Climate Change with Scott Amyx: Recent Episodes
Scott Amyx
Get the latest insights on climate change and breakthrough technologies and innovations that are fighting climate change!
According to a United Nations climate change report, the evidence of human-caused climate change is overwhelming and continues to strengthen. The impacts of climate change are intensifying and climate-related threats to our physical, social, and economic well-being are rising at an unprecedented rate.
Widespread climate changes are causing extreme heat, severe drought, uncontrollable wildfires, catastrophic hurricanes and floods, rising sea levels, intensifying coral reef bleaching, migration of millions of people, violence over resources, famine, and diseases.
THE BEST CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS
★ Mondays: Weekly in-depth interviews with prominent leaders in climate change action ★ Tuesdays - Thursdays: Daily 1-minute flash briefings ★ Fridays: Scott’s weekly recap ★ Climate change topics: ● Latest findings and reports on climate change ● Global and regional climate change policies ● Changing consumer attitudes and behaviors ● New technologies and innovation to combat climate change ● Renewable energy and storage ● Investment & economics in sustainable development projects ● Best practices and tips on ways to reduce carbon footprint
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Aquaria produces Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) that create clean drinking water out of thin air.
Soletair Power enables buildings to capture carbon dioxide from air by retrofitting HVAC with direct air capture technology.
Renewable Thermal Collaborative is the leading coalition for organizations committed to scaling up renewable heating and cooling at their facilities and cutting carbon emissions.
XA Investments LLC is a Chicago-based investment manager to pursue a single goal: provide investors with access to institutional-caliber alternative investments.
Today I am joined by Alison Malmqvist, Director, Sexual & Reproductive Health, Climate Health Lead, PSI Global. She has 20 years of experience developing and leading integrated public health programs in Africa and the Caribbean with a focus on designing, implementing, managing and monitoring social marketing and health communication programs for sexual and reproductive health, malaria prevention and child survival.
Enlighted, a Siemens company, integrates cognitive environmental IoT sensors and lighting controls connecting to intelligent workplace experience apps, offering a scalable, interoperable solution to address a spectrum of building, space, and productivity needs.
Dr. John J. Berger, Ph.D. is an environmental science and policy specialist, prize-winning author, and journalist.
Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), released her new book The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis. The dominant cultural worldview is based upon extraction and exploitation practices that have brought us to the precipice of social, environmental, and climate collapse. Braiding poetic storytelling, climate justice and deep cultural analyses, and the collective knowledge of Earth-centered cultures, The Story is in Our Bones opens a portal to restoration and justice beyond the end of a world in crisis.
Carbon Cap Management is an alternative asset management firm operating in the global carbon and environmental markets. Their mission is to provide solutions directly related to the capping and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
Capture6 is a technology that removes CO₂ from the atmosphere while producing additional freshwater for local communities.
Regenerative Organic Alliance manages the Regenerative Organic Certified program, a groundbreaking certification for food, fiber, and personal care products. Integrating USDA Organic, Fair Trade, and high-bar animal welfare standards, it surpasses current criteria, setting global benchmarks for soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness.
Frank Pao, Chair of Industrial Advisory Board on Center of Energy Harvesting Material & Systems, The National Science Foundation.
GHGSat monitors emissions from space, using its satellites and aircraft sensors to measure greenhouse gas emissions directly from industrial sites, providing actionable insights to businesses, governments, and regulators.
Today I am joined by Joseph Kane, a Fellow at Brookings Metro, a program of The Brookings Institution. His work focuses on a wide array of built environment issues, including transportation and water infrastructure. Within these areas of research, Kane has explored infrastructure’s central economic role across different regions as well as its relationship to opportunity and resilience.
Since 1996, Trust For Public Land—alongside countless partners—has helped transform well over 200 schoolyards into thriving parks and playgrounds, getting the absolute most of the space available and giving the gift of social connection and nature play back to the communities.
The Nuclear Energy Institute is the policy organization of the nuclear technologies industry, based in Washington, D.C.
Plant With Purpose works at the nexus of poverty and environmental degradation to transform the lives and land of farming communities through environmental restoration, economic empowerment, and spiritual renewal.
LiquiDonate provides the simplest donation method for retailers, businesses, downsizing organizations, and anyone with excess items.
David is a field-oriented ecologist with experience in remote and wilderness settings in Africa and Alaska. At Alaska Pacific University, he teaches courses in marine biology, aquarium husbandry, and animal behavior.
Thomas McInerney is the Executive Director of the Rule of Law for Development Program at Loyola University Chicago School of Law where he teaches courses relating to international law, development finance, and institutional reform.
Clean Robotics revolutionizes waste and resource recovery. The company's flagship product, TrashBot, uses Al, robotics, and machine learning to identify and sort waste at the time of disposal, eliminating human error and diverting more circular materials from landfills.
Today I am joined by Tony Hiss, author of Rescuing the Planet: Protecting Half the Land to Heal the Earth.
Geoship is an affordable home prototype, featuring a unique combination of eco-friendly ceramic materials and geodesic dome structures.
EIT Climate-KIC is Europe’s largest climate innovation initiative, responsible for the group’s overarching strategy, its financial sustainability, and delivery of its global impact.
A from The Center on Regulation and Markets at the Brookings Institution explores six major areas of potential policy reform in the permitting process of renewable energy generation and electric transmission projects in the U.S.
The Propane Education & Research Council is a nonprofit that provides leading propane safety and training programs and invests in R&D of new propane-powered technologies.
Dr. Bruce Usher, Professor of Professional Practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School.
Dr. William Anderegg, Director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy and an Associate Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah.
Mark Wishnie, Head of Landscape Capital and Chief Sustainability Officer, BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group
The Conservation Finance Alliance is the leading professional association for conservation finance experts and practitioners. CFA's mission is to promote awareness, expertise, and innovation in conservation finance globally.
Dr. Barrett Klein, a professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, is an entomologist and artist who studies insect behavior, sleep biology, and ways in which insects have affected humans throughout history.
Dr. Christiaan De Beuk-e-la, Senior Lecturer in Culture & Climate at the University of Melbourne and the author of Trade Winds.
Paccurate is a cartonization software for efficient shippers that helps find the best way to pack every shipment to reduce supply chain costs and waste.
Global Fund for Children is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to transform the lives of the world's most vulnerable children.
Rosy Soil is an Earth-positive soil company on a mission to nurture plants and the planet by crafting high-quality soils from captured CO2.
Riff Energy+ as part of their innovation efforts to utilize, and develop, a greater demand for coffee fruit, the nutritionally-rich, yet historically wasted byproduct of the coffee harvest.
Maya van Rossum is the Founder of Green Amendments For The Generations and a veteran environmentalist.
Maya van Rossum is the Founder of Green Amendments For The Generations and a veteran environmentalist.
Greenly is a carbon accounting and management platform helping companies on their climate journey.
Greenly is a carbon accounting and management platform helping companies on their climate journey.
Hwy Haul is a digital freight platform that connects fresh produce shippers with reliable truckers to eliminate intermediary friction and deliver sustainable, reduced waste, and business-class shipping experience.
Hwy Haul is a digital freight platform that connects fresh produce shippers with reliable truckers to eliminate intermediary friction and deliver sustainable, reduced waste, and business-class shipping experience.
SilverLining is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that society has sufficient options to address near-term climate risk.
SilverLining is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that society has sufficient options to address near-term climate risk.
Umami Meats is pioneering cultivated, 'not caught' seafood by crafting delicious, nutritious, and affordable cultivated fish that is better for our health, our oceans, and our future.
Umami Meats is pioneering cultivated, 'not caught' seafood by crafting delicious, nutritious, and affordable cultivated fish that is better for our health, our oceans, and our future.
Dr. Urvashi Bhatnagar is a healthcare executive & co-author of The Sustainability Scorecard
Professor Eran Sharon's shape-shifting pasta technology reduces the need for excessive packaging.
Tara Health Foundation promotes health, well-being, and opportunity for women and girls through innovative evidence-informed programs.
Spun out of MIT, Nanoramic is the exclusive designer, manufacturer, and licensor of Neocarbonix electrodes for rechargeable li-ion batteries, li-ion capacitors, and supercapacitors.
Bite is a maker of plastic-free, cruelty-free products on a mission to become the world’s most sustainable personal care company.
One Energy is a utility 2.0 company that is building the customer-centric power grid of the future.
Moleaer is a global leader in nanobubble technology with a mission to unlock the power of water to do more with less.
Emily Johannes, Head of Sustainable Sourcing for Nestlé USA and Lauren Brey, Managing Director of Farmers for Sustainable Food
Zen Running Club, a vegan approved running lifestyle that prioritises sustainable, plant-based materials.
All of Farmstead Classics are made with our farm fresh milk and are produced with renewable energy. Crave Brothers makes fresh mozzarella, sweet cream mascarpone, chocolate mascarpone, fresh cheddar cheese curds, farmers rope string cheese, and other varieties of mozzarella.
Health In Harmony is an international nonprofit dedicated to reversing global heating, understanding that rainforests are essential to the survival of humanity.
