Climate Climate & Energy
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And You Were Thinking It Couldn’t Get Worse
Oil spill and power-plant fire wreak havoc in already-havoc-stricken Lebanon Bombed by Israel two weeks ago, a storage fuel tank of a power plant in Beirut, Lebanon, is still burning, filling the air with dangerous fumes; another exploded, sending at least 10,000 tons of oil into the Mediterranean Sea. Particulate pollution could waft as far […]
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And the Wind Cries Scary
Pacific Northwest ocean dead zone getting larger Researchers believe global warming is behind a recurring low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Pacific Northwest ocean. Triggered by north winds, a process called upwelling encourages the growth of phytoplankton blooms; when the water calms, the phytoplankton die for lack of nutrients, sink to the bottom, and rot, using […]
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It’s Like Rain on Your Wedding Day
New Arctic Refuge drilling bill would spend proceeds on alt-energy The recurring nightmare of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is back, but with a new twist: proceeds would support alternative energy. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is introducing a bill today to open 2,000 acres of the refuge to oil drilling. Backers of the […]
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So That’s Why It’s Called Death Valley
Climate change threatens national parks in the western U.S. Glacier National Park without glaciers? If global warming keeps on keepin’ on, 12 of the most famous U.S. national parks are at serious risk, says a report released yesterday by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. Temperatures in the Western U.S. […]
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Wildfires are raging — why isn’t concern about climate change?
Earlier this month, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert delivered a provocative Los Angeles Times op-ed explaining why the public is more scared of terrorism than global warming. Gilbert’s basic premise was that human beings are conditioned by evolution to react most strongly to situations that have certain characteristics: they must be personal (have a face or […]
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‘Cane Do Spirit
Hurricane researchers unite in call to curb coastal development The media has made much of the disagreement among hurricane researchers about the effects of global warming on storm strength. So much, in fact, that it’s starting to annoy the hurricane researchers. Yesterday, 10 prominent experts in the field — who have disagreed among themselves about […]
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NASA Lapso
NASA deletes planet-protecting phrasing from mission statement The phrase “to understand and protect our home planet” was quietly deleted from NASA’s mission statement in February; the agency’s mission now is “to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.” NASA’s 19,000 employees were neither consulted nor informed ahead of time of the […]
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Come Fry With Me
Heat wave causing deaths, power outages North America and Europe are suffering under a sweltering heat wave that’s caused deaths, widespread irritability, and a powerful thirst. So far, some 21 deaths are reported in France, two in Spain, and at least 29 in the U.S. In southern England, they’re facing what may be the worst […]
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Nothing to Seep Here, Folks
BP shuts down wells on North Slope after whistleblowers report leaks Oil giant BP is voluntarily shutting down 12 oil wells on Alaska’s North Slope after employees alleged they were leaking. Whistleblowers told London’s Financial Times that in some places, insulating material used to keep pipes from freezing — usually crude oil or diesel — […]
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Home Sweat Home
Heat wave leads to record power use in U.S. Many areas of the U.S. broke record highs for power use yesterday, as a coast-to-coast heat wave caused sweaty citizens to crank up the AC. Power grid operators are calling for conservation, and the utility industry is declaring a national need for more power plants and […]
