US oil record, climate-weather connection, & Reindeer games

Plus: the Brave Little Toaster gets an upgrade with Biden's new appliance efficiency standards.

Author

George Mazzella
December 23, 2023

Welcome to the Climate Crunch newsletter, where we summarize the four most important pieces of climate change and green transition news for you once per week.

Today’s newsletter covers:

  • The U.S. producing a record amount of oil this year

  • New research connecting rising temperatures to changes in global weather patterns

  • Biden’s new appliance efficiency standards

Plus, in a piece of news that is sure to put a smile on Santa’s face, scientists found that grazing reindeer helps to prevent ice from melting in their tundra habitat.

Credit: Erika Benke

1️⃣ Biden’s oil boom

The U.S. is producing a staggering 21.4 million barrels of oil per day, with crude and condensate output reaching a record level.

S&P notes that the U.S. is now “producing more oil than any country in history” and that U.S. crude output is nearly on the level of Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Some project that Saudi Arabia and other members of OPEC will reduce their oil prices in order to regain market share lost to the U.S. in recent years.

Lower oil prices would be great for consumers and companies alike, but they will also slow the adoption of green energy sources like solar.

2️⃣ Climate - Weather Connection

For the first time, scientists have identified the mechanisms connecting climate change to seemingly random oceanic weather patterns.

Researchers Benjamin Storer, who led the study, said:

“Scientists have long speculated that these ubiquitous and seemingly random motions in the ocean communicate with climate scales, but it has always been vague because it wasn’t clear how to disentangle this complex system to measure their interactions. We developed a framework that can do exactly that.”

3️⃣ Brave Little Toaster gets an upgrade

The Department of Energy (DOE) is updating appliance efficiency standards, targeting items like ceiling fans and refrigerators to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save consumers billions in utility costs.

As part of Biden's climate change agenda, the administration aims to catch up on standards not revised for a decade or more.

The measures are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 2.4 billion metric tons and save Americans more than $570 billion over 30 years.

One of the recent standards involves home furnaces, requiring most new furnaces to be “condensing” models. While more efficient, high installation costs have led leading gas utilities to oppose the new standard due to concerns about "fuel switching" to electric heat.

Despite challenges, the Energy Department continues its reviews of about three dozen energy conservation standards, aligning with its commitment to address climate change through increased energy efficiency.

4️⃣ Reindeer Games

Reindeer in Lapland, Finland, are playing a crucial role in combating the effects of climate change in the Arctic.

Research suggests that the reindeer's grazing helps maintain the reflectivity of snow and ice by preventing the growth of woody shrubs that speed up the melting of snow.

Say thank you to Rudolph.

A study analyzing satellite images in northwest Siberia found that an increase in the reindeer population compensated for the effects of climate change, helping to preserve the tundra habitat.

In areas where reindeer graze, snowmelt is slowed down, preserving the snow cover and its cooling effect.

Long-Read of the Week

Check out this article about naturalist Adam Welz's new book The End of Eden: Wild Nature in the Age of Climate Breakdown for NPR.

Welz's book breaks down the ways that slight changes in temperature or climate can trigger major changes in complex ecosystems, due to altered interactions between different species of animals and plants and their environments.

-the Crunch Bunch