Subak is a not-for-profit accelerator and data community that scales climate impact through data, policy and behavior change.
Paul Behrens is an Associate Professor in Energy and Environmental Change at Leiden University, the Netherlands and author of The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science.
WiGL-enabled transmitters turn AC power into wireless power grids that target power to a number of devices in the home and office.
Sustainability startups: Dr. Alex Ivyenka, CEO of HyPoint and Gary Agnew, CEO of Ideon Technologies.
Sustainability startups: Dr. Alex Ivyenka, CEO of HyPoint and Gary Agnew, CEO of Ideon Technologies.
Astor Perkin’s panel on Sustainability & IFC’s Operating Principles for Impact Management.
Zain Ventures, an investment firm with over $100 million in assets under management. The family office actively invests in real estate as a part of its overall asset management.
Mitzi Perdue is a businesswoman (Perdue Chicken, Sheraton Hotels, CERES Farms), philanthropist, and anti-human trafficking advocate.
Alraedah Finance works to provide unique financing solutions for entrepreneurs and SMEs in Saudi Arabia.
Watershed is a software platform that helps businesses to track and reduce their carbon footprint.
Dr. Allison Brager is a neuroscientist and sleep specialist for Molecule and author of Meathead: Unraveling the Athletic Brain.
Ali Behnam-Bakhtiar is an internationally acknowledged designer and a leading expert in bespoke luxury spaces.
Greg Morris is the SVP and president of ADM’s Agricultural Services and Oilseeds business unit.
Glanris delivers water filtration with the world’s first sustainable, hybrid filtration media that filters both organics and metals.
Dr. Suzanne Simard is a leading forest ecologist, professor and author of Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest.
Eclipse Foods is a Y Combinator-backed startup making plant-based dairy products that are indistinguishable from conventional dairy.
Max Wilbert, Co-Author of Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It
Martin acoustic guitars are prized worldwide for their exceptional tone, design, craftsmanship and attention to detail.
Seatrec is a company working to monitor, understand, and ultimately protect the ocean and its health.
Interview with Lawrence Krauss, Theoretical Physicist and Author of The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe from Nothing
Marco Antonio Soriano IV, Partner & Chief Investment Officer at The Soriano Group Family Office.
John Amaral DC is an energy practitioner, author and educator who has worked for over twenty years helping A-List celebrities, entrepreneurs, athletes, and influencers.
Scott Hamm and Kipp Tribble are the directors, producers and actors of the movie 'The Stay'.
Tabitha Upshaw leads NI’s global Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy, where purpose and social impact meet brand.
By planting trees, With Click a Tree actively fights climate change, builds habitat for endangered animal species, and creates jobs with full-time income for local communities.
Garry Gilliam is a former NFL offensive tackle with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
CryomatiKs is a product development firm that uses the air we all breathe every single day as a non-combustible non-toxic zero-emissions fuel.
VidaLuz Development is an organization looking to develop sustainable properties and micro cities.
Today I am joined by Patrick MacLeamy, CEO Emeritus at HOK and Chairman at buildingSMART International
Pulse Canada is the national industry association that represents growers, processors and exporters of Canadian pulses.
Neil Gregory is Chief Thought Leadership Officer of the International Finance Corporation, the private investment arm of the World Bank Group.
Lonely Whale is a nonprofit that develops data-driven campaigns that reconnect us to each other by encouraging behavior change away from single-use plastic and toward a healthy, thriving ocean.
Lisette Gaviña Lopez is a 4th generation coffee roaster and a key member of the Gaviña coffee family and the Market Director at F. Gaviña & Sons.
Signify is a leader in lighting with brands such as Philips, Philips Hue, Interact, Modular and more.
Ocean Habitats is a non-profit committed to ocean conservation through installation of Mini-Reefs.
Plaine Products is a hair- and body care products company on a mission to rid the world of single-use plastics.
Climate Neutral aims to accelerate the decarbonization of global emissions through their achievable certification framework.
Convoy is a digital freight network that connects shippers to carriers to move millions of truckloads, saving money for shippers, reducing hassle for carriers, and eliminating carbon waste for our planet.
FarmSense helps farmers simplify insect monitoring and management with the help of artificial intelligence.
Loggerhead Marinelife Center is an active sea turtle hospital focused on sustainability and conservation.
Lee Wallace leads Peace Coffee and advocates for farmer partners, their land, and the wellbeing of everyone along the supply chain.
The Green Institute is a research institute in Nigeria dedicated to the broad sustainability discourse and to training leaders who will systematically transform attitudes about environmentalism in Africa.
Today I am joined by Annya Sand, a contemporary artist known for her signature abstract art.
Today I am joined by Vinnie Campo, U.S. Country Manager for Bulb. Bulb provides affordable, renewable energy to over 1.7M homes globally.
Phone2Action is a growth-equity backed grassroots advocacy and public affairs technology company.
Interview with Carter Oosterhouse, host of Trading Spaces, Carter Can, Red Hot & Green to Million Dollar Rooms, Celebrity Motor Homes, and The Great Christmas Light Fight.
Interview with Marshall Sandman, host of the coveted Instagram Live interview series What To Do With Marshall that features social issues.
Interview with Paul Polizzotto, CEO of Givewith, a social impact technology company that brings together companies and nonprofits to generate new funding for social impact initiatives.
Interview with Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, VP of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation
Interview with Francesco Femia, CEO of the Council on Strategic Risks, Co-Founder of the Center for Climate and Security
Interview with James Howard Kunstler, Former Editor at Rolling Stone Magazine and Author
Interview with Julian Langer, Eco-Anarchist/Pessimist, Dark Green Environmentalist & Author
Interview with Michael Ginsberg, Doctor of Engineering Science Candidate at Columbia University
Interview with Nathan Edmondson, Co-Founder of EDGE, a Counter-Poaching and Conservation Organization
Interview with Benjamin Von Wong, Hyper-Realist Art Conceptual Photographer and Winner of the Content Branded Mastermind by Adweek
Interview with Kelly Huibregtse, Pediatrician, Photographer & Founder of A Side of Sweet
Interview with Rebecca Metz, American Actress, FX Better Things, Showtime Shameless, Disney Channel Coop & Cami Ask the World
Interview with Mark Steines, Former Entertainment Tonight Host & National Geographic “Animal ER Live” Host
Interview with Dr. Walter Schindler, Founder of SAIL Capital Partners LLC & Board of Directors of Fulbright Canada and Chairman & CEO of Transformation LLC
Interview with Andrea-Rachel Parker, the Actress “Bernice” on the Critically Acclaimed HBO Series “The Deuce” and “Destiny” on STARZ’s “Power”
Interview with Amy Rebecca Wilde, Founder of Vegan Scene & Fashion Line Legends & Vibes
Today, I’m joined by Dr. John La Puma M.D., a board-certified internal medicine doctor, a professionally trained chef and urban organic farmer. He is also the founder of ChefMD, and of AGreenRx.com, a nature therapy and media company, improving your personal well-being from soil to shelf.
Today, I explore multi-junction (MJ) photovoltaic cells that are neither first or second generations. Multi-junction solar cells have multiple p-n junctions made of different semiconductor materials to produce an electric current in response to different wavelengths of light.
Today, I’m joined by Manthan Sha, a Gen Z founder of the Kin Organization and International Table Tennis Medalist. He is currently a college freshman at the School of Global Management in Singapore.
Today, I’m joined by James Ellsmoor, an award-winning serial entrepreneur and writer, bringing to life his passion for sustainability and renewable energy. At the age of just 26, he is Co-Founder and Director of Solar Head of State, an international nonprofit working with governments in the Caribbean and Pacific islands to raise awareness of renewable energy through high-profile solar installations. He was recognized on Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 List in 2017.
Today we talk about single junction cells or p-n junctions. We can think of them as the basic building blocks that possess the essential properties for modern electronics.
I explain different solar cell technologies, starting with commercial modules that are typically installed on residential and commercial rooftops.
Today, I’m joined by Mialana Boutte’-DeSoleil, an Internationally Awarded Fashion Artist and Textile Technologist.
Today, I will go more in-depth into the solar spectrum to explain why not all sunshine is the same. Sometimes we think in terms of that city or region is sunnier than other parts of the country so therefore it’s ideal for solar panels.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Tal Ronen, President & Co-Founder of the YKCenter, a partnership of subject matter experts and senior executives that create and incubate innovative initiatives that accelerate the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Today, I will talk about the concept of band gap energy. Just because it’s sunny outside doesn’t mean that it’s the right type of solar spectrum to generate electricity.
Today, I’m joined by Tia McGraff is an internationally-renowned, award-winning Americana/singer-songwriter and author. She and her husband and musical partner Tommy Parham have been performing, songwriting and recording together for more than 12 years to sold-out shows around the world. They have received international acclaim for their release of Crazy Beautiful and radio play on such notable shows as Bob Harris Country on BBC Radio 2 in the UK.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Dr. Ngonidzashe Chirinda, a climate change scientist at the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia. He is a lead author for the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. His current research is on developing and evaluating feasible climate change mitigation options in agriculture. During the past 15 years, he has worked in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. He is originally from Zimbabwe.
