Posted on 18 November 2023 by John Hartz

 Story of the Week

I’m Not Screaming Into the Void Anymore.

Two and a half years ago, when I was asked to help write the most authoritative report on climate change in the United States, I hesitated. Did we really need another warning of the dire consequences of climate change in this country? The answer, legally, was yes: Congress mandates that the National Climate Assessment be updated every four years or so. But after four previous assessments and six United Nations reports since 1990, I was skeptical that what we needed to address climate change was yet another report.

In the end, I said yes, but reluctantly. Frankly, I was sick of admonishing people about how bad things could get. Scientists have raised the alarm over and over again, and still the temperature rises. Extreme events like heat waves, floods, and droughts are becoming more severe and frequent, exactly as we predicted they would. We were proved right. It didn’t seem to matter.

Our report, which was released on Tuesday, contains more dire warnings. There are plenty of new reasons for despair. Thanks to recent scientific advances, we can now link climate change to specific extreme weather disasters, and we have a better understanding of how the feedback loops in the climate system can make warming even worse. We can also now more confidently forecast catastrophic outcomes if global emissions continue on their current trajectory. But to me, the most surprising new finding in the Fifth National Climate Assessment is this: There has been genuine progress, too. [My bold - JMH]

 Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on the New York Times website.

I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m Not Screaming Into the Void Anymore. Opinion by Kate Marevel, Climate, New York Times, Nov 18, 2023

Articles posted on Facebook

Sunday, Nov 12, 2023

• Melting African glaciers an early casualty of global warming, say experts The first global summit devoted to the preservation of glaciers and poles, which took place in Paris this week, has shed light on Africa's little-known glaciers – which the UN warns will be lost to global warming. by Melissa Chemam, Environment, RFI, Nov 11, 2023
• Peak oil: It never comes, and that’s bad news for the UN climate conferences and global warming, Opinion by Eric Reguly, Business, The Globe & Mail (CA), Nov 10, 2023
• Fossil fuel interests have large, yet often murky, presence at climate talks, AP analysis finds by Seth Borenstein & Mary Katherine Wildeman, World, AP/PBS News Hour, Nov 8, 2023
• COP28 climate dispute: What are "unabated" fossil fuels? by Alister Doyle, Context, Nov 8, 2023
• The Climate Crisis Is Slipping From The News Right When It Needs Our Attention Most With front pages dominated by Israel-Palestine, we are losing sight of the worsening catastrophe that needs to remain a top priority. by Nathan J Robinson, Climate Change, Current Affairs, Nov 10, 2023
• Event information - Upcoming talks in Italy by Baerbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, Nov 12, 2023
• The Observer view on COP 28: UK is turning its back on chance to lead climate fight Once a leader on global heating, Rishi Sunak’s anti-green policies are making Britain look increasingly isolated by The Observer Editorial Board, Comment is Free, The Guardian, Nov 12, 2023
• After a Last-Minute Challenge to New Loss and Damage Deal, U.S. Joins Global Consensus Ahead of COP28 Latest U.S. actions fit a long pattern of ambivalence, and even disruption, at key moments during 30 years of climate talks. by Bob Berwyn, Justice, Inside Climate News, Nov 10, 2023

Monday, Nov 13, 2023

• Lightning fires threaten planet-cooling forests by Matt McGrath & Erwan Rivault, Science, BBC News, Nov 10, 2023
• Scientists Fear Cataclysmic 'Factor X' Will Emerge From Earth's Permafrost by Pandora Dewan, Health, Newsweek Magazine, Nov 12, 2023
• November 2023 El Niño update: transport options by Emily Becker, ENSO Blog, Climate.gov, Nov 9, 2023
• Thousands of Greenland’s glaciers are rapidly shrinking. Before-and-after photos reveal decades of change by Rachel Ramirez, Climate, CNN, Nov 12, 2023
• In a U.S. First, a Commercial Plant Starts Pulling Carbon From the Air The technique is expensive but it could help fight climate change. Backers hope fast growth can bring down costs. by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York Times, Nov 9, 2023
• The world is planning to blow the fossil fuels production limit that would keep a lid on global heating, report says by Staff, Reuters/CNN, Nov 8, 2023
• The continued rise in CO2 is unacceptable. This insanity cannot continue The cryosphere — Earth’s ice sheets, sea ice, permafrost, polar oceans, glaciers and snow — is ground zero for climate change, and it pays no attention to rhetoric, only to our actions Opinion by Prof Julie Brigham-Grette & Prof Martin Siegert, Euronews, Nov 10, 2023
• Add another heat record to the pile: Earth is historically and alarmingly hot. Now what? by Dinah Voyles Pulver, Nation, US TODAY, Nov 13, 2023

