‘Green News Report’ – June 25, 2024

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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Extreme heat and costly, historic flooding wreak havoc across U.S.; FEMA warns of disaster funding shortfall, as storm season is just getting underway; Climate change is making home insurance unaffordable; PLUS: Global warming turbocharged Mexico’s deadly heat wave, and doubled the frequency of extreme wildfires… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Burn-off of toxics in Ohio derailment was unnecessary, NTSB investigators say; Escape from killer New Mexico wildfire was ‘absolute sheer terror’; Southern China faces heavy floods, and landslides kill at least 9; GOP ramps up effort to block Biden rule that saves Americans $2 billion on energy; Oil lobby is stifling efforts to reform oil well cleanup in state after state; Joe Biden’s climate law has created more than 300,000 clean energy jobs… PLUS: Hawaii settles lawsuit from youths over climate change… and much, MUCH more! …

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

• Historic storms, floods inundate Upper Midwest:
• Millions swelter as temperatures soar across the US, while floodwaters inundate the Midwest (AP)
• Why is this destructive flooding happening across the Midwest? (CBS News):
  Sioux City Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph told reporters that the Big Sioux River stabilized Monday morning at around 45 feet, over 7 feet higher than the previous record….”The extremes are becoming more extreme,” said Winkley.
• Bridges, Levees, Dams Failing as Record Midwest Storms Continue (This Is Not Cool blog)
• VIDEO: Heartland Hit with High Water Flooding (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Rapidan Dam in Minnesota intact – for now – after ‘partial failure’ amid historic rain (USA Today)
• Floods and extreme heat pose dual threat to the Midwest as Biden approves federal aid (NBC News)
• VIDEO: 3 life-saving tactics to use if in a car during a flash flood (ABC News)
• Home insurance rates spiking due to climate impacts:
• As homeowner’s insurance prices climb, more Americans ask: Is it worth it? (USA Today/Yahoo News)
• Homeowners insurance costs are going through the roof. Here’s why, and what you can do about it. (CBS News)
• Mexico’s deadly heat dome was turbocharged by climate change:
• Climate change made killer heat wave in Mexico, Southwest US even warmer and 35 times more likely (AP):
  Human-caused climate change dialed up the thermostat and turbocharged the odds of this month’s killer heat that has been baking the Southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America, a new flash study found…And it was even worse at night, which is what made this heat wave so deadly.
• Why this week’s heat wave could be next summer’s normal (The Hill/MSN)
• Early extreme heat set 1,400 new records around the world:
• Billions of people just felt the deadly intensity of climate-fueled heat waves (Washington Post):
  The scorching heat across five continents in recent days, scientists say, provided yet more proof that human-caused global warming has so raised the baseline of normal temperatures that once-unthinkable catastrophes have become commonplace.
• Explainer: How climate change fuels extreme heat worldwide (Reuters)
• Major wildfires have doubles in frequency over last 20 years:
• Climate Crisis Driving Exponential Rise In Most Extreme Wildfires (Guardian):
  Scientists warn of ‘scary’ feedback loop in which fires create more heating, which causes more fires worldwide.
• Fueled by climate change, extreme wildfires have doubled in 20 years (Washington Post):
  Though previous research found a decrease in the area burned globally by wildfires this century, the new study found that extreme wildfire events have increased 2.2-fold since 2003. Extreme wildfires have severe ecological and societal impacts, leading to deaths and biomass loss while emitting high levels of carbon. According to the study, burn severity, which is a measure of these impacts, has increased in more regions than it has decreased.
• FEMA facing disaster fund shortfall, as billion-dollar disasters climb in 2024:
• 11 billion-dollar disasters have happened in US so far in 2024 (WISH-TV Indianaopolis)
• FEMA Warns It Could Run Out of Cash This Hurricane Season (Miami Herald/Government Technology):
  In August 2023, FEMA’s cash stockpile for disaster response ran out, right as Hurricane Idalia hit as a Category 4 hurricane. It caused $3.6 billion in damages throughout Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
• FEMA is ready for an extreme hurricane and wildfire season, but money is a concern, Mayorkas says (AP)
• VIDEO: With Disaster Season in Full Swing, FEMA Running Out of Funds (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Billion-dollar weather disasters are soaring again this year. Here’s why. (Washington Post)
• Summer of extreme heat could worsen FEMA disaster funding shortfall (CNN)
• VIDEO: 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season Press Conference from NHC in Miami, FL [incl. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-FL] (NOAA, National Hurricane Center)

‘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

• Escape from killer New Mexico wildfire was ‘absolute sheer terror,’ says woman who fled the flames (AP)
• Southern China faces heavy floods, and landslides kill at least 9 (AP)
• GOP Ramps Up Effort To Block Biden Rule That Saves Americans $2 Billion On Energy (Huffington Post)
• Burn-off of toxics in Ohio derailment was unnecessary, NTSB investigators say (Washington Post)
• Oil Lobby Is Stifling Efforts to Reform Oil Well Cleanup in State After State (Pro Publica)
• Joe Biden’s Climate Law Has Created More Than 300,000 Clean Energy Jobs (Huffington Post)
• The Dirty Secret Of California’s Legal Weed (Weed Week/LA Tims)
• Climate-Proofing India’s Daily Bread: The Race For Resilient Wheat (Thompson Reuters Foundation)
• How Biden’s Promise To Coal Country Became A Warning For Democrats (Washington Post)
• Ash Trees Are Dying Everywhere. This Is Why. (Sierra Magazine)
• Bayer Lobbies Congress To Help Fight Lawsuits Tying Roundup To Cancer (Washington Post)
• Hawaii Settles Lawsuit From Youths Over Climate Change. Here’s What To Know. (AP)
• VIDEO: John Oliver on Trump’s Project 2025: Blueprint for the Death of Democracy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• Texas’ First Flood Plan Estimates 5 Million Live In Flood-Prone Areas (Texas Tribune)
• How Reviving Medieval Farming Offers Wildlife An Unexpected Haven (Guardian)
• VIDEO: PBS Newshour on Extreme Heat Across the Planet (This Is Not Cool blog)
• What to do when facing extended summer power outages (AP)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• ‘In A Word, Horrific’: Trump’s Extreme Anti-Environment Blueprint (Guardian)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• These are the places most at risk from record-breaking heat waves as the planet warms (CNN)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• 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)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist’s Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)