Posted on 20 September 2026 by BaerbelW, Doug Bostrom

Stories we promoted this week, by category:

Climate Change Impacts (8 articles)

• A Super El Niño Is Building. Florida`s Most Vulnerable Homes Aren`t Ready. A strong El Niño is raising the odds of an active winter storm season—and the Floridians most likely to die in a tornado live in aging manufactured homes the state can’t even count. Inside Climate News, Kate Waxman, Sep 13, 2026.
• The Atmosphere Just Set a Water Vapor Record More water vapor means more rocket fuel for extreme rain — so this record is not good news The Climate Brink, Andrew Dessler, Sep 14, 2026.
• Climate crisis likely behind devastating Nepal-Tibet floods that killed more than 1,300, first study finds Scientists say global heating was a destabilising factor in collapse of 200,000 sq metre glacier in August. The Guardian, Damien Gayle, Sep 16, 2026.
• The open houses at the edge of disaster This story is part of Betting the House, a pop-up climate newsroom bringing together independent journalists to cover climate and housing. HEATED, Emily Atkin, Sep 17, 2026.
• Climate change is making it easier for invasive species to succeed The Conversation, Nicola S. Smith & William W. L. Cheung , Sep 17, 2026.
• MIT researchers are mapping extreme weather risks - and building tools to act on them The Climate Grand Challenges “New World of Weather” project shows how modeling, planning tools, and infrastructure analysis are translating research into real-world resilience. MIT News, David Chandler, Sep 18, 2026.
• What Happens When Earth Passes 1.5 Degrees of Warming? Climate scientist Michael Mann digs into the story behind the latest numbers. Inside Climate News, Steve Curwood, Sep 19, 2026.
• Burning forests, emptying rivers, €180bn in damage: Europe`s politicians face reckoning after `summer of truth` Amid record-shattering heatwaves and popular demand for climate action, why are politicians often timid or in denial? The Guardian, Fiona Harvey, Sep 19, 2026.

Climate Policy and Politics (7 articles)

• This climate problem isn`t on the UN agenda - data centers The slow moving climate talks are struggling to address one of the world’s biggest drivers of rising energy demand. Politico, Sara Schonhardt, Sep 11, 2026.
• EPA Will Remove Carbon Dioxide Limits on Power Plants The U.S. power sector—which accounts for roughly a quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions—will no longer need to abide by Biden-era federal climate pollution regulations. Eos, Grace van Deelen, Sep 14, 2026.
• Trump Administration Will Roll Back Climate Rules According to published reports, the Trump Administration will finalize rules to rollback carbon pollution standards for power plants, as soon as today. Common Dreams, Newswire Editor, Sep 14, 2026.
• Trump Doubles Down on Climate Denial With Plan to Repeal Power Plant Rules The EPA revoked limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, rejecting decades of settled science to argue that they do not contribute to dangerous air pollution. Inside Climate News, Liza Gross, Sep 15, 2026.
• How does unthinkable policy become inevitable? The `Overton window` is one possible answer The Overton window seems convenient for explaining big shifts in public policy. But just how good is it? The Conversation, Joshua Black, Lecturer in Australian Political Studies, University of Canberra, Sep 15, 2026.
• What the science really says about the health and climate risks of carbon pollution The repeal of this rule is the latest in the Trump Administration’s attempts to roll back federal climate regulation. TIME, Simmone Shah, Sep 15, 2026.
• Why Germany is building an ark for U.S. climate data As researchers around the world begin work on the next U.N. climate assessment, fears are growing that the Trump administration could meddle with critical U.S. climate data. In response, scientists are preparing to transfer vast troves of that data to repositories in Germany. YaleEnvironment360, Christian Schwägerl, Sep 17, 2026.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (4 articles)

• Why is Venus hotter than Mercury, when Mercury is closer to the sun? Despite being farther from the sun, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, and the reason has little to do with proximity to a star. Live Science, Olivia Maule, Sep 12, 2026.
• Africa`s climate services need local detail and knowledge, say people who use the information The Conversation, Petra HoldenCherié Janine Forbes and Gerald Ngoma, Sep 13, 2026.
• Australia must double down to meet our climate targets. Our new study shows how A new report from Climate Analytics and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research asks and attempts to answer a seemingly simple question: what can Australia do to limit GHG emissions overshoot? The Conversation, Bill Hare, Murdoch University, Sep 13, 2026.
• Scrap the term `net zero` - it`s too toxic, net zero committee urges Calling for a major rebranding of the effort to tackle climate change, the cross-party committee said the term had become a ‘lightning rod for opposition to climate action’ The Independent News, Millie Cooke, Sep 17, 2026.

Climate Science and Research (3 articles)

• Wildfires, permafrost melt in Canada causing even more climate change, new study shows New research says current climate models don’t account for warming-induced emissions CBC, Inyat Singh, Sep 11, 2026.
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #38 2026 Skeptical Science's weekly survey of peer-reviewed climate research plus climate-related reports from think tanks and governments. Skeptical Science, Doug Bostrom & Marc Kodack, Sep 17, 2026.
• How narwhal 'scientists' track Arctic warming Phys.org, Issam AHMED, Sep 19, 2026.

Climate Education and Communication (2 articles)

• In Florida, textbook publishers are minimizing or removing climate change coverage The words "climate change" are slowly being removed from textbooks in Florida and from the state's education standards. NPR, Jessica Meszaros, Sep 15, 2026.
• 12 climate books for back-to-school season These titles showcase how disciplines across the curriculum can inform our response to climate change. Yale Climate Connections, Michael Svoboda, Sep 15, 2026.

Miscellaneous (2 articles)

• 2026 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37 A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 6, 2026 thru Sat, September 12, 2026. Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler & Doug Bostrom, Sep 13, 2026.
• Kim Stanley Robinson won`t read aloud his climate disaster scene from `The Ministry for the Future` Kim Stanley Robinson, author of one of the most famous novels on climate change, says he has done more than 600 speaking events since “The Ministry for the Future” was published in 2020 — but he won’t read the first chapter out loud. AP News, Peter Prengaman, Sep 17, 2026.

Public Misunderstandings about Climate Science (1 article)

• Many Trump `enemies` are being spoon-fed to him by one conservative think tank Climate denial successfully fed to the White House as policy framework. The Independent News, Andrew Feinberg, Sep 18, 2026.

Climate Law and Justice (1 article)

• Congressional Republicans Aim to Shield Fossil Fuel Companies From Climate Lawsuits The House Judiciary Committee will consider the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act as the Trump administration moves to roll back federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Inside Climate News, Georgina Gustin, Sep 15, 2026.