Articles on or after 4/12/2024: |
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| 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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New York Times - Climate Section: |
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'Climate-Controlled’ Sausage? Courts Crack Down on 'Greenwashing’ - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · From airlines to pork sellers, corporate brands face legal and regulatory challenges for misleading the public with lofty climate claims. A “climate-controlled” sausage. New trousers labeled “recycled.” A “sustainable” airline ticket. More and more, big brands are using taglines like these to cater to their green-minded customers. And more and more, they are under fire from courts and regulators for making climate promises they can’t keep. This year, this dynamic is playing out in several countries. In Denmark, a national court in March told Danish Crown, the country’s biggest pork producer, that it’s misleading to label its pork “climate-controlled,” though ... | By Somini Sengupta Read more ... |
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Al Gore Thinks Trump Will Lose and Climate Activists Will Triumph - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Mr. Gore spoke at a climate leadership conference hosted by his nonprofit organization. Former Vice President Al Gore was in New York City over the weekend for a leadership training convened by the Climate Reality Project, his nonprofit organization. On Saturday, before thousands of attendees, Mr. Gore highlighted mounting climate perils but also spoke of progress. He slammed fossil fuel companies for ramping up plastics production and promoting technology to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which he called “utterly preposterous.” Afterward, Mr. Gore explained in an interview why he was not surprised that major oil and gas companies have walked back their ... | By Cara Buckley 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 Administration Raises Costs to Drill and Mine on Public Lands - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · For the first time since 1920, the government has raised the rates that companies pay. The fossil fuel industry says it will hurt the economy. The Biden administration on Friday made it more expensive for fossil fuel companies to pull oil, gas and coal from public lands, raising royalty rates for the first time in 100 years in a bid to end bargain basement fees enjoyed by one of the country’s most profitable industries. The government also increased more than tenfold the amount of the bonds that companies must secure before they start drilling. The new rules are among a series of environmental regulations that are being pushed out as President Biden, in the last ... | By Coral Davenport 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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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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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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Four Wild Ways to Save the Koala (That Just Might Work) - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · To protect Australia’s iconic animals, scientists are experimenting with vaccine implants, probiotics, tree-planting drones and solar-powered tracking tags. A veterinary nurse treats a koala infected with chlamydia at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital in Currumbin, Australia.Credit... Photographs and Video by Chang W. Lee It was spring in Queensland, Australia, a season when many wild animals find themselves in trouble, and the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital was a blur of fur and feathers. A groggy black swan emerged from the X-ray room, head swaying on its long neck. A flying fox wore a tiny anesthetic mask. An injured rainbow lorikeet squawked in its cage. (“Very ... | By Emily Anthes 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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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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Tell Us: Has Elon Musk’s Behavior Affected How You View Tesla? - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · Mr. Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, has turned off many people with polarizing remarks on social media, and it may be affecting the automaker’s sales. Endorsing an antisemitic post on X. Withholding Starlink satellite internet service from Ukraine to prevent a drone attack on Russian forces. Reposting conspiracy theorists who claim that the Biden administration’s immigration policies are part of a plot to increase the number of people who vote Democrat. Elon Musk’s behavior and public statements have clearly offended many people, especially left-leaning consumers who are the most likely to buy an electric vehicle. As a business reporter who covers Tesla, the ... | By Jack Ewing Read more ... |
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The Biden Administration Raised the Rent to Drill on Public Lands. Here’s What to Know. - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · The fossil fuel industry says higher rates will harm the economy. The administration says they will pay for the environmental costs of drilling and mining. The Biden administration raised the royalty rates that fossil fuel companies pay the government in order to drill and mine on public lands, the first time since 1920 that those fees have increased. And it raised by tenfold the size of bonds that companies must secure before they can drill, the first time they went up since 1960. One way to think about it is this: the nation’s largest property owner, the federal government, effectively charges rent to oil and gas companies that exploit public land for private profit. ... | By Coral Davenport Read more ... |
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The Widest-Ever Global Coral Crisis Will Hit Within Weeks, Scientists Say - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Rising sea temperatures around the planet have caused a bleaching event that is expected to be the most extensive on record. The world’s coral reefs are in the throes of a global bleaching event caused by extraordinary ocean temperatures, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and international partners announced Monday. It is the fourth such global event on record and is expected to affect more reefs than any other. Bleaching occurs when corals become so stressed that they lose the symbiotic algae they need to survive. Bleached corals can recover, but if the water surrounding them is too hot for too long, they die. Coral reefs are vital ecosystems: ... | By Catrin Einhorn 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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Why Heat Pumps Are the Future, and How Your Home Could Use One - New York Times - Climate Section  (Apr 14) |
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Apr 14 · The highly efficient devices are the darlings of the environmental movement. Here’s why. Heat pumps, which both warm and cool buildings and are powered by electricity, have been touted as the answer to curbing greenhouse gas emissions produced by homes, businesses and office buildings, which are responsible for about one-third of the emissions in New York State. But how do they work? How much do they cost? Is New York ready for them? And can they really help solve the climate crisis? Here are some heat pump basics. Currently, we mostly burn fossil fuels to produce heat. This causes pollution. Heat pumps are all-electric. Even though most electricity still ... | By Hilary Howard Read more ... |
| Washington Post - Climate and Environment: |
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At this climate fair, heat pumps, e-bikes and induction stoves take center stage - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 13) |
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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 ... |
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Biden hikes cost of drilling on federal lands as Trump courts oil donors - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 12) |
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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 ... |
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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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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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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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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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Missouri could crack down on water exports to drought-weary West - Washington Post - Climate and Environment  (Apr 13) |
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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 ... |
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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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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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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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