Welcome to Catastrophic Climate Change

Because apparently we can't have a website anymore without a blog

The blah-blah-blog

As time permits, I'm going to put the esoterica I encounter related to climate change here rather than trying to update the various pages. So this will be in reverse chronological rather than logically organized within the structure of the rest of this website. Please don't rely on this as a consistent and current source for climate change information updates. Sadly, we cannot rely on our corporate-controlled mass media for good information on this, and my time is limited.

Past blog pages:
2019: May    June    July    August    September    October    November    December
2020: January    February    March    April    May    June    July [COVID gap]
2021: [COVID gap] October-December
2022: January-February    March    April    May-August    September    October    November-December
2023: January    February    March-April    May-July    August-September    October-November    December
2024: January    February    March    April    May    June    July    August    September    October    November    December
2025: January    February

Never underestimate the ability of humans to overestimate their own intelligence. - moi

2025.01.31 Climate change is a boon for rats. People, not so much.

More bad news for rat-infested cities: Climate change is making it worse (CBC)

2025.01.27 Neat. Only took about 20 years and fantasies about hydrogen to get to this point.

Relatively inexpensive and quick to deploy; zero fuel cost; zero emissions; reduced health care issues; storage can make the energy dispatchable. Lower costs for taxpayers. No wonder governments seem to hate renewables.
Nova Scotia government says wind farms key to meeting 80 per cent renewables goal (CTV)

2025.01.27 Local politics and ideology beats science, economics, and rational thinking in Saskatchewan. Again.

Sask. doubles down on coal with potential plan to keep power plants running (CBC)

2025.01.27 As occurs with algal blooms. In a substantive analysis, evaporation effects should also be considered.

Floating solar can increase greenhouse gas emissions on small ponds, study finds (Phys.org)

2025.01.23 I am extremely skeptical that changing the government bookkeeping entry will fix the real problem.

However, taking a decade to prove this fantasy doesn't work any better than past industry shell games (aka 3 cups, find the ball) will suit fossil fuel profiteers just fine.
The challenge is to actually reduce the amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, not carbon, which is a solid.
Removing methane would have more value on a per molecule basis, but that's not even on the menu here.
Much less expensive and more effective would be reducing methane emissions, especially fugitive emissions from oil and natural gas exploration, production, storage, transport and end-point use. It should also reduce industry shrinkage costs.
We could also explore local production of methane as a renewable biogas, and where demand exists, use that to displace fossil methane and long distance transport.
And finally, as consumers, look for ways to reduce your 'natural gas' consumption as life and budget permits. I have seen multiple reports from people who replaced gas stoves with induction stoves and have been thrilled with the superior performance. Electric clothes dryers have been around a really long time, and work well. Heat pump and condensing versions are beginning to appear. Heat pumps can fully replace gas furnaces in many areas, and also provide air-conditioning from the same unit. Heat pump water heaters are now a stock item in hardware stores and from HVAC businesses. New Oxford report: Carbon capture and storage without taxpayer billions is possible (Phys.org)

2025.01.22 States that care about human survival and quality of life are making progress on the environment and climate change. Why not the rest?

The graph in the article speaks volumes.
'Rising star': EU made more electricity from solar than coal in 2024 (The Guardian)

2025.01.21 Research shows "aligned and coordinated" use of social media to deny climate change and delay solutions.

The 8 talking points fossil fuel companies use to obstruct climate action (Grist)

2025.01.21 Irony: U.S. natural gas and crude oil prices might rise because the 'climate change hoax' is making Texas so cold that oil and gas wells 'freeze-off'.

Permian Basin Oil and Gas Output Faces Disruption Due to Freezing Temperatures (OilPrice.com)

2025.01.21 More likely WHERE will it go ahead? How about western Manitoba where renewables are not forbidden by Scott Moe?

Regina Co-op's shelved renewable diesel, canola crush projects will see light of day: stakeholders (Regina Leader-Post)

2025.01.21 Growing trees still look a solid way to capture carbon dioxide and methane from the air - if we stop setting them on fire.

