‘Green News Report’ – October 12, 2023

Follow @GreenNewsReport…



(Or use “Click here to listen…” link below.)

IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Deadly combination of intense heat and humidity could render parts of the world, including the U.S., ‘unlivable’ as the planet warms; Damage to an undersea natural gas pipeline off the coast of Finland looks like sabotage; PLUS: European Union launches world’s first carbon border tax… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Click here to listen or download MP3 (6 mins)…

Link:
Embed:

Got comments, tips, love letters, hate mail? Drop us a line at GreenNews@BradBlog.com or right here at the comments link below. All GNRs are always archived at GreenNews.BradBlog.com.

IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): ExxonMobil boosts fossil fuel commitment with Pioneer buyout; Argentina wildfires create apocalyptic scene of blazes at city’s edge; Kew’s ‘State of the World’s Plants and Fungi’ report warns of extinctions; As climate risks mount, the insurance safety net is collapsing; Backyard sewage and parasitic disease: EPA opens civil rights probe in Alabama
… PLUS: Bitter Truth: Climate change is going after beer with European hops at risk, study shows… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Mexico’s Pacific coast hit with two named storms in two days:
• Cat 4 Lidia is Mexico’s 3rd-strongest landfalling Pacific hurricane on record (Yale Climate Communications):
  Two Pacific storms carried out spectacular rounds of rapid intensification on the same day.
• Lidia dissipates after killing 2, injuring 2 near Mexico resort (AP)
• Hurricane Lidia is one of the fastest intensifying hurricanes you will ever see (Colin McCarthy/Twitter)
• South America’s winter heat wave virtually impossible without climate change:
• Strong influence of climate change in uncharacteristic early spring heat in South America (World Weather Attribution)
• Human emissions made deadly South American heat 100 times more likely (Guardian):
  The deadly heat in central South America over the past two months was made 100 times more likely by human emissions that disrupted the climate, scientists have shown…This year’s El Nino has been partly to blame, but a rapid study by researchers at World Weather Attribution revealed the human-made climate crisis was by far the main cause of the unseasonable warmth.
• Study: Deadly heat/humidity could render some regions ‘unlivable’:
• Greatly enhanced risk to humans as a consequence of empirically determined lower moist heat stress tolerance (PNAS)
• VIDEO: New Research Pinpoints Locations on Earth at Risk of Becoming Unlivable Due to Climate Change (Weather Channel)
• Deadly humid heat could hit billions, spread as far as US Midwest, study says (Reuters)
• The Midwest US could be a hotspot for deadly ‘moist heat stress’ as global temperatures climb (CNN):
  Large parts of the world, including China and the Midwest US, are on track to become too hot for humans to handle as accelerating global temperatures expose billions to heat and humidity so extreme their bodies will no longer be able to cope, according to a new study… So-called “hot hours” – times where heat and humidity are especially life-threatening – will be concentrated in the Missouri and Mississippi River valleys but also elsewhere in US including the Gulf of Mexico coast and the Atlantic seaboard, according to the study.
• Deadly humid heat could hit billions, spread as far as US Midwest, study says (Reuters)
• Natural gas prices in Europe spike in wake of Israel-Hamas War:
• VIDEO: Israel ordered Chevron to shut down a major natural gas field, which could send prices spiking further just before winter (Business Insider):
  Brace for bad news ahead of winter: Natural gas prices could spike as energy giant Chevron halted operations at a major Israeli gas field following orders from authorities.
• Natural Gas Prices Rise on Israel Concerns and Finland Pipeline Leak (NY Times):
  Europe has largely disconnected from Russian gas supplies but remains heavily dependent on imported fuel, exposing it to unexpected disruptions.
• European gas market is nursing another hit – this time from Israel (EuroNews)
• Damage to an undersea gas pipeline in Europe looks like sabotage:
• Damage to gas pipeline, telecom cable connecting Finland and Estonia caused by ‘external activity’ (AP)
• Finland Pipeline Sabotage Proof Would Draw NATO Response (Bloomberg/Yahoo News):
  “The important thing now is to establish what happened and how this could happen,” Stoltenberg told reporters Wednesday. “If it is proven to be a deliberate attack on NATO critical infrastructure, then this will be serious but will also be met by a united and determined response from NATO.”…The Balticconnector pipeline that was damaged in the early hours of Sunday is ruptured on one side and dragged out of place, according to Estonian military officials.
• NATO Chief Warns Of Potential ‘Response’ To Sabotage Of Finland Pipeline (Oil Price International)
• VIDEO: NATO to Respond If Finland Gas Pipeline Damage Intentional, Stoltenberg Says (Bloomberg TV/Youtube)
• Explainer: What is the Balticconnector pipeline? (Reuters)
• A repeat of Nord Stream? Finland suspects that Russia hit the gas pipeline (Essa News)
• France to phase out coal by 2027:
• France’s Macron unveils latest plan for meeting climate-related commitments in the coming years (AP)
• France’s Macron Confirms Coal Phase-Out and EV Boost (World Energy)
• Europe launches world’s first carbon border tax:
• EU launches first phase of world’s first carbon border tariff (Reuters):
  Sunday, however, marks the start of an initial phase of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) when EU importers will have to report the greenhouse gas emissions embedded during the production of imported volumes of iron and steel, aluminium, cement, electricity, fertilisers and hydrogen. Importers will from 2026 need to purchase certificates to cover these CO2 emissions to put foreign producers on a level footing with EU industries that must buy permits from the EU carbon market when they pollute.
• The EU Just Kicked Off Its Biggest Climate Experiment Yet (Wired)
• Europe takes climate fight global as carbon border tax goes live (Politico)
• How Europe Will Tax C02 Emissions Beyond Its Borders (Washington Post)

‘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

• ExxonMobil Boosts Fossil Fuel Commitment With Pioneer Buyout (DW News)
• Argentina wildfires create apocalyptic scene of blazes at city’s edge (Washington Post)
• Kew’s ‘State of the World’s Plants and Fungi’ Report Warns Of Extinctions (Mongabay)
• As Climate Risks Mount, The Insurance Safety Net Is Collapsing (Grist)
• VIDEO: Bitter Truth: Climate Change is Going After Beer with European Hops at Risk, Study Shows (Weather Channel)
• Major Navigator CO2 pipeline project is on hold while the company reevaluates the route in 5 states (AP)
• Supreme Court Passes On Red State Challenge To Biden ‘Social Cost Of Carbon’ (The Hill)
• Backyard Sewage And Parasitic Disease: EPA Opens Civil Rights Probe In Alabama (Grist)
• As Heat Deaths Rise, New Program Puts Community Clinics On The Front Lines (Grist)
• Island Nations Sign Climate Solidarity Declaration In Indonesia (AFP)
• Rising Temperatures Are Wreaking Havoc Year-Round (gift link, Bloomberg)
• 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.