Record-Breaking Heat Wave In Alaska follows record-breaking cold spring in some parts there, reports Andrew Freedman at Climate Central, and increases risk of wildfires. One of the fastest warming US states, Alaska has had to contend with large wildfires, melting permafrost, and reduced sea ice, among other climate-related challenges in recent years. Climate blowback smacks the pro-oil state. Enjoy, big A - there'll be more!
~~~ Climate Change, Up Front and Personal: Paul Douglas
Ironically, meteorologist Paul Douglas was headed home after describing the increasing frequency of flooding under current climate change in a TV interview - then he drove smack into CC. In his words:
- "through a 20 minute land-hurricane. Total white-out. Everything stopped, winds must be over 75 mph for about 15-20 minutes, big trees down, power out everywhere. 3 feet of water on the highway, I'm doing more floating than driving, praying my tires don't leave the highway. Roads are closed due to trees down, it takes me 2 hours to get home (normally 20 minutes). I went from talking about climate change to living it. An experience many Americans are sharing right now."
-- Paul Douglas, Minneapolis, MN
~~~~~~ If you have a personal CC story, I'd love to hear about it in the Comments! ~~~~~
Courtesy of Paul Douglas
Burning Indonesian Rainforests Generate Greenhouse Gases, Record Singaporean Smog report Kanupriya Kapoor and Michael Taylor at Reuters News. During a fire ban, several suspicious fires occurred in Sumatran rainforests owned by companies wanting to clear these important carbon storage systems for palm oil plantations. Indonesia vowed action against those at fault, as it sought to ease diplomatic tensions with Singapore, where hazardous smog sent many to hospitals.
Companies Can Cut Carbon Emissions And Make Money says a new study, reports Daniel Cusick at Climate Wire. By cutting carbon emissions 3 percent annually through 2020, they could reap up to $190 billion from reduced energy bills, increased productivity and innovation, and using clean energy sources such as solar. Sounds like a win-win that can't start soon enough...
Predicted US Southwest Megadrought Is Bad Omen For Forests Globally says a recent study, reports Caroline Fraser at Yale Environment 360. Besides dry winters, the increasingly warmer, drier summers and falls are literally sucking trees lethally dry, and increasing the risk of wildfires and lethal bark beetle epidemics. Researchers predict megadroughts that could permanently destroy forests in the US southwest and other parts of the planet, if climate change is not slowed. Are Congress - and voters - listening?
Quote of the Week:
"As parents, we constantly admonish our children to share with others... But the truth is that the people we like to share the least with are our own children. 'We do not inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children,' the saying goes.
Right now, though, we've borrowed the entire Earth, trashed much of it, and don't plan to give back the rest of it."
OO Joe Romm, Daddy, Could We Have Our Planet Back Now? At Climate Progress, June 16, 2013.
Via Climate Progress
Miami To Be New Atlantis By 2100 without help from Disney, as rising sea levels drown the city, reports Jeff Goodell at the Rolling Stone. But the mostly coastal city will be heavily damaged well before then from rising sealevels, stronger hurricanes, and higher storm surges. Have fun in the sun and sand while it lasts, folks...
☼☼☼ On the Bright Side ☼☼☼
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OO Americans Consider Environment When Buying, Survey Shows
OO Puerto Rico Turns To Garbage For Renewable Energy
OO How To Cut Climate Impacts And Safeguard Public Health - cut super pollutants (ie, methane, soot, and HFCs)
Rebecca Lefton at Center for American Progress via Climate Progress
OO Obama Readying Emissions Limits On Power Plants
OO Obama Considers Sweeping Climate Plan
OO Hurricane Sandy States' US Senators Urge Obama To Regulate Power Plant Emissions saying the storm makes the case for stronger steps to confront climate change.
Hurricane Sandy, the storm that is motivating US senators to act...
OO Solar Irrigation Pumps Could Boost Farm Yields In Poor Countries
OO Chinese City Proposes Vehicle Restrictions To Reduce Smog
OO China Takes Cautious Step Towards Carbon Emissions Trading
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OO US Senate EPW Committee To Consider Comprehensive Climate Bill
OO Secretary Moniz Says Energy Department Would "Aggressively" Pursue Solar Energy
OO New England States Move To Increase Hydropower
Credit Dennis Schroeder/NREL
*****Ready to Invest Your Bucks in Solar? Check out Mosaic opportunities here!
OO China Details Pollution Reducing Targets For Heavy-Polluting Industries
OO Chinese Academy Corrects Heartland Institute's False Reporting - HI indicated that China denies climate change, something that is SO totally untrue...
OO Illinois Governor Signs Into Law Tough Fracking Regulations
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OO World's Wind Turbines Passes 300-Gigawatt Capacity In 2013 - Happy Global Wind Day! (belated; it was June 15, 2013)
OO US Electric Cars in Sudden Demand as a price war with incentives and cheap leases heats up...
OO NIVEA New Magazine Ad Features Sheet Of Solar Cells For Charging Cellphone
This ad includes solar cells for your cell phone! Via Digitalbuzzblog and Nivea
OO Expected Future Price Of Lithium-Ion Batteries For Electric Cars Dropping Fast
OO New Poll: US Voters Favor Protecting Public Lands Over Drilling Them
OO New York City to Generate Biogas from Composting
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OO Seattle Aims To Be Carbon Neutral By 2050
OO 22 Ex Obama Campaign Staff, Donors Arrested Protesting Keystone XL
Via Climate Progress
OO The Great March for Climate Action
☼☼☼Acting Like You Care: The XL Keystone pipeline will make possible far more climate change, but President Obama might okay it anyway. Credo, 350.org and others are asking people to stand up and be counted as nonviolent resisters or help in other ways. I did. If you ever wanted to do something big for your future, now's your chance - here. 
