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This Is the Largest Lake in America

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Source: natem0001 / iStock via Getty Images

The size of lakes is measured by square miles of surface area. Based on this, the largest lake in the world by far is the Caspian Sea at 143,000 square miles. Its shores are in several countries, including Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Iran. 

The second largest lake in the world has a portion of its shoreline in the United States and some in Canada. Despite the Canadian shore, Lake Superior is considered the largest lake in America. This is the best place to enjoy the water in each state.

Lake Superior covers 31,700 square miles. Its shore touches Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Canadian province of Ontario. It is the largest lake in the chain that makes up the Great Lakes, as well as the one furthest north. According to Lake Superior.com, it holds 10% of the world’s surface fresh water and its “3 quadrillion gallons are enough to cover both North and South America under a foot of water.” Its deepest level is 1,276 feet below the surface.

Superior is famous for a number of things, not the least of which is its shipwrecks. The most famous of these is the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in a storm on Nov. 10, 1975. All hands went down with it, a total of 29 men. The incident was popularized by a popular song by Canadian performer Gordon Lightfoot, called “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” which was released in 1976. A total of about 350 wrecks are on record.

The lake was used to move iron ore south for decades. According to the journal Nature: “Undoubtedly the greatest advantage possessed by the United States is that in the Lake Superior region they have the most extensive supplies of cheap and rich iron ores known to exist.”

Lake Superior is the westernmost part of the Great Lakes basin, which includes Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie, some of which empty into the St. Lawrence River.

Although the algae bloom problem in Superior is nowhere near what it is in Lake Erie, where these can cover the western third of the lake at times, the fact that Superior has this issue at all is a sign that pollution has started to affect the lake. These are America’s 50 dirtiest cities.

Click here to see the largest lake in America

When climate change is blamed for everything, does anything matter?

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Source: Doug Pensinger / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

In today’s edition:

— Climate change affecting baseball hitting sounds funny, but it’s not
— The renewable boom faces an immovable grid challenge
— What’s scarier than Sam Bankman-Fried’s hair? Bitcoin pollution
— California zombie lake threatens town, state’s biggest prison
—Atmospheric CO₂ just hit the highest level yet recorded at Mauna Loa

I’m a huge baseball fan and particularly of home-run sluggers like Aaron Judge of the Yankees. I’m in the minority of those who think Barry Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame, having watched him swat dozens of dingers live in his years in San Francisco.

But something about the story of how climate change is making home-run hitting easier this past weekend struck me the wrong way. Yes, climate change ultimately affects everything, and yes, the hotter it gets the thinner the air and easier a baseball travels through it. Headlines like this trivialize the seriousness of the threat, however.

Another story a few weeks ago sought to capitalize on the phenomena by arguing that climate change helped Gwyneth Paltrow’s defense in the skiing accident suit against her. Cute, and I’m sure it got lots of traffic for the news site that wrote it. Probably not as funny to the ski resorts in Europe who did little business this season, though.

It’s natural for humans to make light of big threats. But if we start attributing everything to global warming, then the real work needed to combat the threat will simply be pushed off. Better to view it like we did the Y2K threat that scared everyone two decades ago when 1999 turned into 2000, with fear and a scary deadline to work against, even though that turned out to be a false alarm.

Climate change may turn out to be the ultimate asterisk in the baseball record books, but it won’t mean anything if it becomes too hot to play the games.

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By David Callaway

This City Emits the Most Carbon Dioxide in the World

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Source: TommL / Getty Images

Last year, despite the efforts of some of the world’s more climate-conscious nations, worldwide CO2 emissions hit an all-time high. In 2022, CO2 emissions reached 36.8 billion metric tons, an increase of nearly 1% over the previous year.

Carbon dioxide is an acidic colorless gas. Because it is soluble in water, it can be found in a number of liquids which include oil and natural gas. It is also a greenhouse gas found in the Earth’s atmosphere. Its concentration has increased over time because of, primarily, the burning of fossil fuels. (See how global warming is affecting every state.)

Because humanity has been slow to address climate with the urgency it requires, it is difficult to know how well currently revised plans and good intentions will play out. The best and most grounded national and municipal plans provide for close monitoring and plan revisions, however, allowing for the measuring of progress and the kind of reality check crucial to actual success.

