July 23, 2019 2:09 PM EDT
If we don’t take action now to reduce heat-trapping carbon emissions, we will experience many more days of killer heat in many parts of the country, putting millions of people at risk of heat-related illness or death. We estimate that without action, by midcentury there could be more than four times the amount of days with a heat index over 105°F across the country. Read more >
May 23, 2019 1:24 PM EDT
April 2019 marked the wettest 12-month period in the United States since record-keeping began 124 years ago, breaking the previous record set from May 2015–April 2016. In most places in the contiguous US, by April 2019 it had already rained more than the annual average during the 20th century. This week, heavy rain is dumping up to 1 foot of rain in northern and central parts of the US. It’s evident that extreme precipitation events are getting more extreme, and also that climate change is one of the culprits. Read more >
April 22, 2019 12:03 PM EDT
The legend of the mythological Phoenix tells the story of a “female sacred firebird with beautiful gold and red plumage”. It was said that at the end of its centenarian plus life-cycle, the Phoenix ignited herself among a nest of twigs, and, reducing itself to ashes, a new young Phoenix would arise from the smolder. It’s a fitting metaphor for Phoenix, Arizona, a relatively young city at 150 years, yet located in the Salt River valley, a Sonoran Desert region that has been inhabited and abandoned by people for thousands of years before its current form as a sprawling metropolitan area.
January 30, 2019 4:46 PM EDT
In the last decade or so, Oregon has endured destructive wildfires, reductions in snowpack, and declining fisheries. First responder and resident Oregonian communities alike still vividly recall the devastation brought by the 2003 B&B Complex wildfire. Although the Beaver State had a good 2018 ski season, snowpack this winter is more than one-quarter down from what has in the past been considered ‘normal’. Ocean acidification is killing oyster and plankton in farms along the Oregon coast.
November 30, 2018 1:35 PM EDT
Given that Latinos, along with other groups of color will continue to become a larger share of our workforce, and are more at risk than others to be seriously affected by the impacts of climate change, it is critical that as a society we invest to make them an economically-secure, healthy, and resilient workforce. Read more >
