Tag: Dr. Roger Pielke Jr

Montana Supreme Court Hears Appeal of Landmark Anti Fossil Fuel Case Won by Youth Climate Activists

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Montana Supreme Court

The Montana Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in the state’s appeal of a case that is so far one of the only successful climate cases of dozens that activists, states, and local governments have filed against government agencies and oil companies.

The case, Held v. Montana, involves 16 young plaintiffs who were organized by the anti-fossil fuel nonprofit Our Children’s Trust to sue the state of Montana for allegedly violating the kids’ constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects in the state without regard to their impacts on global warming.

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Democrats Say Whitmer Ready to Be Nominee and Win Presidency but State Energy Policy Will Be Tough Sell

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Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appeared, with good reason, on Democrats’ short-list of possible 2024 presidential nominees following President Biden’s halting June 27 debate performance.

Whitmer is the governor of a battleground state that is essentially a must-win for Biden and GOP challenger Donald Trump, an abortion-rights advocate in a race in which abortion is a key voter issue, and is known for having worked across the aisle during her roughly 14 years in the state legislature.

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Media Blame Climate Change for Soaring Insurance Rates, but Data Doesn’t Support Narrative

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A tornado touchdown in a neighborhood

Homeowners across the U.S. are seeing skyrocketing insurance rates, increased deductibles, excluded protections, and canceled policies.

Insurers say that they’re having to adjust to changing conditions to remain profitable. Among the problems they blame is inflation, rising construction costs, and costs associated with regulatory compliance. But many insurers are also blaming climate change for driving extreme weather events and increasing losses, and much of the media coverage is zooming in on this narrative.

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Government Watchdog Files Complaint vs. NOAA over ‘Scientific Violations’ in Climate Change Report

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Roger Pielke, Jr.

Protect The Public’s Trust (PPT), a government watchdog group, filed a complaint Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Commerce, requesting an investigation into what PPT says are “apparent scientific violations” in relation to how National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) collects and reports climate-related natural disasters that exceed $1 billion in damages.

Since 1980, NOAA has reported an annual tally of the number of climate-related natural disasters in the U.S. that cause damages exceeding $1 billion after adjusting for inflation. According to NOAA’s calculations, the U.S. averaged 8.5 such events between 1980 and 2023. In the last five years, however, the average reported by the agency is 20.4 events.

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