To identify the city with the worst CO2 emissions in the world, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Nangini, C et al. (2019): “A global dataset of CO2 emissions and ancillary data related to emissions for 343 cities,” published in 2017 and available through data publisher Pangaea. Emissions data were collected in each of the cities on this list between the years of 2011 and 2017, in each case the most recent year for which CO2 emissions data is available.

Emissions figures from transport, industrial, waste, and local power plants within city boundaries, as well as emissions (when available) from grid-supplied energy used by cities and produced by power plants outside city boundaries, were also obtained from the study.

The city with the worst CO2 emissions is Tokyo, Japan. Here are the details:

> Total emissions in 2014: 70.13 million tons of CO2 equivalent
> Transport, industrial, waste, and local power plants: 27.61 million tons of CO2 equivalent — #6 most in study
> Grid-supplied energy produced outside the city boundary: 42.52 million tons of CO2 equivalent — #1 most in study
> Population in 2014: 13.5 million

In its climate strategies, Tokyo does not differ greatly from other megacities, struggling more with implementation than with goal setting, but it is making headway on a transportation program that is more novel than most. The city promotes the use of hydrogen fueled vehicles, for which water is the sole byproduct. As of last year, Tokyo had installed 19 hydrogen fueling stations and was employing 70 fuel cell busses.

The research site Sciencing describes the role of carbon dioxide in greenhouse gas emissions:

“Carbon dioxide contributes to air pollution in its role in the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide traps radiation at ground level, creating ground-level ozone. This atmospheric layer prevents the earth from cooling at night.”

This past summer, the UN once again sounded the alarm about the immediate imperative to take action to reduce the emission of heat trapping gases, with the Secretary General calling the report a “code red for humanity.” While it is now too late to reverse climate change, governments can still slow its pace and work to avoid increasingly more devastating consequences.

Countries around the world are revising their climate action plans in light of frightening new data, tightening their emission goals and reinvigorating their energy greening and efficiency programs. Most have set a target of either 80% reduction or net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but, still, most are not on track to meet those goals, as their governments struggle with economic realities and lack of momentum.

Click here to see the cities that emit the most carbon dioxide in the world

No grandchildren? Climate change may be to blame

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Source: katleho Seisa / E+ / Getty Images

(A native of England, veteran journalist Matthew Diebel has worked at NBC News, Time, USA Today and News Corp., among other organizations.)

My daughter is 23 and, as is often usual for a mother (or grandmother or aunt), my wife often asks about boyfriend prospects, wondering aloud about whether she’ll ever have grandchildren. “Oh, mom, give up,” Lydia says in frustration, usually dismissing the enquiries by saying most men she meets are “useless” or “boring.”

Last summer, however — during one of 2022’s scorching heat waves — she had another response. “Why would I want to bring children into the world when climate change and all the other craziness is around?” she asked.

She is not alone. In a recent survey by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), almost three-quarters (73%) of 16- to 24-year-olds reported that the climate crisis was having a negative effect on their mental health. The figure was from 61% in 2020, reports The Guardian, which highlighted the views of several teens and young adults.

One of them, a 24-year-old named Jem, 24, told the paper she has been losing sleep over global warming. “Over the last two years, I have felt growing anxiety at the state of the environment. It keeps me up at night,” said the nature conservation worker. “I worry about what future I should be planning for. … I know the science and the stark realities of it. There’s no fix to the anxiety because you know [the climate] is going to get worse.”…

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By David Callaway

Alarming Outbreaks Currently Ongoing in the US

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Source: Morsa Images / E+ via Getty Images

According to a recent study by researchers at Princeton University published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in August 2021, extreme pandemics like COVID-19 will become more common and more intense in the near future. The researchers estimate the chance of someone born today will be experiencing a pandemic similar to COVID-19 in their lifetime at 38% – a figure that may double in coming decades.

Among the factors that are increasing the likelihood of pandemics are increased global travel, urbanization, climate change, increased human-animal contact, and health worker shortages. (Here are the states with the fewest and most doctors per person.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks the development of diseases and outbreaks both in the U.S. and abroad. An outbreak is defined as an instance when there are more cases of a disease than expected in a specific location over a specific time period. To determine current outbreaks in the United States, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the CDC’s Current Outbreak List. Currently, the CDC lists 11 major ongoing investigations into U.S.-based outbreaks. The outbreaks are ordered by date reported.

