“Last-chance tourism” hastens decline of destinations threatened by global warming, like the Florida Reef and the Galapagos Islands

By Aditi Shrikant 18 March 2019 (Vox) – Plopped in the Florida Reef is a 4,000-pound bronze Jesus named Christ of the Abyss. The statue is one of the most photographed sites in the Florida Keys, and at Lobster Trap Art you can buy his portrait printed on ceramic tiles for $24. Like many of […]

Record floods in U.S. Midwest have reached Superfund sites in three states

By Christopher Flavelle 26 March 2019 (Bloomberg) – Major flooding across the U.S. Midwest has reached at least eight Superfund sites in three states, and kept EPA staff from determining whether any are leaking toxic chemicals as a result. The Environmental Protection Agency said it is unable to access the sites containing arsenic, benzene, cyanide […]

Who keeps buying California’s scarce water? Saudi Arabia

By Lauren Markham 25 March 2019 Four hours east of Los Angeles, in a drought-stricken area of a drought-afflicted state, is a small town called Blythe where alfalfa is king. More than half of the town’s 94,000 acres are bushy blue-green fields growing the crop. Massive industrial storehouses line the southern end of town, packed […]

Photo gallery: Exxon Valdez oil spill, 30 years later

By Johnny Simon 22 March 2019 (Quartz) – On 24 March 1989 the Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. It was the worst oil spill in US history until 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon disaster pumped nearly 20 times that amount into the […]

Global carbon emissions hit record high in 2018 – Global energy demand rose at fastest pace in last decade, driven by record temperature extremes

By Nina Chestney26 March 2019 LONDON (Reuters) – Global energy-related carbon emissions rose to a record high last year as energy demand and coal use increased, mainly in Asia, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. Energy-related CO2 emissions rose by 1.7 percent to 33.1 billion tonnes from the previous year, the highest rate […]

U.S. farmers hit by tariffs see crops swept away by flood – Midwest flood risk to persist for months – “The most widespread destruction we have ever seen in our state’s history”

By Jim Salter 23 March 2019 ST. LOUIS (AP) – Even as floodwaters receded in hard-hit places in in the Midwest, experts warned Saturday that with plenty of snow still left to melt in northern states, the relief may only be temporary. Rainfall and some snowmelt spurred flooding in recent weeks that’s blamed in three […]

Retirees flee Florida as climate change threatens their financial future – “We will miss the warm winters”

By Rebecca Mordechai 19 March 2019 (Money) – Florida, with its plentiful beaches, warm weather, and lack of a state-income tax, is the most popular destination for older adults in the U.S. But some who have lived in the Sunshine State for years are moving in the opposite direction. As damaging storms and other effects […]

Midwest voters in Trump country face historic floods and call for climate action – “People are being smacked with climate change at a phenomenal rate”

By Hans Nichols and Stefanie Cargill 19 March 2019 La CROSSE, Wisconsin – In two states that flipped from Democratic to Republican in the 2016 presidential race, the devastating floods are focusing voter’s attention on climate change — and both parties’ response to it. “My big concern is the environment,” said Amy Bouska, a retired […]

Global warming taking toll on $20 billion ski industry – Snowpack in Western U.S. declined 41 percent from 1982 to 2016 – “Where is my livelihood in the future, in three to four, five years?”

By Diana Olick 21 March 2019 (CNBC) – Skiers in the western U.S. are enjoying one of the best seasons in years. But experts warn that years like this are quickly becoming the exception, not the rule. Snow sport seasons are getting shorter, due to warmer temperatures. That is already having a distinguishable financial impact […]

Highest sea level rises in U.S. are in Texas and Louisiana, annual report finds

By Dr. Jeff Masters 11 March 2019 (Weather Underground) – Texas and Louisiana have the highest rates of sea level rise in the U.S., with Grand Isle, Louisiana (7.75 mm or 0.305 inches per year) topping the list, according to the annual sea level “report card” from researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of […]

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