Articles on or after 4/16/2024: |
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Organizations |
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Organizations |
| New York Times - Climate Section,New York Times - Climate Forward,New Yorker,Washington Post - Climate and Environment,Washington Post - Energy 202 |
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'Discomfort May Increase’: Asia’s Heat Wave Scorches Hundreds of Millions - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · April is typically hot in South and Southeast Asia, but temperatures this month have been unusually high. Saif Hasnat reported from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Mike Ives from Seoul. Hundreds of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia were suffering on Monday from a punishing heat wave that has forced schools to close, disrupted agriculture, and raised the risk of heat strokes and other health complications. The weather across the region in April is generally hot, and comes before Asia’s annual summer monsoon, which dumps rain on parched soil. But this April’s temperatures have so far been unusually high. In Bangladesh, where schools and universities are ... | By Saif Hasnat and Mike Ives Read more ... |
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Biden Administration Announces Rule to Strengthen Protection of Public Lands - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · The measure elevates conservation in a number of ways, including by creating new leases for the restoration of degraded areas. The Biden administration on Thursday announced a new federal rule for the nation’s sprawling public lands that puts conservation on par with activities like grazing, energy development and mining. The new rule relates to areas overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, some 245 million acres that make up a tenth of the country’s land, mainly in the West. It elevates conservation in a number of ways, including by creating two new kinds of leases for the restoration of degraded lands and for offsetting environmental damage. These lands have ... | By Catrin Einhorn Read more ... |
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Biden Earth Day Event Will Try to Reach Young Voters, a Crucial Bloc - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · At a national park in Virginia on Monday, the president will point to investments in clean energy and appear with future members of his American Climate Corps. Reporting from Washington President Biden will travel to a national park in Virginia on Monday, Earth Day, to spotlight his clean energy investments, with an eye on bolstering support among young voters disillusioned with their choices for the 2024 election. Against the backdrop of the park, Prince William Forest, Mr. Biden will announce $7 billion in grants to fund solar power for hundreds of thousands of homes in primarily disadvantaged communities, according to the White House. He will be joined by future ... | By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Brad Plumer Read more ... |
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Biden limits oil drilling across 13 million acres of Alaskan Arctic - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 19) |
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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 ... |
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Biden set to block Alaska road key to accessing planned mine - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 16) |
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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 ... |
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Biden Shields Millions of Acres of Alaskan Wilderness From Drilling and Mining - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 19) |
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Apr 19 · The administration has blocked a proposed industrial road needed to mine copper in the middle of the state, and has banned oil drilling on 13 million acres in the North Slope. The Biden administration expanded federal protections across millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness on Friday, blocking oil, gas and mining operations in some of the most unspoiled land in the country. The Interior Department said it would deny a permit for an industrial road that the state of Alaska had wanted to build through the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in order to reach a large copper deposit with an estimated value of $7.5 billion. It also announced it would ban drilling ... | By Lisa Friedman Read more ... |
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Breaking Down New Rules About 'Forever Chemicals’ - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 24) |
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Apr 24 · Lisa Friedman, who covers climate change, discussed the fight to regulate toxic chemicals found in nearly half of America’s tap water. Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Cookware. Dental floss. Shampoo. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, can be found in those items and hundreds of other household products. Nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they do not fully degrade, PFAS are resistant to heat, oil, grease and water. (One of the first uses of PFAS chemicals was as a nonstick agent in Teflon cookware in the 1940s.) But exposure to PFAS has been ... | By Josh Ocampo Read more ... |