Tuesday, Nov 14, 2023

• An Invisible Killer Cases of valley fever, fueled by the fungus coccidioides, have quadrupled over 20 years. Climate change, more extreme drought and fires may hasten its spread. by Joshua Partlow, Veronica Penney & Carolyn Van Houten, Climate, Washington Post, Nov 13, 2023
• Climb aboard four fishing boats with us to see how America's warming waters are changing by Trevor Hughes, Nation, USA TODAY, Oct 30, 2023
• What drought in the Amazon means for the planet by Nicolás Rivero, Climate, Washington Post, Nov 10, 2023
• Offshore wind is at a crossroads. Here’s what you need to know. by Heather Richards, Energywire, E&E News, Nov 13, 2023
• How Much Can Trees Fight Climate Change? Massively, but Not Alone, Study Finds. The research, which comes with important caveats, was partly an effort to address the scientific uproar surrounding an earlier paper. by Catrin Einhorn, Climate, New York Times. Nov 13, 2023
• The Carbon Brief Quiz 2023 by Joe Goodman, In Focus, Carbon Brief, Nov 14, 2023
• At a glance - How the IPCC is more likely to underestimate the climate response by John Mason & Baerbel Winkler, Skeptical Science, Nov 14, 2023
• Report Charts Climate Change’s Growing Impact in the US, While Stressing Benefits of Action The National Climate Assessment sees sea level rise of 11 inches by 2050 and says the transition to wind and solar energy must go two to 10 times faster to meet U.S. goals for reducing greenhouse gases. by Marianne Lavelle, Katie Surma, Kiley Price  &, Nicholas Kusnetz, Inside Climate News, Nov 14, 2023
• In a Report Card on Global Warming, Nations Get a Very Poor Grade Countries are taking “baby steps,” a U.N. official said. In a separate study, Saudi researchers warned of an “existential crisis” for their nation from rising temperatures. by Somini Sengupta, Climate, New York Times, Nov 14, 2023

Wednesday, Nov 15, 2023

• No place in the US is safe from the climate crisis, but a new report shows where it’s most severe by Ella Nilsen, US, CNN, Nov 1 4, 2023
• U.S. and China Agree to Displace Fossil Fuels by Ramping Up Renewables The climate agreement between the two countries is seen as a bright spot as President Biden prepares to meet President Xi Jinping. by Lisa Friedman, Climate, New York Times, Nov 14, 2023
• 46M Health Professionals Urge Fossil Phaseout as Lancet Countdown Warns of Dire Impacts by Gaye Taylor, The Energy Mix, Nov 14, 2023
• How soon do yon have to buy heat pumps and EVs to avoid climate catastrophe? by Michael J Coren & Niko Kommenda, Climate, Washington Post, Nov 14, 2023
• Backed by the EU, Namibia has a $20 billion plan to export green hydrogen. A secretive tender process raises concerns for nature and citizens. by John Grobler, Joe Lo & Matteo Civillini, News, Climate Home News, Nov 15, 2023
• Uncounted Emissions: The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuel Exports Oil, gas, and coal exports are not counted when countries tally their greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement. This allows wealthy nations to report progress on emissions reduction goals, while shipping their fossil fuels — and the pollution they produce — overseas. by Bill Mckibben, Yale Environment 360, Nov 14, 2023
• Cop28 host UAE has world’s biggest climate-busting oil plans, data indicates State oil company’s huge expansion plans make its CEO’s role as president of UN climate summit ‘ridiculous’, say researchers by Damian Carrington, Environment, The Guardian, Nov 15, 2023
• Greenhouse gases soared to another record and there’s ‘no end in sight’ by Justine McDaniel. Climate, Washington Post, Nov 15, 2023

Thursday, Nov 16, 2023

• China’s Wildly Complex Energy Transition, Explained in 8 Charts The world’s biggest polluter is also the world’s top generator of renewable energy. by Emily Pontecorvo, Economy, Heatmap, Nov 15, 2023
• Last month was by far the world’s hottest October on record The past 12 months (November 2022-October 2023) was the hottest 12-month period for about 125,000 years, 1.3 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial climate. by Jeff Masters, Eye on the Storm, Yale Climate Connections, Nov 15, 2023
• Beyond climate: Oil, gas and coal are destabilizing all 9 planetary boundaries by Sean Mowbrey, Mongabay, Nov 14, 2023 (Note: This story is the first in a three-part miniseries surveying the range of impacts by the fossil fuel industry on the global environment. Part one and part two review harm done to the nine planetary boundaries, while part three looks at circular economy solutions.)
• More than Half of World’s Largest Companies’ Net Zero Pledges Are False Promises, Study Finds An InfluenceMap analysis finds many corporate climate vows do not match companies’ actual lobbying around climate-related policies. by Dana Durgmand, DeSmog international, Nov 15, 2023

Friday, Nov 17, 2023

• He won a Nobel Prize. Then he started denying climate change. John Clauser shared the Nobel in physics last year. Now he’s a self-described ‘denier’ of the overwhelming scientific consensus on a warming planet. by Maxine Joselow, Climte, Washingto Post, Nov 16, 2023
• Medical experts are worried about climate change too. Here's how it can harm your health. by Karen Weintraub & Dinah Voyles Pulver, Nation, USA TODAY, Nov 16, 2023
• Earth is taking a pounding from bigger ocean waves. Why this matters. by Kasha Patel, Climate, Washington Post, Nov 16, 2023
• Moving Past Climate Denial by Amy Westervelt, News, Drilled, Nov 17, 2013

Saturday, Nov 18, 2023

• Texas approves new textbooks after friction over fossil fuels in the US's biggest oil and gas state&nbsp The Texas education board has approved new textbooks but called on some publishers to change their depictions of fossil fuels in the U.S.'s biggest moil and gas state by Acacia Coronado, AP/ABC News, Nov 17, 2023
• 025-The Misinformation Machine by Amber Whittle, The Peel Podcast, Nov 16, 2023
• Ancient Warming of a Rising Sea by Sarah Kaplan, Bonnie Jo Mount, Simon Ducroquet, Emily Wright & Frank Hulley-Jones, Climate, Washington Post, Nov 17, 2023
• I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m Not Screaming Into the Void Anymore. Opinion by Kate Marevel, Climate, New York Times, Nov 18, 2023