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Today — 26 June 2024Main stream
Before yesterdayMain stream

A Chemical-Sniffing Van Shows How Heat Amps Up Pollution

✇NYT: Science
By: Hiroko Tabuchi
21 June 2024 at 10:44
In heat waves, chemicals like formaldehyde and ozone can form more readily in the air, according to researchers driving mobile labs in New York City this week.

© Blacki Migliozzi/The New York Times

Mobile labs that measure airborne pollutants drove around New York City and New Jersey during the recent heat wave.

Well Beyond the U.S., Heat and Climate Extremes Are Hitting Billions

✇NYT: Science
By: Somini Sengupta
21 June 2024 at 10:06
People all over the world are facing severe heat, floods and fire, aggravated by the use of fossil fuels. The year isn’t halfway done.

© Fadel Senna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Rescuers carried a heat-stricken patient during the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Amazon Says It Will Stop Using Plastic Pillows in Shipments

✇NYT: Science
By: Hiroko Tabuchi
20 June 2024 at 17:49
They’ll be replaced in North America with paper packing, eliminating some 15 billion pillows a year. Plastic film is a major pollutant.

© Fred Greaves/Reuters

Plastic film is one of the most common forms of marine plastic litter, scientists say.

Monkeys in Puerto Rico Got Nicer After Hurricane Maria

✇NYT: Science
By: Rachel Nuwer
20 June 2024 at 14:37
Macaques, reeling from a hurricane, learned by necessity to get along, a study found. It’s one of the first to suggest that animals can adapt to environmental upheaval with social changes.

© Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press

Rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago, P.R., in October 2017, just weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through.

Butterflies Are in Decline. New Research Points to Insecticides.

✇NYT: Science
By: Catrin Einhorn
21 June 2024 at 14:27
Agricultural insecticides were a key factor, according to a study focused on the Midwest, though researchers emphasized the importance of climate change and habitat loss.

© Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium, via Associated Press

Monarch butterflies in St. Joseph, Mich. U.S. wildlife officials are weighing whether to place monarchs on the endangered species list.

George Woodwell, 95, Influential Ecologist on Climate Change, Dies

✇NYT: Science
By: Keith Schneider
20 June 2024 at 16:06
The founder of the renowned Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, he also helped shape U.S. policies on controlling toxic substances like DDT.

© Woodwell Climate Research Center

George Woodwell, center, at the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, which he founded in 1985 to study global climate change. It was later renamed the Woodwell Climate Research Center.

Dozens of Groups Push FEMA to Recognize Extreme Heat as a ‘Major Disaster’

✇NYT: Science
By: Manuela Andreoni
17 June 2024 at 20:36
The labor and environmental groups are pushing the change so relief funds can be used in more situations.

© Carlos Barria/Reuters

Construction in Phoenix last July. Labor groups and workers’ rights organizations hope to build up protections for the tens of millions of people working outside or without air-conditioning during heat waves.

White House Takes a Tiny Bite From Giant Pile of Food Waste

✇NYT: Science
By: Somini Sengupta
12 June 2024 at 10:58
The government will look at ways to extend the shelf life of foods and to create more composting and other facilities, as well as urge companies to donate more food.

© Andri Tambunan for The New York Times

A landfill in Vacaville, Calif. The state is one of several that already have food-waste strategies.

We’ve just had a year in which every month was a record-setter

✇Ars Technica
By: John Timmer
6 June 2024 at 14:56
A red and orange background, with a thermometer representing extreme heat in the center.

Enlarge (credit: Uma Shankar sharma)

June 2023 did not seem like an exceptional month at the time. It was the warmest June in the instrumental temperature record, but monthly records haven't exactly been unusual in a period where the top 10 warmest years on record have all occurred within the last 15 years. And monthly records have often occurred in years that are otherwise unexceptional; at the time, the warmest July on record had occurred in 2019, a year that doesn't stand out much from the rest of the past decade.

But July 2023 set another monthly record, easily eclipsing 2019's high temperatures. Then August set yet another monthly record. And so has every single month since, a string of records that propelled 2023 to the warmest year since we started keeping track.

Yesterday, the European Union's Copernicus Earth-monitoring service announced that we've now gone a full year where every single month has been the warmest version of that month since we've had enough instruments in place to track global temperatures.

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

How a Climate Backlash Influenced Campaigning in Europe

✇NYT: Science
By: Somini Sengupta
9 June 2024 at 12:15
After years of political consensus on the transition to cleaner energy, a ‘greenlash’ began bubbling up as prices rose and right-wing candidates gained ground.

© Kenzo Tribouillard/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The European Parliament in Brussels. Elections are being held through the weekend.

An Oregon Forest Is in Trouble. Part of the Response: Logging.

✇NYT: Science
By: Anna Kramer
6 June 2024 at 11:23
Officials in Oregon say they need to cut trees, including some healthy ones. The reaction shows how complex land management has become as forest health declines.

© Amanda Loman/Associated Press

Dead and dying Douglas fir trees in the Willamette National Forest, Ore., in October.