Sometimes when we talk about climate change and the need to replace fossil fuels with clean energy, what we don’t realize is that we’re making big decisions on very little information. We can protest, march and demand changes but if we are not armed with detailed knowledge, it’s kind of like skydiving without a parachute. We may unknowingly be asking for something that could cause more harm, economically unsound, politically unachievable or simply naive.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Frostee Rucker, an American football defensive lineman entering his 13th season in the NFL who is currently in his first season with the Oakland Raiders. He is a well-respected veteran defensive end and most recently played five seasons for the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Rucker has also played for the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. According to a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers concluded that Hurricane María tripled tree breaks and doubled tree mortality relative to other major storms. The paper shows the potential future of forest ecosystems under climate change by analyzing the risk factors associated with tree species’ vulnerability to severe storms. Species with high-density wood were resistant to uprooting, hurricane-induced mortality, and were protected from breakage during Hugo but not María. Tree inventories and a wind exposure model showed that the differences in impacts is due to storm meteorology. The study warns that stronger hurricanes will decimate forests and accelerate climate change.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Dr. Masaō Ashtine, Lecturer at the University of the West Indies who is leading the renewable energy research at the Mona Campus in Jamaica. He is also the co-founder of the Journal of Caribbean Environmental Sciences and Renewable Energy. His research is centerd around environmental sciences, with a specific focus on renewable energy and climate change. At the Department of Physics, his current work is within energy meteorology where he is investigating the impacts of climate change on renewable energy systems, incorporating machine learning techniques that can be used to better model these systems.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. One of the most promising development is that economics of clean energy is making it more compelling to switch. The major reason that power producers switched from dirty coal to natural gas in recent years is because of economics -- the cost of natural gas has become cheaper than coal. Similarly, the key to switching from fossil fuels to clean energy will almost solely depend on the economics -- how quickly we can utilize new technologies to bring down the cost of solar PV, wind farms to compete against coal and natural gas. Stay tuned next Friday as I explore current clean energy technologies and what’s needed to bring down the cost of production. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. There is a fringe 200-member activists group called BirthStrike that believe our planet has passed the irreversible tipping point. The members are choosing to not have children in response to the threat of climate change. The movement recently garnered media attention after Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated that “it is basically a scientific consensus that the lives of our children are going to be very difficult.” She then asked the question if it still ok to have children. The movement is not about population control but a moral decision to have children and raise them on a planet with an uncertain future. What are your thoughts about the movement? Are they taking it too far? Or is this what it takes to grab the attention of the masses for collective action?
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Last week the Tropical Cyclone Idai tore through Mozambique. An estimated 1.85 million people were affected by the cyclone. The city of Beira with its some 500,000 residents is said to be 90 percent destroyed. As many as 1,000 people are estimated to be dead. 3,000 people have been rescued but there are still 15,000 people that are unaccounted for. Some 394 square km or 152 square miles of Mozambique has been flooded.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest that the Midwest flooding could become the worst ever recorded with more 200 million people at risk for flooding. Heavy rain this spring will make conditions worse in most states with moderate to major flooding expected in 25 states up to May, making the worst flood season in US history. According to the National Weather Service, the current flooding is a preview of what’s to come this spring, potentially causing worse flooding than the historical floods of 1993 and 2011. A Department of Defense report from January 2019 warns of risks from climate-related events and the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community also warns that climate change poses extreme weather and floods that are threatening our infrastructure, health and water and food security.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Miri Ben-Ari and her son Dorel. Miri is a Grammy award-winning artist and producer and the Goodwill Ambassador of Music to the UN. Known as the original “The Hip Hop Violinist”, she has collaborated with Kanye West, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Patti Labelle and many more. Among her accolades are a Grammy Award for the “Best Rap Song”, an “Apollo Legend” by the Apollo theater in New York City, “International Jewish Woman to Watch”, the “Martin Luther King Award” from Israeli President, Shimon Peres, “Remarkable Woman” by First Lady, Michelle Obama, “Girl Up Advocate Award” from the United Nations Foundation, and the “Ellis Island Medal of Honor” by Neco. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Today is World Water Day that advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. UN Sustainable Development Goal number 6 states clean water for all by 2030. Clean water is a human right that’s essential for health, safety, sustainable development and society. The UN recognizes that billions of people around the world do not have clean, safe water and tries to educate the public about how to solve the water crisis by addressing the reasons why so many people are left behind. Find out how you can get involved by visiting UN Water. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The IPCC report urgently recommends reducing emission of greenhouse gases by transitioning away from fossil fuels toward clean, sustainable energy. For carbon dioxide removal in the atmosphere, the IPCC suggests reforestation and ecosystem restoration. The process of tree photosynthesis absorbs CO2, stores the carbon and emits clean oxygen. A mature tree can absorb as much as 48 lbs of carbon a year and generates enough oxygen for four people to breathe fresh air. But not everyone believes that planting more trees is the right solution. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The Great Barrier Reef is located off the coast of Queensland in Australia. It’s World Heritage site that spans an area of 344,400 sq km. When floods such as the one that hit in February that brought equivalent of a year’s rainfall in 10 days, the sediment-laden waters make its way from Queensland rivers to parts of the Great Barrier Reef. The dark floodwaters block out light and smother the coral. And without wind and wave to break up the run-off plumes, the dirty water sits there covering the marine ecology. The reef is already under great stress from coral bleaching from warmer sea temperatures. Floods like these will only exacerbate the problem according the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. As much as 80 percent of the world’s marine debris comes from land-based sources such as plastic manufacturers, processors, landfills, sewage overflows and litter. The storm water runoff, wastewater and industrial waste eventually bring land-based debris into the oceans. 60 to 80 percent of all marine debris is plastic. So what can you do? Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Ingmar Rentzhog, the CEO and founder of We Don’t Have Time that aims to create a social media platform for the future, focused on the biggest challenge of our times — the climate. Through the We Don’t Have Time platform, millions of members unite to put pressure on leaders, politicians and corporations to fight climate change. He is a member of The European Climate Policy Task Force within The Climate Reality Project founded by Al Gore. He is also on the Board of Svenska Bostadsfonden, one of Sweden’s largest real estate funds and FundedByMe, a crowdfunding platform. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. In my previous Friday episodes, I discussed the demand and investment appetite for clean energy. But it’s not only renewables that investors are putting their money in. As the world grapples with a second straight year of record hurricanes, floods and wildfires, a small but growing number of hedge funds, pension plans and other investors are looking to invest in climate change adaptation and response. While mitigation addresses the root causes, adaptation seeks to lower the risks from the severe consequences of climate change. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The recent atmospheric rivers or long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that carry concentrated water vapor dumped massive amounts of snow in the Sierra Mountains. Mammouth Mountain in the Sierras received more than 37 feet of snow since winter began. Start of 2019, California’s snowpack was at 67 percent. After the atmospheric rivers, the snowpack has risen to over 136 percent. This is good news for the drought-ridden state of California. In recent years, California has even tapped out its groundwater basins. The snowpack will provide California with much needed fresh water. But it isn’t all good news. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. In the next 60 years, most of the East Coast cities will start feel like the South. And the South will start to feel like Mexico. According to a study in Nature Communications, major cities’ climate will shift dramatically by 2080. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. According to a report from AirVisual that measures 3,000 cities for air pollution, Asian and Middle Eastern countries dominated the top 10 list of most air polluted countries. These cities exceeded the World Health Organization’s annual exposure limit for fine micropollutants. The 100 most polluted cities are in India, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Mongolia, Kuwait, Bosnia, UAE and Nepal. These are also the regions that will birth megacities in the next few decades further exacerbating the problem. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Monica Aksamit who is an Olympic Fencing Champion. She won the team bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympic games in fencing and she is training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. Today is Solar Appreciation Day, which was created to build awareness of the benefits of solar energy and its ability to help create sustainable energy. Solar energy continues to be one of the most popular and cost-effective sources of clean energy. In this multi-series, I explore the investment appetite for clean energy. To gauge investor confidence on the impacts of market and policy changes, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) polled senior-level respondents across the nation’s leading banking institutions, asset managers, private equity firms, and other financial firms. The survey, "The Future of U.S. Renewable Energy Investment: A Survey of Leading Financial Institutions,” reveals a robust market with significant potential to accelerate the renewable sector’s growth. Two-thirds of respondents plan to increase investments more than 5 percent in 2018 compared to 2017, and half plan to increase investments more than 10 percent. Stay tuned next time to find out what other areas investors are looking to invest in climate change mitigation and response. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. For over a quarter of a century, China has been processing the world’s plastic waste. 