Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

Although methane doesn’t linger very long in the atmosphere, increasing methane levels are particularly bad news because it packs a big punch. But its short lifetime in the atmosphere is also a reason for hope. It is 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide (CO2) at trapping heat on short timescales. The planet has already warmed 1.1

Fossil Fuels 311

Fossil Fuels Paris Agreement 2030 Climate Change 311

Circle of Blue

JULY 14, 2022

A thirsty atmosphere evaporates or sublimates its share. With increasing temperatures, “we’re seeing places that do have drought, the intensification is more rapid,” says Roger Pulwarty, a senior scientist in the physical sciences laboratory at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 4) Drought Is Political.

Atmosphere 352

Atmosphere Regulations Politics Electricity 352

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 6, 2024

But for the first time since the Cold War ended, those numbers are starting to rise, and some political forces in the United States are using fears about China to justify a major expansion of the US nuclear arsenal. In prior wars, peace meant a return to normal. The war machine, having fulfilled its purpose, was dismantled.

Politics 345

Politics Atmosphere Government Waste 345

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 14, 2021

In the long run, warming will be determined by how much carbon we pump into the atmosphere before we stop. If we can shave down the curve even a little, we reduce the ultimate tonnage of carbon lingering in the atmosphere. The answer is unequivocally “yes.”. In terms of emissions cuts, the basic rule is simple: Every ton counts.

Paris Agreement 264

Paris Agreement Atmosphere Carbon Dioxide Carbon Emissions 264

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 3, 2022

The petitioners who brought this case include state-level political officials and coal companies who are single-mindedly determined to block climate action and perpetuate fossil fuel dependence to serve their narrow political or business interests. There is no time to waste.

Climate Change 327

Climate Change Fossil Fuels Carbon Emissions Nitrogen Oxides 327

Legal Planet

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

Commissioners bring experience, stature, broad global representation — but crucially, are not presently in political office, so they are not required to advance national positions. They can speak and discuss freely. Getting better, but not very comforting. Current and coming advances in carbon-free technology will help, of course.

Atmosphere 264

Atmosphere Politics Climate Change Cooling 264

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 17, 2023

In the US, when we check our local weather forecast, when our communities are recovering from an extreme weather event, or when our fisherfolk are at sea catching food, we are benefitting from the work of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA has three main goals under its mission: “1.

Endangered Species Act 246

Endangered Species Act Atmosphere Ocean Climate Change 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 24, 2024

When Lin said the “political atmosphere for continuing the arms control consultations” was “seriously compromised,” he wasn’t just talking about arms sales to Taiwan. They also stepped up US military activity on China’s periphery and encourgaed US allies to do the same.

Government 325

Government Atmosphere Politics Technology 325

Inside Climate News

JULY 31, 2023

New evidence of a previous Greenland meltdown suggests large parts of the ice sheet vanished at temperatures similar to today’s.

Atmosphere 98

Atmosphere Sea Level Politics Climate Change 98

Legal Planet

DECEMBER 5, 2022

China is responsible for about 11% of all the carbon now in the atmosphere, so that would mean paying for that percentage of damage from extreme events caused by climate change. The argument here is that there’s a limit to the total amount of carbon humanity can put into the atmosphere without triggering dangerous climate change.

Climate Change 264

Climate Change Carbon Emissions Atmosphere Politics 264

Legal Planet

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Some states, like California, Louisiana, or Alaska may be feeling the impacts more acutely earlier on, but it does not feel like things have become bad enough for political will to be marshalled. But it beats a structure in which political paralysis is so severe that nothing, whether adaptation or mitigation, can be done.

Climate Change 264

Climate Change Paris Agreement Fossil Fuels Politics 264

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 16, 2022

of the observed rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide and 52 percent of the rise in global average temperatures between 1880 and 2015. degrees goal is threatened by political inaction. degrees C is scientifically possible; the reason the world might blow past it is political. Why not just start with renewables?

