Category: Climate change

Clean Power Plan: Manufacturing Boon or Bust?

Read the full story in Environmental Leader.

The Clean Power Plan has its day in court tomorrow. And as the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit prepares to hear oral arguments on the carbon pollution rules, two new studies suggest the Clean Power Plan will make manufacturers more competitive, not less as manufacturing and other industry groups have argued.

The Clean Power Plan requires existing coal-burning power plants to cut carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. In February the Supreme Court stayed implementation of the rule while the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit determines its legality.

Twenty-seven states and dozens of industry groups including the National Association of Manufactures have challenged the Clean Power Plan, saying it will lead to unreliable energy supplies and be too costly for US businesses.

These new reports, however, seem to suggest otherwise.

The reports are:

Hundreds of U.S. scientists slam Trump for threatening to abandon Paris climate accord

Read the full story in the Washington Post.

Earlier this year, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump sparked the ire of scientists and climate activists when he vowed to “cancel the Paris climate agreement” once in office. Now, hundreds of U.S. scientists have addressed this threat in an open letter warning of the perils of such action.

Signed by 375 members of the National Academy of Sciences, the letter explicitly refers to “the Republican nominee for President” and notes that “such a decision would make it far more difficult to develop effective global strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change. The consequences of opting out of the global community would be severe and long-lasting – for our planet’s climate and for the international credibility of the United States.”

The letter, published online Tuesday, coincides with Climate Week in New York — a gathering of governments, businesses, scientists and activists hosting dozens of events aimed at advancing the conversation around fighting climate change —  as well as a gathering of the United Nations General Assembly. And while organizers have noted that they did not intentionally time the letter’s publication this way, it nevertheless has added to ongoing conversations this week about the world’s climate future.

Greenland may be losing ice even faster than scientists thought

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Rapidly melting Greenland may be shedding its ice even faster than anyone suspected, new research suggests. A study just out in the journal Science Advances finds that previous studies may have underestimated the current rate of mass loss on the Greenland ice sheet by about 20 billion tons per year.

Where Will Climate Change Create New Ecosystems?

Read the full story in Pacific Standard.

Climate change is likely to do a lot more than just increase our air conditioning bills and raise our sea levels. The re-shuffling of plant and animal communities ranks among the most widely accepted (though still little-understood) eventualities of a warming Earth. Now, researchers have mapped out where that re-shuffling is most likely—a necessary first step for anyone looking to preserve precious biodiversity.

Grow food, not grass, to fight climate change

Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.

There are plenty of reasons why it’s smart to grow vegetables at home. You have easy access to nutritious local food, your immune system is boosted by soil microbes, and you get an array of health benefits like reduced stress and improved sleep.

And, according to a new study published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning, you’re also helping humanity take a bite out of climate change. The idea is similar to a 1940s victory garden, but for fighting pollution instead of fascism.