate crisis exposes electricity networks to flash floods ripping down transmission towers, droughts drying up hydro reservoirs and demand spikes from cooling during searing heat. “The whole power system was built and designed in one climatic era… Continue Reading
Answers – What’s Project 2025?
Unpacking the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government “…The Forces Behind Project 2025 – Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts launched Project 2025 in April 2022, a few months before Trump officially announced his reelection campaign. Since then, the number of groups backing the initiative has grown. As of now, Project 2025’s advisory board and so-called… Continue Reading
Nature and Artifice: A Portrait of Vincent van Gogh Not Seen Before
Yale University Press – Yale Books: “David Ebony interviews Michael Lobel, author of Van Gogh and the End of Nature In his latest book, Van Gogh and the End of Nature, author Michael Lobel situates Vincent van Gogh in the midst of the industrial era in 19th-century Europe, and explores the artist’s often fraught relationship… Continue Reading
New map gives horror glimpse at world’s climate in 60 years
Express UK: “As Britons experience a cold, rainy summer, experts are urging them to appreciate the milder conditions while they can. A new interactive map developed by scientists from the University of Maryland offers a glimpse into a much hotter future, predicting drastic changes in climate for cities worldwide within the next 60 years. According… Continue Reading
National Coral Reef Monitoring Program
“Coral reefs are among the most valuable ecosystems on earth, providing people with goods and services that include food, storm protection, and recreational opportunities. Despite their importance, coral reef ecosystems are in decline from a myriad of man-made and natural threats. In response, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program established an integrated and focused monitoring… Continue Reading
Home Insurance Rates in America Are Wildly Distorted. Here’s Why.
The New York Times [unpaywalled]: “Enid, Okla., surrounded by farms about 90 minutes north of Oklahoma City, has an unwelcome distinction: Home insurance is more expensive, relative to home values, than almost anywhere else in the country. Enid is hardly the American community that is most vulnerable to damaging weather. Yet as a share of… Continue Reading
Washington Post Chatbot in Beta Responds to Questions About Climate
Washington Post – Your climate questions, answered. This is an experiment from The Washington Post to use AI to help answer your climate questions. Responses are based solely on published reporting by Post journalists. Please verify any information with the underlying articles. See also the site’s Feedback Form – Did you find what you were… Continue Reading
Wildlife Protections Take a Back Seat to SpaceX’s Ambitions
“A New York Times investigation found that Elon Musk exploited federal agencies’ [no paywall] competing missions to achieve his goals for space travel. As Elon Musk’s Starship — the largest rocket ever manufactured — successfully blasted toward the sky last month, the launch was hailed as a giant leap for SpaceX and the United States’… Continue Reading
To Avert a Mass Extinction, Protect 1 Percent of Earth
Yale Environment 360: “Most species are rare, meaning they are few in number or cover a small range, or both. As a result, a new study concludes, humans can preserve much of the great diversity of life on Earth by marking out just 1.2 percent of the planet for protection. For the study, experts mapped… Continue Reading
Plastics companies blocked mitigation efforts and may have broken US laws
The Guardian – Paper outlines different legal theories that could help governments pursue accountability for harms: “Companies have spent decades obstructing efforts to take on the plastics crisis and may have breached a host of US laws, a new report argues. The research from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) details the widespread burdens… Continue Reading
