Jonathan Overpeck

ksl.com'Worst on record': Brutal summer heat wave killed more than 50,000 in Europe's citiesMore than 50,000 people are estimated to have died across Europe's cities during the brutal heat waves that roiled the continent this summer — making this year's heat the region's deadliest on record,...

Heatwaves keep getting more deadly as global warming speeds up: “Climate change, driven by fossil fuel pollution, caused two-thirds of the deaths”. www.ksl.com/article/5163...

washingtonpost.comHail causes billions in damage — and climate change is making it worseAcross the country hail causes billions of dollars in damage every year, and scientists believe that climate change will make things worse.

Yet another way climate change is costing Americans billions: "Hailstorms are becoming larger and more frequent, especially in the Great Plains. Their toll is soaring." www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

apnews.comHalloween costumes have a spooky environmental impact. Swaps are a way to reduce waste and recycleHalloween costumes are often worn once and then thrown away. But that can leave a spooky environmental impact.

Halloween sustainability? "whenever we’re using any sort of single-use product..., we really have to be thinking about is this really how we want to spend our time, money, resources, and is there a better way?” apnews.com/article/hall...

chicagotribune.comGreat waste in the Great Lakes: How plastic pollution is clogging our watersMore than 40 million depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water. Yet plastic pollution in the lake water isn’t regulated, and manufacturers are moving to dramatically increase the amount of plastics...

Plastics are a growing threat to humans and more: "Each glass of treated lake water is laden with tiny bits of plastic — microplastics — made of toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases" www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/22/g...

time.comWhat Food-Waste Experts Do With Their Own GroceriesGive yesterday’s dinner—and that half a cabbage—a future.

We all need food waste strategies: “My go-to is a potato.” (And more!) time.com/article/2026...

bloomberg.comThere Is No Quick Fix for High Beef PricesAs long as climate change keeps worsening droughts, ranchers will be cautious about raising more cattle.

Tariffs and war are driving up beef prices WAY up, but so is climate change largely caused by the burning of fossil fuels. "As long as climate change keeps worsening droughts, ranchers will be cautious about raising more cattle." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

@drjeffmasters.bsky.social

Speaking of flooding, here’s a beer for the times, they are a comin’. Thanks Telluride Brewing (tastes good too)!

Jonathan Overpeck reposted

Dr. Jeff Masters

Forget the sandbags, duct tape applied properly to an outside door does a better job of protecting against flooding! theconversation.com/duct-tape-ke...

theconversation.comDuct tape kept out more flood water than sandbags in laboratory testsA cheap roll of duct tape cut flood water leakage through a door by 97% in lab tests.

theconversation.com300 glaciers have disappeared from the American West since the mid-20th century – the survivors have a few things in commonA new study compared the glaciers in the Lower 48 states today against historical data from the mid-20th century. The results show the region’s vulnerabilities as temperatures rise.

The US is loosing its cool (glaciers that is) to warming. Not just people and thermometers feeling the heat... theconversation.com/300-glaciers...

science.orgHedging El Niño isn’t the same as adapting to itReader environment loaded

Record El Niño = global losses in the trillions of $$. "not...a redistribution with winners here & losers there. Nor is El Niño a shock in the usual sense; it’s more nefarious, slowing growth worldwide for years." Policy needs more focus on human costs. www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....

nebraskapublicmedia.orgRural areas reap economic benefits from wind and solar projects, new Midwest study findsAcross the central U.S., more communities are passing ordinances to regulate renewable infrastructure development. A University of Missouri study examines the economic impact of renewable energy in ru...

Good news for rural economies: “This suggests that renewable energy development does not substantially diminish agricultural economic activity” nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news...

weatherwest.comRemarkable weather weekend ahead as Tropical Storm Rachel approaches San Diego and early-season trough ends record-breaking autumn heatwave - Weather WestOctober 9, 2026 - Daniel Swain - One of SoCal's worst late-season heatwaves on record finally breaking (after breaking records) I am writing this quick post rapidly from my hotel room, so it'll rely more heavily on embedded social media threads than usual. But I would be remiss if I didn't write something up regarding the remarkable weather weekend coming up in #

This is how Yucca Mtn gets a pile of rain and infiltration, in case you’re wondering why the place will never be safe for storing nuke waste - just one of multiple reasons.

Daniel Swain@weatherwest.bsky.social

Rapid response blog post on Tropical Storm Rachel and the growing potential for notable Southern California/SW US impacts. Will also be going live on YouTube at Noon Pacific Time (15 minutes!) to discus. #CAwx

lsa.umich.eduWhat to Expect from the 2026-27 Super El Niño | U-M LSA U-M College of LSAFive questions with Julia Cole, chair of the U-M Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and lead author of a new study about the growing intensity of El Niños.

