‘Green News Report’ – June 22, 2023

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Record-shattering extreme heat broils India and Texas, astonishing forecasters; U.N. closes a fossil fuel industry lobbying loophole; Himalayan glaciers melting at unprecedented rates, new study finds; PLUS: USDA approves first lab-grown meat for sale in the U.S… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in legal fight over water rights; ‘Insane’, ‘astonishing’ jet stream leaves scientists ‘at a loss’ for words; Groundbreaking youth-led climate trial comes to an end in Montana; Texas farmers are worried one of the state’s most precious water resources is running dry; As Texas swelters, Gov. Abbott rescinds local rules requiring water breaks for construction workers; Cooking gas explosion kills 31 people at a barbecue restaurant in China; Car-rental companies are ruining EVs with ‘surprise EV rentals’; DeSantis vetoes flood control funds for blue counties… PLUS: Meteorologist resigns, citing PTSD from threats over climate change coverage… and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• Extreme, persistent heat in Texas astonishes weather forecasters:
• The troubling heat in Texas and its ties to climate change in 5 maps (Washington Post)
• Texas steam bath continues with record-breaking heat (Axios)
• Texas is in the thick of a brutal and prolonged heat wave (Washington Post/MSN)
• How the heat dome in Texas is related to climate change (Yahoo News):
  While extreme heat waves have become more prevalent in recent years, a heat dome is a particular type of heat wave. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains that a heat dome “happens when strong, high-pressure atmospheric conditions combine with influences from La Nina, creating vast areas of sweltering heat that gets trapped under the high-pressure ‘dome.'”
• Extreme heat to blanket Texas with ‘no end in sight’ (Popular Science/MSN)
• “Oppressive” heat wave in Texas and southern U.S. may linger into Fourth of July holiday (Axios/MSN)
• As Texas swelters, local rules requiring water breaks for construction workers will soon be nullified (Texas Tribune)
• West Virginia utility lineman dies while working in Marshall (KLTV-Tyler)
• Deadly heat wave intensifies in India:
• Days of sweltering heat, power cuts in northern India overwhelm hospitals as death toll climbs (AP):
  A scorching heat wave in two of India’s most populous states has overwhelmed hospitals, filled a morgue to capacity and disrupted power, forcing staff to use books to cool patients, as officials investigate a death toll that has reached nearly 170.
• Dozens die in single district in northern India amid severe heatwave (CNN)
• VIDEO: Heat wave in India blamed for dozens of deaths (CNN)
• Sweltering Heat, Power Cuts In Northern India As Death Toll Climbs (AP)
• India Has No Idea How Many People Its Heat Waves Are Killing (Bloomberg)
• Himalayan glaciers melting at unprecedented rates:
• Snow and ice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya are fast disappearing, with grave implications for people and nature. (Hi-Wise):
  ICIMOD’s new report…is the most accurate assessment of changes to the Asia high mountain cryosphere to date. It is also the first time their impacts on water, biodiversity and society have been properly mapped. The report urges policymakers to prepare for the cascading impacts of climate change in this critical mountain biome, which provides freshwater services to a quarter of the world’s population.
• Himalayan glaciers could lose 80% of their volume if global warming isn’t controlled, study finds (AP)
• VIDEO: Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than ever, and scientists say it’s “going to affect us” all (CBS News)
• Himalayan glaciers melting faster than ever, endangering critical water source, scientists warn (France 24):
  Himalayan glaciers providing critical water to nearly two billion people are melting faster than ever before due to climate change, exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters, scientists warned Tuesday.
• U.N. closes fossil fuel industry loophole:
• UN Adds New Disclosure Requirements For Upcoming COP28, Acknowledging the Toll of Corporate Lobbying (Inside Climate News):
  Watchdog groups call the change a “baby step” toward reform, while UN chief Antonio Guterres says climate action must start with the fossil fuel industry, “the polluted heart of the climate crisis.”
• Paris summit aims to shake up the financial system. It will test leaders’ resolve on climate (AP)
• World well short of pace needed to meet UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals (AP)
• U.N. chief calls for full phase-out of fossil fuels:
• UN head Guterres contradicts Cop28 host on fossil fuel phaseout (Climate Change News):
  The United Nations chief has said fossil fuels, not just their emissions, are the problem in the climate crisis, in an apparent rebuke to the United Arab Emirates Cop28 presidency.
• UN chief says fossil fuels ‘incompatible with human survival,’ calls for credible exit strategy (AP)
• UN Chief To Fossil Fuel Firms: Stop Trying To ‘Knee-Cap’ Climate Progress (Reuters)
• Press Conference by Secretary-General António Guterres at United Nations Headquarters (United Nations)
• Guterres calls for phasing out fossil fuels to avoid climate ‘catastrophe’ (United Nations)
• USDA approves lab-grown meat for sale in U.S.
• US approves chicken made from cultivated cells, the nation’s first ‘lab-grown’ meat (AP)
• Is it chicken? Here’s how the first bite of ‘cell-cultivated’ meat tastes (AP)
• Lab-grown meat is cleared for sale in the United States (CNN)
• Cell-cultured chicken gets the final green light from USDA (Washington Post):
  Meat made from real animal cells, but with no slaughter, will debut in American restaurants.
• AUDIO: ‘No kill’ meat, grown from animal cells, is now approved for sale in the U.S. (NPR)

