*** Full Disclosure:
NOBODY pays me anything to write this column - I'm a masochist! ***
Acid Oceans Threaten Billion $ Oyster Biz reports Tim Radford at Climate Central. As carbon emissions acidify oceans, Nemo and friends are getting pickled. Baby oysters have only 48 hours to form a shell and feeding mechanism before they run out of energy, and the acid can lethally slow down shell formation. This might be fixed inside hatcheries, but it's bad news for wild oysters - and other marine creatures that depend on the right marine chemistry....
Record-Breaking US Heat Wave Due to Wobbling Jet Stream reports Andrew Freedman at Climate Central. The jet stream has kept a high pressure system "stuck" over the west, heating it up. Dangerously hot forecasts are coming true, breaking records, and creating rare persistent temperatures of 115o F or more ... forget the BBQ, set up the solar cooker!
The red area shows the "heat dome" or area of higher than average pressure, across the West for June 29, 2013. Credit: Weatherbell.com
Vote Only for Those Who Act on Climate Change, Says Obama reports Josh Lederman at the Associated Press. Obama wants to regulate carbon emissions, stop subsidizing fossil fuels and promote clean energy, but he can't do it alone. Celebrate the 4th by making environmental safety a patriotic voting priority, folks - because if our environment tanks, so will everything else...
Current Climate Changing 6 Million Years Faster Than Species Can Adapt fossils show, says a new study, reports Tim Radford at Climate News Network. From a geologic perspective, it's like a Carbon Meteor hitting Earth - only no one's doing much about it, much less screaming their heads off...
Inoceramus, a group of oysterlike creatures, lived worldwide during the Cretaceous period, which ended when a meteor crashed into Earth, causing a massive extinction of life. Credit Mary Ellen Harte
Climate Change To Clobber Cattle Industry says a study on US bison, reports Tim Radford at Climate News Network. Researchers found that bison in warmer areas weighed considerably less than their colder brothers. The study predicts that under warmer climate individual US cattle will weigh, and be worth, far less, cutting profits. Time to beef about this to Congress...
Individual US cattle will weigh and be worth much less under warmer climate, cutting profits. Credit Mary Ellen Harte
☼☼☼
☼☼☼ On the Bright Side ☼☼☼
___________
☼☼☼ Obama's Plan:
OO Transcript of Obama's Speech on Climate Change - detailing his climate action plan for the US.
OO Obama Lays Out Broad Plan For Climate Change
OO Breaking Down Key Features of Obama's Climate Plan
A rainbow cloud that appeared right around the time that President Obama presented his climate plan. Credit Mary Ellen Harte
OO Wood Is Key Ingredient In Cheap Rechargeable Battery
OO Tax Programs To Finance Clean Energy Catch On
OO Los Angeles Now Pays For Power From Solar Panels and the program is expected to generate 150 megawatts of clean, renewable solar energy.
Credit Warren Gretz/NREL
OO Green Vehicles Are EU's Win-Win Option
OO Central London Shuts Out Traffic In Effort To Go Green
OO World Bank To Stop Financing Coal Projects
☼☼☼
OO Global Renewable Energy Growing Fast Worldwide says the 5-year assessment by the International Energy Agency.
OO UK: Government Tops Agenda With Green Energy To Boost Investment And Unlock Billions
☼☼☼
***** US Climate Change News *****
~~~~~
Our Very Deepest Condolences to the families of the 19 brave Arizona firefighters who lost their lives heroically battling the blaze - they are the latest victims of the climate change that is consuming the US West.
~~~~~
Credit: Forecast the Facts
OO Colorado Wildfire Doubles In Size As It Threatens Popular Summer Retreat
OO Wildfires Ravage Colorado, Causing Vacationers To Flee
OO In Colorado, Wildfires May Drive Up Costs Of Living In Paradise as the new age of heat and drought creates unstoppable wildfires whipping through forest-encroaching communities...
<><><><>
OO Growing Fire Makes Matters Worse For New Mexico Ranchers forcing some to ship their cattle out of state as the blaze burns through entire grazing areas.
OO Climate Change Threatens New England Birds, Tourism
OO 94 F in Alaska? Weather Extremes Tied To Jet Stream which usually rushes rapidly, mostly straight, from west to east -- but lately it seems to be wobbling and weaving like a drunken driver, wreaking havoc as it goes.
The new face of Alaska under climate change - a cloudless day, with wildfires (red arrows). Credit NASA via the Climate Desk
OO US Clean Air Act, Reinterpreted, Would Focus On Flexibility And State-Level Efforts
OO Iowa: Recent Flood And Drought Signal What's To Come scientists and officials say.
OO Environmentalists Call For A Massachusetts Carbon Tax
<><><><>
OO Feds Charge Lower Oil, Gas Drilling Royalties Than Many States -- Taxpayers Lose Out
OO IEA Warns US Emissions Could Rise Again having fallen as cheap natural gas replaced coal, but that could reverse if gas prices rise...
