Above: Lahaina, Hawai’i after the devastating August 2023 wildfire that killed more than 100 people and destroyed 2,700 homes. Last year, I wrote that fossil fuel companies made billions of dollars in profit during 2022 as people around the world suffered billions of dollars in damage from climate and weather related disasters. The climate impacts people around the world experience are connected to the fossil fuel industry’s record-breaking profits: “The profits made by the oil and gas majors come at the direct expense of all of us and our shared planet. These companies continue to extract mo ..read more

This post is part of a series of quarterly roundups on scientific integrity. In the first quarter of 2024, EPA released a draft scientific integrity policy and several rules aimed at limiting people’s exposure to hazardous substances. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in several cases that could severely hamper agencies’ ability to regulate based on evidence and expertise. CDC acknowledged that draft guidelines on controlling infections in hospitals required more work, but its guidance on respiratory viruses drew criticism for downplaying COVID-19 risks. EPA releases draft scientific inte ..read more

Much of our electricity system is 50 to 70 years old, yet current plans for domestic manufacturing, electric vehicle fleets, community solar gardens and more clean energy all depend on a modern grid. New demands for electricity and the need to reduce climate-changing emissions are driving new grid planning efforts. The obstacles to new technology and more effective investments need to be addressed. How we do this, and how well it happens, depends on planning and collaboration across local, state and federal government. First, the demand  The ability of the current US power grid to handle ..read more

During my first decade in Washington, D.C., my windows were caked with soot from the diesel buses that ran up and down my street. So when I found a place to live just a few blocks away on a street without buses, it was a relief. What I didn’t know is that my health was still at risk—from indoor pollution. Thanks to a recent test conducted by my local Sierra Club chapter, I learned that the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions from the hoodless gas stove I’ve been cooking on for the last 30 years in my poorly ventilated galley kitchen exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum safe l ..read more

Industry is attempting some new tactics to undermine independent science and science-based decisionmaking at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA previously released their updated scientific integrity policy for public comment, and many groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, weighed in to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a policy designed to protect scientists and their work from political interference. Similarly, industry groups submitted a series of public comments expressing their viewpoints. Industry groups made clear in their public comments that they are ..read more

In a pivotal week for environmental justice, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, delivered rulings on three climate cases. A landmark ruling in the Swiss Women’s case criticized governments for not acting in line with science and unequivocally stated that inadequate government action on climate change constitutes a violation of human rights. The other two cases were dismissed due to procedural issues, not due to the merits of the cases. The ECHR rejects as inadmissible approximately 90 percent of all cases brought before it. Below, I detail some of the key aspects ..read more

The longevity of naturally occurring carbon sinks, like those in Earth’s forests, is a key part of all modeled and projected pathways to net-zero. Without the considerable carbon absorption capacity of our lands (and oceans), we’d currently have much more CO2 in the atmosphere and an accelerated timeline of warming. But the complexities of the interactions between the land and atmosphere, especially in a rapidly changing climate, are challenging to model, leading to uncertainty around the magnitude and persistence of this critical carbon sink. I dug into this complexity with my energy colleagu ..read more

There are ways to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate crisis—or at least nudge them in the right direction—in addition to government regulation. One avenue, which dozens of cities, counties and states across the United States and its territories are pursuing, is to sue them in state court for fraud and damages. Chicago and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, some 30 miles north of Philadelphia, are the most recent municipalities to file such a lawsuit. The defendants in both cases include BP America, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Philips 66 and Shell, as well as the American ..read more

Earlier this year, ExxonMobil released its annual Advancing Climate Solutions report detailing the company’s current and planned contributions to a net-zero future. Put another way—earlier this year, ExxonMobil released its annual greenwashing report, outlining its purported progress towards addressing climate change, a problem the company helped to create. I reviewed ExxonMobil’s two most recent reports (2023/2024) to evaluate the scientific rigor of its claims. And as a scientist and data visualization enthusiast, I found the reports misleading at best, dishonest at worst, and nowhere is thi ..read more

This article was originally published in the Substack newsletter SciLight on April 4, 2024. In this current age, a meme on Facebook, a video on TikTok, or a comment thread on Reddit can have substantial influence over people’s views and perspectives. For instance, half of adults in the United States obtain their news at least sometimes from social media. While social media can be a great source of information, misinformation – the accidental spread of incorrect information – also runs rampant through our online spaces. Disinformation – misinformation’s more nefari ..read more