Climate point: Fire, ice and the Doomsday Clock

USA Today

31-01-2025

Climate point: Fire, ice and the Doomsday Clock
The metaphorical Doomsday Clock ticked a second closer to midnight this week and if you'd like to see the world's largest iceberg, you might consider a trip to South Georgia Island.
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to stories about climate change, energy and the environment. I'm Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, coming at you from sunny Central Florida where temperatures have finally warmed into the double digits again. Just kidding. Temperatures climbed above 70 degrees this week, from what felt like single digits to Floridians.
After a second year in a row with the hottest average global temperature on record, the Doomsday Clock kept by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advanced to 89 seconds to midnight this week. That's the closes to midnight since the clock was introduced in 1947 by the University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first nuclear weapons for the Manhattan Project.
'Arms control treaties are in tatters, and there are active conflicts involving nuclear powers,' said Dan Holz, chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' science and security board. Misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories are "a threat multiplier," Holz added.
Ice, Ice Baby
Meanwhile scientists revealed the world's largest iceberg finally broke away from the spot where it had been stuck on the ocean floor for 37 years and began moving. Since last April, the iceberg had been stuck in a rotating water column, but came loose and began moving northeast, according to the British Antarctic Survey.
The iceberg, which has developed stunning arches and caves over time, is moving at the speed pace of a half-mile an hour. At that rate, the 1,400-square-mile floating ice palace could reach the coast of the remote South Georgia Island in two to four weeks. That's about halfway between Argentina and the continent of Antarctic. The arrival of icebergs isn't a new phenomenon for the island, some say it sits in an "iceberg alley."
Path cleared for Hells Kitchen
A California judge has ruled that environmentalists had not proven that a lithium extraction project known as Hells Kitchen was inadequately studied for water supply and air pollution issues. The nearly $2 billion project in Imperial County will mine one of the key components used for electric vehicles, smart phones and many other products in an area where a large underground reserve was found.
Prize pursuit
The Indianapolis Zoological Society announced its six finalists for the Indianapolis Prize this week, honoring animal conservation around the world. The $250,000 prize will be awarded on Sept. 27, but the recipients already have something to be thankful for. Each of the five finalists will receive a $50,000 award.
The six finalists are recognized for their service to protect manatees, kangaroos, orangutans and elephants and the critical habitat each species needs for healthy populations.
Reading the "DJT" leaves
Journalists across the country spent the week trying to follow the rapid action coming out of Washington D.C. We know the words rapid and federal government aren't always used in the same sentence, but President Donald Trump quickly went to work on his goals after the inauguration. The quick-fire announcements have local and state government officials, companies, special interest groups and the public trying to assess exactly what it might all mean for them. While some cheer the actions, others fear the outcome.
In North Carolina, USA TODAY Network reporter Gareth McGrath looked at the potential local impacts of a withdrawn proposal to set limits on some toxic "forever" chemicals.
At the Worcester Telegram & Gazette Henry Schwan explored the president's executive order that called for elimination of the "electric vehicle mandate."
The precise implications of actions taken the first week, remain unclear, but some scientists, lawyers and policy experts told The Arizona Republic that the actions could hurt Arizona's economy and further destabilize the weather patterns that increase the likelihood of storms, fires and infrastructure damage, wrote Joan Meiners.
Higher and Higher
Natural disasters, worsened by climate change and the increasingly vulnerable situations some homes are in, are costly and becoming more of a concern for many.
A group of experts said this week that climate change created a more complex and dangerous recipe for disaster in the California wildfires.. In effect, it was like someone flipped on four light switches all at once and "climate change is making the light brighter," said Park Williams, a professor in the geography department at the University of California Los Angeles.
Over the past decade, homeowners insurance premiums surged from around 8% of the typical mortgage payment to about 20%, writes USA TODAY's Andrea Riquier.
'Yes, we are in a crisis,' said Amy Bach, executive director of the national consumer advocacy group United Policyholders. 'We have the reality of climate change, the inconvenient truth that it's not just some conceptual political debate. It's having an impact and insurance is one of the places where we are starting to feel the pain."
Here Comes the Sun?
Speaking of divining the future, Punxsutawney Phil, that furry but not always accurate ground hog, will be the center of attention on Sunday for the annual Groundhog Day observance. For a fun look at how often his forecasts verify, take a look at this fun graphic.
Read on for more including a fact check on the human contributions to climate change.
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