Everglades (and South Florida, Including Miami) With 2ft Of Sea Level Rise

The reduction in CO2 emissions from the energy sector in the U.S. over the past 5 years (see previous post) was due in large part to a reduction in emissions from coal. In 2009, the financial collapse led to diminished use of all fuel sources and greenhouse gas reductions across the board. Since then, the expanding use of natural gas has increased it's carbon footprint, but the decline in the use of coal and the subsequent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions associated with coal is remarkable. Coal is the most carbon-rich fossil fuel, so any declines from that source is good news for the climate.

Elephant populations are in decline throughout Africa largely due to poaching. Poaching is a problem in all regions of Africa, but especially severe in western and central Africa.

Stanford scholar Mark Z. Jacobson lays out how the US could get to 100% renewable energy by 2050. David Roberts describes his ambitious blueprint and the challenges it would face here.

From Bloomberg:

The U.K. said in July it will ban sales of diesel- and gasoline-fueled cars by 2040, two weeks after France announced a similar plan to reduce air pollution and meet targets to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

China will set a deadline for automakers to end sales of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, becoming the biggest market to do so in a move that will accelerate the push into the electric car market... The looming ban on combustion-engine automobiles will goad both local and global automakers to focus on introducing more zero-emission electric cars to help clean up smog-choked major cities.

“[T]he frequency of coal retirements highlights the speed at which the nation’s utilities are changing the energy mix by replacing coal with natural gas and renewables, particularly wind. Few new coal plants are in the works to replace those that are being shut down...As a result of a confluence of factors, the coal industry’s decline has been a long time coming. The story of coal’s decline goes far beyond the false narrative that Trump and his EPA pick Scott Pruitt are advancing that points to EPA regulations as the sole reason for coal plant retirements.” - Devashree Saha and Sifan Liu

Once just an alluring pet, the ravenous lionfish is now a predatory threat to reefs in the Atlantic. Learn more: to.pbs.org/2c3CjnU

Changes in US tree cover since 2000 (purple is gain, red is loss)

Carbon dioxide emissions in the UK are falling. CO2 emission fell 5.8% in 2016 from the previous year. Current emissions represent a 36% reduction from 1990 levels, and are at their lowest level since 1894 (outside the 1920s general strikes).

Why? The decline of coal. Coal use in the UK has declined steadily from its peak in 1956, and has experienced a dramatic decline since 2012. Coal use in 2016 dropped 52% from 2015.

The reduction in coal use is a result of multiple factors. The biggest is the expanded use of natural gas and renewables displacing coal. Other factors include an overall reduction in energy demand, the closing of Redcar Steelworks in 2015, and the UK’s carbon tax.

Source

While the coal industry is fighting Clean Water Act protections for rivers and streams from mountaintop removal mining (MTR), this 2011 poll of residents in Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee found strong support.

Other interesting results:

57% of voters oppose MTR; 20% support

64% of Democrats, 60% of independents and 51% of Republicans oppose MTR

Acid rain (wet sulfate deposition = sulfuric acid rain) before (89-91) and after (07-09) the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, which used a cap & trade program to limit sulfur dioxide emissions. For anyone who has any doubt that environmental regulations can work...