106 million metric tons or about 45 percent of the world’s plastic have been sent to China since 1992. But in 2017, due to rising concerns about air and water pollution to the environment and its people, China has officially banned all imports of plastic waste. So how is the world managing the situation? According to a Greenpeace study, plastic waste from the U.S. dropped by one third in the first half of 2018 and that other markets have been found in southeast Asia. Exports to Thailand increased by nearly 2,000 percent, Malaysia by 273 percent and Vietnam by 46 percent. This has resulted in a backlash from local residents. A plastic processing facility in Malaysia was forced to shut down due to locals complaining about pollution from processing plastic waste. The 280,000 metric tons not exported and unaccounted for are likely being burned or sent to landfill according to the authors. By 2030, an estimated 111 million metric tons of plastic waste will be displaced because of China’s ban. Many countries lack the infrastructure to properly manage the plastic waste according to a study published in Scientific Advances. For developed nations, it’s often more economical to export plastic waste to other countries rather than recycling them domestically. The U.S., Japan, Germany and Hong Kong are the top exporters of plastic waste. According to some environmentalists, these reports underscores that recycling doesn’t work. We want to believe that recycling is environmentally-friendly and that we’re making a difference yet after our recyclables are picked up, most of it ends up in landfills or incinerators adding to our climate change problem. Stay tuned next time to find out what is the cleanest form of sustainable, clean energy. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. What’s the biggest complaint about owning an electric vehicle? The time that it takes to charge the batteries. There’s a novel way that might allow us to refill batteries at the pump. Researchers at Purdue University and University of Glasgow in Scotland are working on liquid battery technology to enable refillable batteries. So what are these refillable batteries? Instead of charging the lithium ion cells in your batteries for hours, refillable batteries refill the batteries with freshly-charged liquid. Also referred to as flow battery, traditional gas stations can be retrofitted to dispense liquid electrolyte. The time needed to refill the car is the same as filling it up with gas. Flow batteries release energy through chemical reactions between the ends of the battery and a substance known as electrolyte. In a lithium-ion battery, the electrolyte sits between the ends of the battery. When it’s depleted, it has to be recharged. In a flow battery, the electrolyte is pumped from a tank through the battery. When it’s depleted, it can simply be swapped out for a fresh batch. Researchers are working to increase the energy density of flow batteries by creating electrolyte with a high concentration of metal oxide. Researchers were able to create a liquid battery with three to five times the usual energy density by pumping the electrolyte through multiple battery cells at high speed. The old electrolyte can be recycled. So when will we see liquid batteries in the market? According to researchers, they are still several years away from fully commercializing the technology. Stay tuned next time to find out the implication of China refusing to accept plastic waste. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. According to the latest study in the journal Nature Climate Change, the researchers indicated that the statistical confidence that human activities are responsible for global warming reached a five sigma level or the gold standard in the level of statistical certainty. Their study was based on over 40 years of satellite measurements of rising temperatures. Benjamin Santer, lead author of the study at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory shared that he hoped the findings would win over skeptics and spur action. “The narrative out there that scientists don’t know the cause of climate change is wrong. We do.” Scientists indicate the burning of fossil fuels is causing more severe and frequent floods, droughts, heat waves and rising sea levels. The call to action is louder than ever, in order to slow down climate change we need to cut greenhouse gases. We need to stop burning oil, gas and coal and transition to clean energy. Stay tuned next time to find out how refillable, flow batteries will allow us to recharge electric vehicles by filling them at the pump. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Ed Roman, a Canadian Indie rockstar and an award-winning singer and songwriter. Ed is a 2014 Artists Music Guild Award Nominee, a 2014 and 2018 International Music and Entertainment Association Award Winner, a two-time 2015 IMEA Award nominee, a 2015 and 2016 Josie Show Awards winner, an Akademia Awards Winner, and a two-time Indie Music Channel Award winner. Ed also won a 2017 Radio Music Award for Best Americana Artist and he is a December 2018 Billboard Magazine Emerging Artist. His latest album “Red Omen” has been shown at film festivals around the world. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Earlier this week high winds battered much of the East Coast, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, thousands of flight delays and cancellations, and even ice tsunami that pushed walls of broken ice onto the shores of Lake Erie. Wind gusts of hurricane force — 74 mph (119 kph) — or higher were reported around the region, including West Virginia and New York. While on top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, 144 mph (231 kph) wind was recorded. Residents in Ontario witnessed 25 to 30 feet tall ice mounds piled up on their properties. Piles of broken-up ice blew unto shore because of 60 miles an hour gusts that hammered the region around the Great Lakes. According to the Weather Channel, there are several reasons spring is the most active weather season. Spring is still a snowy time of the year. Tornado activity in the lower 48 states begins to increase in March before peaking in April, May and June. River flooding often occurs in spring in places such as the Ohio Valley, Mississippi Valley and other part of New England. Gusty winds often accompany strong spring storms. The windiest time is early spring with March being the windiest for the East Coast and the Plains. And finally, spring is known for its changing temperatures with up and time temperatures due to strong low-pressure systems moving through the central and eastern states that draw warm air ahead of them into the northern area of the country. Later in spring, the atmosphere becomes less prone to wild temperature swings. In the meantime, brace yourself out there. Stay tuned tomorrow as I discuss investment appetite for clean energy. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. So is there investment appetite for renewable energy? In this multi-part series, I explore the strength of clean energy investments. On the supply side, some energy producers are investing in renewables. Shell has allocated as much as 8 percent of their capital budget or $2 billion to renewable energy projects, roughly four times what competitors BP and Total SA spend. CEO Van Beurden is questioned on the wisdom of pivoting away from oil & gas, Shell’s bread and butter, but he doesn’t see another option. If demand for oil & gas falls in the next decade as predicted, Shell would shrink if he doesn’t diversify. For other energy companies, they are doubling down on oil & gas. Spurred by wind and solar sector growth, investment in America’s renewable energy industry exceeded $40 billion in 2017 according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and is tracking close to the same amount in 2018, showing surprising resilience despite policy headwinds. While the industry’s continued growth looks strong, some analysts expect renewable energy installations will decline in the 2020s, putting the U.S. at risk of falling behind other nations that are investing heavily in renewables and the jobs that come with them. We are hitting a pause, when we should be doubling down on the energy system – and the energy economy – of the future. Fortunately, a new financial sector survey shows strong confidence that U.S. renewable energy projects will continue to increase in attractiveness compared to other investment portfolio asset classes, and cumulative U.S. private investment in renewable energy could reach up to $1 trillion between 2018 and 2030. Stay tuned next Friday as I continue to elaborate on the investment appetite for renewable energy. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Today is International Polar Bear Day, an annual event that raises awareness about the impact of climate change and thinning sea ice on polar bear populations. As I shared on my February 14th flash briefing, things are not looking great for polar bears. The ongoing loss of their sea ice habitat is forcing polar bears to desperately look for food elsewhere, pushing them closer to human villages and cities. Some estimates put two-thirds of the global population of polar bears could be wiped out by 2050. The day encourages people to find ways to reduce their carbon output, such as by turning down their thermostat, driving less or installing energy efficient insulation in homes. But, I would challenge you to further. Every little thing helps but to really make a difference, it requires changing our source of energy. As long as we continue to burn fossil fuels to generate electricity, power businesses and cars, nothing is going to change. Make a commitment to buy clean energy and/or invest in clean energy. Listen to my “Fridays with Scott” episodes to learn how you can get involved in increasing clean energy. Remember, turning down the thermostat or walking more helps but to turn the tide in climate change, it requires an overhaul in our energy production. Stay tuned next time to find out why it’s been so windy lately. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Do you live in Florida or have a vacation home? In a few years you might find yourself literally under water. More than half the population of 100 Florida cities live within 4 feet of the local high tide line. Global warming has raised global sea level about 8 inches since 1880, and the rate of rise is accelerating. Across the country, nearly 5 million people live in homes at less than 4 feet above high tide. Between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sea level is estimated to rise between three to seven feet by 2050. According to Harold Wanless, the Chair of the Geology Department at the University of Miami, the rate of sea level rise is currently doubling every seven years, and “that we have to take seriously the possibility that we could have 15 feet by then.” So what can be done? One mitigation is to protect marshlands. Florida has more wetlands than any other state. Florida’s marshlands are in danger from invasive grasses and from invasive rodents called nutria. Wetlands are highly valuable because they absorb flood water, help reduce the impact of coastal storms by absorbing wave energy, filter out pollution and provide habitat for wildlife. And for salt marshes to persist despite rising waters, they must grow at a rate equal to or greater than the rate of sea level rise. Florida Governor Rick Scott recognizes the real danger of rising sea level to the very existence of Florida. That’s why he and his environmental regulators are trying to protect lands within marsh migration corridors so wetlands have places for the marshes to migrate into the future. Stay tuned next time to find out what you can do to help on International Polar Bear Day. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Seth Schultz, the founder of Urban Breakthroughs, a consultancy focused on climate change and cities. He is an advisor to organizations such as the Global Covenant of Mayors on Research & Innovation, the Coalition for Urban Transitions, the Global Commission on Adaptation and leading global engineering firms. This past year, he was the Co-Chair of the Scientific Steering Committee for CitiesIPCC and served as a lead author on the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 Degrees. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. Last Friday, I talked about consumer demand for clean energy. Today, I am going to cover renewable energy demand from industries. Google Data centers are a large source of carbon emissions. According to a recent report in the journal Nature, data centers use 200 terawatts of energy a year—roughly 1 percent of global electricity use. And that’s why Google with its massive data center infrastructure, 14 in total around the globe, have been carbon-neutral since 2007. They are able to achieve this by reducing its energy demand, including the use sophisticated AI algorithms for energy optimization, by buying renewables to match its use of non-renewable energy, and finally through other carbon offsets. In 2017, Google purchased 3 GWs of wind and solar to offset their energy use, allowing the company for the first time to match 100 percent of its energy use with renewables. It was the first year it was able to buy enough clean energy to offset all its data center energy consumption. The message is clear. There is demand for renewables but there isn’t enough supply. This is a common theme across many sectors. Walmart Walmart is embracing 100 percent renewable energy by 2020. They want to scale renewables by driving the production of procurement of 7 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy globally by 2020. They want to accelerate efficiency by reducing the energy per square foot required to power their Walmart stores by 20 percent versus their 2010 baseline. Walmart’s renewable energy activities are focused on three core objectives: Development and installation of new renewable energy projects at scale Driving down the cost of renewable energy Securing cost-effective, stable renewable energy pricing that meets or beats utility power pricing EU The European Union announced a plan to go totally carbon neutral in 30 years. It still requires EU member nations to adopt in 2020. The holistic plan includes strategies ranging from increasing the amount of electricity generated by solar and wind farms to 80 percent to investing in energy efficiency measures like improved building insulation to cut down on heating and air conditioning. Germany, for instance, is considering closing coal power plants by 2038. There’s another great reason for transitioning to clean energy. Solar employs more workers than traditional energy sectors. The U.S. Department of Labor recently underscored the job-creation potential by reporting that solar PV installers and wind turbine service technicians are the nation’s two fastest growing occupations. Stay tuned next Friday as I discuss investment appetite for clean energy. And to learn more, visit
