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The Dark Dide of the West’s Fossil Fuel Boom
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on December 13th, 2013
Washington Post: Over the last decade, oil and natural gas production has been booming out West, in states like North Dakota, Colorado, and Montana. That's brought plenty of benefits to local communities: Good-paying jobs, rising incomes, new businesses, a tidal wave of fresh tax revenue.
It's also brought a fair share of problems. Towns around the oil-rich Bakken formation in North Dakota, for instance, have been grappling with higher crime rates, heavy truck traffic and overcrowded schools. What's more, there's...
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The shale-gas boom won’t do much for climate change. But it will make us a bit richer.
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on October 21st, 2013
Washington Post: The shale-gas boom in the United States won't do much to cut U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions or tackle global warming. That's because, in addition to killing off coal-fired plants, cheap gas will also edge out cleaner energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear.
On the other hand, the glut of natural gas from fracking will make the country a bit wealthier and clean up other air pollutants in the decades ahead.
Those are the conclusions of a big new report from Stanford's Energy Modeling Forum,...
Sandy shows the US is unprepared for climate disasters
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on October 31st, 2012
Washington Post: There are two main strategies involved in tackling climate change. First, we could try to slow or stop the pace of global warming by curbing our greenhouse-gas emissions. And second, there`s adaptation -- we can try to revamp our existing infrastructure to protect ourselves against some of the effects of a warmer planet.
Many experts say we`ll need to do both. Even if the world could zero out its emissions tomorrow, scientists have found, we`ve already loaded enough carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere...
Yes, Hurricane Sandy is a good reason to worry about climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on October 29th, 2012
Washington Post: Every time a major natural disaster barrels along, people want to know whether it has anything to do with global warming. Is climate change causing this storm? That drought? Will we see more disasters like it if the planet keeps warming?
When it comes to tropical cyclones like Hurricane Sandy, the climate links can be somewhat difficult to pin down. On the one hand, humans have warmed the planet about 0.8°C since the Industrial Revolution. As Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric...
How climate change disappeared from the debates
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on October 18th, 2012
Washington Post: Over at the New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert laments the fact that neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney had anything to say about climate change during the second presidential debate Tuesday. Oh, sure, they talked about energy -- about oil leases, about coal, a few quick nods toward renewable energy. But nothing about this warming planet of ours. Nothing about the summer`s droughts or wildfires or the rapidly melting Arctic.
So I was curious to look back at how Obama and John McCain talked about...
Can natural gas really help tackle global warming? A primer.
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on August 20th, 2012
Washington Post: This winter, the United States reached a striking milestone. Carbon-dioxide emissions from the energy sector sank to their lowest levels in 20 years. At a glance, the country appears to be making major progress in tackling climate change. And many analysts give credit to the recent flood of cheap natural gas, which is shoving aside coal as America’s top source of electricity.
Yet some environmentalists have argued that the accolades for natural gas are premature. True, the shale gas boom has led...
Study: Many U.S. cities unprepared for future heat waves
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on July 26th, 2012
Washington Post: What`s the deadliest natural disaster? In the United States, it`s heat. Between 1979 and 2003, heat waves killed at least 8,015 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That`s more than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined. And it`s largely an urban problem--the bulk of those deaths occur in cities.
Why are cities so susceptible to heat waves? Well, in part because that`s where most people live (obviously). But there`s another factor,...
Western wildfires are getting worse. Why?
Posted by Washington Post: Brad Plumer on June 30th, 2012
Washington Post: It`s been an ugly week in Colorado Springs, as firefighters struggled to contain a massive fire that has torched more than 350 homes, forced more than 32,000 residents to flee and killed at least two people. The inferno is one of more than half a dozen large fires currently raging out West.
Smoke from the Waldo Canyon Fire rises near the USAF Academy's Cadet Chapel as cadets head for a briefing on evacuation procedures in this U.S. Air Force handout photo dated June 27, 2012. (HANDOUT/Reuters)...