Most recent 40 articles: New York Times - Climate Section
 |
Biden Shields Millions of Acres of Alaskan Wilderness From Drilling and Mining - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 19) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Biden Administration Announces Rule to Strengthen Protection of Public Lands - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 18) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
China’s Cities Are Sinking Below Sea Level, Study Finds - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 18) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Drought Pushes Millions Into 'Acute Hunger’ in Southern Africa - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 18) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Dubai’s Extraordinary Flooding: Here’s What to Know - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 18) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Heat-Related E.R. Visits Rose in 2023, C.D.C. Study Finds - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 18) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Rainstorms Kill More Than 130 Across Afghanistan and Pakistan - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 18) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
What Can 'Green Islam’ Achieve in the World’s Largest Muslim Country? - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 17) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Al Gore Thinks Trump Will Lose and Climate Activists Will Triumph - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 15) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Four Wild Ways to Save the Koala (That Just Might Work) - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 15) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
The Widest-Ever Global Coral Crisis Will Hit Within Weeks, Scientists Say - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 15) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Why Heat Pumps Are the Future, and How Your Home Could Use One - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 14) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
'Climate-Controlled’ Sausage? Courts Crack Down on 'Greenwashing’ - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 12) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Biden Administration Raises Costs to Drill and Mine on Public Lands - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 12) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
Tell Us: Has Elon Musk’s Behavior Affected How You View Tesla? - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 12) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
The Biden Administration Raised the Rent to Drill on Public Lands. Here’s What to Know. - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 12) |
|
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 ...
|
|
|
|
'Narco-deforestation’ and the future of the Amazon - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 11) |
|
Apr 11 · Subscriber-only Newsletter
Climate Forward
The fate of Colombia’s rainforest may lay in the hands of a rebel group linked to drugs and illegal mining.
There’s a struggle for law and order in many of the world’s tropical forests, and nature is losing.
Last week, I wrote about the major progress Colombia made in 2023, slashing deforestation rates by 49 percent in a single year. But this week, we learned the trend reversed significantly in the first quarter of this year. Preliminary figures show tree loss was up 40 percent since the start of the year, Colombia’s Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad, told reporters on Monday.
Why have things changed so ... | By Manuela Andreoni Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Driven by China, Coal Plants Made a Comeback in 2023 - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 10) |
|
Apr 10 · The country, along with India, is still building power stations that run on coal. Elsewhere, retirements of older plants have slowed.
Global capacity to generate power from coal, one of the most polluting fossil fuels, grew in 2023, driven by a wave of new plants coming online in China that coincided with a slowing pace of retirements of older plants in the United States and Europe.
The findings came in an annual report by Global Energy Monitor, a nonprofit organization that tracks energy projects around the world.
Coal’s heavy greenhouse gas footprint has prompted calls for it to be rapidly phased out as a source of energy, and all of the world’s countries have ... | By Max Bearak Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Ocean Heat Has Shattered Records for More Than a Year. What’s Happening? - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 10) |
|
Apr 10 · There have been record temperatures every day for more than a year. Scientists are investigating what’s behind the extraordinary measurements.
The ocean has now broken temperature records every day for more than a year. And so far, 2024 has continued 2023’s trend of beating previous records by wide margins. In fact, the whole planet has been hot for months, according to many different data sets.
“There’s no ambiguity about the data,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist and the director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. “So really, it’s a question of attribution.”
Understanding what specific physical processes are behind these temperature records will ... | By Delger Erdenesanaa Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Banks Made Big Climate Promises. A New Study Doubts They Work. - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · Using European Central Bank lending data, researchers said there was not evidence that voluntary commitments were effective in reducing emissions.
Reporting from London
Two and half years ago, bankers and investors attended the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, an annual event normally dominated by activists and policymakers. It was considered a milestone as the financial sector agreed to put its might into tackling climate change.
Hundreds of banks, insurers and asset managers vowed to plow $130 trillion in capital into reducing carbon emissions and financing the energy transition as they introduced the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. But a recent ... | By Eshe Nelson Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Climate Change Is Making Us Paranoid, Anxious and Angry - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · From dolphins with Alzheimer’s to cranky traffic judges, writes Clayton Page Aldern, the whole planet is going berserk.
Credit...Tom Etherington
Nathaniel Rich is the author, most recently, of “Second Nature: Scenes From a World Remade.”
