Have hurricanes like Florence, Maria, and Harvey become deadlier and more destructive because of human-caused changes in Earths climate system? NOAA GOES satellite From September 14-18, 2018 Hurricane Florence dumped more than 19 trillion gallons of water on the Carolinas with record-breaking rainfall that flooded most highways and roads, caused 16 major rivers [...]
Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, vice president of research and professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. This week the White House formally announced the appointment of Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, PhD, a meteorologist and atmospheric research scientist at the University of Oklahoma, to direct the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). [...]
By Anne Polansky and Michael Termini More than one full year into a Donald Trump presidency, we are taking stock of the new political landscape, already marked by turmoil and volatility. Never before in modern US history have we seen such instability and unreliability in basic governance at the federal level. Here in the nation’s [...]
The U.S. has failed to submit by 1 January a major report required under U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Most countries have submitted their reports, while there is no publicly available information on the status of the 7th U.S. Climate Action Report and 3rd Biennial Report. Under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, drafts were made available for public review and comment. And the last reports were submitted under President Obama before the January 1, 2014 deadline.
Source: Tim Faulkner on Twitter, see: http://bit.ly/2gUk5Xy By Anne Polansky CSPW Sr. Climate Policy Analyst Last week, the Trump Administration’s sustained attack on federal scientists studying climate change science and impacts escalated when US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt issued last-minute gag orders preventing several EPA research staff from giving planned [...]
By Anne Polansky CSPW Sr. Climate Policy Analyst Sec. Zinke posing at Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo Credit: Ryan David Brown, The New York Times “Secretary Zinke, you should resign effective immediately,” federal whistleblower Joel Clement wrote in a CNN opinion piece published yesterday evening. After seven years of public service, Clement left [...]
By Anne Polansky CSPW Sr. Climate Policy Analyst Federal whistleblower Joel Clement charged both Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and President Donald Trump with “poor leadership, waste, and … failures on climate change” in a fiercely critical letter of resignation submitted yesterday, effective tomorrow. In the letter, Clement accused President Trump and top Department of Interior [...]
[F]or … three compelling reasons – poor leadership, waste, and your failures on climate change,” a senior Department of Interior Official, Joel Clement, submitted his resignation on October 4 to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. In his resignation letter, Clement said the administration is “shackled to special interests” and “unwilling to lead on climate change.” Just two weeks earlier, Clement had received the Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage.
ExxonMobil, which refuses to acknowledge risks associated with climate change impacts, owns two large refineries in Texas that are poorly prepared for sea level rise, storm surges, extreme flooding, and so on, and now Hurricane Harvey has caused damage to oil facilities and interrupted operations for weeks. Will ExxonMobil now begin to disclose these climate-related risks to shareholders?
Damage caused by Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas, Aug. 28, 2017. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Malcolm McClendon Report identifies rising risks posed by hurricanes as planet warms By Nicky Sundt CSPW Senior Fellow The Climate Change Special Report, arguably the most important report produced by the interagency U.S. Global [...]
