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Yesterday — 17 May 2024Main stream

Thunderstorms, Wind and Climate Change: Here’s What to Know

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
17 May 2024 at 14:07
Scientists say storms like those that battered Houston could become more intense as the planet warms, though pinning down trends is still challenging.

© David J. Phillip/Associated Press

A damaged building in Houston on Friday, after severe storms the night before.
Before yesterdayMain stream

Heat Stress Is Hitting Caribbean Reefs Earlier Than Ever This Year

✇NYT: Science
By: Catrin Einhorn
16 May 2024 at 16:27
Scientists in the United States are reporting “unprecedented patterns” of surface warming, an ominous sign for coral.

© Jorge Silva/Reuters

Bleached corals off Brazil this week. The world is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching event, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

2023 temperatures were warmest we’ve seen for at least 2,000 years

✇Ars Technica
By: John Timmer
14 May 2024 at 16:17
Two graphs, the first having a roughly hockey-stick shape, with elevated points at the far right, and the second showing a large bell curve of typical temperatures, with warm outliers all being the past few years.

Enlarge / Top: a look through the past 2,000 years of summertime temperatures, showing that 2023 is considerably warmer than anything earlier. Bottom: a bell curve of the typical temperatures, showing that the hot outliers are all recent years. (credit: Esper, Torbenson, and Büntgen)

Starting in June of last year, global temperatures went from very hot to extreme. Every single month since June, the globe has experienced the hottest temperatures for that month on record—that's 11 months in a row now, enough to ensure that 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 will likely be similarly extreme.

There's been nothing like this in the temperature record, and it acts as an unmistakable indication of human-driven warming. But how unusual is that warming compared to what nature has thrown at us in the past? While it's not possible to provide a comprehensive answer to that question, three European researchers (Jan Esper, Max Torbenson, and Ulf Büntgen) have provided a partial answer: the Northern Hemisphere hasn't seen anything like this in over 2,000 years.

Tracking past temperatures

Current temperature records are based on a global network of data-gathering hardware. But, as you move back in time, gaps in that network go from rare to ever more common. Moving backward from 1900, the network shrinks to just a few dozen land-based thermometers, almost all of them in Europe.

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Summer 2023 Was the Northern Hemisphere’s Hottest in 2,000 Years, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Delger Erdenesanaa
14 May 2024 at 11:02
Scientists used tree rings to compare last year’s extreme heat with temperatures over the past two millenniums.

© Arpad Benedek/Alamy

A 730-year-old fir tree in Mount Rainier National Park, Wash. Researchers used data from 10,000 trees across the Northern Hemisphere.

Alarmed by Climate Change, Astronomers Train Their Sights on Earth

✇NYT: Science
By: Katrina Miller and Delger Erdenesanaa
14 May 2024 at 03:00
A growing number of researchers in the field are using their expertise to fight the climate crisis.

© David Maurice Smith for The New York Times

Penny Sackett, former director of the Australian National University’s Mount Stromlo Observatory, just outside Canberra, in the remains of the observatory, which was destroyed in a 2003 wildfire.

New Rules to Overhaul Electric Grids Could Boost Wind and Solar Power

✇NYT: Science
By: Brad Plumer
13 May 2024 at 18:22
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the biggest changes in more than a decade to the way U.S. power lines are planned and funded.

© Renaud Philippe for The New York Times

A transmission line construction project near Bingham, Maine, in 2022.

Alameda Officials Stop Cloud Brightening Study Aimed at Cooling Planet

✇NYT: Science
By: Christopher Flavelle
14 May 2024 at 06:30
Researchers had been testing a sprayer that could one day be used to push a salty mist skyward, cooling the Earth. Officials stopped the work, citing health questions.

© Ian C. Bates for The New York Times

The experiment, designed to test possible cloud-brightening technology, took place aboard a ship docked in San Francisco Bay.

California Will Add a Fixed Charge to Electric Bills and Reduce Rates

✇NYT: Technology
By: Ivan Penn
10 May 2024 at 11:06
Officials said the decision would lower bills and encourage people to use cars and appliances that did not use fossil fuels, but some experts said it would discourage energy efficiency.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Utility companies across the country have long pushed for fixed charges to help cover the cost of maintaining and improving grid equipment like power lines and substations

10 Big Biden Environmental Rules, and What They Mean

✇NYT: Science
By: Coral Davenport
9 May 2024 at 05:06
Asbestos, “forever” chemicals, E.V.s and endangered species. Here’s what 10 new rules cover, and why the administration has been churning them out.

© Tom Brenner for The New York Times

President Biden giving an Earth Day speech inside Prince William Forest Park in Virginia, last month.

The U.S. Is Getting More Heavy Tornado Days. Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out Why.

✇NYT: Science
By: Delger Erdenesanaa
8 May 2024 at 16:12
The number of tornadoes so far in the United States this year is just above average. But their distribution is changing.

© Ronald W. Erdrich/The Abilene Reporter-News, via Associated Press

A tornado near Hawley, Texas, on Thursday.

