#WeCanSolveThis: McDonald’s Going Green

Hamburgers have a big carbon footprint, but McDonald’s just made a big vow to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Here’s a look at how they’re going to do it.

#WeCanSolveThis: Colombian Youth Save The Amazon

When these kids saw their government failing to tackle climate change and allowing the rainforest to be cut down, they stood up and fought for their future.

#ClimateFacts: Permafrost Melt

As the name suggests, permafrost is supposed to stay frozen. But climate change is starting to melt it, releasing planet-warming methane. That should have us all worried. 

SOURCES:
[i] ScientifcAmerican.com. How Bad of a Greenhouse Gas Is Methane?. Dec 22nd. 2015. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-bad-of-a-greenhouse-gas-is-methane/
[ii] DGGS.Alaska.Gov. Permafrost in Alaska. 1994. http://dggs.alaska.gov/webpubs/outside/text/dnag_ch28.pdf
[iii] Vox.com. Melting permafrost in the Arctic is unlocking diseases and warping the landscape. Oct 31st. 2017. https://www.vox.com/2017/9/6/16062174/permafrost-melting
[iv] PHYS.org. When permafrost melts, what happens to all that stored carbon? Dec 5th. 2016. https://phys.org/news/2016-12-permafrost-carbon.html
[v] NYmag.com. The Uninhabitable Earth. July 9th. 2017. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/climate-change-earth-too-hot-for-humans.html
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] NYTimes.com. Alaska’s Permafrost is no longer permanent. It is Thawing. Aug 23rd. 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/23/climate/alaska-permafrost-thawing.html
[viii] Ibid.
[ix] Ibid.

Zero Hour: Youth Climate March

On July 21, 2018 young Americans are taking to the streets to fight for their futures. This is Zero Hour, because the time to act on climate is now. Will you join them? Go to thisiszerohour.org to learn more.

New Zealand: No New Offshore Drilling

New Zealand has announced it will stop issuing permits for offshore oil and gas exploration. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the country is committed to the goal of becoming a net zero emissions economy by 2050.

Ryan Zinke is for the Birds

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told a group of fossil fuel executives that wind power kills too many birds to be environmentally friendly. We put together a list of things that kill more birds than wind turbines to put that in perspective.

SOURCES:
[i] Axios.com. Fact-checking Zinke’s claim that wind turbines kill 750,000 birds a year. Mar. 2018. https://www.axios.com/fact-checking-zinkes-bird-death-claim-1520379825-0dbede05-9934-42f6-988b-58c9e3fbe280.html
[ii] ThinkProgress.org. CHART: How Many Birds Are Killed By Wind, Solar, Oil, And Coal?. Aug. 26th. 2014. https://thinkprogress.org/chart-how-many-birds-are-killed-by-wind-solar-oil-and-coal-230d2a939bbb/

#ClimateFacts: White Morphs

lead species to extinction. This #ClimateFacts video explains why.

SOURCES:
[i] Science.Sciencemag.org. Winter color polymorphisms identify global hot spots for evolutionary rescue from climate change. Feb. 15th. 2018. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/02/14/science.aan8097?rss=1
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] PopularMechanics.com. Science Says Winters are Coming Later, Leaving Faster. Oct. 28th. 2017. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a28819/winter-climate-change/
[iv] The Atlantic.com.To Survive, These Animals Must Lose Their Camouflage. Feb. 15th. 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/in-a-less-snowy-world-can-white-coated-animals-survive/553400/
[v] Ibid.
[vi] DW.com. Evolution to the rescue for white-coated critters caught out by climate change. Feb.15th. 2018. http://www.dw.com/en/evolution-to-the-rescue-for-white-coated-critters-caught-out-by-climate-change/a-42588948
[vii] Ibid.
[viii] Science.Sciencemag.org. Winter color polymorphisms identify global hot spots for evolutionary rescue from climate change. Feb. 15th. 2018. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/02/14/science.aan8097?rss=1
[ix] Ibid.
[x] Ibid.

