Most recent 10 articles: Heated World
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How bad could Trump be for renewables? - Heated World (Oct 24, 2024) |
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Oct 24, 2024 · It’s often said that a Donald Trump presidency could be bad for renewable energy. But how bad could it be, exactly?
We recently came across a detailed but redacted study answering that very question, published by one of the world’s largest dedicated power market analytics companies in September. It hasn’t yet been reported on by any major or mainstream news outlet, so we reached out to the study authors at Aurora Energy Research who allowed us to view an unredacted version.
Here’s the good(-ish) news: as long as Trump doesn’t touch tax credits for wind, solar, and battery storage, the analysis says his presidency should only have a “limited” negative impact on the energy ... Read more ...
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Microplastics! They're everywhere! - Heated World (Oct 17, 2024) |
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Oct 17, 2024 · Dolphins are breathing microplastics into their lungs when they emerge from the ocean for air. That’s the topline of new peer-reviewed research published in the journal Plos One on Wednesday.
It’s also the latest entry to the running list I’ve been keeping on my phone for the last few months, titled: “Unhinged places scientists have found microplastics.” And while “dolphin breath” may seem like it must be one of the wildest entries, it’s actually pretty par for the course.
I’ve decided to share that list with you today. Keep in mind that every entry could benefit from nuance and context regarding health risks and particle concentrations. Please click the links attached ... Read more ...
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Big Oil knew monster storms were coming. We have the receipts. - Heated World (Oct 11, 2024) |
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Oct 11, 2024 · For the second time in as many weeks, Florida residents are picking up the pieces from a major hurricane supercharged by the climate crisis. While not as severe as meteorologists feared, Milton has killed at least 11 people, left 3 million without electricity, flooded coastal towns, spawned tornadoes, and caused what will likely be billions in damage.
But even as forecasters were left speechless as Milton became one of the fastest-growing hurricanes in history, there was one group of people that shouldn’t have been surprised - fossil fuel executives.
For at least 45 years, oil company scientists have been privately warning executives that burning fossil fuels would lead ... Read more ...
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How fossil fuels mutated Milton - Heated World (Oct 09, 2024) |
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Oct 09, 2024 · For scientists who study the effects of climate change, the scariest thing about Hurricane Milton is not simply its historic strength. It’s the fact that Milton grew so strong so quickly - mutating from a pipsqueak into a monster.
Milton’s rapid intensification from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane left meteorologists speechless, with one veteran NBC6 Miami scientist tearing up on air. On X, hurricane scientists described Milton’s sudden explosion as “unprecedented,” “terrifying,” and “jaw-dropping,” as the storm’s wind speeds grew from 60 mph to over 180 mph in only 36 hours - one of the fastest intensifications on record.
A similarly rapid hurricane ... Read more ...
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Milton is a monster. Elected leaders are to blame. - Heated World (Oct 09, 2024) |
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Oct 09, 2024 · Kathy Baughman McLeod is a former Florida state commissioner of energy and climate, and worked in Florida for more than 25 years. She’s currently the CEO of Climate Resilience for All.
My 83-year-old mother lives in the path of Hurricane Milton. For reasons I won’t get into, she’s chosen not to evacuate. When I called her earlier, we talked about the speed with which a storm surge could infiltrate her house, which is only about eight feet above sea level. We talked about how water could push from the Gulf of Mexico into the Caloosahatchee River, then into the canals that come into her neighborhood. We talked about how she might have time to get into the attic and take the cat ... Read more ...
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Keep yelling about climate change - Heated World (Oct 08, 2024) |
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Oct 08, 2024 · Yelling about climate change on the internet can often feel pointless, like throwing stones into a bottomless well.
Speaking for myself, a professional climate change internet yeller, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes question the practice’s effectiveness - especially during hostile political administrations and seemingly unending fossil-fueled extreme weather.
So I was heartened when, late last week, I came across new peer-reviewed research confirming that climate yelling really can lead to meaningful policy action, even under right-wing leaders, and even during unnatural disasters.
I thought that research might be particularly helpful to share with you ... Read more ...
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Why Chevron is sponsoring Hurricane Helene journalism - Heated World (Oct 04, 2024) |
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Oct 04, 2024 · For a list of Hurricane Helene mutual aid resources, click here.
One day after Hurricane Helene dissipated, the Politico newsletter Power Switch ran a story detailing the terrifying nationwide implications of fossil-fueled storms. “Nowhere is safe from climate disaster,” the headline roared. “Presented by Chevron,” the next line read.
What followed was a back-and-forth between Politico’s reporters and Chevron’s marketing team. For a few paragraphs, readers were given journalism about Helene’s astronomical human and economic toll. Then, they were given a break for a paid message about Chevron’s new “Anchor” project - an ultra-deepwater drilling endeavor that the oil giant ... Read more ...
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JD Vance’s cowardly climate denial - Heated World (Oct 02, 2024) |
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Oct 02, 2024 · Sometimes, being a climate reporter feels like being in a twisted version of Groundhog Day. Every time you think the world has finally moved beyond debating whether climate change is real or fake, you wake up to find that the day has reset - and a white guy with oil money seeking power pushed the button.
Last night, JD Vance pushed the button while thousands of Americans were suffering from one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history. At the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, Donald Trump’s running mate cast doubt on the “idea” that heat-trapping pollution heats the atmosphere, calling it “weird science” that he would only accept “for the sake of argument.”
“One of ... Read more ...
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Why are Republicans so obsessed with refrigerators? - Heated World (Sep 23, 2024) |
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Sep 23, 2024 · Over the last year, Republicans have begun championing a new and novel environmental cause. It’s not the air; it’s not the water; it’s not the climate crisis.
It’s refrigerators.
Apparently they’re getting way too efficient.
That’s the idea behind the Refrigerator Freedom Act (seriously), introduced by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) this summer. The bill seeks to repeal appliance efficiency regulations proposed by the Biden Administration last year - regulations that require refrigerator manufacturers to use less electricity and water over time as technology improves. The Department of Energy claims these regulations, along with efficiency regulations on ... Read more ...
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MAGA's scariest environmental proposal - Heated World (Sep 17, 2024) |
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Sep 17, 2024 · Diane Cotter is a proud “firewife”: the wife and mother of firefighters. On a phone call last week, she told me she’s “very much afraid” for her family and firefighting community, because of a little-known environmental proposal in Project 2025.
In the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page blueprint for Donald Trump’s second term, there’s a brief proposal to potentially deregulate a class of toxic chemicals called PFAS, found in firefighting foam and gear and linked to high rates of cancer among firefighters nationwide. Written by former members of Trump’s administration, it says the Environmental Protection Agency should “revisit the designation of PFAS chemicals as 'hazardous ... Read more ...
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