Tag archives for climate
As Country Breaks Heat Record, Studies Analyze Climate Connection
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on July 12, 2012 The same week the continental United States broke its record for the hottest six months in a calendar year, the United Nations announced 2011 was among the 15 warmest so far. Climate change may have increased the chances of the types of extreme weather seen in 2011, and may have been heavily influenced by a weather pattern called La Niña. The odds…
Climate Change Concern Slipping as Scientists Ponder Link between Recent Events
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on July 5, 2012 A new poll says climate change is no longer first on Americans’ list of the most critical environmental problems. About three in 10 people, or 29 percent, believe water and air pollution to be the top issue. Meanwhile, 19 percent saw climate change as a threat, down from 33 percent in 2007. Even with the decline, three-quarters of those polled thought…
Hot Enough For You? Here’s Why
Posted by Alyson Foster on July 5, 2012 
For Americans sweating it out around the country, the news won’t come as much of a surprise: the first five months of 2012 have been the hottest on record in the continental United States. This past June 164 all-time heat records were broken or tied, and July is off to a sweltering start. What’s causing the latest heat wave?
Court Upholds EPA Climate Rules
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on June 28, 2012 A federal appeals court this week upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rules governing greenhouse gases. In the landmark ruling, judges rejected a series of lawsuits challenging the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, acknowledging that the agency is “unambiguously correct” in its use of the law. Members of industry and 14…
Rio+20 Pushes on with Weak Text, Mixed Predictions
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University in Road to Rio+20 on June 21, 2012 
Delegates from around the world are meeting in Rio de Janeiro to discuss how to make the planet more sustainable, despite a rapidly growing population. The reprise of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit dubbed “Rio+20” has so far drawn mixed reactions: some call it an “opportunity”; others say it is another step on a long, complicated road to realizing a…
Reach of BP Oil Spill Still Strong Two Years Later
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on June 14, 2012 BP has made headlines again, two years after the Gulf oil spill. For the spill, the company stands to pay billions of dollars in environmental fines under the Clean Water Act; a new study indicates thousands of jobs could be created along the coast if those funds were used for coastal restoration. Specifically, if $1.5 billion per…
North Carolina Legislature Mulls Ban on Sea Level Rise Projections
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on June 7, 2012 The link between climate change and sea level rise, already well established, has been reinforced by recent studies. But sea level rise also made headlines in a more unusual way recently after some North Carolina legislators introduced a bill that would call into question some of the scientific projections related to sea level rise in the state. Specifically, their draft legislation would…
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National Geographic Young Explorers Grantee Andrés Ruzo is back in the field doing research to create the first geothermal map of northern Peru. Follow along as his collaborator and wife Sofia reports from the field about their ensuing adventures.
U.S. Energy Department: Peak Travel Season Could Cost Drivers 6% More
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on April 12, 2012 Gasoline prices have edged off the pedal in recent days, but the Energy Information Administration this week released new data showing motorists will pay about a quarter more per gallon during peak travel season—April through September. Prices will top out at $4.01, on average, in May. The last time gasoline spiked to such levels was…
Obama Moves Ahead with Oil Sanctions as Gas Prices Climb
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on April 5, 2012 Before Congress headed home for spring recess, the Senate, with a rate vote of 100, approved President Obama’s new round of sanctions designed to deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The president’s decision was based on an analysis of current oil supply and the likely effect of further sanctions on prices. The Senate also shot down the president’s bid to reduce subsidies to oil producers. Oil…
EPA Makes Historic Announcement: First Greenhouse Gas Rule for New Power Plants
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 29, 2012 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released long-awaited greenhouse gas rules for new power plants this week. Using the Clean Air Act, the agency standard would set the first national limits on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions new power plants can emit. The EPA proposed the rule after delaying it several times since July 2011. Power plants are the largest…
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“Our elders are the best source of information. Better than science or the internet,” said Petr Kaurgin, a Chukchi reindeer herder from the remote Turvaurgin nomadic tribal community in north-eastern Siberia. Kaurgin delivered his message to climate scientists from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other Indigenous peoples at the closing of the Climate…
In what may be a ‘clash of worldviews,’ representatives from indigenous and local communities are holding a climate workshop with physicists, computer modellers, and other climate scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Cairns, Australia 26-28 March. This is a unique opportunity for Native peoples to discuss their traditional knowledge and experiences as…
Record Temperatures May Bring More Than Just Early Spring Flowers
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 22, 2012 Washington, D.C.’s famed cherry blossoms—now celebrating their centennial—decided to spring one on visitors, peaking well before the arrival of most Cherry Blossom Festival–goers. Spring’s forward leap is also causing coupling confusion among flowers and pollinators. Above-average temperatures are responsible for these early blooms, marking this the fourth warmest winter on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric…
Help Needed for Survivors of Devastating Floods in Madagascar
Posted by Mireya Mayor, Ph.D. of National Geographic Explorer, Scientist, Correspondent on March 9, 2012 Dozens of people have died and tens of thousand are homeless in the wake of devastating floods that swept through the African island country of Madagascar during a recent cyclone. The disaster was aggravated by ongoing deforestation and environment degradation. Survivors need our help.
