The Climate Brink

The Climate Brink explores the intersection of climate science, impacts, and solutions. It addresses global warming, debate dynamics, technological advances, and policy challenges. The content spans atmospheric phenomena, CO2 management, economic and social ramifications of climate denial, and the tangible effects of climate change on weather patterns, natural disasters, and emissions strategies.

Climate Science Climate Change Impacts Climate Change Solutions Technological Innovations in Climate Mitigation Climate Policy and Economics Natural Disasters and Extreme Weather Debate and Communication in Climate Science Carbon Management and Emissions

The hottest Substack posts of The Climate Brink

And their main takeaways

A primer on atmospheric rivers

904 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change Global Warming
  1. Atmospheric rivers are low-level jets of air that carry huge amounts of water vapor.
  2. When atmospheric rivers hit California, they can lead to extreme rainfall due to orographic lift.
  3. Climate change is making atmospheric river events more intense by increasing the precipitation from these systems.

Revisiting the hot model problem

845 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Global Warming Climate Impacts Decarbonization
  1. Recent developments and data do not support the idea that the climate is more sensitive to emissions than previously thought.
  2. Certain climate models have high sensitivity to CO2, but community reviews have suggested narrowing down the range of climate sensitivity.
  3. The exact climate sensitivity estimates can vary across studies, but regardless, the priority remains the urgent need to decarbonize our society.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Brace for impact: The case for Category 6 hurricanes

353 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Hurricanes Climate change
  1. A new study suggests the need for a Category 6 hurricane classification due to intensified storms from global warming.
  2. Hurricane intensity is not solely about wind speed, as factors like storm surge and rainfall play a significant role in damage.
  3. Adding a Category 6 could provide better information for emergency planning, but some argue the current scale already covers the impact.

Expanding liquefied natural gas: A bad, short-sighted strategy

412 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate Policy Renewable Energy Fossil fuels
  1. Expanding LNG infrastructure may reduce emissions short-term by displacing coal, but it locks in higher emissions in the long run.
  2. U.S. consumers now pay global prices for natural gas due to increased LNG exports, exposing them to international price fluctuations.
  3. Exporting LNG compromises U.S. energy security, as global pricing allows foreign powers to influence prices and threaten economic stability.

Thermodynamics of air capture of carbon dioxide

864 implied HN points • 01 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Thermodynamics Carbon Capture Global Warming Energy consumption Climate solutions
  1. Thermodynamics helps us understand the energetics of processes and evaluates their effectiveness.
  2. Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology can play a significant role in reducing atmospheric CO2 levels beyond traditional emissions reduction methods.
  3. Implementing DAC technology requires a massive amount of energy, emphasizing the importance of finding climate-safe energy sources.

The rapidly shrinking carbon budget

569 implied HN points • 26 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change Global Emissions
  1. The global carbon budget is shrinking, meaning we have less time to limit warming to 1.5C or 2C.
  2. To meet climate goals, global emissions must reach zero by specific years, which may be challenging.
  3. The carbon budget is a dynamic target that requires rapid reductions in emissions to avoid overshooting temperature targets.

Canadian wildfires and climate change

550 implied HN points • 08 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Wildfires Climate change Future Impacts
  1. Canadian wildfires are being affected by climate change, with hotter conditions and fuel aridity making fires more likely and destructive.
  2. Climate change is not the only factor worsening wildfires, as a history of wildfire suppression has primed forests for catastrophic fires.
  3. Scientific literature shows a strong link between climate change and wildfires, with warmer conditions leading to more fire incidents.

Warming in the pipeline: Decoding our climate commitment

569 implied HN points • 22 May 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change Emissions Scientific research
  1. Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have a long-lasting impact on warming the Earth because they remain in the atmosphere for a really long time.
  2. There's a scientific question about future warming if emissions stopped today, known as 'warming in the pipeline', with varying viewpoints based on assumptions.
  3. Different assumptions made in calculations determine whether there will be little warming in the coming decades or significant warming over thousands of years, emphasizing the long-term effects of greenhouse gases.