Who Is David Bernhardt? (And Why Every Environmentalist Should Care.)

Navy SEALS are known for their incredible endurance and superior ability to get out of tough, high-stakes situations. But ex-SEAL Ryan Zinke, our current secretary of the Interior, likely won’t be able to climb, jump, swim, or rappel his way out of the ethics mess he’s gotten himself into.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt
waits to speak at the annual state of Colorado energy
 luncheon, sponsored by the Colorado Petroleum Council.

If the rumors are true and Zinke’s days in the Trump administration are numbered (rumors that President Trump isn’t doing much to dispel), then Americans who care about the future of our national parks, national monuments, and other public lands should get to know his replacement. Meet David Bernhardt, the Interior Department’s current deputy secretary, whose long Washington résumé suggests that he would happily continue to carry out the Trump administration’s war on public lands and federal waters—albeit with greater legal sophistication and fewer unforced ethical errors than his predecessor.

Read the NRDC story by David Zalubowski/AP - “Who Is David Bernhardt? (And Why Every Environmentalist Should Care.)”

The four breakthroughs that will revolutionise long-haul flights in 10 to 15 years

Australians love travelling. We enthusiastically jump on planes, seeking out wonders of the world.

US start-up Boom Technology have designed
a supersonic jet that would reduce flight time between
Sydney and Los Angeles to 7.5 hours.

But we're increasingly conscious of our wellbeing onboard these long-haul flights. Will advancements in technology help resolve this dilemma?

By 2035, there will be almost twice the number of passengers as 2016, according to the International Air Transport Association, leaping from 3.8 billion to a huge 7.2 billion.

As the aviation industry prepares for billions of new customers, here's some of the trends that will revolutionise flying in the next 10 to 15 years.

Read the ABC News story by Chrystal Zhang - "The four breakthroughs that will revolutionise long-haul flights in 10 to 15 years.”

(Chrystal Zhang omits/forgets/sidesteps the much-needed discussion about how all this will happen in an energy restrained future or the fact that unrestrained climate change, a certainty if people continue to live with expectations that evolved in an energy-rich 20th Century, will render the promises of travel hollow. Exciting, yes; possible, unlikely - Robert McLean)

Long-awaited jump in global temperatures imminent

W

e may be witnessing the start of the long-awaited jump in global temperatures.

There is “a vast and growing body of research,” as Climate Central explained in February. “Humanity is about to experience a historically unprecedented spike in temperatures.”

A March study, “Near-term acceleration in the rate of temperature change,” makes clear that an actual acceleration in the rate of global warming is imminent — with Arctic warming rising a stunning 1°F per decade by the 2020s.

Scientists note that some 90 percent of global heating goes into the oceans — and ocean warming has accelerated in recent years. Leading climatologist Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research explained here in 2013 that “a global temperature increase occurs in the latter stages of an El Niño event, as heat comes out of the ocean and warms the atmosphere.”

Read the whole CilmateProgress story here: “Long-Awaited‘ Jump’ In Global Warming Now Appears ‘Imminent’”.