A good year for climate change?
ISSUE 1 | 01.04.19 | A round-up for some of the latest news on implications of a changing climate
A GOOD YEAR FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?: Pigeons, meet roost
Kevin Drum of Mother Jones, one of my favorite, sanest political bloggers, wrote a recent post with the provocative headline “2018 Was a Pretty Good Year for Climate Change.” What he meant, in his usual informed/wry way, was that finally the news hit people directly, with climate change sirens going off continuously — wildfires, tornadoes, flooding. And not in the abstract: “Announcements of seven new extinct species of rain forest beetle were never going to have an impact… So 2018 was a good year for climate change, and we need more like it: bad enough to get people’s attention before the really bad stuff starts.”A WATER LANDING: Is your main airport on this list?
Speaking of getting real, back in 2012, the Federal Aviation Administration identified 13 major airports with runways at risk of moderate to high storm surge and rising seas (California, Florida, Hawaii, New Orleans, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Puerto Rico, and Virginia). Here’s a close-up by Buzzfeed News on how climate change could sink (rising water) or ground (rising temps) your upcoming flight as a lot of major airports are in low-lying coastal areas or rising-heat locales. Phoenix Sky Harbor grounded flights in 2017 due to temperatures hitting about 120 degrees Fahrenheit: “At such hot temperatures, it’s hard for planes to lift off the ground.”GET WITH IT WEST VIRGINIA: An electrifying read
Just before Christmas, the New York Times published an article showing how each state produces its electricity. As my friend Perry Bryant, of the Citizens Climate Lobby of West Virginia notes: “When you scroll through the various states it clear that coal is declining rapidly in many states, although it is still the predominate fuel source in 18 states. Most of the reduction in coal generation has been a switch to natural gas. Where renewables have had an impact, it’s primarily from wind; think Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, etc. Solar has had little impact, outside of California, even in states where one would expect high penetration: Florida, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, etc. But perhaps the most disappointing state is West Virginia. Coal produced 98% of the state’s electricity in 2001 and 93% in 2017, the last year of data in this article.”QUICK READ: Green roofs, from Ecuador to your house
Got roof? Go green. “Nature-based solutions like green roofs are applicable in every single city,” says biologist Liliana Jaramillo, an advocate for “green roofs’” in Ecuador. “Growing plants on so-called green roofs can help reduce the threat of flash floods by absorbing excess rain. And, they can improve air quality,” says Jaramillo. Plus, your house will look like a hobbit lives there (above), which will be a good climate change conversation-starter.CLIMATE NEWS FOLLOW-UPS: Yale Climate Connections
The green roofs story comes from Yale Climate Connections, a broad-ranging, multimedia resource on climate change. Above is the website. Their Twitter feed is here. And their Facebook page is here.TWITTER UP: ‘Scientists who do climate’
Katherine Hayhoe, a front-line climate scientists with a public-facing profile (and potshot-receiving profile, from climate change deniers) has compiled a useful Twitter compendium of “scientists who do climate.” It’s a helpful starting point for keeping up with climate change via a single Twitter follow. (And you should be following both her and Michael Mann directly, if you don’t already.)EDITORIAL: ‘Good Place to Start’ and Good Tattoo
The South Florida Sun Sentinel is on the climate change frontlines — literally. As the paper notes in this 12.12.18 editorial: “Because of warming temperatures and melting ice sheets, South Florida politicians — on both sides of the aisle — are planning for a two-foot rise in sea level over the next 40 years, and scientists say that’s a conservative estimate.” This editorial is a good overview of efforts by U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a South Florida Democrat, to gain traction on a carbon fee bill which would return a dividend to American citizens. Or as the editorial notes: “A flicker of hope … that deserves more oxygen.” Deutch sums up what would make a good tattoo for climate change activism: “The status quo isn’t sustainable.”CARBON FEE BRAINSTORM: It’s a Social Security thing
Speaking of the growing discussion around a carbon fee/tax, what about using the dividend from a fee on generating carbon to increase Social Security benefits? That might achieve the nifty trick of attracting Trump voters to the carbon fee concept by making retirement more affordable, says Thomas Geoghegan: “Democrats should campaign to raise Social Security—not just to show which party is really for the working class, but to give Trump voters a reason to keep the planet from burning up.”NOTE: Pass it forward
Changing Climate Times will eventually go to a monthly $5 subscription so we can afford ourselves and pay for catfood. For now, it’s in proof-of-concept stage and ‘Hey, pass on word and grow the audience’ stage. Subscribe and help out if you are climate change-conscious. Forward the newsletter or the link to its companion website: changingclimatetimes.substack.com. Much appreciated! | Douglas John Imbrogno and climate change catvocates Gizmo and Luna (who are in it for the kitty treats).P.S.: You promised cartoons
