Climate Change

CBS News reports: Hurricane Sally is moving toward the Gulf Coast, threatening to bring possible historic flooding and “extreme life-threatening” flash flooding, according to forecasters. The eye of the storm is expected to pass near the coast of southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday before making landfall Tuesday night or Wednesday morning in the hurricane warning area, which stretches from east of …

The Associated Press reports: A rapidly intensifying Hurricane Sally is closing on the northern Gulf Coast, threatening Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with high wind and possible flooding from storm surge and heavy rain. Sally reached Category 2 strength with sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) and the potential for as much as 2 feet (0.6 meters) of rain. It …

ABC News reports: As the devastation from the wildfires raging across the western United States continues into its second week, former Vice President Joe Biden delivered a speech Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, centered around his plans to combat the growing threat of climate change and its contributions to worsening instances of extreme weather around the globe. “If you give a …

Mediaite reports: FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor thanked the team working to protect California amid the wildfires, including Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), noting that the wet season will be coming to the state soon. Following Gaynor’s remarks, Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources, urged the president to take climate change seriously in order to protect Californians in the future. “We …

The Weather Channel reports: A hurricane warning has been issued for portions of southeastern Louisiana east of Morgan City, Louisiana eastward to the Mississippi/Alabama border, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans. Hurricane conditions (winds 74 mph or greater) are expected in some parts of this area by late Monday and Tuesday. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings …

NPR reports: David Legates, a University of Delaware professor of climatology who has spent much of his career questioning basic tenets of climate science, has been hired for a top position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Legates has a long history of using his position as an academic scientist to publicly cast doubt on climate science. His appointment …

From a statement issued today by Joe Biden: As devastating wildfires continue to rage across California, Oregon, Washington, and throughout the West, Jill and I are keeping everyone affected by this disaster in our prayers. To the families who have lost everything; to the people forced to evacuate their homes; to the brave firefighters and first responders risking their lives …

The Washington Post reports: No masks. No distancing. The ability to go to work or school, the theater or a soccer match, as if living in a virus-free world. That’s the vision British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pitched this past week, as he unveiled “Operation Moonshot” — a plan to test 10 million Brits every single day, or everyone in …

The Verge reports: Uber announced Tuesday that “100 percent” of rides will take place in electric vehicles by 2030 in the US, Canada, and Europe, and by 2040 for the rest of the world. But rather than pay drivers directly to trade their gas-burning vehicles for electric ones, the company will impose an extra fee on trips completed in an …

The Weather Channel reports: The northern Gulf Coast is bracing for a rare one-two hurricane punch as two tropical storms — Laura and Marco — both set their sites between Louisiana and east Texas. Marco, predicted to make landfall in southeast Louisiana on Monday, is the most immediate threat. Hurricane warnings are posted from Morgan City in south central Louisiana …

USA Today reports: The storms will keep rolling in. Forecasters from the federal government said Thursday that an “extremely active” hurricane season was likely for the Atlantic Basin, with as many as 25 named storms forming. This includes the nine named storms that have already formed: Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna and Isaias. “This is one of …

The New York Times reports: New species are thriving in the Metropolitan area, while those more associated with New England are slowly vanishing. This is because of rising temperatures, which are largely the result of human activity, including emissions from fossil fuels, according to the National Climate Assessment. New York City, after years of being considered a humid continental climate, …

The Washington Post reports: A northeastern Siberian town is likely to have set a record for the hottest temperature documented in the Arctic Circle, with a reading of 100.4 degrees (38 Celsius) recorded Saturday in Verkhoyansk, north of the Arctic Circle and about 3,000 miles east of Moscow. Records at that location have been kept since 1885. If verified, this …

Reuters reports: The Vatican urged Catholics on Thursday to disinvest from the armaments and fossil fuel industries and to closely monitor companies in sectors such as mining to check if they are damaging the environment. The calls were contained in a 225-page manual for church leaders and workers to mark the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical “Laudato Si” …

The Washington Post reports: The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is forecast to be unusually active, according to a seasonal outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Any landfalling storms could create unprecedented challenges for government officials working to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, which scientists expect to continue, albeit possibly at a slower pace, throughout the summer. The …

The New York Times reports: As the climate continues to warm over the next half-century, up to one-third of the world’s population is likely to live in areas that are considered unsuitably hot for humans, scientists said Monday. Currently fewer than 25 million people live in the world’s hottest areas, which are mostly in the Sahara region in Africa with …

Politico reports: How financially sustainable is an industry if it is distorted by $5 trillion in annual subsidies? That’s the challenge laid out by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is taking direct aim at government subsidies for producers and consumers of fuels such as oil, gas and coal. “Fossil fuel subsidies must end, and polluters must start paying …

The New York Times reports: An official at the Interior Department embarked on a campaign that has inserted misleading language about climate change — including debunked claims that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is beneficial — into the agency’s scientific reports, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. The misleading language appears in at least nine reports, …

The Salem Statesman-Journal reports: For the second consecutive legislative session, Senate Republicans have walked out of the Oregon Capitol to block passage of a greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade bill. “The Republicans who walked out are not against climate policy, they are against the democratic process,” Gov. Kate Brown said. “Oregonians should be outraged and I am, too.” Democrats hold a …

Reuters reports: The United States is against mentioning climate change in the communique of the world’s financial leaders, G20 diplomats said, after a new draft of the joint statement showed the G20 are considering including it as a risk factor to growth. Finance ministers and central bankers of the world’s 20 biggest economies (G20) are discussing top global economic challenges …