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California has so much solar power it’s throwing it away - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · In sunny California, solar panels are everywhere. They sit in dry, desert landscapes in the Central Valley and are scattered over rooftops in Los Angeles’s urban center. By last count, the state had nearly 47 gigawatts of solar power installed - enough to power 13.9 million homes and provide over a quarter of the Golden State’s electricity. But now, the state and its grid operator are grappling with a strange reality: There is so much solar on the grid that, on sunny spring days when there’s not as much demand, electricity prices go negative. Gigawatts of solar are “curtailed” - essentially, thrown away. In response, California has cut back incentives for rooftop solar ... Read more ... |
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Carbon Dioxide Levels Have Passed a New Milestone - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 20) |
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Apr 20 · The chart shows monthly numbers of carbon dioxide molecules per million molecules of dry air. Because of seasonal differences, levels are higher in May than in August. Carbon dioxide acts like Earth’s thermostat: The more of it in the air, the more the planet warms. In 2023, global levels of the greenhouse gas rose to 419 parts per million, around 50 percent more than before the Industrial Revolution. That means there are roughly 50 percent more carbon dioxide molecules in the air than there were in 1750. As carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere, it traps heat and warms the planet. The chart shows the change in global surface temperature relative to ... | By Aatish Bhatia Read more ... |
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China’s Cities Are Sinking Below Sea Level, Study Finds - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Development and groundwater pumping are causing land subsidence and heightening the risks of sea level rise. As China’s cities grow, they are also sinking. An estimated 16 percent of the country’s major cities are losing more than 10 millimeters of elevation per year and nearly half are losing more than 3 millimeters per year, according to a new study published in the journal Science. These amounts may seem small, but they accumulate quickly. In 100 years, a quarter of China’s urban coastal land could sit below sea level because of a combination of subsidence and sea level rise, according to the study. “It’s a national problem,” said Robert Nicholls, a ... | By Delger Erdenesanaa Read more ... |
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Chinese Export Surge Clouds U.S. Hopes of a Domestic Solar Boom - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 19) |
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Apr 19 · The decision by a Massachusetts solar company to abandon plans to build a $1.4 billion U.S. factory highlights the risks amid a flood of Chinese clean energy exports. Reporting from Washington Less than a year ago, CubicPV, which manufactures components for solar panels, announced that it had secured more than $100 million in financing to build a $1.4 billion factory in the United States. The company planned to produce silicon wafers, a critical part of the technology that allows solar panels to turn sunlight into electrical energy. The Massachusetts-based company called the investment a “direct result of the long-term industrial policy contained within the ... | By Alan Rappeport Read more ... |
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Chinese province of Guangdong hit by historic floods - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · Heavy rains continued to batter southern China on Monday, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes as rescuers raced to evacuate those trapped by flooding and locate at least 11 missing residents. The historic levels of rain across Guangdong province have come earlier than the region’s usual flood season, between May and June, prompting concerns about the effects of climate change on the country. Extreme weather events have become more frequent and severe in China, testing the top-down and increasingly centralized leadership under Xi Jinping that may be weakening local governments’ responses to such disasters. The floods also threaten the country’s ... Read more ... |
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Climate Doom Is Out. 'Apocalyptic Optimism’ Is In. - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 21) |
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Apr 21 · Focusing on disaster hasn’t changed the planet’s trajectory. Will a more upbeat approach show a way forward? Credit...Photo Illustration by Doug Chayka The philanthropist Kathryn Murdoch has prioritized donations to environmental causes for more than a decade. She has, she said, a deep understanding of how inhospitable the planet will become if climate change is not addressed. And she and her colleagues have spent years trying to communicate that. “We have been screaming,” she said. “But screaming only gets you so far.” This was on a morning in early spring. Murdoch and Ari Wallach, an author, producer and self-proclaimed futurist, had just released their new ... | By Alexis Soloski Read more ... |
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Drought Pushes Millions Into 'Acute Hunger’ in Southern Africa - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · The disaster, intensified by El Niño, is devastating communities across several countries, killing crops and livestock and sending food prices soaring. An estimated 20 million people in southern Africa are facing what the United Nations calls “acute hunger” as one of the worst droughts in more than four decades shrivels crops, decimates livestock and, after years of rising food prices brought on by pandemic and war, spikes the price of corn, the region’s staple crop. Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have all declared national emergencies. It is a bitter foretaste of what a warming climate is projected to bring to a region that’s likely to be acutely affected by climate ... | By Somini Sengupta and Manuela Andreoni Read more ... |
