Trump Interior Secretary Zinke resigns amid ethics probes – “Surrounding himself with former lobbyists, it quickly became clear that Ryan Zinke was a pawn for the oil and gas industry”

By Juliet Eilperin, Josh Dawsey, and Darryl Fears 15 December 2018 (The Washington Post) – Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke submitted his resignation to the White House Saturday, facing intense pressure to step down because of multiple probes tied to his real estate dealings in his home state of Montana and his conduct while in […]

The three highest-volume U.S. rainfall events on record happened in the past three years

Dr. Jeff Masters 8 December 2018 (Weather Underground) – Preliminary research by precipitation expert Dr. Kenneth Kunkel of the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies, announced in September 2018, found that the three highest-volume rainfall events in the U.S. in the last 70 years have occurred since 2016: Hurricane Harvey in Texas/Louisiana in 2017, Hurricane […]

Darwin, Australia swelters through hottest night ever recorded

11 December 2018 (NT News) – Did your air con just not cut it in Darwin last night? Well, no surprises there because the Top End capital has just sweltered through its hottest ever night on record. In a message on social media this morning the Bureau of Meteorology (Northern Territory) posted: “This will not […]

That was awkward – At world’s biggest climate conference, U.S. promotes fossil fuels

By Griff Witte and Brady Dennis 10 December 2018 KATOWICE, Poland (The Washington Post) – President Trump’s top White House adviser on energy and climate stood before the crowd of some 200 people on Monday and tried to burnish the image of coal, the fossil fuel that powered the industrial revolution — and is now […]

Landmark study finds more than 1.2 million deaths in 2017 due to air pollution in India – Uttar Pradesh recorded 260,028 deaths attributable to air pollution

NEW DELHI, 6 December 2018 (Press Trust of India) – One in eight deaths in India last year was attributable to air pollution, which contributes to more disease burden than tobacco use, a study said Thursday while asserting the highest exposure to ultra-fine particulate matter, PM2.5, was in Delhi followed by Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. […]

Welcome to the Eocene, where ice sheets turn into swamps – “We are creating a geological-scale climate event”

By Eric Holthaus 11 December 2018 (Grist) – Our current rate of warming will quickly lead us back to a climate that predates the evolution of modern humans, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That kind of rapid change has no direct comparison in all of Earth’s […]

Climate change affects insects’ ability to evade predators

5 December 2018 (University of Leeds) – Harmless flies have evolved over millions of years to mimic the appearance of stinging insects, but new evidence suggests climate change is reducing the effectiveness of that disguise. Many species have adopted a form of the yellow and black banding commonly seen on stinging insects, which predators such […]

Vanishing nutrients: 2 billion people worldwide suffer from “hidden hunger,” in which people are malnourished even though they consume enough calories

By Elena Suglia 10 December 2018 (Scientific American) – Is it possible to starve yourself of nutrients while simultaneously gaining weight? It turns out the answer is yes. According to a growing body of research, rising carbon dioxide levels are making our food less nutritious, robbing key crops of vitamins essential to human development.Studies have […]

TIME Person of the Year 2018: The Guardians and the War on Truth

By Karl Vick 10 December 2018 (TIME) – The stout man with the gray goatee and the gentle demeanor dared to disagree with his country’s government. He told the world the truth about its brutality toward those who would speak out. And he was murdered for it.Every detail of Jamal Khashoggi’s killing made it a […]

Protesters disrupt U.S. panel’s fossil fuels pitch at climate talks – “It’s ludicrous for Trump officials to claim that they want to clean up fossil fuels, while dismantling standards that would do just that”

By Jonathan Watts 10 December 2018 Katowice, Poland (The Guardian) – A Trump administration presentation extolling the virtues of fossil fuels at the UN climate talks in Poland has been met with guffaws of laughter and chants of “Shame on you”.Monday’s protest came during a panel discussion by the official US delegation, which used its […]

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