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| VOX,VOX - Science,VOX -Environment |
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We might be closer to changing course on climate change than we realized - VOX -Environment (Apr 25) |
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Apr 25 · Greenhouse gas emissions might have already peaked. Now they need to fall - fast.
Earth is coming out of the hottest year on record, amplifying the destruction from hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, and drought. The oceans remain alarmingly warm, triggering the fourth global coral bleaching event in history. Concentrations of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere have reached levels not seen on this planet for millions of years, while humanity’s demand for the fossil fuels that produce this pollution is the highest it has ever been.
Yet at the same time, the world may be closer than ever to turning a corner in the effort to corral climate change.
Last year, more ... Read more ...
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Climate change is disrupting our sense of home - VOX -Environment (Apr 22) |
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Apr 22 · Climate change is personal. It is not abstract. The warming climate impacts our economies, influences our politics and culture, threatens the food we eat and the water we drink; it even affects our love lives.
As climate change accelerates and extreme heat and climate disasters displace more people around the world, the crisis is increasingly disrupting our fundamental sense of where we belong and what we consider home.
We saw that last summer, in Maui, Hawaii, when the deadliest wildfire in the US in more than a century leveled the historic town of Lahaina, killed more than 100 people, and displaced thousands of residents from their homes.
In the immediate wake of ... Read more ...
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How 2,000 elderly Swiss women won a landmark climate case - VOX -Environment (Apr 9) |
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Apr 9 · The European Court of Human Rights ruled Switzerland’s failures on climate are a human rights violation.
On Tuesday, a group of 2,000 Swiss women won a significant ruling on holding governments accountable for addressing climate change.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that Switzerland failed to implement sufficient climate policies - violating the women’s human rights.
The case could influence other European countries, as well as other international bodies, in their decisions about the legal ramifications of inadequate climate policies.
KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz, a group of women climate activists all over the age of 64, initially brought the ... Read more ...
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The terrifying and awesome power of solar eclipses - VOX - Science (Apr 8) |
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Apr 8 · Eclipses inspire awe, create opportunities for science - and cause angst among energy-grid operators.
Today, millions of people will gather to marvel at the total solar eclipse.
The awe that eclipses inspire is profound. “You suddenly feel as though you can see the clockwork of the solar system. Where you think you lived doesn’t look like the same place anymore,” Ernie Wright, who creates data visualizations and eclipse maps for NASA, told Vox.
“We kind of know - in the back of our minds - that we live in a giant ball and it revolves around a hot ball of gas, and we’re floating in space. But you don’t really believe it until you see something like a total solar ... Read more ...
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When is the next total solar eclipse? - VOX - Science (Apr 8) |
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Apr 8 · Don’t worry if you missed the 2024 eclipse. There will be more.
Total solar eclipses like the one crossing America today are beautiful, but they’re fleeting. Totality, when the sun is completely covered by the moon, lasts just a few minutes. And the whole thing - from the start of the partial eclipse to the end - takes just a few hours. The experience is sublime, but it’ll leave you wanting more.
Here’s the good news: Total solar eclipses happen somewhere in the world about every 18 months. That’s how long it takes for the specific conditions that create eclipses (the phases of the moon, the distance of the moon to Earth, and the moon crossing the plane of Earth’s orbit) ... Read more ...
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The solar eclipse is a critical test for the US power grid - VOX -Environment (Apr 5) |
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Apr 5 · US solar power has more than doubled since the last eclipse. What will happen during this one?
As the moon passes in front of the sun on April 8, its shadow will knock down solar power production in a sweeping band across the United States from Texas to Maine, home to more than 31 million people.
The United States currently has more than 139 gigawatts of solar electricity generation capacity. That’s more than two and a half times the amount of solar that was on the grid during the last total eclipse in 2017. The upcoming eclipse will also shade a path twice as wide as the last one. Though much of the country will see some decline in solar power production, the biggest ... Read more ...
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She’s been chasing solar eclipses for three decades. What’s she after? - VOX - Science (Apr 4) |
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Apr 4 · This scientist has seen nearly 20 solar eclipses. She’s trying to solve a mystery that could help protect Earth.
On Monday, April 8, millions of people will get to see the Great North American Eclipse. Most people on the continent will see a partial solar eclipse, the sun gradually getting smaller as the moon passes in front of it.
But if you’re in exactly the right place - along the narrow path of totality that runs from Mexico to Indianapolis to Montreal - the moon is going to line up directly in front of the sun and completely block it out.
