Record-Breaking Fossil Fueled Smog Cripples Large Chinese City reports Katie Valentine at Climate Progress. Soaring pollution levels, 3 times the designated hazardous levels, forced closures of schools and highways, and cancellation of flights. It happened as the city, fueled by dirty coal, turned on its heaters for the winter. Imagine what that day could have been like if the city was fueled by renewable clean energy...
What's wrong with this picture? (One answer: humans created it.) Credit Kyodo News/AP
Big Investors Ask: Are Fossil Fuels a "Carbon Bubble" in Climate Change World? ...where you can't burn the fuel you're spending mucho bucks to find, if catastrophic climate change is to be avoided? It's a question many investors, including Wall Street ones, are starting to ask, reports Katie Valentine at Climate Progress. Al Gore is already urging investors to divest before their "carbon bubble" bursts. It's about time, folks -- what place do fossil fuels have in a world being increasingly harmed by them? A much smaller one.
Even Out-of State Wildfire Smoke Can Make You Sick says a new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, reports Joanna Foster at Climate Progress. About two-thirds of Americans lived in areas in 2011 exposed to wildfire smoke, linked to asthma, pneumonia, chronic lung and even heart diseases. Under continuing climate change, the forecast for wildfires is: UP. Sigh. And just when we were finally licking the smoking habit....
Most of the US was exposed to wildfire smoke in 2011. Credit NRDC
Amazon Now More Susceptible to Die Out as its dry season is now three weeks longer than 30 years ago says a new study, reports Katie Valentine at Climate Progress. The dry season is the most important factor controlling that ecosystem, which, if it did dry out, would release gargantuan amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, further accelerating warming and climate change. The climate noose tightens, folks...
The Amazon's severe 2005 drought brought water levels way down. Credit AP/Luiz Valencelos
Expect More Tornadoes Under Global Warming indicates a new study, which links warmer Pacific ocean temperatures to an increase in US tornadoes over several decades, reports Cathy Griffin at Science World Report.
Credit NOAA/Steve Tegtmeier
Arctic Temperatures Now Highest In 44,000 To 120,000 Years says a new study, reports Emily Chung at CBC News, well outside the normal range of variability, due to - yes, you guessed it - global warming. Scientists were able to date newly exposed dead mosses that had been covered for that long. Did I mention that we live in abnormal times?
@@@@@
What's the difference between Halloween and Climate Change?
Climate change horrors are real, and worsening...
we're getting close to pumpkin time, Cinderella!
Credit Mary Ellen Harte
@@@@@
☼☼☼ On the Bright Side ☼☼☼
___________
(>(>(> People Speak Out
***** FRACKDOWN 2013 *****
OO Frackdown 2013: Demonstrations Worldwide, Including US - with picture from all over, showing turnouts in at least 200 places in 25 countries.
OO Canada: Mi'kmaq Protests Gain Victory Against Fracking On Their Lands
Via globalresearch.ca
OO New Brunswick Fracking Protests Are Frontline Of Democratic Fight
OO Thousands Protest In Romania Against Shale Gas
Via ambrablu on Twitter
OO Millions in US Now Live Within One Mile Of A Fracking Well - but many are fighting back against drilling in their towns.
OO Activists Set Up 'Wheel of Misfortune' to Oppose 'Fracking' in Maryland
OO Nuns Argue Fracking Is A Habit We Can't Afford
Nuns against fracking in Varroville, Australia. Credit: Wolter Peeters
OO Media Meteorologist Swears Off Flying To Reduce Carbon Footprint - the climate change he's witnessing is so alarming, and so little is being done, he's focusing on personal actions.
OO Enbridge Line 9 Pipeline Hearing Postponed after Protests
OO Britain Calls For EU To Set Tougher Climate Goal
OO Al Gore Says Keystone XL Is 'Ridiculous'
OO The Grassroots Battle Against Big Oil
OO Keystone Foes Pledge Sit-Ins if Pipeline Advances
What tar sands development does to forests... Via Howl Arts Collective/flickr
OO Ex Chief US Climate Scientist: Honest Carbon Tax, Political Pressure Needed for clean energy transfer and to keep coal and tar sands deposits where they belong - in the ground.