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Dubai’s Extraordinary Flooding: Here’s What to Know - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Images of a saturated desert metropolis startled the world, prompting talk of cloud seeding, climate change and designing cities for intensified weather. Scenes of flood-ravaged neighborhoods in one of the planet’s driest regions have stunned the world this week. Heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates and Oman submerged cars, clogged highways and killed at least 21 people. Flights out of Dubai’s airport, a major global hub, were severely disrupted. The downpours weren’t a freak event - forecasters anticipated the storms several days out and issued warnings. But they were certainly unusual. Here’s what to know. Heavy rain there is rare, but not unheard-of. On ... | By Raymond Zhong Read more ... |
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Earth’s record hot streak might be a sign of a new climate era - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 19) |
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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 ... |
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Energy Dept. Aims to Speed Up Permits for Power Lines - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · The Biden administration has expressed growing alarm that efforts to fight climate change could falter unless the electric grids are quickly expanded. Reporting from Washington The Biden administration on Thursday finalized a rule meant to speed up federal permits for major transmission lines, part of a broader push to expand America’s electric grids. Administration officials are increasingly worried that their plans to fight climate change could falter unless the nation can quickly add vast amounts of grid capacity to handle more wind and solar power and to better tolerate extreme weather. The pace of construction for high-voltage power lines has sharply slowed ... | By Brad Plumer Read more ... |
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Five Major Climate Policies Trump Would Probably Reverse if Elected - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · He has called for increased oil production and said that electric vehicles will result in an 'assassination’ of jobs. Former President Donald J. Trump has vowed to “cancel” President Biden’s policies for cutting pollution from fossil-fuel-burning power plants, “terminate” efforts to encourage electric vehicles, and “develop the liquid gold that is right under our feet” by promoting oil and gas. Those changes and others that Mr. Trump has promised, if he were to win the presidency again, represent a 180-degree shift from Mr. Biden’s climate agenda. When he was president, Mr. Trump reversed more than 100 environmental protections put in place by the Obama ... | By Lisa Friedman Read more ... |
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Five Things to Know About Biden’s New Power Plant Rules - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · The Biden administration released a major climate regulation aimed at virtually eliminating carbon emissions from coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels and a driver of global warming. The Biden administration has effectively moved to end the use of coal to keep the lights on in America. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency released four major regulations designed to slash multiple forms of toxic and planet-warming pollution from coal-fired power plants, the nation’s dirtiest source of electricity. The most consequential of the new rules is aimed at nearly eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from the coal plants. The other three rules would cut the emission ... | By Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman Read more ... |
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Great Barrier Reef experiencing one of its worst coral bleaching events - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 18) |
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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 ... |
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Has the U.S. really conserved a third of its waters? Here’s the math. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 19) |
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Apr 19 · Almost everyone loves the ocean. But not everyone agrees on what it means to protect it. The United States is conserving approximately one-third of the country’s ocean areas, according to an early analysis released Friday by the Biden administration - suggesting the president is meeting a key environmental goal laid out at the beginning of his term. But others say that’s not the case. Some of those areas still allow for commercial fishing, advocates say, and fall short of protections needed to save marine ecosystems facing dire threats. “It’s padding the numbers,” said Brad Sewell, oceans director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The ... Read more ... |
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Heat-Related E.R. Visits Rose in 2023, C.D.C. Study Finds - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Reporting from Washington The rate of emergency room visits caused by heat illness increased significantly last year in large swaths of the country compared with the previous five years, according to a study published on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 120,000 heat-related emergency room visits were recorded in the surveillance program last year, with more than 90 percent of them occurring between May and September, the researchers found. The highest rate of visits occurred in a region encompassing Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Overall, the study also found that men and people between the ages of 18 and 64 ... | By Noah Weiland Read more ... |
