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As of the 4 PM advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Maria was located 185 miles southeast of San Juan Puerto Rico. The very dangerous storm was tracking toward the west-northwest at 10 miles per hour. Packing maximum sustained winds of 165 miles per hour and a minimum central pressure of 920 mb, the storm is now stronger than it was just prior to devastating Dominica yesterday evening.

Along its present and projected path, the storm will reach the vicinity of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands within about 7 hours. Following a close encounter with St. Croix, the storm should approach Vieques and the Puerto Rican southeast coast in about 10-12 hours. Hurricane force winds should arrive about two to three hours prior to passage of the storm center. Tropical storm force winds are already affecting parts of the Virgin Islands and should begin to impact Puerto Rico…

Opinion:

¶ “Renewable energy is coming fast. Australian planners are struggling to keep up” • Renewable energy is driving profound changes in cities. Responding to climate change, networks of decision-makers have begun adopting strategies to promote the uptake of renewable energy. Yet land use planning has seemingly begun to lag behind. [CityMetric]

Wind farm in South Australia (Image: Getty)

¶ “What Hurricane Harvey Taught Us About Risk, Climate & Resilience” • People know the climate is changing, but they don’t know how serious it is. Over 70% of Americans agree that the climate is changing, but less than half of us believe it will affect us personally. Why? Perhaps because the when we imagine it, it is always far off. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ Scientists have long speculated on the possibility of a planetary thermostat keeping climate change in check. A study published in the journal

A special statement from the National Hurricane Center reports that Maria has reached Category 5 intensity — with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and a minimum central pressure of 924 mb. This is, perhaps, one of the most rapid intensifications the Atlantic basin has ever seen — with the storm seeing a 40 mb drop in pressure in approximately 6 hours and crossing the Category 4 threshold to Cat 5 intensity in even less time.

Maria is now a very dangerous hurricane — barreling into Dominica and the Leeward Islands before turning toward both the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the next 36 hours. It is also the second Category 5 storm to threaten the region in just two weeks time.

As of this morning, Maria was a strong Category 2 Hurricane featuring 110 mph maximum sustained winds. Forecasters noted a potential for rapid intensification as the…

Opinion:

¶ “Scientific models saved lives from Harvey and Irma. They can from climate change too.” • The impacts of hurricanes Harvey and Irma were blunted because weather models accurately predicted the hurricane paths days in advance. Scientific models for climate change use the same core physics as those for weather prediction. [The Guardian]

Evacuation ahead of Irma (Photo: Stephen M. Dowell | AP)

¶ “The transformational power of corporate clean energy purchasing” • This summer, over 1,500 businesses with annual revenues of $1.6 trillion signed the “We Are Still In” declaration, pledging to help the US deliver on its Paris Agreement targets. Their unprecedented coalition shows the importance of non-state actors for climate action. [GreenBiz]

¶ “Accountants are the real renewable energy heroes” • Engineers may have cut the cost of solar modules and new wind generation by more than half in five years, but…