The Climate Buzz

17/09/2025

It's no "natural cycle" folks.

17/09/2025

It's hard to overstate just how off the charts warm the Pacific is right now. The swath of the basin from California to Japan (a HUGE area) from 25N to 60N is ~3F (1.6C) above normal. To put it into math terms that is 6 Sigma/ standard deviations above the mean. I won't bother calculating the chances of this happening against the late 20th century climate - let alone the pre-industrial climate - because the numbers would show it simply could never happen without global warming.
So let's talk about why this is happening. Since the last El Nino a couple of years ago the ocean has been rearranging its warm/cool water, as it typically does as a normal part of it's natural oscillation. (This summer a record ridge/ heat dome was parked over the N Pacific).
But each next time this configuration lines up (warm north Pacific/ cool tropical Pacific) it piles on a higher and higher baseline temperature over time due to greenhouse warming, air pollution reduction, and the feedbacks (clouds & direct insolation) of both. So we end up with the bottom chart which shows the standardized anomaly (departure from normal) is sloping upward at a very unnatural and alarming rate.

14/09/2025

We are excited to welcome Melissa Booth, PhD. to The Climate Buzz this Monday, 9/15, 9am-10am, on Asheville FM.

Melissa is a scientist-turned-science translator, speaker, and educator—on a mission to make science more accessible, trusted, and actionable. She focuses on meeting an urgent need—not just to do the science, but to communicate it in clear, meaningful and memorable messages.

Now she helps scientists and science-adjacent professionals share their work in ways that connect. She speaks, teaches, and trains others in science communication that holds attention, builds trust, and inspires wise action—especially in an era shaped by climate disruption, misinformation, and change. She is the creator and host of Microbes, a 24-lecture video series for The Great Courses, and aims to bridge the gap between science and society—with clarity, story, and substance.

Currently Melissa is an Affiliated Professor at Warren Wilson College where she teaches graduate courses for the Master's of Science degree in Applied Climate Studies

We hope you can tune in this Monday on Asheville FM!
The Climate Buzz is co-hosted by Bob Hanna, Lisa Raleigh (RiverLink), & Brad Rouse (Energy Savers Network). We're committed to sharing the stories, the people, the science, the challenges and the solutions for a warming planet. We hope you can tune in locally on 103.3FM and streamed at www.ashevillefm.org; you can also check out the AshevilleFM App. And don't forget to follow/like us on FB and Instagram to keep up with all the latest climate buzz.

12/09/2025

The Environmental Protection Agency moved on Friday to stop requiring thousands of polluting facilities to report the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases that they release into the air.

The proposal would end requirements for thousands of coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across the country. The government has been collecting this data since 2010 and it is a key tool to track carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that are driving climate change.

Read more: https://nyti.ms/3HWjswR

09/09/2025

The state’s conservatives have for years made environmental action a top priority.

09/09/2025

Food for thought.

The state’s conservatives have for years made environmental action a top priority.

22/08/2025

We are excited to welcome back Kelly Sheehan to The Climate Buzz this Monday, 8/25 9am-10am, on Asheville FM. In addition to being a former co-host of The Climate Buzz, Kelly is the co- director of the Initiative for Energy Justice, a research organization that translates complex energy topics into actionable insights for communities and policy makers. She has been advocating for climate and clean energy solutions for 25 years. Kelly also serves on the community advisory board for EnergizeNC, the state’s solar for all program. We hope you can tune in this Monday on Asheville FM!

The Climate Buzz is co-hosted by Bob Hanna, Lisa Raleigh (RiverLink), & Brad Rouse (Energy Savers Network). We're committed to sharing the stories, the people, the science, the challenges and the solutions for a warming planet. We hope you can tune in locally on 103.3FM and streamed at www.ashevillefm.org; you can also check out the AshevilleFM App. And don't forget to follow/like us on FB and Instagram to keep up with all the latest climate buzz.

21/08/2025

The sad data are in: US loses to China again.

As U.S. coal rises, China’s coal falls. Solar, wind, and HVDC grids reshape China’s future while America digs into the past.

19/08/2025

Nice discussion of how to keep cool without (or with less) AC in the summer. Reminds me of the solar screens that we use in summer on west facing windows that we take down and store in the winter.

2000-year-old ideas are helping keep buildings cool in Seville, Spain. Maybe people back then knew something we don't?

15/08/2025

In Arizona, public health officials warn extreme heat in Maricopa County has led to the suspected deaths of over 400 people so far this summer. August is on track to be Phoenix's hottest on record, with temperatures reaching at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit every day this month except one.
In Alaska,...

13/08/2025