Most recent 30 articles: Washington Post - Climate and Environment
|
Biden limits oil drilling across 13 million acres of Alaskan Arctic - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 19) |
|
Apr 19 · Future oil and gas drilling will be limited across more than 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation’s largest expanse of public land, under a sweeping Biden administration plan aimed at protecting sensitive ecosystems and wildlife. The Interior Department’s final rule represents one of President Biden’s most significant steps to curb fossil fuel development on federal lands. It could help the president’s reelection campaign court young voters, a key Democratic constituency, after many youth climate activists criticized the administration’s approval of a massive drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope last year. In a separate move, Interior ... Read more ... |
|
|
Earth’s record hot streak might be a sign of a new climate era - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 19) |
|
Apr 19 · The heat fell upon Mali’s capital like a thick, smothering blanket - chasing people from the streets, stifling them inside their homes. For nearly a week at the beginning of April, the temperature in Bamako hovered above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The cost of ice spiked to ten times its normal price, an overtaxed electrical grid sputtered and shut down. With much of the majority-Muslim country fasting for the holy month of Ramadan, dehydration and heat stroke became epidemic. As their body temperatures climbed, people’s blood pressure lowered. Their vision went fuzzy, their kidneys and livers malfunctioned, their brains began to swell. At the city’s main hospital, doctors ... Read more ... |
|
|
Great Barrier Reef experiencing one of its worst coral bleaching events - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 18) |
|
Apr 18 · Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is experiencing one of its worst bleaching events since monitoring began nearly four decades ago, authorities say, with much of the famed reef showing signs of damage as warming ocean temperatures blight reefs worldwide. Bleaching occurs when heat-stressed coral turn white after expelling symbiotic algae that provide food and color. It’s a result of abnormal ocean temperatures in the past year that scientists worry could represent a major change to Earth systems. In the Great Barrier Reef marine park, 73 percent of the reefs surveyed have prevalent bleaching - which means that more than 10 percent of the coral cover is bleached, the Great ... Read more ... |
|
|
The U.S. just changed how it manages a tenth of its land - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 18) |
|
Apr 18 · For decades, the federal government has prioritized oil and gas drilling, hardrock mining and livestock grazing on public lands across the country. That could soon change under a far-reaching Interior Department rule that puts conservation, recreation and renewable energy development on equal footing with resource extraction. The final rule released Thursday represents a seismic shift in the management of roughly 245 million acres of public property - about one-tenth of the nation’s land mass. It is expected to draw praise from conservationists and legal challenges from fossil fuel industry groups and Republican officials, some of whom have lambasted the move as a “land grab.” Read more ... |
|
|
Where drought looms in Kenya, camels are the new cows - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 17) |
|
Apr 17 · The camels had thump-thumped for seven days across northern Kenya, ushered by police reservists, winding at last toward their destination: less a village than a dusty clearing in the scrub, a place where something big was happening. People had walked for miles to be there. Soon the governor pulled up in his SUV. Women danced, and an emcee raised his hands to the sky. When the crowd gathered around an enclosure holding the camels, one man said he was looking at “the future.” The camels had arrived to replace the cows. Samburu County’s governor says that the climate patterns have become “abnormal.” The reduction in rainfall is so obvious, he said, that anybody can see it. ... Read more ... |
|
|
If you’ve got an EV, Google Maps is about to become much more valuable - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 17) |
|
Apr 17 · Google has announced new features in its Maps app designed to help electric car drivers find a charge. The updates include a tool to help drivers find nearby chargers with real-time information about availability and charging speed, the ability to find charging stops on longer road trips and more detailed instructions about how to find chargers within parking lots and garages. Google expects to start rolling out these features “in the coming months,” according to a blog post. Some will come first to people who drive a car that comes with “Google Built-in,” the company’s driver-assistance software. Google updated its other route-finding app, Waze, with information on EV ... Read more ... |
|
|
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago fundraising pitch to oil executives: I will kill wind - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 17) |
|
Apr 17 · Former president Donald Trump repeatedly ranted about wind power during a fundraising dinner with oil and gas industry executives last week, falsely claiming that the renewable-energy source is unreliable, unattractive and bad for the environment. “I hate wind,” Trump told the executives over a meal of chopped steak at his Mar-a-Lago Club and resort in Florida, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation. Trump’s comments reveal how he is wooing potential donors with his long-standing hostility to wind farms and pledges to halt this form of renewable energy if he returns to office. His ... Read more ... |
|
|
Biden set to block Alaska road key to accessing planned mine - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 16) |
|
