In the winter of 1969-70, Philadelphia had an average temperature of 30.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Last year, the average was 39.4. No one says snow and cold spells are things of the past. But winters have warmed considerably since 1970 in the Northeast, including in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to data compiled by Climate Central, an organization of scientists and journalists that research and report on climate. Overall, the group found that winter not only is warmer than it was 50 years ago, it is warming faster than any other season in 38 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey…Attempts to address climate change have been stalled since 2017 when President Donald Trump took office, pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, and spent the remainder of his term rolling back 82 environmental regulations, according to the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program. Other organizations list more than 100. Some of those rollbacks were aimed at curbing emissions from carbon and methane, both of which are greenhouse gases, from power plants, fracking operations, and auto emissions. President-elect Joe Biden has named former U.S. Sen. John Kerry to a new post, special envoy for climate change, and pledged to rejoin the Paris accord. But if Biden plans to undo the Trump administration’s work, it could take years on some of the regulations because of how government rules are set up and possible court challenges.
