Planet3.0 Blogs

Yalik Glacier (Y) in 1986 and 2019 Landsat images.  Red arrow is the 1986 terminus location and yellow arrow the 2019 terminus location. Petrof Glacier (P) is the western neighbor. Yalik Glacier drains an icefield on the Kenai Peninsula, glaciers…

Climate change is a threat multiplier. Buzzfeed: As an upsurge in coronavirus infections stretches thin the capacity of health care workers and emergency managers nationwide, the Midwest is bracing for another battle: a potentially devastating flood season. “The current situation…

Number of cases per million inhabitants in various EU countries, compared to the level (10/million) China enacted its block, to date the most effective strategy to fight the infection. With 21.6 cases/million inhabitants, for instance, France is recommending people to...…

I've got a dozen-plus tabs of thinks I think I should blog about, and then I saw this at Slate, "Climbers, Please Control Yourselves: This might feel like the perfect time to go climbing outdoors. It’s not."Slate pushes a semi-contrarian…

I’m keeping a file of examples – climate denial and corona denial are basically coming from the same place. Let me know if you see anything along these lines. Media Matters: Some of right-wing media’s most prolific climate deniers are…

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Jim Al’Khalili has an article in Scientific American called [a] physicist for president? Jim is a physicist, so he’s probably being somewhat provactive. Also, he’s mostly arguing for someone who applies the scientific method to thinking and decision-making and is…

Washington Post: Stuart Stevens is a writer and Republican political consultant who has advised a pro-Bill Weld super PAC in the 2020 election. His book about the Republican Party, “It Was All A Lie,” will be published next month.  Don’t…

Legendary climate scientist Ben Santer is in self-quarantine with symptoms, has been tested and waiting for results (America, right?)Meanwhile he is writing on the parallels between Covid19 and climate change.Excerpt here: Ben Santer in Scientific American: On day five I…

Where once had risen walls of 300 cubits and towers yet higher, now stretched only the marshy shore, and where once had dwelt fifty millions of men now crawled only the detestable green water-lizard. Not even the mines of precious…

It will never change. There will always be an audience that wants to be lied to, and someone willing to lie to them. TPM Muckraker: The same people who brought you climate change as a hoax think the same about…

A silver lining of this crisis might be population that better understand how an exponential curve can creep up on you.…

Above, Keira O’Brien, President of Young Conservatives for Carbon Dividends, testifying before the US Senate last year. Christian Science Monitor: The red sign on the red-draped table reads, “Stop Socialism. Unleash Capitalism.” For an exhibitor at America’s largest annual conservative…

Strategies against a subtle enemy Guest post by Pepi CimaJames Clerk Maxwell, a giant of physics, proposed in 1867 a thought experiment to illustrate the apparent contradiction of the second law of thermodynamics with classical mechanics. The second law of thermodynamics…

When Eli was but a little bunny, New York City owned a radio station, WNYC, which during the day would broadcast school lessons. Some of them were for extra credit as it were, interesting stuff that teachers could play in…

Most of the focus at the moment is rightly on the coronavirus. Since I have no relevant expertise whatsoever, all I’ll say is that I hope everyone is doing their best to stay safe, and listening to the advice that’s…

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Landsat images  from 1990 and 2020 of the Mueller (M), Hooker (H), Tasman (T) and Murchison (Mn) Glacier.  Red arrows indicate the 1990 terminus location, yellow arrows the 2020 terminus location and pink arrows the upglacier extent of debris cover…

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Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, which specializes in disruptive technology, on how renewable and EV stocks – OK, Tesla – are weathering the storm.…

Vox: Contagion is both horrifying and a little comforting; the scientists do eventually find and release a vaccine, and even though a lot of people die, most of the world’s population manages to survive. World war doesn’t break out. It’s…

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Science: China has rightfully taken criticism for squelching attempts by scientists to report information during the outbreak. Now, the United States government is doing similar things. Informing Fauci and other government scientists that they must clear all public comments with…

Recently discovered this CNBC series with Diana Olick reporting on the interface of climate, economics and real estate. Will post from time to time. I used clips from an Olick report in my most recent Yale Climate Connections vid.…

The parallels between Republican response to Covid19 vs Climate Change are striking, and only growing more so. The virus is – in effect, Climate Change response in a test-tube. Above, the Daily Show has a take. Below, key indicators.…

Italy fights on against the epidemic. But it is a difficult battle                          While things keep changing with the Covid-19 epidemics, I thought I could jot down a few considerations on the politics of emergencies. It is about Italy, but I…

Bloomberg: Oil’s fall to some $35 a barrel from $55 just last week has major implications for addressing climate change. Low prices incentivize more use of oil; it squeezes the budgets of oil companies, putting clean-energy projects in doubt; and…

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Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis: The unthinkable occurred in the U.S. last month: In the dead of winter, renewable energy (utility-scale solar, wind and hydropower) generated more electricity than did coal plants. This has never happened before. Specifically,…

More and more talk about Hydrogen as an energy storage medium. Mark Jacobson has long identified H2 as potential answer for aircraft and shipping. The downside is loss of efficiency in electrolyzing H2O – then having to convert again to…