“When it happens, it feels like magic. It feels supernatural,” says Shadia Habbal, a professor of solar physics at the ... Read more ...
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Are rainforests doomed? Not necessarily. - VOX -Environment (Apr 4) |
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Apr 4 · In a grim new analysis of tropical forests, there are a few important glimmers of hope.
The biodiversity crisis, explained
Last year, the planet lost 9.2 million acres of its tropical forest, an area a bit larger than the entire state of Maryland, according to new data from environmental group World Resources Institute (WRI) and the University of Maryland. That’s like losing about 10 soccer fields of forest per minute - for an entire year.
Obviously, that sounds bad. It is bad.
For decades on end, the world has watched its rainforests disappear and give way to giant farms and cattle ranches that feed the public’s desire for meat and other food products. ... Read more ...
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Everything you need to know about the 2024 solar eclipse - VOX - Science (Apr 3) |
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Apr 3 · From why this year is so special to tips for watching, we’ve got you covered.
Millions of Americans in the United States will be able to see a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. It will be the last chance for those in the lower 48 states to see one for 21 years. Even if you can’t get to the path of totality, which is where the moon’s shadow covers the sun, you’ll at least see a partial solar eclipse over the course of the day.
So - if you’re wondering how you can witness what some folks call a life-changing event to why they happen in the first place, follow along here for answers to all of your questions and more.
Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a ... Read more ...
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Why you absolutely cannot stare at the sun without eclipse glasses - VOX - Science (Apr 3) |
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Apr 3 · Yes, solar eclipses can blind you. Here’s how to protect your eyes.
When the total solar eclipse comes to the United States on April 8, there is one rule you must remember: Never stare directly into the sun. Even when the sun is partially obscured by the moon, its rays are still strong enough to permanently damage your eyesight. The only time to look upon the eclipse without glasses is when the sun is fully covered by the moon during totality, which only will last three or four minutes, depending where you are. If you are not in the narrow path of the totality, spanning from Texas to Maine in the United States, this will not be an option for you.
To look at the sun ... Read more ...
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Why fossil fuel producers are oddly optimistic in the climate change era - VOX -Environment (Mar 29) |
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Mar 29 · Coal, oil, and natural gas producers have found their vision for a low-carbon world.
HOUSTON, Texas - In a video message projected onto massive screens in a packed conference hall, Sultan al-Jaber, the president of the COP28 climate conference held in the United Arab Emirates last year, graciously accepted a leadership award from one of the world’s biggest energy industry conventions.
Al-Jaber, who when not running UN climate summits is also the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, faced criticism from environmental groups for inviting major oil and gas companies to participate in the international climate negotiations. He also faced scrutiny for his comments that ... Read more ...
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AI already uses as much energy as a small country. It’s only the beginning. - VOX -Environment (Mar 28) |
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Mar 28 · The energy needed to support data storage is expected to double by 2026. You can do something to stop it.
In January, the International Energy Agency (IEA) issued its forecast for global energy use over the next two years. Included for the first time were projections for electricity consumption associated with data centers, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence.
The IEA estimates that, added together, this usage represented almost 2 percent of global energy demand in 2022 - and that demand for these uses could double by 2026, which would make it roughly equal to the amount of electricity used by the entire country of Japan.
We live in the digital age, where ... Read more ...
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Yes, even most temperate landscapes in the US can and will burn - VOX -Environment (Mar 28) |
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Mar 28 · Wildfire risk is increasing everywhere, especially in the East and South. Here’s a major reason why.
Last month, a heat wave persisted for days in the Chilean coastal city of Viña del Mar. The landscape, already affected by an El Niño-supercharged drought, was baked dry. So, when wildfires sparked, they ripped through densely populated and mountainous terrain. In just a few days, the fires - the deadliest in Chile’s history - burned 71,000 acres and killed at least 134 people.
Devastating wildfires like these are becoming increasingly common. Climate change is partly to blame - while research has found that both El Niño and climate change have contributed to intense ... Read more ...
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The total solar eclipse is returning to the United States - better than before - VOX - Science (Mar 22) |
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Mar 22 · This will be the last total solar eclipse over the contiguous United States for 21 years. Don’t miss it!
On April 8, 2024, millions of Americans will be able to see a rare celestial occurrence: a total solar eclipse.
It’s going to be awesome. If you’re in the center of the moon’s shadow, known as the totality, the sky will go dark for a few minutes in the middle of the day. The temperature will drop, stars will appear, and birds will become confused and start chirping their nighttime songs.