China Deploys Its Military to Plant Forests

Climate change is one of the biggest global security threats out there, so China is deploying its military to fight it…with trees.

SOURCES:
[i] Independent.co.uk. China reassigns 60,000 soldiers to plant trees in bid to fight pollution. Feb. 13th. 2018. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-tree-plant-soldiers-reassign-climate-change-global-warming-deforestation-a8208836.html
[ii]Futurism.com. China Will Plant 32,400 Square Miles of Trees to Combat Air Pollution. Feb. 16th. 2018. https://futurism.com/china-plant-32400-square-miles-trees-combat-air-pollution/
[iii] Census.gov. United States Summary: 2000. April 2004. https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc3-us-pt1.pdf
[iv] Arborenvironmentalalliance.com. Carbon and Tree Facts. 2008. http://www.arborenvironmentalalliance.com/carbon-tree-facts.asp
[v] News.Vice.com. 60,000 chinese troops are about to plant enough trees to cover utah. Feb. 16th. 2018. https://news.vice.com/en_ca/article/j5bjvx/china-soldiers-trees-planting-beijing-pollution
[vi]Forest area (% of land area). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.FRST.ZS?year_high_desc=true
[vii] Stars and Stripes. Trump Differ on Climate Change. July. 1st. 2017.
http://slite.dma.mil/issues/july2017/20170701.pdf
[viii] Ibid.
[ix] BusinessInsider.com. These are the 25 most powerful militaries in the world — and there’s a clear winner. Feb. 16th. 2018. http://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-militaries-in-the-world-ranked-2018-2#1-united-states-25

Scott Pruitt Gets Sweet Deal on Rent from Fossil Fuel Lobbyist

U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is so cozy with the fossil fuel lobby, they’re basically living together. But his way-below-market apartment rental in D.C. is just the tip of his unethical spending iceberg.

SOURCES:
[i] ABCNews.go.com. Pruitt arranged condo deal through energy lobbyist, source says. Mar. 30th. 2018. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pruitt-arranged-condo-deal-energy-lobbyist-source/story?id=54121795
[ii] ibid.
[iii] ABCNews.go.com. EXCLUSIVE: EPA chief Pruitt joined by family in condo tied to lobbyist ‘power couple’. Mar. 30th. 2018.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/exclusive-epa-chief-pruitt-joined-family-condo-tied/story?id=54125092
[iv] ABCNews.go.com. Pruitt arranged condo deal through energy lobbyist, source says. Mar. 30th. 2018. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pruitt-arranged-condo-deal-energy-lobbyist-source/story?id=54121795
[v] Ibid.
[vi] NYTimes.com.E.P.A. Announces Repeal of Major Obama-Era Carbon Emissions Rule. Oct. 9th. 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/climate/clean-power-plan.html
[vii] CNBC.com. EPA chief Scott Pruitt took first-class, military, charter flights that cost taxpayers more than $163,000 in first year alone: Report. Mar. 21st. 2018. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/21/epa-chief-scott-pruitt-took-flights-costing-taxpayers-163000.html
[viii] Ecowatch.com.Report: EPA Hires 12 More Bodyguards for Pruitt, Costing $2M Annually for Full Security Team. Oct. 23rd. 2017. https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-pruitt-bodyguards-2500198933.html
[ix] Newsweek.com. scott pruitt spent more than $40,000 on epa private phone booth. Mar. 14th. 2018. http://www.newsweek.com/scott-pruitt-phone-booth-epa-expenditure-844989
[x] USAToday.com. EPA ethics counsel: Scott Pruitt’s $50-a-night room deal wasn’t ‘prohibited gift at all’. Mar. 30th. 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/03/30/reports-epas-scott-pruitt-made-50-night-room-deal-energy-lobbyists-wife/472670002/

Don Cheadle Meets Cotton Farmer Kurtis Thomas

Texas cotton farmer Kurtis Thomas is a lifelong Republican and evangelical Christian with some serious doubts about climate change. He meets with evangelical climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe and Don Cheadle to explain why and see if they can change his mind.