OO 145 Former Obama Campaign Staffers Urge Him To Reject Keystone XL
<><><><>
OO Obama: Must Act Now on 'The Global Threat Of Our Time,'-- GOP: That's 'Absolutely Crazy'
<><><><>
<<<< Climate Change Round the World >>>>
______________
Credit: Forecast the Facts
OO As Calgary Floods, Scientists Warn Of Rising Risks
OO Massive Flooding In Alberta Canada Forces 75,000 To Flee - more extreme weather for the land of the tar sands...
OO Canada's Oil Capital Calgary Starts Slow Clean-Up From Floods
<><><><>
OO Indonesia Apologizes To Singapore And Malaysia For Record Hazardous Smog caused by smoke from forest fires raging in Sumatra.
OO Malaysia Declares State Of Emergency Over Hazardous Smog In South
OO Singapore, Malaysia Face Economic Hit From Prolonged Smog from the Indonesian rainforest fires, especially if tourism and businesses are affected.
Smog from the New Mexico Pecos fire obscures the sun, giving you an idea of what Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore are suffering. Credit: Kirstin Harriger
OO Singapore Threatens Legal Action Against Local Firms Blamed For Smog From Sumatra, as Greenpeace said the forest blazes were on palm oil plantations owned by Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean companies.
OO At Chernobyl, Wildfire Danger Threatens Radioactive Release From Trees - For 27 years, forests around Chernobyl have been absorbing radioactive elements; as climate change makes summers grow longer, hotter, and drier, so do risks of wildfires that could send the radioactivity skyward.
OO Central America: Spreading Fungus Devastating Coffee Crops as the fungus flourishes under the rising heat and moisture brought on by climate change.
<><><><>
OO As Secretary Kerry Heads To India, Deadly Floods Demonstrate Urgency Of Climate Change and a new report says that the monsoons and floods will get worse under continuing climate change.
OO Flood Toll Reaches 1,000 In India As Thousands More Await Rescue from flash floods and landslides triggered by the monsoons.
OO India's 'Climate Refugees' Flee Monsoon Flooding, which will threaten more people in the future as population and infrastructures grow near the rivers, and climate change creates more extreme monsoons.
Credit: Pablo Clemente Colon/NOAA
OO Melting Ice Opens Norway's Path To Asia
OO Australia: Human Activity Linked To Hottest Summer On Record greenhouse gas emissions increased fivefold the likelihood of Australia's record-breaking heat last says a new study.
OO Climate Change Altering Insurers' Risk Assessment as it creates more frequent and more unpredictable extreme weather events, forcing insurers to change how they assess the risk of natural disasters hitting a specific area.
<><><><>
OO Insurers Given Severe Weather Warning as huge claim costs resulting from a rise in extreme weather events motivate analysts in the multi-billion dollar insurance industry to warn that the industry must now pressure governments to take action on greenhouse gas emissions.
OO Tides Swamp Climate Vulnerable Marshall Islands as sea levels continue to rise ...
OO Conflicts Fuel Caucasus Climate Fears as water supplies decease from increasing erratic rainfall, and melting glaciers.
A ground hornbill hopping it in Botswana. Credit: John Harte
OO African Birds Refuge-Hopping In Bid To Survive Warming
OO Land Abuse, Rising CO2 Levels Causing Thorny Brush To Replace African Grasslands - starving and blinding cheetahs.
OO Biofuel Projects In Africa Ignite Land, Environmental Disputes
<><><><>
OO Rapidly Growing Population Outpacing Agricultural Output Worldwide says a new study.
OO Intense Air Pollution In Beijing Causing Many Expatriates To Leave China For Good
<><><><>
(((((((( Seeking the Science ))))))))
__________
OO Clean Air Linked To Fiercer Storms says a new study.
OO Global Warming Will Make Indian Monsoon Worse,Unpredictable, says study; computer state of the art simulations now consistently show that Indian monsoon daily variability might increase.
OO Methane Leaks Of Shale Gas May Undermine Its Climate Benefits - especially if methane leak rates are more than 3 percent of output
<><><><>
@@@ 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!!
@@ Video: The Alarming Science Behind Climate Change's Increasingly Wild Weather
@@ Video: WATCH 62 YEARS OF GLOBAL WARMING IN 13 SECONDS - an oldie but goldie that never fails to scare the wits out of me...
@@ Video: Extreme Weather 101: Heat Spikes On the Rise
scientists explain how heat spikes are likely to become more common.
@@ Solar Ship Check out this totally cool ship, the Turanor, which circumnavigated the planet, and now tracks climate change across the Atlantic in this slideshow.
Turanor, the Solar Ship. Credit: Benjamin Starr at Visual News
@@ CC Impacts Information by US region Want to know how climate change will affect your home? Check out the Regional Climate Impacts pdfs at Climate Nexus, which cover the various parts of the US - informative, if scary, reading...
<><><><>
*****Ready to Invest Your Bucks in Solar? Check out Mosaic opportunities here!
☼☼☼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. 
Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by these wildflowers I photographed one summer. 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.
Have a Happy 4th of July, folks!