Many of the most recent outbreaks involve foodborne illnesses spread across multiple states. Examples include norovirus from raw oysters harvested in Galveston Bay in Texas, Listeria infections from enoki mushrooms imported from Korea, and Brucella infections from raw milk products sold in the United States.

Other alarming outbreaks concern everyday consumer products. While the health risks of vaping are well known and lung injury due to e-cigarette use was declared an outbreak in August 2019, a more recent outbreak involves popular eye drop brands.

According to the CDC, infections caused by a rare drug-resistant strain of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa present in bottles of artificial tears has caused widespread eye pain, blurry vision, and, in some cases, more severe symptoms, including death. As of March 2023, 68 infections have been reported in the United States, including eight reports of vision loss, four reports of surgical eye removal, and three deaths. (Also see, the most common cancers in America and their survival rates.)

Click here for a list of the currently ongoing outbreaks in the U.S.

Tech rebound leads to sharp gains for many ESG names in first quarter

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Source: Courtesy of Tesla

In today’s edition:

— Tech is back, at least for the first quarter, and renewable energy names reaped the benefits
— GM emerges a winner from the Biden EV subsidies shuffle last week
— Venture capital investment in climate tech plunged in Q1, coming late in the bear market
— Texas pension manager sees $6 billion in lost returns from state anti-ESG measures
— With two dumb moves, COP28 host country digs itself a deeper hole

The tech rebound in the first quarter — either a new bull market or a dead cat bounce depending on who you believe — powered sharp gains in many renewable energy names for the first time in more than a year.

Shares of Tesla $TSLA led the gains, almost doubling as price cuts helped boost deliveries of new cars. The gains came even as price pressures began to spread throughout the industry as EV makers slashed what they charge to try to qualify for the new EV subsidies announced by the government (see insight below). Tesla shares are now trading at 2021 levels.

Solar and natural resources companies also performed well. Shares of Maxeon Solar Technologies $MAXN rose nearly 74% , while First Solar $FSLR gained just under 50%. Among natural resources companies, shares of Piedmont Lithium $PLL gained 40%. Notable decliners during the first quarter included SunNova Energy $NOVA , which fell 11% , SunRun $RUN down 13.85%, and Enphase, which fell nearly 17%.

Tech enthusiasts are quick to say the companies are benefiting from painful layoffs over the past six months, but others see the gains simply as a long-awaited bounce back. They note that interest rates are still going up, and venture capital money to new start-ups practically dried up during the quarter (see below).

We’re not convinced the worst is over, but it does feel like we’re getting close.

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By David Callaway

These Companies Control Over Half of Their Industry

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Source: jetcityimage / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Over the years, there have been famous cases of U.S. antitrust officials attempting to fight monopolistic powers. Standard Oil was ordered to be broken into 33 different companies in 1911 and AT&T’s local phone service was broken up in 1984 into seven companies. Perhaps most famously was the U.S. case against Microsoft, which ended in a settlement in 2002. (These are the oldest companies in the Fortune 500.)

U.S. antitrust laws are intended to curb monopolies, where one company has exclusive control of the market to the point of limiting fair competition. The 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act banned businesses from colluding or merging to form a monopoly. Monopoly power can harm consumers by lowering output, increasing prices, and discouraging innovation that might result in a more competitive market.

Though antitrust cases in the 21st century have mostly resulted in settlements, they at least helped curb certain behaviors. Just this week, Bloomberg reported that a source told the paper that U.S. antitrust officials are preparing a second monopoly lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.’s Google over its digital advertising business, saying Google is abusing its dominance.

Many industries today have one player that controls over half the market share. To find the companies with the highest market shares in their industry, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data provided by industry market research firm IBISWorld. All data is from IBISWorld. The 50 companies on this list hold over 50% market share in an industry.

Perhaps it is not surprising to find Amazon on the list. The giant e-commerce company has at least a 50% market in three different industries: online children’s toy sales, online hardware and tool sales, and online book sales. Its nearest competitors hold just 6.6%, 20.2%, and 4.0%, respectively.

