Climate Point: Carmakers choose California over Trump, a lake is saved and hottest July ever
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate change, energy and the environment. Four major automakers — Ford, VW, BMW and Honda — have reached a deal with California to increase mileage and cut greenhouse gas emissions, reports Eric D. Lawrence with the Detroit Free Press, bucking a proposed federal rollback. An Environmental Protection Agency spokesman called the move "a PR stunt." Buckle your seat belts, the stand-off will likely head to court.
I'm Janet Wilson, writing to you from monsoonal mugginess in Palm Springs. Here are some other things that may be of interest:
MUST READ STORIES:
Hot, hot, hot. The records keep shattering. July will likely be the warmest month on record. Ever. Fueled by record-breaking heat in Europe, the U.S. and the Arctic, and supercharged by global warming, scientists say July 2019 will be the hottest month on Earth since records began in 1880, Doyle Rice with Paste BN reports.
All together now. Senate Dems are seeking guidance from Republicans on climate change messaging, as Randy Showstack lays out in a fascinating piece for EOS. Be more upbeat, a veteran GOP pollster advised — reportedly the same one who advised Pres. Bush to say "climate change" instead of global warming to downplay risks. A majority of Americans now believe the planet is warming, including conservative Republicans. Both sides agreed a first step is for Congress to communicate better.
POLITICAL CLIMATE:
Going nuclear. Ohio passed a new law to bail out bankrupt nuclear power plants with a customer rate hike, and slashed renewable mandates, as Jessie Balmert reports for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Supporters say customers will save in the long run.
New Green Deals. With lawmakers sweating it out like the rest of us, a flurry of new plans to tackle climate change are being put forth before their August break, including a GOP proposed carbon tax, a bipartisan (yes, bipartisan) effort to reduce industrial emissions and a moderate Democratic alternative to the Green New Deal. Amy Harder with Axios tells us more.
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE
Saving a lake. Nevada's Walker Lake is poised to become a 'great restoration story of the West' writes Benjamin Spillman for the Reno Gazette-Journal. For the first time since Europeans settled the remote, scenic area, there's water flowing through the Walker River to benefit the lake's fish and wildlife. For 83 years, that spigot had been shut, with farmers and ranchers siphoning off the flow. Now, wildlife is getting a share too, and the remote lake is rebounding. "It is something we talked about since I was a 10-year-old kid," said Jeff Bryant, the head of a conservancy that made it happen.
Race to the bottom. From Iowa to Vermont, wells supply drinking water for about 120 million Americans and nourish farmlands, but water levels are dropping fast. The phenomenon is well known in California's Central Valley, but experts examined 12 million records and found Americans from coast to coast are now drilling deeper for groundwater. Researchers said the widespread approach is an “unsustainable stopgap” measure, as Ian James reports for the Arizona Republic.
AND ANOTHER THING
Summertime Blues. If red tide or blue-green algae gives you a rash or cough, make sure your doctor records your ailment with a new medical code for health problems related to toxic algae. Just say, "Mark it Z77.121." Tagging cases will help health care providers and agencies gauge the scope of the problem, and could lead to more funding to combat the blooms. Tyler Treadway, with Treasure Coast Newspapers, fills us in.
Here are the latest carbon dioxide numbers. Scientists say to keep a livable planet, we need to cut the amount to 350 parts per million. We're well above that and rising.
That's all for this week. For more climate, energy and environment news, follow me on Twitter @janetwilson66 You can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox for free here.