For the first time in five years, U.S. power plant emissions of carbon dioxide rose in 2018, according to preliminary data released by EPA.
More info: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/climate/greenhouse-gas-emissions-increase.html
The number of billion-dollar weather disasters in the U.S. has more than doubled in recent years, mostly due to hurricanes and wildfires that experts suspect are fueled in part by climate change.
Last year, 14 of these billion-dollar events killed at least 247 Americans. More info: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/02/06/wildfires-hurricanes-other-extreme-weather-cost-nation-lives-nearly-billion-damage-during/?utm_term=.35830f5f639b
GM SHIFTING ENGINEERS TO EVs
Today 75% of GM's 4,000 powertrain engineers work on internal combustion engine technology, and 25% work on EVs. Soon, those numbers will be reversed.
House Energy Committee's first hearing: climate
The House Energy and Commerce Committee plans to devote its first hearing to climate change. More: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/423771-house-energy-panel-to-dedicate-first-hearing-to-climate-change
DEMOCRATS INCREASINGLY EAGER FOR CONGRESS TO TACKLE CLIMATE
In a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, 15 percent of Democrats said climate change should be the new Congress’ top priority, statistically tied for second with the economy and gun control, behind only health care. More info: https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/12/congress-to-confront-climate-change-health-care-nexus/
Climate change LINKED TO SPECIFIC EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS
There were 15 extreme weather events in 2017 that were made more likely by human-caused climate change, according to in-depth studies published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
Health Risks due to Climate Change
Tropical diseases like dengue fever have been making their way into the US in areas that it previously never occurred. One of the biggest health risks is heat stress, which can lead to kidney and cardiovascular disease. In 2017 157 million more people were exposed to extreme heat than in 2000. More info: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/28/climate/climate-change-health.html
Public lands drilling produces 25% of US emissions.
Drilling inside our national forests and other public lands contributes nearly a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., according to a first-of-its-kind U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/11/27/the-energy-202-the-other-climate-report-the-trump-administration-published-on-black-friday/5bfc3aea1b326b60d128002d/?utm_term=.6e27a937cd9f
Alaska's coastline is eroding at a faster pace
A new satellite-based study of the retreating permafrost coastline at Drew Point in Alaska shows that from 1955 to 1979, the rate of loss was only about 23 feet per year. From 2007 through 2016, it was about 56 feet per year.
More info and one-minute video: https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/11/14/watch-warming-ocean-devour-alaskas-coast-this-striking-time-lapse-video/?utm_term=.20fa6f8e2b42
Many new governors want to tackle climate change
At least 10 victorious candidates for governor campaigned on moving their states away from burning fossil fuels and toward relying on renewable forms of energy for electricity. More info: https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/11/7/18071770/midterm-election-results-governor-climate-change