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Tag: climate change

Published on Leave a comment on August Set A New Record As the Hottest Month Globally

Once again, the global record for hottest month was broken this summer. August was the hottest month globally on record, and this past summer was the hottest on record for the lower 48 states (United States). .

What we are seeing is that month after month new heat records are being set, with the baseline being set higher and higher. And yet these are soon broken. Scientists agree that a big contributing factor is human caused climate change (due to burning of fossil fuels - gas, oil, coal). Are governments taking note and doing something? Hmmm...

Excerpts from NPR: This summer was hot. August shattered global heat records

If you thought this summer felt hotter than normal, you were right. Temperatures around the world were unusually warm, surpassing several heat records, including in the U.S.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week announced that for the Lower 48 states, this summer– from June to August– was the warmest in 132 years of record-keeping. ...continue reading "August Set A New Record As the Hottest Month Globally"

Published on Leave a comment on Global Warming Is Now Accelerating

Scientists are now reporting that global warming is accelerating. And it's a sharp acceleration! The past decade (since 2015) has seen faster warming (global temperature increases) than any other years since modern records began in 1880. Yikes!

Again: The planet's warming rate is accelerating! Researchers agree that this is due to climate change. The biggest culprits are the emissions from burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal).  We can see that this is happening in real time, yet nothing is being done - at least not in the US.

From Science Daily: Scientists detect a sharp acceleration in global warming

Global warming has sped up since around 2015, according to a new analysis from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). After removing the effects of natural temperature swings, researchers found the first statistically significant evidence that the planet's long-term warming rate is accelerating. ...continue reading "Global Warming Is Now Accelerating"

Published on Leave a comment on

Today is Earth Day! But things are looking bleak right now.

Climate change is not being addressed. In the US, the EPA has totally been reduced and basically dismantled. It's protect company profits at all costs, and forget the health of people and the environment. The new mantra seems to be "Drill, baby, drill!"

We only have one planet - Earth is our home. There is no plan B.

Published on Leave a comment on Global Warming Is Now Accelerating

The past few years have been the hottest globally since records have been kept, and have broken temperature records. And the pace of global warming is accelerating! The rate has surged so much that it is nearly double what it was in the 1970s. Yikes!

This means climate change is speeding up. Temperatures, storms, droughts, wildfires, and so on. Carbon dioxide levels are at the highest level in about 2 million years. All of this has been predicted by climate change models. So no - it is not just normal swings in climate. In fact, scientists feel we're close to Earth's tipping points (e.g, Atlantic Ocean currents weakening and slowing down.)

It is past time for governments to address this issue. But will they?

From YaleEnvironment360: Global Warming Is Accelerating, Study Shows

The Earth is warming at the fastest rate on record as emissions hit new highs and critical carbon sinks break down.

From Science Daily: Scientists detect a sudden acceleration in global warming

Global warming has been increasing at a faster pace since about 2015, according to a new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). By adjusting global temperature records to remove known natural influences, researchers were able to identify a statistically significant rise in the rate of warming for the first time. ...continue reading "Global Warming Is Now Accelerating"

Published on Leave a comment on Only 32 Fossil Fuel Companies Are Responsible For Half of Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Coal burning plant Credit: Wikipedia

The world is getting hotter, the storms stronger, climate change is here, and there is no end in sight. A recent report by Carbon Majors found that half of the world's CO2 emissions (a driver of climate change) is from only 32 fossil fuel companies.

The biggest state-owned polluter was Saudi Aramco (1.7bn tons of CO2 emissions in 2024), and the biggest private investor polluter was Exxon Mobil (57.458million tons of CO2 in 2024). Seventeen of the top 20 polluters were state controlled companies. Of course, all top polluters oppose any phase out of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) - this could hurt their profits!

Carbon Majors is a database of production data from 178 of the world's largest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers. They discuss one thing that could be done: a surcharge on fossil industry profits. Their reasoning: Make polluters pay.

Excerpts from The Guardian: Half of world’s CO2 emissions come from just 32 fossil fuel firms, study shows

Just 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half the global carbon dioxide emissions driving the climate crisis in 2024, down from 36 a year earlier, a report has revealed. ...continue reading "Only 32 Fossil Fuel Companies Are Responsible For Half of Carbon Dioxide Emissions"

Published on Leave a comment on List of Banned Words In the United States Is Growing
Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Well, the forbidden words list in the USA is growing this year. That is, forbidden words in the US government. Censored words. Some of the many words: climate change (yes, it exists), clean energy (e.g., wind), global warming (temperatures are increasing, with new records being set continuously), water pollution, air pollution, solar energy, gender (we are all a gender), transgender, abortion. And on and on. Denying something's existence doesn't make it not exist.

The words are not allowed on government sites, in grant proposals, grant applications, or in research. Different government departments have different banned words lists (e.g., 110 words or phrases in the US Dept. of Agriculture research service - such as clean water, microplastics) Who knew that in 2025 that censorship would be so large scale? Yes, this is an attack on knowledge, on research, on medicine, and science. On all of us.

