Climate265
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Beating Global Heat, But Only By Dumb Luck
After sweltering in New York City’s record temperatures the last couple of months, I recently traveled to the Peruvian Amazon. Oy, I thought. But instead of entering the mother of all sweat lodges, I found relief; for the most part, it was cooler in those tropical lowlands near the equator than outside my office at the corner of Broadway and 114th Street.…
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Jeffrey Sachs, Gavin Schmidt on Economy and Wild Summer Weather
Jeffrey Sachs’ discusses what it will take to kick start the US economy and the possible links between climate change and this summer’s weather on CNN’s “GPS with Fareed Zakaria”.
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Climate and the Border: Why Rising Temperatures Will Add Immigration Challenges
When experts warn of the consequences of global climate change, they usually cite impacts on natural systems. They tell us that ice caps will melt, sea levels will rise, extreme weather will become more common, droughts will increase in frequency, oceans will become more acidic and so on. In recent years, we have also come…
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Distributed Generation and Renewables in New York City
As climate change threatens an increasing frequency of heat waves like the ones New York City has been experiencing, we city-dwellers turn to our air conditioners and window fans to keep cool. It’s an act of adaptation: we adapt to the heat by cooling off our homes – but it counters mitigation, as increased electricity…
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Beyond Carbon: How Fixing the Ozone Layer Contributes to Climate Change
The greenhouse effect is not all about carbon dioxide. Several other substances, such as water vapor and methane, also play a key part in trapping radiation. Recently, a family of relatively obscure chemicals called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, has entered the spotlight due to its role in global warming. HFCs are highly potent greenhouse warmers –…
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Think Globally, Act Locally: Climate Adaptation in Action
Across Indonesia, several effective climate adaptation actions on local levels are underway. These actions serve as a reminder of the important change that starts with a community of dedicated individuals.
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Climate News Roundup – Week of 8/2
Last Week: Todd Stern says the US bargaining position for Cancun remains unchanged, climate change prolongs interior Alaska growing seasons, China reports improved energy efficiency this quarter, diplomats ponder temporarily extending the Kyoto Protocol, and the biggest ice island for 48 years breaks off of a Greenland Glacier.
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Global Population Growth and Water Scarcity Q&A
Russell Sticklor with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program in Washington, DC. recently contacted me requesting my thoughts on a number of issues for an article he is writing on global population growth and water scarcity for the magazine, Outdoor America. I thought some of the comments might be interesting to our blog…
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Climate News Roundup — Week of 7/26
In an effort to save fuel, money, and reduce carbon emissions, modern cargo ships are reducing their speeds from near 25 knots to as low as 12 or 13 knots, or about 14 mph. Super-slow steaming, as the practice is known, reduces the speed of cargo boats to less than that of 19th-century clipper ships.…
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