Climate Change

By H Patricia Hynes and Timmon Wallis | – While we were planning this article, a cascade of crises shattered climate records. July 3-6 set a record for the hottest world average temperatures yet measured. In our state, western Massachusetts was saturated almost daily with heavy humidity and record-setting rain, whose floods devastated $10 million […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Change has landed Florida in Hot Water, with Worse to Come if we Keep Burning Fossil Fuels

Florida Phoenix

Craig Pittman ( Florida Phoenix) – As a collector of clever Florida signs, I could not decide which one was a better commentary. One, circulated by WINK-TV, showed a sidewalk chalkboard announcement: “The heat index is between OMG and WTF.” The other, on a sign outside the Red Barn Bar in Sarasota, made the […]

Biodiversity

The Forgotten Amazon: As a Critical Summit Nears, Politicians must Work Against Deforestation in Bolivia’s Amazon

The Conversation

By Victor Galaz, Stockholm University | – When asked to situate the world’s most iconic rainforest on a map, most people will pinpoint Brazil. And given the intense media coverage of the country’s deforestation and fires – concerns reached a peak under former president Jair Bolsonaro and his free-for-all approach – they might also imagine […]

Archaeology

416,000 Years Ago, All Greenland’s Ice Melted and Raised Sea Levels 5-20 Feet: A Warning from the Past

The Conversation

By Paul Bierman, University of Vermont, and Tammy Rittenour, Utah State University | – About 400,000 years ago, large parts of Greenland were ice-free. Scrubby tundra basked in the Sun’s rays on the island’s northwest highlands. Evidence suggests that a forest of spruce trees, buzzing with insects, covered the southern part of Greenland. Global sea […]

Climate Crisis

As Global Heat Waves Break Records in Mideast and Elsewhere, How Hot it too Hot for us Humans?

The Conversation

By W. Larry Kenney, Penn State; Daniel Vecellio, Penn State; Rachel Cottle, Penn State; and S. Tony Wolf, Penn State | – (The Conversation) – Extreme heat has been breaking records across Europe, Asia and North America, with millions of people sweltering in heat and humidity well above “normal” for days on end. Death Valley […]

Climate Crisis

The Big Money behind the Fight to Ban Environmentally and Socially Conscious Investing

Inequality.org

by Jessica Church ( Inequality.org ) – In a recent Gallup poll, the vast majority of Americans surveyed said they were not even “somewhat familiar” with the term “ESG.” But on Capitol Hill, Republicans have developed a fixation on the issue, holding not one but two intensely partisan hearings on the topic. “Republicans Are Losing […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis: Northern Europe faces biggest relative Increase in Uncomfortable Heat and Air Conditioning will only make things Worse

The Conversation

By Jesus Lizana, University of Oxford; Nicole Miranda, University of Oxford; and Radhika Khosla, University of Oxford | – Limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5℃ is getting harder. A recent UN report even stated that there is now “no credible pathway” to achieve this goal. Our planet has entered uncharted territory, with all kinds […]

Agriculture

This Year’s El Niño, a Preview of Global Heating to Come, Will Affect Wheat and Global Food Supply

The Conversation

By David Ubilava, University of Sydney | – The World Meteorological Organization has declared the onset of the first El Niño event in seven years. It estimates 90% probability the climatic phenomenon, involving an unusual warming of the Pacific Ocean, will develop through 2023, and be of moderate strength. El Niño events bring hotter, drier […]

Ancient Greek Religion

The “Cerberus” Heat Wave and the Closing of the Parthenon: Why the Climate Crisis Evokes Cosmic Mythology

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – High daytime temperatures in the Mediterranean basin are disrupting life in many ways, in Spain, Morocco, Greece, Turkey and elsewhere. Tourists in Greece suffered frustrations on Friday when government authorities abruptly closed the Parthenon from midday until evening. There were fears that the tourists up there would have a heat […]