And it’s all because of a cosmic coincidence: From the Earth, the moon and the sun appear to be roughly the same size.
By many measures, April’s event will (please excuse ... Read more ...
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Meet the EPA’s new Choose Your Own Adventure! regulation for car pollution - VOX -Environment (Mar 21) |
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Mar 21 · Here’s what the federal rules mean for car companies, the climate, and you.
The Environmental Protection Agency has officially cemented new pollution rules for cars, pickup trucks, vans, and SUVs that the Biden administration called the US’s strongest-ever clean vehicle regulations. The EPA says the new rules will avert 7 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and provide close to $100 billion in savings per year across the country in the form of fuel costs, lower maintenance needs, and health benefits.
The challenge for the government and carmakers, though, will be actually getting people to buy enough of these cleaner cars to move the needle. And that may be harder ... Read more ...
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The next big climate deadline is for meat and dairy - VOX -Environment (Mar 20) |
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Mar 20 · It’s a lot sooner than you think.
For years, climate scientists have called for a phase-out of fossil fuels to avoid catastrophic global warming. Now, according to a first-of-its-kind survey of more than 200 environmental and agricultural scientists, we must also drastically reduce meat and dairy production - and fast.
Global livestock emissions should peak by 2030 or sooner to meet the Paris climate agreement target of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the surveyed climate experts said. In high- and middle-income countries, which produce and consume the overwhelming majority of the global meat and dairy supply, livestock emissions should ... Read more ...
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Many coral reefs are dying. This one is exploding with life. - VOX -Environment (Mar 14) |
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Mar 14 · Scientists recently observed a rare phenomenon on a reef in Cambodia that left them in awe - and filled them with hope.
The biodiversity crisis, explained
Once a year, after dark, a bit of magic happens in the ocean.
In tropical waters worldwide, large chunks of coral - those colorful rocklike structures in shallow, coastal waters, each a colony of living animals - start puffing out hundreds of little pearl-sized balls. Some are pink. Others are red, orange, or yellow. For a few minutes, the ocean is a snow globe, and then the balls float away.
This phenomenon, known as spawning, is how many corals reproduce. Each ball is a bundle of eggs and sperm from an ... Read more ...
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Are we breaking the Atlantic Ocean? - VOX - Science (Mar 13) |
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Mar 13 · The climate change scenario that could chill parts of the world, explained.
Of all the potential consequences of global warming, one of the most unexpected is that temperatures in some parts of the world could plummet.
A recent paper in Science Advances outlined a scenario where, given enough ice melting into the North Atlantic, average temperatures in cities like Bergen, Norway, could drop 15 degrees Celsius (a bone-chilling dip of 27 degrees in Fahrenheit). London could drop around 10°C (18°F).
But not only would temperatures in Europe plummet, the change would trigger a climate tipping point, generating cascading effects around the world. There would be more ... Read more ...
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Under Biden, US oil production is as high as it’s ever been - VOX -Environment (Mar 13) |
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Mar 13 · Biden is not “waging war” on American energy. He’s boosting it.
The US is the largest crude oil producer in the world, pumping out nearly 13 million barrels on average every day in 2023, an all-time record, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration.
That’s an awkward milestone for President Joe Biden, who has arguably done more than any modern president to facilitate America’s transition away from fossil fuels to greener alternatives.
For the last six years, America has outstripped Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other OPEC countries in crude oil production. And it has picked up the pace under Biden, who had approved more permits for oil and gas ... Read more ...
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Spring is here very early. That’s not good. - VOX -Environment (Mar 12) |
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Mar 12 · Winter’s insanely early end, explained in one map.
Whether it’s fewer snow days or disconcertingly hot temperatures, people across the US are experiencing an increasingly common phenomenon: a winter that doesn’t feel wintry.
That’s the result of warmer conditions in many places driven both by climate change and a particularly strong El Nino phenomenon this year. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 2023-2024 winter is the warmest one it’s seen in the 130 years it’s been tracking. And per the University of Arizona’s National Phenology Network, signs of spring in certain parts of the country - like the budding of the first lilac and ... Read more ...
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Why New York is suing the world’s biggest meat company - VOX -Environment (Mar 8) |
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Mar 8 · Meat giant JBS said it’ll reach net zero emissions by 2040. LOL.
As public concern about climate change grows, so does demand for lower-emissions consumer goods. And as major meat producers face the fact that their climate impacts may turn away conscientious consumers, they are increasingly claiming to offer low-carbon meat.
