Climate Change News - January 14, 2019 | Newsletter

Using federal grant money, Louisiana has finished purchasing land for the relocation of residents threatened by sea level rise on Isle de Jean Charles. Image courtesy of Karen Apricot via flickr.com.

Government Shutdown Disrupts Agency Activities, Federal Science

The ongoing government shutdown has had an adverse effect on federal scientific research and other agency efforts. The prior record for a shutdown was 21 days, set during a 1995 budget dispute. Among the projects delayed by the current standoff are an EPA examination of the impact of wildfires on air and water quality and human health. Scientists are concerned they will miss a valuable window to collect data in the wake of 2018's wildfire season. Meanwhile, other EPA employees deemed essential personnel are still assisting with the aftermath of California's Camp Fire, albeit on an irregular pay schedule. Employees at NOAA's National Hurricane Center have been restricted to essential weather monitoring (without pay) and are banned from working on improving forecasting models for the next hurricane season. Kevin Trenberth, a climate analyst at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, said, "The biggest shortcoming is if data gaps occur, if people are not maintaining instruments and an instrument goes down." UCAR manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research and only has funding through January 18.

For more information see:

InsideClimate News

Louisiana Moves Forward with Planned Retreat for Sinking Island Community

On January 9, the Louisiana government announced that it had made the final land purchase necessary to resettle the remaining residents of Isle de Jean Charles. The island settlement was relocated under a first-of-its-kind federal program to carry out a large-scale planned retreat from climate change effects. The effort is funded by a $48.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and covers land, home, and relocation costs. Isle de Jean Charles residents have lost 98 percent of the land surrounding their homes since 1955 due to a combination of subsidence, erosion, and sea level rise. The latest land purchase is about 40 miles north of the island, sits on relatively high ground, and is suitable for agriculture. Once it's further developed, the site will be open to current Isle de Jean Charles residents and those forced to move due to natural disasters. The relocation is voluntary, as Jean Charles residents are not being forced to leave. The state has said it may open up the site to other climate refugees from Louisiana's coast and could potentially accommodate more than 300 people.

For more information see:

Times-Picayune, EESI Briefing

Climate Change Impacts Expected to Permanently Displace Millions of Americans

A string of major natural disasters in recent years may provide a preview of forced relocation due to the intensifying impacts of climate change. A record-setting wildfire wiped out the town of Paradise, California in November, destroying 14,000 homes and the region's infrastructure. The vast destruction of Hurricane Maria led thousands of Puerto Ricans to relocate to Florida. Extreme heat in Phoenix, Arizona killed 172 people in 2017 and has pushed many residents to migrate north to Flagstaff. By 2100, around 2 billion people may be displaced by sea level rise, including 13 million Americans. The risk of displacement is not evenly distributed, according to professor emeritus Orrin Pilkey of Duke University. Pilkey said, “Florida will have, by far, the most climate refugees. I think Miami will have to be basically abandoned before the end of this century." Poorer communities are at the greatest risk from future flooding, since they lack the financial resources to leave. Investors in Miami are already beginning to buy property in low-income neighborhoods that sit on higher ground, pushing out current residents.

For more information see:

Fast Company

World Bank President Who Focused on Climate Change to Step Down

On January 7, the head of the World Bank, Jim Kim, announced he would be resigning three years before his term was scheduled to end in 2022. Kim will head to the private equity firm Global Investment Fund on February 1, 2019. In a letter to bank staff, Kim wrote, “I’ve concluded that this is the path through which I will be able to make the largest impact on major global issues like climate change and the infrastructure deficit in emerging markets.” Kim invested considerable effort in addressing climate change relative to past World Bank presidents. In 2013, the bank largely curtailed loans for new coal-fired power plants. In 2017, the bank said it would no longer finance upstream oil and gas projects within three years and rolled out internal carbon pricing assessments for its projects. Kim's World Bank also pledged to double its financing of low-carbon investment projects over a five-year period.

