by Peter Sinclair, via Climate Change and the Media

A basketball metaphor illustrating changing stats pairs with analyses from a range of experts and independent commentaries in a Yale Forum video capturing the stresses of the summer’s weather anomalies across the U.S.:

“Oh the weather outside is frightful.”

You can forget about the next line … chances of snow are nil for most of the United States for the next several months.

It’s the first line of the second verse that might be a bit more relevant, though not very comforting: “It doesn’t show signs of stopping.”

Holiday carolers and those behind the “Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow” lyrics could not have had the nation’s 2012 spring and summer in mind when they penned those words.

But the wildfires plaguing much of the nation’s west … the wilting and widespread droughts across much of the country’s “Grain Belt”… the blistering high temperatures across wide swaths of the country — all those play out in The Yale Forum‘s new video, “2012 Drought Update.”

The eight-and-one-half minute video couples historical footage with contemporary clips and news segments. In one of the latter, for instance, NBC anchor Brian Williams opens the network’s flagship news program with the words: “It’s now official. We are living in one of the worst droughts of the past 100 years.”

This month’s “This Is Not Cool” video shows NASA scientist James Hansen early and later cautioning about risks of “extreme droughts” in the nation’s breadbasket, such as those now commanding headlines. It captures Illinois Governor Pat Quinn warning of “the driest time” and “the hottest weather” in his state’s history. West Lafayette, Indiana, newscasters express concerns about the growing percentage of the nation officially designated as being in a “drought condition.”

‘It’s not looking good for corn’

NOAA climate scientist Tom Karl tells a national television audience that scientists increasingly “can actually say with some confidence that these events would not have been as strong or as intense if it were not for the greenhouse gases I the atmosphere.”

And a Michigan State University crop and soil scientist, Phil Robertson, cautions that “it’s certainly not looking good for corn.” Robertson advises that genetics and new planting strategies might help the agricultural community cope with chronic changes in weather. But it’s the variability of longer heat waves and hard-to-predict seasonal droughts — more difficult to predict and having more critical effects on crops — that Robertson says might pose particular challenges.

The video — which points to a 118 degrees F day in June in Norton Dam, Kansas — uses a basketball metaphor to illustrate how a warmer atmosphere has “raised the floor …. all plays are starting from a higher level.” Making for more slam dunks and illustrating how “the stats have begun to change.”

But they’re not of the crowd-pleasing variety. And no one is rooting for more of the kinds of slam dunks Midwest farmers are trying to defend against in the summer of 2012.

Peter Sinclair runs the Climate Crock of the Week blog. This piece was originally published at the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media and was reprinted with permission.

by Roland Hwang, via NRDC’s Switchboard

A review of the latest government jobs data reveals an indisputable fact: the U.S. auto industry is making a remarkable recovery. While not the only reason as our new report demonstrates, there is also little doubt that higher fuel efficiency is playing a critical role in the auto industry’s revitalization.

Since June 2009, when the auto industry hit bottom, the U.S. auto industry has grown by 236,600 jobs.  Manufacturing of motor vehicles and parts has grown by 165,100 jobs, or 26.4 percent, easily outpacing the recovery of the economy as a whole (see Chart 1 below).  Recovery is so strong in three largest auto states, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, that auto jobs directly accounts for an astounding 38 percent of the total jobs added in those states, or 66,300 jobs, since the auto industry hit bottom in June 2009 (see Chart 2 below).

Vehicle sales are up greatly year-over-year (see chart 3 below), and it is sales of fuel efficient vehicles that are driving overall sales growth as consumers rank fuel efficiency as their top priority in seeking a new vehicle.  In fact, the first half of 2012 set an all-time fuel efficiency record for new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. at 23.8 mpg (see chart 4 below).

But unlike other periods of high fuel prices, consumers aren’t forced to purchase smaller vehicles to get higher fuel economy. Mainstream passenger sedans are getting to be more efficient than ever before as automakers compete to claim the “most efficient” title for that segment, and consumers and autoworkers win every time.

The fuel economy imperative is powering investments and job growth in the three largest auto states, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana (see chart 4 below).  As mentioned above, 66,300 jobs have been added since the auto industry hit bottom in June 2009.

Automakers and suppliers are adding shifts to keep up with demand for the popular Chevy Cruze in Ohio and gearing up to build hot-selling hybrids in Indiana. Meanwhile, Michiganders are building Chevy Volts and Sonics while the state becomes a hotbed of electric vehicle and battery technology innovation.