Fossil Fuels 321

Fossil Fuels Paris Agreement Renewable Energy Carbon Dioxide 321

Inside Climate News

MARCH 25, 2025

Wetlands can also act as carbon sinks, sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Carbon Dioxide 66

Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere Natural Resources Clean Water Act 66

Circle of Blue

MARCH 31, 2023

An energetic, bustling atmosphere was partly the point. The conference, however, was constrained by an agreement that no political declaration would be made. That includes a plan to find $30 billion a year for water investment in Africa and a goal to restore 300,000 kilometers of rivers by 2030. Will these initiatives bear fruit?

2030 278

2030 Politics Government Atmosphere 278

Legal Planet

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

In particular, he said, “reliance upon coal, on the other hand, could aggravate the ‘greenhouse effect,’ whereby excess carbon dioxide (which accompanies coal burning) traps heat inside the earth’s atmosphere, thus possibly melting the icecaps and raising the level of the oceans.”

Carbon Dioxide 203

Carbon Dioxide Climate Change Nuclear Power Clean Air Act 203

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 7, 2021

It turns out — I’ll bet even most AIs don’t know this — the oxidized carbon byproduct of our fuels has a nasty tendency to pile up in the atmosphere. Even more surprisingly, that changes the atmosphere’s radiation profile. The politics are almost as unstable as the climate system.

Radiation 246

Radiation Politics Atmosphere Government 246

Real Climate

NOVEMBER 11, 2023

are used all over the world, based on calculations that quantify the effects of physical mechanisms and the way different parts of the atmosphere are connected to each other. The physics-based models describe how energy flows through the atmosphere and ocean, as well as how the forces from different air masses push against each other.

Sea Level 326

Sea Level Greenhouse Climate Change Atmosphere 326

PA Environment Daily

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Award-winning atmospheric scientist Katharine Hayhoe will discuss how to build hope in the face of the devastating impacts of climate change during a special event at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Cumberland County. Her talk will take place Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. in the college’s Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium.

Climate Change 90

Climate Change Atmosphere 2024 2025 90

Environmental News Bits

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist and evangelical Christian, has written a book that lays out strategies for discussing the climate crisis in a divided country. Read the full story in the New Yorker. Read more →

Climate Change 81

Climate Change Politics Atmosphere 81

Circle of Blue

MARCH 20, 2023

The political dimension is a huge part of the solution to the water crisis,” said Federico Properzi, chief technical adviser of UN-Water. He said that game changers will be those supported by money or political power, or those that can be applied at scale, across multiple areas.

Sustainable Development 279

Sustainable Development 2030 Government Politics 279

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 9, 2024

If governments bypass or undermine science and public comments in policy making, our health could be in jeopardy from increased pollution, cases of foodborne illnesses, politically-driven medicine approvals or disapprovals, and more. It was not a catchy slogan to write on a cardboard sign, but the message is important to all of our lives.

Toxic Substances Control Act 317

Toxic Substances Control Act Air Pollution Regulations Clean Air Act 317

Circle of Blue

JULY 19, 2022

In addition, a thirsty atmosphere also takes its share through evaporation. 4) Drought Is Political. And across the American West, Indian tribes are increasingly involved in the political landscape of water. Between the soil and the sky, the heat is driving up drought. 2) Drought Has a Long Reach. Their plan is due next month.

2022 299

2022 Regulations Environmental Protection Politics 299

Real Climate

MARCH 5, 2023

I had reason to be reviewing the history of MSU satellite retrievals for atmospheric temperatures recently. It’s a fascinating story of technology, creativity, hubris, error, imagination, rivalry, politics, and (for some) a search for scientific consilience – worthy of movie script perhaps?

2014 302

2014 2013 Cooling 2005 302

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 27, 2022

The WMO’s GHG bulletin’s headline takeaways are stark: Atmospheric concentrations of three major heat-trapping gases, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) hit all-time highs in 2021 (see table below). Source: UNEP 2022 Emissions Gap Report. The World Meteorological Organization Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

Fossil Fuels 264

Fossil Fuels 2030 Clean Energy Climate Change 264

Circle of Blue

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

Climate models predict with near unanimity that more atmospheric warming will increase annual rainfall in Michigan and Ohio: a trend that is already making algae blooms worse. And political power with it. Just lack of political capital. Climate change promises to raise all of these costs. Carl Ganter/ Circle of Blue.

