Climate Change

NOAA reports: The average temperature across the contiguous U.S. last month was 30.6 degrees F, 3.2 degrees below the 20th-century average, making it the 19th-coldest February in the 127-year record. It was also the coldest February since 1989. Below-average temperatures dominated much of the nation from the Northwest to the Great Lakes and south to the Gulf of Mexico. For …

Axios reports: Florida lawmakers unveiled a suite of bills at USF’s St. Petersburg campus on Friday aimed at preparing the state for flooding caused by climate change-induced sea-level rise. A study released by the First Street Foundation last week found that Florida accounts for the nation’s heaviest concentration of expected economic loss due to residential flood risk, at nearly $8 …

The Washington Post reports: The United States has officially rejoined the Paris climate accord. That was the easy part. Friday marks the first day the country is again part of the international agreement meant to stop the world from warming past a critical climate change threshold — a global average of 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Now the Biden …

The Associated Press reports: Blame the polar vortex, a weather pattern that usually keeps to the arctic, but is increasingly visiting lower latitudes and staying beyond its welcome. Scientists say global warming caused by humans is partly responsible for making its southward escapes longer and more frequent. More than 100 million people live in areas covered Wednesday by some type …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Faced with mounting evidence that sea level rise and intensifying storms will cost Florida governments billions into the future, Gov. Ron DeSantis this week announced a $1 billion investment over four years to allow local governments to build new infrastructure to address the impacts. If the Legislature approves the new program, “Resilient Florida” will use …

CNBC reports: President Joe Biden on Wednesday is set to sign several executive orders to tackle climate change and transition the country to a clean energy economy, the White House said. The executive actions include establishing climate change as a national security priority, conserving at least 30% of federal land and oceans by 2030 and canceling new oil and gas …

CNN reports: “There’s no time to start like today,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office as he began signing a stack of orders and memoranda. “I’m going to start by keeping the promises I made to the American people.” With the stroke of a pen, Biden has halted funding for the construction of Trump’s border wall, reversed his travel …

Reuters reports: President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to publicly introduce his climate and energy team on Saturday, a history-making group that will be tasked with advancing his ambitious climate policy and strengthening safeguards against pollution. Biden has promised to make tackling climate change one of the pillars of his Democratic administration. But with a slim majority in the U.S. House …

Australia’s ABC News outlet reports: A company commercialising seaweed feed product, which slashes the amount of greenhouse gases cattle burp and fart into the atmosphere, has won a $1 million international prize for its work reshaping the food system. According to the science agency, methane emissions from livestock make up around 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Future Feed …

The Verge reports: This week, United Airlines pledged to completely eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To make good on that promise, the company says it will invest in emerging technologies that capture planet-heating carbon dioxide from the air. It also plans to continue powering its flights with sustainable aviation fuel. United is the latest airline to respond to …

Reuters reports: World leaders should declare states of “climate emergency” in their countries to spur action to avoid catastrophic global warming, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in opening remarks to a climate summit on Saturday. More than 70 world leaders were due to address the one-day virtual gathering aimed at building momentum for much steeper cuts in planet-warming emissions …

The New York Times reports: General Motors abandoned President Trump’s battle to nullify California’s fuel economy rules meant to curb global warming, the strongest sign yet that corporate America is moving on from Mr. Trump and adapting to an incoming Democratic administration. The company also signaled that it was ready to work with President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. plans to name several top national security picks on Tuesday, his transition office said, including the first Latino to lead the Department of Homeland Security, the first woman to head the intelligence community and a former secretary of state, John Kerry, to be his climate czar. At an event in …

NBC News reports: Hurricane Iota has gained speed and is now a 160 mph Category 5 storm just hours away from striking nearly the exact same part of Central America that Category 4 Hurricane Eta struck two weeks ago, according to an advisory Monday morning from the National Hurricane Center. In 170 years of record-keeping, Iota is just the second …

The New York Times reports: The White House has removed the scientist responsible for the National Climate Assessment, the federal government’s premier contribution to climate knowledge and the foundation for regulations to combat global warming, in what critics interpreted as the latest sign that the Trump administration intends to use its remaining months in office to continue impeding climate science …

The Associated Press reports: The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Zeta has crashed ashore in storm-weary Louisiana as a powerful Category 2 storm, striking the latest blow of an extraordinarily busy Atlantic tropical storm season. The Miami-based center says a hurricane hunter aircraft confirmed at 4 p.m. Wednesday that the menacing storm had made landfall near Cocodrie, Louisiana. The fast-moving …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Hurricane Zeta is expected to be a Category 2 storm at landfall in southeast Louisiana, forecasters said Wednesday morning. The storm strengthened overnight and now is forecast to have winds of 100 mph before landfall. Life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds are expected in southeast Louisiana starting around mid-day Wednesday, forecasters said. Landfall is expected …

CBS News reports: The 2020 hurricane season continues to overachieve as Hurricane Zeta formed Monday as it heads toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The storm is taking a track similar to Hurricane Delta, striking near Cancun and then heading towards the Northern Gulf Coast. Zeta is located about 120 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, with maximum winds of 70 mph, the …

New Orleans’ ABC News affiliate reports: Hurricane Delta made landfall near Creole, Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. Delta is a Category 2 storm that’s moving north-northeast at 14 mph and located 10 miles east of Cameron Parish. According to the latest National Hurricane Center update, Delta has 100 mph winds. Hurricane Delta is now the third major …

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Delta is a Category 3 storm heading for a Gulf Coast landfall later Friday with life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and rainfall flooding from Louisiana and east Texas to Mississippi. This includes some of the same areas that were ravaged by Hurricane Laura more than a month ago. As expected, Delta intensified again over warmer …