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IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Astonishing, historic deluge inundates Dubai; Climate impacts will cost global economy $38 trillion a year by 2049, new study calculates; New lightbulb efficiency standards will save consumers money; PLUS: Biden Administration cracks down on toxic silica dust to protect workers' lungs... All that and more in today's Green News Report!

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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Texas hack may be first disruption of U.S. water system by Russia; Maui wildfires: Wind-swept smoke trapped residents and impeded evacuations, AG’s first report says; Climate change played a role in killing tens of thousands of people in 2023; 'Reprehensible': Fossil fuel industry infiltrates civil rights convention; Trump rails against wind energy in fundraising pitch to oil executives; Grow food, cut carbon. Rock weathering has promise... PLUS: America's 'Most Endangered Rivers' list: Sewage, toxic algae, construction... and much, MUCH more! ...

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

• Earth Day 2024 is on April 22:
• April 22: Earth Day 2024 Official website (Earth Day.org):
  
  EARTHDAY.ORG is unwavering in our commitment to end plastics for the sake of human and planetary health, demanding a 60% reduction in the production of ALL plastics by 2040. Our theme, Planet vs. Plastics, calls to advocate for widespread awareness on the health risk of plastics, rapidly phase out all single use plastics, urgently push for a strong UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, and demand an end to fast fashion.
• Earth Day: How a senator’s idea more than 50 years ago got people fighting for their planet (AP)
• Tips, activities to celebrate Earth Day alone or with the family (Yahoo News)
• Dubai inundated by astonishing, historic rains and floods:
• UAE reels for a third day after record-breaking storm (Reuters)
• Dubai's record-shattering "rain bomb" has clear climate change ties (Axios):
  
  At least two years' worth of rain, or about 6.26 inches, fell in just 24 hours, qualifying as what have come to be known colloquially as "rain bombs" for their ultra-heavy totals in such short periods of time. This amount of rainfall in a single day would cause problems even in more temperate locations, let alone Dubai, a desert city with poor drainage.
• Here’s why experts don’t think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai’s downpour (AP)
• Cloud-seeding technology didn’t cause Dubai’s floods, scientists say. Here’s why. (Washington Post)
• VIDEO: Chaos in Dubai as UAE records heaviest rainfall in 75 years (CNN)
• Dubai airport struggles to resume flights after heavy rains leave runways underwater (CNN)
• Deadly storms wreak havoc across Arabian Peninsula:
• VIDEO: Flash flooding in Oman and UAE hit by heaviest rainfall in 75 years (Guardian)
• At least 17 dead after flash floods in Oman (CNN)
• More than 100 killed across Pakistan and Afghanistan as flash floods and heavy rains sweep the region (CNN):
  
  More than 63,000 acres of land has been damaged, and the statement added that the UN and its partners are "assessing the impact and related needs and providing assistance."
• UK faces prices spikes and food shortages as extreme weather hammers crops:
• UK facing food shortages and price rises after extreme weather (Guardian):
  
  Heavy rain likely to cause low yields in Britain and other parts of Europe, with drought in Morocco hitting imports.
• Study: Climate change to inflict global economic losses of $38 trillion a year by 2049:
• $38 trillion dollars in damages each year: World economy already committed to income reduction of 19 percent due to climate change (Potsdam Institute for Climate Research):
  
  "These near-term damages are a result of our past emissions. We will need more adaptation efforts if we want to avoid at least some of them. And we have to cut down our emissions drastically and immediately – if not, economic losses will become even bigger in the second half of the century, amounting to up to 60% on global average by 2100. This clearly shows that protecting our climate is much cheaper than not doing so, and that is without even considering non-economic impacts such as loss of life or biodiversity."
• New study calculates climate change’s economic bite will hit about $38 trillion a year by 2049 (AP):
  
  It also means countries which have historically produced fewer greenhouse gas emissions per person and are least able to financially adapt to warming weather are getting the biggest financial harms too, Kotz said. The world’s poorest countries will suffer 61% bigger income loss than the richest ones, the study calculated.
• Climate change will make you poorer, according to a new report (CNN)
• Climate Change to Cause $38 Trillion a Year in Damages by 2049 (Bloomberg, no paywall):
  