For more information see:

Climate Home News

Global Warming Brings Rapid Change for Greenland's Residents

Global warming is having a dramatic effect on Greenland, the world's largest island. The latest research shows Greenland's ice sheets are melting more quickly than previously anticipated, contributing to rising global sea levels. These changes have proven to be a double-edge sword for the people who actually inhabit the country. Julius Nielsen, a hunter and fisher, observed, "Every year we see the glaciers, the landscape, the ice sheet melting. What we know from our ancestors is almost gone. We have to find new tools.” The unpredictable weather has made it difficult for Nielsen to reach hunting grounds with sled dogs. While some industries are suffering, a warmer climate has led to an increase in certain types of tourism (including visitors rushing to see glaciers before they disappear). Mackerel fisheries have also become abundant in Greenland's waters, where they were not previously found. A novel survey conducted in December 2018 by a university collaborative found that more than four in 10 Greenland residents believe climate change will harm them, versus just one in 10 who think it will benefit them.

For more information see:

Reuters

Local Officials Urge Congress to Look Beyond Green New Deal, Act on Infrastructure Sooner

The Green New Deal, named after President Franklin Roosevelt's program to put Americans back to work and bolster infrastructure during the Great Depression, has become a prominent point of discussion during the new Congress. Incoming members lobbied Speaker Nancy Pelosi to factor the proposal into a special committee on climate change, but to no avail. The New Deal currently exists as a set of goals for lawmakers to target, including “eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing, agricultural and other industries” and “meeting 100 percent of national power demand through renewable sources." Another goal of the document is to have climate and energy legislation ready by March 2020, ahead of potential gains by Democrats in a presidential election year. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber noted there is plenty Congress can do on infrastructure over the next two years though. Gelber said, "The most important thing [Congress] could do right now is to embed notions of resiliency and remediation in construction projects. In coastal communities and other communities there really is this challenge that people are having to deal with and we can’t solve tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s solutions."

For more information see:

McClatchy

Coal Plant Closures Under Trump Outpace Obama's First Term

According to the federal Energy Information Administration, 2018 saw the lowest U.S. coal consumption in 39 years. In addition, more coal-fired power plants have shut down during the first two years of the Trump administration than the entire first term of the Obama administration. Relatively inexpensive natural gas and a boom in renewable energy development have shaken up the energy sector. Former miner-turned-consultant Art Sullivan said, "What you need to say to coal miners is 'We're going to figure out a way to give you better, safer, healthier jobs.' They are too capable to simply say that we don't need you." Greene County, Pennsylvania commissioner Blair Zimmerman said miners who latched on to Trump's promises to revive the coal industry "wanted hope," but said the administration's push to deregulate coal-fired power plants "won't bring back coal as king." Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann observed, "We got off whale oil because something better came along. That was fossil fuels. Now something better has come along and that's renewable energy and there's nothing that can stop that transition."

For more information see:

CNN

Study: Global Warming Inflicting Severe Harm on World's Oceans

According to a new study appearing in the journal Science, the world's oceans are warming 40 percent faster on average compared to estimates made five years prior. The study also found that ocean temperatures have broken multiple records over the past several years. The oceans have absorbed 93 percent of the heat trapped by man-made greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Malin L. Pinsky, associate professor at Rutgers University, explained, “If the ocean wasn’t absorbing as much heat, the surface of the land would heat up much faster than it is right now. The ocean is saving us from massive warming right now.” However, this heat absorption carries a cost and has resulted in damaged marine ecosystems, rising sea levels, and more severe hurricanes. As the oceans warm, scientists expect marine food production to decrease, endangering a vital food source for hundreds of millions of people. A fifth of the planet's coral reefs have already died in the past three years.

For more information see:

New York Times

Scientists Tout New Technique for Capturing Carbon Dioxide from Smoke Stacks

Scientist Zhongwei Chen, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo, claims a team of researchers have developed a new technique for removing carbon dioxide from emission streams. The technique, published in a study in the journal Carbon, is purportedly much more efficient than conventional carbon capture methods and can be applied to power plants and industrial facilities. The research also featured collaboration with several universities in China. Current carbon capture methods can be expensive and energy intensive. The technique relies on "adsorption," which is the tendency of CO2 molecules to stick to the surface of carbon when they come in contact with each other. The researchers were able to enhance adsorption by altering the size and concentration of microscopic pores in carbon powder. Once the carbon powder is saturated with CO2, it would still have to be buried underground to sequester the CO2 long-term. The powder can be sourced from renewable materials, such as sugar, rice husk, straws, or agar, and can be used by a facility without installing additional equipment.

For more information see:

Nexus Media