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June 22, 2015
On June 18, Pope Francis released the first ever papal encyclical on human-caused environmental degradation, with a strong emphasis on climate change, directed to “every person living on this planet.” The 184-page document, called Laudato Si or “Praise Be to You,” emphasizes that climate change exacerbates global inequality, and calls for the developed nations of the world to take responsibility for the impact their actions have had and are having on the world’s poor. Image courtesy of Sen. Bernie Sanders.
On June 18, Pope Francis released the first ever papal encyclical on human-caused environmental degradation, with a strong emphasis on climate change, directed to “every person living on this planet.” The 184-page document, called Laudato Si or “Praise Be to You,” emphasizes that climate change exacerbates global inequality, and calls for the developed nations of the world to take responsibility for the impact their actions have had and are having on the world’s poor. “I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet,” Pope Francis writes. “It is my hope that this Encyclical Letter . . . can help us to acknowledge the appeal, immensity and urgency of the challenge we face.” The document is divided into six chapters, examining environmental education; potential actions and approaches; the idea of taking an attitude of love toward the world; the human roots of current environmental degradation; the gospel of creation; and the current environmental situation. The encyclical comes in advance of the highly anticipated U.N. climate conference in Paris this December, in an effort that the Pope hopes will help catalyze global action in the fight against climate change.
For more information see:
Washington post, U.S. House of Representatives Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, New York Times, The Hill, Laudato Si
On June 19, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced major increases to fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks. This new announcement, Phase 2 of the Heavy-Duty National Program, tightens emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks such as big rigs, delivery vehicles, dump trucks and buses, from model year 2021 to 2027, after which new standards will likely be set. EPA estimates the new regulations will cut oil use by 24 percent, or 1.8 billion barrels, and save $170 billion in fuel costs for businesses and drivers, all over the 2021-2027 period. While the improvements are estimated to cost $12,000 per vehicle, EPA says that cost will be recouped in two years due to decreased fuel costs. The regulations will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one billion metric tons.
The New York Times, Fact Sheet
On June 18, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved 16-14 a $30.01 billion funding bill for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Interior (DOI) and related agencies for fiscal year 2016, with provisions that would prevent the EPA from enforcing its proposed carbon regulations on existing power plants in states that do not want them. The bill also has provisions overturning the EPA’s recent regulation on waterways, preventing EPA from updating its ground-level ozone pollution standards, and stopping DOI from listing the lesser prairie chicken as endangered. The bill provides $400 million less than EPA and DOI received for fiscal year 2015, and $2.2 billion less than President Obama’s request. Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) offered three amendments to raise funding from sequestration levels, strip all 11 policy riders on the funding bill, and remove an amendment limiting the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. All three failed by small margins.
The Hill, Press Release, Sen. Udall
On June 15, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report finding that the sum of country-based climate commitments being formed in advance of the Paris negotiations will likely fail to keep global temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius, the internationally agreed upon limit to prevent dangerous climate change. Based on the current trajectory of pledges, IEA predicts average global temperature will increase 2.6 degrees C by 2100. The release said countries should revisit emissions targets every five years and emphasized the need to cap global emissions quickly if warming is to be slowed sufficiently. Improving energy efficiency, increasing investment in renewables, reducing methane emissions, banning new coal plants and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies could result in an emissions peak by 2020, IEA said.
Reuters, IEA
On June 15, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released global temperature data for the month of May, indicating that May was 0.71 degrees C, or 1.3 degrees F, hotter than the long-term global average for that month. This comes as part of a continuing trend over the first five months of 2015, where average global temperatures have been 0.1 degrees C, or 0.17 degrees F, warmer than last year, the hottest year on record. NASA’s temperature data shows that the beginning of 2015 has been the hottest first five months of any year ever recorded, and suggests that 2015 will likely be the hottest year on record. Climate expert and founding editor of Climate Progress, Dr. Joe Romm, commented that, “It now appears we are headed for a step-jump in global temperatures that scientists have been expecting.”