  The world economy will suffer less financial damage if global warming is limited to 2C, according to researchers.
• MSHA cracks down on toxic silica dust:
• U.S. miners are getting sicker younger. A new rule limits toxic silica dust exposure (USA Today):
  
  The federal rule will reduce the allowable level of silica dust when workers drill for coal and other ores. The public health impact of the new rule is promising: It would avert an estimated 1,067 deaths and 3,746 silica-related illnesses, according to a Labor Department news release.
• Biden cracks down on silica dust, a mining health scourge (E&E News)
• Feds take on toxic dust that imperils miners (E&E News):
  
  As it stands, medical experts say the full extent of the diseases tied to exposure to silica dust — silicosis, lung cancer and black lung — isn’t entirely known, in large part because not enough data is collected..."In the coal mining population, we’re seeing relatively young folks, so people in their 40s, 50s, we’ve even seen some people in their 30s, with very advanced stages of the disease," said Cohen. "That’s just really something we should not be seeing in the 21st century by any means."
• New federal safety rules on silica dust aim to protect miners' lungs (North Carolina Public Radio):
  
  It took mine safety regulators 50 years to do what federal researchers had long urged: make the exposure limit to silica dust twice as restrictive as currently allowed and directly regulate exposure so citations and fines are possible when miners are overexposed.
• VIDEO: Labor Sec. Julie Su announces new silica dust rule (Dept. of Labor/Twitter)
• Final Rule: Respirable Crystalline Silica (Mine Safety and Health Administration)
• Energy Dept. finalizes new energy efficiency standards for common lightbulbs:
• The lowly light bulb is the Biden administration’s latest climate-fighting tool (Grist):
  
  The DOE is tripling efficiency standards for light bulbs, a move that will cut CO2 emissions by 70 million metric tons and save consumers $27 billion over 30 years.
• DOE finalizes new light bulb standard expected to save consumers $27B on utility bills over 30 years (Utility Dive):
  
  Taken as a whole, the Biden administration says energy efficiency standards advanced this term — including some not yet issued — will provide nearly $1 trillion in consumer savings over 30 years and save the average family at least $100 a year through lower utility bills.
• Here’s what new LED lightbulb standards mean for American households (The Hill/MSN)

'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

• Maui wildfires: Wind-swept smoke trapped residents and impeded evacuations, AG’s first report says (CNN)
• Texas Hack May Be First Disruption Of U.S. Water System By Russia (Washington Post)
• Climate Change Played A Role In Killing Tens Of Thousands Of People In 2023 (Yale Climate Connections)
• 'Reprehensible': Fossil Fuel Industry Infiltrates Civil Rights Convention (HEATED)
• America's 'Most Endangered Rivers' List: Sewage, Toxic Algae, Construction (USA Today)
• Trump Rails Against Wind Energy In Fundraising Pitch To Oil Executives (Washington Post)
• Why Heat Pumps Are the Future, and How Your Home Could Use One (NY Times)
• There's no such thing as a benign beef farm – so beware the 'eco-friendly' new film straight out of a storybook (Guardian)
• Grow Food, Cut Carbon. Rock Weathering has Promise (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Climeworks branches into carbon removal trading (Axios)
• Russia-linked hacking group suspected of carrying out cyberattack on Texas water facility, cybersecurity firm says (CNN)
• Interior Said to Reject Industrial Road Through Alaskan Wilderness (NY Times)
• Fossil fuel debts are illegitimate and must be cancelled (op-ed, Climate Home News)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry's Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• 'In A Word, Horrific': Trump's Extreme Anti-Environment Blueprint (Guardian)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• These are the places most at risk from record-breaking heat waves as the planet warms (CNN)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here's How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon's Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• VIDEO: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (The Intercept)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)
• An Optimist's Guide to Solving Climate Change and Saving the World (Vice)

                 

Article Categories: Louisiana, Environment, Economy, Green News, Wind energy, Solar energy, Climate change, Extreme weather, U.K., Mining, Dept. of Energy, New Orleans, MSHA, Dept. of Labor, Pollution, Julie Su, UAE