The Clim8
5.09.21-5.15.21
The US EPA released its report on the impacts of climate change after the report had been previously delayed by President Trump (BBC News)
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change Indicators website had not been updated to reflect humans’ role in climate change under former President Trump. Under President Biden, the EPA has been able to update the website to reveal that coastal flooding now occurs 5 times more frequently than in 1950, arctic sea ice is thinning, our sea is continuing to warm, and that, overall, climate change has produced a myriad of negative effects impacting the globe.
Rising temperatures puts one-third of global food production areas at risk (The Guardian)
New research suggests that the safe climactic spaces, which most of the world’s food production comes from, will be at risk by the end of the century if temperatures continue to rise. A rise in greenhouse gas emissions and an increase in water scarcity will lead to the creation of new deserts and unviable crop and livestock farms. The research also finds that the warmer global temperatures are already affecting agricultural productivity.
Vineyard Wind 1 is the US’ first large scale offshore renewable energy project (NPR)
The Interior secretary of the US interior department says that expanding the US’s use of renewable energy, such as wind energy, is important in meeting the US’ new climate goal “to make the electricity sector carbon-neutral.” Vineyard Wind 1 is a 2.8 billion dollar project that is estimated to power up to 400,000 homes while reducing carbon dioxide emissions in Massachusetts by 1.68 million metric tons per year. Vineyard Wind, the company in charge of the implementation of this project, expects building to start next year and believes renewable energy from the wind farm will start being used by 2023.
Extreme weather in China leads to destructive tornadoes, killing at least 12 people (NBC News)
Two tornadoes, one in Hubei, Wuhan, and one in Shengze, Jiangsu, tore through houses and injured civilians. Eight people were reportedly killed and 280 people were injured from the tornado in the Hubei province and 4 people were reported dead from the tornado in the Jiangsu province. Along with violent thunderstorms in Shanghai, the tornadoes show an increase in extreme weather in China. Reporters say the increase in extreme weather events is due to climate change and they expect there to be a rise in the number of floods and heatwaves coming in the next few years.
How climate change is intensifying seasonal allergies (ABC News)
Not only are aerial pollen concentrations higher, but allergy seasons are also getting progressively longer. Pollen counts are expected to double over the course of 2000 to 2040. Researchers also found that recently, allergy seasons themselves are beginning 20 days earlier than they historically have done. Rising winter temperatures are a direct cause of these phenomena, as trees and flowers are blooming earlier than usual, extending the allergy season and increasing the pollen count.
England's plan to triple tree planting rates over the next three years (Yahoo)
Britain announces this plan ahead of this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, in Glasgow. The government outlined its four main points of focus before the COP26 takes place in November: achieving net zero worldwide, protecting humanity and nature from the affects of climate change, mobilizing finances, and the international cooperation to work towards finding climate solutions.
Changing weather conditions affecting world's oldest cave paintings (Scientific American)
Recent reports have found that salt crystal buildups in Indonesian caves expand and contract due to fluctuating temperatures, slowly eroding away at the caves' rock walls. This erosion is putting the ancient paintings on these walls, some of them which date back as far as 40,000 years old, in danger.
How the ExxonMobil oil monopoly blamed its consumers for climate change through sly propaganda (Vox)
For the past 40 years, ExxonMobil has been using deceptive advertising to hide its impacts on the the environment. The company places blame on individual gas buyers, guilting them into feeling as if they are the problem, when really it is Exxon themselves, a fossil fuel supplier. Exxon has run many advertising claims addressing climate change, yet suggesting solutions such as limiting home electricity use and improving vehicle efficiency. Rarely have they addressed, let alone developed a plan to change, the fact that they only feed into customers' demand for oil.
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