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Global Climate Action Summit puts stress on action

This has been a big week for advocates who fight climate change. Business leaders, mayors, governors and activists from around the world rallied in San Francisco at the Global Climate Action Summit to advance their agenda in the face of a defiant White House.

California Gov. Jerry Brown issued an order Monday announcing the goal to eliminate carbon emissions in the state within 27 years. He also just signed a bill into law, making the state’s electricity completely emissions-free by 2045. Brown signed as the White House reportedly enacted another policy to stymie such efforts, this time by relaxing methane emission regulations.

For advocates pressuring big pension funds, companies and investment firms to deploy their money with the environment in mind, a good return looks to be the best motivator.

California Fires, Floods, Droughts: “It’s Getting More Real Now” Jerry Brown Says In Climate Interview

California Gov. Jerry Brown has made renewable energy and climate change a centerpiece of his final term, which ends in January. This week, he co-hosts the “Global Climate Action Summit”in San Francisco. Thousands of scientists, political leaders, business representatives and celebrities from around the globe are arriving all week for the event, which is designed to continue momentum at local levels — despite indifference from the Trump administration — to expand renewable energy and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that scientists say are warming the planet and leading to more wildfires, heat waves, droughts, floods and other problems. Brown discussed the issues in an interview with Paul Rogers, resources and environment writer for the Bay Area News Group.

Outlook Grim But Not Hopeless As Climate Summit Convenes In San Francisco

This week corporate and civic leaders from around the world will gather in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit. The effort was spearheaded by Gov. Jerry Brown to move the fight against global warming beyond the national commitments made in Paris nearly three years ago. “Look, it’s up to you and it’s up to me and tens of millions of other people to get it together to roll back the forces of carbonization,” says Brown in a promotional video for the summit.

Why Some Water Managers Are Unprepared For Climate Change

Water Utility Managers in California are far from unified in their use of climate change science to guide decisions, according to a recent study from the University of California, Davis. And as a result, they may be putting water supplies at risk. The study’s authors were interested in finding out what was happening on the ground, right at the local utility level. They interviewed 61 water managers across the state, ultimately dividing them into three groups based on how they engage with climate information.

Global Warming, El Nino Could Cause Wetter Winters, Drier Conditions In Other Months

So here’s the good news: Despite fears to the contrary, California isn’t facing a year-round drought in our warming new world. However, UC Riverside Earth Sciences Professor Robert Allen’s research indicates that what precipitation the state does get will be pretty much limited to the winter months—think deluge-type rainfall rather than snow—and non-winter months will be even dryer than usual, with little or no rain at all. “It is good news,” Allen said. “But only relative to the alternative of no rain at all.”

Hundreds Of Fish Die In Malibu Lagoon; Scientists Suspect Unusually Warm Water To Blame

California officials are trying to solve a stinky mystery: A die-off has left hundreds of fish floating in a recently restored lagoon on the tony Malibu coast. Scientists believe the Malibu Lagoon die-off, which began last week, is likely caused by unusually warm water temperatures, said Craig Sap, superintendent of California State Parks’ Angeles District. “We had many days in a row of warmer-than-usual temperatures. We hadn’t had much of a breeze down there to keep the temperatures down,” Sap said Monday.

Climate Change Will Be Deadlier, More Destructive And Costlier For California Than Previously Believed, State Warns

Heat waves will grow more severe and persistent, shortening the lives of thousands of Californians. Wildfires will burn more of the state’s forests. The ocean will rise higher and faster, exposing California to billions in damage along the coast. These are some of the threats California will face from climate change in coming decades, according to a new statewide assessment released Monday by the California Natural Resources Agency.

Climate Change Is Helping Crank Up The Temperatures of California’s Heat Waves

California suffered through its hottest July on record, while August has pushed sea-surface temperatures off the San Diego coast to all-time highs.

Are these punishing summer heat waves the consequences of global warming or the result of familiar weather patterns?

Highest Ever Water Temperature Recorded Off San Diego

Water temperature readings off the coast of San Diego on August 9 are believed to be the highest ever measured in California waters.

Two buoys off the coast logged a sea-surface temperature of 81.3 degrees Fahrenheit, surpassing an earlier high temperature set on August 2. The two buoys, the Torrey Pines buoy, located 7.3 miles from the coast, and the Scripps Neashore buoy, located about a mile offshore, are managed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California

81-Degree Reading Likely Sets Record For Highest Temperature Ever Measured in California Waters

Two buoys off the coast of San Diego last week recorded what researchers believe could be the highest temperature ever measured in California waters.

A sea-surface temperature of 81.3 degrees was logged Thursday by both the Torrey Pines buoy (7.3 miles offshore) and the neighboring Scripps Nearshore buoy (.7 miles from the coast). The buoys are two of 25 managed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.