Climate Change

The DoE recently updated its energy-efficiency standards for microwaves. Big deal, right? Actually, observes Brad Plumer, by upping the 'social cost of carbon' used to calculate the benefits of the rule, the government has made a big shift.

June 6, 2013 - The Washington Post

On Places, Tom Vanderbilt surveys the landscape and politics of New York City after Hurricane Sandy, focusing on both early response and long-range planning.

June 1, 2013 - Places Journal

Grist has compiled a list of the ten U.S. cities most likely to be affected by climate change.

May 27, 2013 - Grist

With a reluctant Congress unwilling to act, and the signs of a warming planet multiplying, the Editorial Board of The New York Times urges President Obama to utilize executive actions to address climate change.

May 22, 2013 - The New York Times

The Republican party has long obstructed efforts to pass climate change legislation in the United States. But the party may soon be forced to reckon with its "willful denial of science and facts," reports Coral Davenport.

May 15, 2013 - National Journal

The Arctic may become ice free as soon as 2015, 85 years earlier than recent predictions, prompting a briefing of top U.S. government officials, including those from the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, by Arctic specialists.

May 2, 2013 - The Guardian

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is fast approaching levels not seen for millions of years. At 400 parts per million (p.p.m.), the planet is fast approaching the point of no return for avoiding dangerous climate change.

May 1, 2013 - Nature

A new report out this week quantifies the federal government's escalating disaster relief spending, a sum that hadn't previously been tabulated and came as a surprise to many.

April 30, 2013 - The Washington Post

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim explains why climate change is a poverty issue - and why we must tackle it today to ensure that carbon emissions do not continue rising after 2016. Establishing a world price on carbon will be difficult to achieve.

April 23, 2013 - PBS NewsHour - The Rundown

The National Ocean Policy released this week by the White House is being praised by many as a collaborative response to the myriad challenges confronting the nation's oceans. For others, it's just another example of federal overreach.

April 17, 2013 - The Washington Post

Graphs and maps can be compelling means to illustrate the dire threat to our cities of rising seas caused by climate change. But for blunt impact, a series of photo illustrations by artist Nickolay Lamm are hard to beat.

April 11, 2013 - Daily Mail

Susan Brantley of Penn State University and Anna Meyendorff of University of Michigan pen this op-ed to assess the pros and cons of fracking for natural gas. How does fracking compare to obtaining energy from other sources? Do the facts warrant bans?

March 16, 2013 - The New York Times - The Opinion Pages

It what would be a significant policy shift that could impact major projects that are subject to federal oversight, the Obama administration is expected to guide all federal agencies to consider the impact on global warming in their NEPA reviews.

March 16, 2013 - Bloomberg

Japan is looking to unleash a new source of natural gas in the same way that fracking and horizontal drilling has revolutionized natural gas drilling in the U.S. It's called methane hydrate or 'flammable ice', and is the most prevalent energy source.

March 15, 2013 - The New York Times

Much attention has been paid recently to the challenges that a changing climate are bringing to coastal communities. But "inland empires" aren't immune. Phoenix's struggles with heat, drought, and violent winds are a presage of things to come.

March 15, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Supplying power and transportation to 10 billion people while limiting hazardous emissions may be the defining challenge of the century. Many energy analysts think renewables won't get us there, and are betting on a nuclear energy miracle.

March 12, 2013 - The New York Times

"The United Nations has set two huge energy-related goals for the coming century," says Brad Plumer. While bringing electricity to 1.3 billion people without it and curtailing fossil fuel use seem to be at odds, the U.N. has a plan to achieve both.

March 11, 2013 - The Washington Post

You'd think the seemingly endless stream of warnings about the state of the planet (record heat, faster melting poles, increasing extreme weather, etc.) would galvanize public opinion. However, a new poll reports concern is at an all time low.

March 3, 2013 - The New York Times

In the mountains surrounding L.A. stand some of the most advanced environment analyzing technology in the U.S. The result of this analysis could be "a groundbreaking development in the worldwide fight against global warming."

March 1, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Environmentalists likely found much to cheer in President Obama's support for bold action on climate change during the State of the Union address. Was their optimism premature?

February 14, 2013 - Grist