Category: Climate

ByRani Molla Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Drought Monitor; National Drought Mitigation Center The effects of California’s drought extend to the state’s energy sector. According to data from the Energy Information Administration , California has seen a significant drop in hydropower as its dams choke from lack of water.  California now relies more heavily on natural gas and renewable energy—mainly wind and solar—than it did before the drought to produce electricity. Comparing the second quarter electricity production from 2010, before the drought, with this year’s second quarter, shows that the usage of natural gas and renewable energy has increased in that time.  Meanwhile, California is generating less hydroelectricity due to the drought. Earlier this year, wind generation surpassed hydro generation in California for the first time ever. The state is also generating less electricity from nuclear energy, but that stems partly from closing nuclear plants there after reassessing their safety […]

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The drought in California continues to increase in severity since California’s governor declared a state of drought emergency in January 2014. As of September 30, 58% of the state was classified as experiencing exceptional drought, the most intense drought category. These dry conditions limit hydropower generation, requiring generation from other sources to make up for the shortfall. California’s drought, which began in 2011, has resulted in a significant decline in hydropower generation. On average, hydropower accounted for 20% of California’s in-state generation during the first six months of each year from 2004 to 2013. During the first half of 2014, however, hydropower accounted for only 10% of California’s total generation. Monthly hydropower generation in 2014 has fallen well below the 10-year range for each individual month. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly In California, natural gas-fired capacity is often used to help offset lower levels of generation […]

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AP Photo/Nick Ut LOS ANGELES (AP) — An autumn heat wave that is roasting California is expected to reach its peak on Saturday, raising concerns about wildfires and power outages. As high temperatures were ranging from the low 100s in Southern California to the 90s in the normally more temperate San Francisco Bay Area on Friday, National Weather Service forecasters warned that some high-temperature records could fall Saturday. They said LA’s Woodland Hills neighborhood could surpass 108 degrees. A high-pressure system extending over the western part of the country, along with Santa Ana winds that blow across deserts and down mountain canyons before arriving in Southern California, are generating the sweltering conditions. By mid-afternoon Friday, it was 99 degrees in Long Beach, the same as the temperature in Death Valley, California, which calls itself the hottest place on the planet. The hot temperatures, dry and windy conditions are triggering […]

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EPA ranks industries according to greenhouse gas emissions. UPI/Stephen Shaver WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) — Greenhouse gas emissions declined in the oil and gas industry, with hydraulic fracturing leading the way, the Environmental Protection Agency said. EPA released its annual report on trends in greenhouse gas emissions by industrial sector. The agency found overall reported emissions in 2013 from large industrial facilities were 0.6 percent higher year-on-year, with most of the increase coming from coal power generation. For the oil and natural gas sector, the second largest stationary source of emissions , greenhouse gas output was 1 percent lower than the previous year. EPA’s report said reported emissions from the oil and gas sector declined 12 percent from its 2011 levels. The largest reduction came from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells, where emissions were down 73 percent from 2011. Howard Feldman, director of regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum […]

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The savage heat waves that struck Australia in 2013 were almost certainly a direct consequence of the human release of greenhouse gases, researchers said Monday. It is perhaps the most definitive statement climate scientists have made that ties a specific weather event to global warming. Five groups of researchers, using distinct methods, analyzed the heat that baked Australia for much of last year and continued into 2014, shutting down the Australian Open tennis tournament at one point in January. All five came to the conclusion that last year’s heat waves could not have been as severe without the long-term climatic warming caused by human activity. “When we look at the heat across the whole of Australia and the whole 12 months of 2013, we can say that this was virtually impossible without climate change,” said David Karoly, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne who led one research […]

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The Obama administration appears to be losing ground in its efforts to cut U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases, according to new government figures that show pollution levels rising again after several years of gradual decline. Data released Friday by the Energy Department show American factories and power plants putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere during the first six months of 2014 compared with the same period in each of the past two years. The figures confirm a reversal first seen in 2013, when the trend of steadily falling emissions abruptly halted. The higher emissions are primarily a reflection of a rebounding economy, as American businesses burned more gas and oil to meet higher demand. But the shift also underscores the challenge confronting the Obama administration as it seeks to honor a pledge to sharply cut U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases by the end of the decade. The release […]

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A study published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters  found that switching from coal to natural gas would not significantly lower the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change . The natural gas processed at this plant isn’t the answer to reducing carbon emissions, a new study says. Photo credit: Shutterstock “That’s chiefly because the shift would delay the deployment and cost-competitiveness of renewable electricity technologies for making electricity,” concluded the three researchers from the University of California Irvine, Stanford University and Seattle-based nonprofit Net Zero. “Increased use of natural gas has been promoted as a means of decarbonizing the U.S. power sector, because of superior generator efficiency and lower CO2 emissions per unit of electricity than coal,” said the study. “We model the effect of different gas supplies on the U.S. power sector and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Across a range of climate policies, we find that abundant […]

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PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Sept. 24 (UPI) — Deputy Interior Secretary Michael Connor unveiled a report showing winter runoff will increase , but decrease in the spring because of changing temperature patterns. That means water reservoirs will fill up earlier in the season, which will have an impact on everything from irrigation to ecosystems and hydropower generation. "This assessment is one of several that studies climate risks to water supplies and related resources in river basins in the western United Sates," Connor said in a Tuesday statement. His comments coincided with the release by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and California Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird of a draft renewable energy and conservation plan covering more than 22 million acres in the California desert. The proposal calls for setting aside land for nature conservation while at the same time assessing where it’s appropriate to develop solar, wind and geothermal energy […]

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President Barack Obama speaks during the Climate Summit at the U.N. on Tuesday. REUTERS NEW YORK—President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the U.S. and China have a "special responsibility to lead" efforts to curb carbon greenhouse gas emissions, as he sought to enlist nations around the globe in efforts to combat climate change. "There is one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other," Mr. Obama said at a United Nations climate summit in New York. "That is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate." Mr. Obama told delegates the U.S. is ready to lead in a new set of global climate-change negotiations but urged major economies—including emerging economies—to get on board. "Nobody gets a pass," he said. In an afternoon address, Mr. Obama announced a set of limited measures Washington will take to address climate change abroad and to align […]

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| License Photo WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) — Countries in the Middle East and North Africa have done little as a whole to address the threats from climate change, the American Security Project said Monday. International delegates gather Tuesday in New York City for a climate change summit hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon. The summit comes on the heels of a report from the World Meteorological Organization that said the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere last year reached a new record in part because of the steady use of fossil fuels. A report Monday from the American Security Project found the Middle East and North Africa — home to nine of the 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries — least prepared for climate change . "Perhaps an explanation of this is the continued political and military strife in the region," the report […]

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