How Fast Can Emissions Fall? : NPR

Biden’s New Climate Goal: How Fast Can Emissions Fall? : NPR

Next week, President Biden will announce a number that could shape the rest of his presidency: a new goal to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

The announcement marks the country's renewed commitment to the Paris accord, the international climate change agreement that former President Donald Trump withdrew from. Environmental groups, scientists and major business leaders are urging the Biden administration to cut emissions 50% by 2030, as compared to 2005 levels.

That target lines up with scientific assessments of the reductions needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. To limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, emissions need to drop to net-zero by 2050. Above that and sea levels rise to extreme heights, heat waves get more intense, and hurricanes and wildfires become even more destructive.

A 50% cut would not be the world's most aggressive target, but it would put the U.S. among the four most ambitious countries. Going back to 1850, the U.S. has pumped more emissions into the atmosphere cumulatively than any other nation.

Still, achieving that target by 2030 won't be simple, requiring both political buy-in and a sweeping deployment of cleaner cars and clean energy sources.

I bet America could cut violent crime by 50 percent too if we enacted enough laws, expanded police powers enough, and built enough jails. Would that be good public policy? That's debatable, but certainly violent crime is a very bad thing.

April 16, 2021 – Looking Ahead This Week

While this weekend won’t be rainy, it will be cloudy and cool. The work week looks a bit nicer.

Weather Summary
This Afternoon.
Feels like …
March 9th.
Rain/Snow is likely and 41 degrees , 7:39 sunset.
Tonight.
Feels like …
April 15th.
Chance of Rain then Chance of Rain/Snow and 37 degrees , 6:09 sunrise.
Saturday.
Feels like …
April 4th.
Mostly Cloudy and 53 degrees , 7:39 sunset.
Saturday Night.
Feels like …
April 18th.
Mostly Cloudy and 38 degrees , 6:08 sunrise.
Sunday.
Feels like …
April 15th.
Partly Sunny then Slight Chance of Showers and 58 degrees , 7:40 sunset.
Sunday Night.
Feels like …
April 21st.
Mostly Cloudy and 39 degrees , 6:06 sunrise.
Monday.
Feels like …
April 24th.
Mostly Sunny then Chance of Showers and 62 degrees , 38 max dew point, 7:42 sunset.
Monday Night.
Feels like …
April 27th.
Chance of Showers then Mostly Clear and 41 degrees , 6:05 sunrise.
Tuesday.
Feels like …
May 12th.
Mostly Sunny and 68 degrees , 38 max dew point, 7:43 sunset.
Tuesday Night.
Feels like …
April 30th.
Mostly Cloudy then Chance of Showers and 42 degrees , 6:03 sunrise.
Wednesday.
Feels like …
April 11th.
Chance of Showers and 56 degrees , 7:44 sunset.
Wednesday Night.
Feels like …
April 10th.
Partly Cloudy and 35 degrees , 6:02 sunrise.
Thursday.
Feels like …
April 11th.
Mostly Sunny and 56 degrees , 7:45 sunset.

Bakerstown Bridge

April 16, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Three weeks to 8 PM Sunset πŸŒ‡ . Snow showers and 34 degrees in Delmar, NY. ❄ There is a north breeze at 6 mph. πŸƒ. The skies will clear Sunday around 6 pm.

It’s so yucky outside, I did not pick a very good day to take off from work this week, and I don’t know if I will be getting north or west this weekend. It was the weekend I had planned, but things have kind of had a monkey wrench πŸ™‰ thrown in them by the weather. That said, maybe it’s for the best, as I’m not really feeling well at this point. Just really tired 😩, I woke up middle of the night last night and couldn’t get back to sleep. Probably too much screentime watching the Youtube, plus I missed both of my walks yesterday. Maybe being off the clock today I can get in a good nap. πŸ›

Today will snow before 8am, then rain and snow likely between 8am and 10am, then rain likely after 10am. 🌧 High of 45 degrees at 5pm. 14 degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 18th. North wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 45 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 2012. 5.3 inches of snow fell back in 1983.❄

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:56 pm with sun having an altitude of 57.6° from the due south horizon (-13.2° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 3.8 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:01 pm with the sun in the west (279°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (285°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:39 pm after setting for 3 minutes with dusk around 8:08 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ At dusk you’ll see the First Quarter πŸŒ“ Moon in the west (264°) at an altitude of 43° from the horizon, 249,928 miles away. πŸš€ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:44 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and temperatures around 44 degrees. There will be a north breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 27 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 46 seconds over yesterday.

I have been super bummed out that I haven’t been able to get out for my walk 🚢‍♀️ with the rain and the shittiness I felt on Thursday after the COVID-vaccine, πŸ’‰ although I finally am starting to recover. After the shower, 🚿 I was feeling better. I really should shower more frequently, but I’ve kind of gotten into that dirty way of living being fully remote with many days with no video meetings. πŸ“Ή That really knocks the shit out of you, but it’s probably better then being in the hospital for weeks on a ventilator. πŸ₯ While I kind of like remote work in the summer months, COVID isn’t nice. πŸ—£ At any rate, I’m hoping to get out for a walk some time today. It looks like rain has stopped for now, but I see more in the distance. πŸ˜€

Tonight will have a chance of rain before 4am, then a slight chance of rain and snow. Cloudy 🌧, with a low of 39 degrees at 4am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 19th. Northwest wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 27 degrees. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1971.

Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy πŸŒ₯, with a high of 53 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 4th. Northwest wind around 7 mph. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning, which became mostly sunny by afternoon. The high last year was 50 degrees. The record high of 91 was set in 2002. 0.3 inches of snow fell back in 1965.❄

Looking ahead to Sunday, a slight chance of showers after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 58. πŸŒ₯ Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Typical average high for the weekend is 59 degrees.

I keep playing this game that the next weekend looks better. πŸ• It’s so obnoxious and it seems like my schedule just gets tighter and tighter lately. πŸ—œ I really want to get out of town, but not just for one night in cloudy and cold weather. 🎣 Maybe I should just plan on another walk out to Five Rivers tomorrow. 🌲 The thing is after all the rain things are going to be super wet and soggy. πŸ‘’ While I have my therapy appointment at 4 PM next Friday, πŸ—£ I could either go north after that or maybe on Saturday and hike first thing then camp. I have a feeling the therapy session could go beyond 5 PM, although it’s close enough to the ramp to the Thruway, and days are getting longer. πŸŒ† I could work up in Speculator, and if the weather is nice enough and snow-free, maybe camp somewhere around Austin Falls for part of work week. πŸ’» I really don’t mind working, sitting next to Lake Pleasant or going to Speculator Library when I need a lot of bandwidth. πŸ“Ά

At any rate, I’m hoping to get to away a little more and work from the Adirondacks before office life returns, 🏣 probably some time in May. 🌺 I was thinking it would be May 1st, similar to what is happening in New York City, but truth be told at this time I have no ideas. I would think they’d have to give us a week or two notice, just because some people have gone truly remote — pretty far from Albany. β›°

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until 8 PM Sunset πŸŒ‡ when the sun will be setting at 8:02 pm with dusk at 8:33 pm. On that day in 2020, we had partly sunny, rain showers and temperatures between 65 and 43 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 67 degrees. We hit a record high of 92 back in 1930.

West