Institute of Climate Studies, USA

September 2026 - Transitions Often Brings Out Creativity, New Ideas and Solutions

The United Arab Emirates [UAE] Is sitting on an enormous pool of oil. They are also selling this oil to the market and making enormous amounts of money. However, they are also investing big money in renewables and have a goal of meeting 35% of their energy needs by solar, battery storage, and nuclear by 2030-31. And, it is on a path to meet that goal. We have all seen photos of photovoltaic [PV] panel installations but this photo of an array of panels stretching into the distance as far as the eye can see is impressive. The article was... Read Full Article

August 2026 - Transitions are Messy and Our Move to Renewables is no Exception

People, businesses, and nations always have had to deal with change. And change is hard and frequently, messy. Over a century ago we had a major transition, and this was a technological one; and it was challenging and difficult for many. Note the photo here from 1900 of 5th avenue in New York City [Credit: Wikipedia]. The caption stated that there is apparently one car visible amidst all the horse drawn carriages. It is estimated that there were over 100,000 horses in the city at that time. Just consider the ramifications of this. Those horses had to be fed, housed,... Read Full Article

July 2026 - The Arctic: Climate Change is Changing the Chemistry … and More

Data show that the Arctic is warming at 2x-3x the rate of the rest of the planet. Increased snow melt on land and loss of sea ice, means more of sun’s energy is absorbed in the water and on the land. The tree line is moving north, and beavers are now seen in areas that they have never been seen before. All of this and more is having a profound impact on the ecology of the region. The permafrost is melting. And there is some chemistry happening too, now that certain elements and materials have been released from the icy... Read Full Article

June 2026 He Is on The Way - El-Nino That Is

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” was published in 1861 and became an American classic. Revere, and other Sons of Liberty members' midnight ride from Boston on April 18, 1775, warned the minutemen that “the British were coming.” This heralded the start of the American Revolution. Today, although the importance may not be quite the same, we have a notable climate event that is shaping up in the Pacific with weather impacts that will occur around the world. According to a recent Press Release on 2 June 2026 by the World Meteorological Organization [WMO], is the statement by UN... Read Full Article

May 2026 - Climate, Renewables, War: Trying to Make Sense of it All

The war with Iran has had enormous consequences, especially on countries that import fossil fuels, mostly oil and natural gas. The reduction of about eleven million barrels of oil per day from the Gulf region has hit the economies of many nations depending on these fossil fuels hard. Globally we consume about one hundred million barrels of oil per day. “The vase is broken, the damage is done,” and “it will be very difficult to put the pieces back together,” per International Energy Agency [IEA] Executive Director Fatih Birol. The whole global supply chain as a result is in disarray.... Read Full Article

April 2026 - Stable Climate: In Balance; Today: Imbalanced

In away our climate is a bit like a checkbook; deposits are made into an account, and then some are dispensed from that account. But in the last 200 years or so, we are depositing more into our climate checkbook and dispensing less. See two images of Earth from World Meteorological Organization [WMO] 2025 report, “State of The Global Climate.” [CleanTechnica 4/5/26.] This is basically a Climate 101 review. See planet image on the left. Incoming solar energy [bright yellow arrow] from our Sun enters Earth’s atmosphere and some remains in or on the planet’s surface. Some[see red arrows in... Read Full Article

March 2026 - Renewables and Electrification: Still Going Strong Everywhere

We need perspective these days and there is a lot happening around the world. Let's take a look at what is happening elsewhere. As much as the White House would like to kill renewables, the momentum in that direction is very much alive in other parts of the world as well as here. Please note the first illustration titled, “Pockets of the Future.” It really is a piece of good news. Michael Barnard has put together a paper, and given talks in Canada, which has amazing breadth and depth. The entire presentation, some 15 pages long, with another 14 pages... Read Full Article

February 2026 - Climate Science: “Rise of the Renewables”

No, this is not some new geological era, epoch, or age. No, it is not some science fiction story either. But yes, we find ourselves at a new point in human history where for the first time renewables are the cheapest form of energy to run, … well, just about anything. This is from an editorial in the journal Science on 18 Dec 2025 that goes on to say that Science has selected Rise of the Renewables as its “Breakthrough of the Year”. It goes on to say that “ many of the technologies that have led to this remarkable... Read Full Article

