Climate

'Climate Grief': The Growing Emotional Toll of Climate Change

Wed, 2019-01-02 08:38 — Kathy Gilbeaux

The Delta Fire rages in Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California on Sept. 6. Noah Berger / AP file

nbcnews.com - by Avichai Scher - December 24, 2018

. . . The increasing visibility of climate change, combined with bleak scientific reports and rising carbon dioxide emissions, is taking a toll on mental health, especially among young people, who are increasingly losing hope for their future. Experts call it “climate grief,” depression, anxiety and mourning over climate change.

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More Than 300 Local Officials From 40 States Call For Green New Deal, End Of Fossil Fuels

Thu, 2018-12-20 07:03 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Workers install solar panels. Associated Press

The open letter includes a signature from a former high-level Mobil Oil executive.

CLICK HERE - Elected Officials to Protect America - Empowering lawmakers to act boldly on climate

huffingtonpost.com - by Alexander C. Kaufman - December 14, 2018

In a little over a month, the so-called Green New Deal has won endorsements from more than three dozen sitting or incoming federal lawmakers as Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) makes a high-profile bid to shift debate over climate change toward policy on the scale of the crisis.

On Friday, the effort got a boost from 311 state and local officials.

Forty-four mayors, 63 county and state legislators and 116 city council members were among the officials from 40 states ― including some top oil and gas producers ― who signed an open letter issuing a sweeping, full-throated call for the phaseout of fossil fuels and adoption of Green New Deal-style climate policies.

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Sustainable Development

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New Report Strengthens Economic Case for Flood-Prepared Infrastructure

Sun, 2018-12-09 08:18 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Hurricane Floyd submerged the Greenville, North Carolina, water treatment plant in 1999. Following that event, the city used a federal grant to construct a berm and pumping station to protect the plant. Dave Gatley/Federal Emergency Management Agency

Mitigation projects yield positive return on investment in coastal, inland states

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure (122 page .PDF report)

pewtrusts.org - by Forbes Tompkins - November 20, 2018

From elevating roadways in Nebraska to moving wastewater treatment plants away from flood plains in Iowa, proactive measures before flooding can provide a major return on investment, according to a new report from the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). The report, “Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure,” provides analysis and key examples that underscore the benefits of investing in mitigation measures.

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Hurricane Preparedness - Information Resources

Sun, 2018-11-25 00:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

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AN EXPANDING LIST OF INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS . . .

National Hurricane Center - Active Tropical Cyclones
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/cyclones/

National Hurricane Center - Atlantic 5-Day Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo.php?basin=atlc&fdays=5

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Flooding From Sea Level Rise Threatens Over 300,000 US Coastal Homes – Study

Mon, 2018-06-18 18:27 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Oceanfront homes in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Houses on the US coastline could risk being flooded every two weeks. Photograph: Alamy

Climate change study predicts ‘staggering impact’ of swelling oceans on coastal communities within next 30 years

CLICK HERE - Union of Concerned Scientists - Introduction - US Coastal Property at Risk from Rising Seas

CLICK HERE - Union of Concerned Scientists - Underwater: Rising Seas, Chronic Floods, and the Implications for US Coastal Real Estate (2018)

CLICK HERE - Union of Concerned Scientists - When Rising Seas Hit Home: Hard Choices Ahead for Hundreds of US Coastal Communities (2017)

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West Antarctic Ice Melt Poses Unique Threat to U.S.

Fri, 2018-06-15 21:52 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Sea level rise contributions from ice melt in different areas, including Greenland (a), West Antarctica (b), East Antarctica (c) and median of global glaciers (d). Values are ratios of regional sea level change to global mean sea level change. Adapted from Kopp et al. 2015.

axios.com - by Andrew Freedman - June 14, 2018

News of Antarctica's accelerating ice melt garnered worldwide headlines yesterday, as scientists revealed that 3 trillion tons of ice has been lost to the sea since 1992 — mostly from the thawing West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Antarctic Peninsula.

Why it matters: The location of the ice melt is important for determining the future of coastal communities, according to climate scientists. And, due to West Antarctica melting, it turns out that the U.S. coastline will be hit extra hard . . .

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Hitting Toughest Climate Target Will Save World $30tn in Damages, Analysis Shows

Thu, 2018-05-24 23:26 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Dunlaw Wind Farm at Soutra Hill North in the Scottish Borders. The US president has claimed that climate action is too costly. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian

Almost all nations would benefit economically from keeping global warming to 1.5C, a new study indicates

CLICK HERE - ABSTRACT - Large potential reduction in economic damages under UN mitigation targets

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH LETTER - Large potential reduction in economic damages under UN mitigation targets

theguardian.com - by Damian Carrington - May 23, 2018

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Hurricanes Are Strengthening Faster Than They Did 30 Years Ago

Sun, 2018-05-13 10:41 — Kathy Gilbeaux

A new study found that hurricanes intensify more quickly now than they did 30 years ago. Hurricanes from 2017 like Irma (center), and Jose (right) are examples of these types of hurricanes. Hurricane Katia is seen on the left. (Photo: NOAA)

usatoday.com - by Doyle Rice - May 10, 2018

With the start of hurricane season just three weeks away — and memory of last year's disastrous storms still fresh — scientists reported that powerful hurricanes are strengthening faster than they did 30 years ago.

Four of the monster hurricanes last year (Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria) all intensified rapidly — when the maximum wind speed increases at least 29 mph within 24 hours . . .

. . . According to a study out this week, the main cause appears to be a natural climate phenomenon that warms the seawater where hurricanes typically intensify in the Atlantic.

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How Storms, Missteps and an Ailing Grid Left Puerto Rico in the Dark

Mon, 2018-05-07 10:25 — Kathy Gilbeaux

A transmission tower and downed lines in the mountainous terrain of eastern Puerto Rico. Workers from the island and throughout the United States have worked to restore power after Hurricanes Irma and Maria last September.

It took months to restore electricity in Puerto Rico after hurricanes dealt a one-two punch. Many homes are still without power, and the system’s future is far from certain.

nytimes.com - by JAMES GLANZ and FRANCES ROBLES - Photographs by TODD HEISLER - May 6, 2018

. . . After Maria and the hurricane that preceded it, called Irma, Puerto Rico all but slipped from the modern era . . .

. . . an examination of the power grid’s reconstruction — based on a review of hundreds of documents and interviews with dozens of public officials, utility experts and citizens across the island — shows how a series of decisions by federal and Puerto Rican authorities together sent the effort reeling on a course that would take months to correct. The human and economic damage wrought by all that time without power may be irreparable.

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Earth's Carbon Dioxide Levels Continue to Soar, at Highest Point in 800,000 Years

Sat, 2018-05-05 09:09 — Kathy Gilbeaux

(Photo: Getty Images)

CLICK HERE - Scripps Institute of Oceanography - CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE HITS RECORD HIGH MONTHLY AVERAGE

usatoday.com - by Doyle Rice - May 4, 2018

Carbon dioxide — the gas scientists say is most responsible for global warming — reached its highest level in recorded history last month, at 410 parts per million.

This amount is highest in at least the past 800,000 years, according to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Prior to the onset of the Industrial Revolution, carbon dioxide levels had fluctuated over the millennia but had never exceeded 300 parts per million.

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