2017 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #22
Editor's Pick
Carbon Dioxide Set an All-Time Monthly High
With May in the books, it’s official: carbon dioxide set an all-time monthly record. It’s a sobering annual reminder that humans are pushing the climate into a state unseen in millions of years.
Carbon dioxide peaked at 409.65 parts per million for the year, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It’s not a surprise that it happened. Carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii peak in May every year.
The news comes one day after President Trump announced his plan to pull out of the world’s main climate agreement, juxtaposing the severity of the problem with an administration that has shown little to no interest in addressing it.
While plants growing in the northern hemisphere will draw a few parts per million of the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere over summer, make no mistake, human pollution is pushing atmospheric carbon dioxide ever higher. Mauna Loa Observatory crossed the 410 ppm threshold for the first time in recorded history in April. The May average is almost exactly what UK Met Office scientists predicted it would be in their first carbon dioxide forecast.
Carbon Dioxide Set an All-Time Monthly High by Brian Kahn, Climate Central, June 2, 2017
Links posted on Facebook
Sun May 28, 2017
- Factory Farms Put Climate at Risk, Experts Say in Urging Health Officials to Speak Out by Georgina Gustin, InsideClimate Brown, May 23, 2017
- Another consequence of climate change: A good night's sleep by Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2017
- Don’t call it ‘climate change’: How the government is rebranding in the age of Trump by Chris Mooney & Lisa Rein, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, May 26, 2017
- As Arctic sea ice shows record decline, scientists May 28, 2017prepare to go blind by Gloria Dickie, Mongabay, May 25, 2017
- 100 Practical Ways to Reverse Climate Change by Simon Worrall, National Geographic, May 28, 2017
- China Activates World’s Largest Floating Solar Power Plant by Steve Hanley, CleanTechnica, May 26, 2017
- Looking for Trump’s Climate Policy? Try the Energy Department by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York TimesJonathan Swan, Axois, May , May 25, 2017
- Scoop: Trump tells confidants U.S. will quit Paris climate deal by Jonathan Swain & Amy Harder, Axios, May 28, 2017
Mon May 29, 2017
- Scientists explain what will happen if Donald Trump pulls out of Paris climate change agreement by Seth Borenstein, AP/Independent, May 28, 2017
- Top Trump aide: Coal doesn't make 'much sense anymore' by Matt Eagan, CNN Money, May 26, 2017
- Hardliners round on Gary Cohn over coal by Jonathan Swan, Axios May 29, 2017
- Why Don’t Green Buildings Live Up to Hype on Energy Efficiency? by Richard Conniff, Yale Environment 360, May 25, 201
- Trump’s Energy, Low and Dirty, Opinion by Paul Krugman, New York Times, May 29, 2017
- Theresa May accused of being ‘Donald Trump’s mole’ in Europe after UK tries to water down EU climate change policy by Ian Johnston, Independent, May 29, 2017
- SkS Analogy 6 - Speakers, tuning forks, and global warming by Evan, Skeptical Science, May 29, 2017
- An Inside Look at the Horsemen of Our Apocalypse by Jefferson Morley, AlterNet, May 29, 2017
Tue May 30, 2017
- Urban "heat islands" seen doubling city costs for climate change by Alister Doyle, Reuters, May 29, 2017
- Wildfires on the rise due to drought and climate change by Steven Innskeep, 60 Minutes/CBS News, May 28, 2017
- Global Attitudes To Climate Change Risks Show Increasing Concern by Joshua Hill. CleanTechnica, May 29, 2017
- UK's biggest solar company takes shine to global projects with deals worth £3bn by Adam Vaughan, Guardian, May 28, 2017
- There’s Way Less Coal Than We Thought by Eric Roston, Bloomberg News, May 24, 2017
- Endorsing the Paris Agreement is Trump’s best opportunity for a big win by Joseph Robertson, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, May 30, 2017
- Add Nitrous Oxide to the List of Permafrost Melt Concerns by Brian Kahn, Climate Central, May 30, 2017
- “Climate Criminal” Trump to “Leave Paris Deal” This Week by Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, May 30, 2017
Wed May 31, 2017
- Why Can't Scientists Talk Like Regular Humans? by Katherine Wu, Scientific American, May 24, 2017