OO UN Climate Chief Says Direct Action 'A Lot More Expensive' Than Pricing Carbon
OO Firm Drops Plan for Gas Drilling in Pennsylvania Amid Opposition
OO California: Climate Leaders Don't Frack - so CA Gov Jerry Brown should not be promoting it for California. Wake up, Jerry!
OO Michigan Trade Group Urges 40% Renewable Power Standard by 2035
OO Surfers Using Bar Talk To Raise Environment Focus
The Surfrider Foundation is home to environmentally active surfers. Recent website screencapture, Credit Mary Ellen Harte.
OO Nebraska Scientists Refuse To Conduct Climate-Denying Study
OO Opponents Blast Wisconsin Bill Scaling Back Frack Sand Mine Rules
☼☼☼
OO Wal-Mart Now Draws More Solar Power Than 38 US States
OO How The Department Of Energy Is Working To Reduce The Cost Of Solar By 75 Percent
OO The Radical Right Wing Is Becoming An Unlikely Advocate For Solar Power
*****Ready to Invest Your Bucks in Solar? Check out Mosaic opportunities here!
OO Middle-Class Homeowners Are Leading the Rooftop Solar Revolution in US
OO Independence Through Microgrids: When The Power Goes Out, Some Just Go Off Grid
OO Revival Planned for Energy-Efficiency Bill
OO Americans Consumed Less Energy In 2012, Pumped Out Less Carbon Dioxide To Do It
OO Natural Gas, Efficiency Fuel US Carbon Emissions Decline
OO Enviros, Labor Unions Seek Unity to Fight Global Warming, Protect Jobs
☼☼☼
OO Eight States Vow 3.3M Zero-Emission Vehicles By 2025
OO West Coast States, B.C., To Align Carbon Reduction Efforts
OO Illinois: Chicago to Make Adding Solar Power Faster, Cheaper
☼☼☼
OO Illinois: Exelon, Enviros Agree on State Law Change to Spur Solar in Illinois
OO Maryland: Solar Projects 'More Mainstream' As Costs Fall
OO Michigan: State Regulators Propose New Fracking Rules Due to Environmental, Health Concerns
How about touring this wind turbine? Credit Dennis Schroeder/NREL
OO Meet Michigan's Thriving Wind Turbine Tourism Industry
OO Michigan PACE Program Poised to Double in Size
OO NYC to Fit All Streetlights With Energy-Saving LED Bulbs
☼☼☼
OO Wind-Energy Production Up In Ohio
OO Vermont Gov. Wants More Clean Energy in Regional Power Grid
☼☼☼
OO Four States With Hidden Solar Growth Markets
OO Smart Meters Will Probably Change Consumer Habits
OO 3 Factors Driving the Marriage of Solar and Energy Storage
OO GTM Research Reveals Top 4 Trends in Residential Solar
☼☼☼ Bright Ideas ☼☼☼
OO Storage as a Service: Stem Offers Customer-Sited Batteries,No Money Down
OO Lessons From The Past Ten Years: Pooled Assets
OO Building Solar Smarts Into the Energy Aware Home
For more news on clean energy, click here.
*
*
OO High-Tech Manhole Covers Will Charge Parked Electric Vehicles
OO Solar 'Gardens' Let Communities Share Renewable Power
OO Scientists Use Lego Technology to Make More Efficient Solar Panels
☼☼☼
OO A Solar Kickstarter: Training Youth For Solar Jobs
OO Bringing Off-Grid Power To 1.5 Billion: A Cell Phone-Enabled Mini Solar Panel
OO To Expand Offshore Power, Japan Builds Floating Windmills
☼☼☼
OO Black Sea, Southeast European Nations Pledge Emissions Cut by 2027
OO VW Calls Germany's 1 Million Electric-Car Goal Achievable
OO IEA Charts Optimistic Future for Wind Energy
Dubai construction of solar park underway. Courtesy, France24
OO Dubai Inaugurates First Phase of Mega Solar Energy Project
OO India's $10B Roadmap for Smart Grid Transformation
OO China To Send Air Pollution Inspection Teams To Provinces
☼☼☼
OO Greek Island Pioneers A Solar-Powered Microgrid
OO Nepal Tackles Methane Emissions Through Trash Recycling
☼☼☼
The flag flies, May 21, 2013.
