California is now the first state to “dump dirty diesel” and require today’s rigs be replaced with “zero-emission trucks.” It’s a demand for far too much in return for nothing of value. The rule, issued June 25 by the Air Resources Board, forces “manufacturers to transition from diesel trucks and...
Are Polar Bears Becoming Extinct? Actually, They Are Abundant
A new study warns that polar bears could become nearly extinct by the end of the century if we don’t enact strict climate policies. However, it relies on an exceptionally unlikely climate scenario, where stagnating global coal use will suddenly balloon sixfold over the century. The lead researcher calls polar bears the “poster child of climate...
Big Oil Loses Appeal, Climate Suits Go to California Courts
LOS ANGELES — Big Oil lost a pair of court battles Tuesday that could lead to trials in lawsuits by California cities and counties seeking damages for the impact of climate change. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by energy companies and ruled state courts are the...
As People Stay Home, Earth Turns Wilder and Cleaner
An unplanned grand experiment is changing Earth. As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and India’s getting views of sights not visible in...
Trump Rollback of Mileage Standards Guts Climate Change Push
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration's rollback of mileage standards Tuesday marks a win for Americans who like their SUVs and pickup trucks, but the government's own estimates show big costs, too — more Americans dying from air pollution, more climate-damaging tailpipe exhaust and more expense for drivers at the gas...
California Is Taking Aim at Uber and Lyft’s Outsized Climate Consequences
To understand California’s climate change challenge, look no further than its popular ride-hailing companies. Uber, Lyft and other companies make up a tiny piece of the biggest greenhouse gas polluter in the state: transportation. Yet their contribution to climate-warming emissions is outsized, drawing attention from researchers and lawmakers and raising...
Great Barrier Reef Enters Crucial Period in Coral Bleaching
CANBERRA, Australia — The Great Barrier Reef is facing a critical period of heat stress over the coming weeks following the most widespread coral bleaching the natural wonder has ever endured, scientists said Friday. David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the government agency that...
For Californians, Health Care, Climate are Top Issues
Voters in California’s Democratic primary ranked health care and climate change as the most important issues facing the country, well above the economy, race relations, foreign policy and many other social issues. About a third named health care, an issue that has intensely divided the field of Democratic candidates. Nearly...
Half of World's Sandy Beaches at Risk From Climate Change
BERLIN — Scientists say that half of the world's sandy beaches could disappear by the end of the century if climate change continues unchecked. Researchers at the European Union's Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy, used satellite images to track the way beaches have changed over the past 30 years...
Walters: State Losing Its War on Carbon
For the last decade, California has waged a crusade to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases in the name of fighting climate change. The state has set specific reduction goals, and spent many billions of dollars, in both taxes and added consumer costs, to achieve them. Early on,...