http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-science-zeros-in-on-ocean-rise-how-much-how-soon Source:   NASA Release 15-174 For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: Seas around the world have risen an average of nearly 3 inches since 1992, with some locations rising more than 9 inches due to natural variation, according to the latest satellite measurements from NASA and its partners. An intensive research effort now underway, aided by NASA observations and analysis, points to an unavoidable rise of several feet in the future. ...“Given what we know now about how the ocean expands as it warms and how ice sheets and glaciers are adding water to the seas, it’s pretty certain we are locked into at least 3 feet of sea level rise, and probably more,” said Steve Nerem of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and lead of the Sea Level Change Team. “But we don't know whether it will happen within a century or somewhat longer.” ...“Sea level along the west coast of the United States has actuall...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/science/climate-change-intensifies-california-drought-scientists-say.html Source:   Justin Gillis, The New York Times For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: Global warming caused by human emissions has most likely intensified the drought in California by roughly 15 to 20 percent, scientists said Thursday, warning that future dry spells in the state are almost certain to be worse than this one as the world continues to heat up. Even though the findings suggest that the drought is primarily a consequence of natural climate variability, the scientists added that the likelihood of any drought becoming acute is rising because of climate change. The odds of California suffering droughts at the far end of the scale, like the current one that began in 2012, have roughly doubled over the past century, they said. “This would be a drought no matter what,” said A. Park Williams, a climate scientist at Columbia University and the lead author of a paper pu...

https://www.google.com/get/sunroof/about/ Source:   Google For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt:  Project Sunroof puts Google's expansive data in mapping and computing resources to use, helping calculate the best solar plan. ...When you enter your address, Project Sunroof looks up your home in Google Maps and combines that information with other databases to create your personalized roof analysis. ...Project Sunroof computes how much sunlight hits your roof in a year. It takes into account: Google's database of aerial imagery and maps; 3D modeling of your roof; Shadows cast by nearby structures and trees; All possible sun positions over the course of a year; Historical cloud and temperature patterns that might affect solar energy production. ...Project Sunroof recommends an installation size to generate close to 100% of your electricity use, based on roof size, the amount of sun hitting the roof, and your electricity bill. ...We recommend an installation that covers les...

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/18/islamic-leaders-issue-bold-call-rapid-phase-out-fossil-fuels Source:   The Guardian For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: Islamic leaders have issued a clarion call to 1.6bn Muslims around the world to work towards phasing out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a 100% renewable energy strategy. The grand mufti’s of Lebanon and Uganda endorsed the Islamic declaration on climate change, along with prominent Islamic scholars and teachers from 20 countries, at a symposium in Istanbul. ...“We particularly call on the well-off nations and oil-producing states to lead the way in phasing out their greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible and no later than the middle of the century,” it says. ...So far, Morocco is the only Middle Eastern country to present an emissions-cutting climate pledge ahead of the summit.  ...The Istanbul declaration was made by Islamic figures from Bosnia to Indonesia and follows a ground-breaking...

http://www.onearth.org/earthwire/melting-arctic-national-geographic-atlas Source:   By Clara Chaisson, NRDC. For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: Climate change is keeping the mapmakers over at National Geographic busy. As the Arctic warms twice as fast as the rest of the world, ...the updates to the region reflect “one of the most striking changes in the publication’s history,” the magazine says. So striking, in fact, that President Obama referred to it while unveiling his Clean Power Plan last week. The redrawn map is based on data from a 30-year NASA study, published in 2012....

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-09/will-residents-kivalina-alaska-be-first-climate-change-refugees-us Source:   Science Friday, National Public Radio For Investigation:   Excerpt: [hear recording of interview] In 2008, the Inupiat village sued 24 of the world's biggest fossil fuel companies for damages. In 2013, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case and the village has declared it will not file a new claim in state court. Meanwhile, nature, heedless of humankind’s eternal squabbles, goes about its business: the sea around Kivalina continues to rise, the storms get stronger, the ice gets thinner — and Kivalina's 400 residents must grapple with how to relocate in the decade they're estimated to have left. Kivalina is on a very thin barrier reef island between the Chukchi Sea and the Kivalina Lagoon, in the northwest of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle.  ...In May, June and July, the men of the village go out on the ice hunting bearded seals. They cut up the sea...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/08/05/science/ap-us-sci-carbon-pollution.html Source:   The Associated Press, The New York Times For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: Heat-trapping pollution from U.S. power plants hit a 27-year low in April, the Department of Energy announced Wednesday. A big factor was the long-term shift from coal to cleaner and cheaper natural gas, said Energy Department economist Allen McFarland. Outside experts also credit more renewable fuel use and energy efficiency....

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/business/energy-environment/coal-industry-wobbles-as-market-forces-slug-away.html Source:   By James B. Stewart, New York Times For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt: In April 2005, President George W. Bush hailed “clean coal” as a key to “greater energy independence,” .... But a decade later, the United States coal industry is reeling as never before in its history, the victim of new environmental regulations, intensifying attacks by activists, collapsing coal prices, and — above all — the rise of cheap alternative fuels, especially natural gas. This week President Obama slammed the industry with tougher-than-expected rules from the Environmental Protection Agency limiting power plant carbon emissions, which will accelerate an already huge shift from coal to natural gas and other alternatives. “Clean coal” remains an expensive and thus far impractical pipe dream. Coal is the world’s biggest source of carbon emissions by far and t...

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/08/03/fact-sheet-president-obama-announce-historic-carbon-pollution-standards Source:   The White House For Investigation:   10.3 Excerpt:  Today at the White House, President Obama and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy will release the final Clean Power Plan , a historic step in the Obama Administration’s fight against climate change. We have a moral obligation to leave our children a planet that’s not polluted or damaged. The effects of climate change are already being felt across the nation [ National Climate Assessment ]. ...The Clean Power Plan establishes the first-ever national standards to limit carbon pollution from power plants. We already set limits that protect public health by reducing soot and other toxic emissions, but until now, existing power plants, the largest source of carbon emissions in the United States, could release as much carbon pollution as they wanted.... ...