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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Hurricane Maria devastates Puerto Rico; Hundreds dead in Mexico's second catastrophic earthquake in two weeks; California cities sue fossil fuel industry for climate change damages; US states' Climate Alliance on track to meet emissions targets; PLUS: French President Emmanuel Macron takes the lead, rallying the United Nations on climate action... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Consumer products panel votes to warn consumers about toxic flame retardants; Hurricane Irma may speed the end of orange juice, America's biggest source of 'fruit'; Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have flopped with drivers; Will Exxon Mobil's fuel cell concept work?; Class action suit targets FL Power & light after Irma outages; 10 giant companies commit to electric vehicles; More logging on public lands means more wildfires; Forest fires are raging out West; EPA Pruitt pulls enforcement officers away from investigations for personal security detail; CA sues Trump over border wall environmental waivers... PLUS: Deniers dismiss link between climate change, super-hurricanes as ‘idle chatter.’ It’s anything but.... and much, MUCH more! ...

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...

• Hurricane Maria devastates Puerto Rico:
• VIDEO:Hurricane Maria flattens homes, leaves Puerto Rico without power (CBS News)
• Hurricane Maria: whole of Puerto Rico without power (BBC)
• Hurricane Maria leaves 100 per cent of Puerto Rico without power - latest news (Telegraph UK)
• >Hurricane Maria Latest Threat to Puerto Rico After $1 Billion Irma Hit (Bloomberg):
  
  Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy in May after years of economic decline while a series of defaults have effectively left it unable to raise money in the capital markets. Its aging government-owned electric utility operates under court protection from creditors and its emergency fund stood at about $32 million before Irma knocked out power to hundreds of thousands.
• Maria dips below major hurricane status (AP):
  
  Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico as the third strongest storm to make landfall in the United States based on a key measurement meteorologists use: air pressure.
• As Maria pulls away from Puerto Rico, 'catastrophic' flooding continues, and East Coast awaits its next move (Washington Post)
• 2017 hurricane season really is more intense than normal:
• What's scary about 2017's hurricanes isn't just their strength. It's how fast they're achieving it (Washington Post):
  
  [Mark DeMaria, acting deputy director of the National Hurricane Center] said that this season is seeing more rapid intensification events than usual and that Maria, in particular, appears to have set a key record for hurricane rapid intensification in the Atlantic...There's little chance to warn people or for them to prepare if rapid intensification occurs, so forecasters naturally want to be able to have a handle on it - but it's a struggle.
• The 2017 Hurricane Season Really Is More Intense Than Normal (NY Times):
  
  It was only 25 days ago that Hurricane Harvey made landfall. You could be forgiven for thinking it's been longer. After all, that was four hurricanes ago..."We've had more than a year's worth of named storms when you look at the long-term average, and that's being just past the midpoint of the season."
• 'Rapid intensification' fuels major Atlantic hurricanes in 2017 (CNN):
  
  The process, known as "rapid intensification," has happened four times in the last month with hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose, and now Maria. A normal year would only see around two storms rapidly intensify.
• Climate Scientist Katherine Hayhoe (Twitter):
  
  Tropical cyclones (incl hurricanes) now intensify from 118 km/h (74 mph) to 192 km/h (120 mph) nearly 9 hrs faster than they did 25 yrs ago.
• Mexico rocked by 2nd major earthquake in 2 weeks:
• A 7.1-magnitude quake shook Mexico City on the anniversary of the deadliest tremor in its history (Quartz)
• Mexico had two major earthquakes this month. Here's why (CNN)
• How Mexico City’s Unique Geology Makes Deadly Earthquakes Even Worse (Smithsonian)
• Mexico City residents whose buildings survived the 1985 quake thought they'd be safe in the next big one. They were wrong (LA Times)
• Mexico earthquake: Why did only some buildings collapse? (BBC)
• French President Macron takes the lead, rallies UN on climate action:
• VIDEO: Macron pushes global climate change action solidarity in UN address [at ~18:00 minutes] (EuroNews)
• Paris agreement: Macron says climate deal will not be renegotiated despite Trump's demands (Independent UK):
  