‘Hanging by a Thread’: U.N. Chief Warns of Missing a Key Climate Target

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
5 June 2024 at 13:12
His comments came as the world body’s weather agency said it expected Earth to soon surpass the record high temperatures experienced in 2023.

© R. Satish Babu/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Fire on marshland in Perumbakkam, near Chennai, India, last week.

Alameda Ends Cloud-Brightening Test, Overruling Staff Decision

✇NYT: Science
By: Soumya Karlamangla and Christopher Flavelle
5 June 2024 at 11:17
The City Council in Alameda, Calif., voted to stop tests of a device that could one day cool the Earth. Scientists and city staff had previously concluded the tests posed no risk.

The sprayer being tested at the end of March in advance of the experiment on board the decommissioned U.S.S. Hornet in Alameda, Calif.

India’s Next Government Will Face Serious Climate Challenges

✇NYT: Science
By: Somini Sengupta
4 June 2024 at 13:59
Farmers have repeatedly protested over grievances tied to global warming, a major political and economic test given the importance of India’s rural economy.

© Arun Sankar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Farmers near the Yamuna River in New Delhi. Tens of thousands of farmers have protested in the capital in recent years.

Brazil’s Deadly Flooding Made Twice as Likely by Global Warming, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong and Manuela Andreoni
3 June 2024 at 16:00
The country’s south received three months’ rain in two weeks. Global warming has made such deluges twice as likely as before, scientists said.

© Anselmo Cunha/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A damaged refrigerator was used to ferry groceries last month after flooding in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Saudi Arabia Eyes a Future Beyond Oil

✇NYT: Technology
By: Stanley Reed
29 May 2024 at 00:01
The kingdom is trying to juggle its still-vital petroleum industry with alternative energy sources like wind and solar as it faces pressure to lower carbon emissions.

© Iman Al-Dabbagh for The New York Times

Arrays of solar panels help power the Jazlah Water Desalination plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon Offsets, a Much-Criticized Climate Tool, Get Federal Guidelines

✇NYT: Science
By: Brad Plumer
28 May 2024 at 08:41
The new principles aim to define ‘high-integrity’ offsets amid concerns that current practices often don’t cut greenhouse gas emissions as claimed.

© Zinyange Auntony/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Seedlings at a carbon offset partnership in Zimbabwe.

Climate Change Added a Month’s Worth of Extra-Hot Days in Past Year

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
28 May 2024 at 04:30
Since last May, the average person experienced 26 more days of abnormal warmth than they would have without global warming, a new analysis found.

© Fareed Khan/Associated Press

Receiving treatment for heatstroke in a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday.

These Teens Adopted an Orphaned Oil Well. Their Goal: Shut It Down.

✇NYT: Science
By: Delger Erdenesanaa
24 May 2024 at 05:02
Students, nonprofit groups and others are fund-raising to cap highly polluting oil and gas wells abandoned by industry.

© Cornell Watson for The New York Times

From left: Lila Gisondi, Mateo De La Rocha and Sebastian Ng, high school seniors in Cary, N.C., who adopted an oil well in Ohio that was leaking gas.

Some Wind Turbines in Iowa Crumpled by Tornadoes

✇NYT: Science
By: Christopher Flavelle
22 May 2024 at 14:55
The damage was unusual, experts say, because turbines are built to withstand extreme weather. Iowa is a wind powerhouse, with thousands of turbines.

© Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

The remains of a tornado-damaged wind turbine in a field near Prescott, Iowa, on Tuesday.

Thunderstorms, Wind and Climate Change: Here’s What to Know

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
17 May 2024 at 14:07
Scientists say storms like those that battered Houston could become more intense as the planet warms, though pinning down trends is still challenging.

© David J. Phillip/Associated Press

A damaged building in Houston on Friday, after severe storms the night before.

Heat Stress Is Hitting Caribbean Reefs Earlier Than Ever This Year

✇NYT: Science
By: Catrin Einhorn
16 May 2024 at 16:27
Scientists in the United States are reporting “unprecedented patterns” of surface warming, an ominous sign for coral.

© Jorge Silva/Reuters

Bleached corals off Brazil this week. The world is currently experiencing a global coral bleaching event, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Meet the Marine Biologist Who Works for a Hotel Chain

✇NYT: Science
By: Elisabeth Goodridge
15 May 2024 at 05:00
Megan Morikawa of the Iberostar Group is applying science — and scale — to eliminate food waste, save coral and collaborate across the travel industry to cut carbon.

Summer 2023 Was the Northern Hemisphere’s Hottest in 2,000 Years, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Delger Erdenesanaa
14 May 2024 at 11:02
Scientists used tree rings to compare last year’s extreme heat with temperatures over the past two millenniums.

© Arpad Benedek/Alamy

A 730-year-old fir tree in Mount Rainier National Park, Wash. Researchers used data from 10,000 trees across the Northern Hemisphere.

Alarmed by Climate Change, Astronomers Train Their Sights on Earth

✇NYT: Science
By: Katrina Miller and Delger Erdenesanaa
14 May 2024 at 03:00
A growing number of researchers in the field are using their expertise to fight the climate crisis.

