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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: Vermont slammed by second catastrophic flood in three weeks; As wildfires rage in the West, new study finds wildfire smoke is more dangerous than we knew; PLUS: Wind and solar energy overtake fossil fuels for electricity generation in Europe… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 8/1/2024

‘Green News Report’ – August 1, 2024  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – August 1, 2024  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): One in 11 people went hungry last year. Climate change is a big reason why; Global methane emissions rising at fastest rate in decades, scientists warn; Texas utility would raise rates to pay for Beryl ‘restoration’; Harris grabs Green New Deal network endorsement that eluded Biden; Manchin-Barrasso energy permitting bill advances to full Senate; Central US is paying higher cost of burning coal, report says; Last 25 years in US West were driest in 1,200 years… PLUS: The very hungry urchins gobbling up the algae smothering coral reefs… and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• Extreme wildfire events have surged globally, especially in western North America:
• Understanding the New Era of Fire (NY Times):
  Most of these more powerful fires happened in the temperate conifer forests of the United States and Canada, where extreme fire events increased by more than 11-fold, from six in 2003 to 67 in 2023, and the boreal forests that stretch across North America and Asia, where there was a 7.3-fold increase.
• Increasing frequency and intensity of the most extreme wildfires on Earth (Nature):
  Although the total area burned on Earth may be declining, our study highlights that fire behaviour is worsening in several regions—particularly the boreal and temperate conifer biomes—with substantial implications for carbon storage and human exposure to wildfire disasters.
• Wildfires explode across the US West:
• Colorado Wildfires Rage, Turning Deadly And Forcing Evacuations (Weather Channel)
• Human remains found in home burned by Stone Canyon wildfire near Lyons (Colorado Sun)
• Denver-area wildfire turns deadly as California’s Park Fire torches an area larger than Los Angeles (CNN)
• Giant California fire fits a pattern: Rising risks, human causes (Christian Science Monitor):
  California recently had two years of heavy rains and fewer-than-usual acres burned, creating vegetation-heavy forest floors. The state historically favored fire suppression — avoiding fires or extinguishing them as soon as they start. But in recent years, forest and fire experts have called for controlled burning to reduce fire “fuels” and allow forests to naturally regenerate.
• Wildfire smoke more dangerous to brain health than previously understood:
• Wildfire smoke may be worse for your brain than other air pollution, study says (AP)
• Wildfire smoke may be worse for brain health than other air pollution, dementia research finds (PBS NewsHour):
  The study found the odds of a new dementia diagnosis increased about 21% for every 1 microgram increase in the concentration of wildfire particles. That compared with a 3% increased risk for every 3 microgram jump in non-wildfire particles, concluded researchers from the universities of Washington and Pennsylvania.
• VIDEO: Wildfire smoke may be worse for your brain than other air pollution, study says (CBS-Bay Area)
• Exposure to wildfire smoke greatly raises risk of dementia diagnosis [PDF] (Alzheimer’s Association):
  The risk of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) air pollution is much more pronounced when the source is wildfire smoke than when it comes from other sources, such as motor
  vehicles and factories.
• Vermont slammed by second catastrophic flood in 3 weeks:
• VIDEO: In Vermont, “1000 year” Rain Events Keep Coming (This Is Not Cool blog)
• ‘Catastrophic flooding’ forces water rescues in Vermont after 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event (CNN):
  Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in just 6 hours, an amount considered a 1-in-1,000 year event — one so extreme, it usually only happens once every thousand years in normal conditions. A total of 8.41 inches fell there in what is one of the highest calendar day totals in state history, the National Weather Service in Vermont said. Extreme rainfall is becoming more common as fossil fuel pollution pushes temperatures higher and bolsters the atmosphere’s ability to store more water vapor.
• More flooding hits Vermont with washed-out roads, smashed vehicles and destroyed homes (AP)
• Vermont farmers take stock after losing crops to flooding two years in a row (AP)
• Torrential rains, floods trigger deadly landslides in Southern India and Ethiopia:
• Deadly Flood Exposes India’s Weak Project Planning, Experts Say (Bloomberg News)
• Kerala: Wayanad landslides linked to warming of Arabian Sea? What climate expert said (Hindustan Times)
• Horror, grief, trauma in Ethiopia’s Gofa a week after deadly landslides (Al Jazeera)
• Renewable electricity milestones achieved in U.S., E.U.:
• Wind and solar energy overtake fossil fuels to provide 30% of EU electricity (Guardian):
  Report finds 13 member states generated more energy from wind and solar power than coal and gas for first time in 2024.
• Wind and solar overtake EU fossil fuels in the first half of 2024 (Ember):
  Fossil generation continues to fall in the EU, even as demand rebounds. Wind and solar rise to new highs, reaching a share of 30% of EU electricity generation and overtaking fossil fuels for the first time.
• Wind energy is powering America more than coal for the first time ever (Quartz):
  “We forecast that coal-fired power plants will generate less in 2024 (599 billion kwh) than the combined generation from solar and wind (688 billion kWh) for the first time on record.” But what the agency hadn’t predicted was that wind would accomplish the overtake all on its own.

‘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

• One In 11 People Went Hungry Last Year. Climate Change Is A Big Reason Why. (Grist)
• Global Methane Emissions Rising At Fastest Rate In Decades, Scientists Warn (Guardian)
• Texas Utility Would Raise Rates for Beryl “Restoration” (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Harris Grabs Green New Deal Network Endorsement That Eluded Biden (Inside Climate News)
• Manchin-Barrasso Energy Permitting Bill Advances To Full Senate (The Hill)
• West Texas: 100 Quakes In TX In 9 Days (Weather Channel)
• Central US is soaking up higher cost of burning coal, report says (E&E News)
• West’s Last Quarter-Century Ranks As The Driest In 1,200 Years: Research (LA Times)
• A Decade After Disaster, Mount Polley Tailings Dam Could Get Even Bigger (The Narwhal)
• How a Crisis for Vultures Led to a Human Disaster: Half a Million Deaths (NY Times)
• As US Bets On Hydrogen, Local Communities Worry Over Secrecy, Public Health (Grist)
• The very hungry urchins gobbling up the algae smothering coral reefs (Hakai Magazine)
• Carbon Capture Bamboozle: Oil companies sold the public on a fake climate solution — and swindled taxpayers out of billions (Vox)
• What Project 2025 would do to climate policy in the US (Grist)
• How to power your home through an outage without a gas generator (Washington Post)
• VIDEO: John Oliver on Trump’s Project 2025: Blueprint for the Death of Democracy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• 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)
• 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)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)