That includes the Brazilian multinational JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, which in 2021 began claiming that it will achieve net zero emissions by 2040, promising in a full-page New York Times ad that it could serve up “bacon, chicken wings and steak with net-zero emissions.”
This claim is, on its face, dubious. Meat, especially beef, is ... Read more ...
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Does climate change trigger earthquakes? - VOX -Environment (Mar 8) |
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Mar 8 · Climate change is complex and will play out differently depending on where you are (and who you are). It’s confusing! It’s contradictory! And what am I to do? EVs are expensive, my house leaks heat, and my AC is nonexistent. It’s hot, it’s freezing, it’s hot, aarrggggghgbkjdhfsj!
Our world’s climate is changing in ways that well-meaning scientists are trying hard to understand. But this stuff can be difficult to make sense of - even for those who are really plugged into the climate space. Plus, it’s become politicized and polarized, which obviously doesn’t help.
That’s why I think our culture needs more conversations in good faith about our warming climate. And that’s ... Read more ...
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Why did geologists reject the “Anthropocene” epoch? It’s not rock science. - VOX - Science (Mar 7) |
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Mar 7 · The battle proves that time is political, any way you cut it.
Scientists dealt a resounding blow this week in a long-running fight over one big question: Have humans messed up the Earth so badly that we’re now living in a new climate epoch?
For 15 years, an intrepid band of geologists has been trying to argue exactly that. They claimed that humanity has ushered in the Anthropocene, a new chapter in the Earth’s history borne of our impact on the planet. And they hunted all around the globe for proof.
But it’s not easy to make the case that we’re in a new epoch. That’s a technical term that describes a chunk of time typically lasting a few million years (sounds like ... Read more ...
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Why is Biden blocking the cheapest, most popular EVs in the world? - VOX -Environment (Mar 4) |
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Mar 4 · Biden needs to decide if he likes the climate more than he hates China.
You can’t buy the Seagull in the US. But I bet you wish you could.
A small hatchback around the size of a Mini Cooper, the Seagull is a fast-charging electric car and claims a range of up to 250 miles (at least according to its home country’s generous tests); BYD, its Chinese manufacturer, claims it can go from 30 percent to 80 percent charged in a half-hour using a DC plug. It’s hardly a luxury car but it’s well-equipped, with a power driver’s seat and cruise control. “If I were looking for an inexpensive commuter car … this would be perfect,” veteran car journalist John McElroy said after taking a ... Read more ...
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Texas fires happen in the winter. Just never at this scale before. - VOX -Environment (Feb 29) |
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Feb 29 · The Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle is the state’s largest blaze on record.
Dozens of wildfires are tearing through the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma after igniting earlier this week, including what’s now the second-largest wildfire in US history.
Dubbed the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the massive blaze, the largest in Texas’s history, has engulfed more than 1.1 million acres and was 3 percent contained as of Thursday morning, spurred by dry weather and high winds. The fire has killed at least one person, triggered evacuations, and shrouded a swath of the country in smoke. The encroaching flames forced the Pantex nuclear weapons manufacturing plant in Amarillo to ... Read more ...
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This chart of ocean temperatures should really scare you - VOX -Environment (Feb 28) |
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Feb 28 · The Atlantic Ocean is unusually warm right now. Here’s why scientists say that’s “deeply troubling.”
If you were to dip your toes into the middle of the North Atlantic - say, somewhere between South Carolina and Spain - the water would feel frigid. You definitely wouldn’t want to swim. It’s winter.
Yet that water would, in fact, be very warm, relatively speaking. Right now, the North Atlantic ocean is, on average, warmer than any other time on record, running about 2 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the average temperature over the last three decades.
To understand just how unusual this is, take a look at the chart below. The wave of squiggly lines represents the sea ... Read more ...
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Winter heat waves are now a thing. Here’s how to make sense of them. - VOX -Environment (Feb 27) |
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Feb 27 · 2024 is already shattering heat records as temperatures soar around the world
After last year was the warmest on record, 2024 is already off to a ripping hot start.
January 2024 was the warmest January ever measured, and February is likely to follow.
Many parts of the world are experiencing unprecedented heat - both in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s summer, and in the Northern Hemisphere, where it’s winter.
The list of countries is varied and far-reaching: Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil, Thailand, Australia, and Spain have all experienced extreme or record-breaking temperatures in the past few weeks. The US, which experienced a bitter cold snap across ... Read more ...