More than 100 Coal Plants Shutting—But How Much Difference Will It Make?
Posted by Mason Inman on March 8, 2012 After public pressure, Chicago will shut two aging coal-fired power plants, and the owner of one of the power plants, Midwest Generation, may shut its other four coal plants in Illinois. Since the start of 2010, more than 100 coal plants have been slated for early retirement. A major reason for coal plants shutting has been public opposition to…
Rising Oil, Gasoline Prices Push Politicians and Reporters to Utter “Nonsense”
Posted by Mason Inman on March 1, 2012 In a major speech on energy at the University of Miami, President Obama said rising gasoline prices are a “painful reminder” of the need for alternatives. He was on the offensive, trying to counter criticisms of the GOP presidential candidates—including Newt Gingrich, who promised he’d get gasoline down to $2.50 a gallon. Countering calls to “drill, baby,…
Climate Researcher Lied to Get Documents, Triggering Ethics Debate
Posted by Mason Inman on February 23, 2012 A top climate researcher—Peter Gleick, head of the Pacific Institute—admitted he lied to obtain documents from the Heartland Institute, which he then leaked to media and revealed the organization’s plans to challenge the scientific consensus on climate change. Gleick resigned from the board of the National Center on Science Education, and stepped down as chairman of the American Geophysical Union’s…
Leaked Documents Describe Plan to Push Climate Change Denial in Schools
Posted by Mason Inman on February 16, 2012 Leaked documents purportedly from the nonprofit Heartland Institute include efforts to cast doubt on climate science. The site DeSmog Blog received the documents from an anonymous informant calling himself “Heartland Insider.” The Heartland Institute gave mixed responses to the documents, calling them both “stolen” and “fake,” but only specifically calling one document, titled “2012 Heartland…
Maldives President and Climate Advocate Forced at Gunpoint to Step Down
Posted by Mason Inman on February 9, 2012 Maldives leader Mohamed Nasheed, called the “world’s most environmentally outspoken president” because of his calls for drastically cutting greenhouse gas emissions, was forced to resign—at gunpoint, he claimed. He had used stunts such as an underwater cabinet meeting to highlight his island nation’s vulnerability to sea-level rise. His resignation followed weeks of protests and was apparently motivated by internal politics unrelated to…
U.S. May Be ‘Saudi Arabia of Natural Gas,’ But Shale Gas Rush Is Slowing
Posted by Mason Inman on February 2, 2012 Following on last week’s State of the Union address that supported hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” in shale gas deposits, President Obama called the U.S. “the Saudi Arabia of natural gas” and unveiled a new proposal to provide tax breaks to boost the use of natural gas as a fuel for trucks. But the market has…
Extreme Winter Weather–Groundhog Day Edition
Posted by Dan Klotz on February 2, 2012 
When is partly cloudy and 70 degrees Fahrenheit considered extreme? When it happens in Washington, D.C., on February 1st and the temperature ends up more than 25 degrees above normal. To be fair, no weather records were set yesterday and we average about one 70 degree day every other February here at the nation’s capital.…
Obama Calls for “All of the Above” Energy Strategy for America
Posted by Mason Inman on January 26, 2012 In President Obama’s third State of the Union address, he devoted more time than before to covering energy issues, calling for an “all-out, all-of-the-above” approach to boosting production of every kind of domestic energy, fossil as well as renewable. Obama also asked the country to imagine “a future where we’re in control of our own…
U.S. Rejects Tar Sands Pipeline from Canada—For Now
Posted by Mason Inman on January 19, 2012 Under pressure from Congress to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, planned to connect Canada’s tar sands region with the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Obama administration has decided to reject the pipeline proposal. “This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline” that did not…
“The environment does not exist as a sphere separate from human actions, ambitions, and needs, and attempts to defend it in isolation from human concerns have given the very word ‘environment’ a connotation of naivety in some political circles.” These words come from the foreword of “Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on…
