Climate Change

Not Since Charlemagne: Megadrought in US Southwest, boosted by Human CO2 emissions, is worst since 800 AD

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The megadrought in the US West has produced drier conditions as of the past year than any seen in over 1,200 years, according to a just-published article in Nature Climate Change by scientists A. Park Williams, Benjamin I. Cook and Jason E. Smerdon of UCLA. The length and intensity of […]

Climate Crisis

We need to cut Carbon, not fall for the Scam of Trying to Capture it

The Conversation

By Jason MacLean | – When the federal government released the budget in April 2021, it proposed creating a new tax credit for private firms that make investments in carbon capture, utilization and sequestration projects. But in January, shortly after the consultation period closed, more than 400 Canadian climate scientists, academics and energy system modellers […]

Climate Crisis

Egypt announces Plan to Get 42% of Electricity from Renewables, become Solar Energy Hub for Europe via Greece

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ghada El-Gendy, the Executive Director of the Arab Renewable Energy Company, said Friday that Egypt has plans to increase the share of renewables in its electricity production to 42 percent by 2035. At the moment, most of Egypt’s power plants run on methane gas or petroleum, and only 12.5 percent […]

Climate Crisis

From War on Terror to War on Climate Change: US Army to seek Green Electricity by 2030

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The US military has been worried deeply for over a decade about the impact of the climate emergency on its bases and operational readiness. The Department of the Army has just released its first Climate Strategy for dealing with what Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin calls an “existential crisis.” The […]

Climate Crisis

The Rich produce the most Heat-Trapping CO2, but Heat Waves hit the Poorest Hardest

The Conversation

By Mojtaba Sadegh, John Abatzoglou, and Mohammad Reza Alizadeh | – Spend time in a developing country during a heat wave and it quickly becomes clear why poorer nations face some of the greatest risks from climate change. Most homes don’t have air conditioning, and even health clinics can get overheated. These countries tend to […]

Batteries

Biden’s Moonshot: Announces Green Race with China for Electric Vehicle Dominance as MSM Misses Story

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Biden admitted on Tuesday that, regarding electric vehicles, “China has been the — leading that race up to now. But this is about to change . . .” The president of the United States announced a Green Race with Beijing for dominance of the electric vehicle manufacturing sector, in […]

Climate Crisis

Even Red-State Louisiana Eyes 5 Gigawatts of Offshore Wind Generation, replacing declining Oil Industry

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Windpower Monthly reports that the state of Louisiana’s Climate Commission Task Force assembled by Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards is eyeing 5 gigawatts of electric power generation through massive new wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico, by 2035. The project would be part of the state’s goal of getting […]

China

China is meeting its Climate Targets, but Earth needs Beijing to be more Ambitious

The Conversation

By Phillip Stalley | – When it comes to climate change, no nation is more important than China. It consumes more coal than the rest of the world combined, and it is the leading emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for nearly 30% of global emissions. Unless China takes rapid steps to control its greenhouse gas […]

Climate Crisis

If We heat the World 1.5°C (2.7° F.), Essential Coral Reefs are all but Doomed

The Conversation

By Adele Dixon, Maria Beger, Peter Kalmus, and Scott F. Heron | – Coral reefs have long been regarded as one of the earliest and most significant ecological casualties of global warming. In new research published in the journal PLOS Climate, we found that the future of these tropical ecosystems – thought to harbour more […]