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What’s happening to our winters? - VOX -Environment (Feb 27) |
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Feb 27 · This winter has been unseasonably hot. In fact, last month the world experienced its warmest January ever measured, and February is likely to continue that streak.
This rise in temperatures is not isolated to any one part of the world. It’s happening everywhere, like in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s summer, and in the Northern Hemisphere, where it’s winter. Even the oceans are at never-before-seen temperatures, which portends more danger for corals and could fuel more intense hurricanes and typhoons. As temperatures rise, ocean waters warm, providing fuel for storms. It’s a mix that makes hurricanes more intense and unpredictable.
The stories below reveal how our ... Read more ...
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We know how to save these beloved endangered whales. Yet we’re mindlessly killing them. - VOX -Environment (Feb 22) |
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Feb 22 · The biodiversity crisis, explained
The story of the North Atlantic right whale, an icon of the East Coast, should be one of hope - a tale of recovery.
Humanity’s strongest tools have been mobilized for their protection. For centuries, whalers hunted these graceful giants, which were once found throughout the North Atlantic, for their baleen and oily blubber. By the early 20th century, they were nearly extinct. But in 1935, alarmed by the shrinking number of right whales, international authorities banned commercial hunting of these animals. Decades later, as North Atlantic right whales were starting to recover, the US gave them another lifeline, listing them as endangered ... Read more ...
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Why you probably shouldn’t blow up a pipeline - VOX -Environment (Feb 21) |
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Feb 21 · The revolutionary left’s theory of the climate crisis puts ideology above inconvenient truths.
Seventeen years ago, the British novelist John Lanchester puzzled over a “strange and striking” fact: No one was blowing anything up to fight climate change.
This was strange, Lanchester wrote, because “terrorism is for the individual by far the modern world’s most effective form of political action.” What’s more, there was no shortage of soft targets for an anti-carbon terror cell to attack. Gas stations were highly flammable. SUVs, ripe to be keyed, sat unguarded along every city’s streets. So why was no one engaging in such property destruction? Why did activists remain ... Read more ...
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Carmakers pumped the brakes on hybrid cars too soon - VOX -Environment (Feb 14) |
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Feb 14 · In the age of electric vehicles, the hybrid is still a contender.
Are electric vehicles hitting a pothole?
Ford announced last month that it was cutting production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. General Motors and Volkswagen last year said they would reduce electric vehicle manufacturing. All-electric and plug-in hybrid carmakers are struggling too, with layoffs or slowing assembly lines at companies like BYD, Lucid, Polestar, and Fisker. Tesla, the world’s most valuable car company, lost $80 billion in value in January - 12 percent of its market capitalization - after CEO Elon Musk projected lower sales this year.
Meanwhile, EV users are running ... Read more ...
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Scientists strapped cameras to a bunch of polar bears. The footage is breathtaking - and alarming. - VOX - Science (Feb 13) |
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Feb 13 · As the Arctic warms, these iconic bears are spending more time on land. New videos reveal why that’s a problem.
The biodiversity crisis, explained
Global warming is famously bad for polar bears. The reason is simple: Sea ice provides a platform from which these hulking predators can hunt seals, their primary food source. And climate change is dramatically shrinking the number of weeks each year that the Arctic oceans are covered in ice. As a result, polar bears are spending more time on land, where calorie-dense food is far less accessible.
What that means for the survival of these iconic creatures, however, has been something of a mystery. Can they cope with life ... Read more ...
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Can we protect and profit from the oceans? - VOX -Environment (Feb 12) |
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Feb 12 · The ocean is home to most animal life on Earth. It’s also vital to human survival, regulating the climate, capturing 90 percent of the heat caused by carbon emissions, and producing 50 percent of the Earth’s oxygen. But most of the ocean is poorly regulated, amounting to a free-for-all of resource extraction - from commercial fishing to drilling for oil - that severely damages the marine ecosystems we all depend on.
Now, world governments are inching closer to the most decisive step ever to safeguard the ocean’s future. The United Nations High Seas Treaty, which was drafted last March and will take effect once 60 countries ratify it, aims to protect 30 percent of the ocean by ... Read more ...
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What to do when you’re completely overwhelmed by climate anxiety - VOX -Environment (Feb 8) |
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Feb 8 · How to act in service of the planet - and your values.