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Waiter, can I have some more water, please? He offers you more water but with one caveat. It’s full of microplastics. Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic debris resulting from the disposal and breakdown of plastic products and industrial waste. Groundwater make up about a quarter of the drinking water supply worldwide. It’s also what’s used to bottle water, make beer and wine. Because of their geology, groundwater aquifers are highly porous so they easily absorb contaminants from the surface above. Researchers from the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and Loyola University Chicago collected 11 groundwater samples from an aquifer near St. Louis and six others in northwestern Illinois. Only one sample came back microplastic-free. The researchers speculate the tiny plastic fibers they found are coming from household septic tanks, perhaps carrying runoff from laundry loads. Clothes have previously been identified as a key source of microplastic pollution, with each wash potentially releasing hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic fibers. In this latest study, the highest concentration of plastics found in a sample was around 15 particles per liter. The researchers didn’t just find microplastics in the water. They also found medicine and household contaminants, supporting the idea that the particles originated in household septic systems. Another study from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) warned that the impact of microplastics in soils, sediments and the freshwaters could have a long-term negative effect on our ecosystems throughout the world. These reports remind us that our local water supplies are highly vulnerable. And whether microplastics enter our drinking water or fish in the ocean, they eventually make their way back to us. Stay tuned next time to find out why protecting our marshlands could save lives and billions of dollars in coastal damage. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Another hard days work. You just want to relax with your favorite beer and watch a game. But what happens if your beer starts to lose its great taste? To make great beer, you need water, yeast, hops and barley. Almost 142 millions bushels of barley are produced for beer making but barley is fragile. They need just the right amount of water and cool temperatures. Storms can destroy crops overnight. Climate change is unbalancing the art of making great beer. There are more droughts, heat waves or overall warmer temperatures. In these conditions, barley yield goes down as much as 95 percent. The starch level goes up, making the sugar water that gets fermented into beer too gloppy. The proteins in the seeds increase. There’s not enough starch to make into beer. And there’s not enough enzyme to break down the starch into sugar to feed the yeast. According to research, this could lead to the price of beer to double and decrease in worldwide beer consumption by 16 percent. And the worse part is that beer just won’t taste the same. Even the beer companies are taking steps. They’re developing barley genes that can withstand less rain and 100 plus degree temperatures. Anheuser-Busch InBev director of global barley research comments, “The climate today drives disease pressure, drives environmental stresses and they will change in the future. As climate changes, we have to be ready for that so we have good barley production.” For wine lovers, the situation is the same. So if you love beer or wine, the solution is to move away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy in order to slow down the effects of climate change. Stay tuned next time to find out why your beer, wine, table salt and drinking water might be contaminated with microplastics. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. You or someone in your family is bound to be afraid or creeped out by bugs. Don’t you sometime wish we didn’t have to deal with mosquitos, spiders and cockroaches? There are more insects than all the fish in the oceans and the livestock on land. They outnumber us by a factor of 17. Whether you’re a fan of insects or not, they play a critical role in our ecosystem. According to a report in the Biological Conservation, 40 percent of all insect species may be endangered over the next several decades. About 41 percent of all insect species have seen population declines in the past decade. The researchers indicate that we are witnessing the largest insect extinction event on Earth since the late Permian and Cretaceous periods. Studies suggest that the causes of insect declines are not tied to particular habitats but affect common traits shared among all insects. The researchers attribute this to habitat loss as a result of human development, deforestation and expansion of agriculture; pollution from pesticides, fertilizers and industrial wastes; parasites and pathogens; and climate change. Why are insects so important? Researchers warn that the loss of insects have a catastrophic impact on our planet as insects are the foundational base of many of the world’s ecosystems. When insects go extinct, other species soon follow. It begins to jeopardize the entire food supply. Stay tuned next time to find out why your favorite beer might be in jeopardy. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to the Monday Climate Change Interview with Scott Amyx. Today I’m joined by Nick Troutman who is a World Champion whitewater kayaker and outdoor enthusiast. He is the World Freestyle Kayak Champion, North American Champion, Bronze Medalist at the World Championships, and 3x Canadian National Champion. He has descended numerous waterfalls including the Niagara Gorge. Nick has been featured in Nomads: National Geographic and Rush HD TV. Listen to the full episode on . Stay tuned next Monday for another great guest interview. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. In this multi-part series on clean, renewable energy, I will layout the demand for renewables, investment appetite for clean energy, economic forces to switch to renewables, a high-level framework for large-scale energy production and advancement in technologies that will help increase energy output while decreasing costs. Stay tuned next Friday as I discuss demand for renewable energy from industries and the EU. And to learn more, visit
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Happy Valentine’s Day! Who doesn’t love polar bears, right? But what happens when dozens of hungry polar bears come to your town looking for food? About 50 Arctic polar bears have invaded the little town of Belushya Guba, located on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago stretching in the Arctic Ocean. The Russian officials in the region have declared a state of emergency. One local official commented, “I have been in Novaya Zemlya since 1983, but there have never been so many polar bears in this area.” Polar bears have entered homes and businesses. Some have chased local residents, taken over playgrounds and feasted on garbage. The local residents are scared to leave their homes or let their children go to school. So why are the polar bears invading this remote Arctic town when they should be hunting seals on sea ice? According to the World Wildlife Fund, it’s because of ongoing loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change. According to a study in the journal Nature, the Arctic is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Arctic sea ice is declining at a rate of nearly 13 percent per decade. The U.S. Geological Survey warned that two-thirds of the global population of polar bears could be wiped out by 2050 because of thinning sea ice. Polar bears are literally dying from starvation. Keep listening to this Climate Change series to find out how you can make a difference. Stay tuned next time to find out why we shouldn’t rejoice about bugs going extinct. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Recent poll from the George Mason Center on Climate Change Communication in conjunction with Yale indicated that 72 percent of respondents said that climate change is personally important, which marks an all-time high since the poll began in 2008. 69 percent of Americans are worried about climate change and 65 percent believe that climate change is affecting the weather in the U.S. The lead researcher commented, “American have been subjected to an aggressive climate change disinformation campaign for decades. The fact that most American can see the effects of climate change with their own eyes is one of the reasons why more and more Americans are seeing the disinformation campaign for what it is, an effort to deceive us.” This, of course, has been the proactive lobbying by oil & gas special interests to discredit climate change science. Politicians who are the beneficiaries of generous campaign contributions have become the mouthpieces for the fossil fuel industry, as witnessed, by the recent White House nomination of former oil lobbyist David Bernhardt to run the Department of Interior in order to open up public U.S. lands to oil and gas drilling and mining. In another poll by the AP and the University of Chicago, they also found high percentages of Americans accept the science of climate change. However, the polls also show that many lack understanding on how serious the issue is or what it will take to reverse the trend. Many economists and policymakers support carbon tax but material change to climate change will not happen until we can channel capital to large-scale clean, renewable energy. When asked if respondents would be willing to pay an extra dollar a month on their utility bill to combat climate change, 57 percent agreed. But when asked to pay $10 a month, the support dropped to 28 percent. The willingness to pay and the sense of urgency among the general public is still lacking according to researchers. So how can we convey the seriousness and urgency for the public to take action? Stay tuned next time to find out why polar bears are terrorizing a Russian island town. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Rising sea levels pose serious risk to institutional real estate investment. New York City, San Francisco and other major cities around the world represent a large share of total investment and carry a heavy weight in institutional real estate portfolios. Almost all are major coastal cities with their business districts are close to sea level. Coastal cities and their real estate markets face considerable risks from rising sea levels. Given significant portfolio allocations to these markets, institutional real estate portfolios have considerable exposure to climate change. According to a study by Four Twenty Seven, a research firm, looking at the total value of properties in the top 50 metropolitan areas in the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries Property Index or NPI, more than 24 percent of the NPI value is in metro areas whose central cities are among the 10 percent of cities most exposed to sea-level rise. This amounts to more $130 billions of real estate. 