Month: January 2019

Study: If the Earth Is Warming, Why Is It So Cold Outside?

This article discusses global warming, answering the question:  If the Earth is warming, why is it so cold now?

As climate change heats up the planet, winters are warming faster than summers. But on days when the temperature tumbles below freezing, it leaves many people wondering, “If the Earth is getting warmer, how can winter still be so cold?”

The answer lies in the difference between local weather and climate.

Even on a day when it is colder than average where you live, the world as a whole is frequently warmer than average, which you can see for yourself on these daily maps from the University of Maine.

One 2009 study found that the United States saw roughly as many record highs as record lows in the 1950s, but by the 2000s there were twice as many record highs as record lows. Severe cold snaps were still happening, but they were becoming less common.

Some recent cold spells have been caused by a dreaded weather system called the polar vortex.

As Trump fibs, scientists consider correcting the record

This article discusses Trump’s lying about science, and how some scientists consider correcting the record.

President Trump has mocked and dismissed climate science. Now researchers seem increasingly inclined to correct the record.

NOAA, the federal agency that studies the Earth, tweeted what appeared to be a rebuttal to Trump’s assertion Monday night that cold weather disproves long-term warming on a planet that’s seen average global temperatures rise about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900.

“Not only are severe snowstorms possible in a warming climate, they may even be more likely,” NOAA officials wrote in a tweet that appeared to challenge the nation’s top executive.

Kids suing gov’t over climate change coming to New York to discuss disastrous impacts of inaction

This article discusses how the kids that are suing the government over climate change are going to New York to discuss disastrous impacts of inaction.

Kelsey Juliana has spent more than half of her life fighting climate change.

The 22-year-old Oregon native started off raising awareness of endangered species, Now she’s the lead plaintiff in a landmark climate lawsuit brought by 21 millennials asserting that they will bear the brunt of the irreversible impacts of man-made climate change.

Starfish Die-Off and Salmon Reproduction Problems are Tied To Global Warming

These two articles discuss the massive starfish die-off and the problems facing Pacific salmon because of global warming.

Starfish are dying off in the Pacific and at least two local salmon species in the Puget Sound region may be near the end of their ability to naturally reproduce.

It’s unclear whether sea star populations will recover en mass in the coming years. Research published last year suggested that some sea stars might be capable of surviving the disease, offering hope that the animals will bounce back over time.

Study: Brace for the Polar Vortex; It May Be Visiting More Often

This article discusses how we need to brace for the Polar Vortex, as it may be visiting more often.

Find your long johns, break out the thick socks and raid the supermarket. After a month of relatively mild winter weather, the Midwest and the East Coast are experiencing what has become a seasonal rite of passage: the polar vortex.

The phrase has become synonymous with frigid temperatures that make snowstorms more likely. And if it seems as if these polar freezes are happening more often, you’re right. “They are definitely becoming more common,” said Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center. “There have been a couple of studies that have documented that.”

Environmental groups attack federal approval of Mountain Valley Pipeline

This article discusses how environmental groups are attacking federal approval of Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The good of the Mountain Valley Pipeline — a steady supply of needed natural gas — met the bad Monday, when opponents told a federal appeals court there’s really no public need for a project that is already polluting Southwest Virginia.

In a sweeping attack, a coalition of environmental groups asked the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to reverse a federal agency’s approval of the 303-mile pipeline.

When the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission green-lighted the pipeline in October 2017, it voted 2-1 that its public benefits will outweigh any adverse impacts.

Report: Boston Aims To Be Carbon Free By 2050.

This article discusses how Boston Aims To Be Carbon Free By 2050. Here Are 5 Takeaways From A New Report.

Massachusetts aims to get 80 percent of its energy from carbon-free sources by 2050, but Boston has a more ambitious goal for that year: being 100 percent carbon free.

Since 2017, a team of experts from the city, outside consulting firms and Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy has researched how the city can do this, and what technical and social justice challenges it’s likely to face. Their findings appear in a report published Tuesday by the Boston Green Ribbon Commission.

The Climate Kids Are Coming

This article discusses how young people are becoming more and more vocal about climate change. With a Green New Deal and Student Strikes For Climate, will young people save us yet?

If you don’t know who Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg is, you can think of her as an international climate-change counterpart to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Like the rock-star congresswoman from New York, Thunberg is a charismatic young woman whose social-media savvy, moral clarity, and fearless speaking truth to power have inspired throngs of admirers to take to the streets for a better world and call out the politicians and CEOs who are standing in the way.

Study: Loss Of Ice Cover On Lakes Linked To Climate Change

This article discusses a study that links the loss of ice cover on lakes to climate change. New Study From UW-Madison Researcher, Others Shows Global Consequences Of Local Lake Ice Cover.

Lake Mendota in Madison has frozen, thawed and frozen over again this winter, and a new study — with help from a University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist — shows the consequences of less lake ice are much bigger than fewer games of pick-up hockey or a shorter ice fishing season.

Local lakes are highly sensitive to global temperatures, making lake ice one of the resources most threatened by climate change.

For the first time ever, scientists have provided an estimate of how many lakes across the Northern Hemisphere will lose ice cover and when.