2014 359

2014 2022 Climate Change Politics 359

New Scientist

MARCH 13, 2025

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it is discontinuing its regular update calls due to staffing problems, but its researchers may also fear political retaliation for discussing climate change

Atmosphere 85

Atmosphere Ocean Climate Change Politics 85

Circle of Blue

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

The issue has begun changing minds about climate change among recreational fishermen, a demographic that leans politically conservative. As the atmosphere continues to warm, severe weather events have gone from occasionally urgent to relentless assault. . The root cause of the issue is global climate change.

Climate Change 306

Climate Change Conservation Politics Natural Resources 306

Inside Climate News

NOVEMBER 18, 2023

By Phil McKenna and Peter Aldhous Preliminary atmospheric monitoring data from a remote South Korean island off China’s east coast shows elevated concentrations of hydrofluorocarbon-23 (HFC-23), a greenhouse gas 14,700 times more potent than carbon dioxide on a pound-for-pound basis, according to the World Meteorological Association.

Carbon Dioxide 145

Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Atmosphere Politics 145

Legal Planet

AUGUST 2, 2021

Management approved her shift in emphasis, hoping that she would prove that aerosols in the atmosphere (including those from auto exhaust) would completely offset the greenhouse gas effect. She met a visiting physicist from Princeton on her very first week on the job. He talked her into studying climate change.

Fossil Fuels 190

Fossil Fuels Climate Change Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere 190

Legal Planet

JULY 25, 2023

Methane has a comparatively short life in the atmosphere (about 12 years, as opposed to 100 years or more for CO2) and high potency (84 times stronger than CO2, averaged over 20 years). Right now, oil companies have political power sufficient to preclude a change in liability that would result in oil industry obligation.

Deforestation 246

Deforestation Climate Change 2030 2028 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 26, 2022

My research evolved over time, but initially focused on trying to understand how ice sheet collapse—specifically Antarctic ice sheet collapse—could impact climate change around the world through changes in the oceans, sea ice and atmosphere. To explore climate justice, I drew on the three-fold framework of justice theory.

Sea Level 246

Sea Level Fossil Fuels Paris Agreement Climate Change 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 20, 2023

This methodology is similar to my own work combining climate science, political science, and history to reconstruct how UN climate negotiations have played out and what that implies for climate justice. The present is always being created out of past actions that led to where we are today.

Fossil Fuels 279

Fossil Fuels 2003 Sea Level 2005 279

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 24, 2023

In the 1960s, scientists were warning that the burning of fossil fuels was releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which could have catastrophic consequences for the planet. But climate litigation is an important step in holding the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in the crisis and determining who should pay.

Fossil Fuels 312

Fossil Fuels Climate Change Government Carbon Dioxide 312

Vermont Law

OCTOBER 20, 2014

The Alaska Supreme Court suggested Alaskans might have a right to atmosphere, but declined to provide a remedy. Atmospheric public trust plaintiffs are running out of options. The Alaska Supreme Court denies relief, but signals that Alaskans may have a public trust right to preservation of the atmosphere. By Adam Patrick Murray.

Atmosphere 40

Atmosphere 2014 Natural Resources 2005 40

Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

A simple statement that masks just how complicated the issues are: mixing politics, economics, livelihoods, fisheries and endangered species in the ocean body that is the Gulf of Maine. The common enemy explained—and it’s NOT Offshore Wind The common enemy is the oil and gas industry because of their role in climate impacts.

Fossil Fuels 246

Fossil Fuels Ocean Sea Level Carbon Dioxide 246

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 21, 2022

That process sends a powerful shock wave inward, heating and compressing the fuel to extraordinarily high pressures and temperatures (a hundred billion atmospheres and millions of degrees) – just enough, it turns out, to coax deuterium and tritium, both isotopes of hydrogen, to fuse into helium as Eddington originally postulated.

Technology 279

Technology Technology Radiation Electricity 279

Inside Climate News

JULY 29, 2022

Four noted atmospheric scientists explain that the answer to “why?” is climate change: “The evidence is clear,” said one. By James Bruggers After three years in office, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has grown accustomed to holding media briefings on weather disasters.

Atmosphere 115

Atmosphere Climate Change Politics 115