SCIENCE
- In 2004, the University of Miami and other institutions installed a
line of anchored moorings from the Bahamas to the Canary Islands called
RAPID-MOCHA. A new study’s analysis of the latest RAPID-MOCHA data shows that the
flow of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is declining by about 90,000 cubic metres of water per
second each year, a faster rate than what has previously been observed.
That means between 2004 and 2023, the AMOC weakened by about 10 per
cent. “It is the strongest direct observational evidence so far” that the AMOC is weakening, as models have long shown, says Stefan Rahmstorf at the University of Potsdam, Germany, who wasn’t involved in the research. - The journal Nature Climate Change started in 2011. On their 15th anniversary they have released a free graphic summary of the way the climate has changed between 2011 and 2026. The graphics are revealed one at a time as you scroll down, but you can click on a link at the top for a PDF if you prefer.
- Climate change has thawed permafrost and increased rainfall in the Far
North, producing sulfuric acid that is turning rivers and lakes yellow or rusty orange. Scientists are scrambling to parse the impacts on
wildlife, fish, and the drinking water of Indigenous communities. Since at least 2019, the rusting and other similar river discolorations
have spread to more than 200 rivers in Alaska, a growing number of
rivers in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and as far north as the
Arctic Archipelago. The pH levels in some rivers have dropped to 2.3,
comparable to the acidity of vinegar.
GREENING
- As India, the world’s most populous nation, pivots from fossil fuels to clean energy, two- and three-wheel electric vehicles are driving the switch. By 2030 a full 80% of the two- and three-wheeled vehicles sold in India could be electric, compared to just 30% of India’s automobiles. The International Energy Agency calls electric two- and three-wheelers “the most affordable and accessible entry point into electric mobility” – and many of them can easily recharge using standard sockets. Read more »
- A Monterey County jail in California expects to offset about 55% of its annual energy use with a new carport solar-plus-storage array. (news release)…
- A Renewable America report finds California’s distribution grid has the capacity to support 5.4 GW of community-scale solar and storage. (news release) [Unfortunately California’s CPUC and the Governor are not sympathetic.]
- Pattern Energy begins generating electricity at its 3.5-GW SunZia wind project in eastern New Mexico that is set to become the nation’s largest clean energy installation when it goes online later this year. (E&E News)
CLIMATE DESPOLIATION
- Emperor penguins, the world’s largest and
perhaps most recognizable penguin species, have joined the list of
wildlife endangered by global warming, the International Union for
Conservation of Nature announced on Thursday In an update of its Red List. - An extreme marine heat wave is simmering the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, and experts are warning that it could affect coastal weather and ecosystems for months. The heat wave is deep, persistent and widespread, spanning from roughly San Francisco to the Mexican border. Those are “pretty significant indicators that this has both staying power and will have consequences for weeks or months or even seasons to come for Southern California,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources. Human-caused climate change is undoubtedly pushing the temperatures to records, Swain said, noting that it takes many times more energy to heat ocean water than it does to heat air. “From an ocean warmth perspective, we are now entering a pretty dramatic period” for this part of the world, he said.
DARK AGE CLIMATE POLITICS
- Staff at Microsoft have told some developers of carbon removal credits that the company is pausing what is currently the world’s biggest program for financing the extraction of CO2 from the atmosphere. Microsoft is by far the largest investor in removal credits, having set an ambitious goal to be carbon negative by 2030. The company is engaged in deals across a variety of technologies, with BloombergNEF estimating that its purchases in 2025 accounted for 96% of the entire market.
- Delta Air Lines Inc. quietly scrubbed a pair of key environmental targets from its sustainability web page. The Atlanta-based carrier deleted its pledge to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for 10% of its jet fuel by 2030. It also rephrased its quest to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 as an “aspiration,” rather than a “goal.” Delta generated about 60 million tons of heat-trapping emissions in 2024. That’s equivalent to the entire climate footprint of Ireland or Hungary.
- Amid strong opposition from local residents, renewable energy developer AES has notified San Diego County that it will be withdrawing its application to build a 320 MW utility-scale battery storage facility close to a hospital in unincorporated Escondido. This Canary Media article provides more information.
- The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has paused a Solano County wind project that would have relied on clean energy tax credits scaled back by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, SMUD Chief Energy Resources Officer Lora Anguay told POLITICO’s Catherine Allen. “At this point in time, we’re reevaluating whether or not we want to make that capital investment without the tax credit,” Anguay said. Anguay oversees SMUD’s “moonshot goal” of complete zero-carbon energy by 2030. Right now, it’s on track to be 80 to 90 percent zero-carbon by that deadline. A key contributor to that progress is SMUD’s solar and battery storage project in Placer County that secured the Investment Tax Credit and is estimated to come online by the end of the year.
- 44 percent of American adults worry a great deal about global warming or climate change, according to Gallup, which is near a record level in polling data that goes back to 1989.
- California, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey and Oregon are among the states expediting renewable energy projects eligible for a 30% investment tax credit. Those subsidies can help lower power prices as soaring electricity bills become a top issue in the 2026 elections and data centers drive up energy demand. But solar and wind farms need to start work by July 4 of this year and have four years to complete construction in order to qualify.
Take Action!
Santa Cruz Climate Action is our ally. They have been at the forefront in fighting undersea mining:
On Feb. 23, 2026, BOEM announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update rules for offshore hard minerals, clarifying or streamlining provisions related to prospecting, leasing, and operations opening opening a 60-day public comment period that will run until April 27, 2026.
Summary of main opposition points
- 83 countries in the world have signed a moratorium on deep sea mining.
- Deep sea mining is not needed because of newer, safer battery chemistry and recycling.
- Ecological damage would be catastrophic and accelerate climate change.
Here is the direct link for comments – open until Apr 27, 2026. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT!
The science is unequivocal: deep-sea mining would cause irreversible damage to fragile ecosystems that have evolved over millions of years. Recovery, if it occurs at all, would take centuries to millennia. For these reasons, deep-sea mining is incompatible with international commitments to protect ocean health and tackle threats to biodiversity and the climate crisis.