Apr 16 · The Biden administration is set to block a controversial road crucial to operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska, saying it would threaten Indigenous communities and fragment wildlife habitat, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The expected decision on Ambler Road reflects the administration’s selective approach toward boosting domestic mining of minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean-energy technologies. It underscores the challenges facing President Biden as he balances an ambitious climate agenda with the need to protect ... Read more ... |
|
|
At this climate fair, heat pumps, e-bikes and induction stoves take center stage - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 13) |
|
Apr 13 · WASHINGTON - A loose line of people snaked from a doorway in the side of a cargo truck. One young boy wandered over to examine several bales of hay stacked nearby while others waiting craned their necks to get a peek inside. A small sign in the shape of a barn stuck over the open door read, “Petting Zoo.” But the queuing visitors weren’t there to meet pigs, goats or sheep. What they wanted was hands-on experience with a different kind of beast: heat pumps. “We have heat pump everything,” said Vanessa Bertelli, head of the nonprofit Electrify DC, as she walked through the D.C. Armory, an indoor arena, on a recent Saturday. To her right, a showcase of two brands of ... Read more ... |
|
|
Missouri could crack down on water exports to drought-weary West - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 13) |
|
Apr 13 · Missouri lawmakers say water has almost always been plentiful in their state, giving no reason to think twice about a concept known as riparian rights - the idea that, if you own the land, you have broad freedoms to use its water. But that could change under a bill advancing quickly in a state legislature that is normally sharply divided. The measure would largely forbid the export of water across state lines without a permit, even though there is no evidence that is happening on any large scale. Just the specter of water scarcity is inspiring bipartisan support. Besides persistent drought in parts of the state and plummeting Mississippi River levels in recent months and ... Read more ... |
|
|
Biden hikes cost of drilling on federal lands as Trump courts oil donors - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 12) |
|
Apr 12 · President Biden and Donald Trump this week outlined clashing visions for the future of fossil fuel production across the country, underscoring how the nation’s energy policies hinge on the outcome of the 2024 election. The Biden administration on Friday finalized a landmark rule that will require oil companies to pay at least 10 times more to drill on federal lands. The rule from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management represents the first comprehensive update to the federal oil and gas leasing program in more than 30 years, and is intended to generate more money for taxpayers. On Thursday, Trump held a private dinner at his Mar-a-Lago Club and resort with ... Read more ... |
|
|
Paris says the Olympics will be climate-friendly. Is that possible? - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 11) |
|
Apr 11 · Organizers of the Paris Olympics have pledged that the event will be “historic for the climate,” setting a goal of generating no more than half the planet-warming emissions produced by recent Summer Games in London and Rio. But putting on an event that attracts nearly 13 million spectators, athletes and officials from over 200 countries is, by definition, a carbon-heavy enterprise. A 2021 analysis of past Olympic Games found that the events have never been very environmentally sustainable, and they’ve tended to get worse over time, despite organizers touting the Games’ green credentials. “What you can see in the Olympics in general is a difference between the rhetoric ... Read more ... |
|
|
Here’s how EVs could get 200 miles per gallon - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 10) |
|
Apr 10 · When the Toyota Prius cruised into North America for the first time in the early aughts, drivers were shocked. At a time when the average sedan got just 23 miles per gallon (and the average passenger car just 20 miles per gallon), the Prius got 48. Thanks to regenerative braking and the little electric motor, its city mileage was better than its highway mileage. That was then. Now, when it comes to miles per gallon, electric vehicles blow hybrid cars out of the water. The average electric car in the United States today gets the equivalent of 106 miles per gallon. And, according to a new report, that number could more than double in the next decades, to the equivalent of more ... Read more ... |
|
|
Earth sees hottest-ever March, the 10th record-breaking month in a row - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · The Earth just recorded its hottest March on record, the 10th month in a row to reach that feat, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Fueled by a mix of human-caused warming and the El Niño climate pattern, the all-time monthly highs were observed both in the air and in the ocean’s waters, the Copernicus report said. The heat over the past 12 months has pushed global average temperatures to an unprecedented 1.58 degrees Celsius (2.84 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than preindustrial levels, and the hotter air over the Atlantic Ocean in particular could lead to an especially intense hurricane season, scientists warned. “It should be ... Read more ... |
|
|
EPA limits toxic air pollution from chemical plants - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · Five months after moving into her home in Texas City, Tex., encircled by industrial facilities, Nina Patton was diagnosed with breast cancer. She wondered if the pollution billowing from these plants was to blame. Cancer-causing gases and other toxic air pollution from chemical operations in Patton’s community - and others like it nationwide - will be cut under a rule the Environmental Protection Agency finalized Tuesday. The rule, the first update to national standards in nearly two decades, aims to prevent cancer in low-income and minority neighborhoods that are disproportionately located near such plants. The regulation specifically targets ethylene oxide, which is ... Read more ... |