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in legal fight over water rights (CBS News)
• ‘Insane’, ‘astonishing’ jet stream leaves scientists ‘at a loss’ for words (Climate Crocks)
• Meteorologist resigns, citing PTSD from threats over climate change coverage (Washington Post)
• Groundbreaking youth-led climate trial comes to an end in Montana (Guardian)
• Texas farmers are worried one of the state’s most precious water resources is running dry. You should be, too. (Texas Tribune)
• As Texas swelters, local rules requiring water breaks for construction workers will soon be nullified (Texas Tribune)
• Paris natural gas explosion, fire injures dozens (UPI/MSN)
  

• Cooking gas explosion kills 31 people at a barbecue restaurant in northwestern China (AP)
• Car-Rental Companies Are Ruining EVs: Good luck charging your surprise electric rental car. (The Atlantic)
• Portugal to swap $153 million Cape Verde debt for nature investments (Reuters)
• DeSantis Vetoes Flood Control Funds For Blue Counties (Joe My God)
• Portion of I-95 that collapsed in Philadelphia will reopen this weekend, Pa. Gov. Shapiro says (WPVI-TV Philadelphia)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (Climate Crocks)
• The US clean energy manufacturing boom has begun. Now what? (Canary Media)
• Hansen: Earth on Track for Catastrophic Warming (Climate Crocks)
• These are the places most at risk from record-breaking heat waves as the planet warms (CNN)
• Why It’s Time to Officially Get Over Your EV Range Anxiety (Inside Climate News)
• Building Steam in Lithium Valley (The American Prospect)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• VIDEO: See what three degrees of global warming looks like (The Economist/YouTube)
• The 7 climate tipping points that could change the world forever (Grist)
• The 1977 White House climate memo that should have changed the world (Guardian UK)
• Four solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC (Dr. Michael Mann, Penn Today)
• Environmental Sacrifice Zones: 8 Places We’ve Given Up-Probably Forever (Environmental Health Network)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• VIDEO: 2050: what happens if we ignore the climate crisis (Guardian UK)
• 99.9 percent Of Scientists Agree Climate Emergency Caused By Humans (Guardian UK)
• Climate Fund Choices for Investors Are Multiplying (Bloomberg/Yahoo)
• How climate change could undo 50 years of public health gains (Grist)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon’s Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: How to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. (David Roberts, Vox)
• A Global Shift To Sustainability Would Save Us $26 Trillion (Vox)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. (Politico)
• The world’s bleak climate situation, in 3 charts: We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. (Vox)
• The Climate Risks We Face (NY Times):
  To stabilize global temperature, net carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced to zero. The window of time is rapidly closing to reduce emissions and limit warming to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the goal set in the Paris climate accord. The further we push the climate system beyond historical conditions, the greater the risks of potentially unforeseen and even catastrophic changes to the climate – so every reduction in emissions helps.
• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak – sooner than you think.
• A beginner’s guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it’s possible for the whole world to run on renewables – we merely lack the “political will.” So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.