‘Green News Report’ – July 27, 2023

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Extreme heat waves in U.S. and Europe virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, new study finds; Extreme heat plus pollution doubles the risk of fatal heart attacks; Arizona’s iconic cacti dying from heat; Florida waters may have set new all-time global heat record; PLUS: Major U.S. automakers unite to build expansive national EV fast-charging network… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): This could be the hottest July in the last 120,000 years; State of the climate: 2023 now likely hottest year on record after extreme summer; Biden announced new steps to provide relief from extreme heat across the US; Where the most US residents bake because of concrete and lack of trees; Ominous sign for COP28: G20 again shunned deal to phase down fossil fuels; Canada releases framework to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies; UPS drivers threaten to strike. Climate change is one reason; 6 days after fuel spill reported, most in Tennessee city still can’t drink the tap water… PLUS: ‘Battle plan’: How the far right would dismantle climate programs… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Florida coastal water temperatures set potential new world record:
• South Florida waters hit hot tub level and may have set world record for warmest seawater (AP)
• 101°F in the Ocean Off Florida: Was It a World Record? (NY Times):
  Measuring and comparing sea surface temperatures is complex, but scientists agree on one thing: A high reading this week is bad news for wildlife.
• 100 degree bay temperatures near the Florida Keys. A new World Record? (WFLA-Tampa Bay)
• VIDEO: ‘Never been so worried about Florida’s Reefs’: Experts fear dangerous marine heatwave (WFLA-Tampa Bay)
• Europe trapped in grip of extreme heat, raging wildfires:
• Mediterranean fires: Evacuations as new blazes break out in Greece (BBC)
• Greece fires – Live: 61 wildfires erupt in 24 hours as flames reach outskirts of Athens (Yahoo News)
• Couple burned to death at home as toll mounts from Mediterranean wildfires (CNN)
• Algeria wildfires kill dozens of people including 10 soldiers (Guardian)
• Italian city ‘brought to its knees’ by power cuts caused by heatwave (Metro UK)
• Cereal crops and other commodities including olives and tomatoes hit by Europe’s heatwave (The Grocer UK):
  The hot weather created by the Charon anticyclone that has moved into Europe from Africa has prompted serious concerns over the quality and size of harvests this year, including olives, cereal and tomatoes. Olive oil category leader Filippo Berio has warned there was already a “chronic shortage of extra virgin olive oil with no prospect of new season oil until at least November.”
• Arizona grapples with extreme heat:
• Record heat wave in Phoenix could end with a bang (Accuweather)
• VIDEO: City of Phoenix using buses as cooling center during extreme heat days (KNXV-TV Phoenix)
• In Phoenix Heat, Ice-Filled Body Bags Are a Life-Saving Technology (Newws14-Phoenix)
• Saguaro cacti collapsing in Arizona extreme heat, scientist says (Reuters)
• It’s so hot in Arizona, doctors are treating a spike of patients who were burned by falling on the ground (CNN)
• How to keep your dog safe in the heat, according to an emergency vet (Washington Post)
• Your air conditioner isn’t built for this heat. 5 tips can boost performance (NPR)
• Cities move to implement heat adaptation strategies:
• In Arizona – Cooling Hot Pavement (Climate Crocks)
• Biden looks to provide relief from extreme heat as record high temperatures persist across the US (AP):
  President Joe Biden plans to announce new steps to address the extremely high temperatures threatening millions of people as heat waves spread across the United States.
• Cities for Smart Surfaces (Press release, Cities Coalition)
• These thermal images show how Phoenix uses technology to keep cool (NY Times):
  Through the lens of an infrared camera, an adjacent street paved with traditional dark asphalt glows bright yellow with an average surface temperature of about 154 degrees Fahrenheit. The treated road appears orange, indicating a cooler average temperature reading of 130 degrees.
• Save money, be cool: Indonesian project shows how ‘cool’ roofs can help Asia beat the heat (Channel News Asia)
• Using Cool Roofs to Reduce Heat Islands (EPA)
• Extreme heat exacerbates health threats:
• Exposure to extreme heat and pollution may double risk of a deadly heart attack, study shows (CNN)
• As the planet warms, scientists warn that cases of infectious diseases could spike (LA Times/MSN)
Across the planet, animals — and the diseases they carry — are shifting to accommodate a globe on the fritz. And they’re not alone: Ticks, mosquitos, bacteria, algae, even fungi are on the move, shifting or expanding their historical ranges to adapt to climatic conditions that are evolving at an unprecedented pace.
• How climate change may be affecting mosquito-borne diseases (NPR-Florida)
• Cases of tick-borne illnesses are on the rise. Some experts believe climate change is the cause (AP)
• Today’s extreme heat ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change:
• Extreme heat in North America, Europe and China in July 2023 made much more likely by climate change (World Weather Attribution):
  Without human induced climate change these heat events would however have been extremely rare. In China it would have been about a 1 in 250 year event while maximum heat like in July 2023 would have been virtually impossible to occur in the US/Mexico region and Southern Europe if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels.
  In all the regions a heatwave of the same likelihood as the one observed today would have been significantly cooler in a world without climate change.
• Climate change influencing July heat waves in Europe, China and America, study says (AP)
• Deadly global heatwaves undeniably result of climate crisis, scientists show (Guardian)
• Heat waves in US and Europe would have been ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change, new report finds (CNN)
• Climate records tumble, leaving Earth in uncharted territory – scientists (BBC)
• VIDEO: Dr. Leah Stokes on extreme heat, solutions (Dr. Leah Stokes/Twitter)
• VIDEO: Dr. Michael Mann Discussing Extreme Weather on MSNBC with Chris Jansing (MSNBC)
• Big advances for electric vehicles:
• Toyota is planning a new EV with a 900-mile range and 10-minute charging time: ‘The holy grail of battery vehicles’ (Yahoo News)
• EU passes law to blanket highways with fast EV chargers by end of 2025 (The Verge):
  The chargers must be placed every 60km (37mi) and allow ad-hoc payment by card or contactless device without subscriptions.
• Big carmakers unite to build a charging network and reassure reluctant EV buyers (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

• This could be the hottest July in the last 120,000 years (Metro UK)
• Biden looks to provide relief from extreme heat as record high temperatures persist across the US (AP)
• State of the climate: 2023 now likely hottest year on record after extreme summer (Carbon Brief)
• ‘Battle plan’: How the far right would dismantle climate programs (E&E News)
• Where The Most U.S. Residents Bake Because Of Concrete And Lack Of Trees (Washington Post)
• Ominous Sign for COP28: G20 Again Shunned Deal to Phase Down Fossil Fuels (Inside Climate News)
• Canada Releases Framework To Phase Out Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies (Reuters)
• Wholesale electricity prices down almost 60% a year on from Australia’s short-lived energy crisis (Guardian)
• UPS drivers threaten to strike. Climate change is one reason. (E&E News)
• 6 days after fuel spill reported, most in Tennessee city still can’t drink the tap water (AP)
• Typhoon Doksuri leaves at least 6 dead and displaces thousands in the northern Philippines (AP)
• 22 Attorneys General Oppose 3M Settlement Over PFAS In Water Systems (AP)
• Family tries to live ‘off the grid’ in Colorado wilderness; their bodies are found at campsite (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• Rough years ahead [as new El Nino arrives] (Nature)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (Climate Crocks)
• These are the places most at risk from record-breaking heat waves as the planet warms (CNN)
• 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.