News Roundup
‘CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming, the nation’s top coal-producing state, is the first to reject new K-12 science standards proposed by national education groups mainly because of global warming components.’
via Wyoming is 1st state to reject science standards – Yahoo News.
‘About half of the surface warming that’s helping shrink Greenland’s glaciers is due to temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, not greenhouse gases, a new study reports.’
via Half of Greenland’s Warming Tied to Natural Causes | LiveScience.
‘The latest call for action on climate change came Tuesday in a comprehensive White House report on the dire consequences of inaction. Citing the diverse economic impact of climate change — from oyster growers in Washington state to maple syrup producers in Vermont — the National Climate Assessment warned that the bill for decades of unchecked carbon emissions is already coming due.’
via U.S. Lags in Carbon Tax to Fight Climate Change – NBC News.com.
‘From longer and hotter summers to heavier downpours to more coastal flooding, the effects of human-induced climate change are already hitting every region of the United States and the U.S. economy, a government report finds.’
via Climate Change ‘Not a Distant Threat,’ White House Warns | LiveScience.
‘(Reuters) – A CSX Corp train carrying crude oil derailed and burst into flames in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia on Wednesday, spilling oil into the James River and forcing the evacuation of hundreds.’
via Train carrying crude derails in Virginia town, bursts into flames | Reuters.
‘Flames and thick black smoke rose into the air after a train derailed Wednesday afternoon along a river in downtown Lynchburg, Va., toppling more than a dozen oil tanker cars and plunging several into the water.’
via Lynchburg, Va., train derails, sending up fireball as cars topple – latimes.com.
‘Diesel engine exhaust has long been known to promote cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. A new understanding of one of the components of diesel exhaust shows it is also a powerful driver of climate change, with black carbon particles 3,200 times more damaging to the climate than carbon dioxide in the near-term.’
via Cleaning Up Diesel Exhaust Improves Both Health & Climate.
‘The US supreme court endorsed the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to deal with air pollution blowing across state lines on Tuesday, in an important victory for the Obama administration as well as downwind states.’
‘Climate change caused by humans has made the likelihood of extreme rainfall similar to that seen in England this winter significantly higher, according to analysis seen by the Guardian.’
via Climate change ‘making extreme rainfall in England more likely’ | Environment | theguardian.com.
‘Weather systems that bring rainstorms to many drought-prone areas of northern Africa, carry Saharan dust across the ocean and seed Atlantic hurricanes could grow stronger as a result of human-caused climate change, a new analysis by Stanford scientists suggests.’
via Stanford scientists see climate change intensifying African weather systems.