Trees might not be acting in the way we thought - this forest fitted with pipes can tell us why (BBC)

2025.01.20 Did anyone relly think Scott Moe would stand up for creating green agriculture jobs in SK?

Moe under fire as province loses billions in value-added investments (Western Standard)

2025.01.20 They already have: Lytton, Fort Mac, Kelowna .. Our governments don't think it's a real problem, or they would take GHGs seriously.

Yes, cities in Canada will burn too (National OBserver) WILL burn. Take note, summer will come again this year.

2025.01.19 How is it that progress on climate change always seems to get started too late?

Canada-led proposal to end international fossil fuel financing dies with incoming Trump administration (CBC)

2025.01.19 When climate change destroys your home and cancelled your insurance so you can't rebuild

would that finally get your attention? That's how we get homeless climate refugees. It could be you.
Climate change is forcing us to rethink our sense of 'home'- and what it means to lose it (Phys.org)

2025.01.18 As climate change will increasingly reduce our ability to grow food crops, we may have to shift to lab-grown substitutes for nutrition.

Dual-reactor system converts CO2 to consumable single-cell protein (Phys.org)
Some day we will look back on when we used to grow food in soil, and that removed CO2 from the atmosphere using water and sunlight.

2025.01.17 Hunh, mass mortality and reverting to subsistence living standards could be bad for the economy.

Who could have guessed? Sigh, but for now, the fossil fuel industries are making record profits (courtesy of taxpayer subsidies), so party on!
Global GDP could be halved without urgent action on climate change, report warns (euronews)

2025.01.17 Yes, it's bad news for the climate. What did you expect at this point?

We built an AI model that analysed millions of images of retreating glaciers - what it found is alarming (The Conversation)

2025.01.15 As the U.S. is threatening trade wars in contravention of the free trade agreement Trump signed, Canada and Mexico seek response measures.

How about closing their borders to U.S. waste and trash shipments? Or imposing significant fees on them? What is the U.S. going to do, keep their garbage?
'A trash can for the US': anger in Mexico and Canada over toxic waste shipments (The Guardian)

2025.01.15 Climate change will impact in many forms, including wildfires. What's the impact on your property if you can't insure your house? Can you get a mortgage?

'A Riskier Place to Live': Canada Could Be Uninsurable in a Decade, Says Expert (The Energy Mix)

2025.01.15 For fossil fuels industries, it's ALWAYS profits before people.

Big oil pushed to kill bill that would have made them pay for wildfire disasters (The Guardian)

2025.01.14 Reducing agricultural methane production can include reducing cow burps and the amount of manure produced.

But, so long as manure is being produced, isn't methane capture and beneficial destruction a net benefit?
Big Oil and Big Ag are teaming up to turn cow poop into energy - and profits. The math doesn't add up. (Vox)

Additional reading: How Do You Manage Dairy Manure Storage to Reduce Methane Emissions?

2025.01.14 If we are to survive on this planet, hyper-funded "AI" data centres and servers have to build GHG-neutral sites with some of that funding.

Nearly Half of Businesses Weaken Sustainability Goals Due to Generative AI Demands, Capgemini Report Reveals (DeSmog)

2025.01.14 Once again, oil-industry greenspin tries to hide that its carbon capture projects don't work as advertised or reported.

Exclusive: Norway's Equinor Forced to Withdraw Key Carbon Capture Claim (DeSmog)

2025.01.13 Not the decision I was expecting. Maybe it would have been bad optics to go the other way while LA is burning to the ground.

[US] Supreme Court declines to hear from oil and gas companies trying to block climate change lawsuits (AP)

2025.01.13 Reduce, reuse, recycle, upcycle, avoid making more methane.

Reinventing the landfill with recycling (National Observer)

2025.01.13 Doug Ford ups the Enbridge subsidy, even in an 'energy-saving' program. Methane is still a potent GHG.

Gas still featured in Ford's energy efficiency incentives (National Observer)

2025.01.13 How do we get people to understand the consequences? Or even believe it's real?

GWYNNE DYER: How did things get so tangled with climate change? (PNI Atlantic News)

2025.01.12 Ihave been an EV fan for decades, but I think it's important to understand their limitations.

I Left My EV Unplugged In The Cold For Weeks. Here's How Much Range I Lost (InsideEVs)

2025.01.11 I appreciated the reference to Lake Mead's 'bathtub rings', as I have seen them.

I got soaked driving the Arc Sport electric boat (TechCrunch)

2025.01.11 Renewables generation just keeps getting better as demand keeps increasing. Zero fuel costs, zero emissions in use.

