U.S. fuel economy reaches all-time high

The Administration announced that “the average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. hit a record high last year, rising 0.5 miles per gallon over 2012 and averaging 24.1 mpg, nearly 5 mpg higher than 2004 levels. The vehicles tracked include new cars and SUVs sold in the U.S.

Pentagon report emphasizes security risks of climate change and lays road map for how military will adapt and mitigate

The Pentagon has released a report “stating decisively” that climate change is a threat to the national security of the U.S., and asserts that we must act now to adapt to and mitigate climate change.  The release of the 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap illustrates the increasing importance that our Department of Defense is placing on addressing climate change, with our Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, stating in the forward that “politics or ideology must not get in the way of sound planning”.

Election to Cost Nearly $4 Billion, Projects the Center for Responsive Politics, Topping Previous Midterms

This midterm election will be more expensive than any previous midterm election, with candidates and parties spending about $2.7 billion, and outside groups close to $900 million. The CRP projects that Republicans will outspend Democrats overall, with the largest gap in spending coming from outside groups that hide all their donors, where “secretive liberal groups” will have spent roughly $28 million and comparable conservative groups will have spent about $113.6 million.

Audubon’s Birds and Climate Change Report

The Audubon Birds and Climate Report is based on three decades of “citizen-science observations” and predicts how climate change could affect the ranges of 588 North American birds. Hundreds of thousands of these observations resulted in Audubon’s conclusions that “Of the 588 North American bird species studied, more than half are likely to be in trouble.” 

Global economies must lower carbon emissions at five times the levels currently achieved

The PwC, “a network of firms in 157 countries committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services,” released their climate change analysis, which estimates that “global economies need to cut their energy related carbon emissions for every $ of GDP by 6.2% every year from now to 2100. That’s more than five times the rate currently achieved.” 

Climate Change Implications for Nebraska

The UNL Climate Change Study has been released. The assessment raises “serious concerns about how the projected changes in climate will impact Nebraska, and provides a starting point for discussions about the actions that we should take to adapt to the changes in each sector.”