A Guide to What the Times’s Bold, Flawed Climate Story Left Out

In the August 5 issue of the New York Times Magazine, reporter Nathaniel Rich spells out, in just shy of 30,000 words, how in the decade spanning 1979 to 1989, we came very close to halting climate change in its tracks, only we didn’t. Rich’s in-depth reporting links together the earliest understandings of and reports on climate change—as early as 1978, we knew that a hike in global temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius would wreck havoc on the planet — with the political atmosphere at the time. The consensus, in those years, was that climate change was a collective failure, and one for which every country and every leader should assume collective responsibility.

In the piece, called “Losing Earth,” Rich tracks the work of the lobbyist Rafe Pomerance and climate scientist James Hansen as they worked to convince both politicians and the American public of the consequences of unfettered fossil fuel burning. They were certainly effective in raising awareness; as early as 1979, Exxon was launching its own research into carbon emissions to better understand how much blame it would shoulder, because the company recognized that, at that time, it was still conceivable that it might end up in hot water if government regulations were authorized. “There was a formal consensus around the nature of the crisis,” Rich writes. That consensus led to meetings among global leaders in Geneva, Tokyo, and the Netherlands, while Pomerance and Hansen continued their work on the ground in the U.S.

Read the Fast Company story by Eillie Anzilotti - “A Guide to What the Times’s Bold, Flawed Climate Story Left Out.”

This California teen studies climate data after school

Some high school students find data analysis boring, but one California teen loves it.

McGregor: “When I get home, I spend my free time creating different graphs and reports on how climate change is affecting southern California.”

Studying climate data after school.

That’s high school student Edgar McGregor. When he first saw graphs of regional climate change, he was struck by the sharp rise in temperatures, especially over the past decade. So he began digging into climate data, looking at …

McGregor: “… which months are changing more than others. Is one month getting drier while another is getting wetter? Just to kind of understand what I can expect when I’m in my 60s, 70s, and 80s.”

Read the Yale Climate Connections story - “This California teen studies climate data after school.”

Turnbull has politicked himself into irrelevance on energy and climate in 2018

As we approach the end of the year, it’s useful to look back and forward. Now is an auspicious time, as two major energy-related reports have been released this week: the federal government’s review of their climate change policies, and a discussion paper from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on future energy paths.

The difference between the two is striking. The AEMO paper is practical, direct and realistic. On the other hand, the climate policy review relies essentially on Australia buying lots of international carbon permits to meet our Paris target (and, implicitly, on state governments taking up the challenge their Canberra colleagues have largely abanondoned).

It’s amusing to read a document that plays with numbers in such creative ways. But it is a fairy story, and it’s no way to drive national climate policy.

Read the piece on The Conversation by a Senior Industry Fellow at RMIT -  University, Alan Pears - “Turnbull has politicked himself into irrelevance on energy and climate in 2018.”

Artist Turns Climate Data into Paintings

Jill Pelto's art.

Most scientists communicate data through reports, charts, and graphs. But Jill Pelto also uses paint and canvas.

Pelto is a graduate student at the University of Maine. She grew up immersed in nature and always loved to make art. So when she began studying earth sciences, she started looking for ways to unite her two passions.

Pelto: “I thought, I know I have to make environmental art and I have to make art that is sending a message to more people.”

Though early in her research career, Pelto has already worked in the Falkland Islands, the dry valleys of Antarctica, and the mountain glaciers of Washington.

Read the Yale Climate Connections story - “Artist Turns Climate Data into Paintings.”