China: JinkoSolar's perovskite tandem solar cell hits record 33.84% efficiency (Interesting Engineering)

2025.01.10 The Conservative Party of Canada and right wing media are spreading disinformation about the 'carbon tax',

probably because they don't understand (or consciously choose to misinterpret) science, finance and international law.
Before we "axe the tax," a quick lesson in history and physics (Policy Options)

It isn't just Pierre Poilievre. He's just a mouthpiece for a well-funded and committed network of the very rich in Canada and outside this country, who wish to become richer at the expense of everyone else. As an example, that's why Canadian taxpayers paid for the TMX pipeline so that foreign-owned oil companies could increased profits from increased oil sands production, while massively increasing greenhouse gas emissions while paying none of the costs of the consequences of climate change.

Beyond Pedersen's article, just let me say, again, that the desire for a 'carbon tax election' is a conscious fallacy foisted on Canadians by the monied class and especially the highly-connected, mostly American, fossil fuel industry.
The much maligned 'carbon tax' isn't making a significant contribution to inflation in Canada.
Carbon tax had 'negligible' impact on inflation, new study says

Note, this study comes from the University of Calgary, in Alberta, not exactly fans of the 'carbon tax', and these quotes from the article:
"The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has found that most households - particularly those at the lower end of the income scale - end up profiting when what they pay through the carbon price is offset by what they receive in rebates."
and
"The new study lines up with the PBO's analysis. It says that the "rebates generally compensate" for fuel rate charges."

Beyond this, it is factually incorrect to label this program as a tax; it's a feebate system. The federal government does not get to keep these funds. Like the Canada Pension Plan or the Employment Insurance Program, funds are collected for the express purpose of being paid back out to program participants.

It's not about carbon. It's about all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. like methane and carbon dioxide. Carbon isn't even a gas, it's a solid.

So, if Pierre Poilievre and the CPC want to fight an election on climate change, bring it on. But, let's agree the arguments have to be based on facts and data, not a deceitful made-up marketing term coined by the fossil fuel industry to further its own agenda.

2025.01.10 Apparently our elected 'leaders' don't care, just carry on burning stuff.

Earth records hottest year ever in 2024, a jump that surpassed a key threshold (National Observer)

2025.01.10 Trump lies about the climate change 'hoax' because he profits from it. Lies and chaos are his go-to tools.

Trump won't confront the climate crisis. He'll feast off it. (National Observer)

2025.01.10 While China is implementing renewables at a world-leading pace, as of 2021, their GHG emissions were still rising.

China says greenhouse gas emissions hit 13 billion tons in 2021 (Reuters)

2025.01.10 Seemingly random gasoline price increases in 5 Canadian cities this week - testing consumer intelligence?

Curious. It's not the 'carbon tax' (not a tax, not about carbon, it's disinfo), oil prices have not increased on world markets, there's no new taxes or tariffs, demand has not surged, crude and refined oil products inventories in North America are both rising (natural gas is a separate market). So, this is just oil companies helping themselves to your wallet to see if you will do anything other that just keep pumping and buying fewer groceries (no 'food banks' for gasoline) in anticipation of the big win when pro-fossil fuels Pierre Poilievre takes power. Because Canadians are going to vote for higher energy costs, higher insurance premiums and no rebates.
Canada gas prices rise, with double-digit gains in 5 cities this week (Yahoo)

2025.01.10 Another barrier to to energy retrofits - sketchy contractors

Ontario homeowners left with expensive contracts after company appears to go out of business (CP24)

2025.01.10 You think the folks in L.A. agree we can't afford to spend a little on reversing climate change? One city, still burning.

