Did you think it would all happen so fast? The heat domes, the millennial floods, the apocalyptic fires, that awful orange sky? This summer’s convergence of extreme events feels like living in a CGI-laden disaster movie. But those epic blockbusters all offer the same material comfort: an ending. What we are experiencing is different. First, … Read more
WASHINGTON (AP) The Environmental Protection Agency is imposing stricter limits on hydrofluorocarbons, very potent greenhouse gases used in refrigerators and air conditioners that contribute to global warming. A rule announced on Tuesday will mandate an overall 40 percent reduction in HFCs starting next year, part of a global phase-out designed to slow climate change. The … Read more
Plutonium from nuclear weapons tests that began in 1945 have been found while drilling through the ice of glaciers. Paris, France: As scientists argue that humans have radically transformed the planet enough to account for our geological epoch, another question arises: Is there anything that hasn’t been touched by humanity’s presence? The soaring greenhouse gases, … Read more
Like a warming Earth boiled into troubling new territory This week, scientists said unofficial records set for the average planetary temperature are a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming their environment. But the heat is also just one way the planet is telling us something is gravely wrong, they said. Heat … Read more
Earth’s average temperature remained at a record high on Wednesday after two days of the planet hitting unofficial records. It is the latest indicator in a series of extremes driven by climate change. The global average temperature was 17.18 degrees Celsius (62.9 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the University of Maines Climate reanalyzer, an instrument that … Read more