A global view from Michigan - an unprecedented El Niño is on the way. Be careful. "I do want to push back on the idea that we can prepare for and adapt and be ready for all of these hazards, even in the wealthiest countries. We can’t." lsa.umich.edu/lsa/news-eve...

canarymedia.comGas stoves put restaurant cooks’ health at risk, new study findsDangerous amounts of heat and air pollution swirl in most commercial kitchens — even when the stoves are off. Switching to electric appliances helps…

Indoor cooking on gas stoves isn't good for anyone's health, but it's especially bad in commercial kitchens. www.canarymedia.com/articles/emi...

washingtonpost.comColumn | Fix it or trash it? How to decide how long to keep your car and home appliances.When should you retire a machine, and when should you keep it alive on duct tape and borrowed time? The answers are not what this columnist expected.

True for a lot more than cars if you're looking to save money: "The contest between a new EV and a new gas car is not close. ...The earlier you swap, the bigger the benefit." www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

nytimes.comOpinion | The Science That Has Oil Companies Running ScaredHowever the U.S. Supreme Court rules, the work of holding oil companies accountable for climate change has a bright future.

Time for Big Oil to start paying for the huge damages they cause: “You break it, you fix it. Why shouldn’t that apply to fossil fuel companies whose products have ruptured the climate?” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/o...

theconversation.comWhy fuel prices may go higher stillSeven months into the US conflict with Iran, with no clear end in sight, the global oil market has now largely exhausted the safety measures that exist to keep a lid on petroleum prices.

Who's smart now? "More than 60% of new passenger car sales in China are electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids, and 30% of its heavy truck sales are now electric" Bigger gas/diesel shortages may be ahead as US federal policy fights against electric cars & trucks. theconversation.com/why-fuel-pri...

japantoday.com'We're not giving up': Beset by climate change, island nations act as conscience of a warming worldWhen Palau President Surangel Samuel Whipps Jr. recently took his children to his nation's Helen Island, two-thirds of it was gone. Rising seas caused by climate change had swallowed generational buri...

Island nations are getting submerged by sea level rise driven by the climate change they did nothing to cause. It’s the wealthy industrial nations that are causing the climate change. It’s us, and it’s wrong to wipe out other nations just so we can burn fossil fuels. japantoday.com/category/fea...

myumi.chOnline Certificate in Sustainability ScienceOur U-M SEAS online program bridges the gap between technical science and organizational strategy—giving you the skills and knowledge needed to become a sustainability leader.100% online flexibility: ...

ICYMI: U-M SEAS just launched a fully online Certificate in Sustainability Science for working professionals. Flexible format, finish in as little as 8 months, taught by Michigan faculty. Worth a look if sustainability is part of your career path: myumi.ch/Pb389

apple.newsConcern mounts over slow-moving, planetary-scale ‘Kelvin’ wave heading for California — Guardian USThe ocean phenomenon could raise sea levels by up to a foot as El Niño keeps warm water trapped along the coast

A record breaking El Niño on top of increasing sea level rise due to climate warming, all coinciding with unusual high tides. CA is about to get a taste of what will likely worsen by winter. Prepare, be careful. apple.news/AUfINX3XdRlC...

apple.newsRising sea destroys homes, erases beaches in California. Is worse to come? — ReutersIn Malibu, the Pacific Ocean opened a sinkhole near the home of movie star Nicolas Cage and wreaked havoc on beachfront property. Along Beach Road in the city of Dana Point, waves destroyed one home ...

Is worse to come? Simple answer: yes, high confidence. East coast too. apple.news/AznR3U-NyQKq...

Looks like we have an increasingly stringent carbon tax in the price of gas and especially diesel … I’ll note that I just drove across OH and PA (and back to MI) in my EV and saved a lot of $$. Easy to find chargers now.

20 Sept

Eastern Lake Erie looking pretty great today!

vox.comThe wildfire danger we’re only just beginning to understandToxic smoke will soon be everyone’s problem.

18 Sept

The burning of fossil fuels has pushed us across a tipping point beyond which wildfires becoming more catastrophic. The resulting surge in wildfire smoke is making American air much more polluted and toxic again. It'll keep getting worse until we phase out fossil fuels. www.vox.com/future-perfe...

drawdown.orgWe’re going to miss the 1.5 °C climate target. Now what?The United Nations Environment Program released a report earlier this month saying the world – which is already experiencing roughly 1.3˚C of warming – will miss the 1.5˚C climate change target set by...

17 Sept

We need to work harder..."This work shows us that all of the solutions we need are already here. We just need to scale them, as quickly and strategically as we can." drawdown.org/insights/wer...

nytimes.comOpinion | The Latest Corporate Climate RuseMaking deforestation look climate-friendly will encourage a lot more deforestation.

