Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Climate

The Skies Are About to Open Up in Florida

On extreme rainfall, tailpipe rules, and giant viruses

The Skies Are About to Open Up in Florida
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Floods washed away roads in Austria • Thousands of dead fish are littering the shores of a lagoon in drought-stricken Mexico • A heat advisory is in effect for Cupertino, California, where Apple is hosting its Worldwide Developers Conference this week.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Florida braces for severe rainfall

Florida is in for some very wild weather this week as tropical downpours bring huge amounts of rain and potential flood conditions. About 12 inches of rain is forecast to fall in Southwest Florida starting tomorrow and continuing throughout the week, but AccuWeather says some areas could see an incredible 22 inches. The Sunshine State has experienced drought conditions this spring. Fort Myers, for example, has seen just 15 inches of rainfall since the start of the year. So some precipitation is welcome, but the amount expected this week can quickly trigger floods.

X/NWSTampaBay

2. DOT finalizes new, watered-down tailpipe emissions standards

In case you missed it: The Department of Transportation finalized new tailpipe emissions rules for passenger vehicles on Friday, part of its push to encourage car manufacturers toward making more electric and hybrid vehicles. The new fuel economy standards will mean that, by 2031, light-duty vehicles must average about 50 mpg. That’s up from the current average of about 39 mpg, but less ambitious than the Biden administration’s initial proposal. The final standards for lighter SUVs, pickups, and minivans, as well as heavy-duty pickups and vans, were also watered down. According toPolitico, the standards in the original proposal would have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an additional 200 million metric tons through 2050 compared to the standards announced on Friday.

3. 1.5 billion people endured extreme heat already this year

As we approach the summer equinox in the northern hemisphere, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on the extreme heat events that have already plagued so many people across the world this year. In the first five months of 2024, more than 1.5 billion people experienced at least one day where the heat index reached the life-threatening temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit, according to analysis from The Washington Post. That’s nearly one-fifth of the entire human population on Earth. Climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera estimates that about 100 countries or territories have broken heat records so far in June. Right now a heat wave is baking some states in the southwest, Northern China is bracing for temperatures over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and India is enduring its longest heat wave ever.

4. Green parties among ‘biggest losers’ in EU parliament elections

Early results from the European parliament elections that took place over the last few days show right-wing parties making gains and green parties sitting among the “biggest losers.” Obviously this shift could have implications for EU climate law: The bloc has a number of ambitious clean energy and emissions targets in line for 2030, but many green policies (including a planned 2035 phase-out of new gas-powered vehicles) are up for review soon and “a more climate-skeptical EU parliament could attempt to add loopholes to weaken those laws,” explainedReuters. The parliament will also help outline new 2040 emissions targets for EU countries, and “that goal will set the course for a future wave of policies to curb emissions in the 2030s in every sector, from farming, to manufacturing, to transport.” Still, the tone remains pretty optimistic. Environment and climate ministers seem to feel that while new climate measures may be hard to sell, backtracking on existing regulations is unlikely.

5. Researchers suggest ‘giant viruses’ could help slow melting on Greenland ice sheet

Scientists say they’ve discovered signs that giant viruses are living on the Greenland ice sheet, and believe these viruses might be able to help slow melting in the region. The findings are preliminary, and many unanswered questions remain, but the theory is that these viruses – which can run 1,500 times larger than regular viruses – attack a type of algae that turns the Greenland ice and snow black. The darker the ice, the more heat it absorbs, and the faster it melts. If the scientists can prove the viruses attack the algae, perhaps they could be deployed to help control the algae and keep the snow and ice white. It’s a sort of “natural” form of geoengineering, I suppose. It may seem far-fetched, but then again so does brightening the clouds and pumping saltwater onto the Arctic sea ice to re-freeze it. Desperate times, eh?

THE KICKER

“It does feel a little apocalyptic. You remember the days when you could have olive oil.” –28-year-old Joe Shaw talks to The Wall Street Journal about how extreme weather is hiking the price of “the finer things in life.”



Yellow

You’re out of free articles.

Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
To continue reading
Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
or
Please enter an email address
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
Politics

Here Are the Grants EPA Canceled

The agency provided a list to the Sierra Club, which in turn provided the list to Heatmap.

Lee Zeldin.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency remain closed-lipped about which grants they’ve canceled. Earlier this week, however, the office provided a written list to the Sierra Club in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, which begins to shed light on some of the agency’s actions.

The document shows 49 individual grants that were either “canceled” or prevented from being awarded from January 20 through March 7, which is the day the public information office conducted its search in response to the FOIA request. The grants’ total cumulative value is more than $230 million, although some $30 million appears to have already been paid out to recipients.

Keep reading...Show less
Energy

The New Campaign to Save Renewables: Lower Electricity Bills

Defenders of the Inflation Reduction Act have hit on what they hope will be a persuasive argument for why it should stay.

A leaf and a quarter.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

With the fate of the Inflation Reduction Act and its tax credits for building and producing clean energy hanging in the balance, the law’s supporters have increasingly turned to dollars-and-cents arguments in favor of its preservation. Since the election, industry and research groups have put out a handful of reports making the broad argument that in addition to higher greenhouse gas emissions, taking away these tax credits would mean higher electricity bills.

The American Clean Power Association put out a report in December, authored by the consulting firm ICF, arguing that “energy tax credits will drive $1.9 trillion in growth, creating 13.7 million jobs and delivering 4x return on investment.”

Keep reading...Show less
Green
Politics

AM Briefing: A Letter from EPA Staff

On environmental justice grants, melting glaciers, and Amazon’s carbon credits

EPA Workers Wrote an Anonymous Letter to America
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Severe thunderstorms are expected across the Mississippi Valley this weekend • Storm Martinho pushed Portugal’s wind power generation to “historic maximums” • It’s 62 degrees Fahrenheit, cloudy, and very quiet at Heathrow Airport outside London, where a large fire at an electricity substation forced the international travel hub to close.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Trump issues executive order to expand critical mineral output

President Trump invoked emergency powers Thursday to expand production of critical minerals and reduce the nation’s reliance on other countries. The executive order relies on the Defense Production Act, which “grants the president powers to ensure the nation’s defense by expanding and expediting the supply of materials and services from the domestic industrial base.”

Keep reading...Show less
Yellow