By time I was up and walking to work around 8 AM this morning in New York, the temperature was already 84 degrees and it’s forecast to hit a record-setting 102 degrees by 3 PM. The streets are a griddle, the offices are oppressive—more than usual—and I don’t even want to talk about the subways. Meteorologists are predicting that the …
Climate Science
Dutch agency affirms IPCC findings
A Dutch inquiry into the seminal 2007 report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found “no errors that would undermine the main conclusions” about predictions of the negative effects of climate change.
But the report by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency added that the “foundation for some …
Global Paper Company — and Clients —Under Fire for Deforestation
In its ongoing campaign to draw attention to Indonesia’s deforestation woes, Greenpeace has released a new report singling out Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of the world’s largest paper companies owned by Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas, for sourcing trees from rainforest and peatland that are home to endangered species like the …
Climategate Continues to Crumble
Score a win for climate science: Penn State University announced today that climate scientist Michael Mann had been cleared of all scientific misconduct charges stemming from the “climategate” emails that had been hacked from Britain’s East Anglia University last fall. Here’s the release from the folks at State College: (More on …
A Quick Fix for Climate Change Falls Flat
It’s always about this time of year—when the first air-sucking, clothes-wilting, soul-smothering heat wave hits a big swath of the country—that people who rarely think about climate change start to worry. Never mind that a single sweltering summer can never be traced directly to global warming. Hot weather causes even some of the …
Climate Change and Space Junk
Here’s a consequence of climate change you probably haven’t thought of. Space buffs know that Earth orbit is littered with junk, including defunct satellites, spent rocket boosters, and other random debris–about 11,500 objects bigger than 4 inches across, according to NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office (it’s their graphic you’re …
U.N.’s Departing Climate Negotiator Leaves Optimistic—Somehow
For the past four years, the U.N.’s annual climate talks have been led by a dapper Swiss diplomat named Yvo de Boer. In that time period, the chances of a global climate deal have gone from unthinkable to inevitable and now, seemingly impossible. Through the impossibly long negotiating sessions and the walkouts and the protests and …
Meanwhile, Down in the Antarctic…
There’s no body of water on the planet that’s getting more attention—and causing more worry—than the Gulf of Mexico, and rightly so. Until BP’s gushing oil well is capped, that will be central fight in the environment wars. The good news is that even pessimists believe that the relief wells now being drilled will do the job and seal …
Who’s the Climate Expert Here?
If my primary care doctor suspected I had cancer, I’d certainly take it seriously; she’s a great physician. But she’s not an expert on cancer, so I’d go see an oncologist (that’s exactly what she’d tell me to do, of course). And I’d go out of my way to find one with the best possible credentials.
When it comes to …
Daylight Saving—unused solar power?
Today is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere (those looking to party, hurry to Sweden, they do the solstice right up there). In London (today’s weather forecast: sunny; today’s actual weather: gloomy) campaigners are using midsummer to draw attention to what they say is one of the low-hanging fruits in the fight …