Tropical Storm Gordon races toward U.S. Gulf Coast
Tropical Storm Gordon on Tuesday barreled toward central U.S. Gulf Coast, where it was expected to become a hurricane and bring high winds and heavy rain to the region, the Continue Reading
Climate change, water and the infrastructure problem
I was watching an episode of the science-fiction noir thriller “The Expanse” recently. Set hundreds of years in the future, the United Nations has now become the world government and Continue Reading
Drought-hit Australian farmers rethink climate change
A cloud of flies buzzes noisily around the carcass of a cow that is decomposing in a barren, grassless paddock. “She died of urea poisoning, which is a big risk Continue Reading
Why rising temperatures are bad for our mental health
A couple of years ago Solomon Hsiang, assistant professor of public policy at University of California, Berkeley, became fascinated by an important issue: what effect does heat have on our Continue Reading
How energy companies set off earthquakes miles away from their waste dumps
Each day across the United States, 2 billion gallons of fossil-fuel-industry wastewater flies through thousands of underground tubes. The injection wells descend into porous rock, filling gaps with brine and Continue Reading
Pollution May Dim Thinking Skills, Study in China Suggests
A large study in China suggests a link between air pollution and negative effects on people’s language and math skills. The link between pollution and respiratory diseases is well known, Continue Reading
How Air in the Pacific Northwest Became Dirtier Than Beijing’s
The Pacific Northwest, sandwiched between Canada’s smoldering British Columbia to the north and six fire-wracked Western U.S. states , is feeling the side effects of one of the worst fire Continue Reading
California takes another green step forward
California legislators scored a win against the Trump administration by passing one of the nation’s most ambitious clean energy bills, an advocacy group said. “The legislature finds and declares that Continue Reading
Colorado to vote in November on proposal to toughen oil drilling rules
A Colorado ballot initiative that would sharply increase the required distance between new oil wells and populated areas will go before voters in November, Colorado officials said on Wednesday. The Continue Reading
Air pollution may harm cognitive intelligence, study says
China is a developing country with severe air pollution in its cities Chronic exposure to air pollution could be linked to cognitive performance, a new study in China suggests. Researchers Continue Reading
Study finds long-term exposure to air pollution negatively impacts cognitive performance and may become more pronounced with age
Researchers from China and the US have found that long-term exposure to air pollution impedes cognitive performance in verbal and math tests. In a study published in Proceedings of the Continue Reading
Study: PM2.5 pollution reduces global life expectancy by more than one year
PM 2.5 pollution shortens human lives by more than a year, according to a new open-access study from a team of environmental engineers and public health researchers published in the Continue Reading
E.P.A. Rule Change Could Let Dirtiest Coal Plants Keep Running (and Stay Dirty)
The Brandon Shores power plant in Maryland spent hundreds of millions to install pollution-control systems. A new Trump administration proposal would let some older coal plants skip such upgrades. Want Continue Reading
Arctic’s strongest sea ice breaks up for the first time on record
Sea Ice Arctic sea ice works as the planet’s air conditioner in that it keeps the polar regions cold and helps keep the global climate stable, according to the NSIDC Continue Reading
Australia Wilts From Climate Change. Why Can’t Its Politicians Act?
Mile after mile of the Great Barrier Reef is dying amid rising ocean temperatures. Hundreds of bush fires are blazing across Australia’s center, in winter, partly because of a record-breaking Continue Reading
The U.S. Just Suffered the Hottest May-June-July on Record
If you found yourself thinking it was scorching hot in recent weeks, well, you were right. For the three-month period of May to July, the entire contiguous United States (CONUS) Continue Reading
Vital US reservoir OK for now, but shortages are looming
The Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona creates Lake Powell, which holds only 43 percent of its capacity this year. The reservoir is part of a system that supports 40 million Continue Reading
Climate change in the Anthropocene: An unstoppable drive to Hothouse Earth?
Can the global climate be stabilized before runaway change creates conditions that are too hot for human civilization and deadly for most species? Leading Earth System scientists warn: “The Earth Continue Reading
After ‘Peak Water,’ the Days of Plenty Are Over
In a recent paper in Science of The Total Environment, a team of Chinese researchers created a model of the Urumqi No. 1 catchment in Xinjiang, China, and made a Continue Reading
Texas, refineries urged to plan storm shutdowns to cut pollution
Texas environment regulators should coordinate shutdowns of oil refineries and other petrochemical plants during major storms to avoid big releases of air pollution like during last year’s Hurricane Harvey, a Continue Reading
Agency Says Lake Mead Could Drop Below Critical Threshold
Nevada’s Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the West, is on track to fall below a critical threshold in 2020, according to a new forecast by the Bureau of Reclamation. Continue Reading
Facing $17 Billion in Fire Damages, a CEO Blames Climate Change – Bloomberg
It was California’s biggest fire yet. In late July and August, wildfires devastated an area north of San Francisco far bigger than New York City, destroying more than 100 homes and injuring Continue Reading
We won’t stop California’s wildfires if we don’t talk about climate change
CALIFORNIA, THE nation’s most populous state and the world’s fifth-largest economy , is on fire. In a state already known for monster conflagrations, the past month has been unusually destructive. The Mendocino Complex fire Continue Reading
Poor EU harvest to shrink wheat stocks, swell maize imports: analysts
Weather-hit cereal harvests in Europe will lead to tight wheat supplies in 2018/19 and leave the region reliant on record imports of maize to feed its livestock herd, analyst firm Continue Reading
Why Trump Won’t Kill Progress On Fuel Economy
The Trump administration is taking the aggressive move of not only trying to freeze fuel economy standards for the nation’s cars and light duty trucks, but it is also attempting Continue Reading
Climate change: ‘Hothouse Earth’ risks even if CO2 emissions slashed
