• Climate Change

Mainstream News Media Ignored the Climate Crisis in 2019 — Let’s Talk About It

• #climatecrisis
• CBS News
• climate change
• mainstream media
• PBS Newshour

According to a recent study of news coverage in 2019 by the organization Media Matters, news shows on the major networks aired only 238 minutes of climate crisis coverage, which was actually up from 2018 significantly, but as a whole still made up only 0.7% of overall corporate broadcast nightly and Sunday morning news shows in 2019.

Why This Matters:  Major network news is a bellwether for the nation — if they are not talking about climate change, then neither is the American public.

• Climate Change

One Ridiculous Thing: Helicoptering In Snow

• climate change
• skiing
• snow

We have heard of helicopter skiing, but this month a French ski resort had to resort to helicoptering in the snow itself, CNN reported. Apparently, it was too warm to even make snow on the mountain so the Superbagnères resort in the Pyrenees had a helicopter delivering bundles of snow to the area in order […]

• Climate Change

JP Morgan To Stop Funding Arctic Projects, Warns Its Investors About Climate “Catastrophe”

• Arctic
• climate change
• Exxon Mobil
• JP Morgan
• natural gas
• oil and gas

JP Morgan Chase, the largest funder of oil and gas projects in the Arctic, announced on Monday that it will no longer fund those projects and it will reduce its investment in coal-fired power projects, but it will continue to invest in oil and gas projects in the rest of the U.S.

Why This Matters:  The commitment by JP Morgan to stay out of the Arctic shows that pressure from the public is working — forcing the bank to reconsider its fossil fuel loans and investments in a part of the planet which is changing more rapidly than most areas.

• Climate Change

Fake News Bots Account for the Bulk of Social Media Climate Denial

• fake news
• Trump
• twitter

After the 2016 election, it became evident that bots were responsible for the spread of vast misinformation, or fake news. While there’s currently AI being deployed to fight this dangerous element of social media, bots are still incredibly effective at spreading false narratives, especially when it comes to climate change. As The Guardian reported, “the […]

• Climate Change

Why Is No One Talking About Climate Change in South Carolina?

• 2020
• primary election
• South Carolina

by Miro Korenha, co-founder and publisher Our Daily Planet As the early contests of the 2020 presidential election unfold, one thing has been evident: for the first time, climate change is a key issue for Democratic voters. There’s been plenty written about how voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, and especially Nevada see climate change as […]

• Climate Change

Farm Groups and Trump’s USDA Embrace Sustainability In Order to Fight Off Climate Regulation

• climate change
• farmers
• Farmers for a Sustainable Future
• greenhouse gas emissions
• USDA

Yesterday the Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Purdue< announced a series of goals intended to make the farming sector more sustainable, including an effort to cut the carbon footprint of agriculture in half and reducing food waste by 50 percent by 2030, The Hill reported. 

Why This Matters:  The agriculture sector, according to E&E News, accounts for 9% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, which is less than the transportation (29%) and electricity (28%) sectors, according to EPA.

• Climate Change

Jeff Bezos Commits a Cool 10 Billion to Fight Climate Change

• Amazon
• climate change
• philanthropy

Yesterday, Amazon’s Chief Executive Officer/world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, announced a $10 billion pledge to fund scientists, activists, nonprofits and other groups fighting to protect the environment and counter the effects of climate change. The initiative is called the Bezos Earth Fund and will begin giving out grants this summer. Bezos said in an Instagram […]

• Climate Change

Columbia University Will Create New A New Climate Change School “Like No Other”

Late last month, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, acting on a recommendation by a university-wide Task Force, announced a bold new initiative — it will form a new cross-disciplinary “Climate School” to address “the long-term climate issues that will be with future generations, and will also act swiftly given the short timeframe with which the world must act.” 

Why This Matters:  There is nothing else like this proposed school in the U.S. and certainly not at an institution as prominent as Columbia.

• Climate Change

New Biotech Companies Aim to Shrink the Carbon Footprint of Cement

• bioengineering
• carbon dioxide
• carbon footprint
• carbon sink
• concrete

Cement accounts for 8% of the annual emissions of carbon dioxide globally and reducing the carbon emissions from the process of making it has been a tough nut to crack, The Wall Street Journal reports. But now climate-conscious entrepreneurs are working to develop three new construction materials that could replace cement (read more about them […]

• Climate Change

China Building To Dominate 21st Century’s Renewable Energy Sector And Fight Climate Change

• batteries
• China
• climate change
• electric vehicles
• EVs
• oil and gas
• solar panels

The U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia may have dominated the 20th-century energy market, but according to an in-depth article in yesterday’s Houston Chronicle, China is now determined to dominate the 21st-century market in which energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions have become paramount for nations contending with climate change.

Why This Matters:  The United States, thanks to President Trump and his desire to prop up the dying coal, gas, and oil industries, is falling behind in this competition for the future energy market.

• Climate Change

Twitter Becoming a Helpful Data Tool for Scientists and Public Safety Officials

• Flooding
• social media
• twitter

As the climate crisis intensifies and natural disasters become more frequent and powerful, scientists are increasingly turning to social media as a way to assess the damage and impact on a more localized scale. For instance, since the East and Gulf coasts of the United States have only about 132 tidal gauge stations, it’s difficult […]

• Climate Change

CFCs Could Be Making The Arctic Warm Faster

• Arctic melting
• CFCs
• climate change
• ozone hole
• permafrost

According to a new study published in the Journal Nature late last month, chlorofluorocarbon gasses (or CFCs), that were widely recognized for causing the ozone hole over the Antarctic, “could be responsible for up to half of the effects of climate change observed in the Arctic from 1955 to 2005.” 

Why This Matters:  It is especially relevant because another study released just yesterday in Live Science found that the rapid melting is reshaping the Arctic before the residents’ very eyes — Arctic permafrost can thaw so quickly that it triggers landslides, drowns forests and opens gaping sinkholes.