Environmental Protection
“All of the Reasons EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is Under Fire (As of Now)” (Philip Bump, Washington Post)
“In the past week, allegations have mounted at Pruitt’s feet faster than precipitation in a climate-change-fueled extreme weather event. …”
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“The War on Science Is Over. The Republicans Won” (Emily Atkin, The New Republic)
“Pruitt isn’t just trying to disqualify inconvenient scientific literature, but scientists themselves. In October, he banned scientists who have received EPA money from advising him on environmental policy. …”
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Climate and Energy
“More Ambitious Pollution Cuts Could Save Arctic Sea Ice and the Species that Depend On It” (Andrew Freedman, Mashable)
“Now come two new studies that emphasize that unless the global community drastically lowers emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases to keep warming to the strictest target under the Paris Climate Agreement, sea ice-free summers are going to become common during many of our lifetimes….”
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“BP Claims an Oil Spill off Australia’s Coast Would be a ‘Welcome Boost’ to Local Economies” (Nicole Hasham, Sydney Morning Herald
“BP, which has since withdrawn the drilling plan, also told a federal government agency that a diesel spill would be considered ‘socially acceptable…’ ”
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” ‘Shell Knew’: Oil Giant’s 1991 Film Warned of Climate Change Danger” (Damian Carrington, Guardian)
“Shell’s 28-minute film, called Climate of Concern, was made for public viewing, particularly in schools and universities. It warned of extreme weather, floods, famines and climate refugees as fossil fuel burning warmed the world. The serious warning was “endorsed by a uniquely broad consensus of scientists in their report to the United Nations at the end of 1990”, the film noted….”
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“Solar Power Is Burning Bright. But It’s Hardly Twilight for Fossil Fuels” (Somini Sengupta, The New York Times)
“Solar power accounted for more than a third of all electricity generated from energy sources that came online in 2017, a larger share than any other new source…”
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“Puerto Rico’s Solar-Powered Energy Oasis” (Yale Climate Connections)
“A study conducted at the University of Puerto Rico established that 65 percent of all the roof areas in Puerto Rico was enough to produce 100 percent of the energy demand of Puerto Rico…”
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Pollution and Solutions
“Tracking Ocean Plastic Pollution From Space” (Matthew O. Berger, Oceans Deeply)
“If all works out and the researchers receive strong enough signals to be able to detect plastics, they can start to build algorithms that might be able to detect and quantify concentrations of plastic litter…”
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“European Efforts to Curb Plastic Litter in Oceans are Working – Researchers” (Alex Whiting, Reuters)
“If we think a bit more wisely about plastic, especially the single use items we use in our daily life, we can make big changes,” said the marine scientist at Britain’s governmental Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science….”
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