Here are some of the news stories I found for this roundup:
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China power cuts: Coal miners ordered to boost output, say reports
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Drax's renewable energy plant is UK's biggest CO2 emitter, analysis claims
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In Peruvian Andes, ancient crops hold promise for a climate-blighted future
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Indigenous Tribes Facing Displacement in Alaska and Louisiana Say the U.S. Is Ignoring Climate Threats
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Climate in the Boardroom: How Asset Manager Voting Shaped Corporate Climate Action in 2021
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Ozone Pollution: An Insidious and Growing Threat to Biodiversity
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World Meteorological Organization Sharpens Warnings About Both Too Much and Too Little Water
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Sustainable Farming Expert Weighs in on California’s Historic Investments in ‘Climate Smart’ Agriculture
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Clean UK power will protect households from gas price rises – Kwasi Kwarteng
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Drought is Causing U.S. Hydropower to Have a Rough Year. Is This a Sign of a Long-Term Shift?
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California Governor Newsom fails to pass the Deforestation Free Procurement act
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Price Spikes Puncture Fracking’s Promise to Keep Natural Gas Prices Low
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Pittsburgh's air was unhealthy to breathe for 57 days in 2020
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Warning of Looming 'List of Horrors,' Pacific Island Leaders Demand Urgent COP 26 Climate Action
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3 young black climate activists in Africa trying to save the world
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The UN’s Top Human Rights Panel Votes to Recognize the Right to a Clean and Sustainable Environment
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A Delay in Autumn Leaves, More Bad News for Corals and the Vicious Cycle of War and Eco-Destruction
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With a Warming Climate, Coastal Fog Around the World Is Declining
This Is An Open Thread
China power cuts: Coal miners ordered to boost output, say reports
Beijing has reportedly ordered China's coal mines to boost output as an energy shortage across the country has seen millions of homes and businesses hit by power cuts in recent weeks.
Three major coal-producing provinces have pledged to increase production, Chinese news agency Caixin said.
Several provinces across the country have been suffering from blackouts since the middle of last month.
Demand for electricity is soaring as the country emerges from lockdowns.
North China's Inner Mongolia region has told more than 70 mines to boost annual output capacity by nearly 100 million tonnes, according to the Reuters news agency, citing a government official and coal traders.
Drax's renewable energy plant is UK's biggest CO2 emitter, analysis claims
A government-subsidised renewable energy plant run by Drax is the biggest single source of carbon dioxide in the UK, according to new analysis shared exclusively with Sky News.
Drax's Yorkshire power plant receives multimillion pound subsidies for burning woody biomass pellets to generate renewable electricity.
New research by climate think tank Ember said the plant is among the biggest sources of carbon dioxide and PM10 (particulate matter of 10 micrometres and smaller) air pollution of all EU power stations - when biomass emissions are included - more even than some of Europe's dirtiest coal plants.
Yet the emissions are not counted towards the UK's total.
In Peruvian Andes, ancient crops hold promise for a climate-blighted future
Earlier this year, the Peruvian government established a new agrobiodiversity zone a tenth the size of its capital, Lima, high in the Andes. Here, in the Marcapata Ccollana community, the 22,679-hectare (55,800-acre) zone is home to 99 varieties of potato that flourish alongside dozens of other root vegetables and a mélange of protein-rich and pest-resistant grains.
This Quechua-speaking Indigenous community of 814 people is the fourth to be recognized as an agrobiodiversity reserve by the government of Peru as part of a strategy to preserve the genetic variety of useful plants and their wild relatives where they occur.
The newly protected area is the result of a joint effort by the Marcapata Ccollana community, environmental nonprofits Amazon Conservation and ACCA, the U.N. Development Programme, and various branches of government including the Peruvian National Protected Areas Service, and the government of the Cusco region where the zone is located. It forms part of a mosaic of high-altitude protected areas, sitting just west from the Ccollasuyo agrobiodiversity zone, declared in late 2020, and bordering Ausangate, another regional conservation area that guards one of Peru’s highest peaks.