Environmental Changes Are Fueling Human, Animal and Plant Diseases, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Emily Anthes
8 May 2024 at 11:31
Biodiversity loss, global warming, pollution and the spread of invasive species are making infectious diseases more dangerous to organisms around the world.

© Bill Draker/Rolf Nussbaumer Photography, via Alamy

White-footed mice, the primary reservoir for Lyme disease, have become more dominant in the U.S. as other rarer mammals have disappeared, one potential explanation for rising disease rates.

Gas Stove Pollution Risk Is Greatest in Smaller Homes, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Hiroko Tabuchi
3 May 2024 at 14:00
Gas-burning ranges, a significant contributor to indoor pollution, can produce and spread particularly high levels of some pollutants in smaller spaces.

© Calla Kessler for The New York Times

Yannai Kashtan, a scientist from Stanford University, lit a stove in a New York City apartment as part of the research last year.

Some NASA Satellites Will Soon Stop Sending Data Back to Earth

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
3 May 2024 at 16:47
Three long-running satellites will soon be switched off, forcing scientists to figure out how to adjust their views of our changing planet.

© NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team

Marine stratocumulus clouds over the southeastern Pacific Ocean, captured by NASA’s Terra satellite in 2002.

What Makes a Society More Resilient? Frequent Hardship.

✇NYT: Science
By: Carl Zimmer
1 May 2024 at 11:00
Comparing 30,000 years of human history, researchers found that surviving famine, war or climate change helps groups recover more quickly from future shocks.

© Wirestock, Inc., via Alamy

The city of Caral thrived in Peru between about 5,000 and 3,800 years ago. It was then abandoned for centuries before being briefly reoccupied.

Drought That Snarled Panama Canal Was Linked to El Niño, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
1 May 2024 at 01:01
The low water levels that choked cargo traffic were more closely tied to the natural climate cycle than to human-caused warming, a team of scientists has concluded.

© Nathalia Angarita for The New York Times

A cargo ship in the Panama Canal in September. Officials last year had to slash the number of vessels allowed through.

Energy Dept. Releases New Efficiency Rules for Water Heaters and Other Appliances

✇NYT: Science
By: Hiroko Tabuchi
30 April 2024 at 16:59
The Biden administration is tightening efficiency rules for water heaters, stoves and other appliances, and conservative politicians are dialing up their criticisms.

© Beth Hall for The New York Times

The new rules will save nearly $1 trillion over 30 years, the D.O.E. said. Conservatives counter that machines will cost more up front.

U.S. Plan to Protect Oceans Has a Problem, Some Say: Too Much Fishing

✇NYT: Science
By: Catrin Einhorn
30 April 2024 at 14:48
An effort to protect 30 percent of land and waters would count some commercial fishing zones as conserved areas.

© Karsten Moran for The New York Times

The primary driver of biodiversity declines in the ocean, according to researchers, is overfishing.

Winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize Use Courts to Contest Oil Projects

✇NYT: Science
By: Delger Erdenesanaa
29 April 2024 at 13:09
Around the world, grass-roots organizers and Indigenous communities are taking proposed coal, oil and gas projects to court — and winning.

© Rogan Ward/Reuters

Wild Coast residents demonstrated against Royal Dutch Shell’s plans to start seismic surveys for petroleum exploration at Mzamba Beach, Sigidi, South Africa, in 2021.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History Seeks New Ways to Engage Visitors

✇NYT: Science
By: John Hanc
27 April 2024 at 05:02
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is rolling out two new exhibition halls and making its scientists more accessible. And don’t forget the dinosaurs.

© Daniel Lozada for The New York Times

“Happy” (short for Haplocanthosaurus delfsi), a 70-foot-long, 14-foot-high sauropod, dominates the newly renovated main visitor hall at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History — and serves as the museum’s logo.

Honda Commits to E.V.s With Big Investment in Canada

✇NYT: Technology
By: Jack Ewing
25 April 2024 at 13:51
The Japanese automaker, which has been slow to sell electric vehicles, said it would invest $11 billion to make batteries and cars in Ontario.

© Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Honda has said that it would retool its factory in Marysville, Ohio, to make electric vehicles in 2026. The investment in Canada is a sign that the company expects the technology to grow in popularity.

Biden’s New Power Plant Rules: 5 Things to Know

✇NYT: Science
By: Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman
25 April 2024 at 14:00
The administration issued a major climate regulation aimed at virtually eliminating carbon emissions from coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels and a driver of global warming.

© Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Republican-led states and the coal industry are all but certain to challenge the rules in court.

Energy Dept. Aims to Speed Up Permits for Power Lines

✇NYT: Science
By: Brad Plumer
25 April 2024 at 14:09
The Biden administration has expressed growing alarm that efforts to fight climate change could falter unless the electric grids are quickly expanded.

© Nina Riggio for The New York Times

Administration officials worry their plans to fight climate change could falter unless electric grids can quickly expand to handle more wind and solar power.