In addition, there are many more indirect jobs the industry also supports that are creating opportunities for workers, companies and communities. Auto industry economists estimate that there are about four additional jobs created for each auto manufacturing job added, a calculation that is well-dramatized by a Bloomberg News report about how building the new fuel-efficient Dodge Dart is revitalizing a city in Illinois. When first, second and third shifts are added to produce vehicles or parts at a manufacturing plant, the benefits reverberate throughout the local community in jobs, local tax revenues, and indirect economic activity. Read more

On July 21st, the heaviest rainstorm to strike Beijing, China in over 60 years dumped an average of more than 7 inches of rain across the city, causing floods and leading to the deaths of more than 70 people. One suburb, Fangshan, received more than 18 inches of rain from the storm.

The storm triggered devastating mudslides and have left thousands displaced or homeless.

According to Wu Zhenghua, a researcher at the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, rainstorms like this one will become more and more common in the future, thanks to a warming planet:

“Global warming has increased the temperature in the middle and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in more water-vapor exchange and heat exchange with low-latitude regions, and thus bringing more frequent heavy precipitation.”

Storms like the recent Beijing event, though less severe, are not uncommon in southern regions. But they rarely ever venture as far north as Beijing. However, Wu claimed, there is statistical evidence that shows major storms have become more frequent in the north since 2008.

China is facing the same trends seen in the United States. A recent report from the Environment America Research and Policy Center entitled “When It Rains, It Pours,” looked at the increased severity and frequency of major precipitation events. The study found that extreme storms are occurring 30 percent more frequently in the U.S. than they were in 1948 and that major downpours are producing 10 percent more rain each year.

More intense rainstorms could be a major issue for China, which has problems with urban drainage systems. In China, storm drains are organized by location, with the most important sites and most traveled roads prioritized, thereby opening the possibility of flooding elsewhere. The drains were also built to handle one-in-five year storms; however, as the data suggests, storms of that magnitude may soon become the new normal.

The rain in the most recent storm fell at a staggering rate, almost five inches an hour in Beijing, about four and a half inches an hour in Hong Kong, and a little over four inches an hour in a province in central China — overwhelming the out-of-date and poorly-designed drainage and sewer systems that are capable of handling water levels less than a third of what was experienced.

According to Fang Chuanglin, an urban planner with the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research:

“The problems with the drainage systems include improper arrangement of pipelines and outdated design. Most pipes are designed for the worst rainstorm in three or five years, some can only cope with the heaviest rain once a year,”

Over the last two years, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou have “announced multibillion-yuan projects to maintain and upgrade drainage systems,” but more must be done. As storms continue to become more intense and more frequent, floods will continue to be a major for infrastructure in China’s metropolitan centers.

– Max Frankel

by Jackie Weidman, Susannah Marshall

Earlier this summer the Environmental Protection Agency proposed updated clean-air standards that will prevent tens of thousands of premature deaths. The proposal comes in response to legal action calling upon the EPA to update final regulations for particle pollution. This rule is in line with the Clean Air Act’s requirements to protect public health and improve air quality.

Particle pollution, commonly referred to as “soot,” is one of the deadliest forms of air pollution. This 101 details why it is essential that the EPA adopts the strictest rules possible to protect Americans from the dangers of breathing these particles.

For an overview of soot, check out this Ask the Experts interview with Dr. Dr. Christopher Lillis, an internal medicine doctor based in Virginia:

What is soot?

Soot is the common term for a type of particle pollution called PM 2.5—particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller. Such fine particles are even smaller than dust and mold particles, or approximately 1/30 of the size of a human hair.

Read more

By Jessica Goad

A poll released last week by the Sierra Club and the National Council of La Raza contains a number of significant findings about the views that Latino voters hold on the environment and public lands conservation.  The “2012 Latinos and the Environment Survey” found that nearly unanimously, members of this constituency see the enormous social and economic value of America’s great outdoors.

Key findings show:

-  90 percent of Latino voters agree that “protecting our land and water is critical to our economy and the ability to maintain and create jobs now and in the future.”

-  86 percent say that “national parks and monuments support millions of jobs across the United States. Protecting our public lands benefits the economy and creates jobs.”

-  91 percent agree with the statement that “hiking, camping, fishing, and other outdoor activities are part of my community’s way of life; protecting land and water protects my culture, my family and my community.”

The U.S. Census reports that in 2010, 41 percent of the country’s Hispanics lived in the West, which is also where the majority of federal public lands are located.  As was shown in a poll from Colorado College’s State of the Rockies Project earlier this year, westerners overall have a strong connection to land conservation and its economic value.  More specifically, there are several local campaigns throughout the region asking the president to designate new national monuments, such as those to protect the Organ Mountains and Rio Grande del Norte in New Mexico.

