Climate Change

After a long confirmation delay, Gina McCarthy, the new head of the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency, has wasted little time wading into the controversy over the agency's (and administration's) role in addressing climate change.

July 31, 2013 - The Washington Post

The unprecedented decline in Arctic sea ice could cause the catastrophic release of methane, imperiling the world's climate and economy, reports a new paper published in the journal Nature.

July 25, 2013 - The Guardian

Extreme temperatures aren’t just a public health concern: they also affect how we get around.

July 22, 2013 - Better Institutions

Overtaxed pipelines, train accidents, and natural gas 'flaring' are just some of the symptoms of the strain North America's oil and gas boom is placing on the continent's infrastructure. Can needed upgrades be reconciled with environmental goals?

July 18, 2013 - The Washington Post

The CIA, in partnership with other U.S. government agencies, is funding a $630,000 scientific study into the plausibility and potential effects of climate engineering to reduce global warming. Let the conspiracy theories begin.

July 18, 2013 - Grist

John M. Broder writes about a new U.S. Department of Energy report released July 11th that details the vulnerability of the nation's entire energy system to climate change effects - from droughts, intense storms, rising seas, lower river levels...

July 13, 2013 - The New York Times - U.S.

While much of America’s southwest and inter-mountain west battles blazing forest fires, Magdalena, NM faces a less spectacular but equally fearsome crisis: a municipal system no longer capable of delivering water to the village's 938 residents.

July 13, 2013 - This Big City

Analysts have noted a change in the president on climate change in his second term. Call it a "message shift". Rather than addressing it in terms of the need for clean energy and renewables, he now speaks directly to the perils of climate change.

July 11, 2013 - The Hill

Mark Landler reviews the recent efforts of the Obama administration to make headway on climate change through executive order, diplomacy and economic incentive.

July 4, 2013 - The New York Times

President Obama recently unveiled his 21-page framework for tackling climate change. But for some economists, that's twenty pages too many. A tax on carbon emissions is a simple, elegant, and relatively painless way to reduce emissions, they believe.

July 2, 2013 - NPR

Two very different grades are assigned, one from David Hawkins, Director of Climate Programs at NRDC; the other from a college senior working on a fossil fuel divestment campaign. Michael Brune of the Sierra Club differs with Hawkins on natural gas.

July 1, 2013 - Living on Earth

In advance of President Obama's long-awaited speech on climate change, NPR looked at climate adaptation - preparing for the environmental changes it will cause. Rising sea level is the topic. In the U.S., two cities stand out: New York and Miami.

June 26, 2013 - NPR

Calgary found out the hard way that you don't have to be a coastal city to experience the waterborne ravages of a changing climate. For years, warnings from scientists and analysts have been ignored. Will the "Great Flood" achieve what they couldn't?

June 25, 2013 - The Tyee

It doesn't involve cap-and-trade or a major international protocol, but the sweeping climate plan unveiled by President Obama today is 'the most far-reaching effort by an American president' to address climate change. Best of all, it skirts Congress.

June 25, 2013 - The New York Times

At the beginning of a two-day trip to India, the world's third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made solving climate change a focus of his public remarks. The U.S.'s own failures elicited skepticism from locals.

June 24, 2013 - Grist

This toxic emission is not only a threat to public health but also the second largest contributor to global warming, according to CARB. A new study has found that regulations to reduce diesel emissions fight both climate change and air pollution.

June 21, 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

An historic plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions is being covertly developed by the Obama administration, reports Neela Banerjee. The plan could for the first time set limits on the country's biggest emitters: power plants.

June 18, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Despite record levels of greenhouse gas emissions, global surface temperatures have risen at a much slower rate over the past 15 years than the 20 years prior. Scientists are struggling to explain a warming plateau.

June 17, 2013 - The New York Times

Record floods are swelling major rivers and tributaries across Central and Eastern Europe; disrupting transportation, displacing thousands of people, and causing what is estimated to be several billion dollars of damage.

June 11, 2013 - The New York Times

A new report from the International Energy Agency has some sobering news about the planet's record setting carbon emissions. But it also identifies four policy recommendations that could help stave off warming in excess of the dreaded 2°C mark.

June 10, 2013 - The Washington Post