Climate Point: Ban lawns and gas stoves? Hybrid race cars at Daytona?

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

It's getting real folks. As the long-warned of impacts of climate change heat up, everything from lawn sprinklers to gas stove burners to high-performance race cars are under the gun. And don't get me started on the coffee pod debate.

These everyday items aren't the primary culprits causing climate change — new research shows Exxon executives knew "since the late 1970s that its fossil fuel products could lead to global warming with 'dramatic environmental effects' before the year 2050," yet deliberately misled the public. Yet they smashed previous profit records this week.

Changing our habits isn't the only answer to environmental woes, but it helps. And the debates around our habits provide a window into larger, really thorny issues.

Let's start with lawns, namely in the parched Southwest, where many states depend on the fast-drying Colorado River for tap water and to irrigate winter crops (now on sale at grocery stores nationwide, so yes folks elsewhere, it impacts the price of your lettuce too). As part of an escalating war of words and dueling plans for water allocation cuts released this week by California and six other states, Arizona's water chief says the feds should look at banning lawns in his state and others that rely on the river's reservoirs.

Noting that every contract with the federal government for Colorado River water contains a clause that requires "beneficial use," Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke said federal officials "might be able to say lawns or non-functional turfs are no longer a beneficial use of Colorado River water. ... I would like to see the beneficial use process move forward as quickly as possible."

Not so fast with lucrative but thirsty golf courses. "They'd have a harder time with golf courses, because there is clearly an economic value to golf courses on their own and to the tourism industry," he said. "That's a tougher nut to crack."

Nevada already banned "useless" grass in Las Vegas, the first such law in the nation. Temporary bans have been enacted or are being eyed elsewhere.

Another hot debate has blown up over gas stoves, as USA Today's Elizabeth Weise explains. Research has long shown they can emit methane, dangerous both for kids' lungs and the Earth's atmosphere. More than 100 cities and three states have now banned them in new homes or are offering hefty incentives to keep them out.

But after a federal consumer safety official suggested the United States might outlaw such stoves, some commentators decried the potential loss of personal liberties. Meanwhile, if you're still cooking with gas, turn on a fan that vents outdoors or open a window to be safe.

In its ongoing, great Fact Check series, USA Today also debunks a false theory that carbon dioxide is too heavy to rise into the atmosphere. And Adrianna Rodriguez has a good explainer on how climate change could spread fungal Valley Fever, and lays out the ABCs on the disease.

Elsewhere, at Florida's storied Daytona racetrack, sleek hybrid racecars are making their debut, as Dinah Pulver chronicles. There's other news on artificial intelligence predicting climate change, January's record tornadoes, this week's rain and snow and more. 

And if you're a hiker who regularly heads into the wilderness, you might want to get one of those pricey little satellite gizmos. It could save you from a world of hurt. See below for more.

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