Science

"When industry wants a chemical safety assessment done yesterday, EPA managers classify it as “hair on fire.”"

"Scientists have long been worried about what many call “the methane bomb” — the potentially catastrophic release of methane from thawing wetlands in Siberia’s permafrost. But now a study by three geologists says that a heat wave in 2020 has revealed a surge in methane emissions “potentially in much higher amounts” from a different source: thawing rock formations in the Arctic permafrost."

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday announced the new members of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) after previously firing the board members who had been appointed during the Trump administration."

"Hundreds of scientists and policy experts left the government during the Trump administration. The jobs remain unfilled nearly six months into President Biden’s term, slowing his climate agenda."

"Against a backdrop of fires and floods, researchers are meeting virtually to finalise a key climate science study. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is preparing the most comprehensive assessment on the state of global heating since 2013."

"A leaked version of the newest science report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns of looming, potentially catastrophic tipping points for Arctic sea ice melt, tundra thaw, savannification of the Amazon rainforest, and other planetary environmental thresholds beyond which recovery may be impossible."

"New research, using machine learning, helps project how the buildup of greenhouse gases will change clouds in ways that further heat the planet."

"Scientists know that global warming is changing clouds, but they haven’t been sure whether those changes would heat or cool the planet overall.

"The Amazon rainforest is now emitting more carbon dioxide than it is able to absorb, scientists have confirmed for the first time."

"The White House science office announced today that Allison Crimmins will lead the next mammoth report on climate change. The fifth National Climate Assessment is expected to be released in 2023 and stands to be more expansive than past editions, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) said in a statement today."

"A major political and environmental dispute is heating up as the forestry industry and governments promote forest biomass — cutting trees, turning them into wood pellets, and burning them to make electricity. "