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2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19
Posted on 12 May 2018 by John Hartz
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.
Editor's Pick
Methane, Climate Change, and Our Uncertain Future
Methane is generally considered secondary to carbon dioxide in its importance to climate change, but what role might methane play in the future if global temperatures continue to rise?
Flooded permafrost tundra in northeast Siberia. Hydrology is a key control on methane emissions in wetland and permafrost ecosystems. Credit: Joshua Dean
The greenhouse gas, methane, is produced by both natural processes and human activities. While there has been much attention paid to curbing anthropogenic emissions, a changing climate will likely increase the production of natural methane. In an open access article recently published in Reviews of Geophysics, Dean et al. [2018] describe the ways in which biological, geochemical, and physical systems influence methane concentrations and explore how methane levels in natural systems may alter in a warming climate. Here the authors answer some questions about the sources and significance of methane, and indicate some future research directions.
Methane, Climate Change, and Our Uncertain Future by Joshua Dean, Editors' Vox, Eos, May 11, 2018
Links posted on Facebook
Sun May 6, 2018
- One-sided dialogue as rich countries sit out talks on climate loss by Soila Apparicio, Climate Home, May 4, 2018
- Climate change: Scientists predict significant changes in monsoon rainfall by Syed Akbar, TNN/Times of India, May 5, 2018
- On Climate Change, a Disconnect Between Attitudes and Behavior by Tom Jacobs, Pacific Standard, May 4, 2018
- Pruitt's EPA Is on the Verge of 'Regulatory Capture', Study Says by Neela Banerjee, InsideClimate News, May 1, 2018
- Science can't solve climate change — better politics can, former IPCC scientist says by Anna Salleh, Science, ABC Radio News (Australia), May 1, 2018
- Green Climate Fund may ask donors for a refill in 2019 - director by Megan Rowling, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 3, 2018
- Are we ready for an epidemic this summer?, Opinion by Ronald A Klain, Washington Post, May 4, 2018
Mon May 7, 2018
- The Carbon Brief Profile: Turkey by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, May 5, 2018
- Making cities more dense always sparks resistance. Here’s how to overcome it. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 5, 2018
- EPA’s climate change website went down a year ago for ‘updating.’ It’s still not back. by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 4, 2018
- The B.C. pipeline project you've never heard of — and why it may succeed by Mike Laanela, CBC News, May 5, 2018
- Lyme-carrying ticks and other dangerous pests are creeping into Utah, thanks to climate change by Emma Penrod, Salt Lake Tribune, May 5, 2018
- What genuine, for real, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 7, 2018
- Global warming will depress economic growth in Trump country by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, May 7, 2018
- Will the Clean Power Plan Repeal Come with a Replacement? by Niina Heikkinen, E&E News/Scientific American, May 7, 2018
Tue May 8, 2018
- Why We Need More Conversation When It Comes To Climate Change by Chris Shaw, Earth, Science Trends, May 4, 2018
- In Ancient Rocks, Scientists See a Climate Cycle Working Across Deep Time by Kevin Krajick, State of the Planet, Earth Institute, Columbia University, May 7, 2018
- Scientists Say Ocean Circulation Is Slowing. Here’s Why You Should Care. by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, May 7, 2018
- 2016 Arctic heat would have been virtually impossible without global warming by Rebecca Lindsey, NOAA's Climate.gov, May 7, 2018
- Another extreme heat wave strikes the North Pole by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, May 7, 2018
- Tourism responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, study finds by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, May 7, 2018
- Three newspapers confront one challenge: Sea-level rise is real, South Florida needs all hands on deck — now, Editorial Board, Miami Herald, May 4, 2018
- Pediatricians are concerned about climate change, and here's why by Jacqueline Howard, Health, CNN, May 8, 2018
Wed May 9, 2018
- Facebook partners with global warming skeptics while cracking down on ‘untrustworthy’ news sources by Amy Martin, Consumer Affairs, May 7, 2018
- Because of climate change, hurricanes are raining harder and may be growing stronger more quickly by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, May 8, 2018
- The 1970s Global Cooling Zombie Myth and the Tricks Some People Use to Keep it Alive, Part II by David Kirtley, Skeptical Science, May 8, 2018
- E.P.A. Emails Shed Light on Pruitt’s Plan to Debate Climate Change by Lisa Friedman & Coral Davenport, Climate, New York Times, May 9, 2018
- Global warming is melting Antarctic ice from below by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Environment, Guardian, May 9, 2018