It may sound like the title of a low budget sci-fi movie, but for planetary scientists, “Hothouse Earth” is a deadly serious concept. Researchers believe we could soon cross a Continue Reading
IHS Markit projects automakers could be fined more than €14B for European CO2 excess emissions in 2021
New analysis by IHS Markit suggests that automakers failing to meet 2021 fleet CO 2 emissions compliance for passenger vehicles sold in the European Union (EU) could be fined more Continue Reading
Scientists Want Oil Drilling Ban In British County After Series of Earthquakes
Four senior geologists are calling for a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in Surrey in the UK, southeast of London, after 12 earthquakes were registered in the area over Continue Reading
US auto sector should have been more careful what it wished for
In W.W. Jacobs’ 1902 short horror story The Monkey’s Paw, the cursed paw grants three wishes, but in unexpected and malign ways. For the US automotive industry, President Donald Trump Continue Reading
California fights back against EPA proposals on vehicles
California’s attorney general said the state would use every legal tool at its disposal to block President Donald Trump ‘s efforts to weaken fuel economy standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Continue Reading
California Governor directs ARB to assess new regulations to increase ZEV adoption in public and private fleets
California Governor Jerry Brown has directed the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to assess possible regulatory requirements to ensure greater inclusion of zero emission vehicles in public and private light- Continue Reading
How Big a Deal Is Trump’s Fuel Economy Rollback? For the Climate, Maybe the Biggest Yet
President Trump’s proposal this week to weaken fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks could be his most consequential climate-policy rollback yet, increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States Continue Reading
Scorching Summer in Europe Signals Long-Term Climate Changes
In Northern Europe, this summer feels like a modern-day version of the biblical plagues. Cows are dying of thirst in Switzerland, fires are gobbling up timber in Sweden, the majestic Continue Reading
EPA unveils plan to lower Obama-era federal fuel standards
The Trump administration unveiled a plan Thursday to roll back aggressive government targets that mandate better fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Under the Environmental Protection Agency proposal, the Continue Reading
US EPA and DOT propose freezing light-duty fuel economy, GHG standards at 2020 level for MY 2021-2026 vehicles; 43.7 mpg for cars; 50-state solution
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released their long-expected notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to adjust the Congressionally-mandated Corporate Continue Reading
Adding Up the Cost of Climate Change in Lost Lives
Scorching heat waves have gripped the world in recent weeks from the Pacific Northwest to Northern Europe and, most tragically, Japan, where more than 100 mostly elderly people have died. Continue Reading
Earth Overshoot Day Offers Sustainability Lessons
August 1 will mark Earth Overshoot Day, the day that worldwide humanity will, in only seven months, have taken more resources from the Earth than can be replenished within a Continue Reading
The Huge Battle For Fuel Efficiency Standards Starts Now
The Trump administration is set to roll out a historic weakening of fuel economy standards for the nation’s auto fleet, and, crucially, the government will seek to revoke the unique Continue Reading
How Record Heat Wreaked Havoc on Four Continents
Expect more. That’s the verdict of climate scientists to the record-high temperatures this spring and summer in vastly different climate zones. The continental United States had its hottest month of Continue Reading
LNG Prices Soar As Heatwave Hits Eastern Asia
Japan, known for its aversion to using oil for power generation, has had little choice but to ramp up its usage of the dirtier burning hydrocarbon amid a deadly heatwave Continue Reading
EU energy chief pushes for tougher emissions targets
The EU’s energy chief is pushing for member states to adopt a more aggressive carbon reduction target ahead of UN climate talks later this year. The EU already has some Continue Reading
Scorched earth: the world battles extreme weather
Thanasis Kontidis was hosing down the veranda of his family’s summer home in Mati on Monday afternoon when he caught a whiff of acrid smoke. “I looked up and saw Continue Reading
Climate change is supercharging a hot and dangerous summer
In the town of Sodankyla, Finland, the thermometer on July 17 registered a record-breaking 90 degrees , a remarkable figure given that Sodankyla is 59 miles north of the Arctic Continue Reading
SoCal Gas issues curtailment order for generators, citing demand
Southern California Gas on Wednesday issued a system-wide curtailment order for electric generators starting at 3 pm, using procedures that could allow it to dip into Aliso Canyon if the Continue Reading
China steps up controls on maritime emissions
China’s decision to regulate maritime fuels could have a significant impact on international efforts to lower emissions from shipping, analysis finds. Following its so-called Blue Sky initiative, the Chinese Ministry Continue Reading
Trump administration to freeze fuel-efficiency standards and fight states
Trump administration officials are preparing to issue a proposal within days to freeze fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks for six years and challenge the right of California and Continue Reading
ExxonMobil leaves conservative anti-climate lobbying group
Following a public spat over climate change legislation, oil giant ExxonMobil has pulled its membership from the Koch brothers-backed anti-climate-change lobbying group, American Legislative Exchange Council. Neither ExxonMobil nor ALEC Continue Reading
Fossil Fuel Industry Spent Nearly $2 billion to Kill U.S. Climate Action, New Study Finds
Legislation to address climate change has repeatedly died in Congress. But a major new study says the policy deaths were not from natural causes — they were caused by humans, Continue Reading
British groundwater monitors review oil and gas risks
British authorities said Monday they were working to examine the potential vulnerability to groundwater supplies from onshore oil and gas activity. The British Geological Survey and the nation’s Environment Agency Continue Reading
Global Population Growth Ceased In 1988…Population Has Only Grown Older Since Then
The world stopped growing about 1988… and has only grown older since. Global births, per five year periods, according to the UN. Births and UN medium and low variant estimates Continue Reading