Climate Point: California hit 100% renewables, almost. And mega-drought yields surprise

Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and the environment. I'm Janet Wilson in Palm Springs, California.

People love round numbers, and are intrigued by a murder mystery. Turns out that includes environmental stories. Clean energy advocates were jubilant on Saturday when California's energy grid tracker showed renewables were available to supply 100% of its power demand for the first time — ever. The milestone lasted mere minutes, and late Monday the system operator said they'd doublechecked and found a record-setting 99.87% of demand was available from renewables — just shy of 100%.

But environmentalists who've pushed for 20 years to get the state off dirty coal and gas supplies still see it as a big win. Their next goal? Pushing the state to use full renewables years sooner than the legal mandate of 2045.

“California has shown that, for one brief and shining moment, we could do it! It's time to move to 100% clean energy, 100% of the time," said Environment California director Laura Deehan. 

Wind and solar production also topped coal and nuclear power for the first time in the U.S. in April, based on federal data analyzed by an energy policy institute. 

Then there's the alarming news that Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, is just a third full due to a historic mega-drought exacerbated by climate change. Its plummeting levels are the likely reason for skeletal remains discovered in a barrel on newly exposed shoreline of Lake Mead. Homicide investigators say the person was shot and their body dumped in the late 1970s to 1980s, based on their limited-edition shoes.

The headlines are blips compared to decades of carbon dioxide pumped onto the atmosphere with increasing catastrophic consequences. But they grab the attention of folks who might not notice the bigger story otherwise. 

Here are some other stories that may be of interest.

What could help. Dwindling bank accounts or leaking boats, pick whatever metaphor you'd like, but the build-up of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere must be reversed, experts say. Myriad techniques are being explored, reports USA Today's Dinah Voyles Pulver in an overview of the pros and cons of everything from storing carbon in soil and trees to sucking it directly out of the air.

Tree power. Tasmania has become one of the first parts of the world to become not just carbon neutral, but carbon negative, by substantially reducing logging. Australian researchers drilled down into carbon emissions data and found  a "significant drop in native forest logging" around 2011 began a downturn in carbon emissions. But logging of Tasmania's forests has long been a highly divisive issue, reports Katri Uibu with ABC News Australia, with the current government aiming to restart the industry.

Clear cut. Globally, the Earth is still losing its forests at an alarming rate. A new report from the World Resources Institute analyzed satellite imagery with the University of Maryland to record global forest loss in 2021. Among its findings, reports USA Today's Kyle Bagenstose:

• The tropics — including Central Mexico to Brazil and Argentina, and much of Africa and Southeast Asia — lost 27.5 million acres of tree cover, equal to about 14 football fields per minute. That released enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to match the emissions of India, the world’s third highest greenhouse gas emitter after China and the U.S.
• In the north, the mostly evergreen Boreal Forest ringing much of Russia and Canada  also experienced its highest tree loss, led by 16.1 million acres lost in Russia due to an unprecedented fire season.

But planting new saplings is no substitute for cutting fossil fuel emissions, experts say. “No one should even think about planting trees instead of reducing emissions from fossil fuels. It’s got to be both, and it’s got to be now,” said Frances Seymour, a WRI fellow.

Heat, drought, storms.

Roasting.  A punishing month-long heatwave across Asia is pushing temperatures in India and Pakistan to as high as 115 degrees. The soaring temperatures are putting millions of people at risk, causing energy shortages, damaging crops and sparking wildfires, writes USA Today's Elizabeth Weise. 

Of particular concern is the loss of India's wheat crop at the same time that Ukraine has lost its harvest due to the war with Russia. Such extreme heatwaves will only become more common in the coming years, said Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London.

Unprecedented. Federal officials on Tuesday said they will take first-ever emergency actions to boost water levels at Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir, which like Lake Mead has shrunk to historic lows. Both are part of the Colorado River system that supplies drinking and irrigation water to 40 million people and farms across the American West. Glen Canyon Dam behind Lake Powell also may not be able to generate power if action isn't taken, per the Los Angeles Times' Ian James.

First, the feds will release more water from upstream on the Colorado River this year, as CNN reports. Second, water will be held back in Lake Powell instead of being sent to downstream states.

The measures are intended to buy the federal government and area communities more time to plan for the possibility the reservoir will soon run out of water amid the West’s climate change-driven megadrought.

Twisted. Severe weather season is in full swing across the central and southern U.S. this week, write USA Today's Doyle Rice and Celina Tebor. Back-to-back storm systems are forecast to lash portions of the regions with thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, killing three meteorology students. Forecaster Evan Bentley described the weather pattern as “absolutely insane.”

Hot takes

Oceanic loss. Unless climate change is curbed, the Earth's oceans could see a mass extinction of marine life unlike anything the planet has seen for millions of years.USA Today

On the move. Climate change is also pushing animals on land to migrate, increasing risks of new pandemics. USA Today

Pipe down. US EPA has nine months to assess whether polyvinyl chloride, also known as PVC or vinyl, is hazardous waste, under the terms of a court settlement this week. The plastic, used in everything from water pipes to toys, has been linked to reproductive risks and cancers. E & E News

Slow going. California's Lithium Valley Commission is struggling, with no staff or funds, even as production of the mineral used in electric vehicles and cell phones is  poised to ramp up.The Desert Sun

And another thing

Buckle up. More frequent freeze and thaw cycles due to climate change likely mean more potholes on heavily used roads in Indianapolis, Boston and other major cities, reports Sarah Bowman with the Indianapolis Star. Just as our bodies may feel stiffer in the winter, as temperatures cool down, asphalt roads become less flexible and more susceptible to cracks. When moisture gets into the cracks and freezes, it expands. Then when temperatures warm a bit and the ice thaws, it contracts. 

As that cycle continues, cracks grow into pockets. Roll 2-ton cars over them, the surfaces crumbles and the edges collapse  — and thus potholes are created. Add increasingly warmer, more erratic winter temperatures to already aging infrastructure, and it means a bumpy ride ahead.

That's all for this week. Keep walking on sunshine, and for more climate, energy and environment news, follow me on Twitter @janetwilson66. You can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox for free here.