Indigenous Tribes Facing Displacement in Alaska and Louisiana Say the U.S. Is Ignoring Climate Threats
About 31 Native Alaskan communities face imminent climate displacement from flooding and erosion, which could lead cultures to disappear and ways of life to transform, with four tribes already in the process of relocating from their quickly disappearing villages.
The Kivalina, Shishmaref, Shaktoolik and Newtok, along with coastal Louisiana tribes, are among the most at risk of displacement due to climate change. But their efforts to move, according to tribal leaders, have been impeded by a lack of federal programs to assist in their relocation.
While there is no specialized federal program to assist in relocation efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development can help with specific projects like construction funding or affordable housing.
Climate in the Boardroom: How Asset Manager Voting Shaped Corporate Climate Action in 2021
Despite the escalating climate crisis, systemically important U.S. companies continue to invest in the expansion and continued use of fossil fuels, further accelerating global warming. The systemic and unhedgeable risks posed by climate change to long-term asset values and the stability of the financial system itself requires bold and ambitious action by investors to avert further global economic and financial catastrophe.Through their shareholder voting, large asset managers have both the power and fiduciary responsibility to hold corporate directors accountable to clear standards of net-zero alignment across climate-critical sectors. However, in 2021, proxy voting by asset managers with over $1 trillion in AUM remained insufficient to the scale and urgency of the climate crisis. Without additional board-level accountability from these largest and most influential shareholders to transition to net-zero pathways, companies in climate-critical industries such as oil and gas, electricity production, and financial services will continue to drive warming beyond 1.5°C—threatening the lives and livelihood of millions and placing trillions of dollars of shareholder value and financial system stability at increasing risk.
Ozone Pollution: An Insidious and Growing Threat to Biodiversity
Sequoia National Park’s famous groves of stout, 300-foot-tall trees sit high on the western side of the Sierra Nevada, above California’s San Joaquin Valley. They are threatened as never before: Wildfires have burned much of the forest, and now, for the first time, insects are killing sequoias.
There is also a stealthier threat to these majestic trees and the forest ecosystem of which they are a part. Ozone levels at Sequoia and the adjacent national park, King’s Canyon, are among the highest in the United States, thanks to smog that blows in from the urban areas and farming and industrial activity in the San Joaquin Valley below. Smog levels here are sometimes as high, or higher, than they are in Los Angeles.
It has long been known that ground level, or tropospheric, ozone damages trees and other plants by affecting a host of biological processes at the cellular level. Studies have shown that high ozone levels negatively impact plant growth, vitality, photosynthesis, water balance, the flowering process, and the abilities of plants to defend themselves.
World Meteorological Organization Sharpens Warnings About Both Too Much and Too Little Water
The global supply of fresh water is dropping by almost half an inch annually, the World Meteorological Organization warned in a report released this week. By 2050, about 5 billion people will have inadequate access to water at least one month per year, the report said.
Overall, global warming is intensifying the planet’s water cycle, with an increase of 134 percent in flood-related disasters since 2000, while the number and duration of droughts has grown by 29 percent over the same period. Most of the deaths and economic losses from floods are in Asia, while Africa is hardest hit by drought.
“The water is draining out of the tub in some places, while it’s overflowing in others,” said Maxx Dilley, director of the WMO Climate Programme. “We’ve known about this for a long time. When scientists were starting to get a handle on what climate change was going to mean, an acceleration of the hydrological cycle was one of the things that was considered likely.”
Sustainable Farming Expert Weighs in on California’s Historic Investments in ‘Climate Smart’ Agriculture
Late last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of bills to tackle the climate crisis, in what he called an “unprecedented investment in climate resiliency by any state in U.S. history.”
The $15 billion package allocates $1.5 billion for wildfire prevention and forest health, and more than $5 billion for drought and water resilience. But it also includes a record-breaking investment of more than $1 billion in “climate-smart” agriculture, intended to boost climate resilience and help farmers transition to practices that are more adaptive to climate change.