|
|
EPA mulls tougher limits on new gas plants as 2024 election nears - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · The Environmental Protection Agency is considering significantly strengthening proposed limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants - a crucial part of President Biden’s climate agenda - according to three people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no final decisions have been made. The discussions about toughening the standards, which are set to be released this month, have major implications for America’s fleet of power plants, which rank as the country’s second-largest contributor to climate change. They come as the administration weighs the political calculus of weakening or strengthening environmental regulations before the 2024 ... Read more ... |
|
|
European court rules Switzerland climate inaction violated human rights - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · A top European court found Tuesday that Switzerland violated human rights by failing to slow the impact of global warming - a landmark ruling hailed by climate activists even as the court tossed out two other cases that activists had hoped could force governments to protect their citizens from climate change. Tuesday’s hearings on the trio of cases at the European Court of Human Rights marked the first time an international court has ruled on such cases of climate change inaction, as advocacy groups and lawmakers around the world try to spur governments to take stronger action on climate change through legislation. The court sided with the Swiss group Senior Women for ... Read more ... |
|
|
Clouds part and crowds scream as total solar eclipse delights the U.S. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 8) |
|
Apr 8 · DALLAS - Would the total solar eclipse, the last to cross the United States for two decades, live up to the hype? In a city where history suggested clear skies were likely, forecasts of stubborn clouds threatened for days, hours - and even minutes ahead of the stunning syzygy. Perhaps it was the cooling effect of the moon’s shadows, or just luck, but as totality approached, the cumulus clouds parted. Conditions became immaculate. “On a scale of one to 10? 30,” said Mike Alexander, 59, who traveled to Dallas from Fresno, Calif. It was perhaps the country’s most viewed celestial event ever, spreading the darkness of the moon’s shadow across the homes of some 32 ... Read more ... |
|
|
Solar eclipse finishes trek across U.S., with awe in its wake - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 8) |
|
Apr 8 · Today, the moon passed between the sun and Earth, obscuring the face of the sun and casting a shadow across a stretch of North America. Millions in the path of totality experienced momentary darkness and, for some, a moment of transcendence. Washington Post reporters, photojournalists, video journalists and editors are scattered across the map today, capturing the experiences of millions of astral enthusiasts during the celestial dance. Live coverage contributors 35 Read more ... |
|
|
The unassuming material that could soak up carbon emissions - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 6) |
|
Apr 6 · Minik Rosing grew up around the fine mud flowing from Greenland’s glaciers. It wasn’t until much later, when his own daughter had grown up and was in her mid-20s, that he realized how special it is. During a family vacation in rural Greenland, where there was no electricity, she was fishing ice out of a milky-blue fjord for a gin and tonic when that mud gripped her feet so tightly that she had to abandon one of her boots. As temperatures rise, meltwater is flushing out millions of tons of this stuff: ultrafine powder ground down by the island’s melting glaciers. Geologists have a culinary-sounding name for the microscopic particles: “rock flour.” The loss of his ... Read more ... |
|
|
An 'extremely active’ hurricane season is headed our way, experts warn - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · An “extremely active” Atlantic hurricane season is likely this year, a key preseason forecast warns, with chances for long-lived and intense storms fueled by record ocean warmth and atmospheric patterns known for boosting tropical cyclones. Hurricane researchers from Colorado State University are predicting that nearly two dozen named tropical storms will form, including 11 hurricanes, during the season that officially begins June 1. Accumulated cyclone energy, a measure that accounts for storms’ frequency and longevity, could rise nearly twice as high as normal, to a forecast 170 percent of average by the season’s end Nov. 30. The forecast released Thursday is the ... Read more ... |
|
|
Here’s an unofficial playlist for watching the solar eclipse - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · A total solar eclipse is sweeping across the U.S. on April 8 - and there’s a song for that. Whether you’re planning a totally celestial party or taking an epic road trip to watch the moon block out the sun, or are just wanting some new tunes, we have a playlist for you. From sun-themed bops like “Solar Power” by Lorde and “Pocketful of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield to U2’s “Staring at the Sun” and “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen, the track list has you covered for every part of the celestial event. “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers take us through totality, while there’s “No Light, No Light” (Florence + The Machine), and when the moon moves, we’ll be singing ... Read more ... |
|
|
One of Disney’s longest-running attractions is ditching fossil fuels - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · For decades, visitors to Disney’s Autopia ride in Anaheim, Calif., have experienced a taste of the open road, navigating the curves and slopes of a winding miniature motorway in cars with real working gas pedals and steering wheels. But now the enduring attraction is getting a planet-friendly upgrade: This week, Disney said it will phase out cars powered by pure gasoline engines. The announcement, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, comes as the park is taking steps to decarbonize as part of an effort to reach a goal of net-zero emissions by 2030. The statement did not specify details about a timeline for electrifying Autopia and whether the new vehicles ... Read more ... |
