Climate Change

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

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 […]

Climate Crisis

Global Heating Grips Phoenix, AZ, with record-breaking String of 110 °F Days Projected and Homeless Dying

AZ Mirror

By: Jerod MacDonald-Evoy ( AZ Mirror) – Phoenix is close to breaking a record streak for consecutive days with high temperatures at or above 110 degrees, and the heat will continue to become more enduring as urbanization grows and the impacts of climate change continue. “You can’t argue that we are definitely seeing that […]

Climate Crisis

Corals are starting to Bleach as Global Ocean Temperatures hit Record Highs

The Conversation

By Ian Enochs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | – The water off South Florida is over 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) in mid-July, and scientists are already seeing signs of coral bleaching off Central and South America. Particularly concerning is how early in the summer we are seeing these high ocean temperatures. If the […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Change is Increasing Stress on Thousands of Aging Dams across the US

The Conversation

By Hiba Baroud, Vanderbilt University | – Heavy rainfall in the Northeast on June 9-11, 2023, generated widespread flooding, particularly in New York’s Hudson Valley and in Vermont. One major concern was the Wrightsville Dam, built in 1935 on the Winooski River north of Vermont’s capital city, Montpelier. The reservoir behind the dam rose to […]

Climate Crisis

Roots of Iraq’s Water Crisis: Upriver Dams along with Climate Change

McGuire Gibson

Response of McGuire Gibson, Professor Emeritus of Mesopotamian Architecture , University of Chicago, to Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl Juan: In your devastating post about Iraq’s drought, you could have given more attention to the crucial role of Turkey in flouting international law and damaging Iraq (and Syria) […]

Climate Crisis

The Radiance of a Thousand Suns: Can we dodge Two Torrid Disasters of our own Making?

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In case you hadn’t noticed — and how could you not? — there have been more than 500 (yes, 500-plus!) wildfires burning across the vast reaches of Canada, an unheard-of number, and more than half of them completely out of (human) control in a record-shattering fire season. That’s been true for […]

Climate Crisis

What it means that El Niño is coming on Top of a long-term Trend of Human-driven Global Heating

The Conversation

By David Armstrong McKay, Stockholm University | – (The Conversation) – The UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has confirmed it: El Niño conditions have arrived and are expected to become moderate to strong as they develop over the coming year. El Niño is the hot phase of a natural fluctuation in the Earth’s climate system […]