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Heavy rains and flooding kill dozens as extreme weather racks Kenya - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · NAIROBI - Devastating floods during Kenya’s rainy season, aggravated by climate change, have killed at least 38 people and displaced thousands as rivers burst their banks and inundated low-income neighborhoods. Social media sites were awash Thursday with images and videos of people on rooftops of submerged houses. Residents across Nairobi neighborhoods used boats to rescue those stranded by the rising floodwaters. Venant Ndighila, the emergency response manager of the Kenya Red Cross, said 38 deaths and 11,275 displaced people have been reported across the country. He warned about accompanying risks, including disease outbreaks and the disruption of goods and ... | By Thursday evening, Kwamboka said, the volunteers had managed to get some clothes and blankets for most of the displaced in her area. “Now we have to see how the women and children will have dinner as we wait for tomorrow,” she said. Read more ... |
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Honda Commits to E.V.s With Big Investment in Canada - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · The Japanese automaker, which has been slow to sell electric vehicles, said it would invest $11 billion to make batteries and cars in Ontario. Honda Motor on Thursday said it and several suppliers would invest $11 billion to build batteries and electric cars in Ontario, a significant commitment from a company that has been slow to embrace the technology. Like Toyota and other Japanese carmakers, Honda has emphasized hybrid vehicles, in which gasoline engines are augmented by electric motors, rather than cars powered solely by batteries. The Honda Prologue, a sport-utility vehicle made in Mexico, is the company’s only fully electric vehicle on sale in the United ... | By Jack Ewing Read more ... |
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How Abrupt U-Turns Are Defining U.S. Environmental Regulations - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · The polarization of politics means that rules are imposed, gutted and restored with each election. Experts say that’s bad for the economy. The Biden administration’s move on Thursday to strictly limit pollution from coal-burning power plants is a major policy shift. But in many ways it’s one more hairpin turn in a zigzag approach to environmental regulation in the United States, a pattern that has grown more extreme as the political landscape has become more polarized. Nearly a decade ago, President Barack Obama was the Democrat who tried to force power plants to stop burning coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels. His Republican successor, Donald J. Trump, effectively ... | By Coral Davenport Read more ... |
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How groups execute the new plan could mean the difference between saving what’s left on Florida’s 360-mile-long coral reef and another summer of catastrophic loss. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · In Florida, swaths of coral paint a colorful landscape across the ocean floor and serve a key role in its ecosystem. But last summer, amid the longest marine heat wave in decades, many were scorched - drained of color and their survival left in question. It’s a scenario becoming much more common. KEY LARGO, Fla. With milk crates of corals in hand and scuba tanks strapped to their backs, Sam Burrell and his team disappeared under the water’s choppy surface. Heavy, breaking waves crashed against the charter boat anchored miles off the coast. With each breath they let out, they descended beneath the surface and felt a sense of relief: On this November morning, ... Read more ... |
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If you’ve got an EV, Google Maps is about to become much more valuable - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 17) |
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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 ... |
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In photos: Heavy rains cause massive flooding in China’s Guangdong province - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · Heavy rains continued to batter southern China on Monday, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes as rescuers raced to evacuate those trapped by flooding and locate at least 11 missing residents. The historical levels of rain across Guangdong province have come earlier than the region’s usual flood season, between May and June, prompting concerns about the effects of climate change on the country. April 22 | Qingyuan, Guangdong province The region has been pummeled by heavy rain since Thursday, triggering landslides that buried buildings and floods covering villages and cities. April 22 | Qingyuan, Guangdong province Residents row a boat on ... Read more ... |
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Is Online Shopping Bad for the Planet? - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · In theory, getting deliveries can be more efficient than driving to the store. But you may still want to think before you add to cart. Credit...Naomi Anderson-Subryan Dionne Searcey is part of a rotating cast of Climate reporters and special guest writers who will answer your burning climate questions. The convenience of online shopping is hard to beat. But it uses a lot of energy and resources and can lead to more waste. Transportation needed for online shopping spews greenhouse emissions. Three billion trees are cut down every year to produce packaging for all kinds of things, e-commerce included, according to some estimates. The data centers needed to ... | By Dionne Searcey Read more ... |
