climate matters22
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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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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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Climate Change and the PR Problem
On Friday, July 9, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), sent a letter to the individuals who will contribute to the group’s Fifth Assessment Report. Part of the memo instructed researchers how to interact with the media, largely in response to growing criticism of the IPCC’s process and reporting.…
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Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/12
Solar-Powered Light Promises Safe, Kerosene-free Lighting for Millions, The Denver Post A Denver-based inventor has taken an idea for a solar-powered light bulb and scaled up to a model designed to make electric light available for millions of people around the world, whose main lighting is produced by kerosene lamp. The bulb is powered by…
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Climate News Roundup – Week of 7/5
Solar-Powered Plane Completes 26-hour Journey, CBC News An experimental Swiss aircraft christened the Solar Impulse completed the world’s first 26-hour solar flight on July 8. The 3,500-pound plane has 206-foot wings covered in 12,000 solar cells, and batteries used to store energy for nighttime flight. The project has been hailed as a great success –…
