Climate Point: Ominous warnings for your phone and for frogs

This week we learned the nation's ominous Emergency Alert System seems to work, climate change is especially bad for frogs and Canadian wildfires can send hazy skies all the way to Florida.

Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and environment news. I'm Joel Shannon, Paste BN's climate editor and occasional newsletter writer.

First the good news: If there's ever a massive national emergency, it appears the federal government will be able to tell us all about it on our phones in a hurry. Wednesday's nationwide test of the system hit millions of phones, radios and TVs across the country and even disrupted the White House press briefing.

But we cover climate change, so there's plenty of not-so-good news to share as well — especially for frogs, salamanders and toads.

This week, Paste BN's Doyle Rice covered a study highlighting the risks that amphibians, with their delicate skin that often absorbs oxygen, face in a warming world. Nearly 41% of all amphibian species are globally threatened, considered critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable, the study said. That's much higher than the rates for mammals, reptiles and birds.

And months after Canadian wildfire smoke choked NYC and a huge swath of the Northeast, the fires are still causing air quality issues more than a thousand miles away. In parts of Florida, air quality was rated "unhealthy" Tuesday as smoke drifted down from the historic wildfires. Thankfully, this time the skies cleared within about a day.

There was plenty of local news around the country this week too:

• Green energy in New England: Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts are seeking large offshore wind proposals. The three states last week announced the agreement, which could total 6,000 megawatts of capacity – enough power for more than 3 million homes. 
• Invasive plant in Michigan: Hydrilla, "one of the world's most invasive aquatic plants," has been found for the first time in Michigan waterways. It has several ways of reproducing — root tubers, buds, and even small plant fragments can develop into new plants. That means it can spread through a body of water quickly, outcompete native plants, and form dense, single-species infestations. It's not clear how the plant made it to the ponds where it was discovered.
• Water concerns in Indiana: When it comes to pulling water from underground sources in Indiana, it’s essentially a free-for-all — and the person with the biggest pump often wins. For years, studies have shown a need for a statewide plan to manage water resources, especially amid projected expansion. The state, however, has no comprehensive plan or policy. The Indy Star published an overview of the issue this week amid plans to pipe millions of gallons of water across Central Indiana for a new technology and development district.
• Dead birds in Utah: Utah wildlife officials suspect an avian botulism outbreak has killed thousands of birds in recent weeks. Officials believe the birds died of the paralytic, often fatal disease, which results from the ingestion of Clostridium botulinum, a toxin produced by bacteria. Avian botulism is not typically associated with any human illness, but officials asked that people please not touch any dead birds they find.

We'll close this out this edition with something positive, if you're a fan of seasonal weather. Temperatures this weekend are expected to dip for wide swaths of the Midwest and eastern United States, as a large cold front moves east, according to the National Weather Service.

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Contributing: Alex Kuffner, Providence Journal; Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press; David DeMille, St. George Spectrum & Daily News and Doyle Rice, Emily DeLetter and John Bacon, Paste BN