January 2026 - The Arctic Is Changing: The John Franklin Expedition

The year was 1845. Many cartographers and some Arctic explorers in the early 1800’s believed there was a way to sail from Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and Orient by the “Northwest Passage” [NWP]. This ice-free corridor would shorten the time and many miles from a route going around South America or Africa. The eastern portion near the Atlantic Ocean and the western portion near the Pacific Ocean of NWP were known. It was the middle part that was still unexplored and unknown. Captain Sir John Franklin left England on May 19, 1845, with 129... Read Full Article

December 2025 - Weather, Climate and Atmospheric Rivers

Our weather and climate have been terribly busy of late. Let’s remember that weather is what we see outside our window today, while climate is the longer-term change in our weather, typically on the order of 1 -2 decades. Berkeley Earth is a climate research organization based in California that uses data from many sources to assess changes in Earth’s climate. The graph below, “Global Warming by Month,” earlier versions of which have been shown here before, is the most current one available. It gives the current global air temperature data through October and presents it as an “Anomaly” from... Read Full Article

November 2025 - Our Planet Earth is Rare and So Are Many of its Elements

Neodymium. Dysprosium. Samarium. Yttrium. Praseodymium. Gadolinium. OK, this is not a test, you don’t have to really try and pronounce these names. These words are not characters from a Balkan or Gothic mystery novel or story. These are actual elements, like oxygen or hydrogen or carbon, found in the crust of our planet in relatively small amounts. These elements are just a few of the several Rare Earth Elements [REE] that are having an out-sized impact on technologies of importance today and have become indispensable metals in electronics manufacturing. The scarcity of these elements has made them essential components in... Read Full Article

October 2025 - And The Renewable Energy Story Continues: It is Unstoppable

Great Britain [GB], the place where the industrial revolution began in the late 1700's, when coal provided power for trains, new factories making all kinds of energy intensive products and more, has set a record. Through September this year, GB has run on 100% clean energy [electrical power] for a record 87 hours. That is only about 2½ days total, but it is increasing rapidly and moving towards its clean-power target for 2030. According to the website, "resilience" and data from "Carbon Brief," it was just 2.5 hours in 2021 and 64.5 hours in all of 2024 . This 2030... Read Full Article

Latest Updates

A Research Strategy for Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration17 September 2026
WASHINGTON and Woods Hole, Mass. (Sept. 17, 2026)— Marine carbon dioxide removal (CDR) has advanced significantly, with growing research activity,…
CO/2 Reduction Newsletter — Week Ending September 12, 202612 September 2026
Original newsletter by Bob Haar Shared with ICS by Raymond Johnson The following is Bob Haar's weekly CO/2 Reduction Newsletter,…
CO/2 Reduction Newsletter — Week Ending September 5, 20266 September 2026
Original newsletter by Bob Haar Shared with ICS by Raymond Johnson The following is Bob Haar’s weekly CO/2 Reduction Newsletter,…
Effects of Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas Emissions on U.S. Climate, Health, and Welfare (2025)23 September 2025
Prepublication Effects of Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas Emissions on U.S. Climate, Health, and Welfare (2025) The scientific community has been studying…

Climate Data

Mauna Loa monthly mean
427.55 ppm CO₂
August 2026
Monthly means, 2021–2026 · 413.3 to 432.3 ppm
+2.07 ppm in a year — August 2025 was 425.48 ppm
NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory
Global surface temperature, vs the 1951–1980 average
+1.40 °C
August 2026
Annual means, 1970–2025 · -0.10 to +1.29 °C
August 2025: +1.18 °C · 2025 annual mean: +1.19 °C
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Arctic sea ice extent
4.67 million km²
18 September 2026
2026 so far (dark) against the 1981–2010 daily mean (grey)
1981–2010 mean for this date: 6.26 (−25%, 28 years)
National Snow and Ice Data Center

Each reading is taken from the agency that publishes it, on the date shown. Comparisons are calculated from the same published files.