When asked specifically about the president’s authority to designate national monuments under the Antiquities Act, respondents to the Sierra Club and National Council of La Raza survey were strongly supportive.  The question posed “would you favor or oppose designating more of our existing public lands as National Monuments?” Sixty-nine percent answered that they would be in favor of this action.

But rather than respond to these appeals for more protected places for future generations, Congress has failed to send a single land protection bill to the president. Moreover, public lands are under attack from a number of western Republicans who have introduced bills that would sell them off, throw them open to reckless drilling, and roll back environmental laws.

Jessica is the Manager of Research and Outreach for the Public Lands Project at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Romney walks through one of Lemar Koethe's 54 farms. AP Photo: Charles Dharapak

If Mitt Romney wants to change perceptions that he’s out of touch with the average American, he might want to try a little harder.

In an attempt to show his concern for farmers hit by the devastating drought that has swept 78 percent of the country, Romney had a photo-op with Iowa “farmer” Lemar Koethe. However, Koethe isn’t exactly the rugged down-home farmer struggling to keep his operation going that you might expect.

Or should I say operations — 54 of them. Yes, according to the Des Moines Register, Koethe owns 54 soy and corn farms. And that’s just one of his jobs.

In previous reports on his activity over the years from the Des Moines Register, Koethe is also a described as a millionaire, a real estate mogul, and a former concert promoter who booked acts like Slipknot at his 24,000 square foot event center.

Making this farmer’s life that much different from the average person, Koethe lives in a spaceship house. It might not have a car elevator like Romney’s planned home, but it’s got its own car wash bay and recreation center:

Here’s how the home was described by the Environmental Design Group:

Arguably one of the most distinctive homes in Iowa-if not the nation-this personal residence takes unique architecture to a new level. It contains an underground garage equipped for multiple vehicles, as well as a car wash bay. The lower level also contains a large recreation center with an art display area. Grade-level entry provides access to the elevator and a spiral staircase rising 35 feet to the main living area. The main level provides an amazing panoramic view of the area.

Not your typical farmhouse.

Finally, according to figures from the EWG Farm Subsidies database, Koethe has received $130,575 in conservation payments from the federal government. Conservation payments, which add up to about $5 billion in federal spending each year, are typically used by the government to encourage farmers not to grow crops — sometimes to stabilize prices and sometimes to preserve land.

Like a lot of people in the agricultural sector, Koethe says the drought is hurting some of his crops. Ultimately, when it comes to voicing his concerns, it shouldn’t matter if the man owns one farm, 10 farms, or 54 farms — he’s taking a hit like everyone else.

But really, Romney? Out of the hundreds of thousands of farmers being impacted by the drought — many of them family farmers struggling to keep their heads above water — you had to meet the millionaire real estate mogul who lives in a spaceship house with an underground car wash and recreation center?

Add another example to the list of “out of touch” Romney moments during this campaign.

Photo: John Raoux, AP

President Obama kept the pressure on GOP opponent Mitt Romney on Thursday in a fight over a wind energy tax credit, as he stumped in southeastern Colorado, a hub of wind power. [Los Angeles Times]

“At a moment when homegrown energy, renewable energy, is creating new jobs in states like Colorado and Iowa, my opponent wants to end tax credits for wind energy producers. Think about what that would mean for a community like Pueblo,” Obama told a crowd of about 3,500 people at the Colorado State Fairgrounds. “The wind industry supports about 5,000 jobs across this state. Without those tax credits, 37,000 American jobs, including potentially hundreds of jobs right here in Pueblo, would be at risk.”

With that jab, the campaign welcomed to the trail a perennial feature: the swing state micro-issue.

The drought that has been pummeling the U.S. for much of the summer shows no signs of letting up, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday. While the overall area under drought was largely unchanged over the previous week’s figures, the nature of the drought has gotten more dire. [Climate Central]

The Plains states where the production of corn and soybeans is key are being hit harder by excessive drought conditions in the wake of the hottest month on record in the continental U.S., contributing to a surge in global food prices. [Washington Post]

A powerful storm surge could put some of Boston’s most beloved landscapes under water if global warming isn’t addressed, according to state elected officials. [Bostinno]

For days now, parts of Manila and surrounding provincial areas have been submerged after a series of storms intensified the usual strong monsoon rains. [New York Times]

A wildfire burning on a Utah military installation has officials concerned about the potential it could spread to an area littered with thousands of unexploded shells, which could still detonate. [Washington Post]

Climate change has triggered more floods in China and challenged drainage systems in big cities, experts say. [The Jakarta Post]

Next week, a device that looks a bit like an eggbeater turned sideways will be lowered into the water here to catch the energy of the rushing water, spinning a generator that, come September, is scheduled to begin sending power to the grid. [New York Times]