Companies like Microsoft, Google’s parent Alphabet, and Facebook are also on the list, as is Intuit, which controls nearly 93% of the tax preparation software developers industry. The food and beverage market is also represented, with Anheuser-Busch Inbev controlling about 55% of breweries in the U.S. and Campbell Soup controlling about the same in broth and stock production, among others. (Find out if any of these are among America’s highest paying companies.)

Of course, it is likely not surprising that the federally operated USPS, a legal monopoly that controls nearly 100% of the postal services industry in the U.S., is first on the list. Other legal monopolies include “natural” monopolies such as utility companies, which then tend to be highly regulated.

Click here to see which companies control over 50% of their industry.

The case of the 2-inch toad, the President and the blocked geothermal plant

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Source: usfws_pacificsw / Flickr

(A native of England, veteran journalist Matthew Diebel has worked at NBC News, Time, USA Today and News Corp., among other organizations.)

Hopping mad! When a tiny toad and renewables collide.

Meet the Dixie Valley toad. It’s kinda cute, with gold-colored flecks over a mostly olive body. The adult version is just over two inches long. It only lives in one place — 760-acres of wetland fed by hot springs in the remote Dixie Valley of west-central Nevada — and it’s listed as endangered, having been identified as a separate species just six years ago.

And it has single handedly halted a giant geothermal plant.

Yup, the nation’s largest geothermal power company, Reno-based Ormat Technologies $ORA , has found its plan to develop a facility that could supply climate-friendly electricity to the area, notably neighboring California, stymied by the diminutive amphibian. Federal officials have said they are worried the project could either drain the toads’ terrain, leaving them high and dry — and dead — or heat up or cool the water so much that they’d perish. Or all of those things…

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By David Callaway

Jane Goodall’s enduring message on nature gains steam in wake of COP15

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Source: 134585064@N05 / Flickr

For someone who turns 89 next week, legendary ethologist Dr. Jane Goodall hasn’t lost a step. She travels 300 days a year, runs environmental and youth programs in 70 countries, and can still wield her tiny frame and soft British voice to reduce a packed room to tears and smiles at the same time.

Through the largesse of an old college buddy, I found myself in her presence in Tampa this week, watching her work her magic on a packed fundraising crowd on the roof of the Florida Aquarium.

In an interview with Callaway Climate Insights ahead of the event, Goodall said it was too soon to tell if the COP15 global biodiversity pact would be met with actual government action or follow the neglected path of the Paris climate agreement of 2016. She also praised governments such as Costa Rica for finding ways to compensate their people for restoring valuable forests and those enacting climate legislation and seeking advice from ancient methods.

“Finally, people are turning back to indigenous knowledge before it is too late and it is lost to us,” Goodall said.

She also had some fascinating things to say about AI, and the dangers of approaching tipping points in both biodiversity and climate, which I will dig into in my Zeus column next week. Her comments come amid a surge of investor money into new biodiversity funds following the COP15 agreement, and research that is putting a real cost on the destruction of nature committed in the name of economic growth.

Back at the event itself, she thrilled the crowd by saying her name in chimpanzee, giving her views on life after death, explored in her latest book, “The Book of Hope,” and sharing a ‘tot’ of her favorite whiskey, Famous Old Grouse, on stage with the largest donors at an auction of memorabilia.

That auction included a tool which she had witnessed a chimp use in the wild, which sold for $8,000. Just another night on Jane Goodall’s never-ending environmental hope tour.

A reassessment of Larry Fink’s annual letters to CEOs and shareholders

. . . . Larry Fink’s annual letter to CEOs was called out recently for not specifically mentioning environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing strategies, as watchers of the BlackRock founder said he must be retreating from his bold statements three years ago that climate risk will change the investment industry after political pressure from the right. But Mark Hulbert argues that a more nuanced analysis of the letter shows that Fink might be onto something far more important than the politics of ESG. Check out his insights here.

Read the full column

Thursday’s subscriber-only insights

How Big Oil’s latest attempt at court-shopping didn’t get past checkout

. . . . Yet another decision has ruled that Big Oil must defend against about 20 claims that it pay up for the local impacts of a warming planet itself in state courts rather than at the federal level. The ruling also avoids the cases going to the Supreme Court. Both federal courts and the Supreme Court are thought likely to be more sympathetic to the oil industry’s case. Read more here. . . .