67 percent of the NPI’s value or $360 billions is in metro areas whose primary cities are among the 20 percent most exposed in the U.S. On a global scale, institutional investors such as pension funds, mutual funds and insurance companies currently invests a combined $2.53 trillion in real estate. According to industry tracker Preqin, 499 institutional investors have $1 billion-plus commitments in real estate. But what happens as climate change destroys trillions of dollars in real estate and coastal cities? Who will lose out? All of us. It’s our retirement savings and investments that are managed by pensions funds, insurance and investment companies. We have the most to lose. Stay tuned next time to find out the results from a recent poll on Americans’ perception of the seriousness of climate change. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. So what is this Green New Deal that we’re hearing about? Well first it’s not new. The term Green New Deal first appeared in 2007 when Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the New York Times wrote: “If you have put a windmill in your yard or some solar panels on your roof, bless your heart. But we will only green the world when we change the very nature of the electricity grid -- moving it away from dirty coal or oil to clean, renewables. And that is a huge industrial project -- much bigger than anyone has told you. Finally, like the New Deal, if we undertake the green version, it has the potential to create a whole new clean power industry to spur our economy into the 21st century.” Friedman’s article was then taken up by the Green New Deal Group who wrote their report in 2008 and eventually the United Nations Environment Programme, Green Party and now certain Democrats such congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey are bringing it to mainstream. If we look at the latest report from the organization Data for Progress, authors Greg Carlock and Emily Mangan, here is their blueprint: Transform to a Low-Carbon Economy 100% clean and renewable electricity by 2035 Zero net emissions from energy by 2050 100% net-zero building energy standards by 2030 100% zero emission passenger vehicles by 2030 100% fossil-free transportation by 2050 Stay tuned next Friday as I go deeper into the how. And to learn more, visit
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. According to a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Antarctic glaciers have been melting at an accelerating pace, almost sixfold, over the past four decades due to warmer ocean water. The researchers predict even faster sea level rise in coming decades. The Antarctic lost 40 billion tons of melting ice from 1979 to 1989. That figure jumped to 252 billion tons lost per year beginning 2009. The bottom line is that Antarctica is losing a lot of ice and there are many vulnerable areas across the East and West Antarctic, with few signs of slowing as oceans grow warmer. The findings are the latest sign that the world could face catastrophic consequences if climate change continues. Scientists have already predicted that seas could rise nearly three feet globally by 2100 if the world does not decrease burning fossil fuels. Stay tuned next time to find out how climate change could affect your retirement funds. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. According to a new study in the journal Science, the oceans are heating up 40 percent faster on average than a UN panel estimated five years ago. The research indicates that ocean temperatures have broken records for several straight years. One of the important aspect about the oceans is that it’s absorbing 93 percent of the heat trapped by the greenhouse gases we pump into the atmosphere. If the ocean wasn’t absorbing as much heat, the surface of the land would heat up much faster than it is now, endangering us from a rapid extinction. But that comes at the hefty price of killing the marine ecology, rising sea levels and creating more frequent, destructive hurricanes and floods. A fifth of all corals have already died in the past three years. If we do not take global action to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels, the researchers indicate that ocean warming alone would cause sea levels to rise by about a foot by 2100, and the ice caps would contribute more. That would cause profound damages from severe coastal flooding and storm surge. Stay tuned next time to find out how quickly Antarctica is losing ice. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change flash briefing. Did you or someone that you know experience last week’s harsh winter storm in the Midwest? The arctic cold outbreak last week will go down in history as the coldest, shattering all-time cold records. It created wind chills as cold as minus 60s below zero. But how you explain such a cold winter in a world that’s getting warmer? Normally the polar vortex or a deep mass of frigid air spins in the Arctic but sometimes the mass of cold air becomes weak and wobbles out of it polar home. When the vortex is disturbed, the cold air can spill out into regions populated by people in North America and Europe. There are many reasons that could affect polar winds such as weather patterns, storms or other disturbances but one major change is the dramatic warming events called sudden stratospheric warming which splits the polar apart and pushes the vortex to the south where people live. This weakening of the polar vortex and the subsequent spillover of frigid air has become more common over the last two decades. Scientists believe that Earth will experience more extreme weather as the effects of climate change play out. A study in the journal of Nature Communications last year indicated that the Arctic warming trend will lead to more frequent severe winter weather in the northeastern portion of the U.S. Stay tuned next time to find out about the latest research on rising ocean temperatures. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott”. The bully who smashed my nose I just want to be able to leave the air vent open Watch out! It’s the Yellow Dust Dirty air affects us all The Clean Energy > Clean Planet challenge And to learn more, visit
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The 2017 Hurricane Harvey is tied with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cyclone on record, inflicting $125 billion in damage. One of those affected was Samuel Saldivar. He was trying to bring his elderly parents and his brother’s four grandchildren to safety from their flooded home when his van was tossed into the water by a strong current as they crossed a bridge. Samuel managed to escape through a window but his parents and the four grandchildren died in the submerged van. As global temperatures increase, we will see more intense and frequent hurricanes. One idea to weaken hurricanes is to place offshore wind farms in the oceans to suck the energy out of hurricanes and to force them higher into the sky, resulting in less rainfall and less destruction when they make landfall, all the while generating clean energy. Today’s wind farms often switch turbines off during high winds, so current wind farms aren’t a good defense against hurricanes. But wind turbines scheduled to hit the market by 2020 may be strong enough to withstand hurricane winds. Stay tuned next time to find out why well-intended climate change policies are not slowing down global warming. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. I’m a native Californian but I love the East Coast. Even during hot summer days, there’s almost always patches of clouds to block the burning sun. The next idea for reducing global warming involves blocking the sun so that Earth is less warm. It’s called geoengineering. It involves spraying particles into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight in order to reduce global temperatures. The hope is that it’s enough to slow down the more severe consequences of climate change. Harvard scientists plan to launch a high-altitude balloon into the stratosphere and release a small cloud of calcium carbonate. Then air flow would disperse the particles by 1 kilometer long and 100 meters in diameter. However geoengineering isn’t without concerns. Some studies suggest that spraying large amounts of particles into the atmosphere could cause unintended consequences to crops and weather patterns. A UC Berkeley research indicates that the net benefit of geoengineering might not be worth it. Covering the sun would mean less crop yield; less food production. Their recommendation for combating climate change is to address the source: burn less fossil fuels. It means we need to produce enough clean energy to wean off oil & gas and coal. Stay tuned next time to find out what technology might be able to slow down hurricanes. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. One of my favorite activities is to walk in a forest. Something about being in nature among trees is so rejuvenating. The air is clean and all your worries simply disappear. So when it comes to climate change, don’t you wish having cleaner air was as simple as planting more trees? Unfortunately, we are spewing CO2 faster than our planet can absorb. So what technologies can combat climate change? One idea is called Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage. Essentially, it involves growing certain crops that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then burning them at power stations to create energy, while capturing the CO2 when they are burned and then safely storing them underground. This process is considered carbon negative in theory. But there are issues. To make a dent in global emissions, we would need land that’s bigger than India to grow these crops. That’s land that would not be available for growing food or trees for absorbing CO2. Then there's the question of how much water is needed, and how much carbon is released by converting land for growing these crops. Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage along with tree planting sound great but hard to implement in scale. We need a better solution. Stay tuned next time to find out how scattering dust in the atmosphere might reduce global warming. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change flash briefing. My wife has always liked SUVs. It’s able to carry more people. She feels safer because it’s larger, heavier and and she’s seated up higher. It’s good for winter driving. It turns out that she’s not the only one enamored with SUVs. There is an unstoppable appetite for SUVs worldwide. The rugged, off-road, gas-guzzler that America invented and the world now wants to drive are increasing global carbon emissions. Thanks to rising income level and lower gas prices, drivers in China, Australia and other countries are ditching their smaller sedans for bigger cars. For the first time, SUVs and crossovers made up more than one in three cars sold globally last year, almost tripling their share from just a decade ago. But there’s a big downside to driving SUVs. Transportation accounts for an estimated 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with cars and trucks making up the biggest share. The global SUV boom is a roadblock towards cleaner cars. Why? SUVs are also less likely to go electric soon, with only a handful of full electric SUVs in the market. There are technical hurdles to powering a larger car with batteries, and the perception among many automakers is that drivers of SUVs value power and performance, and they don’t want to be limited by the range of batteries. In the meantime auto makers are discontinuing smaller cars and sedans and ramping up their SUV lineup. Fortunately for us, I was able to convince my wife to get a hybrid electric vehicle and we’re loving it for all the right reasons. Stay tuned next time to find out about technologies that can combat climate change. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. The main focus of this program is about taking action. Making history together. To solve the climate change crisis in our lifetime. It’s about flexing the power of the crowd across the globe. When we as a crowd engage, there isn’t anything that we can’t accomplish. A story worth sharing The kid with his foot wedged in an escalator Lighting struck our house Don't water the grass Someone will save us, right? ALS Ice Bucket Challenge It's time to act Stay tuned next Friday as I discuss how clean energy can lead to a cleaner planet. And to learn more, visit .
