Climate Watch: "Here’s How Climate Change Is Already Affecting the US" and More

Here’s How Climate Change Is Already Affecting the US

According to a new government report

We often talk about climate change as a far-off problem that will affect our children and grandchildren, but climate change is already affecting Americans right now, according to a US government report published on Tuesday by The New York Times. In fact, the US is already experiencing rising temperatures, more flooding in coastal zones, and an increase in the number of extreme weather events like heat waves and heavy rain.

The report was drafted by scientists in 13 federal agencies such as NASA and NOAA as part of the National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by Congress every four years. The results are based on thousands of scientific studies documenting incidents of climate change from around the world, and are at odds with what members of the Trump administration have often said about climate change. Read More

Scientists Fear Trump Will Dismiss Blunt Climate Report

The average temperature in the United States has risen rapidly and drastically since 1980, and recent decades have been the warmest of the past 1,500 years, according to a sweeping federal climate change report awaiting approval by the Trump administration.

The draft report by scientists from 13 federal agencies concludes that Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now. It directly contradicts claims by President Trump and members of his cabinet who say that the human contribution to climate change is uncertain, and that the ability to predict the effects is limited. Read More

PHOTOS: A 'Massive' Wildfire Is Now Blazing In Greenland

In a region better known for its ice and snow, it's a fire that now has scientists struggling to learn more. Since at least the end of last month, a stretch of land in western Greenland has been alight with a "sizable wildfire," NASA says.

The agency's European counterpart, the ESA, was a little more emotive in a recent tweet sharing imagery from one of its satellites: "This Sentinel-2 image of Greenland shows [a] massive forest fire," the ESA tweeted. "Yes it is Greenland." Read More

Methane-Eating Bacteria Discovered Deep Beneath Antarctic Icesheet Could be Curbing Global Warming

Bacteria that eat methane, a greenhouse gas, have been discovered in an Antarctic lake that has been isolated from the atmosphere for thousands of years. Their presence could significantly reduce the potential risk of warming posed by reservoirs of gas locked up in the ice, scientists say....

Methane is far more potent than carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas. Made of hydrogen and carbon, its warming effects have a shorter duration but are much stronger than carbon dioxide. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the planet-heating of methane is 86 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Read More