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Key Solar Panel Ingredient Is Made in the U.S.A. Again - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · REC Silicon says it will soon start shipping polysilicon, which has come mostly from China, reviving a Washington State factory that shut down in 2019. Reporting from Moses Lake, Wash. A factory in Moses Lake, Wash., that shut down in 2019 will soon resume shipping a critical ingredient used in most solar panels that for years has been made almost exclusively in China. The revival of the factory, which is owned by REC Silicon, could help achieve a longstanding goal of many American lawmakers and energy executives to re-establish a complete domestic supply chain for solar panels and reduce the world’s reliance on plants in China and Southeast Asia. REC Silicon ... | By Ivan Penn Read more ... |
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Nearly 2 in 5 Americans breathe unhealthy air. Why it’s getting worse. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 24) |
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Apr 24 · A rising number of Americans - nearly 2 in 5 - has been living with unhealthy levels of air pollution, while the United States experienced a record number of days between 2020 and 2022 with very unhealthy or hazardous air, according to a new report. More than 90 million people are living in places where the air quality is worse than a new U.S. standard, the American Lung Association reported Wednesday in its annual State of the Air assessment, which detailed a significant increase based on the stricter national particle pollution standard. The total includes 72 million people who would not have been counted under the looser federal standard - reflecting the dramatic ... Read more ... |
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New Biden Climate Rules Could Shutter Remaining American Coal Plants - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · Limiting power plant pollution is the last major climate rule expected from President Biden. Donald J. Trump has already vowed to “cancel” it if re-elected. The Biden administration on Thursday placed the final cornerstone of its plan to tackle climate change: a regulation that would force the nation’s coal-fired power plants to virtually eliminate the planet-warming pollution that they release into the air or shut down. The regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency requires coal plants in the United States to reduce 90 percent of their greenhouse pollution by 2039, one year earlier than the agency had initially proposed. The compressed timeline was welcomed by ... | By Lisa Friedman and Coral Davenport Read more ... |
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New rules will slash air, water and climate pollution from U.S. power plants - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized an ambitious set of rules aimed at slashing air pollution, water pollution and planet-warming emissions spewing from the nation’s power plants. If fully implemented, the rules will have enormous consequences for U.S. climate goals, the air Americans breathe and the ways they get their electricity. The power sector ranks as the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change, and it is a major source of toxic air pollutants tied to health problems. Before the restrictions take effect, however, they will have to survive near-certain legal challenges from Republican attorneys general, who have been emboldened ... Read more ... |
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Nine practices from Native American culture that could help the environment - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · Since the first Earth Day in 1970, the world has experienced profound ecological changes. Wildlife populations have decreased by 69 percent, the result of habitat loss caused by rapid industrialization and changing temperatures. 2023 was the hottest year on record. Certain ancient practices could mitigate the deleterious effects of global warming. From building seaside gardens to water management in desert terrain, these time-honored practices work with the natural world’s rhythms. Some might even hold the key to a more resilient future and a means of building security for both Indigenous communities and other groups disproportionately impacted by climate change. Jim ... Read more ... |
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R.F.K. Jr.’s Environmental Colleagues Urge Him to Drop Presidential Bid - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 19) |
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Apr 19 · Nearly 50 leaders and activists who worked with Mr. Kennedy at an environmental nonprofit group will run ads calling on him to “Honor our planet, drop out.” As an independent candidate for the White House, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims he would be the “best environment president in American history,” drawing on his past as a crusading lawyer who went after polluters in New York. But dozens of Mr. Kennedy’s former colleagues at the Natural Resources Defense Council are calling on him to withdraw from the race, in full-page advertisements sponsored by the group’s political arm that are expected to appear in newspapers in six swing states on Sunday. Separately, a dozen ... | By Lisa Friedman Read more ... |
