A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week.
Editor’s Pick
Paris Conundrum: How to Know How Much Carbon Is Being Emitted?
An industrial complex in Oberhausen, Germany in January 2017. LUKAS SCHULZE/GETTY
As climate negotiators consider rules for verifying commitments under the Paris Agreement, they will have to confront a difficult truth: There currently is no reliably accurate way to measure total global emissions or how much CO2 is coming from individual nations.
Will we be able to verify the Paris climate accord? Right now science is not up to the task, say the people in charge of assessing our annual emissions of CO2. There is, they say, no sure way of independently verifying whether national governments are telling the truth about their own emissions or of knowing by how much global anthropogenic emissions are actually increasing.
And that is distinctly alarming, given the contradiction between reports that anthropogenic emissions have stopped rising and atmospheric measurements showing that annual increases in CO2 levels have reached record levels.
Climate negotiators are committed to concluding a rule book for implementing the Paris Agreement at their next annual conference, in Katowice, Poland, in December. Central to that will be an agreed plan to monitor, report, and verify the pledges made by almost 200 countries.
Paris Conundrum: How to Know How Much Carbon Is Being Emitted? by Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360, Sep 10, 2018
Links posted on Facebook
Sun Sep 9, 2018
- How energy companies set off earthquakes miles away from their waste dumps by Ben Guarino, Speaking of Science, Washington Post, Aug 30, 2018
- Climate change: Protests held ahead of California summit, BBC News, Sep 8, 2018
- New Antarctica Map Is Like ‘Putting on Glasses for the First Time and Seeing 20/20’ by Shannon Stirone, Trilobites, New York Times, Sep 6, 2018
- Isaac a Threat to Lesser Antilles Later This Week; Helene Brushing Cabo Verde Islands; Both Expected to Become Hurricanes by Chris Dolce, the Weather Channel, Sep 9, 2018
- Rise for Climate: thousands march across US to protest environment crisis by Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, Sep 8, 2018
- The Colorado River is evaporating, and climate change is largely to blame by Mark Kaufman, Sep 7, 2018
- New electric rubbish lorries powered by the waste they collect by Lizzie Roberts and Tony Diver, Business, The Daily Telegraph (UK)
- These Scientists Formed a Fortnite Squad to Teach Players About Climate Change by Brian Kahn, Climate Change, Earther, Sep 7, 2018
- Dark Snow Project Brings Pacific Poetics to Greenland, Climate Denial Crock of the Week with Peter Sinclair, Aug 31, 2018
Mon Sep 10, 2018
- New research, August 27 – September 2, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Sep 7, 2018
- BBC admits ‘we get climate change coverage wrong too often’ by Damian Carrington, Environment, Guardian, Sep 7, 2018
- Hurricane Florence on track to hit East Coast as major storm later this week by Jay Croft & Susannah Cullinane, CNN, Sep 10, 2018
- More than Flo: The Latest on Helene, Isaac, Olivia, Paul, and Mangkhut by Bob Henson, Category 6, Weather Underground, Sep 9, 2018
- US ‘roadblocking’ climate change negotiations amid warnings the world is failing to hit emissions targets by Harry Cockburn, The Independent, Sep 8, 2018
- Kavanaugh’s views on EPA’s climate authority are dangerous and wrong by Dana Nuccitelli, Climate Consensus – the 97%, Environment, Guardian, Sep 10, 2018
- Many Major Airports Are Near Sea Level. A Disaster in Japan Shows What Can Go Wrong. by Hiroko Tabuchi, Climate, New York Times, Sep 7, 2018
- Wildfires have charred more than 1 million acres in California this year — and fire season is far from over by Jaclyn Cosgrove & Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Los Angeles Times, Sep 8, 2018
Tue Sep 11, 2018
- Climate change challenges can affect mental health, Opinion by William Hardie & Dan Sullivan, Cincinnati Inquirer, Sep 8, 2018
- Birds retreating from climate change, deforestation in Honduras cloud forests, University of Utah/Science Daily, Sep 6, 2018
- Secretary-general to throw entire UN into fight against ‘suicidal emissions’ by Karl Mathiesen, Climate Home, Sep 10, 2018
- Hurricane Florence, already a monster, is due to strengthen as 1 million people are told to flee the US East Coast by Susannah Cullinane, Kaylee Hartung, Jason Hanna & Emanuella Grinberg, CNN, Sep 11, 2018
- Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier to Release Methane Into Air by Coral Davenport, Climate, New York Times, Sep 10, 2018
- Expect a Storm Surge of 15 – 20 Feet in a Landfalling Category 4 Storm in the Carolinas by Jeff Masters, Category 6, Weather Underground. Sep 11, 2018
- How Can We Avoid Climate Avoidance? by Michael A. Smyer, Observations, Scientific American Sep 7, 2018
- Category 6? Climate change may cause more hurricanes to rapidly intensify. by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Sep 11, 2018
- Wildfires make their own weather, and that matters for fire management by Laurel Hamers, Science News, Sep 9, 2018
- California Gov. Jerry Brown casually unveils history’s most ambitious climate target by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Sep 11, 2018
Wed Sep 12, 2018