|
|
U.S. approves $20 billion to help poor communities go green - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday awarded $20 billion to help finance clean-energy projects across the country, marking one of the Biden administration’s biggest investments in combating climate change and curbing pollution in disadvantaged communities. The money comes from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established by President Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The fund seeks to leverage public and private dollars to invest in clean-energy technologies such as solar panels, heat pumps and more. The program is potentially one of the most consequential - yet least understood - parts of the climate law. Because of the size of the ... Read more ... |
|
|
Your ultimate guide to the total solar eclipse, its path and how to watch - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · Mark your calendars - on April 8, a total solar eclipse will sweep across North America, blocking out the sun momentarily for millions of viewers along a path stretching from northern Mexico to Maine. Not since 2017 has the United States experienced a total solar eclipse, and we won’t see another until 2044. Here’s everything you need to know to prepare for this rare celestial phenomenon. A total solar eclipse will pass across the United States on Monday, April 8. See what the eclipse will look like in your city. Path of totality: Our interactive visual map allows you to traverse the eclipse’s path from Mexico to Maine. If you’re traveling for the eclipse, we ... Read more ... |
|
|
HOAs are blocking solar panels and native lawns. Here’s how to fight back. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 2) |
|
Apr 2 · Joseph Schiarizzi started his rebellion by planting heirloom tomatoes. With the pandemic raging in spring 2021, his front yard, in a picturesque community just outside D.C., transformed from a sparse lawn to an explosion of 10 tomato varieties, cucumbers, marigolds, a native mint and jalapeños to make his own hot sauce bursting out of three raised beds. Neighborhood kids helped plant carrots and garlic. “My neighbors love it,” Schiarizzi, 28, a software engineer for a fintech start-up, told me over the phone, estimating his garden furnished 215 pounds of food for several families last summer, along with habitat for pollinators. “I’d say my life and the world in general ... Read more ... |
|
|
Weather Service radar, warning systems fail during severe storm outbreak - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 2) |
|
Apr 2 · A network outage knocked out National Weather Service radar systems and many forecast offices’ capability to issue tornado and severe thunderstorm alerts early Tuesday, as dangerous weather moved across the Midwest. The breakdown lasted more than four hours, Weather Service officials said, creating “intermittent” network disruptions at many of its 122 offices. Each is responsible for monitoring weather and warning the public about dangerous conditions in its region. During the outages, severe weather necessitated about 50 tornado and thunderstorm warnings across states including Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky, said Daryl Herzmann, who runs the Iowa Environmental Mesonet ... Read more ... |
|
|
The problem with your sneakers? They’re built to last too long. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 1) |
|
Apr 1 · Thomas Bogle was logging dozens of miles on the spruce- and pine-lined backcountry trails that weaved around his home in Steamboat Springs, Colo., as he trained for an ultramarathon. His mind wasn’t focused on his target pace, though. Instead, he couldn’t stop thinking about the micro bits of plastic and rubber the soles of his shoes were shedding on the forest floor. With every step we take, our shoes leave behind an invisible trail of toxic contaminants that can potentially harm the soil, water and animal health. Nearly 24 billion pairs of shoes were produced in 2022. Each contains myriad plastics and synthetic, petroleum-based rubber. Of the 500,000 tons of ... | By Daliah Singer Read more ... |
|
|
China is all in on green tech. The U.S. and Europe fear unfair competition. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Mar 29) |
|
Mar 29 · CHENGDU, China - A decade ago, Tongwei Group was a maker of fish food and livestock feed. Today, the company, based in this famously overcast corner of southwest China, is the world’s largest producer of solar cells, the components of panels that turn sunlight into electricity. At its $2.8 billion facility on the outskirts of Chengdu, robotic arms stacked the delicate cells on autonomous carts that zipped between production stages. Productivity has gone up 161 percent - and the number of workers down by 62 percent - thanks to 5G equipment from homegrown technology giant Huawei, the company says. Tongwei now has even grander ambitions: It is rapidly expanding and ... Read more ... |
|
|
Electric trucks get a boost from Biden, worrying trucking industry - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Mar 29) |
|
Mar 29 · Rayan Makarem worries about the air that his 2-year-old daughter breathes. More than 100 diesel-powered trucks rumble through their neighborhood every half an hour, spewing harmful pollutants linked to asthma and other health conditions. The pollution in their community - and others like it nationwide - will be curbed under a climate change rule the Environmental Protection Agency finalized Friday. The rule will require manufacturers to slash emissions of greenhouse gases from new trucks, delivery vans and buses. Those limits, in turn, will reduce deadly particulate matter and lung-damaging nitrogen dioxide from such vehicles. “Now that I have a 2-year-old kid, we ... Read more ... |
|
|