Silicon Valley Moved to Austin. Then Regretted It.
Texas is too hot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38ACs0gNZrA
Tag: heat
We were supposed to hit peak emissions. Why won’t they stop rising?
“The big reason is that fossil fuel consumption is up. Oil and gas account for the bulk of this increase in emissions, with coal a distant third. While greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere are rising, their output is level or falling from some of the largest historical emitters. The European Union’s emissions are declining. US emissions are holding steady. China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, is on track to see its output grow by just 0.2 percent this year, one of the tiniest increases in years.
Bucking this trend are many developing countries like India, currently the world’s third-largest emitter. India has seen a huge increase in renewable energy deployment, but its still developing energy from all sources, including fossil fuels. The Global Carbon Budget found India’s fossil fuel emissions are on track to increase 4.6 percent this year.
There are a few additional factors that drove up emissions this year. The lingering effects of El Niño helped push global temperatures to record highs. Extraordinary heat waves in India and China pushed up energy demand for cooling, and that meant burning more fossil fuels. “We’re beginning to see some of those negative feedback loops where the climate crisis itself is impacting on the energy system and making it harder to reduce emissions,” Grant said.
Still, there are glimmers of good news. More than 30 countries have already managed to grow their economies while cutting carbon dioxide pollution, a clear sign that coal, oil, and natural gas are not the only paths to prosperity. These countries have already summited their emissions peaks and are now on the descent, breaking a pattern that has held for nearly two centuries.”
https://www.vox.com/climate/385183/cop29-climate-change-emissions-rising-trump-baku
One chart shows how Hurricane Helene turned into a monstrous storm
“This record ocean heat is a clear reason why Hurricane Helene — which has been traveling through the Gulf on its way to Florida — has intensified so quickly. Put simply, hotter water evaporates more readily, and rising columns of warm, moist air from that evaporation are ultimately what drive hurricanes and their rapid intensification.”
https://www.vox.com/climate/373874/hurricane-helene-florida-forecast-warm-ocean-water
This chart of ocean heat is terrifying
“The Gulf is now the hottest it’s been in the modern record, according to Brian McNoldy, a climatologist at the University of Miami, who produced the chart. Taking a dip would feel like a bath: The average temperature of the surface is close to 90 degrees, according to recent measures of sea surface temperature.
“This is out of bounds from the kinds of variability that we’ve seen in [at least] the last 75 years or so,” Ben Kirtman, director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, a joint initiative of the University of Miami and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told Vox. “That can be scary stuff.”
These record temperatures are just one signal of a more widespread bout of warming across the North Atlantic that ramped up last year. It’s still not entirely clear what’s causing it, though scientists suspect a combination of factors including climate change — which raises the baseline ocean temperature — as well as lingering effects of El Niño, natural climate variability, and perhaps even a volcanic eruption.”
https://www.vox.com/climate/368324/hurricane-season-2024-gulf-mexico-ocean-warming
Public pools are good, actually
“Not only does keeping your body temperature down prevent you from developing heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses, but it can fend off cognitive and mood impacts of heat, like aggressiveness and mental sluggishness when processing information.
In general, aquatic activities — like swimming, water aerobics, or even floating in water — have myriad benefits. They’ve been linked to better mental health and positive mood. Swimming has also been shown to improve memory and cognitive function. Aside from the boost to mental health, a few laps in a pool improves heart health and lung capacity, lowers blood pressure, reduces joint pain, and increases bone strength, according to research.
Public pools can also be places where non-swimmers learn crucial water safety skills. Over 4,500 people died from drowning each year from 2020 to 2022, according to CDC data.”
…
“Like many third places, public pools bring together members of the community of all ages and backgrounds. “We so often push older ages to the periphery,” Finlay says, “and pools are spaces where there are designated programs for older adults, in addition to children.” Pools are where sunbathing teenagers rub shoulders with lap-swimming retirees. This melting pot effect can contribute to your sense of community belonging, which, in turn, can lead to improved mental and physical health. One study found that when people went to pools for social contact, they reported less isolation and stress and improved mental health. An Australian report found that public pools encouraged social cohesion and connection.”
https://www.vox.com/even-better/362193/public-pools-benefits-community-swimming
The US is failing renters during extreme heat waves
“In Texas — a state that often sees some of the hottest temperatures in the country — extreme heat killed more than 330 people in 2023, setting a new record. More recently, millions of people in cities like Houston have had to deal with a massive heat wave while navigating power outages caused by Hurricane Beryl.
Despite the growing toll, there’s shockingly little regulation around protecting people from the effects of heat. It’s a stark contrast to how policies tend to treat the extreme cold. And while extreme cold continues to be deadlier than extreme heat, as heat waves become more dangerous, the gap between the two is likely to shrink.”
https://www.vox.com/climate/360019/climate-extreme-heat-ac-cooling-policy
If it’s 100 degrees out, does your boss have to give you a break? Probably not.
“We know how dangerous heat can be, and we know that danger is likely to amplify with each summer, yet there’s no federal protection for workers against heat.
But that might change soon.
In 2021, after years of worker activism on the issue, OSHA began the process of developing a ruling on a heat workplace standard, with the aim to reduce heat-related injuries and death on the job. This standard would create a set of obligations that employers must comply with to protect their workers from heat. It generally takes about seven years for OSHA to publish a final ruling. On Tuesday morning, the Biden administration made its proposal for a heat standard public — but it won’t be final until 2026, at the very least.
OSHA might face some resistance, though. Historically, some employers and business groups have been opposed to a mandatory heat standard and have lobbied against it in the past. And if Donald Trump wins the presidency, it would likely upend the standard entirely.
Time will tell what a final ruling for a workplace heat standard will be, and how well it will align with the needs of workers.”
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/356217/osha-federal-workplace-heat-standard-protections
The Florida Barrier Reef’s Last Stand
“unseasonably hot water arrived this summer, meaning those coral colonies had to endure months of extreme water temperatures. A buoy off Florida recorded 101-degree water temperatures this July. When corals are stressed by hot or cold water, they lose their color—a result of expelling algae that provides corals with most of their energy—and eventually die.”
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“If the reefs collapsed completely, it would be disastrous for the Florida Keys. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the reefs in Southeast Florida are valued at $8.5 billion and sustain 70,000 full- and part-time jobs. The barrier reef also protects the Keys from hurricanes and major storms by soaking up wave action.”
https://reason.com/2023/12/19/the-florida-barrier-reefs-last-stand/
This Might Be the Hottest Year You’ve Ever Experienced
This summer is giving us a glimpse at the dangerous future of work
“Temperatures also don’t have to be very high for strenuous work to become deadly. The lack of heat acclimatization all too frequently kills workers; the majority of workers who die from heat do so in the first few days at work. “A lot of workers will actually end up in heatstroke during the first week on the job,” says Brenda Jacklitsch, a health scientist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Extreme heat is also affecting productivity. According to a 2022 study by The Lancet, which is tracking the relationship between climate change and public health, about 470 billion hours of labor were lost in 2021 due to extreme heat. The US alone lost 2.5 billion hours, mostly in the construction, manufacturing, service, and agriculture sectors.”
https://www.vox.com/23844420/extreme-heat-work-labor-osha-climate-change