When Weather Becomes Climate By Daniel Brouse Earth functions as a single interconnected system, and climate is one of its defining components. For much of modern science, climatology focused primarily on identifying individual causes and effects. Today, that focus has expanded toward understanding the behavior of the entire Earth system. The dynamics of complex nonlinear […]
Category Archives: Global Warming
Climate Change Today
Spoiled Soil
by Daniel Brouse Spoiled Soil What Is Happening to the Dirt Beneath Your Feet? Most people think of soil as nothing more than dirt. In reality, healthy soil may be one of the most important—and overlooked—parts of Earth’s climate system. Unlike the atmosphere, oceans, or glaciers, soil is alive. A single handful of healthy soil […]
Wildfire Smoke, Climate Feedbacks, and Ecological Paradoxes
by Daniel Brouse Wildfire Smoke, Climate Feedbacks, and Ecological Paradoxes: The Dual Impacts of Atmospheric Aerosols on Terrestrial and Marine Systems Abstract Wildfire smoke is an increasingly important variable in understanding climate impacts, ecosystem responses, and agricultural productivity. Prolonged smoke exposure can significantly reduce incoming solar radiation, creating a “sunblock” effect that suppresses photosynthesis, delays […]
Climate Change and a Backyard Produce Experiment
by Daniel Brouse Climate Change and a Backyard Produce Experiment: Results Through July 2026 Production Results Produce Production Plums Excellent Cherries Poor Apples Poor Tomatoes Below Average Raspberries Poor Potatoes Average Beans Average Introduction The results of this backyard produce experiment closely reflect the climate-related agricultural challenges affecting Southeastern Pennsylvania through July 2026. The region […]
The Two Sides of the Climate Crisis: Consumption and Production
by Daniel Brouse Climate change is often discussed as a problem of emissions, but emissions are the result of two interconnected forces: consumption and production. Q: What are the greatest drivers of climate change?A: Consumption and production. At present, I would rank our addiction to consumption and ecofascism as the two most significant drivers of […]
The States with the Biggest Climate Footprints Aren’t the Ones You Think
by Daniel Brouse When most people think about greenhouse gas emissions, they picture sprawling cities, crowded highways, and millions of people flipping on lights and air conditioners. It’s no surprise, then, that states like California, Texas, Florida, and New York usually dominate lists of greenhouse gas emissions. But those rankings tell only part of the […]
State Your Climate State
Estimated Consumption-Based Climate Footprint (tCO₂e per person per year) Rank State Estimated Footprint Primary Drivers 1 Wyoming 28–31 Large homes, long travel distances, fossil-fuel lifestyle 2 Alaska 27–30 Heating, aviation, imported goods 3 North Dakota 25–28 Energy-intensive lifestyle, heating 4 Texas 24–27 Large homes, automobiles, air conditioning 5 Louisiana 23–26 Cooling demand, transportation 6 Oklahoma […]
The Composite Climate Responsibility Index (CCRI): A Lifecycle, Population-Normalized Framework for Measuring State-Level Climate Responsibility
by Daniel Brouse The Composite Climate Responsibility Index (CCRI): A Lifecycle, Population-Normalized Framework for Measuring State-Level Climate Responsibility Abstract Greenhouse gas accounting has traditionally relied on territorial emissions—the greenhouse gases emitted within a political boundary. While this approach provides a standardized framework for national and subnational reporting, it systematically underestimates the climate responsibility of fossil […]
Oil: A Slippery Slope (Literally and Figuratively)
Oil is one of those subjects that’s surprisingly slippery—both physically and economically. Most people know prices go up and down, but few realize that even storing oil comes with limits. Take the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). It’s often treated like a giant underground gas tank that can be drained and refilled at will. Not […]
Accounting for Climate Responsibility
by Daniel Brouse Comparing Two Approaches to Measuring Humanity’s Climate Footprint Climate responsibility depends on how emissions are assigned. Traditional territorial accounting attributes emissions to the country where they occur, but globalization has made that approach increasingly incomplete. Modern supply chains, international trade, and service-based economies often separate where emissions are produced from who ultimately […]