A round-up of the top climate and energy news.
UCLA researchers say the number of days topping 95 degrees each year will jump by as much as five times. [Los Angeles Times]
The highest elevations of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountain ranges could see temperatures soar by as much as 7 degrees on average, Hall said. The higher temperatures will arise from less snowfall in winter and more snowmelt in spring, he said. The result will be a decrease in snow cover, leading to more surface absorption of solar radiation, and hence more warming….
“There will definitely be health impacts felt with that kind of a climate shift,” said Richard Jackson, chair of Environmental Health Sciences at UCLA. “We should expect to see more allergies, mosquito vectors and air pollution from wildfires.”
The study raises concerns, said Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Commissioner Jonathan Parfrey, about the long-term sustainability of Los Angeles’ water supplies, which are replenished by snow and water captured by local mountain chains.
Temperatures have hit the high 90s along the Eastern Seaboard, setting records in some spots. [Associated Press]
An alliance of scientists has been formed to help promote cassava, which has emerged as a “survivor” crop able to thrive in the expected higher temperatures engendered by climate change. [IRIN Africa]
Three large Canadian oil spills over the past 30 days have increased concern over pipeline safety here, just as the government and the Canadian petroleum industry are trying to drum up support for a series of new pipeline projects. [Wall Street Journal]
As leaders from more than 130 nations convene a United Nations conference on sustainable development Wednesday, new research shows how climate change will likely exacerbate a key issue: hunger. [USA Today]
For evangelicals who are global warming activists, convincing the Christian community to get engaged has been a process. [The Christian Post]
Despite all the gloom and doom talk about the solar sector, New Jersey installed more solar systems in the first three months of the year than any other state in the nation. [NJPR]
More than three dozen House Democrats want the Interior Department to require natural-gas producers using the method called hydraulic fracturing to disclose the chemicals they’re injecting underground before they begin the process. [The Hill]