One event, 3 days. Destroyed the equivalent of over 6% of Canada's 2023 GDP (US$2.14 trillion).
LA wildfire damages set to cost record $135bn (BBC)

2025.01.10 You can whine it's impossible (unprofitable), or you can just get it done. Kudos to NT.

'We could get close to a 90-percent reduction in emissions by 2050' (Cabin Radio)

2025.01.09 I drive an EV for the good of YOUR health. It also saves me money and reduces my GHG footprint.

Study uncovers staggering health impact of electric cars: 'A significant, quantifiable impact' (TCD)

2025.01.09 Nuclear fission and wind are not comparable. Wind is renewable and does not produce high-level nuclear waste.

Wind power tops nuclear in Sweden for first time, trade group says (Reuters)

2025.01.09 Look at the graph: U.S. substituted natural gas for coal. Wind and solar just took up the rising demand.

US emissions 'unchanged' in 2024 despite coal power at lowest level since 1967 (CarbonBrief)

2025.01.09 A golden decade for Canadian oil and gas is ending with J.Trudeau's legacy

of signalling left and giving fossil fuels every possible gift using taxpayer money.
The oil and gas sector will miss Justin Trudeau. No, really. (National Observer)

2025.01.08 Yes, heat pumps can work in the Yukon.

Yukon heat pump program sells out in less than 3 weeks, additional applicants waitlisted (CBC)

2025.01.08 Not to worry, the federal Liberal government will cover all the bills and fatten oil industry profits with taxpayer money before they leave power in 2025.

Pathways Alliance's flagship project looks like a big money loser (National Observer)

2025.01.07 It feels like there's an Ontario provincial election coming soon, trying to bribe voters, but short on details.

Don't expect this to survive, even if Doug Ford returns to power. In a new session, they will 'discover' they don't have the money.
Ontario Launches New Energy Efficiency Programs to Save You Money (Government of Ontario)

2025.01.07 There are available guidelines on making structures more resistant, useful for areas at risk of wildfires.

Oregon places new rules on homeowners living in certain high-risk wildfire areas (AP)

2025.01.07 Climate Change is about volatility and more energetic weather systems, not cozy, gentle warming.

Why more frequent cold blasts could be coming from global warming (AP)

2025.01.05 Battery technology just keeps getting better as the market demand increases

Scientists achieve speed record with game-changing 'ion superhighway' that could transform batteries: '[It] is pretty powerful' (TCD)

2025.01.03 The global warming potential of these deep emissions was double that of surface emissions

Groundbreaking Study Reveals Thawing Permafrost Beneath Arctic Lakes Accelerating Climate Change (ClimateGenn)

2025.01.03 The Great Lakes staying open later into winter and warmer air masses will carry more snow inland.

How the warming Great Lakes could herald a new era of supercharged snowstorms (CTV News)

2025.01.02 We can make progress on GHG emissions if we want to. It's a choice, or series of choices.

UK electricity cleanest ever in 2024, with record 58% from low-carbon sources (The Guardian)

2025.01.02 Trees aren't a carbon sink if we keep setting them on fire.

Canadian wildfire risk worsens with climate change (National Observer)

2025.01.02 Current forest 'management' practice is making our forests into tinderboxes conducive to more wildfires.

Canadian forests are more conducive to high-severity fires in recent decades (Paper in Science)

2025.01.02 German power prices dropped below zero on the first trading day of the year, an increasingly frequent phenomenon in Europe as renewables expand.

German Power Slips Below Zero as Negative-Price Phenomenon Grows (BNN Bloomberg)

2025.01.02 Wine isn't the only use for grapes. They are food and can be juiced.

Researchers make shocking discovery after examining vineyard grown under solar panels (TCD)

2025.01.02 It isn't a green energy transition, rather "a delaying tactic that keeps attention away from issues like decreasing energy use."

A Reality Check on Our 'Energy Transition' (The Tyee)

You can find many earlier postings (going back to year 2000) related to climate change at:
Keith's List Archive and
the Sustainable Biofuel List Mail Archive.

I present a lot of information in this blog and on this website. If you need some help sorting through the noise level and getting a forward-looking, proactive approach to climate change for your business, I can do that work for you via my consulting business. Contact