A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.
Editor’s Pick
Climate change will get a whole lot worse before it gets better, according to game theory
A firefighter douses flames from a backfire in San Andreas, California, Getty Images /Josh Edelson
It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. According to new research published in Nature, humanity will witness marked sea level rises and frequent killer heatwaves before governments take decisive action against climate change. And to predict the future, mathematicians have turned to game theory.
The paper, published by a team of mathematicians, uses game theory to explain why it is so hard to protect the environment, updating it so they could model the effects of climate change, overuse of precious resources and pollution of pristine environments.
The bad news is that the model suggests that, when it comes to climate change, things might have to get demonstrably worse before they can get better. The good news, on the other hand, is that game theory could help policymakers to craft new and better incentives to help nations cooperate in international agreements.
Climate change will get a whole lot worse before it gets better, according to game theory by Roger Highfield, Wired UK, July 6, 2018
Links posted on Facebook
Sun July 1, 2018
- New research, June 18-24, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, June 29, 2018
- Airlines eye massive carbon handout by Megan Darby, Climate Home News, June 28, 2018
- A landmark climate change ruling could go up in smoke after Justice Kennedy retires by Mark Kaufman, Mashable, June 30, 2018
- Leaked final government draft of UN 1.5C climate report – annotated by Karl Mathiesen, Megan Darby & Soila Apparicio, Climate Home News, June 27, 2018
- Pruitt’s reading list from the public? ‘Global Warming for Dummies’ by Alex Guillén & Anthony Adragna, Politico, June 30, 2018
- Netherlands proposes 95% emissions cut by 2050 in draft climate law by Soila Apparicio, Climate Home News, June 27, 2018
- Emails reveal close rapport between top EPA officials, those they regulate by Juliet Eilperin, Health & Science, Washington Post, July 1, 2018
- Elon Musk turns Sydney transport depot into green energy hub by Cole Latimer, Sydney Morning Herald, June 27, 2018
Mon July 2, 2018
- Focus on cities could cut China’s emissions by 30pct – researchers by Isabelle Gerretsen, Thomson Reuters Foundation, June 27, 2018
- How clouds complicate global warming by Michael Lucy, Cosmos, July 2, 2018
- Solar Power Employs Twice As Many As Coal In US by Jake Richardson, Clean Technica, June 29, 2018
- Sydney soaked as NSW posts driest start to any year since 1986 by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, July 2, 208
- The dirty little secret behind ‘clean energy’ wood pellets by Tom Dart & Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, June 30, 2018
- Relaxing Vehicle-Efficiency Standards Is a Truly Dangerous Idea by Rob Jackson, Scientific American, July 2018 Print Issue
- The mysterious disappearance of the phrase ‘climate change’ from a CDC website by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, July 2, 2018
- Republicans try to save their deteriorating party with another push for a carbon tax by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus – the 97%, Environment, Guardian, July 2, 2018
Tue July 3, 2018
- ‘We’ve turned a corner’: farmers shift on climate change and want a say on energy by Katharine Murphy, Guardian, June 29, 2018
- Thirty years later, what needs to change in our approach to climate change, Opinion by James Hansen, Boston Globe, June 27, 2018
- Rhode Island Sues Oil Companies Over Climate Change, First State to Do So by Nicholas Kusnetz, Inside Climate News, July 2, 2018
- Trump Has Done More Than Pull Out of Paris by Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, July 2, 2018
- Aberdeen wind farm opposed by Donald Trump generates first power by Kevin Keane, BBC News, July 2, 2018
- Poor countries face $168 billion interest bill due to climate change by Umberto Bacchi, Thompson Reuters Foundation, July 2, 2018
- Extreme Heat Event in Northern Siberia and the coastal Arctic Ocean This Week by Nick Humphrey, Ocean’s Wrath, July 2, 2018
- A fiery Fourth of July threatens Southwest economies by Jessica Kurtz, High Country News, July 3, 2018
Wed July 4, 2018
- Climate Change Is Making Night-Shining Clouds More Visible, American Geophysical Union (AGU) News Room, July 2, 2018
- Bangladesh cities join U.N. drive to build defences against disasters by Michael Taylor, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 3, 2018
- Red-hot planet: All-time heat records have been set all over the world during the past week by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, July 3, 2018
- ‘The New Normal’: Wildfires Roar Across the West, Again by Thomas Fuller & Julie Turkewitz, New York Times, July 2, 2018
- Dangerous U.S. Pollution Event From Heat Wave, African Dust, and Fires by Jeff Masters, Category 6, Weather Underground, July 2, 2018
- CO₂ shortage: why can’t we just pull carbon dioxide out of the air? by Peter Styring & Katy Armstrong, The Conversation UK, July 3, 2018
- Big Drop in CSU’s Atlantic Hurricane Outlook; Quiet Atlantic, Active Pacific by Jeff Masters, Category 6, Weather Underground, July 3, 2018
- Worrying trend’ in UK emission cuts beyond power and waste, says CCC by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, June 28, 2018
Thu July 5, 2018
- Higher energy prices are here to stay – here’s what we can do about it by Lucy Percival, The Conversation AU, July 1, 2018
- Deadly heat waves becoming more common due to climate change by Brandon Miller, CNN, July 3, 2018
- Washington state will likely vote on a carbon price in November. The oil industry’s already fighting it. by Kat Yoder, Grist, July 3, 2018
- Analysis: ‘Global’ warming varies greatly depending where you live by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, July 3, 2018
- Global warming may be twice what climate models predict, Newsroom, UNSW Sydney, July 5, 2018
- 10th run of Denial101x starts on July 10! by BaerbelW, Skeptical Science, July 3, 2018
- Swiss Re No Longer Offers Re/Insurance to Firms with More Than 30% Coal Exposure, Insurance Journal, July 3, 2018
- Ecosystems across Australia are collapsing under climate change by Rebecca Harris, David Bowman & Linda Beaumont, Conversation AU, July 4, 2018
Fri July 6, 2018
- Great Barrier Reef Imperiled as Heat Worsens Die-Offs, Experts Say by Jacqueline Williams, World, New York Times, July 4, 2018
- India’s ‘worst water crisis in history’ leaves millions thirsty by Annie Banerji, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 5, 2018
- UK judge postpones decision on landmark climate case by Soila Apparicio, Climate Home News, July 4, 2018
- The Surprising Origins Of What Could Be The ‘Medicare For All’ Of Climate Change by Charles C Kaufman, HuffPost, June 27, 2018
- A dangerous heat wave threatens millions of people in California and the southwest by Nicole Chavez, CNN, July 6, 2018
- This heatwave is just the start. Britain has to adapt to climate change, fast, Opinion by Simon Lewis, Comment is Free, Guardian, July 6, 2018
- Pope warns climate change turning Earth into desert, garbage by Nicole Winfield, AP/ABC News, July 6, 2018
- Climate change will get a whole lot worse before it gets better, according to game theory by Roger Highfield, Wired UK, July 6, 2018
Sat July 8, 2018
- State’s solar and wind energy boom could power every home for a year by Adam Carey, Politics, The Age, July 5, 2018
- Ireland to lead the way on giving up investments in fossil fuel by Ellen Coyne, The Times, July 6, 2018
- The Netherlands contemplates the world’s toughest climate law by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, July 6, 2018
- Africa may have witnessed its all-time hottest temperature Thursday: 124 degrees in Algeria by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, July 6, 2018
- Is too much optimism hurting climate adaptation efforts?, Opinion by Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation, July 3, 2018
- Model Independence Day by Gavin Schmidt, Real Climate, July 4, 2018