THE WEIGHT OF NATURE: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Brains, by Clayton Page Aldern
We know, often with abject precision, what climate change is doing to our coasts, rainforests, wildfires and hurricanes; our immigration patterns, crop yields and insurance premiums. But what is it doing to our brains?
This question, for Clayton Page Aldern, is not rhetorical but bleakly literal. Aldern is a Rhodes Scholar who, in ... | By Nathaniel Rich Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Switzerland’s Climate Shortfalls Violate Rights, European Court Rules - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · But the court ruled as inadmissible two other climate-related attempts to hold governments accountable.
Reporting from London
Europe’s top human rights court said in a landmark ruling on Tuesday that the Swiss government had violated its citizens’ human rights by not doing enough to stop climate change.
But the court rejected climate-related cases brought by the former mayor of a coastal town in France and a group of young people in Portugal as inadmissible.
The cases, the first of their kind to be heard at the court, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, are part of a broader movement of climate-related lawsuits that aim to use human ... | By Isabella Kwai and Emma Bubola Read more ...
|
|
|
|
The U.S. Urgently Needs a Bigger Grid. Here’s a Fast Solution. - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · A rarely used technique to upgrade old power lines could play a big role in fixing one of the largest obstacles facing clean energy, two reports found.
One of the biggest obstacles to expanding clean energy in the United States is a lack of power lines. Building new transmission lines can take a decade or more because of permitting delays and local opposition. But there may be a faster, cheaper solution, according to two reports released Tuesday.
Replacing existing power lines with cables made from state-of-the-art materials could roughly double the capacity of the electric grid in many parts of the country, making room for much more wind and solar power.
This ... | By Brad Plumer Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Three Greenhouse Gases, Three All-Time Highs - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 9) |
|
Apr 9 · Subscriber-only Newsletter
Climate Forward
Why emissions hit record levels last year.
The extreme weather. The melting glaciers. The weirdly warm oceans. They’re all the product of global warming, which is being driven by the release of the three most important heat-trapping gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
And according to a new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, emissions of those three greenhouse gases continued to surge last year to historic highs.
Global average carbon dioxide concentrations jumped last year, “extending the highest sustained rate of CO2 increases” in NOAA’s 65 years of record-keeping. ... | By David Gelles Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Do You Know These Novels Driven by Climate Change? - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 8) |
|
Apr 8 · Welcome to Lit Trivia, the Book Review’s multiple-choice quiz designed to test your knowledge of books and literary culture. This week’s challenge is focused on relatively recent novels that are set in a world where the effects of ecological disruption are quite real and help propel the plot.
Just tap or click on the title you think is correct to see the answer. After the last question, you’ll find links to the novels if you’d like to do some further reading.
1 of 5
This 2020 novel centers on a university librarian who moonlights as an assistant for the host of a climate-change podcast and eventually becomes preoccupied with disaster psychology. What is the ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
They Came From Outer Space. Now, They’re Going Into Hiding. - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 8) |
|
Apr 8 · Rising temperatures in Antarctica are making meteorites sink out of view before researchers can collect them.
If you’re looking for meteorites, here’s a tip: Go south. All the way south. And do it soon.
In some parts of Antarctica, there’s a good chance that what looks like a regular old rock could actually be a chunk of an asteroid, the moon, or even Mars. Roughly 60 percent of all known meteorites have been collected there.
But scientific sleuthing for such extraterrestrial material, which can shed light on how the solar system formed billions of years ago, will probably get more difficult in Antarctica in the coming decades. That’s because, as temperatures rise, ... | By Katherine Kornei Read more ...
|
|
|
|
An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 5) |
|
Apr 5 · For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio, a new iOS app available for news subscribers.
Hosted by Katrin Bennhold
Featuring Christopher Flavelle
Produced by Michael Simon Johnson, Eric Krupke, Luke Vander Ploeg and Rachelle Bonja
Original music by Rowan Niemisto, Elisheba Ittoop and Marion Lozano
Engineered by Chris Wood
Decades of efforts to cut carbon emissions have failed to significantly slow the rate of global warming, so scientists are now turning to bolder approaches.
Christopher Flavelle, who writes about climate change for The Times, discusses efforts to engineer our way out of the climate ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Her Art Is at Odds With Museums, and Museums Can’t Get Enough - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 5) |
|
Apr 5 · Gala Porras-Kim has confronted the restitution of cultural artifacts and now - with melting Antarctic ice - climate change.
