WINNER OF THE PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST
At our 350 General Meeting we voted on submitted captions. The top four captions of the photo of Trump flanked by Vance, Rubio and Hegseth were:
- Send in the Clowns
- Netanyahu’s Zombie Clowns of Satan
- Machiavelli: The first measure of the intelligence of a leader is to look at the men he has around him.
- Clown-O-Gram for the Ayatolla
There was only one entry that used speech balloons for the clowns: Rubio’s speech is from Machiavelli; Hegseth’s nose is either a clown nose or alcoholic nose; the presidential seal is a fake (note the golf clubs) from a 2019 Young Republican meeting, and the song We’ll Meet Again played as the atomic bombs exploded at the end of the movie Doctor Strangelove.
SCIENCE
Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather reviewed the evidence that the earth’s warming is speeding up:
- Acceleration in surface temperatures is more readily apparent and significant when removing natural variability.
- Our climate models expect a faster rate of warming under current policy scenarios.
- We have a clear mechanism in declining aerosol emissions to explain a recent acceleration.
- Acceleration is apparent in both ocean heat content and earth energy imbalance measurements.
“In my view this consilience of evidence tips the scale toward pretty clear acceleration in recent years. I hope I am wrong – I’d prefer to live in a world where the rate of warming was flat or falling – but the evidence is becoming too strong to ignore.”
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A satellite designed to detect sources of the most powerful greenhouse gas has been lost 15 months into its 5-year mission. Developed by a coalition of environmentalists, scientists and aerospace engineers, MethaneSAT aimed to pinpoint methane leaks and use Google algorithms to map oil and gas infrastructure where leaks can originate — information that many fossil fuel companies keep to themselves. It’s not known what caused the satellite to go silent. Nevertheless, MethaneSAT gathered lots of useful data and showed how a spacecraft can be deployed by a nonprofit. Science | 4 min read
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“This is not a dry spell. This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I’ve ever seen.” Geographer and climatologist Mark Svoboda has co-authored a report showing that climate change, and relentless pressure on land and water resources, is fuelling droughts that destroy lives, livelihoods and ecosystems. (The Guardian | 5 min read)
ANTI-SCIENCE
Some government scientists in the United States will no longer have easy access to papers in more than 3,000 journals published by Springer Nature, Nature’s publisher. The administration of US President Donald Trump has cut some subscriptions and at least two agencies say they are terminating all their contracts with the company. “Precious taxpayer dollars should be [sic] not be used on unused subscriptions to junk science,” said Andrew Nixon, the top spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services.
An Oregon wave-energy startup shuts down after the Trump administration withdrew federal funding approved under the Biden administration. (OPB)
The big Republican bill “seeks to defund” multiple climate labs, according to CNN. This includes the Mauno Lao laboratory in Hawaii, where measurements since 1958 have produced the iconic “Keeling Curve” of rising atmospheric CO2, the outlet noted.
STATE CLIMATE ACTIONS
[Climate Exchange keeps track of state climate actions. Here are just a few examples.]
Connecticut: Updates the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, requiring net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, with an interim target of 65 percent below 2001 levels by 2040.
Maine: Updates the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to require 100 percent clean electricity by 2040, accelerating the target by 10 years.
Minnesota: Repeals the electricity tax exemption for data centers…. The bill also sets more stringent water use requirements for data centers seeking permits… The bill further directs the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to establish a new class or subclass for “very large customers” (utilities providing electric service to data centers), and requires the PUC to offer an optional clean energy and capacity tariff for commercial and industrial customers.
MISC
Solar and wind power accounted for 96% of new U.S. generation capacity added during the first four months of 2025, and could surpass gas capacity by 2029, a review of FERC data finds. (news release)
Google’s carbon emissions have grown 51% since 2019 even as it aims for net-zero emissions, largely because of its expanding use of AI data centers. (The Guardian)
Climate Trace says: Last month, the IEA released its World Energy Investment 2025 report. For the 10th year in a row, investments in clean energy are forecasted to surpass those of fossil fuels. A record-setting 2025 is expected to see $2.2 trillion flow to clean energy, vs. $1.1 trillion to fossil fuels. This energy transition is increasingly showing up in the monthly emissions data we release each month.
The iconic statues of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, are crumbling. The statues, called moai, were carved between 500 and 800 years ago and are made of a porous and soft stone, which makes them vulnerable to erosion. Climate change is now accelerating their destruction. BBC Future | 10 min read
Over half of the firms surveyed in a recent Morgan Stanley report experienced the climate’s impact on operations within the past year, including increased costs, worker disruption and revenue losses. The growing financial impacts are a key reason some companies are continuing to pursue emissions cuts and adapt to a warming world even amidst political turbulence, the survey found. The US alone has spent nearly $1 trillion on disaster recovery and other climate-related needs over the past year, a recent Bloomberg Intelligence analysis found.
Trump’s dismantling of climate policy means the US will add an extra 7bn tonnes of emissions to the atmosphere from now until 2030, compared to meeting its former climate pledge under the Paris Agreement, according to new Carbon Brief analysis of modeling from Princeton University.
Take Action!
Plan to go: Community Conversation about Battery Energy Storage with a panel including Schatz scientists, RCEA and Natalie Arroyo. When: Wednesday July 23, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Where: D Street Neighborhood Center, 1301 D Street, Arcata, CA
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Find a narcissistic, machiavellian, psychopath to talk to about global warming! 😁