When the subject of climate change is a catastrophe in itself, it becomes incredibly easy to catastrophize the fate of the planet. Alarming news headlines, the increased frequency of natural disasters, and politicians’ failure to promote genuine solutions may lead some to believe in an inevitable future in which extreme temperatures and weather events are constant and currently populated parts of the globe are uninhabitable. It’s important not to turn a blind eye to the effects of climate change, but to view these events realistically rather than project future probabilities as fact.
When we catastrophize - or think ... Read more ...
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The Earth is getting greener. Hurray? - VOX -Environment (Feb 7) |
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Feb 7 · Humans are literally changing the color of the planet. Scientists are worried.
The biodiversity crisis, explained
Maybe you’ve heard: Earth, our planet, is not doing great. Tropical forests are getting cut down. Parking lots are replacing bird-filled grasslands. Climate change is fueling forest-razing wildfires. On the whole, natural, plant-filled habitats, seem to be disappearing.
Despite this destruction, scientists keep coming to an odd conclusion: The Earth is growing greener. Not green in the metaphorical “sustainable” sense, but in the literal color green.
In the last four decades, the extent of green vegetation - i.e., the amount of leaves in a given ... Read more ...
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How California’s torrential, life-threatening storms got so bad - VOX - Science (Feb 6) |
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Feb 6 · Back-to-back atmospheric rivers have triggered floods, snowstorms, and power outages in the Golden State.
A brutal winter storm is battering the West Coast with torrential downpours in the south, blizzards in the north, and winds gusting up to 160 miles per hour.
The severe weather has killed at least three people. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Sunday for eight counties in the southern part of the state. The 14 million residents of the region are facing a high risk of excessive rainfall. Further north, more than 150,000 electricity customers lost power as of Tuesday morning.
And more severe weather is in store: The National Weather ... Read more ...
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This camel has a very important job - VOX -Environment (Feb 2) |
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Feb 2 · A new solution to save the iconic Joshua tree uses a distant relative of one of the Mojave’s ancient seed distributors: The camel.
The biodiversity crisis, explained
In the summer of 2020, the Dome Fire leaped across the Mojave National Preserve in southeastern California, killing more than 1.3 million Joshua trees.
Three years later in 2023, which would go on to become the hottest year on Earth since record-keeping began, the 93,078-acre York Fire more than doubled the acreage of the Dome Fire, scorching large forests of the eastern species of the wild-armed yuccas. Entering these burn scars is surreal. A majority of the trees stand like tombstones, their trunks ... Read more ...
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The sun’s poles are about to flip. It’s awesome - and slightly terrifying. - VOX - Science (Jan 31) |
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Jan 31 · The sun is growing feistier. Great news for aurora watchers. Bad news for communication satellites.
The sun is getting ready to flip.
Every 11 or so years, the sun undergoes an epic transformation: its magnetic poles reverse. Like on Earth, the sun has a magnetic North and a magnetic South. But unlike Earth, whose poles flip on the order of hundreds of thousands of years, the sun’s shuffle is a regular occurrence. The sun’s poles last reversed in 2013. So we’re just about due - likely starting some time this year.
The solar poles flipping is not, as it might sound, the sign of impending apocalypse. You won’t notice it when it happens. The solar cycle only minorly ... Read more ...
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The great American natural gas reckoning is upon us - VOX -Environment (Jan 30) |
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Jan 30 · So, Biden paused LNG exports. Does this … fix climate change?
The Biden administration last week announced that it was pausing the permitting process for some new natural gas export projects, including a facility that would be the second-largest gas export terminal in the United States. It’s a move the White House said will help the US meet its climate change goals, but it’s not clear how it will affect the economy, energy markets, or the environment.
It’s worth parsing this announcement carefully. The White House said on January 26 that it’s issuing a “temporary pause on pending decisions on exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to non-FTA [free trade agreement] ... Read more ...
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Bats have a unique superpower. Climate change is turning it into a liability. - VOX -Environment (Jan 30) |
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Jan 30 · It’s good news for bat-haters and bad news for everyone else.
The biodiversity crisis, explained
Not all bats are unbelievably, overwhelmingly adorable, like the one below. Many of them have wrinkly faces and large ears that help them “see” in the dark, using echolocation.
But all bats are, without a doubt, exceptional creatures. Not only do bats pollinate our crops, prey on pests like mosquitos, and spread seeds that help damaged ecosystems recover, but they also possess a superpower that’s unique among mammals: flight.
Indeed, bats are the only mammals on the planet that can fly. Yes, some squirrels and frogs can glide through the forest. That’s neat, but ... Read more ...
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