Yellowstone’s Wolves: A Debate Over Their Role in the Park’s Ecosystem

✇NYT: Science
By: Jim Robbins
23 April 2024 at 03:00
New research questions the long-held theory that reintroduction of such a predator caused a trophic cascade, spawning renewal of vegetation and spurring biodiversity.

© Diane Renkin/National Park Service

Some say that the wolves’ contribution to ecological improvements in Yellowstone were only one piece of a larger picture and that grizzly bears, beavers and even humans played a role.

Scotland Made Big Climate Pledges. Now They’re ‘Out of Reach.’

✇NYT: Science
By: Somini Sengupta
19 April 2024 at 14:37
Despite significant progress, Scotland was falling short on cutting vehicle emissions, switching to heat pumps and even restoring peatland, the government said.

© Jeff J. Mitchell/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In 2021, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, called the country’s climate targets “amongst the toughest” in the world.

Satellite Data Reveals Sinking Risk for China’s Cities

✇NYT: Science
By: Delger Erdenesanaa
18 April 2024 at 16:23
Development and groundwater pumping are causing land subsidence and heightening the risks of sea level rise.

© Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times

Sidewalk construction in Tianjin. Last year thousands of residents were evacuated from apartments in the city after nearby streets split apart.

Heat-Related ER Visits Rose in 2023, CDC Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Noah Weiland
18 April 2024 at 15:41
As record heat enveloped the nation, the rate of emergency room visits increased compared with the previous five years, a sign of the major health risks of high temperatures.

© Matt York/Associated Press

The sun setting in July over Phoenix. Last year was the warmest on Earth in a century and a half, with the hottest summer on record.

WWA Study Points to Role of Hot Oceans in Recent Dubai Floods

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
25 April 2024 at 11:42
An international team of researchers found that heavy rains were intensifying in the region, though they couldn’t say for sure how much climate change was responsible.

© Giuseppe Cacace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Stranded vehicles on a flooded highway in Dubai on April 18.

Land Under B.L.M. Management to Get New Protections

✇NYT: Science
By: Catrin Einhorn
18 April 2024 at 14:32
The measure elevates conservation in a number of ways, including by creating new leases for the restoration of degraded areas.

© Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in 2021. She said the new rule announced on Thursday “helps restore balance to our public lands.”

Drought Pushes Millions Into ‘Acute Hunger’ in Southern Africa

✇NYT: Science
By: Somini Sengupta and Manuela Andreoni
18 April 2024 at 09:36
The disaster, intensified by El Niño, is devastating communities across several countries, killing crops and livestock and sending food prices soaring.

© Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/Associated Press

A farmer in Zimbabwe last month. Several countries have declared national emergencies.

Interior Department Rejects Ambler Road Project in Alaska

✇NYT: Science
By: Lisa Friedman
17 April 2024 at 13:05
A mining company wants to build a 211-mile industrial road through Alaskan wilderness to reach a large copper deposit. The Interior Department says it would harm wildlife and communities.

© Ken Hill/National Park Service, Alaska

The headwaters of the Ambler River in the Noatak National Preserve of Alaska, near where the proposed access road would end.

Scientists Predict Most Extensive Coral Bleaching Event on Record

✇NYT: Science
By: Catrin Einhorn
15 April 2024 at 14:05
Rising sea temperatures around the planet have caused a bleaching event that is expected to be the most extensive on record.

© Renata Ferrari/AIMS, via Reuters

Bleached coral off the Keppel Islands, Australia, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, last month.

‘Climate-Controlled’ Sausage? Courts Crack Down on ‘Greenwashing’

✇NYT: Science
By: Somini Sengupta
12 April 2024 at 19:06
From airlines to pork sellers, corporate brands face legal and regulatory challenges for misleading the public with lofty climate claims.

© Eva Plevier/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Members of Fossil Free Netherlands, which has brought a lawsuit against the Dutch airline KLM for misleading consumers with its sustainability claims, outside the Amsterdam court in December.

Royalties for Drilling on Public Lands to Increase

✇NYT: Science
By: Coral Davenport
12 April 2024 at 15:27
For the first time since 1920, the government has raised the rates that companies pay. The fossil fuel industry says it will hurt the economy.

© Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Pumpjacks operate at the Kern River Oil Field in Bakersfield, Calif.

The Push for a Better Dengue Vaccine Grows More Urgent

✇NYT: Science
By: Stephanie Nolen
12 April 2024 at 14:44
A public research institute in Brazil has proved a new shot protects against the disease, but can’t make it fast enough to stop the huge outbreak sweeping Latin America.

© Martin Mejia/Associated Press

A nurse attending to a patient with dengue at Chulucanas Hospital in Peru in February.

Switzerland’s Climate Shortfalls Violate Human Rights, European Court Rules

✇NYT: Science
By: Isabella Kwai and Emma Bubola
9 April 2024 at 11:50
Experts said it was the first time an international court determined that governments were legally obligated to meet their climate targets under human rights law.

© Ronald Wittek/EPA, via Shutterstock

Supporters for the group of older women bringing a climate-related lawsuit against Switzerland at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday.
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