By Mark Olalde | – ( ProPublica ) – The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere has reached its highest level in recorded human history. Again. In April, the level of CO2 was 27% higher than it was 50 years ago, according to the latest data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and […]
Archives for May 2022
Busan, S. Korea, constructing Solar-Powered Artificial Biorock Island to replace Coastal land lost to Sea Level Rise
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – UN Habitat, the municipality of Busan in South Korea, and the company OCEANIX are responding to the challenge of sea-level rise by building an artificial floating city off the coast of the country’s second-largest city. A prototype is expected to be in the water as early as 2025. Although a […]
Shireen Abu Akleh Exemplified Speaking Truth to Power
By Iqbal Jassat | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Since the shattering news broke of the brutal killing of one of Palestine’s most iconic journalists, an unmistakable sense of anger began to surface across newsrooms in the Arab world and in many different parts of the world, including South Africa. Shireen Abu Akleh […]
Desertification and Land Degradation now Affects 50% of World’s Population, Economy: UN
By Catherine Early | – ( China Dialogue ) – A “crisis footing” is needed to conserve, restore and use land sustainably, according to a major report that warns of food supply disruptions, forced migration and rapid biodiversity loss. Unless countries scale up action, there will also be a higher risk of zoonotic diseases like […]
Climate Crisis: Hoover Dam’s Lake Mead, Water and Electricity Source for West, May become a Dead Pool
By Robert Glennon, University of Arizona | – Journalists reporting on the status and future of the Colorado River are increasingly using the phrase “dead pool.” It sounds ominous. And it is. Dead pool occurs when water in a reservoir drops so low that it can’t flow downstream from the dam. The biggest concerns are […]
Barbaric Israeli Police Attack on Christian Funeral for Slain US Reporter Shireen Abu Akleh Shocks World
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that at least 33 mourners were injured by Israeli security forces who attacked the Christian funeral procession to a cathedral for the body of murdered American correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh on Friday. The actions of the Israeli security forces can only be explained by […]
Palestine Beyond Partition and the Nation-State
By Leila Farsakh | – ( Al-Shabakah ) – In her new edited volume, Rethinking Statehood in Palestine: Self-Determination and Decolonization Beyond Partition, Al-Shabaka policy analyst and Associate Professor of Political Economy at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Leila Farsakh, brings together a diverse group of intellectuals to critically engage with the meaning of Palestinian […]
The GOP’s ‘Pro-Life’ Victory Will Mean More Dead Mothers
( Otherwords.org) – Anti-choice states already have the highest maternal mortality and infant mortality rates. Women who choose to avoid pregnancy could instead face execution. By Mitchell Zimmerman | May 11, 2022 Under a Louisiana bill likely to become law when the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, a woman who has an abortion is […]
Renewables provide 50% of German electricity in 1st quarter ’22 as Berlin Seeks Escape from Russian Gas
By Edgar Meza | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Renewable energy sources accounted for 50 percent of electricity consumption in Germany in the first quarter of 2022 – around nine percentage points more than in the same period last year, according to a report by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research […]