Religion and roots of climate change denial?

Climate Cast: News, science, solutions

People sometimes ask me if I "believe in" climate change. I sometimes reply do you "believe in gravity?" Climate change is a scientific fact, not a religion. You can disbelieve in gravity, but you're still going to hit the ground hard if you jump off the roof.

Texas Tech climate scientist and self described "climate evangelist" Dr. Kathryn Hayhoe puts faith and climate science in perspective in a talk this week at Boston College. Her talk on "Religion and the Roots of Climate Change Denial" is well worth a listen.

"Managed retreat?" Skyrocketing insurance costs pushing Americans away from coasts

The concept of "managed retreat" from vulnerable U.S. coastlines is now an open topic among insurers and local governments. As sea level rises, catastrophic losses from increasing flooding and storm surges are likely to skyrocket. The probable solution for cities and counties on the coastline where 100 million Americans live?

Move inland.

I've often talked about the need for the development of "climate safe" communities. Given current and future trends for coastal losses I can envision a partnership between insurance companies, mortgage lenders, builders, and government to create new master planned communities inland on relatively safer parcels of land. Lose your home to storm surge on the coast? One option could be your insurance company pays you to move to a master planned community inland. Banks and builders offer attractive mortgage rates and home price incentives to lure you, in return for the business. Governments provide more affordable land to build on, in return for your submerged lot that becomes a natural coastal buffer.

Early signs of this process may already be underway according to this piece from Climate Central.

How Flood Insurance Could Drive Americans From Coasts

As salty waters ride the fossil fueled escalator of sea level rise into American streets and homes, rising flood risks may force coastal neighborhoods — if not entire cities — to be abandoned in the decades ahead. “You can’t build a seawall along the entire Eastern Seaboard,” Jessica Grannis, a climate adaptation specialist at Georgetown Climate Center, said.

The challenges of shoreline retreat loom large as the latest round of hiccupping reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program take effect this month.

After hurricanes Katrina and Sandy left the program more than $20 billion in arrears, lawmakers started phasing out longstanding reductions in flood insurance rates for millions of property owners. The falling insurance subsidies are increasing premiums for coastal homeowners, saving public funds and reducing incentives for building in areas vulnerable to rising seas.

But with more than 100 million Americans now living in coastal cities and counties, two climate change experts are urging more far-reaching reforms to the flood insurance program. In a new paper published by Environmental Law Reporter, they say the flood insurance program should be redesigned to actively push American communities away from vulnerable coastlines.

“Because of sea level rise, the flood insurance program isn’t just a financial liability,” Robert Moore, who directs the Natural Resources Defense Council’s water and climate team, said. “It’s also a completely unuseful tool for dealing with the risk of flooding that’s increasing along our coastlines.”

CO2 leveling off? What the numbers mean.

In case you missed it, here's my conversation with Kerri Miller and Michael Mann, a professor of meteorology at Penn State University, on CO2 trends from this week's Climate Cast. You can also check out Climate Cast in iTunes.

Here's more from Climate Central on what looks like a temporary leveling of CO2 numbers globally.

A week ago, the International Energy Agency (IEA) dropped a bombshell: Global greenhouse gas emissions produced by burning fossil fuels for energy last year were the same as they were in 2013. That marked the first time in 40 years that energy-related emissions were flat while the economy grew.

The announcement flew in the face of established economic wisdom, which has long assumed that economic growth is inextricably linked to rising fossil fuel consumption and with it, rising climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions. Flat energy-related GHG emissions means efforts to snuff out CO2 emissions may be successful in a growing economy.

Climate solutions

Solar jobs boom? That sounds good to many who see renewable energy jobs in the push for solutions on climate change. Here's an interesting look at how solar is fueling green energy jobs, and reducing CO2 emissions at the same time.

As part of President Obama’s plans to combat climate change, the White House announced a program on Friday for the U.S. Department of Energy to train 75,000 people to work in the solar power industry by 2020, many of whom will be part of a military veterans jobs initiative called Solar Ready Vets.

The announcement comes as the solar industry in the U.S. booms, adding more than 30,000 people to its workforce between 2013 and 2014. Another 36,000 solar jobs are expected to be added this year. Solar power project prices are falling and investments are streaming toward solar as one of the most promising low-carbon electricity generating technologies used to help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving up global temperatures. 

Will New York's smart grid reshape US power?

Because we're Americans right? Why not invent a smarter way to do things? Here's a look at how New York may be leading the way on a smarter power grid.

New York State learned a big lesson after Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to more than 8 million residents and did billions of dollars in economic damage to the city and its utility infrastructure are highly vulnerable to climate change-influenced extreme weather and rising seas.

With that lesson in mind, the state is aiming to get ahead on adapting to climate change by modernizing and integrating renewables into its power grid and making its infrastructure better able to withstand extreme weather. And, New York is likely to do that in a way that influences smart grid development in the rest of the country, experts say.

In March, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state will soon open a new laboratory, called the Advanced Grid Innovation Laboratory for Energy, which will research and develop new smart grid technology that will modernize the state’s electric power system. Modernization will allow the state’s power grid to handle more renewables, so-called microgrids, and electric vehicle charging stations. A specific location and planned opening date for the lab has not yet been announced.