Smart move? Shares and sales jump after Musk’s Tesla price cuts

. . . . Elon Musk cut his prices — and now his Tesla $TSLA sales are even hotter (in Europe, at least). How are things going to shake out as other manufacturers also introduce cheaper EVs? It’ll be a fascinating process. Read more here. . . .

Editor’s picks: Emissions issues lead proxy season

Emissions issues lead proxy season

As we head into proxy season, new data show shareholders had filed at least 542 resolutions on environmental, social and governance issues as of Feb. 17, S&P Global Market Intelligence reports. That number’s on track to match or exceed 2022’s record of 627 resolutions, according to the Proxy Preview report released last week by advocacy groups As You Sow, Sustainable Investments Institute and Proxy Impact. S&P Global notes more than 450 resolutions were scheduled for a vote, but that number will drop as activist shareholders and companies reach agreements. Bill Holland writes for S&P, “Advocacy groups have increasingly used shareholder resolutions to push U.S. companies to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and their plans for emissions reductions. In many cases, companies will negotiate a compromise to avoid a vote and the resolution will be withdrawn.”

Gulf drilling rights auction nets $264 million

The first auction of drilling rights in the federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico netted a combined $264 million from oil companies, a sale that was part of last year’s climate bill compromise. The Associated Press reports the event drew interest from companies including Chevron $CVX , BP $BP and ExxonMobil $XOM , but noted the auction of drilling rights is likely to draw the ire of those who opposed such a sale and “were frustrated by this month’s approval of a huge drilling project in Alaska.” According to the report citing government analysis, development of the Gulf leases could produce up to 1.1 billion barrels of oil and more than 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over 50 years. Burning that oil would increase planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions by tens of millions of tons, the analysis found. A legal challenge to the sale from environmental groups is pending in federal court in Louisiana, the AP said.

Carbon inequality and taxing luxury emissions

Studies have documented the rising challenge of carbon inequality — that is, extreme class disparities in carbon emissions both within the United States and globally, according to the authors of Taxing Luxury Emissions, a forthcoming paper in the Cornell Law Review. “These studies show an alarming divide, with the top 10% of emitters producing half of all emissions and the top 1% alone producing 17% of emissions, while the bottom 50% of the world produces only 10%. These disparities are driven by ‘luxury emissions’ produced by the carbon-intensive lifestyles of the rich, which too often include private jets, mega-SUVs, yachts, and multiple mansions.” The article builds the case for embracing efforts to parse luxury and non-luxury emissions in climate policy design and provides, the authors say, a blueprint to spark debate and discussion around how the law might appropriately account for pernicious class divisions in climate culpability. Authors: Clint Wallace, University of South Carolina School of Law’ and Shelley Welton, University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law

Words to live by . . . .

“Here we are, arguably the most intelligent being that’s ever walked planet Earth, with this extraordinary brain, yet we’re destroying the only home we have.” — Jane Goodall.

Callaway Climate Insights

By David Callaway

Here’s Why Swordfish May Be the Worst Seafood You Can Eat

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Source: LUNAMARINA / iStock / Getty Images Plus

This article was written with the assistance of A.I. technology, and has been edited and fact-checked by Colman Andrews.

Most people think of seafood as a healthy option. Fish is a lean protein that’s packed with nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids. It’s no wonder that the American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least twice a week.

However, not all varieties of seafood are created equal. According to recommendations and warnings from numerous environmental and medical websites, some can be problematic.

One very popular option, swordfish, may be the worst example. Swordfish is high in mercury and other contaminants. These contaminants can be harmful to your health, and may outweigh the benefits of eating fish.

Consuming swordfish can also be environmentally damaging. Swordfish are top marine predators, and they are often overfished. This can lead to an ecosystem imbalance.

Swordfish are caught wild, but farmed fish also presents problems. They are often fed antibiotics and other chemicals, which can end up in the environment and be harmful to wildlife. Farmed fish are also typically grown in cramped conditions. This can lead to disease, and can impact the quality of the meat.

No matter what type of seafood you choose, it’s important to eat it in moderation. Fish is a healthy option, but it’s not perfect. Contaminants like mercury can be harmful, and some fish are overfished. When you’re choosing seafood, make sure you consider the source and the potential risks.

Click here to find out what the worst seafood is to eat.

By Douglas McIntyre

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