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Rainstorms Kill More Than 130 Across Afghanistan and Pakistan - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Pakistani officials warned of more flooding and heavy rainfall next week, stoking fears of a particularly brutal monsoon season to come. By Zia ur-Rehman and Christina Goldbaum Zia ur-Rehman reported from Islamabad and Christina Goldbaum from London. A deluge of unseasonably heavy rains has lashed Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent days, killing more than 130 people across both countries, with the authorities forecasting more flooding and rainfall, and some experts pointing to climate change as the cause. In Afghanistan, at least 70 people have been killed in flash floods and other weather-related incidents, while more than 2,600 homes have been destroyed or ... | By The New York Times Read more ... |
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Scientists unlocked solar patterns that could help understand space weather - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 21) |
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Apr 21 · The sun is more than a heat lamp for Earth. It is constantly spitting streams of solar particles our way and, sometimes, powerful pockets of solar material that can jolt our planet. Now, scientists are unlocking another puzzle piece on what may drive extreme solar activity, which could bombard Earth and disrupt our technology. The missing piece could be linked to unusual patterns of high energy bursting from the sun’s surface, according to recent research. We’re used to hearing about the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which we protect ourselves against with sunscreen. The sun also emits much more powerful gamma rays, which are the most energetic waves on an electromagnetic ... Read more ... |
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Scotland Made Big Climate Pledges. Now They’re 'Out of Reach.’ - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 19) |
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Apr 19 · Despite significant progress, Scotland was falling short on cutting vehicle emissions, switching to heat pumps and even restoring peatland, the government said. Climate promises are hard to keep. Scotland is the latest, perhaps most surprising example. Scotland, an early industrial power and coal-burning behemoth, was also an early adopter of an ambitious and legally binding government target to slow down climate change. It had promised to pare back its emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases by 75 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. This week, its Net Zero minister, Màiri McAllan, said that goal was now “out of reach.” She said Scotland, which operates ... | By Somini Sengupta Read more ... |
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The fight over the future of plastics - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · Subscriber-only Newsletter Climate Forward As countries negotiate a landmark agreement to reduce plastic pollution, the industry is fighting a battle over regulations and over its image. Earlier this week in Ottawa, the Vinyl Institute, a major plastic industry group, hosted a reception for delegates who are negotiating what would be the first global treaty to tackle the world’s mounting plastic waste problem. There were cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. And signs with the message that plastics save lives. Scientists have increasingly raised the alarm over the risks that the chemicals used in plastic pose to human health and the environment. Ahead of the ... | By Hiroko Tabuchi Read more ... |
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The U.S. just changed how it manages a tenth of its land - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 18) |
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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 ... |
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These 150-foot-high sails could help solve shipping’s climate problem - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · To cut costs and carbon emissions, cargo ships are putting a new spin on an ancient technology: the sail. These aren’t the sailboats of yore. Modern sails look more like airplane wings, smokestacks or balloons, and they use artificial intelligence to catch the wind with little help from mariners who long ago forgot the art of hoisting a mainsail. Sails can reduce an existing ship’s fuel consumption - and greenhouse emissions - by something like 10 or 20 percent, according to maritime experts, making them an attractive option for ship owners looking to cut costs or comply with environmental regulations. Ships burn some of the world’s dirtiest fuels and generate ... Read more ... |
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This technology didn’t cause Dubai’s floods, scientists say. Here’s why. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · After nearly two years’ worth of rain flooded the Dubai region Tuesday, attention quickly shifted to cloud seeding and whether it could have been a factor in the deluge. The geoengineering technology has successfully produced rainfall over the arid United Arab Emirates in the past. But scientists said the downpour was a product of weather patterns that meteorological models predicted as much as a week earlier. Climate research has shown that such intense precipitation across the Arabian Peninsula could become more frequent and extreme because of warming global temperatures. The UAE National Center of Meteorology told CNBC it did not conduct any cloud-seeding operations ... Read more ... |
