Drought

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The past eight years have been the eight hottest on record, in further evidence that human-caused global heating is accelerating rapidly and dangerously. So reports the World Meteorological Organization in tandem with the COP27 Climate Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The report argues that we can see rapid heating […]

Climate Crisis

As COP27 Climate Summit in Egypt Nears, World Needs to Realize Depth of Crisis, Urgency of Action

The Conversation

By Andrew King, The University of Melbourne | – (The Conversation) – World leaders and climate experts are gathering for pivotal United Nations climate change talks in Egypt. Known as COP27, the conference will aim to put Earth on a path to net-zero emissions and keep global warming well below 2℃ this century. The world […]

Arctic

3-Alarm Fire on Planet Earth: Current Climate Policies will Heat it by extra 5.4° F. (3C) by 2100, for 1st time in Millions of Years

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – William J. Ripple et al. writing in BioScience warn that we are deep into a climate emergency, which they call “code red on planet earth.” They point to the increased frequency and severity of weather-related disasters, producing “untold human suffering.” Human-driven global heating, especially in the Arctic, which is warming […]

Climate Crisis

Desalinating Seawater sounds Easy, but there are cheaper and more sustainable Ways to meet people’s Water Needs

The Conversation

By Gregory Pierce, University of California, Los Angeles | – (The Conversation) – Coastal urban centers around the world are urgently looking for new, sustainable water sources as their local supplies become less reliable. In the U.S., the issue is especially pressing in California, which is coping with a record-setting, multidecadal drought. California Gov. Gavin […]

Climate Crisis

‘It’s getting close’: As the megadrought grinds on, Southwest Water in Doubt

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Sydnee Wilson | – ( Cronkite News) – PHOENIX – NASA satellite photos show how drastically the water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead have receded in just the past few years. They demonstrate the severity of long-term drought and the challenges Arizona will face to conserve and enhance its precious water supply. […]

Climate Crisis

2022’s supercharged Summer of Climate Extremes from Pakistan to USA: How global warming and La Niña fueled Unprecedented Disasters

The Conversation

By Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland | – There’s an old joke about the fellow who has his left foot in a bucket of ice water and the right in a bucket of hot water, so that his overall temperature is average. That seemed to apply to the climate during 2022’s northern summer of extremes. […]

Batteries

How 3 Gigawatts of Battery Power Plus Solar Saved California from Electricity Blackouts during the Heat Dome this Month

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In August 2020, California consumers suffered through a severe heat wave, responding by blasting their air conditioners. California had put in so much solar that by then that 34% of the state’s power came from wind and solar, and another 13.9% came from hydro. Nuclear still provided around 10% of […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Emergency Caused our Scorching Summer, but Inequality meant it hit Workers Hardest

Sam Pizzigati

( Inequality.org ) – The heat. Never been hotter in our lifetimes. This past spring the mercury nearly hit 124 in the Pakistani city of Jacobabad, “just below,” notes science writer David Wallace-Wells, “the conventional estimate for the threshold of human survival.” This summer’s U.S. daily high temperatures are continuing our torrid global pace. America’s […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Emergency’s Knock-on Effects: How Europe’s Drought is making Britain’s energy Crisis worse

The Conversation

Simon Waldman, University of Hull | – (The Conversation) – Along the River Elbe, in Germany and the Czech Republic, is a series of rocks that are submerged in all but the lowest water conditions. The locals call them “hunger stones” because they are warnings: if the stone is visible, then famine will follow. Carvings […]