Extreme Heat

How Nevada just became the Saudi Arabia of Lithium, as World’s Largest Deposit is discovered at Thacker Pass

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In the scientific journal Science Advances, Thomas R. Benton and his colleagues published a paper last month showing that a volcanic crater, the McDermitt Caldera, stretching across the Nevada and Oregon border may have doubled the world’s accessible lithium deposits. There are an estimated 88 million tons of lithium reserves […]

Climate Crisis

Our Global Maui Moment: Climate Crisis and a World Afire

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – From the earliest kingdoms to late last night, history has been the story not just of the rise of great powers but of their decline and fall. So, normally, there would be nothing particularly out of the ordinary about the aging America of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, a classic imperial […]

Climate Crisis

Big Oil and Big Coal countries Block meaningful G20 Climate Pledge, in wake of World’s Hottest Summer on Record

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Shivam Patel at Reuters reports that the G20 summit in New Delhi made no specific, agreed-upon statement on climate and energy goals. The 20 richest countries in the world agreed to triple renewable energy by 2030 and to cut way back on coal, but did not set out specifics. They […]

Climate Crisis

From Egypt’s Nile to Iraq’s Tigris-Euphrates, only Water Diplomacy can Forestall Coming Climate Conflicts

Middle East Monitor

By Prof. Dr. Aysegul Kibaroglu ( Middle East Monitor ) – One of the most pressing issues of the 21st century is the management and allocation of the limited freshwater resources in the world. Since an important number of those water resources are trans-boundary, crossing the political boundaries of more than one nation, the […]

Climate Crisis

Past three Months Hottest on Record, as UN SecGen Warns “Climate Breakdown has begun.”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The World Meteorological Organization reports the results of a study by the European Union-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which found that the past three months were the hottest 90-day period in recorded history. UN Secretary-General António Guterres responded to the report by saying, “Our planet has just endured a […]

Climate Crisis

How Recycling could solve the Shortage of Minerals essential to Clean Energy

The Conversation

By Serasu Duran, University of Calgary; Atalay Atasu, INSEAD; and Clara Carrera, INSEAD | – (The Conversation) – What do silver, silicon and gallium have in common? These expensive raw materials are essential components of our various solar energy technologies. What about neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium? These rare earth metals are used to build the […]

Climate Crisis

Evidence that Gas and Oil are Bad for Our and the Planet’s Health is Piling Up, but Governments turn a Blind Eye

The Conversation

By Melissa Haswell, University of Sydney; David Shearman, University of Adelaide; Jacob Hegedus, University of Sydney; and Lisa Jackson Pulver, University of Sydney | – (The Conversation) – We are seeing deadly heat and fires circle the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns we are fast running out of time to secure a […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis: North America’s Summer of wildfire Smoke — 2023 was only the Beginning

The Conversation

By Charles O. Stanier, University of Iowa; Gregory Carmichael, University of Iowa; and Peter S. Thorne, University of Iowa | – Canada’s seemingly endless wildfires in 2023 introduced millions of people across North America to the health hazards of wildfire smoke. While Western states have contended with smoky fire seasons for years, the air quality […]

Climate Crisis

Idalia: DeSantis may not want to “politicize” Climate Change, but Climate Change is determined to Politicize DeSantis

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on being asked about human-caused climate change, said he did not want to “politicize the weather.” Of course, it is not the weather that is at issue but climate, which is long-term and repeated weather patterns. DeSantis ducked the question because Koch Industries and ExxonMobil etc. […]