17 Sept

Beware carbon trickery: “The problem, again, is that the key committees overseeing the rewriting of the land-use rules are stacked with corporate representatives, with few independent scientists” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/o...

gizmodo.comOver 70% of New Solar Power Is Going Up in States That Voted for TrumpTrump-supporting states are driving the solar boom even as Republican policies complicate its future.

16 Sept

Americans like cleaner/cheaper energy: “At least at the macro level, Republican-led and governed states are not only open to but embracing solar energy as a technology” gizmodo.com/over-70-of-n...

canarymedia.comTrump’s $4B in offshore wind buyouts spur legal blowback from statesInterior is using tax dollars to pay firms to ditch offshore wind leases and invest in fossil fuels instead. California just became the eighth state to…

1 Sept

Good to know: have to stop wasting taxpayer $$ to prop up fossil fuels... www.canarymedia.com/articles/off...

cen.acs.orgToxins from freshwater algae blooms can go airborneAs these bacterial explosions increase worldwide, researchers are racing to study their health impacts

31 Aug

This is troubling to say the least, and made worse by warming combined with more extreme precipitation (both increasing due to climate change) "As these bacterial explosions increase worldwide, researchers are racing to study their health impacts" cen.acs.org/biological-c...

npr.orgWith global water temperatures hitting a record high, this year may see 'super' El NiñoWarming ocean waters are teeing up a particularly strong El Niño weather pattern.

31 Aug

More on the intensifying El Niño (likely will break records), links to climate change, and what it could mean going forward. Listen: www.npr.org/2026/08/30/n... And/or read another take: apnews.com/article/el-n...

Jonathan Overpeck reposted

Ed Maibach

@maibached.bsky.social

30 Aug

Spot on! Candidates who stay silent about climate change—and the need to scale up affordable clean energy—risk being out of touch with voters and the livability of our communities.

sacbee.comHow can Democrats rebuild trust? By talking honestly about climate change | Opinion“The climate crisis is edging its way into the American psyche. So why are so many Democratic leaders waging a hushing campaign?”

apple.newsWind Turbines Cause Fewer Bird Deaths Each Year Than This Common Culprit — BGRBird deaths are often used as an argument against wind power. Data from the U.S. and Germany shows why that argument needs more context than it gets.

31 Aug

A reminder: “domestic cats kill at least 400 to 2,000 times more birds than wind turbines…Ultimately, wind farms pose a threat to only 0.05% of the total population of avians.” apple.news/AfvwOH_u_Sny...

nature.comWhy are El Niños getting stronger? 1,000-year-coral record points to climate changeA reconstruction of Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures adds to the evidence that human-caused warming is boosting El Niño events.

“I think it’s another very strong piece of evidence that climate change is affecting the amplitude of ENSO variations” www.nature.com/articles/d41...

sciencemagazinedigital.orgScience Magazine - Coral records suggest global warming is strengthening El NiñoThe vibrant biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands has helped biologists from Charles Darwin onward unlock the mysteries of evolution.

Models, paleorecords (corals!) and instrumental data seem to agree that the concern is valid: "And if [El Niños are] becoming more extreme, that has some very serious implications for society, and it’s information that we should be acting on.” www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagaz...

sciencemagazinedigital.orgScience Magazine - The worst energy policy in the worldThe Iran war could serve as a turning point in accelerating the global transition away from fossil fuels: Every additional day that oil and gas prices are high and future supplies are uncertain...

A consequence of the Iran war that needs to be avoided: "Consumer fuel subsidies are the worst kind of energy policy." www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagaz...

canarymedia.comHow much of a threat do heat waves pose to nuclear plants?Hot water and low river levels have hampered nuclear power in Europe this summer, forcing a reckoning over plant preparedness.

Summer 2026: "The series of extreme heat waves that roasted Europe, killing thousands and fueling historic wildfires, also severely impacted the rivers that provide water to cool thermal power plants such as nuclear stations." www.canarymedia.com/articles/nuc...

apple.newsGlobal Warming Intensifies El Niño, Galápagos Coral Fossils Show — Inside Climate NewsMore damaging extremes are looming, as the Pacific Ocean’s climate cauldron sets off a chain reaction of heatwaves, floods and droughts across the globe.

Let’s put this new coral research to the test - will the 2026/27 El Niño be more extreme than recent strong El Niños? If so, what does the future hold? apple.news/A-h-25IGTT5G...

news.umich.eduEl Niños more intense over last 40 years than previous 1,000, according to U-M studyAs an El Niño of historic proportions is taking shape in the tropical Pacific, a University of Michigan study has found that El Niño events have become nearly 40% stronger in the last 40 years than th...