- Hotter seas threaten marine wildlife with extinction - researchers by Isabelle Gerretsen,Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 7, 2018
- 'It's all about vested interests': untangling conspiracy, conservatism and climate scepticism by Graham Redfearn, Planet Oz, Environment, Guardian, May 7, 2018
Thu May 10, 2018
- Extra climate talks scheduled amid Bonn stalemate by Karl Mathiesen, Climate Home News, May 8, 2018
- Development banks ‘not aligned’ with Paris Agreement goals: report by Soila Apparicio, Climate Home News, May 9, 2018
- Explainer: Six ideas to limit global warming with solar geoengineering by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, May 9, 2018
- April: high CO2, low sea ice and extreme weather, World Meteorological Society (WMO) News, May 7, 2018
- Alien Waters: Neighboring Seas Are Flowing into a Warming Arctic Ocean by Cheryl Katz, Yale Environment 360, May 10, 2018
- King County, Washington Files Latest Suit Against Big Oil for Climate Impacts by Dana Drugmand, Climate Liability News, May 10, 2018
- Emails show EPA turned to climate skeptics to craft ‘red team-blue team’ exercise by Dino Grandoni, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 9, 2018
- Trump White House quietly cancels NASA research verifying greenhouse gas cuts by Paul Voosen, Science, May 9, 2018
Fri May 11, 2018
- "No follow up" from Trump over staying in climate pact-UN by Alister Doyle, Reuters, May 9, 2018
- Social investors see the light on clean energy for the poor by Megan Rowling, Thomson Reuters Foundation, May 10, 2018
- Pentagon revised Obama-era report to remove risks from climate change by Chris Mooney & Missy Ryan, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 10, 2018
- Bonn climate talks: key outcomes from the May 2018 UN climate conference by Simon Evans & Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, May 11, 2018
- Allergy explosion' across much of the country linked to climate change by Shamard Charles, NBC News, May 9, 2018
- Half of America’s carbon-free electricity comes from nuclear. Here’s how to save it. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 10. 2018
- Here’s what vanishing sea ice in the Arctic means for you by Alessandra Potenza, Science, The Verge, May 10, 2018
- With Schneiderman Resignation, Exxon Climate Investigation Loses a Leader by Jennifer Dorroh, Climate Liability News, May 8, 2018
Sat May 12, 2018
- The environment is finally getting its day in court by Anna-Catherine Brigida, Yale Cimate Connections, May 11, 2018
- These 20 Water-Stressed Countries Have the Most Solar and Wind Potential by Tianyi Luo, World Resources Instittue (WRI), May 10, 2018
- La Niña is Gone; Severe Weather in Late-Spring Mode by Bob Henson, Category 6, Weather Underground, May 10, 2018
- Methane, Climate Change, and Our Uncertain Future by Joshua Dean, Editors' Vox, Eos, May 11, 2018
- Secret UK push to weaken EU climate laws 'completely mad' by Arthur Neslen, Environment, Guardian, May 9, 2018
- California upstages Australia by becoming first place to require solar panels on new homes by Sebastien Malo & Nichola Groom, Finncial Review (AU), May 11, 2018
- Hurricane season may be even worse in 2018 after a harrowing 2017 by Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, May 11, 2018
- American energy use, in one diagram by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 12, 2018
Related research. Scientists struggle to explain a worrying rise in atmospheric methane
In their 2011 Paper, Schuur and Abbott concluded that no more than 2.7% of greenhouse gasses emitted by melting of permafrost would be in the form of CH4, with 93.3% of CH4 being oxidised and emitted as CO2. This widely accepted view ignored the fact that when the top 2-3 metres of permafrost degrades, much of the land is covered in water due to poor drainage. This inhibits oxidation of CH4 since methanotrophic bacteria responsible for this process cannot function in anoxic conditions normally found in waterlogged land.
It should be expected that CH4 emissions from permafrost degredation, both onshore and from the submerged continental shelf bordering the Arctic Ocean, will therefore be very much higher and its oxidation in the atmosphere very much slower due to depletion of hydroxil (H1O) radicals essential for this process. Hydroxil radicals are derived from ozone and their depletion is due in part to anthropogenic effects on the zone layer and on CH4 emissions exceeding the rate of hydroxil formation.
The likely outcome is that global warming will produce significantly increasing CH4 emissions beyond human control (unlike farming and industrial emissions) and well beyond the capacity of hyroxils to oxidise. The result will be that the lifespan of CH4 in the atmosphere, now 10-12 years, will increase – as will its contribution to global warming, further degrading permafrost and releasing even greater quantities of CH4 to the atmosphere. CH4 emissions from permafrost will become an increasingly serious problem.