At Moore, OK, the day after a huge tornado demolished it.
Credit Major Jon Quinlan/defenseimagery.mil
*
*
***** US Climate Change News *****
_____________
*
*
<><><><>
OO Politicians Pay a Price among Voters For Climate Denialism
OO Expert Warns We're Still Unprepared for Sandy-Like Event
OO Rebuilding Coastlines Could Prove Too Costly, Longterm - why sink billions into something that will be overwhelmed with rising seas?
<><><><>
OO Energy Boom Puts Wells In America's Backyards
OO US Pipeline Regulators Spend More Time With Industry Than Oil Spills, report says.
OO Three Reasons Why Germany Is Kicking Our Arsch on Solar
<><><><>
OO Nobody Bids on Solar Energy Rights on Federal Lands
OO Study: Weatherization Could Save US $33 Billion
OO For Climate Scientists, U.S. Government Shutdown Casts Long Shadow
<><><><>
OO Typical City Office Building Wastes Lots Of Energy indicates a new study.
OO Methane Complicates US Greenhouse Emissions Outlook - inside an overall US decline, fracking states are increasing emissions of the potent greenhouse gas.
OO Keystone XL Pipeline Could Yield $100 Billion for Koch Brothers
☼☼☼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.
OO How Major Newspapers Handle Climate Change Deniers
OO If Landowners Get Paid for Wind Turbines, Why Not for Transmission Lines?
OO The Product Of An Oil Boom: Violence, Addiction, And STDs
<><><><>
OO Can Art Help Galvanize Conversation, Even Action, Around Climate Change?
OO Short-Term Gratification Proves an Obstacle to Climate Change Progress
OO Arizona Utility Funds Solar Smear Campaign
<><><><>
OO California: Widespread Offshore Fracking Uncovered, Startles Regulators
OO Will fracking suck California dry?
OO Colorado: Climate Change Will Make Extreme Rainstorm a Lot More Common
Colorado can expect even more extreme flooding under continued climate change. Credit
OO Louisiana: Three Million Pounds of Oil Found on Shore Three Years after BP Spill
OO New York: Proposed Offshore Gas Facility Called 'Threat' To South Shore
OO New York: Rockaways Eye Microgrids as Hurricane Plan
<><><><>
OO North Dakota Recorded 300 Oil Spills In Two Years Without Notifying The Public
OO North Dakota Pipeline Spill Raises Questions Amid State's Oil Boom
OO Midwestern Ethanol Producers Challenge California Global-Warming Regulations
For more, click here.
*
*
OO Ohio Trails Midwestern States in Renewable Energy Generation
OO Oklahoma 'Earthquake Swarm' May Be Linked Wastewater Disposal from Fracking
OO South Dakota: USDA to Assist Ranchers Recovering From Blizzard
<><><><>
OO Texas: What's Behind Surging Ozone Pollution?
OO Texas: Everything's Bigger In Texas, Including The Carbon Pollution
OO US, India Dig In Against EU Air Carbon Charge
<><><><>
Via the University of East Anglia Climate Change webpage
*
*
<<<< Climate Change Round the World >>>>
______________
*
*
OO September 2013 4th Warmest on Record Worldwide
OO Global Climate-Change Finance Fell Last Year says study.
<><>
OO Global Poor Will Be Affected By Warming Oceans
OO Wind Is 'Effective Carbon-Saver': Study
<><><><>
OO Debunking the U.N. Climate-Change Conspiracy
OO IPCC's 'Carbon Budget' Will Not Drive Climate Talks unfortunately.
