Climate Change

The weather story of this month is the record warmth swaddling much of eastern North America and Europe, but there were many melt-related research topics discussed at this week's Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Society, from the decline in Arctic permafrost and sea ice to the increasing fraction of rain vs. snow across the mountains of the U.S. West.

Emphasizing the solutions to climate, change rather than talking about the science, is a better way to communicate to the public on the subject, argued Susan Hassol of climatecommunication.org, in her talk at today's American Geophysical Union conference. Talking about the science with the public often leads to false “zombie” science arguments that get pushed by climate change deniers to arise, confusing people on the issue. But people are very supportive of actions to take action on climate change, regardless of their views on the science.

After two weeks of intricate negotiation, world leaders wrapped up the 2015 UN climate summit in Paris with the most important diplomatic advance on global climate protection in more than two decades. The Paris Agreement is aimed at getting all of the world’s nations on board with plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions--even if those plans are not legally binding. Meanwhile, Typhoon Melor powered into the Central Philippines on Sunday night, December 13 (U.S. EST time) as a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds, and an extremely strong nontropical cyclone struck Alaska's Aleutian Islands over the weekend, bringing sustained winds of nearly 100 miles per hour to the westernmost parts of the United States.