Climate Change with Scott Amyx

Welcome to “Fridays with Scott” segment of the Climate Change program. One of the most promising development is that economics of clean energy is making it more compelling to switch. The major reason that power producers switched from dirty coal to natural gas in recent years is because of economics -- the cost of natural gas has become cheaper than coal. Similarly, the key to switching from fossil fuels to clean energy will almost solely depend on the economics -- how quickly we can utilize new technologies to bring down the cost of solar PV, wind farms to compete against coal and natural gas. Stay tuned next Friday as I explore current clean energy technologies and what’s needed to bring down the cost of production. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.

This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. There is a fringe 200-member activists group called BirthStrike that believe our planet has passed the irreversible tipping point. The members are choosing to not have children in response to the threat of climate change. The movement recently garnered media attention after Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stated that “it is basically a scientific consensus that the lives of our children are going to be very difficult.” She then asked the question if it still ok to have children. The movement is not about population control but a moral decision to have children and raise them on a planet with an uncertain future.   What are your thoughts about the movement? Are they taking it too far? Or is this what it takes to grab the attention of the masses for collective action?

This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Last week the Tropical Cyclone Idai tore through Mozambique. An estimated 1.85 million people were affected by the cyclone. The city of Beira with its some 500,000 residents is said to be 90 percent destroyed. As many as 1,000 people are estimated to be dead. 3,000 people have been rescued but there are still 15,000 people that are unaccounted for. Some 394 square km or 152 square miles of Mozambique has been flooded.

This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest that the Midwest flooding could become the worst ever recorded with more 200 million people at risk for flooding. Heavy rain this spring will make conditions worse in most states with moderate to major flooding expected in 25 states up to May, making the worst flood season in US history. According to the National Weather Service, the current flooding is a preview of what’s to come this spring, potentially causing worse flooding than the historical floods of 1993 and 2011. A Department of Defense report from January 2019 warns of risks from climate-related events and the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community also warns that climate change poses extreme weather and floods that are threatening our infrastructure, health and water and food security.

Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Miri Ben-Ari and her son Dorel. Miri is a Grammy award-winning artist and producer and the Goodwill Ambassador of Music to the UN. Known as the original “The Hip Hop Violinist”, she has collaborated with Kanye West, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Patti Labelle and many more. Among her accolades are a Grammy Award for the “Best Rap Song”, an “Apollo Legend” by the Apollo theater in New York City, “International Jewish Woman to Watch”, the “Martin Luther King Award” from Israeli President, Shimon Peres, “Remarkable Woman” by First Lady, Michelle Obama, “Girl Up Advocate Award” from the United Nations Foundation, and the “Ellis Island Medal of Honor” by Neco. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.

This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. Today is World Water Day that advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. UN Sustainable Development Goal number 6 states clean water for all by 2030. Clean water is a human right that’s essential for health, safety, sustainable development and society. The UN recognizes that billions of people around the world do not have clean, safe water and tries to educate the public about how to solve the water crisis by addressing the reasons why so many people are left behind.  Find out how you can get involved by visiting UN Water. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.

This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The IPCC report urgently recommends reducing emission of greenhouse gases by transitioning away from fossil fuels toward clean, sustainable energy. For carbon dioxide removal in the atmosphere, the IPCC suggests reforestation and ecosystem restoration. The process of tree photosynthesis absorbs CO2, stores the carbon and emits clean oxygen. A mature tree can absorb as much as 48 lbs of carbon a year and generates enough oxygen for four people to breathe fresh air.    But not everyone believes that planting more trees is the right solution. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.

This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. The Great Barrier Reef is located off the coast of Queensland in Australia. It’s World Heritage site that spans an area of 344,400 sq km. When floods such as the one that hit in February that brought equivalent of a year’s rainfall in 10 days, the sediment-laden waters make its way from Queensland rivers to parts of the Great Barrier Reef. The dark floodwaters block out light and smother the coral. And without wind and wave to break up the run-off plumes, the dirty water sits there covering the marine ecology. The reef is already under great stress from coral bleaching from warmer sea temperatures. Floods like these will only exacerbate the problem according the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.

This is Scott Amyx with today’s Climate Change Flash Briefing. As much as 80 percent of the world’s marine debris comes from land-based sources such as plastic manufacturers, processors, landfills, sewage overflows and litter. The storm water runoff, wastewater and industrial waste eventually bring land-based debris into the oceans. 60 to 80 percent of all marine debris is plastic. So what can you do? Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.

Welcome to the Monday Climate Change interview with Scott Amyx. Today, I’m joined by Ingmar Rentzhog, the CEO and founder of We Don’t Have Time that aims to create a social media platform for the future, focused on the biggest challenge of our times — the climate. Through the We Don’t Have Time platform, millions of members unite to put pressure on leaders, politicians and corporations to fight climate change. He is a member of The European Climate Policy Task Force within The Climate Reality Project founded by Al Gore. He is also on the Board of Svenska Bostadsfonden, one of Sweden’s largest real estate funds and FundedByMe, a crowdfunding platform. Stay tuned next time. And to learn more, visit https://ScottAmyx.com/.