© David Maurice Smith for The New York Times

Penny Sackett, former director of the Australian National University’s Mount Stromlo Observatory, just outside Canberra, in the remains of the observatory, which was destroyed in a 2003 wildfire.

New Rules to Overhaul Electric Grids Could Boost Wind and Solar Power

✇NYT: Science
By: Brad Plumer
13 May 2024 at 18:22
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the biggest changes in more than a decade to the way U.S. power lines are planned and funded.

© Renaud Philippe for The New York Times

A transmission line construction project near Bingham, Maine, in 2022.

Alameda Officials Stop Cloud Brightening Study Aimed at Cooling Planet

✇NYT: Science
By: Christopher Flavelle
14 May 2024 at 06:30
Researchers had been testing a sprayer that could one day be used to push a salty mist skyward, cooling the Earth. Officials stopped the work, citing health questions.

© Ian C. Bates for The New York Times

The experiment, designed to test possible cloud-brightening technology, took place aboard a ship docked in San Francisco Bay.

California Will Add a Fixed Charge to Electric Bills and Reduce Rates

✇NYT: Technology
By: Ivan Penn
10 May 2024 at 11:06
Officials said the decision would lower bills and encourage people to use cars and appliances that did not use fossil fuels, but some experts said it would discourage energy efficiency.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Utility companies across the country have long pushed for fixed charges to help cover the cost of maintaining and improving grid equipment like power lines and substations

10 Big Biden Environmental Rules, and What They Mean

✇NYT: Science
By: Coral Davenport
9 May 2024 at 05:06
Asbestos, “forever” chemicals, E.V.s and endangered species. Here’s what 10 new rules cover, and why the administration has been churning them out.

© Tom Brenner for The New York Times

President Biden giving an Earth Day speech inside Prince William Forest Park in Virginia, last month.

The U.S. Is Getting More Heavy Tornado Days. Scientists Are Trying to Figure Out Why.

✇NYT: Science
By: Delger Erdenesanaa
8 May 2024 at 16:12
The number of tornadoes so far in the United States this year is just above average. But their distribution is changing.

© Ronald W. Erdrich/The Abilene Reporter-News, via Associated Press

A tornado near Hawley, Texas, on Thursday.

Environmental Changes Are Fueling Human, Animal and Plant Diseases, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Emily Anthes
8 May 2024 at 11:31
Biodiversity loss, global warming, pollution and the spread of invasive species are making infectious diseases more dangerous to organisms around the world.

© Bill Draker/Rolf Nussbaumer Photography, via Alamy

White-footed mice, the primary reservoir for Lyme disease, have become more dominant in the U.S. as other rarer mammals have disappeared, one potential explanation for rising disease rates.

Gas Stove Pollution Risk Is Greatest in Smaller Homes, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Hiroko Tabuchi
3 May 2024 at 14:00
Gas-burning ranges, a significant contributor to indoor pollution, can produce and spread particularly high levels of some pollutants in smaller spaces.

© Calla Kessler for The New York Times

Yannai Kashtan, a scientist from Stanford University, lit a stove in a New York City apartment as part of the research last year.

Some NASA Satellites Will Soon Stop Sending Data Back to Earth

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
3 May 2024 at 16:47
Three long-running satellites will soon be switched off, forcing scientists to figure out how to adjust their views of our changing planet.

© NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team

Marine stratocumulus clouds over the southeastern Pacific Ocean, captured by NASA’s Terra satellite in 2002.

What Makes a Society More Resilient? Frequent Hardship.

✇NYT: Science
By: Carl Zimmer
1 May 2024 at 11:00
Comparing 30,000 years of human history, researchers found that surviving famine, war or climate change helps groups recover more quickly from future shocks.

© Wirestock, Inc., via Alamy

The city of Caral thrived in Peru between about 5,000 and 3,800 years ago. It was then abandoned for centuries before being briefly reoccupied.

Drought That Snarled Panama Canal Was Linked to El Niño, Study Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
1 May 2024 at 01:01
The low water levels that choked cargo traffic were more closely tied to the natural climate cycle than to human-caused warming, a team of scientists has concluded.

© Nathalia Angarita for The New York Times

A cargo ship in the Panama Canal in September. Officials last year had to slash the number of vessels allowed through.

Energy Dept. Releases New Efficiency Rules for Water Heaters and Other Appliances

✇NYT: Science
By: Hiroko Tabuchi
30 April 2024 at 16:59
The Biden administration is tightening efficiency rules for water heaters, stoves and other appliances, and conservative politicians are dialing up their criticisms.

© Beth Hall for The New York Times

The new rules will save nearly $1 trillion over 30 years, the D.O.E. said. Conservatives counter that machines will cost more up front.

Honda Commits to E.V.s With Big Investment in Canada

✇NYT: Technology
By: Jack Ewing
25 April 2024 at 13:51
The Japanese automaker, which has been slow to sell electric vehicles, said it would invest $11 billion to make batteries and cars in Ontario.

© Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Honda has said that it would retool its factory in Marysville, Ohio, to make electric vehicles in 2026. The investment in Canada is a sign that the company expects the technology to grow in popularity.
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