From USA Today:

Historic drought in California affects more than California. Local impacts of climate change have broader implications.

The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature study just released an analysis of land-surface temperature records going back 250 years, about 100 years further than previous studies. The analysis shows that the rise in average world land temperature was approximately 1.5 degrees C in the past 250 years, and about 0.9 degrees in the past 50 years. This graph displays decadal average land surface temperatures reported from multiple sources.

“[T]he frequency of coal retirements highlights the speed at which the nation’s utilities are changing the energy mix by replacing coal with natural gas and renewables, particularly wind. Few new coal plants are in the works to replace those that are being shut down...As a result of a confluence of factors, the coal industry’s decline has been a long time coming. The story of coal’s decline goes far beyond the false narrative that Trump and his EPA pick Scott Pruitt are advancing that points to EPA regulations as the sole reason for coal plant retirements.” - Devashree Saha and Sifan Liu

Early September 2017 saw wildfires raging through the American west.

“2017 is on track to be one of the worst years for wildfires in the US on record, with a total of 8.1 million acres burned as of September 13 — already well above the annual to-date average of 6 million acres for the past decade.”

And this results in poor air quality in the region as fires throw smoke and particulate matter into the air. The middle map above shows air quality on September 6, 2017, in the American west, with darker colors indicating more hazardous air. 

Consider Seeley, MT (last image), where measurements of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) show a spike of 214.6 micrograms per cubic meter. 

“Even in tiny concentrations... particulates can increase visits to the emergency room, especially for the elderly and people with chronic breathing problems...  research shows that when pollution is very high, over 37 [micrograms per cubic meter], we start to see health consequences”

With climate change increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation, the American west will likely experience more fires and more dangerous air quality in the future.

Quoted text from Vox

While deforestation is a major source of global carbon emissions (see previous two posts), the expansion of agriculture into drained organic soils also releases carbon. Wetlands, and especially peatlands, have waterlogged soils. As a result, their soils are depleted of oxygen, preventing decomposition. This means that the carbon in plants and animals is stored in the soils. When these soils are drained, the oxygen returns and organic material decomposes. Decompostion releases the carbon stored in that material. Thus, draining wetland soils releases carbon dioxide and contributes to climate change.

FAO adds emissions from cropland expansion into drained organic soils to deforestation. The result: significant increases in carbon emissions from Indonesia, which has substantial peatlands.

As Trump casts himself as a savior for the coal industry, the red states that voted for him are adding most of the nation’s clean energy,

From JUSTIN GILLIS and NADJA POPOVICH in the New York Times:

The five states that get the largest percentage of their power from wind turbines — Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma and North Dakota — all voted for Mr. Trump. So did Texas, which produces the most wind power in absolute terms. In fact, 69 percent of the wind power produced in the country comes from states that Mr. Trump carried in November... These red states are not motivated by a sudden desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions... their leaders see tapping the wind, and to a lesser degree the sun, as an economic strategy. The clean energy push allows their utilities to lock in low power prices for decades, creates manufacturing jobs, puts steady money in the hands of farmers who host wind turbines, and lures big employers who want renewable power.

Wind turbines: not a significant source of death for birds.

Forest cover on Borneo over time, projected to 2020. Deforestation, driven mostly by clearing land to produce palm oil plantations, means less habitat for species such as orangutans, and more carbon emissions from disturbed peat lands.

Offshore wind energy in Europe: Lots

Offshore wind energy in the US: none