Audubon Florida Climate and Energy News Roundup This week we share news about solar panel innovation, making EVs accessible to all drivers, food emissions, how climate change alters lives, and more!

Swallow-tailed Kite. Photo: Cheryl Black

Congress Must Ensure Electric Vehicles are Within Reach for All American Drivers From The Hill “There is growing consensus in the auto industry, the Biden administration and among Democrats in Congress that electric vehicles are critical to both the future of American manufacturing and to cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. But obstacles to getting average Americans to buy EVs remain substantial.” Read the entire article.

New College Student Nationally Recognized for Her Solar-Powered Invention From Sarasota Magazine “That solar energy is powerful stuff, and New College student Antonia ‘Toni’ Ginsberg-Klemmt, 22, is harnessing it with her latest invention: GismoPower… Her invention is the latest in disruptive technology, not just because it’s a collapsible carport that offers shade while charging your electric car with solar power, but because it can also feed that power back into the home.” Read the entire article.

People Don’t Know What Climate Experts are Talking About From Anthropocene Magazine “Members of the public have trouble understanding words and phrases that climate scientists often use, according to a new study... If climate change is to be stopped, scientists can’t just communicate amongst themselves. They also need to make their findings understood by policymakers and the general public so that we can collectively take action. This need has led the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other climate-science organizations to step up their efforts at science communication.” Read the entire article.

Agriculture Section of Reconciliation Bill Centers on Fighting Climate Change, Enhancing Research From the Florida Phoenix “The U.S. House Agriculture Committee [last] Monday finished marking up its section of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package. The agriculture portion would provide funding for historically Black land grant colleges and investments in urban agriculture, along with boosting U.S. Department of Agriculture programs to address climate change threats in farming… House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott, (D-Ga.), said that it’s important for Congress to devote money to climate change prevention, and he pointed to the fires that are currently ravaging the West.” Read the entire article.

Here’s How Much Food Contributes to Climate Change From Scientific American  “As with most things related to people, the food we eat comes with a carbon cost. Soil tillage, crop and livestock transportation, manure management and all the other aspects of global food production generate greenhouse gas emissions to the tune of more than 17 billion metric tons per year, according to a new study published on Monday in Nature Food. Animal-based foods account for 57 percent of those emissions, and plant-based ones make up 29 percent.” Read the entire article.

Summer 2021 Edges Out 'Dust Bowl' Summer as Hottest Ever for Contiguous US From Accuweather “As the sweltering summer of 2021 draws to a close, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed what you might have been thinking: This summer was an unusually hot one…Summer 2021 broke records across the country, with 18.4% of the contiguous U.S. experiencing the warmest summer in recorded history. Five states -- California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah -- all experienced their warmest meteorological summers of all time, with 16 other states experiencing one of their top-five hottest.” Read the entire article.

Listeners Share How Climate Change Is Changing Their Lives From NPR “This summer was the hottest on record in the United States, just slightly hotter than the Dust Bowl summer of 1936. That's according to newly released data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Climate change is, of course, driving temperatures worldwide, increasing the destructiveness of storms and wildfires. We put this question to you. How have you felt the impact of climate change in your life so far? And here were some of your answers.” Read the entire article.

Climate Change is Making Extreme Weather Events More Common: Study From PBS “Scientists and forecasters who study the connection between climate change and extreme weather say the rapid rates of sea-level rise are accelerating the frequency and intensity of severe weather events—like hurricanes, heat waves and more. Claudia Tebaldi, Climate Scientist with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, joins to discuss her latest report on the global impacts of rising sea levels.” Read the entire article.

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