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Three Places Changing Quickly to Fight Climate Change - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · Paris is becoming a city of bikes. Across China, people are snapping up $5,000 electric cars. On Earth Day, a look at a few bright spots for emission reductions. Glaciers are shrinking, coral reefs are in crisis and last year was the hottest on record. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, have passed a dangerous new threshold as people continue to burn fossil fuels. Is anyplace making progress on climate change? The short answer is: It’s complicated, but yes. In South America, one country has pivoted in less than a decade to generating almost all its electricity from a diverse mix of renewables. In China, an electric car that costs ... | By Delger Erdenesanaa Read more ... |
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Trump’s Mar-a-Lago fundraising pitch to oil executives: I will kill wind - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 17) |
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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 ... |
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U.S. solar companies, imperiled by price collapse, demand protection - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 24) |
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Apr 24 · Several of the biggest American solar manufacturing companies are demanding aggressive action against cheap imports, arguing in a petition filed Wednesday with the Commerce Department that firms in four Asian countries are illegally flooding the U.S. market with Chinese-subsidized panels. Though the panels are not produced in China, the petitioners allege many are made in factories linked to Chinese-based companies that benefit from massive price supports. The complaint comes amid a glut of solar panels on the global market that has driven prices down by 50 percent over the past year, with the International Energy Agency projecting prices will fall even further. ... Read more ... |
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What Can 'Green Islam’ Achieve in the World’s Largest Muslim Country? - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · Clerics in Indonesia are issuing fatwas, retrofitting mosques and imploring congregants to help turn the tide against climate change. Inspecting solar panels that provide electrical power to Istiqlal Mosque in December in Jakarta, Indonesia.Credit... Sui-Lee Wee traveled to three cities in Indonesia to report on this movement. The faithful gathered in an imposing modernist building, thousands of men in skullcaps and women in veils sitting shoulder to shoulder. Their leader took to his perch and delivered a stark warning. “Our fatal shortcomings as human beings have been that we treat the earth as just an object,” Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar said. “The greedier ... | By Sui-Lee Wee Read more ... |
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What to Know About the Breakup of Scotland’s Coalition Government - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · The power-sharing agreement between the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Green Party ended abruptly on Thursday, marking a fresh period of turmoil for the S.N.P. Reporting from London Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, on Thursday abruptly ended a coalition agreement between his Scottish National Party and the Scottish Green Party, creating a new set of challenges for an embattled leader whose party has been engulfed in a funding scandal since last year. A decision by the Scottish government to soften climate change targets, and a disagreement within the coalition over trans rights policies, had increased tension between the two parties, which have ... | By Stephen Castle Read more ... |
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Where drought looms in Kenya, camels are the new cows - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 17) |
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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 ... |
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Why this summer may be especially hot in the United States - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · A new outlook for summer from the National Weather Service is a toasty one: Hotter-than-normal conditions are favored almost everywhere, except for a small portion of the northern Plains. The highest odds for a hot summer stretch from Texas into the Pacific Northwest, as well as much of the Northeast. This forecast sets the stage for bouts of record-challenging high temperatures throughout the nation and the possibility of the hottest summer ever observed. In the central states and Rocky Mountains, the combination of heat and an expectation for drier-than-normal weather will increase drought potential. It will also raise the fire threat in some areas. Weather Service ... Read more ... |
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Your most pressing climate questions - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 23) |
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Apr 23 · Subscriber-only Newsletter Climate Forward Introducing Ask NYT Climate, where we’ll explore how climate intersects with your everyday life. I’m the new editor of the Climate Forward newsletter. Are traffic circles better for the environment than four-way stops? Will the oceans be too hot for fish to survive? Is green hydrogen a thing? Over the past few years, we here at the Climate desk have received hundreds of smart, often highly specific, questions from our readers about what they can do in their daily lives to affect climate change. To answer some of these questions, this week we’ve launched “Ask NYT Climate,” which is dedicated to exploring how ... | By Ryan McCarthy Read more ... |
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