27 Aug

More about the science behind new El Niño research going viral in news this week. Bottomline: El Niño's and their huge costly impacts are likely getting supercharged by human-caused climate change, and will get worse until we stop burning fossil fuels. news.umich.edu/el-ninos-mor...

theconversation.comGalápagos corals show El Niño events are more extreme now than in past 1,000 years – here’s how my team made the discoveryScientists went to the heart of the El Niño pattern to learn from living and fossil corals. The results show El Niño’s intensifying coincides with global warming.

27 Aug

As we weather the intensifying current El Niño, remember what this new science tells us: "Our results suggest that the 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Niños – two of the strongest in recent memory – may be harbingers of more extreme events to come as the planet warms. theconversation.com/galapagos-co...

oklahomafarmreport.comU.S. Needs New Drought Assessment Framework as Droughts Become More Severe and Unpredictable - Oklahoma Farm ReportDroughts in the United States are becoming more intense and unpredictable, and the nation needs to develop a new drought assessment framework to better understand and address them, according to a new ...

25 Aug

“Many of the drought tools we rely on today were built around the assumption that climate conditions and dynamics remain relatively stable over time. That assumption no longer holds, and drought assessment must evolve accordingly" www.oklahomafarmreport.com/2026/08/24/u...

canarymedia.comArizona is having a grid battery growth spurt. Will that last?So far this year, it has built more battery capacity than any state besides Texas. But political shifts could complicate the long-term growth trajectory.

24 Aug

This is a good sign for Arizona. Fighting climate change is the most effective way to fight the state’s growing water crisis. Beware the climate deniers - water is at stake. www.canarymedia.com/articles/bat...

washingtonpost.comSee the invisible force driving destructive floods across the United StatesThere have been numerous floods in the U.S. this summer, and more are predicted for the fall and winter.

24 Aug

The El Niño is a big deal, but climate change is a bigger worry: “We now have a new climate. Much more moisture is available for storms. El Niño is supercharging this effect at the moment, but the underlying mechanism is long term climate warming” www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...

nytimes.com‘It’s Been Terrible’: Thousands in Indiana Remain Without PowerGov. Mike Braun called on the local utility to “match the urgency” of Gary area residents who have had to endure an outage approaching its second week.

23 Aug

This too is what climate change looks like - and thus the intensity of storms and extreme rain events will only worsen until we halt the burning of fossil fuels for power and transport. Horrible problem, simple solution. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/u...

nytimes.comWildfires Are Turning Forests in the American West Into ShrublandTowering woodlands in the West are being permanently replaced by tracts of spiky shrubs. Conditions “just aren’t normal anymore,” one researcher said.

23 Aug

Climate warming will continue to intensify as long as we burn fossil fuels for power and transport: “as bigger and hotter wildfires sweep through forests that have not evolved to survive such high-intensity blazes and a warmer climate.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/c...

nytimes.comAmerica’s Desert Metropolis Is on the Short List to Lose WaterDecades ago, the state won funding for a massive Colorado River project by agreeing to be first in line for cuts at a time of deep drought. The Trump administration says that time has come.

23 Aug

Unless we halt climate change, the Southewest will see increasingly hot/severe megadrought: “the system would be cut off entirely during the driest years, setting off a social and economic meltdown Arizonans shudder to even imagine” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/u...

washingtonpost.comWhy one highway exploded this summer — and why many more are at riskHotter summers are wreaking havoc across transportation infrastructure. One solution: Paint everything white.

20 Aug

This is what climate change looks like: “Heat waves melt asphalt into goo. Train tracks twist. Overhead power lines sag. Concrete snaps into pieces in what are known as “blowups”” (wild video too) www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

theconversation.comAncient forests took 100,000 years to recover from the last global warming period similar to today – Wyoming fossils reveal what happenedUnderstanding what happened in these forests 56 million years ago may help humanity recognize similar thresholds before we cross them again, the lead author of a new study writes.

19 Aug

If all the worsening wildfire and wildfire smoke is not enough to convince you, trees/forests don't like rapid warming... theconversation.com/ancient-fore...

reuters.comNEWSLETTER: Europe’s deepening droughtHello! Water shortages and drought have hit nations in Europe and Africa as temperatures continue to swelter around the world.

12 Aug

An global era of hot drought is deepening: "An estimated 204 million people, 56% of Western Europe's population, are forecast to experience temperatures over 5 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) or more above the historic norm for this time of year" www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

nytimes.comAn Electric Motorcycle RevolutionWith gas prices high, people in developing countries are lining up to buy battery-powered bikes. We took a spin around Lahore, Pakistan, on a small-but-mighty one.

12 Aug

Not just in developing countries btw… “By jacking up oil prices, the war has unintentionally accelerated the clean energy transition in developing countries, particularly by influencing the decisions people are making about what kind of vehicle to purchase.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/c...