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. At the recent Climate Change Summit in Poland, the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait -- all major oil producing countries -- blocked the full endorsement of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. As oil producing nations, they are doubling down on oil & gas, even if it means at the expense of our environment, the lives of hundreds of millions of people and the very survival of our future generations. Stay tuned next time to find out how we as consumers are contributing to global emissions. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Oil & gas players cannot see beyond their short-term profits. And their economic self-interest forbids diversification away from oil and gas into renewable energy. For oil & gas special interest groups, they perceive renewable energy and climate change policy as a threat to their very existence. For OPEC member countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Venezuela, they live and die by oil and gas. Since 2008, commodity price of oil dropped precipitously into the $30s and did not recover until the 2011 Libyan Civil War. Then during the 2014 - 2017 oil glut, the OPEC Reference Basket plummeted to $22.48/bbl in January 2016. Venezuela never recovered. According to U.N. figures, some 2.3 million Venezuelans — almost 7 percent of the population — have left their homeland over the past two years amid economic devastation and political havoc. Other estimates place the number at closer to 4 million. Stay tuned next time to find out which countries blocked the adoption of the UN climate change report at the recent Climate Change Summit. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. When you think of the largest oil producers, you naturally think of Russia, Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations. Yet, as of 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. became the biggest producer of crude oil in the world, thanks to the U.S. shale oil boom in the Permian Basin of West Texas. The U.S. is on target to reach nearly 12 million barrels per day according to EIA data. Fracking unlocked vast sums of oil and natural gas that had been trapped underground and drilling costs declined dramatically, making the U.S. resilient and competitive relative to OPEC nations. According to Reuters, estimates put the break-even point for fracking at around $50 per barrel, but other estimates put it as low as $30 per barrel, making it more profitable and commodity market resilient than traditional oil drilling from wells. With such strong economic interests, it’s becoming difficult to steer the ship away from fossil fuels to clean energy. Stay tuned next time to find out how economic self-interest is making diversification away from oil and gas to clean energy difficult. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Why was the recent Climate Change Summit held in Katowice (Kata-vi-ssa), Poland? Because the region is heavily dependent on coal. The region’s 5 million people in over 70 cities rely on the lifeblood of its coal industry. COP24’s president Michał Kurtyka, a state secretary in Poland’s Ministry of Energy, remarked that bringing the climate summit to Katowice was a strategic decision to exhibit a city and region in need of transition away from coal. In Poland coal still accounts for almost 80 percent of electricity generation. The current White House administration is in alliance with old industries such as coal, oil and gas, and steel and promoting these special interest groups as a way to bring back mining and manufacturing jobs. Stay tuned next time to find out how the U.S. became the world’s largest global producer of oil. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The problem of cutting emissions is that it leads to difficult economic choices. A growing global economy inevitably stokes more energy demand. The continuing growth in global emissions is happening even though renewable energy sources are growing. It’s just that they’re still far too small. According to Global Carbon Project research authors, “Solar and wind are doing quite well but in China and India, the solar and wind are just filling new demand. Solar and wind are nowhere near big enough yet to replace fossil fuels.” The issue is that of supply-side capacity. Stay tuned next time to find out why the world is so dependent on oil, gas and coal. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. A UN-backed scientific panel found that nations have barely a decade to take unprecedented actions to cut emissions in half by 2030 to prevent the worst consequences of climate change. In the next 12 years, it’s estimated that global warming could increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 degrees in Fahrenheit. By year 2100, the U.N. estimates as much as 3 - 5 degree Celsius rise or 5.4 - 9.0 degrees Fahrenheit. The Fourth National Climate Assessment, co-written by hundreds of scientists, finds that climate change is already increasing damage to the U.S. That was followed by another report detailing the growing gap between commitments made at earlier UN conferences and what is needed to steer the planet off its calamitous course. Even China’s top planning agency admitted that three regions -- Liaoning in the northeast Rust Belt and the big coal-producing regions of Ningxia and Xinjiang in the northwest have failed to meet their targets to curb energy consumption growth and improve efficiency last year. Stay tuned next time to find out why cutting emissions is so hard. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. One common factor across developed and developing countries has been the continue rise in the consumption of oil in the transportation sector. In EU, the amount of fuel used for flights and road transport has surged by 4 percent. In the U.S., fossil fuels used in cars rose by 1.4 percent. According to researchers, people are driving bigger petrol and diesel cars such as SUVs, and traveling more than before. UN Secretary General António Guterres at the COP24 climate conference commented, “Even as we witness devastating climate impacts causing havoc across the world, we are still not doing enough, nor moving fast enough, to prevent irreversible and catastrophic climate disruption.” Stay tuned next time to find out the dire warning from the UN climate change report. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The Fourth National Climate Assessment report suggests that by 2050, the U.S. could see as much as 2.3 additional degrees Fahrenheit of warming. A record-warm year like 2016 would become the norm. By that same year, in a worst case scenario, coral reefs in Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific territories could be bleaching every single year, leading to destruction of the marine ecology in those regions. Key crops such as corn, wheat and soybeans would see declining yields as temperatures rise. Depending on the pace of emissions, Phoenix, Arizona, which experiences about 80 days with over 100 degree temperature in a given year could see between 120 and 150 days of burning temperature every year by the end of the century. Stay tuned next time to find out who is most vulnerable to climate change effects. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Who will face the most suffering from climate change? Society’s most vulnerable, including lower-income and other marginalized communities according to researchers. In a worst-case climate-change scenario, the Fourth National Climate Assessment finds that labor-related losses by the year 2090 as a result of extreme heat — the kind that makes it difficult to work outdoors or seriously lowers productivity — could amount to an estimated $155 billion annually. Deaths from temperature extremes could take an economic toll of $141 billion per year, while coastal property damage could total $118 billion annually. Stay tuned next time to find out why there is an unmitigated growth of carbon emissions. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. According to a study by the Global Carbon Project, a booming global market for cars helped drive CO2 emissions to an all-time high in 2018. The main factor in the near 3 percent rise has been the increased use of coal in China, driven by government efforts to boost a flagging economy. In 2017, global emissions grew 1.6 percent. The rise in 2018 is estimated to be 2.7 percent globally. The increase would bring fossil fuel and industrial emissions to a record high of 37.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. The growth in emissions is coming from nearly 5 percent increased emissions in China and more than 6 percent in India along with growth in other nations. Emissions by the U.S. grew 3.4 percent in 2018, the biggest increase in 8 years, while EU countries declined by just under 1 percent. Stay tuned next time to find out which sector’s unabated appetite for oil is only rising. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, the report draws a direct connection between the warming atmosphere and the resulting changes that affect our lives, communities, and livelihoods, concluding that the evidence of human-caused climate change is overwhelming and continues to strengthen, that the impacts of climate change are intensifying across the world, and that climate-related threats to our physical, social, and economic well-being are rising. The report finds that the continental U.S. already is 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it was 100 years ago. The oceans are on average nine inches higher and we are experiencing far worse heat waves than 50 years ago. Stay tuned next time to find out what an additional 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit could mean for us. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. According to a research published in the journal Nature, Greenland’s ice sheet is melting faster than in the last 350 years and driving sea levels up around the world. The authors of the study found a 50 percent increase in total ice sheet meltwater runoff vs. the start of the industrial era, and a 30 percent increase since the 20th century. In July 2012, it was so hot in the Arctic that nearly the entire surface of the Greenland ice sheet turned to slush. Scientists have concluded that the hot 2012 summer capped off 20 years of unprecedented increases in meltwater runoff from Greenland. And the melting is speeding up even faster than air temperatures warm. A complete melting of Greenland’s mile-thick ice sheets would dump seven meters or 23 feet of extra water into the world’s ocean. The contributing factors to sea level rise are thermal expansion of the oceans, melting of temperate glaciers, Greenland, and Antarctica. The sea level will not rise uniformly everywhere on Earth. However, coastal and island regions will experience widespread coastal flooding. Further effects are higher storm-surges and more dangerous tsunamis and hurricanes, displacement of populations, loss and degradation of land and damage to coastal cities. Stay tuned next time to learn about the findings from the Fourth National Climate Assessment. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. California had the most destructive and deadliest wildfire season on record with a total of 8,527 fires burning an area of 1.9 million acres, the largest amount of burned acreage recorded in a fire season. The wildfires have caused more than $3.5 billion in damages. 