The world has decided bottom-up is the way it’s going to stop climate change. At the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, the air was filled with promises of less carbon. No one making those promises mentioned national governments. Much of the San Francisco summit, in fact, was a showcase for what can be done in the face of recalcitrant, or merely unambitious, national governments. Ten new states and cities joined an alliance to phase out coal. Zero-emissions vehicle targets were adopted by 26 cities, states, regions, and businesses – qz.com (See also America’s Pledge)
Pages updated this week: Indigenous Peoples – Water is Life introduction – C40 Cities
- Earth on brink of a “tipping point” as thawing permafrost makes dangerous climate change almost “inevitable” – Independent
- UN report -climate change is driving global hunger; the number of undernourished people increased for the third straight year – Axios.com
- Slow-moving storms like Florence produce big floods – and are becoming the norm – FiveThirtyEight
- Utilities have a problem: the public wants 100% renewable energy, and quick – Vox.com
- France lagging on 8 out of 9 climate targets as emissions are not falling fast enough – ClimateChangeNews
- California, New Mexico sue over Trump methane pollution rollback – TheHill
- Newly found documents from the 1980s show that fossil fuel companies privately predicted the global damage that would be caused by their products – Guardian
Nigeria floods kill more than 100. More than 100 people have died in floods after Nigeria’s two major rivers burst their banks after heavy rains caused the Niger River and Benue River to overflow. It has resulted in a series of floods across the country over two weeks, with rural areas most vulnerable. Thousands of people have been displaced and vast swathes of farmlands have been destroyed by the floods in central and southern Nigeria. Nigerian authorities , say more floods could hit in the coming days and weeks as heavy rains continue – BBC (Also: Aftermath of supertyphoom Manghut / Aftermath of hurricane Florence)
Florence portends more massive hurricanes in age of global warming. Global warming has increased the likelihood of more massive, sluggish storms capable of dropping record amounts of rain and causing the type of catastrophic flooding that crippled North and South Carolina this week, experts said. Data from about seven decades of storms found tropical-cyclone speed had decreased globally by 10% from 1949 to 2016 because climate change is warming the Arctic much more than it is heating up the Tropics, easing the pressure difference between the two. Pressure differences drive the winds, which in turn can steer and slow down storms – Reuters
Big oil aims to exploit Brazil’s sun and along with crude. European oil majors are looking to profit from the country’s abundant wind and sunshine. Royal Dutch Shell, Total SA, and Equinor ASA have all pledged in recent weeks to invest in Brazilian renewables. The push could more than double wind and solar’s share of Brazil’s energy mix to 18% by 2026, according to Brazil’s energy research office. Brazil averages 4.25 to 6.5 solar hours a day, among the highest levels worldwide – RenewableEnergyWorld (Photo: Reuters)