The Guardian, Science Blogs, NASA Data
On June 15, the scientific journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published a study showing a correlation between a state’s level of environmentalism and their level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The study found that states such as Vermont or Rhode Island ranked highly on the “green” scale and have significantly lower GHG emissions than states such as Texas, Wyoming, and Louisiana, which were ranked lowest on the green scale. The study determined a state’s level of environmentalism by using the voting records of their Congressional representatives, as provided by the League of Conservation Voters, and compared that to GHG emissions beginning in 1990. The study authors concluded that the presence of a strong environmental movement has a direct impact on state GHG emissions. Sociologist and study co-author, Kenneth Frank, remarked, “The movement is having an effect — it’s just happening on a state-by-state basis.”
The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Study
On June 16, the Pew Research Center published poll findings revealing that Catholic beliefs on climate change are much the same as the general public’s beliefs on climate change – along partisan lines. The study found that 30 percent more Catholic Democrats than Catholic Republicans thought global warming to be occurring, and 40 percent more Catholic Democrats accepted global warming to be caused by human activity than did Catholic Republicans. The study also found that Catholic Republicans are slightly more concerned about global warming than non-Catholic Republicans. Overall, 68 percent of the general public believe that global warming is occurring, compared to 71 percent of Catholics. These results may change in the wake of Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change. The same Pew poll noted that Catholics gave the Pope a 53 percent approval rating of his job on the environment.
The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Pew Study
On June 16, Public Citizen, a nonpartisan organization, released a report entitled, “Clean Power Clear Savings,” indicating that Ohio electricity consumers will see a decrease in their electricity bills as a result of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) draft regulation on carbon emissions from existing power plants, the Clean Power Plan (CPP). Using EPA data, Public Citizen determined the average Ohio electricity bill will be reduced 11 percent by 2030, saving the average household $144 annually. Report author and managing director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program, David Arkush, commented, “The Clean Power Plan represents a great opportunity not just to curb climate change, but to lower Ohio’s electricity bills.” Additionally, several other reports recently conducted by environmental organization Natural Resources Defense Council, consulting firms Analysis Group and ICF International, and electricity provider PJM, have highlighted the CPP’s ability to lower electricity costs in Ohio while still maintaining reliable electricity services.
Natural Resource Defense Council, Press Release, Report, NRDC Study
On June 16, James Powell, director of the National Physical Sciences Consortium, allowed MSNBC to see an exclusive draft of his research finding that over 99.9 percent of climate scientists agree that man-made climate change is occurring. Powell said he was sharing the draft so the pope would use the most up to date numbers in his encyclical announcement on Thursday. “I don’t want the pope to say 97 percent. It’s wrong, and it’s not trivial,” he said. Powell reviewed over 24,000 peer-reviewed papers published in 2013 and 2014, authored by about 70,000 independent climate scientists, and found only five papers, authored by four individuals, that explicitly reject climate change. Powell assumed that papers lacking an explicit rejection are aligned with the prevailing scientific conclusion that anthropogenic climate change is happening. Powell stated, “It’s now a ruling paradigm, as much an accepted fact in climate science as plate tectonics is in geology and evolution is in biology.”
MSNBC
On June 17, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Research Letters, published a new study reporting that Alaskan glacial melt released 75 billion metric tons of water into the ocean annually from 1994 to 2013, due in part to abnormally high temperatures in Alaska. The study assessed glacial melt by using data from aerial surveys provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Report co-author, Shad O’Neel, said, “Alaska has been identified for years as a big contributor in global sea level rise, but until now we have not had a clear understanding of the processes responsible for the rapid changes of these glaciers.” While Alaska has only 11 percent of the world’s mountain glaciers, they are responsible for 25 percent of the sea level rise from mountain glacier melt. Mountain glaciers make up a small percentage of the world’s glaciers, but they are accountable for a large portion of glacier-caused sea level rise.
Washington Post, CBS News, Study
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