- Scientists warn US coral reefs are on course to disappear within decades by Oliver Milman, Guardian, May 30, 2017
- Bannon is pulling one over on Trump. There is zero reason to exit the Paris climate accord. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, May 30, 2017
- U.S. resists plan to link climate change, ocean health: U.N. co-chair by Alister Doyle, Reuters, May 30, 2017
- Trump Buys Into Putin Plan To Melt The Arctic by Howard Fineman, HuffPost US, May 31, 2017
- Exxon Shareholders Approve Climate Resolution: 62% Vote for Disclosure by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, May 31, 2017
- Trump’s reported exit from Paris climate deal signals end of the American Century by Joe Romm, Think Progress, May 31, 2017
- UN Chief: Not Even Trump Can Derail Global Action on Climate Change by Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News, May 31, 2017
Thu June 1, 2017
- Leaving the Paris Agreement Would Be Indefensible by Todd Stern, The Atlantic, May 31, 2017
- World’s First Commercial CO2 Capture Plant Goes Live by Bobby Magill, Climate Central, May 31, 2017
- US faces disgrace if Trump drops Paris climate pact, Opinion by Jeffry Sachs, CNN, June 1, 2017
- Trump Can’t Stop Corporate America From Fighting Climate Change by Daniel Gross, Slate, May 31, 2017
- 'No time to lose': Scientists eye a blueprint to save the Great Barrier Reef by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, June 1, 2017
- Trump to planet: Drop dead, Opinion by David A. Andelman, CNN, Jun 1, 2017
- Vatican would see U.S. Paris deal exit as slap in face: official by Philip Pullella, Reuters, June 1, 2017
- Donald Trump just cemented his legacy as America’s worst-ever president by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus, the 97%, Guardian, June 1, 2017
- Warming Could Push Earth’s Rains Northward by Andrea Thompson, Climate Central, May 31, 2017
- Trump’s Stupid and Reckless Climate Decision, Opinion by Bill McKibben, New York Times, June 1, 2017
- What to Expect as U.S. Leaves Paris Climate Accord by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York Times, June 1, 2017
Fri June 2, 2017
- Exclusive: UN, EU Agencies Reject Ties to Conference Hijacked by Climate Science Deniers by Graham Readfearn, DeSmog, May 31, 2017
- Second Biggest Jump in Annual CO2 Levels Reported as Trump Weighs Paris Climate Decision by Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News, June 1, 2017
- The U.S. Is the Biggest Carbon Polluter in History. It Just Walked Away From the Paris Climate Deal. by Justin Gillis & Nadja Popovich, New York Times, June 1, 2017
- Paris climate change accord: Facts versus Donald Trump's fictions by Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Sydney Morning Herald, June 2, 2017
- China and EU strengthen promise to Paris deal with US poised to step away by Daniel Boffey & Arthur Neslen, Guardian, June 1, 2017
- Why global emissions must peak by 2020 by Stefan Rahmstorf & Anders Levermann, Real Climate, June 2, 2017
- Why Trump Actually Pulled Out Of Paris by Micahel Grunwald, Politico, June 1, 2017
- Why so many white evangelicals in Trump’s base are deeply skeptical of climate change by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Acts of Faith, Washington Post, June 2, 2017
Sat June 3, 2017
- Carbon Dioxide Set an All-Time Monthly High by Brian Kahn, Climate Central, June 2, 2017
- Trump misunderstood MIT climate research, university officials say by Emily Flitter, Reuters, June 2, 2017
- Reflections on the politics of climate change by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, June 2, 2017
- Paris Agreement: Trump's Climate Exit Risks U.S. Economy, World's Welfare by John H Cushman Jr & Zahra Hirji, Inside Climate News, June 1, 2017
- Trump Thinks We Spend “Billions and Billions and Billions” on the Paris Climate Deal. We Don’t. by Ian Prasad Philbrick, Moneybox, Slate, June 2, 2017
- Abandoning Paris climate deal marks Trump's return to angry populism by Julian Borger, Climate Change, Guardian, June 2, 2017
- Trump decided on the Paris climate agreement with virtually no science advisers on staff by Brian Resnick, Energy & Environment, Vox, June 2, 2017
- Church leaders express regret over US climate change decision, Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS), June 2, 2017
Posted by John Hartz on Sunday, 4 June, 2017