- The Most Honest Book About Climate Change Yet by Nathaniel Rich, Science, The Atlantic, Oct 2018 Print Edition
- Glaciers Falling on Tourists: Yet Another Danger of Climate Change by Elizabeth Earl, Science, The Atlantic, Sep 11, 2018
- Florence’s deadly message, Opinion by Jill Filipovic, CNN, Sep 11, 2018
- ‘Historic’ Hurricane Florence could take unorthodox track along SC, NC coasts by Bo Peterson, Charleston Post & Courier, Sep 12, 2018
- U.N. chief turns up heat on governments to cool climate change by Meagan Rowlings, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Sep 11, 2018
- Taking heat from misguided climate-change deniers by Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, Sep 11, 2018
- Hurricane Florence’s Slow Speed Is Ominous by Robinson Meyer, Science, The Atlantic, Sep 12, 2018
- Grandmothers stalled the police as climate protestors created the largest street mural ever by Justine Calma, HuffPost, Sep 10, 2018
- At Jerry Brown’s climate summit, one deadline will overshadow all the others by Evan Halper, Politics, Los Angeles Times, Sep 11, 2018
- Amid Trump admin headwinds, major summit seeks new ways to fight global warming by James Rainey, NBC News, Sep 12, 2018
Thu Sep 13, 2018
- Super Typhoon Mangkhut Heads Toward Philippines and China by Gerry Mullany & Felipe Villamor, World, New York Times, Sep 12, 2018
- Want a Carbon Tax? Wait Until Next Year, Advocates Say by Mark Matthews, E&E News/Scientific American, Sep 11, 2018
- Hurricane Florence will slash the Carolinas today in the opening act of a 3-day, coastal disaster by Nicole Chavez & Holly Yan, CNN, Sep 13, 2018
- Trump’s “Insane” New Energy Policy Would Put Global Warming On Steroids by Bess Levin, Hive, Vanity Fair, Sep 11, 2018
- Extreme Flooding from Florence Likely, Due to Convergence of Threats by Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, Sep 12, 2018
- What the world needs now to fight climate change: More swamps by William Moomaw, Gillian Davies & Max Finlayson, The Conversation US, Sep 12, 2018
- Philippines starts evacuations along coast as super typhoon nears by Neil Jerome Morales, Reuters, Sep 13, 2018
- Warming oceans are changing the world’s rainfall by John Abraham, Climate Consensus – the 97%, Environment, Guardian, Sep 12, 2018
- Hurricane Florence’s assault begins. ‘Catastrophic’ surge and flooding feared. by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Sep 13, 2018
- Hurricane Florence’s Unusual Extremes Worsened by Climate Change, Scientists Say by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Sep 13, 2018
- Seemingly overnight, the oceans are exploding with tropical cyclone activity by Brian McNoldy & Matthew Cappucci, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Sep 12, 2018
- These statistics show the power of Super Typhoon Mangkhut by Dakin Andone & Brandon Miller, CNN, Sep 13, 2018
Fri Sep 14, 2018
- Switzerland ‘running out of snow – due to global warming’ by Joe Mellor, The London Economic (TLE), Sep 12, 2018
- ‘Nature-based’ greenhouse gas removal to limit UK climate change by Matt McGrath, Science & Environment, BBC News, Sep 12, 2018
- At the Global Climate Action Summit, Brown and Bloomberg Make Bold New Pledges by Mark Hertsgaard, The Nation, Sep 13, 2018
- Philippines evacuates thousands ahead of Super Typhoon Mangkhut by Bard Wilkinson & James Masters, CNN, Sep 24, 2018
- This is absolutely unacceptable, Opinion by
- Typhoon Mangkhut: Philippines braces for ‘strongest’ storm by Howard Johnson, BBC News, Sep 14, 2018
- Rising temperatures will mean more deaths globally, say scientists by Sophie Hares, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Sep 13, 2018
- Here’s new research attendees are debating at the Global Climate Action Summit by Heather Clancy, GreenBiz, Sep 12, 2018
- High ice and hard truth: the poets taking on climate change by Bill McKibben, Environment, Guardian, Sep 12, 2018
- Harrison Ford Takes Aim at Climate Change Deniers: ‘Stop Electing Leaders Who Don’t Believe in Science’ by Libby Torres, Daily Beast, Sep 13, 2018
Sat Sep 15, 2018
- No more BBC platform for climate change deniers? It’d be about time, Opinion by Richard Black, Comment is Free, Guardian, Sep 10, 2018
- Investment firms controlling £23tn launch campaign to combat climate change by Harry Cockburn, Environment, The Independent (UK), Sep 13, 2018
- Paris Conundrum: How to Know How Much Carbon Is Being Emitted? by Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360, Sep 10, 2018
- Florence Will Drop an Inconceivable Amount of Water by Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, Sep 14, 2018
- The U.N.’s watchdog on indigenous rights has her eye on climate change initiatives by Justine Calma, Grist, Sep 13, 2018
- Three killed as Philippines warns of hazards in powerful typhoon’s wake by Martin Petty & Enrico Dela Cruz, Reuters, Sep 15, 2018
- Climate change wrought this freak of nature, Opinion by Eric Holthaus, Washington Post, Sep 12, 2018
- North Carolina’s Natural Hurricane Defenses Are Disappearing by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, Sep 13, 2018
- Bangkok climate talks: key outcomes on the Paris Agreement ‘rulebook’ by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Sep 10, 2019
- New research, September 3-9, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Sep 14, 2018