☼☼☼
***** US Climate Change News *****
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OO NOAA Says Extreme Weather Cost US $110 Billion And 300 Lives In 2012
OO 45 Percent More Of US Could Be At Risk Of Flood By 2100 - FEMA Report
OO Latino Organizations Urge Obama To Act On Climate Change
OO Fracking Already Straining US Water Supplies
OO Fracking Fuels Water Fights In Nation's Dry Spots
OO Huge Alberta Pipeline Spill Raises Safety Questions As Keystone Decision Looms - 'Every plant and tree died'...
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OO Autism Twice As Likely In Children Living Near High Air Pollution you know, the pollution from burning fossil fuels...
OO Black Forest Fire Now Most Destructive in Colorado despite the community's effort to prepare - wildfires are difficult to adapt to ....
OO Why Dwindling Snow - Mostly Due To Climate Change - Might Dry Out Los Angeles
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OO House GOP Votes To Gut Clean-Energy Research
OO House GOP Seek Deep Cuts To NASA Climate Research
OO Satellites Show Shrinking US Aquifers In Drought-Stricken Areas as climate change enhanced drought drives farmers to suck up remaining aquifers ever faster...
Via Forecast the Facts
OO Warming Bad For Life In Freshwater Lakes And Rivers
OO US Airports Face Increasing Threat From Rising Seas - Report
OO Officials Predict Extreme Season As Fire Burns Near Yosemite
Marine dead zones (red area) are increasing as waters warm. Credit: NOAA
OO 2013′s Gulf Of Mexico Dead Zone Could Be Biggest Ever as ever-warming waters drive down oxygen levels below that needed for most marine life...
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<<<< Climate Change Round the World >>>>
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OO New Diseases Threaten Britain's Livestock And Crops Because Of Global Warming
OO Coal-Fired Plants In China Caused Smog That Killed 9,900
OO Climate Change Threatens Trouble In The Near Future - World Bank
Via Forecast the Facts
OO Britain: Met Office Experts Meet To Analyse 'Unusual' Weather Patterns
OO World Bank Report: 'A Disastrously Warming Planet Threatens To ... Roll Back Decades Of Development'
OO Why Is Global Warming Stagnating? It hasn't, but because most heat now goes into oceans, average air temperature has increased little - confusing those who only measure warming by air temperature...
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OO Australia: Climate Science Debate Has Cost Precious Time, Expert Warns an "infantile" debate over the validity of the science has cost Australia precious time, says a key Climate Commission expert. Congress, are you listening?
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(((((((( Seeking the Science ))))))))
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OO Ancient Stalagmites Indicate Permafrost Could Thaw Within Decades a study indicates, freeing long-stored greenhouse gases to the atmosphere; researchers said an urgent global effort to reduce greenhouse gases in needed.
OO Antarctic Melting From Warm Waters Underneath - Study more than from warming air.
OO Conserving Top Predators Results In Less CO2 In The Air
This red knot is at risk from climate change. Credit: Robert Clemens, Queensland University
OO Seabirds Face Big Problems As Sea Levels Rise
OO Warming World Hits Fig Wasps And Figs, important components of tropical forests.
OO Wildfires Are Substantially Worsened By Climate Change
Credit Rhett Butler at Mongabay
OO Many Thriving Species at Risk from Climate Change - Study - 41 percent of bird species, 29 percent of amphibians and 22 percent of corals are "highly climate change vulnerable."
OO Exceptional 2012 Greenland Ice Melt Caused By Jet Stream Changes that may be driven by global warming
@@@ Climate Change in the Media @@@
Via Climate Nexus
OO @@ WEEKLY CLIMATE CHANGE VIDEO SERIES!! @@ Entitled "In Case You Missed It" via the good folks at Climate Nexus on Vimeo - select headlines delivered in less than 90 seconds with good graphics. Cool watching -- spread the word!!
@@ CNBC's Climate Denial Is Bad For Business A video of CNBC hosts dissing Climate Change. Forecast The Facts has created a petition asking CNBC to instead tell "on-air personalities start reporting the facts on the economic risks of fossil-fueled climate change," a move welcomed by insurance companies.
@@ Who Said Renewables Were Expensive? A good slideshow showing how they are becoming competitive with fossil fuels...
@@ How to Talk to an Ostrich: The Pentagon & Climate Change - Treehuggers aren't the only ones concerned about climate change - take the Pentagon, for instance, shows this video...
@@ Free Online Library of Science Books - search "climate" in the Earth Sciences section for climate change books... bookmark this one...
To help you understand just what science does and does NOT do, check this out!
Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by this wild blue columbine I photographed a few days ago. Making the U.S. a global clean energy leader will ensure a heck of a lot more jobs, and a clean, safe future. If you'd like to join the increasing numbers of people who want to TELL Congress that they will vote for clean energy candidates you can do so here. It's our way of letting Congress know there's a strong clean energy voting bloc out there. For more detailed summaries of the above and other climate change items, audio podcasts and texts are freely available.
