‘…The administration’s prime target has been the National Climate Assessment, produced by an interagency task force roughly every four years since 2000. Government scientists used computer-generated models in their most recent report to project that if fossil fuel emissions continue unchecked, the earth’s atmosphere could warm by as much as eight degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. That would lead to drastically higher sea levels, more devastating storms and droughts, crop failures, food losses and severe health consequences.’

Source: Trump Administration Hardens Its Attack on Climate Science | The New York Times

‘Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation on Wednesday allowing the practice of “aboveground decomposition,” making Washington the first state in the nation — and likely the first place in the world, legal experts said — to explicitly allow human remains to become compost.’

Source: Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust. Or, in Washington State, You Could Now Be Compost. | The New York Times

‘Presidential candidate Joe Biden, 79, seems to have a very different understanding of the climate crisis than the world’s leading climate scientists. Several top advisers to the former vice-president previewed his “middle of the road” plan on the issue for Reuters on Friday. He’ll have the US rejoin the Paris agreement, which Trump has said he will leave exit as soon as that document’s terms allow in early 2021. He’ll preserve existing regulations on emissions and fuel efficiency that the current administration has targeted. Like Obama, he’ll embrace an “all of the above” energy strategy, with plenty of room for new natural gas development and exports as well as carbon capture and storage, to indefinitely extend the life of the coal industry.’

Source: Joe Biden would be a disaster for climate change | The Guardian

‘HAMPTON, N.H. — Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. defended his record on climate change on Monday in the face of criticism from rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and called for a “green revolution” that is “rational” and affordable.’

Source: Joe Biden Defends Record on Climate and Calls for ‘Environmental Revolution’  | The New York Times

‘UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations secretary-general said the world must dramatically change the way it fuels factories, vehicles and homes to limit future warming to a level scientists call nearly impossible.’

Source: U.N. Warns of ‘Disaster’ If Global Warming Isn’t Stopped | Time

‘For the first time in the past 800,000 years, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is over 415 parts per million, according to recent data.’

‘On land, in the seas, in the sky, the devastating impact of humans on nature is laid bare in a compelling UN report.

One million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction.’

Source: Nature crisis: Humans ‘threaten 1m species with extinction’ | BBC

‘…One million species are currently threatened with extinction and we are undermining the entire natural infrastructure on which our modern world depends.’

Source:  Loss of biodiversity is just as catastrophic as climate change | The Guardian

‘…The first piece, out last Friday, is the “100 percent Clean Energy for America Plan.” It lays out three high-level targets for 2030:

• 100 percent carbon-neutral electricity;
• 100 percent zero-emissions in new light- and medium-duty vehicles and all buses;
• 100 percent zero-carbon pollution in all new commercial and residential buildings.’

Source: Jay Inslee promised serious climate policy and he is delivering | Vox