Renewable Revolution

Britain’s Climate Change Department Dissolved: The United Kingdom’s newly-appointed Prime Minister Theresa May : axed the 8-year-old Department of Energy and Climate Change on Thursday and folded some elements into an expanded Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The new department would be led by Greg Clark  , formerly minister for local government under David Cameron and the shadow secretary for energy and climate change between 2008 and 2010. May’s decision drew angry reactions from some members of the green community for giving climate change issues the backseat while others expressed hope that Clark could introduce a carbon floor price since he “gets climate change.” (BBC, Financial Times $, Independent, New Scientist, Climate Home, Times $, Carbon Brief, Guardian, Newsweek. Commentary: BusinessGreen, James Murray column; Politics, James Thornton op-ed; Guardian, Damian Carrington column)



Alaska Swelters Under Heat Wave: A massive heatwave struck Alaska this week, with the town of Deadhorse witnessing a high of 85°F. This has been the warmest ever in Deadhorse, where average temperatures tend to be 57°F at this time of the year. The temperatures were in the 80s across the region. The highest ever temperature record in Alaska was in 1915 when it reached 100°F in Fort Yukon on June 27. This year Alaska has witnessed a freakishly warm first six months with the state’s temperature averaging 30.4°F, 9°F higher than normal. As a result, the state’s fire season had an early start this year and more wildfires are feared due to the heatwave. (USA Today, Alaska Dispatch News, ThinkProgress, Mashable)



Warm Ocean Water May Be Driving Antarctic Ice Retreat: A group of researchers suspect that warm ocean water may be the main reason behind the retreating glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula. A study published in Science has found that warm temperatures melting the glaciers from below are the biggest driver behind the retreat -- not atmospheric warming as is generally suspected. The researchers compared the ocean temperatures and region’s ice loss between 1945 and 2009 and found a clear correlation. “The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the largest current contributors to sea-level rise, and the glaciers here are highly sensitive, so [they] are key indicators of how the ice will respond to future changes,” says Alison Cook, lead author of the paper. (Washington Post $, Christian Science Monitor, Carbon Brief)

  https://www.carbonbrief.org/warmer-oceans-driving-antarctic-peninsula-glacier-melt-study-says