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Greenhouse gases tilt odds toward record warmth

June 2017 was another near-record warm month around the globe.

Staff Report

It’s highly unlikely Earth would have seen a three-year run of record global temperatures without its blanket of human-caused greenhouse gases, scientists concluded in a new study that tried to pin down the relationship between record warmth and human-caused global warming.

Without the warming effect of carbon dioxide, methane and other heat-trapping pollutants, there’s only a 0.03 percent chance that there would be three consecutive years of record temperatures; when the warming effects of greenhouse gases are added into the equatio, the odds of three consecutive record-breaking years happening any time since 2000 rises to as high as 50 percent, according to the new study.

Opinion:

¶ “Joining Forces for Honest Environmental Journalism” • News publication have for years insisted on presenting opposing points of view for balance, even if they are self-serving and unscientific. The Climate News Network was set up in 2013 to provide a daily news story, objectively written, on some aspect of energy or climate change. [Truthdig]

USGS surveyors in Alaska (US Geological Survey | CC 2.0)

World:

¶ Australia is undergoing something of an energy crisis. Growing demand combined with under-investment in the electric grid has recently led to a series of embarrassing blackouts, and at the same time electric rates are soaring. South Australia has just overtaken Denmark as the place with the world’s most expensive electricity. [CleanTechnica]

¶ Norway’s plan to ramp up oil and gas production in the Arctic threatens efforts to tackle climate change, a study said. It says 12 gigatonnes of carbon could…

By DemocracyNow.org:
“On Guam, Resistance Grows to US Military Presence as N. Korea Threatens Missiles Off Island’s Coast STORY AUGUST 11, 2017

Video Link: http://youtu.be/0Pd8nh3S9Zw
The front page of Guam’s Pacific Daily News reads “14 Minutes!” That’s how long it would take missiles fired from North Korea to reach the U.S. territory in the western Pacific if there is an escalation of the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and North Korea. On Thursday, Trump again threatened North Korea, saying if it were to carry out an attack on Guam, the U.S. would retaliate with military action. The Pentagon controls about a third of all the land on Guam, which is home to 163,000 people and a sprawling complex of U.S. military bases, including the Air Force base where many of the United States’ B-2 bombers take off from before flying over the Korean Peninsula. For decades, residents…

Opinion:

¶ “Here’s What Trump’s Team Has Gotten Wrong About Climate Change So Far” • President Donald Trump is not the only official in the government to doubt human-caused climate change. His skepticism is shared by many others in his administration. This week two new reports again prove that Trump’s team simply has it wrong. [The Weather Channel]

Global surface temperature changes (NOAA)

¶ “As Massachusetts Unveils New Climate Rules, More Progress Needed on Transportation Emissions” • Massachusetts has issued new regulations to reduce the emissions causing climate change. They are a positive step, but the state needs to go further, and this includes working across state lines to cut transportation emissions. [Union of Concerned Scientists]

World:

¶ Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority is set to host a combined solar and methane power plant at a landfill, believed to be an Australian first. South Australia gets 57% of…