3 articles about the large-scale censorship. From NPR: Energy Dept. tells employees not to use words including 'climate change' and 'green'

The Department of Energy has told employees to avoid using certain words, including "climate change," "green" and "sustainable," according to an internal email sent to staff and obtained by NPR. ...continue reading "List of Banned Words In the United States Is Growing"

Published on Leave a comment on Record High Levels of Carbon Dioxide In Our Atmosphere

The US government would like to shut the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii down because it measures levels of atmospheric CO2, a measure of climate change. Well, unlike the US government, the rest of the world is very, very concerned about increasing CO2 levels in our atmosphere, and what increasing levels of greenhouse gases are doing to our climate and environment.

The United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) does not hesitate to loudly announce that CO2 levels are steadily rising, with record high levels in 2024, and what this means for our world going forward. Their words: it's "turbocharging our climate and leading to more extreme weather".

The important thing to know is that CO2 levels keep increasing, and each year new record high levels are set. Highest ever levels were in 2024. A big reason CO2 levels are increasing is due to the burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal). The increase in wildfires is also contributing.

Excerpts from New Scientist: CO2 levels in Earth's atmosphere jumped by a record amount in 2024

Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels jumped by a record amount in 2024 to push concentrations to their highest point since measurements began, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has reported.

Between 2023 and 2024, the global average concentration of CO2 surged by 3.5 parts per million (ppm) to reach 423.9 ppm, the WMO has said. This is the largest increase since modern measurements started in 1957 and is well in excess of the 2022 to 2023 increase of 2.3 ppm. ...continue reading "Record High Levels of Carbon Dioxide In Our Atmosphere"

Published on Leave a comment on Carbon Dioxide Levels Still Going Up Even When Not Monitored

If there is no data about something, then there is no problem because there is no data that says whether there is a problem or not. Duh... It's the new official US government policy (ignorance is bliss!), whether there is a government shut-down or not.

Unfortunately, in 2025 the US has stopped data collection and actually eliminated many  departments and sites that have been collecting information - whether diseases, losses due to major disasters (which are increasing due to climate change), toxics and pollutants in our air and water, and even how much carbon dioxide is in the air.

The US government announced in 2025 that it would close the Mauna Loa observatory (the Global Monitoring Laboratory) that measures carbon dioxide in the air. Carbon dioxide levels have been steadily increasing since measurements started, due to the burning of fossil fuels (climate change!). Well, with the government shutdown, this is what one sees when going to the site: Nothing much. Many of the old measurements are no longer there, as well as nothing new being graphed.

Luckily, at this point not all data has been removed. As you click through the site, can still see that in August 2025 the carbon dioxide levels were 425.48 ppm and that 10 years ago the weekly level was 398.62 ppm. It's going up year by year.

From Global Monitoring Laboratory: Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Published on Leave a comment on Heat Is A Bigger Killer Than Other Weather Disasters

We are saddened when hearing about persons dying in floods, tornadoes, and other natural weather disasters. The numbers seem so high. But...it turns out the biggest killer each year is heat. Extreme heat kills more people most years than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined.

Extreme heat events are on the rise globally (yup, climate change) and so the number of people dying are increasing. For example, the recent heat wave across Europe, when temperatures surged higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, is thought to have killed thousands of people. Especially since in many of the areas hit by the extreme heat people don't have air conditioning in their homes.

A quick analysis of heat-related deaths by researchers at the Imperial College London found that human-induced climate change intensified the European heatwave between June 23 and July 2, 2025 and tripled the number of heat-related deaths. They found that about 2300 people may have died from the extreme heat over the 10 day period across the 12 European cities they looked at, but that over all Europe there could have been tens of thousands of deaths. People over 65 accounted for a majority (88%) of the deaths.

Each year in the US, heat kills more people than any other type of extreme weather.

The following article was written last year, but it still applies since each year is getting hotter. Note that 2024 was hotter than 2023, which was the final year of the heat-related death analysis. NY Times: Heat Deaths Have Doubled in the U.S. in Recent Decades, Study Finds

As dangerous heat bears down on the central and eastern United States this week, a new study shows heat-related deaths across the country are on the rise. ...continue reading "Heat Is A Bigger Killer Than Other Weather Disasters"

Published on Leave a comment on Last Year Was the Warmest Year Since Global Records Began in 1850

Well, well... this is not a surprise. 2024 was the hottest year since temperature records began in 1850. And the second hottest year on record was 2023.

Unfortunately, this also means that we exceeded the goal of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degrees C that was agreed to at the Paris Agreement in 2016. Remember that agreement? The goal was to keep temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees C over pre-industrial temperatures (as defined by the 1850 - 1900 average). But last year was 1.6 degrees C over pre-industrial levels.

It's been 48 years since the last time the world had a cooler year than average year. You can thank rising greenhouse emissions for the overall upward trend in heat.

Sooo....what will 2025 be like? Stay tuned.

Excerpts from Ars Technica: Everyone agrees: 2024 the hottest year since the thermometer was invented

Over the last 24 hours or so, the major organizations that keep track of global temperatures have released figures for 2024, and all of them agree: 2024 was the warmest year yet recorded, joining 2023 as an unusual outlier in terms of how rapidly things heated up. At least two of the organizations, the European Union's Copernicus and Berkeley Earth, place the year at about 1.6° C above pre-industrial temperatures, marking the first time that the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5° has been exceeded. ...continue reading "Last Year Was the Warmest Year Since Global Records Began in 1850"