An intense early season heat wave will strike the Pacific Northwest starting Friday, breaking records for several days from Oregon to Alberta. Both Seattle and Portland, Ore., may see their first 90-degree days of 2023
The big picture: The heat wave may last well into next week and pose a danger to public health, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) markedlyboosted the odds that an El Niño event will form in the tropical Pacific Ocean this summer, hastening climate change and altering global weather patterns.
The big picture: It could lead to the first year in which the global average surface temperatures bump up against the Paris Agreement's more stringent climate change target of 1.5°C (2.7°F) above preindustrial levels, Zeke Hausfather, climate research lead at payments company Stripe, told Axios.
CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost runs America's largest public pension system, with more than $440 billion in assets under management. She's also in a political pickle, being pressured by both the left and right about ESG investing.
Driving the news: ESG was the subject of contentious debate on Capitol Hill yesterday, during a House hearing that played along predictable partisan lines.
National Grid Partners, the venture arm of the U.K.-based utility company, disclosed two new investments it made in Q1: Modern Hydrogen and EV.energy.
Why it matters: These deals — especially the backing of natural gas decarbonization company Modern Hydrogen — represent National Grid's updated focus on becoming fossil-free by 2050.
Allergy season lengthened by 15 days on average between 1970 and 2021 across about 200 U.S. cities, per an analysis from Climate Central, a nonprofit climate news organization.
That's based on the number of days between the last freeze each spring and the first freeze each fall — essentially, the annual window during which seasonal allergy sufferers are most likely to rely on their antihistamine of choice to get by each day.
Swedish company Husqvarna says its robotic lawnmower now comes with a mode called "rewilding," which leaves 10% of a lawn unmown in order to attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
Why it matters: With spring here, Americans are debating whether to participate in programs like "No Mow May," which are meant to help the environment by keeping grass at a length that encourages biodiversity.
Microsoft has signed a power purchase agreement with nuclear fusion energy startup Helion for at least 50 megawatts of electricity beginning in 2028, the companies announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: The agreement is being billed as the world’s first such deal for a fusion firm. It comes as money and interest pours into the much heralded, yet-to-be-realized clean energy source.
Air pollution from U.S. oil and natural gas production causes roughly $77 billion in health impacts nationwide every year, while also contributing to thousands of early deaths and health flare-ups, a new study finds.
Why it matters: It puts a price tag on one of the human costs of domestic oil and gas activity.
