Desertification

By Liberty Vittert | – This year, I was on the judging panel for the Royal Statistical Society’s International Statistic of the Decade. Much like Oxford English Dictionary’s “Word of the Year” competition, the international statistic is meant to capture the zeitgeist of this decade. The judging panel accepted nominations from the statistical community and […]

Climate Crisis

Now that Australian Wildfires are choking its Cities with Smoke, Can we Finally talk Climate Emergency?

The Conversation

By Blanche Verlie | – I moved to Sydney less than five weeks ago and the city has been shrouded in smoke haze on and off since then. I joke this is my “Sydney hazing” but it’s only now – having worked on climate change for over a decade – that I’m suddenly feeling burnt […]

Climate Crisis

“Catastrophic” Wildfires Threaten Sydney, Australia as Gov’t Backs Coal

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Australians in New South Wales and part of Queensland face “catastrophic” wildfires today according to government authorities. Based on the latest forecast, we have mapped where fires on the north coast are likely to spread during tomorrow's dangerous weather. The red shows the predicted spread of fire. Check https://t.co/NXTTCbYtYQ for […]

Climate Change

Horrific Amazon Wildfires: How do they Threaten Us, and how can we stop them?

Juan Cole

By Jos Barlow and Alexander C. Lees | – Imagine a rainforest at dawn – the tall canopy laden with dripping ferns and orchids, tree trunks covered in spongy mosses and lichens, and the morning mist only slowly burning away as the sun rises. While there is fuel everywhere, it seems unimaginable that such humid […]

Desertification

Rivers of Dust: The Future of Water and the Middle East

Conn M. Hallinan

Without international diplomacy, the Middle East is going to run out of water — and it won’t be alone.

Climate Change

To Avoid Boiling the Earth, we Need a New Agriculture: Farming emits 1/3 of Greenhouse Gases

The Conversation

By Mark Howden | – We can’t achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement without managing emissions from land use, according to a special report released today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Emissions from land use, largely agriculture, forestry and land clearing, make up some 22% of the world’s greenhouse gas […]

Brazil

We all Depend on the Amazon: Can the UN Stop Brazil’s Far-Right Bolsonaro from Completely Destroying It?

The Conversation

By Ash Murphy | – Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil is at its highest rate in a decade, according to new satellite data. This comes after president Jair Bolsonaro has loosened environmental regulations, cut enforcement budgets, and supported further development in the region. Tarcisio Schnaider / shutterstock Trees absorb carbon dioxide naturally, and […]

Acidification of Oceans

Wall or Watchtower? The real Threat is invasive Climate Crisis, and our Shield is Science

Juan Cole

The man who ordered the construction of the nearly infinite Wall of China was that First Emperor …who likewise ordered the burning of all the books before him

Climate Change

Burning Fossil Fuels risks Tipping Earth into ‘Hothouse’ State: Study

Kerry Sheridan

Tampa (AFP) – The planet urgently needs to transition to a green economy because fossil fuel pollution risks pushing the Earth into a lasting and dangerous “hothouse” state, researchers warned on Monday. If polar ice continues to melt, forests are slashed and greenhouse gases rise to new highs — as they currently do each year […]