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Audubon Florida Climate and Energy News Roundup

Today we share news about the range changes of Roseate Spoonbills and other wildlife, how climate change is impacting the transportation industry, a potential solution to grid storage, and more.

Roseate Spoonbills in Tampa Bay. Photo: Jeff Liechty/Audubon Florida

The New Natives: Climate Change is Causing Native Species to Migrate

From WUSF Public Media

“Climate change could shift the kinds of fish swimming in your favorite childhood fishing hole – and maybe for the better… In recent years, scientific papers and news reports have been filled with devastating stories about marine life such as coral reefs that are struggling to survive warming… Jerry Lorenz, state research director for Audubon Florida, has been studying birds for 35 years… The only places that spoonbills nested were Florida Bay in the Florida Keys and some off-coast Tampa Bay islands. But now, Lorenz said, the spoonbill is moving northward with warmer temperatures.”

Read the entire article.

Climate Change Forcing Changes to Transportation Industry, Pete Buttigieg Says

From Politico

“Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, discussing the turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight that killed a passenger last week, said that climate change is affecting the transportation industry and that the United States must learn to adapt for safe transportation. ‘We’ve seen that in the form of everything from heat waves that shouldn’t statistically even be possible threatening to melt the cables of transit systems in the Pacific Northwest, to, as you mentioned, hurricane seasons becoming more and more extreme and indications that turbulence is up by about 15 percent. That means assessing anything and everything that we can do about it... Our policies and our technology and our infrastructure have to evolve accordingly, too,” Buttigieg said. ‘This is all about making sure that we stay ahead of the curve.’”

Read the entire article.

New Research Shows How More Trees Could Cut ER Visits in Heatwaves

From Anthropocene Magazine

“Talk of tackling climate change often seems to involve high-tech gadgets—electric cars, giant wind turbines, machines that suck carbon dioxide from the air, and futuristic air conditioners, among other things. But sometimes, basic things can make the difference between life and death or sickness and health. Things like trees and some white paint. Just ask scientists in Los Angeles who are studying ways to help keep people cool as the temperature rises. It turns out something as simple as planting more trees and increasing the amount of sunlight reflected from surfaces such as roofs could offer enough relief during a heatwave to cut the number of overheated people seeking help in hospital emergency rooms by as much as 50%. No need for futuristic technology.”

Read the entire article.

Florida Begins to Repeal Renewable Energy Goals

From Jacksonville Today

“Carrying out a controversial law signed last week by Gov. Ron DeSantis, officials have started moving to repeal state renewable energy goals. The goals, put in place in 2022, have called for utilities to gradually increase the amount of renewable energy that they produce or buy until reaching 100% renewable energy in 2050. But a proposal published Wednesday by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Energy would repeal a rule that includes the goals, saying it is ‘no longer necessary.’ More broadly, the law, which will take effect July 1, will remove references in law to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, bar potential offshore wind-energy generation and call for encouraging a ‘cost-effective and affordable energy supply.’”

Read the entire article.

The Future Holds Many, Many More EV Batteries. And Therein Lies a Solution to Grid Storage.

From Anthropocene Magazine

“Decarbonizing society will require massive amounts of battery storage, both to power electric vehicles (EVs) and to smooth out the variability of renewable sources of electricity like wind and solar. A new analysis suggests that EV batteries could do double duty and serve both purposes… Past studies have looked at the potential of vehicle-to-grid technology or EV battery reuse, but this is the first to analyze both technologies simultaneously in relation to the likely real-world demand for battery storage in the coming decades.”

Read the entire article.

Government Forecasters Issue Most Dire Hurricane Season Prediction In Their History—Here’s Why

From Forbes

“With just one week to go before the official start of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting the busiest storm season the agency has ever forecasted—a potentially devastating warning for the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico following a string of devastating storm seasons… NOAA attributes the dismal outlook to near-record warm sea surface temperatures, as well as the return of the weather phenomenon known as La Niña, which in addition to providing cooler temperatures in the Pacific, also lessens a wind shear effect in the Atlantic, reducing disruptive wind speeds that could offset hurricane formation.”

Read the entire article.

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