OO World Falling Behind Needed Investment In Sustainable Energy
*** Australia's Intense Bushfires ***
OO Australia: Prime Minister Denies 25 Years Of Research Linking Climate Change To Bushfires
OO Australia's Bushfires and the Role of Climate Change
OO Australian Climate Council Finds 'Clear Link' between Bushfires and Climate Change
Australian bushfire. Credit 80trading24 via wikmedia commons.
OO As Australian Bushfires Heat Up, So Does International Discussion on Climate's Role
OO Australia Bushfires: Pollution Levels Soar 50-Fold
<><><><>
OO Australian Wildfires Put Heat On Its Climate Change Skeptic Prime Minister
OO Australia, U.N. Spar Over Wildfires And Climate Change
OO Australia: Govt Threatens To Close Profitable Green Investment Bank
******
OO Sweden: Extreme Heat Doubled Heat Related Deaths in past 30 years.
OO UK: Universities Urged to Cut Fossil Fuel Ties
<><><><>
OO Scotland To Create 'Buffer Zones' For Shale Gas, Onshore Oil Extraction
OO Half of Scots Fear 'Extreme Weather' More Than Terrorism
**** CANADIAN WOES ****
OO Canada: Five Months After Tar Sands Leaks Reported, Company Ordered To Find Cause
OO Canada: Quebec Train Wreck Caused Even Larger Oil Spill Than First Thought
OO Canada: Alberta Oil Train Derails, Renews Fears About Oil By Rail
Alberta's fossil fuel processing center, aka known to some locals as 'Cancer Alley'. Photo credit: Isobel Simpson/University of California-Irvine.
OO Canada: Alberta's Oil Legacy- Bad Air And Rare Cancers
OO Canada: Shale Oil Kills Cows
OO Canada Admits Falling Far Short Of Emissions Reduction Target
<><><><>
OO Brazilian Police Investigating Oil Spill on Paranoá Lake
OO Africa: Angola 'In Denial' Over Impact Of Severe Drought
OO Africa Faces Water Crisis Despite Discovery Of Huge Aquifers
Credit Rhett Butler, www.mongabay.com
OO Indonesia's Carbon-Storing Forests Are Shrinking Despite Reforms
OO 'Sustainable' Tropical Timber Not Sustainable says new report.
OO Brazil: Illegal Logging Of Carbon-Storing Forests Remains Rampant
<><><><>
OO Thai Floods Force Closure Of 17 Factories In Industrial Zone
OO Thailand Suffers Worst Dengue Epidemic In 20+ Years, Climate A Factor
OO Climate Change Aids Toxic Slime's Advance
<><><><>
Ten Global Warming Indicators. Credit NOAA
<><><><>
(((((((( Seeking the Science ))))))))
__________
*
*
OO Amazon Is 'At Higher Risk Of Tree Loss' Than Previously Thought
Losing the Amazon will also mean an incredible loss of important biodiversity. Credit: Rhett Butler, www.mongabay.com
OO Pollution, Climate Making Algae Blooms More Toxic
OO Acidification Of Oceans Threatens To Change Entire Marine Ecosystem
OO Carcinogens Emitted From Canada's Main Fossil Fuel Hub study says.
<><><><>
OO New Method Could Provide Heat Wave Early Warnings
OO British Forests Under New Threat From Pests
<><><><>
@@@ Climate Change in the Media @@@
__________
Via Climate Nexus
@@ Elsi Strong - powerful youtuber on how native Canadians faced down the Candian govt over fracking.... and won (see frackdown section, above).
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!!
!!!! Want to Save Energy & Help the Planet? Check out these helpful EPA Climate Change youtubers here! !!!!
@@ At Last, a Green Radio Show to counter the Lush Bimbaugh wasteland. Check out On the Green Front with Betsy Rosenberg at Progressive Radio Network to keep updated on climate change, and other green topics.
@@ Video: America's Dangerous Pipelines - the title says it all; compelling ....
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 gigantic carved jack-o-lantern I photographed recently. 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.