“We have a responsibility to lead the way,” Newsom said.
The investment in sustainable farming follows months of efforts by a coalition of nonprofit and public interest groups led by Jeanne Merrill, a sustainable farming advocate who is policy director for the California Climate and Agriculture Network, or CalCAN.
Clean UK power will protect households from gas price rises – Kwasi Kwarteng
Kwasi Kwarteng said a shift away from what he called “volatile fossil fuels” would “turbocharge” the use of renewables and hydrogen.
Speaking to the Energy UK conference, he said:
“this great uncertainty in the market shows exactly why we need to vigorously pursue our climate goals and to strengthen energy security – while, above all, protecting consumers and the planet.”
Drought is Causing U.S. Hydropower to Have a Rough Year. Is This a Sign of a Long-Term Shift?
When something reliable begins to look shaky, we should take notice. That’s what’s happening for hydroelectric power in much of the West, where severe drought has led to low water levels in the rivers and reservoirs that feed the power systems.
The Energy Information Administration is projecting a 13.9 percent decrease in hydroelectric generation this year compared to 2020, part of a larger picture in which renewable energy—which includes hydropower—is not growing as fast as scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
I wanted to know whether the drop in hydropower was a sign of a long-term shift that could be harmful to the transition to clean energy.
California Governor Newsom fails to pass the Deforestation Free Procurement act
Amidst ongoing wildfires, California Governor Gavin Newsom today vetoed the California Deforestation Free Procurement Act (AB-416) – a bill that would have leveraged California’s enormous purchasing power to halt the destruction of tropical forests, a leading cause of global climate change. After riding a wave of victory through both chambers of the state legislature, including a win of 30-8 in the senate, Governor Newsom vetoed the bill.
In his veto message, Governor Newson stated, “Deforestation is a major contributor to the climate crisis that California and the world is facing right now. I share the author’s commitment to preventing tropical deforestation. Unfortunately, this bill’s…requirements would create a significant burden on California businesses – particularly small businesses – that are looking to participate in state contracts…For these reasons I cannot sign this bill; however, I remain committed to working with the author to advance our shared environmental goals and will consider future legislation that better targets those supply chains that directly impact tropical deforestation.”
Price Spikes Puncture Fracking’s Promise to Keep Natural Gas Prices Low
Natural gas’s notorious price volatility has been making a comeback — in a big way.
The UK is experiencing a natural gas price surge so severe that the government stepped in to prevent a cascade down the supply chain that threatened to create food shortages. In the U.S., deals to sell natural gas this winter carry a price tag that’s roughly double or triple the costs in recent years, with a few traders placing bets that U.S. prices could multiply again, hitting $40 per thousand cubic feet (mcf), up from about $5 now. Major bank Citi said it won’t rule out $100/mcf for cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this winter, a tab for the supercooled form of the fossil fuel that’s used to ship it between continents which dwarfs even today’s record-setting heights.
Today’s price surges follow gas price spikes during the Texas freeze last February that shattered cold-weather records across the U.S. South and caused widespread power outages. Hundreds of people died as a result of the arctic blast, while gas producers whose product managed to make it to market reaped an $11 billion windfall — and now face allegations of price gouging.
Pittsburgh's air was unhealthy to breathe for 57 days in 2020
Air pollution in Pittsburgh reached unhealthy levels for 57 days—or nearly two months—in 2020, according to a new report.
The report, published today by environmental and public interest advocacy groups Environment America, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), and Frontier Group, tallied days that exceeded federal guidelines for ozone or particulate matter pollution in urban and rural areas across the U.S.
Ozone and particulate matter pollution can trigger a host of respiratory and heart issues including heart attacks, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Particulate matter pollution is also linked to cancer, premature births, and autism. The Pittsburgh region has higher than average rates of asthma and certain types of cancer linked to air pollution.
