Climate Change

“In the past year, the United States has experienced blackouts in some of our biggest states. Why? Because they’re relying more and more on renewables, places like California and even Texas. Just yesterday, in order to avoid a blackout, the largest grid operator in the state of Texas begged residents to turn up their thermostats — no more A/C for …

The Texas Tribune reports: With a punishing heat wave across Texas driving record high power demand, The Electric Reliability Council of Texas late Sunday sent out a request that Texans cut back on their energy use on Monday. ERCOT, the state’s power grid operator, asked Texans to turn up their thermostats and postpone running major appliances between 2 p.m. and …

CBS News reports: Some of the oldest and largest trees on earth are under threat after a wildfire in Yosemite National Park more than doubled in size in a day. Blistering temperatures, low humidity, and heavy terrain have made it difficult for firefighters to gain control of the Washburn Fire, which has grown to over 2,000 acres. More than 500 …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: The Great Salt Lake has dropped to a new historic low, FOX 13 News has confirmed. The imperiled lake has dropped to 4,190.1, below last year’s record low of 4,190.2 feet. The Great Salt Lake has already dropped 11 feet since it was first measured in the 1800s as a result of water diversion, …

USA Today reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against an Environmental Protection Agency effort to regulate power plant emissions, dealing a blow to the Biden administration in one of the most significant climate cases decided by the high court in more than a decade. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for a 6-3 majority. The court’s three liberal …

CNN reports: In the coming week, about 70% of the US population will see temperatures in the 90s, and almost 20% of people in the country will experience temperatures greater than 100 degrees. Many major metro areas, including Minneapolis, Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, Dallas, New Orleans and Atlanta, may experience temps near or above 100. More than 100 high temperature records …

NPR reports: Intense heat that baked Kansas over the weekend is being blamed for killing thousands of cattle — a toll documented in striking images on social media. In widely seen video footage, rows of carcasses are shown lined up along the edge of a farm field. State officials are blaming a heat wave that sent temperatures higher than 100 …

Via press release from NOAA: Forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, are predicting above-average hurricane activity this year — which would make it the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season. NOAA’s outlook for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which extends from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal season, …

The Hill reports: Wind power was the number-two source for power generation in the U.S. for the first time ever on March 29, surpassing coal and nuclear power, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday. Wind turbines in the continental U.S. produced 2,017 gigawatthours of electricity on the 29th, according to data from the EIA. While there have been …

The Washington Post reports: The coldest location on the planet has experienced an episode of warm weather this week unlike any ever observed, with temperatures over the eastern Antarctic ice sheet soaring 50 to 90 degrees above normal. The warmth has smashed records and shocked scientists. “This event is completely unprecedented and upended our expectations about the Antarctic climate system,” …

Courthouse News Service reports: One of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies appeared to be running on fumes Wednesday in its bid to avert liability for publicly downplaying both the risks of climate change and how its business contributes to global warming. The steady disintegration of the appeal began only moments into oral arguments at the Supreme Judicial Court …

Changing America reports: As the U.S. experiences more and more severe weather events, a special satellite was launched into space today that aims to help scientists on Earth predict when hurricanes will hit, lightning might strike and fires break out. NASA successfully launched a third satellite in a series of next-generation weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration …

The Washington Post reports: The extreme heat and dry conditions of the past few years pushed what was already an epic, decades-long drought in the American West into a historic disaster that bears the unmistakable fingerprints of climate change. The long-running drought, which has persisted since 2000, can now be considered the driest 22-year period of the past 1,200 years, …

Roll Call reports: Not only does Manchin’s opposition place at risk what experts have called the biggest climate legislation Congress has ever considered, but it threatens policies that might benefit his West Virginia constituents, including thousands of coal miners. In a statement Monday, Cecil Roberts, the head of the UMWA, which endorsed Manchin in his 2018 Senate reelection campaign, said …

Courthouse News reports: With a 40-7 vote by the city council, New York City became the largest U.S. city to bar the use of natural gas for building heat, setting a significant precedent for other cities and states to follow as part of a nationwide effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The legislation, which will ban natural gas hookups …

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a series of steps to defend Florida against rising sea levels Tuesday, even as he denounced the use of the term “global warming” as a “pretext to do a bunch of left-wing things.” The governor submitted 76 projects to the state Legislature to improve drainage, raise sea walls and take other …

Politico reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants half a billion dollars to protect his state from the ravages of “extreme weather events.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott devoted $1.6 billion toward preparing communities for increasingly devastating hurricanes. But they still won’t say if they believe in climate change. Even if conservative politicians can’t stomach the words, they’re spending money to combat …

The Hill reports: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced that all new homes and buildings in England will be required to have electric car chargers installed beginning next year. The legislation, which Johnson announced at the annual Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference, will install up to 145,000 extra charging points throughout Europe every year, according to a …

The New York Times reports: With the bang of a gavel, diplomats from nearly 200 countries on Saturday struck a major agreement aimed at intensifying efforts to fight climate change, by calling on governments to return next year with stronger plans to curb their planet-warming emissions and urging wealthy nations to “at least double” funding by 2025 to protect the …

“Listen, I’m here from the state of Utah, and I guarantee you there are more Republicans here than most places, and I know deep down, everybody cares about this planet. “We want to do what’s best for it. We want to leave it off better for our children. It’s fair to say we’re turned off by the extremist rhetoric, and …