Top story The transition to 100% renewables can be achieved at about a quarter of the cost of current subsidies for fossil fuels. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-state-of-the-art-climate-crisis.html
Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson: 100% renewable energy will reduce total energy cost by 50% and social costs by 88%. http://web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/CombiningRenew/WorldGridIntegration.pdf
An example showing 89% savings from using solar to power electric cars. http://evworld.com/blogs.cfm?blogID=1123
Ice Loss Accelerating Antarctic ice loss is accelerating. http://news.trust.org/item/20190114195300-asggw
Greenland ice loss is accelerating
North American Glacier ice loss is accelerating https://earther.gizmodo.com/north-america-s-glaciers-are-melting-four-times-faster-1831881934
Fast-melting Antarctic Thwaite glacier shows new signs of destabilization.
Impacts on communities In Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands face an impossible choice between battered coastlines and urban slums.
Australia baked in 120 degree weather.
Public opinion 72% of polled Americans now say global warming is personally important to them. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/22/climate-change-concern-americans-poll
How the fossil fuel industry got the media to think climate change is debatable
Public policy Leading economists support carbon fee and dividend.
We can de-carbonize the economy faster with wind and solar than with nuclear.
Pentagon says climate change threatens a majority of mission-critical military bases.
Tackling the twin challenges of climate change and inequality.
U.S. top court rejects Exxon in climate change document dispute http://news.trust.org/item/20190107143238-u421z/
Climate and Cyber Risks Top Concerns Facing the World in 2019
Vancouver city council voted to declare climate emergency https://globalnews.ca/news/4856517/vancouver-city-council-votes-to-declare-climate-emergency/
Climate records and trends The past four years have been the hottest four years on record. See first table at: http://berkeleyearth.org/2018-temperatures
Heat waves are getting hotter and also larger.
Brace for impact: oceans are heating up faster than previously thought
Scientific research Chill spill: how the brutally cold Arctic blast that hit the U.S. might be linked to the warming trend in the Arctic. https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-how-is-arctic-warming-linked-to-polar-vortext-other-extreme-weather
A new, better understanding about how the Atlantic Ocean Circulation works may improve climate forecasts.
Business perspective Climate Change Is forcing the insurance industry to recalculate https://www.wsj.com/graphics/climate-change-forcing-insurance-industry-recalculate
New York-based Amalgamated Bank won't lend to fossil fuel projects https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/01/amalgamated-bank-wont-lend-to-fossil-fuel-projects/
Clean Energy Progress Global investment in clean energy was about $300 billion last year (comparable to previous years). https://www.power-technology.com/news/global-renewable-energy-investment-300-billion/
Fundamentals and Fun Facts Climate solutions ranked by Drawdown team (click on the search field to view the list)
One solar panel produces as much electricity as 10,000 pounds of coal.
Disruption caused by extreme rainfall last month Extreme rainfall is on the increase; below are some examples from January:
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay – 4 Killed After Record Rainfall Australia – Queensland Rivers at Record Levels After 24 inches of Rain Bolivia – 10,000 people have been affected Brazil – Hundreds Missing After Tailings Dam Collapse in Minas Gerais Burundi – Floods in Bujumbura Leave 10 Dead Chile – Evacuations After Rivers Overflow in Arica Indonesia – 15 Dead, 20 Missing After Landslide in West Java Indonesia – Deadly Floods Hit South Sulawesi with 12 inches rain Indonesia – Deadly Landslide in Bali Madagascar – Several killed as building collapse during floods Niger – Rising Rivers Cause Flooding in Tillaberi and Diffa Regions Peru – Dozens of Homes Destroyed by Floods Philippines – 20,000 Evacuate Floods in Davao Region Saudi Arabia – Dozens Rescued After Floods in North and West South East Africa – 20 killed in Deadly Storms and Floods Spain – 4 dead in Floods in Asturias Sri Lanka – Over 100,000 Affected by Floods After Days of Heavy Rain
Reference: http://floodlist.com/ |