| Hurricane Matthew Leaves 11 Dead: Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful hurricane to hit Haiti in more than 50 years, has displaced thousands of people and left at least 11 dead. It is increasingly likely that Matthew, now a Category 3 storm, will impact the East Coast later this week. South Carolina has ordered the evacuation of more than one million coastal residents while Florida and Georgia declared states of emergency. The hurricane maintained Category 4-5 strength longer than any October hurricane on record, fueled by warmer-than-average seas. (News: Washington Post $, NBC News, Guardian, USA Today, BBC, Fox News, WLTX, CNN, Slate, ABC News, New York Times $, Miami Herald, Live Science. Commentary: IB Times, Clark Mindock analysis $. Background: Climate Signals)
VP Debate Brushes Past Climate Issues: Climate change and renewable energy were largely ignored at the vice-presidential debate as moderator Elaine Quijano did not ask a climate question. Sen. Tim Kaine briefly mentioned the issues during his opening remarks, saying he is proud of Clinton’s vision to build “strong alliances to battle terrorism and climate change” and highlighted plans to invest in research on “clean energy jobs of tomorrow.” Gov. Mike Pence referenced a “war on coal” at least five times during the debate. (News: Grist, Guardian, AP, Think Progress. Commentary:Washington Post, Stephen Stromberg column $)
Climate Change Divides, Renewables Unite: Americans remain sharply divided on the issue of climate change based on their party allegiance, a new poll by the Pew Research Center shows. About 72 percent of Democrats say they care about climate change but only 24 percent of Republicans say the same. Seventy percent of liberal Democrats say information from climate scientists is accurate, compared with just 15 percent of conservative Republicans. The poll did reveal strong bipartisan support for solar and wind energy, with 89 percent of Americans from both parties supporting more solar power. (New York Times $, VOA News, MarketWatch, IB Times $, Motherboard, Pacific Standard, CityLab, LA Times $, Christian Science Monitor, Pacific Standard, TIME, LA Times $, Gothamist)
Industrial Emissions Fall: Emissions from large industrial sources, which represent about half of total US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fell nearly five percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the EPA’s latest Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program data. This is a significant drop after emissions increased 0.5 percent from 2013 to 2014. Emissions from nearly 1,500 power plants, representing a third of the country’s total GHG emissions, fell 6.2 percent in the same period and 11.3 percent from 2011 to 2015. (Politico Pro $, Environmental Leader) |
