By Dino Grandoni 7 February 2018 (The Washington Post) – A group of Democratic senators is demanding that Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt recuse himself from repealing one of President Obama’s signature environmental rules, which is intended to curb the release of greenhouse gases from the nation’s power plants.Late Tuesday, the four senators — […]
By Patricia Mazzei And Agustin Armendariz 6 February 2018 (The New York Times) – The mission for the Federal Emergency Management Agency was clear: Hurricane Maria had torn through Puerto Rico, and hungry people needed food. Thirty million meals needed to be delivered as soon as possible. For this huge task, FEMA tapped Tiffany Brown, […]
2 February 2018 (RealClimate) – Based on NOAA’s ESRL “Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide” data, in particular “Mauna Loa CO2 monthly mean data”.January 2018 continues the record-breaking growth of CO2 in the atmosphere.Current estimates for the January monthly mean are ~408 ppm – another Record-Making High for January has been set (once the final figures […]
By Patricia Mazzei and Mary Williams Walsh 24 January 2018 (The New York Times) – The devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria has made Puerto Rico’s already dire financial situation even worse: The island’s leaders acknowledged late Wednesday that they will not be able to pay down any portion of their more than $70 billion debt […]
By Nicole Carr 2 February 2018 ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands (WSB-TV) – A trip along the winding mountain countryside in Saint Thomas reveals scenes that are not scattered across network news shows anymore. Tarps cover the homes of people fortunate enough to have a promise of federal aid. Music equipment that used to amplify voices […]
WASHINGTON D.C., 5 February 2018 (AGU) – Researchers have discovered permafrost in the northern hemisphere stores massive amounts of natural mercury, a finding with significant implications for human health and ecosystems worldwide.In a new study, scientists measured mercury concentrations in permafrost cores from Alaska and estimated how much mercury has been trapped in permafrost north […]
By Bram Janssen 5 February 2018 CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Associated Press) – Cape Town has pushed back “Day Zero” — the date when it might have to turn off most taps because of a long drought — by nearly a month to 11 May 2018.Cape Town authorities said Monday that the reprieve is due […]
By John D. Sutter 1 February 2018 On the path of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico (CNN) – Each morning before work, Héctor Luis Rodríguez Nieves showers with a garden hose behind his tattered home. He uses the jungle as his restroom.He sleeps on a mattress in what once was the kitchen. Above the bed, […]
By Angela Fritz and Jason Samenow 18 January 2018 (The Washington Post) – Near-record warmth in 2017 helped fuel extreme weather around the planet that caused catastrophic destruction, human suffering, and loss of life. NOAA and NASA both reported Thursday that last year ranked among the three warmest on record. All four of the hottest […]
By Ed Crooks 31 January 2018 NEW YORK (Financial Times) – US oil production has returned to its record high point, 47 years after the previous peak during the final days of the last Texas oil boom, as the shale revolution that was temporarily set back by low crude prices has reignited.The government’s Energy Information […]
