Extreme Heat

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Earth Day, 2023, big public events were held by activists across the US (and across the world). But activists you always have with you. I joined in picking up garbage along the road that led to our high school on April 22, 1970, the first earth day. The world […]

Climate Crisis

Glaciers in Swiss Alps lost 6% of Mass last Year, as Climate Emergency brings brutal Heat Waves

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN’s World Meteorological Organization has issued its annual report. As you will have guessed, things don’t look good. There were 117 heat waves in 2022 and 58 droughts globally. But there were also 61 wet spells and 63 floods. We are rushing toward weather extremes. Global heating has driven […]

Antarctica

Antarctica’s Heart of Ice has skipped a Beat. The only Medicine is Halting Fossil Fuels

The Conversation

By Edward Doddridge, University of Tasmania | – (The Conversation) – The rhythmic expansion and contraction of Antarctic sea ice is like a heartbeat. But lately, there’s been a skip in the beat. During each of the last two summers, the ice around Antarctica has retreated farther than ever before. And just as a change […]

Climate Crisis

Paris is Burning: France Braces for 7.2° F. Heating in its ‘Turning Point’ Strategy

Clean Energy Wire

By Claire Stam | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Shocked by recent heatwaves, floods, wildfires and ongoing droughts, France is currently rebooting its strategy to cope with the impacts of climate change. In a “turning point” in the country’s adaptation efforts, the plans will also include proposals on how to deal with 4 […]

Climate Crisis

Peak Fossil Fuels? Wind, Solar advance 20% Globally, with World on Verge of CO2 Emissions Drop

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The energy analysis firm Ember reports its latest findings about global energy trends, and it is relatively optimistic. Wind and solar had provided 10% of the world’s electricity in 2021, but that went up to 12% in 2022, a 20% increase. If we look at each source in its own […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Emergency: As Heat-Related Deaths Soar in Arizona, Groups Launch Tree-Planting Intitiatives

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

The blue palo verde is Arizona’s state tree. Several are shown in a neighborhood in North Phoenix. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News) By Jeremy Yurow/Cronkite News April 7, 2023 ( Cronkite News ) – PHOENIX – Arizona cities, environmental advocates and businesses are teaming up to combat extreme heat by launching a variety of […]

Antarctica

New Research shows how rapidly Ice Sheets can Retreat: Antarctica’s Melt alone could raise Sea Level 171 Feet

The Conversation

By Christine Batchelor, Newcastle University and Frazer Christie, University of Cambridge | – The Antarctic Ice Sheet, which covers an area greater than the US and Mexico combined, holds enough water to raise global sea level by more than 57 metres if melted completely. This would flood hundreds of cities worldwide. And evidence suggests it […]

Climate Crisis

Savage Capitalism: From Climate Change to Bank Failures to War

Tomdispatch

By David Barsamian and Noam Chomsky | – [The following is excerpted from David Barsamian’s recent interview with Noam Chomsky at AlternativeRadio.org.] David Barsamian: On March 20th, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its latest report. The new IPCC assessment from senior scientists warned that there’s little time to lose in tackling the […]

Climate Crisis

IPCC’s Conservative Nature masks true Scale of Action needed to avert Catastrophic Climate Change

The Conversation

By Kevin Anderson, University of Manchester | – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) synthesis report recently landed with an authoritative thump, giving voice to hundreds of scientists endeavouring to understand the unfolding calamity of global heating. What’s changed since the last one in 2014? Well, we’ve dumped an additional third of a trillion […]