  French President says 'door will always remain open' for America to re-join
• Macron's speech at the UN was the opposite of Trump's in almost every way (Quartz)
• The world might fine the U.S. for leaving the Paris agreement. (The New Republic)
• U.S. and Syria are now the only nations that don’t support the Paris climate agreement (Climate Progress)
• States takes the lead on US climate action:
• As Trump doubles down on leaving Paris agreement, cities and states recommit to climate action (Climate Progress):
  
  Climate Week gets underway with local leaders vowing to move forward with or without the Trump administration.
• 14 States: We’re on Track to Meet Paris Climate Goals, Despite Trump (Inside Climate News)
• U.S. Governors at U.N. Assembly: ‘You Have Allies’ on Climate Change (NY Times)
• Jerry Brown’s climate coalition now covers 39% of the global economy (Climate Home)
• Major cities sue fossil fuel industry for climate damages:
• San Francisco and Oakland sue top five oil and gas companies over costs of climate change (City Attorney of San Francisco):
  
  Companies knew for decades that their products caused climate change and posed 'catastrophic' risk, but misled the public and continued to make enormous profits
• San Francisco, Oakland sue major oil companies over rising seas (SF Gate)
• Two major cities demand fossil fuel companies pay for climate damages (Climate Progress):
  
  The cities are asking fossil fuel producers to pay into a fund that would be used to pay for current and future damages associated with sea level rise. The litigation mirrors lawsuits brought earlier in the summer by two California counties...and signals a growing movement of cities attempting to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their contribution to climate change through the courts..

'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

• Deniers dismiss link between climate change, super-hurricanes as ‘idle chatter.’ It’s anything but. (Climate Progress):
  
  Climate scientists predicted the rise in storms like Maria, Irma, and Harvey.
• Hurricane Irma may speed the end of orange juice, America's biggest source of 'fruit' (Washington Post):
  
  "Significant is not the right word," said Shannon Shepp, the executive director of the growers' group Florida Department of Citrus, describing the damage to Florida's orange juice industry. "It's somewhere between significant and catastrophic. And that's a big word - I don't use it lightly."
• Don’t believe the hype: Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have flopped with drivers (Climate Progress):
  
  Stunning chart shows electric cars are crushing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
• Exxon Mobil's Futuristic FuelCell Carbon Capture Just Might Work (Bloomberg)
• Class action lawsuit targets FPL, Hurricane Irma recovery (Utility Dive)
• What California's heat wave revealed about demand response (Utility Dive)
• 10 Giant Companies Commit to Electric Vehicles, Sending Auto Industry a Message (Inside Cliamte News)
• More logging on public lands means more wildfires (Sacramento Bee)
• How Much Fuel Does It Take To Power The World? (Forbes)
• Hurricanes are dominating the news. But forest fires are raging out West. (Washington Post)
• Guarding the EPA Chief Pulls Agents From Pursuing Environmental Crimes (Washington Post
• California Sues Trump Over Environmental Waivers for Border Wall (LA Times)
• CPSC Votes To Warn Public on Flame Retardants In Baby Products, Furniture (Chicago Tribune)
• The great nutrient collapse: The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat (Politico):
  
  Could carbon dioxide have an effect on human health we haven't accounted for yet? The answer appears to be yes...
• The Uninhabitable Earth: When will climate change make earth too hot for humans? (New York Magazine):
  
  Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak - sooner than you think.
• A beginner's guide to the debate over 100% renewable energy (Vox):
  
  Clean-energy enthusiasts frequently claim that we can go bigger, that it's possible for the whole world to run on renewables - we merely lack the "political will." So, is it true? Do we know how get to an all-renewables system? Not yet. Not really.
• No country on Earth is taking the 2 degree climate target seriously (Vox):
  
  If we mean what we say, no more new fossil fuels, anywhere.

FOR MORE on Climate Science and Climate Change, go to our Green News Report: Essential Background Page

• NASA climate change video: This is the U.S. in 2100 (NASA).

                 

Article Categories: California, United Nations, Environment, San Francisco, Green News, Donald Trump, Natural gas, Coal, Oakland, Oil, Climate change, Extreme weather, Jerry Brown, Puerto Rico, Paris Agreement, Caribbean, Hurricane Maria