Karen Rosenberg reported from Denver, Colorado
Inside the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, little pieces of Antarctica were melting: cross-sections of an ice core from the continent’s Newall Glacier, each one about the size of a beverage coaster and encased in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag. The artist Gala Porras-Kim watched approvingly during a visit in March, pointing out the air pockets that had started to form.
“The ice cores are an archive of ancient air, because the air gets stuck in the layers of ice,” she said, pointing at the ... | By Karen Rosenberg Read more ...
|
|
|
|
'Alarming’ Ocean Temperatures Suggest This Hurricane Season Will Be a Daunting One - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · An early forecast from one set of experts sees an above-average hurricane season that may rival the busiest years on record.
Where sea surface temperatures are hotter or cooler than average
–6°F
–4°
–2°
+2°
+4°
+6°
+8°
Atlantic Ocean
Where sea surface temperatures are hotter or cooler than average
–6°F
–4°
–2°
+2°
+4°
+6°
+8°
Atlantic Ocean
Where sea surface temperatures are hotter or cooler than ... | By Judson Jones Read more ...
|
|
|
|
A.I. Is Spying on the Food We Throw Away - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · Artificial intelligence is peering into restaurant garbage pails and crunching grocery-store data to try to figure out how to send less uneaten food into dumpsters.
Somini Sengupta is slightly obsessed with running a zero waste kitchen.
A hotel chain installs a camera in its trash bins to spy on what guests are tossing. Turns out its breakfast croissants are too big. Many are going to waste - along with profits.
A supermarket can suddenly see, hidden in its own sales data, that yellow onions aren’t selling as fast as red onions and are more likely to be trashed.
The brains behind both of these efforts: Artificial intelligence.
It’s part of an emerging ... | By Somini Sengupta Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Environmental Protection Agency Gives $20 Billion in 'Green Bank’ Grants - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · The E.P.A. said the fund will spur a clean energy transition in overlooked communities. Republicans called it a “greendoggle.”
When Marcus Jones and his business partner, Akunna Olumba, set out to open a pizzeria in Detroit, they spoke with banks about their green vision: solar panels on the roof, an energy-efficient tankless water heater and a rooftop system to capture storm water.
“The lenders thought we were crazy,” Mr. Jones said. Traditional banks were skeptical that such investments would yield a return, and few had ever issued loans for clean energy or efficiency measures. They told the restaurateurs that it simply was not done.
Instead, the pair connected ... | By Lisa Friedman Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Ford Slows Its Push Into Electric Vehicles - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · The automaker said it would delay new battery-powered models and shift its focus to hybrid cars, sales of which are rising fast.
Ford Motor on Thursday delayed the production of at least two new electric cars and said it would pivot to making more hybrids. Its decision was the latest sign that large automakers have been forced to rethink their strategy for electric vehicles because sales for those models are slowing.
The shift by Ford and automakers like General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, which have also pushed back their electric car plans, has been prompted largely by the companies’ difficulties in making and selling enough electric cars and doing so ... | By Neal E. Boudette Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Global Forest Loss Remains High, Despite Recent Progress - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · Wildfires and agricultural expansion offset big gains in protecting tropical forests last year.
Despite major progress in protecting vast tracts of rainforest, the world failed again last year to significantly slow the pace of global forest destruction, according to a report issued on Thursday. Record wildfires in Canada and expanding agriculture elsewhere offset big gains in forest protection in Brazil and Colombia, the report found.
The annual survey by the World Resources Institute, a research organization, found that the world lost 9.1 million acres of primary tropical forest in 2023, equivalent to an area almost the size of Switzerland, about 9 percent less than the ... | By Manuela Andreoni Read more ...
|
|
|
|
How to Revive a Burned Forest? Rebuild the Tree Supply Chain - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · As forests succumb to ever-fiercer wildfires, the federal government and some adventurous private companies are trying to resuscitate an industry.
When it came to wildfires, 2021 was an increasingly common kind of year in Montana: Flames consumed 747,000 acres, an area nearly the size of Long Island.
About 2,700 of those acres were on Don Harland’s Sheep Creek Ranch, where ever-drier summers have turned lodgepole pines into matchsticks ready to ignite. After the smoke cleared, Mr. Harland found creeks running black with soot and the ground hardening more with every day that passed.
