25-year-old New Zealand lawmaker Chlöe Swarbrick responded to a heckling colleague during her speech about the threats of climate change with the internet meme "OK, boomer," reports the Washington Post.
Why it matters: Millennials and Generation Zers have coined the phrase "OK, boomer" as a retort against older generations' patronization. The phrase first found viral fame on social media — notably, TikTok — thanks to a generational divide on issues like student debt and climate change.
Nearly two dozen California mayors and county leaders — including San Jose and Sacramento — are pressing state regulators to help them transform the embattled, bankrupt power giant PG&E into a customer-owned cooperative.
Why it matters: Their new letter to the California Public Utilities Commission shows how PG&E's power shutdowns amid wildfire risk and overall performance are prompting calls for a seismic re-think of its structure.
U.S. oil production growth is slowing down — and soon, the industry may slam on the brakes, according to a new analysis and a top industry executive.
Why it matters: It's the latest sign that producers — facing modest prices and investor demands for returns — are repositioning after the boom that has made the U.S. the world's largest oil producer.
While debate rages about how to fight climate change, the impacts that rising temperatures have already locked in are getting worse.
Why it matters: We’re learning more about how much of the damage is irreversible, like with rising sea levels — which means we need to think about not just stopping the problem, but also about adapting to the parts we can't stop.
California firefighters are winning the fight against a series of wildfires in the state, with official figures showing most blazes at least 75% contained and several others fully contained or extinguished by Tuesday night. But authorities warn the fire danger isn't over yet.
What's new: A new report warns the fire season could continue through December. Firefighters were dealing with a new fire in a remote area of Lake County, near Clearlake. CalFire said the blaze, named the Eagle Fire, had burned 75 acres and was 56% contained by Tuesday evening.
California could continue to endure wildfires until December as a late start to the rainy season looks increasingly likely — particularly in the south of the state, the Southern California Geographic Area Coordination Center warns in a new report.
This may be a long fall and winter across California for both the fire-fighting community and the general public in terms of coping with the threat of fires."
Some 11,000 scientists labeled climate change as an "emergency" for the first time in a report released Tuesday.
Driving the news: By a slim margin, last month was the warmest October ever recorded, new data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service shows. It was only 0.01°C warmer than October 2015 — the second warmest on record — and 0.09°C warmer than October 2017, per the report.
The Trump administration's formal notice of its intent to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement drives another nail in the coffin of U.S. ambitions to fight climate change and pushes the world closer to a less stable future.
Why it matters: Because the U.S. ranks as the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, its retreat from the global battle against climate change exacts a heavy toll. This decision weakens pressure on other countries to reduce emissions at a time of peak global temperatures and atmospheric carbon concentrations higher than at any point in human history.
It's tough to think about long-term investments in Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producer, without climate change entering the equation.
The state of play: A huge number of brain cells are devoted to gaming out when global oil demand may peak and what future climate policies mean for the sector. Some forecasters, like the International Energy Agency, don't see a peak before 2040 absent far stronger climate efforts. Others think it could be sooner.
