Here is this week’s climate news, culled from a variety of sources. Some stories are important, other just interesting or curiosity provoking.
***
WIND: The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management finds proposed wind leasing off Oregon’s coast will have no significant environmental impacts. (KOBI 5)
THAT’S COOL: Clean investment grew 71% since IRA: Ahead of the two-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), new data shows how this landmark legislation has affected U.S. clean energy investment. Since the second half of 2022, clean investment totaled $493 billion — a 71% increase over the two-year period prior to the IRA. Source: Clean Investment Monitor (Rhodium Group/MIT-CEEPR)
Politicians think climate action is much less popular than it actually is:
There is a yawning gap between what U.S. politicians think are popular climate and energy policies and what is actually in favour among voters. That’s one of the conclusions from a recent study in the journal Nature Energy that found that local elected officials in Pennsylvania underestimated the support that existed for large solar projects in their communities. “What really matters, in some ways, is not objectively what the public thinks, but it’s what decision-makers think the public thinks,” Matto Mildenberger, a political science professor, told Grist in this piece. And who’s to blame for this misperception? Experts say that people who support strong climate policies simply don’t talk about it enough. And loud minorities can often derail the public discourse on these issues.
Wind turbines generated more electricity than coal-burning power plants across the United States in March and April, outstripping the dirtiest fuel for two consecutive months for the first time. Electricity generated from wind exceeded electricity generated from coal nationwide in March and April, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Wind alone surpassed coal for the first time in April 2023. It did so again this year, but for the first time, for two consecutive months. Wind and solar combined produced more electricity than coal in the first five months of the year. They did last year, too, but the gap has grown wider.Wind and solar are forecast to overtake coal for the full year, driven by a rapid expansion of solar.
Plastics. In a major shift, the U.S. will support a global treaty that would reduce the amount of new plastic produced globally, Reuters reports.
| Researchers are using state-of-the-art climate chambers to explore when blistering conditions threaten life — and the limit is lower than we thought. “If you look at heat advisories from well-respected organizations like the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, they’re fraught with errors when it comes to human physiology,” says physiologist Larry Kenney. Many are based on a theoretical model that gives a ‘wet-bulb temperature’ (which accounts for the effects of heat and humidity) of 35 °C as the limit at which a young, healthy person would die after six hours. In a 2021 study based on data from real people, Kenney and his colleagues found a survival limit of around 31 °C, and it is likely to be even lower depending on the conditions. Nature | 9 min read |
Extreme heat is a growing threat to children. Almost 500 million children will experience double the number of extremely hot days than their grandparents’ generation, the United Nations says, with harmful consequences for their health.
Heat aggravated by carbon pollution killed nearly 50,000 people in Europe last year, new research has found. Without the adaptations to heat made over the past two decades, the mortality rate would have been 80 percent higher. The continent is warming much faster than other parts of the world, The Guardian reports.
America is neglecting a prime way to keep citizens cool as summers get hotter: public pools. In the nation’s 100 most populous cities, there is only one pool for every 47,761 residents, Eve Andrews reports.
RECORD-BREAKING FIRES: In a first “state of wildfires” report, scientists laid out the impact of human-caused climate change on “unprecedented” wildfires during the past year, reported the Press Association. The research found that “high fire weather” seen in Canada, Greece and western parts of the Amazon from March 2023 to February 2024 was made three times, two times and 20 times more likely by global warming, respectively, the newswire said.
Did you assume climate organizations have already divested of fossil fuel investments? Stand.earth is pleased to announce its U.S. retirement funds are now fossil free. Stand’s current retirement assets total more than $2.8 million USD as of July 9, 2024. Additionally we put out the ask to all of our fellow NGO’s asking for divestment commitments and we are pleased to announce, The Climate Center, GreenAmerica, Ecojustice and GreenFaith also joined in taking important steps this week to live organizational values. Stand.earth calls on fellow climate organizations to announce their divestment from fossil fuels, and join the global total of over 1,630 institutions and over $40.76 trillion in assets.
What kind of a deal is this? Chevron offers a California city $550 million in exchange for dropping a bid to tax the company’s Richmond petroleum refineryto offset the facility’s health impacts on residents. (Mercury News)
Plastics: A new study from a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) funded startup, Algenesis Corporation, has demonstrated the ability to formulate high quality polyurethane products, including waterproof fabrics and cell phone cases, that generate no persistent microplastics. By utilizing some clever chemistry and sourcing oil from algae instead of petroleum, they can produce polyurethane plastics that biodegrade naturally in the environment. Learn more
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California officials call on the U.S. EPA to approve the state’s rule aimed at replacing diesel big rigs and other heavy trucks with electric or hydrogen vehicles. (CalMatters)
SOLAR: A California appeals court blocks a Los Angeles-area city from forcing a mobile home park to remove solar panels due to neighbors’ complaints. (Signal)
A new estimate finds that more than half of the world’s population drink unsafe water — double what we had thought. The finding puts a spotlight on gaps in basic health data and raises questions about which estimate better reflects reality. “We really lack data on drinking-water quality,” says water researcher Esther Greenwood, who worked on the new estimate. Nature | 5 min read
Safe swimming water? Beating the heat in the US is a little harder this summer than it used to be: E. coli and cyanobacteria are causing widespread beach closures at lakes and rivers. It turns out that climate change-fueled warmer waters — and more prolific downpours — are amazing vibes for bacteria. Between 1985 and 2009, lakes and ponds warmed at a rate of roughly 0.6F (0.3C) per decade, a trajectory that is increasing the risk of bacteria bloomsin historically cold places. The bacteria can cause a host of symptoms, including blisters, rashes, diarrhea, muscle weakness, and liver damage, to name a few. Outbreaks can also tax ecosystems; plus, they’re expensive.
TAKE ACTION
DIY Science: Climate Central has launched the Climate Shift Index: Ocean (Ocean CSI) — a new system and map tool that quantifies the influence of climate change on sea surface temperatures around the world, every day. According to the Ocean CSI, human-caused climate change made the warm ocean waters that fueled Hurricane Beryl up to 400 times more likely. Use Climate Shift Index: Ocean, based on the latest peer-reviewed attribution science, to understand the link between human-caused climate change and ocean temperatures around the world, every day.