Climate 411

Why melting polar ice is a debt we can’t afford to carry

Near Palmer Station, Antarctica. Photo: Alice Alpert

We now know it’s official – 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded.

Citizens across the globe felt the impacts long before it was confirmed. There were unprecedented wildfires in Canada that turned the New York sky orange. Phoenix saw a record-breaking 31 consecutive days with temperatures topping 110 degrees.

Along with these very immediate impacts, we also need to pay attention to the longer-term impacts of climate change. Specifically, when it gets hotter, ice locked in glaciers and ice sheets melts and ends up as water in the ocean. It takes a long time to melt, but eventually all that water raises the level of the ocean.

Read More »

Also posted in Arctic & Antarctic, Basic Science of Global Warming, Oceans, Science / Read 7 Responses

The latest on climate change in the U.S. – from the Fifth National Climate Assessment

A wildfire in California, 2021

The U.S. government recently released the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive report that shows the harmful impacts of extreme weather and other climate hazards are increasing for people across the United States.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment confirms messages in previous reports but brings the details into sharper focus for U.S. regions.

Climate change is increasingly expensive. The direct cost of exacerbated disasters costs the country a whopping $150 billion a year. But there are additional costs as well, including missed workdays from wildfires and heat when the air is so unhealthy that it is too dangerous to work outside.

Scientists can now confidently attribute worsening extreme weather in the U.S. to climate change, including heatwaves, droughts, heavy downpours like those that caused dangerous flooding in New York City in September, and  the deadly wildfires in Hawaii and the West.

Read More »

Also posted in Basic Science of Global Warming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, News, Science / Comments are closed

The science is clear – climate change is causing more damaging hurricanes in Florida

Flooding in Tampa from Hurricane Idalia. Photo: Andrew Heneen, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

(This post was co-authored by EDF Senior Climate Scientist Ilissa Ocko)

Hurricanes are complicated, and their characteristics depend on a number of factors, which makes it difficult to tease out certain trends and predict the future. But what is scientifically clear is that human-caused climate change is a key reason that hurricanes are more destructive – especially in Florida.

Hurricanes are becoming stronger and faster. They are less predictable and thus more dangerous because there is less time to prepare and evacuate. Flooding from hurricanes is worsening due to higher sea level, more rainfall, and slower storm speeds. 

Florida has always been more vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms than any other U.S. state because its exposed, southern location is surrounded by warm waters. There are almost twice as many hurricanes that hit Florida as Texas, the second most impacted state. But shifting atmosphere and ocean conditions from climate change – caused by heat-trapping gases emitted from human activities – are making hurricane season even worse for Floridians. Here’s how:

Read More »

Also posted in Basic Science of Global Warming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, News, Oceans, Science / Comments are closed

Latin America’s Climate Challenge, and Opportunity

This blog is co-authored by Sergio Sánchez, Senior Policy Director of Global Clean Air; Edgar Godoy, Associate Vice President of Jurisdictional Partnerships; Santiago Garcia, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Relationships Manager; and Erica Cunningham, AVP of Latin American Fisheries and Oceans.

Scene from the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2023 opening ceremony. UNclimatechange via Flickr.

This week leaders and climate stakeholders from throughout Latin America are meeting in Panama to discuss climate action, and the strategies and finance needed to climate-proof the continent. It’s not an easy task in a region facing multiple challenges, from political instability to insecurity to stunted economic growth in many countries.

Climate change is already making life even more challenging for many vulnerable people in Latin American and Caribbean. Communities throughout the region are grappling with sea-level rise and extreme weather events that occur more frequently. The largely man-made destruction of natural resources, like the Amazon rainforest, will intensify the impacts of climate change, and the impact of climate change is creating further pressure in the ecosystems and their degradation. Yet enforcement of conservation efforts alone is not enough for a problem that is economic in nature.

Mitigation and adaptation strategies will look different from country to country in this highly diverse and mega biodiverse continent. However, they all share some common threads: the need for climate finance, capacity building, and technology transfer, among others.

The opportunity for climate action

A successful climate strategy for Latin America will also solve other problems. Efforts to conserve the region’s rich natural ecosystems must happen alongside efforts to safeguard vulnerable communities against climate impacts. At Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week, the region’s leaders and climate stakeholders will have the opportunity to collaborate and advance discussions on climate policies that address multiple issues for both mitigation and adaptation. Climate financing, both from rich countries and the private sector, will need to be scaled up for solutions to work.

EDF’s delegation at Climate Week will engage and collaborate with the region’s climate leaders from government, civil society, Indigenous and local communities and other stakeholders, on critical topics including clean air, forest conservation, food security, and resilient oceans and coastal communities.

Read More »

Also posted in Carbon Markets, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indigenous People, International, REDD+, United Nations / Comments are closed

OSHA takes important first steps to address growing risks of heat to workers

As climate change intensifies heat-related risks in the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing regulations that would provide critical protections for workers from heat hazards in indoor and outdoor settings — a process that should incorporate consideration of climate impacts and the firsthand expertise of affected workers.

As an initial step in the rulemaking process, last fall, OSHA announced its intent to propose a rule and requested public comment on how to design a heat standard that will provide effective protection. Environmental Defense Fund and the Institute for Policy Integrity recently submitted joint comments supporting OSHA’s efforts to protect workers and urging that the agency design standards that account for the disproportionate impacts of extreme heat on marginalized communities and the increased heat risk that workers will face due to climate change.

Laboring under high heat can lead to heat exhaustion, stroke, kidney disease, and other maladies. Heat also makes workplace injuries more likely, with studies finding increased rates of accidents like ladder falls and even helicopter crashes. A day of over 100°F is associated with a 10-15% increase in traumatic workplace injuries, compared with a 60°F day. Climate change exacerbates these harms, driving up temperatures, humidity, and the frequency and severity of extreme heat events.

Read More »

Also posted in Economics, Health, Jobs, News, Partners for Change, Policy, Science / Read 5 Responses

Climate change threatens Louisiana’s future, but the state is taking bold action to increase its resilience

Louisiana has lost 2,000 square miles of coastal wetlands in less than a century, threatening communities from sea level rise and more intense hurricanes. Photo: Leslie Von Pless, EDF

Louisiana represents the paradox of a modern state shaped by a history of fossil fuel-supported development and structural racism that is now dealing with the climate-driven and social impacts of those choices.

As it attempts to do so, it has become a center of climate adaptation and resilience practices, and more recently, climate mitigation efforts, while seeking the right balance for its people, economy and environment.

The results so far look like this:

Read More »

Also posted in Basic Science of Global Warming, Cities and states, News, Science / Comments are closed