A former timber industry executive, Mr. Harland knew the forest wouldn’t grow back ... | By Lydia DePillis Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Plan to Stash Pollution Beneath the Sea Could Save Money and Jobs - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · The Italian energy giant Eni sees future profits from collecting carbon dioxide and pumping it into natural gas fields that have been exhausted.
This gas processing plant at Casalborsetti is the focus of the first phase of an ambitious plan to capture carbon dioxide and bury it under the sea.Credit...Maurizio Fiorino for The New York Times
Stanley Reed, who writes on energy and the environment, visited Milan and Ravenna to report this story.
Renowned for ancient churches and the tomb of Dante, the 14th-century poet, the city of Ravenna and its environs along Italy’s Adriatic coast are also home to old-line industries like steel and fertilizer. The manufacturing ... | By Stanley Reed Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Richard Benedick, Negotiator of Landmark Ozone Treaty, Dies at 88 - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · He played a key role in securing the Montreal Protocol, an international environmental pact to protect the ozone layer by reducing the use of certain chemicals.
A May 1985 report in the journal Nature was alarming. High above Antarctica, a massive hole had opened in the ozone shield that protects life on earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
The finding confirmed what scientists had warned of since the 1970s: Atmospheric ozone was being broken down by the wide use of chlorofluorocarbons, chemicals known as CFCs, which were found in aerosol sprays, refrigeration and air conditioning.
Just over two years later, dozens of nations meeting in Montreal signed an ... | By Trip Gabriel Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Trains Are Cleaner Than Planes, Right? - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 4) |
|
Apr 4 · Subscriber-only Newsletter
The surprising carbon footprint of an Amtrak trip across America.
Recently, I did something I’ve long dreamed of. I took the train across America.
The views were majestic, particularly as we swayed through the West. The Wi-Fi was bad, and the food not much better. But I wanted to do it partly because trains are cleaner than flying.
But when I got back home and crunched the numbers, I discovered something surprising: it would have been less polluting for me to have flown.
As a climate journalist, I often fly to report my articles, but I’ve always worried about the climate cost. Flying in jets that burn a lot of fuel is probably ... | By Hiroko Tabuchi Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Late Winter Storms Spare California From Drought Pain, for Now - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 2) |
|
Apr 2 · A rush of precipitation lifted the state to its second straight year with above-average snowfall, though Gov. Gavin Newsom warned residents not to grow used to it.
Reporting from Los Angeles
The Sierra Nevada in California was so bereft of snow in December that skiers and farmers alike worried that a disappointing winter was sure to give way to a drought-ridden spring and summer.
Then came a deluge in subsequent months, enough to bring the state back to a normal snowfall level and then some, state leaders announced on Tuesday during the most crucial snow measurement of the year. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday stood at 110 percent of average for early ... | By Jill Cowan Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Tesla’s Sales Drop, a Sign That Its Grip on the E.V. Market Is Slipping - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 2) |
|
Apr 2 · Sales of the company’s electric cars dropped in the first three months of the year, even as other automakers sold more battery-powered vehicles.
Tesla appeared to be losing command of the market it effectively created after it reported a stunning drop in quarterly sales on Tuesday, raising fresh questions about Elon Musk’s leadership of the company.
The sales decline caught investors off guard as rivals like BYD of China and Kia and Hyundai of South Korea reported increases in electric vehicle sales, suggesting that slower overall demand for battery-powered models was not the only explanation for Tesla’s problems.
Tesla pioneered the market for electric vehicles ... | By Jack Ewing and Neal E. Boudette Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Warming Is Getting Worse. So They Just Tested a Way to Deflect the Sun. - New York Times - Climate Section (Apr 2) |
|
Apr 2 · A spraying machine designed for cloud brightening on the flight deck of the Hornet, a decommissioned aircraft carrier that is now a museum in Alameda, Calif.Credit...
Christopher Flavelle reported from a decommissioned aircraft carrier in Alameda, Calif. He spoke with scientists, environmentalists and government officials.
A little before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, an engineer named Matthew Gallelli crouched on the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Francisco Bay, pulled on a pair of ear protectors, and flipped a switch.
A few seconds later, a device resembling a snow maker began to rumble, then produced a great and deafening hiss. A fine mist of tiny aerosol ... | By Christopher Flavelle Read more ...
|
|
|