global-warming

Florida Is So Stupid

Hamilton Nolan · 09/19/14 01:40PM

You may have heard that the sea levels are rising. You may have heard that over the next several decades, rising seas will threaten major coastal cities. You may have surmised that it's dumb, then, to build houses right by the water. Not Florida!

Hamilton Nolan · 09/19/14 07:37AM

If you've felt a bit sweaty lately, it may be because our planet officially just experienced the hottest summer in recorded history. We must end global warming. But not before it reaches New York City for a while, because the summer here was cold as hell.

Can We Solve Global Warming For Almost Nothing?

Hamilton Nolan · 09/16/14 03:15PM

Much of the discussion about cutting the carbon emissions that are slowly destroying our planet centers on the supposed cost of all these new forms of clean energy. A new report suggests: what costs?

Hamilton Nolan · 09/15/14 04:35PM

"At least 150 major companies worldwide - including ExxonMobil, Google, Microsoft and 26 others in the United States - are already making business plans that assume they will be taxed on their carbon pollution, a report today says." So go ahead and tax them already, before we all burn up.

Is a Carbon Tax Really Too Expensive?

Hamilton Nolan · 09/03/14 10:22AM

Edward Lazear, a former economic adviser to George W. Bush, argues today that cutting carbon emissions enough to mitigate global warming is a lost cause, and we are better off pursuing a strategy of "adaptation" to a fiery new world. This is why pessimists should not be in charge.

Doom Draws Nearer

Hamilton Nolan · 08/26/14 02:17PM

A new day has dawned, and with it, a new draft of a new United Nations report on climate change has leaked unto the world. Like the turning pages of a calendar as one draws closer to death, the report brings tidings that grow worse, and worse, and worse.

Climate Change Is So Bad Even Oil Companies Are Bracing for it Now

Adam Weinstein · 07/28/14 04:00PM

This month, an oil refinery on the Delaware River sought approval from state officials and Army engineers to reinforce its facilities. Why? Because the earth is warming, storms are churning, and the sea level's already high enough to endanger the oil company's business.

Adam Weinstein · 07/21/14 02:30PM

Earth broke another all-time heat record again. "We are living in the steroid era of the climate system," one researcher says. Together, there's nothing we can't do! Except for reversing global warming.

The Politics of a Carbon Tax

Hamilton Nolan · 06/23/14 09:07AM

This weekend, Hank Paulson, the Republican former Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sachs CEO, wrote an op-ed calling for a carbon tax. Has the political landscape shifted enough to make a carbon tax a real possibility?

Hamilton Nolan · 05/30/14 11:41AM

The New York Times dives deep today into the creation of cap-and-trade-style carbon markets, that allow polluters to buy and sell emission permits. Is there any reason this convoluted market system is better than a straightforward carbon tax? Serious question. Tell us.

A Carbon Tax Is Our Only Hope

Hamilton Nolan · 05/27/14 11:46AM

Carbon emissions are causing global warming. Global warming is a slow motion disaster. The consensus is that we must make drastic changes soon. How? We need a carbon tax. A carbon tax is our only hope. Time for a carbon tax now.

Hurricanes Are Moving North

Hamilton Nolan · 05/15/14 11:58AM

A new study published in Nature finds that for the past three decades, hurricanes and tropical cyclones have been gradually moving away from the equator and towards the poles. Hmm. *Checks current location* Fuck.

The Oil Cash Crunch Could Decide the Fate of the Planet

Hamilton Nolan · 05/08/14 11:06AM

The release of the latest White House report on climate change makes clear that the threat posed by global warming can now be declared to be conventional wisdom. Have we finally reached the point where the money people and the environmentalists unite?

Adam Weinstein · 04/30/14 03:17PM

A Scientific American editor who went on Fox News and tried to discuss climate change today found the experience to be "not something that I wanted to be a part of in the future." The station also apparently tried to remove video of his appearance from its website, but thought better of it.

The Mind-Boggling Industrial Future of the Arctic

Hamilton Nolan · 04/30/14 09:58AM

The Arctic, located at the top your globes, is a very cold place covered in snow and ice. For now. But not for long. There are plenty of business people already making plans to industrialize the hell out of this frozen wasteland.