greenhouse gas emissions
Most Americans—even in red states—want the U.S. to stay in the Paris climate treaty
Seven out of 10 registered voters think the United States should stay committed to the Paris Climate Agreement, says a survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. What’s more, nearly half of Trump voters say the U.S. should participate.
Trump promises Paris climate decision this week
During the last day of the G-7 summit in Italy, President Trump tweeted that he’ll decide later this week whether the U.S. will stay in the Paris Agreement, says the Los Angeles Times. The agreement, signed by almost 200 countries, including the U.S. under President Obama, calls for lowering greenhouse-gas emissions. It's widely supported by the other G-7 countries: Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan.
Trump gives EPA website a new look
The EPA is changing language on its webpage to match the values of the new administration, and the fact that both President Trump and EPA head Scott Pruitt have publicly denied that climate change is manmade.
Climate deniers angry that Pruitt hasn’t gone further
Conservatives intent on reversing the Obama administration’s climate-change legacy are angry that EPA chief Scott Pruitt hasn’t gone further. They’d like to see him try to reverse the “endangerment finding” that provides the legal framework for the Clean Power Plan and other climate-change policies.
China set to replace U.S. as global leader in climate-change policy
In the past it’s been the U.S. pushing China to clean up its energy portfolio and lower emissions, but under Trump the tables could turn, says The New York Times. China has publicly called on all signatories, including the U.S., of the Paris climate treaty to respect the pact. Trump has said he will back out of the deal and this week signed an executive order to reverse the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which lowered carbon emissions from coal plants.
Mother Nature is partially to blame for Arctic ice melt
Natural swings in earth's climate patterns "may be responsible for about 30–50 percent of the overall decline” in summer sea ice in the Arctic, says a study out in the journal Nature Climate Change. The study suggests that if these natural patterns reversed themselves, it could slow the pace of Arctic ice melt and maybe even produce a recovery of some of the ice that’s already been lost.