98 civilians and 6 firefighters were killed. Increased fire susceptibility were attributed to increase in dead trees that gave more fuel to burn longer and stronger and compounding atmospheric conditions such as increased temperatures, less rain, and increased dryness that raised wildfire risk. Also since the 1990s, over 43 percent of new residences have been built in wildland-urban interface zones. The wildfires drastically increased air pollutants during the height of the July and August fires. Air quality indexes surpassed 200 in the unhealthy region -- the air so thick with smoke it ranked among the dirtiest in the world and health warnings prompted widespread school closings. Short-term exposure to wildfire can spur a lifetime of asthma, allergy, and chronic lung diseases. Stay tuned next time to find out how quickly sea levels are rising. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. This winter in the East Coast has felt more like a mild Fall rather than a snowy winter. Warmer average temperatures and lots of rain. Some North Carolina residents, for instance, have yet to recover from 2016 Hurricane Mathew when Hurricane Florence in September dumped more than 30 inches of rain. Tens of thousands of homes were flooded. A few weeks later, Hurricane Michael brought even more rain to North Carolina with winds of 155 mph, knocking out power to thousands and causing massive flooding. Hurricane Michael was among the strongest hurricanes on record to strike across the Southeast. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA, the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season produced 15 storms (compared to the average 12 storms), including 8 hurricanes of which two -- Florence and Michael -- were Category 4. What was the cause? The Atlantic ocean temperatures warmed up sooner in August and remained warm into September and El Nino didn’t form as the models predicted, which would have a suppressing factor on the season. In September, a tropical cyclone or three simultaneous hurricanes -- Florence, Helene and Isaac -- formed in relatively close proximity and timing in the Atlantic. Central North Atlantic had record-warm ocean temperatures and also record-weak vertical wind shear, contributing to the overall strength of the hurricane season. Stay tuned next time to find out why the West Coast had the deadliest and most destructive wildfires on record. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. What are some of the top causes of stress? Money, relationships, self-image, and traffic. So how can you reduce stress in 2019? ✦ Is your work-life balance out of whack? If you’re working long hours or working in a job that you hate to pay for a bigger house, better car, and more stuff, you will always be stressed. Consider consuming less and living below your means. It has a direct impact to your carbon footprint and your happiness ✦ Relationships take a lot work. Yet, we have so many distractions. We rather spend hours on Instagram, YouTube or Netflix rather than catching up regularly with our loved ones. By allocating more time for our family and friends, we not only reduce our carbon footprint and energy use but strengthen our relationships ✦ Are you not happy with the way you look in the mirror? Consider regular exercise, more walking, and eating a plant-based diet. Not only does it help you to feel and look better but it reduces climage change impact. Even JAY-Z and Beyonce challenge people to adopt a plant-based diet indicating that “We all have a responsiblity.” ✦ Do you hate traffic? Do you find yourself stressed behind the wheel? Take public transportation. It not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions, you can destress, relax, and even catch up on sleep. Stay tuned next time as we explore the severity of climate change. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. How does spending more time with family and friends help fight climate change? ✦ Quality time with family and friends generally mean that we are using less energy -- unplugging from our phones, TVs, computers, and other electronics ✦ Traveling together. Instead of driving alone, we’re sharing time with loved ones by carpooling, taking public transportation or walking and sightseeing ✦ We are likely to consume less, waste less, and enjoy life more. Instead of obsessing over shopping, it helps us to focus on life’s simple pleasures such as spending time in nature, being with loved ones or making a difference for others, which gives us more purpose, belonging, and happiness than buying and consuming. Stay tuned next time to find out how making choices to help save the environment can reduce stress in your life. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Consumerism driven by compulsive consumption habits is the biggest force behind global extractions that are environmentally damaging and depleting resources at an alarming rate. As the novelty of Christmas gifts wear out, what happens to those things? It collects dust or it’s thrown away. The current economy of extract, make, dispose model of production is accelerating climate change. So how can you spend less money that also helps save the planet? ✦ Adopt a circular economy approach in which waste, emission, and energy use is minimized by reusing, repurposing, recycling, and upcycling. That also means buying used before buying something new ✦ Embrace the shared economy by using, sharing or borrowing everything from a car, bicycle, spare bedroom, equipment to small items ✦ Reduce emissions and save money by driving less. Take public transportation, walk or bike whenever possible. Also consider driving a less polluting vehicle. Choose a hybrid and electric car over a gas guzzling SUV to save money and to help the environment ✦ Purchase less food to reduce food waste. 40 percent of food in the U.S. is never eaten but simply wasted. Stay tuned next time to find out how spending more time with family and friends helps fight climate change. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. It turns out that a plant-based diet not only helps you to lose weight and be healthier but it also helps the environment. Switching from a meat-based diet to a plant-based diet: ✦ Lowers carbon footprint from greenhouse gas emissions from livestock ✦ Conserves water. It takes 1,000 gallons of water to produce just one gallon of milk ✦ Slows deforestation. Animal agriculture consumes a third of arable land and is a major contributor to deforestation ✦ Reduces water pollution. Many outbreaks of E. coli infection such as in romaine lettuce have been associated with water contaminated with animal manure According to the UN, meat products are hundreds of times more water intensive to produce than plant foods. Stay tuned next time to find out how spending less money and saving more can help the environment. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. As we look forward to 2019, here are some of the most popular new year’s resolutions: ✦ Lose weight, and eat at home more ✦ Spend less money and save more ✦ Spend more time with family and friends ✦ And reduce stress The great aspect about these goals is that almost every one of them have a direct correlation to how we can help fight climate change. Our daily decisions, in aggregate, can help alleviate climate change effects. Stay tuned next time as we explore how your new year’s resolutions can help planet Earth. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Due to water pollution, clean drinking water is becoming scarce in many parts of the world. Pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture jeopardize our clean water sources. And agricultural runoff and other land-based pollution are causing massive coral bleaching and killing our marine ecology. Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef faces permanent destruction through coral bleaching. Stay tuned next time to find out what new year’s resolutions you can make to help our planet combat climate change. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Food companies are moving away from plastic packaging and pesticides to organic and vegan foods and even meat producers recognize that the future will be animal-free, clean meat. Tyson, for instance, invested in an Israeli clean-meat startup called Future Meat Technologies. The startup is able to manufacture zero carbon footprint, non-GMO clean meat from animal cells in a lab without the need to raise or slaughter animals. Stay tuned next time to find out how pesticides and fertilizers are polluting our drinking water and the ocean. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. In recent years, it’s been all about organic foods. Now, veganism may be going mainstream. Consumers are making a stand against climate change, animal welfare and unhealthy lifestyles. Big grocers like Tesco and Sainsbury have launched vegan lines. And apparently, it’s good for business. U.K.’s biggest grocer - Tesco - sold over 4 million packaged vegan meals in just 33 weeks and sales are expected to grow. Stay tuned next time to find out how startups are enabling us to eat real meat but with zero carbon footprint. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The average person in the U.S. eat 271 lbs of meat per year, more than any other country on the planet. Worldwide, 60 percent of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions come from farm animals. Cows use 83 percent of the energy from agricultural land but only represent 18 percent of the calories that we intake. So how can you reduce your carbon footprint during the holidays? Avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth. Just start with one meal. Stay tuned next time to find out the latest trends in food. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. So what happens to all the plastic after the holidays? Only 14% of all plastic packaging is recycled and vast quantities escape into the environment. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, if the current trend continues, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, almost 1 billion tons of plastic. So which countries are the best recyclers? Germany, Austria, followed by South Korea and Wales. They recycle between 52% and 56%. Stay tuned next time to find out how what you eat affects the environment. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing, wishing you a Merry Christmas. The average U.S. consumers will spend $794 on Christmas gifts this year. In total, Americans would have spent $1 trillion. But what happens to all the packaging after Christmas? If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet. If every family wrapped 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. Stay tuned next time to find out which country has the best recycling rate. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Is Christmas Eve feeling warmer than usual? Winters will become warmer in every city by 2050. Almost 3 to 4° warmer in most U.S. cities. And usually cold cities in the north and east will be similar in temperature to today’s southern cities. Expect more extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, severe rainstorms, hurricanes, and floods. Stay tuned next time to find out what man-made items will exceed the number of fish in the world’s oceans by 2050. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.
This is the inaugural episode of the Climate Change Flash Briefing. The purpose of this flash briefing is to give you the latest news on climate change and breakthrough innovations that can be used to fight climate change! Widespread climate changes are causing extreme heat, severe drought, uncontrollable wildfires, and catastrophic hurricanes and floods. In the Climate Change Flash Briefings, you will learn about the Latest findings and reports on climate change How we as consumers are changing in response And new technologies and innovations to combat climate change Tune in for the next Climate Change Flash Briefing. And to learn more, visit ScottAmyx.com