June brought more than the summer solstice this year

It's not surprising, given the overwhelming evidence of a changing climate, but Think Progress's Joe Romm reports more warming news from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). So, if you thought last month was hot, you're right: Overall, June 2014 was the hottest June since records were kept starting in 1880. Just for context on how far back we're going, James Garfield was elected president that year and Thomas Edison first patented the electric incandescent light. (Okay, and we know science has built upon that to provide even better alternatives today in CFLs and LEDs).

This June, the oceans also recorded above-average temperatures, as did parts of Greenland, which has significant impacts for the ice sheet. If you have to confront any climate change naysayers, the map included of the worldwide temperatures for the month shows a serious tale.

But now, for a roundup of some good news: Environment 360 at Yale University notes that India just doubled its tax on domestic and imported coal, with the goal of funding more clean energy projects. And some of the U.S. mainstream media is covering climate change much more in the first half of 2014.

Finally, support for EPA's proposed carbon pollution limits on coal-fired power plants is rolling in as we get ready for the Pittsburgh public hearings on the recently-proposed standard on July 31 and Aug 1. Be sure to read the upcoming posts by my colleague, Joy Bergey, for the lowdown post-hearing.

Kate Gibbons is northeastern Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Wilkes-Barre.

Weather extremes everywhere. Even in my back yard. Whither my daffodils!

"All politics is local," as famously stated by then-Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill.

I'll paraphrase Tip in a way I hope he wouldn't mind: Extreme weather is (now) local. I live in suburban Philadelphia, an area where we have occasional bits of extreme weather but, by no means, an anticipated hot spot for climate change.

That said, I just read Joe Romm's article in ClimateProgress about a new study that connects California's terrible drought with our recent frigid winter in the east -- and anthropogenic climate change. This is written by serious, reputable scientists, and endorsed by Pennsylvania's own climate scientist, Dr. Michael Mann.

Now to my own little bit of extreme weather: Tuesday afternoon, it was 67 degrees in my backyard and raining hard. It's April, so rain is expected. However, within eight short hours, we had frozen precipitation (sleet and snow) falling. It was 31 degrees when I got up yesterday morning, and my daffodils have taken a huge hit. A 36-degree drop in temperature in less than a day is not unheard of and doesn't, in and of itself, prove anthropogenic climate disruption.

But, for much of the country including Pennsylvania, this has been the winter to end all winters and it just won't end. Snow on Tax Day? Ridiculous.

And yes, I do realize I'm being whiny and narrowly focused to complain about my daffodils.

Much more seriously, I also realize that people around the world are dying due to climate disruptions. (And thanks to the excellent premiere episode of "Years of Living Dangerously" this past Sunday, I now see that the drought in Syria -- likely a result of climate change -- has played a huge role in the disastrous revolution in that country with so many thousands of lives lost to violence.)

Climate disruption is now smacking us in the face, every day, in so many ways -- from international headlines to the broken daffodils by my front door.

Memo to Washington and Harrisburg: It's time to wake up, smell the (mangled) flowers, and act.

Joy Bergey is PennFuture's federal policy director and is based in suburban Philadelphia.