One small idea in Biden’s infrastructure plan with big benefits: Electric school buses
President Joe Biden’s new infrastructure proposal has a lot going on: replacing lead pipes, expanding broadband, improving roads and trains, investing in green energy technologies, and permanently altering the tax landscape to pay for it.
But one of its smartest provisions has mostly flown under the radar — a proposal to switch at least one-fifth of the school bus fleet from diesel to electric.
It may seem like a minor idea, bundled with other provisions in the plan’s splashy electric vehicle push, but it’s a low-key consequential one. There’s substantial evidence that breathing diesel fumes puts kids at risk and harms their performance at school. Until recently, the battery technology just wasn’t there to switch buses over to electric — but now it is. And Congress should make sure it’s in the final version of the infrastructure bill.
Warning of Looming 'List of Horrors,' Pacific Island Leaders Demand Urgent COP 26 Climate Action
Nations Climate Change Conference in Scotland, the heads of several Pacific island nations in recent days urged world leaders to leave their good intentions at home and commit to urgent, meaningful climate action.
"We refuse to be the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, as we are so often called."
On Thursday, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, Marshallese President David Kabua, and Samoan Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa addressed the European Union-Indo-Pacific Virtual Conference on Climate Change.
"For our sake and all of humanity's, small island developing states will use the full measure of our moral authority against major emitters who refuse to arrive in Glasgow with strong commitments," Bainimarama told the conference, according to Agence France-Presse.
3 young black climate activists in Africa trying to save the world
Elizabeth grew up in Nyeri County, a part of Kenya known for its beautiful forests. Her first act as a climate activist was planting her first tree when she was seven.
“I’m passionate about the environment because I was lucky enough to be able to connect with nature when I was young, and as long as I can remember I was angered by environmental injustices whenever I saw them, like people cutting down trees and polluting our rivers.
“So I thought to myself, why not try to help other young people be more conscious of the environment.”
The UN’s Top Human Rights Panel Votes to Recognize the Right to a Clean and Sustainable Environment
The United Nations’ top human rights body voted Friday to adopt a resolution recognizing the human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
The resolution passed with 43 votes in favor while China, India, Japan and Russia abstained from voting. The United States is not a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council and did not participate in the vote.
The approval, while not legally binding, solidifies the idea that the right to a healthy environment —a right that at least 150 countries recognize in some form—should be universally protected.
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A Delay in Autumn Leaves, More Bad News for Corals and the Vicious Cycle of War and Eco-Destruction
War and ecological degradation often go hand in hand and, after 20 years of unrelenting conflict, Afghanistan faces the most dire ecological threats of any country, according to a new report.
Other countries engaged in conflict, including Niger, Malawi, Pakistan and Yemen, are also at high risk, the report found.
“What happens is you get these cycles of ecological degradation and violence so the ecology gets damaged or degraded, and that leads to conflict. The conflict then leads to further damage to the environment. And that then creates this vicious cycle,” said Steve Killelea, founder of the Institute for Economics and Peace, a Sydney, Australia-based think tank that published the report.
With a Warming Climate, Coastal Fog Around the World Is Declining
Fog is a defining element of summer in Santa Cruz, obscuring the view of day trippers descending the hills to the coast and prompting kids to bundle up to hop on their bikes for summer adventures. Its fingerprints are visible in the vast coastal forests, even when it isn’t hanging in the air. The redwood trees towering in a clear blue sky soak up moisture from the fog on gray days. It is often their only source of water for months at a time.
Fog is essential for plants and animals, agriculture and human health, not only in California but in coastal zones around the world. But many scientists believe that fog is declining, another casualty of global warming.
Throughout California and the Western United States, some shifts driven by climate change are easy to see: increasing temperatures, shifting wind patterns and changing ocean currents. Fog trends, on the other hand, are as hard to grasp as the mist itself.
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The writers in Climate Brief work to keep the Daily Kos community informed and engaged with breaking news about the climate crisis around the world while providing inspiring stories of environmental heroes, opportunities for direct engagement, and perspectives on the intersection of climate activism with spirituality, politics, and the arts.