Climate Change

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is in the news again. We are fascinated with it because it is the Godzilla of glaciers, 80 miles across and as massive as Florida. If the ice sheet holding it back were to melt, and if Thwaites plopped into the ocean, it would all […]

Climate Crisis

Should a repressive petrostate get to host UN climate talks? The UAE Plans for a Fossil Fuel Friendly COP28

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Joey Shea | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – In recent weeks, grave concerns have emerged about the conflicts of interest posed by the United Arab Emirates as host of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference known as COP28, as well as fears about the safety and security of participants in the […]

Climate Crisis

Big Oil’s trade group allies outspent Clean Energy Groups by a Whopping 27x, with Billions in Ads and Lobbying to keep Fossil Fuels Flowing

The Conversation

By Christian Downie, Australian National University and Robert Brulle, Brown University | – (The Conversation) – You’ve probably seen ads promoting gas and oil companies as the solutions to climate change. They’re meant to be inspiring and hopeful, with scenes of a green, clean future. But shiny ads are not all these companies do to […]

Climate Crisis

Is Turkey’s Prosecution of Shady Builders after 12,141 Structures Collapse in Earthquake a Model for going after Big Oil for Climate Disasters?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Turkish government has issued 100 arrest warrants for building contractors suspected of erecting structures that did not meet building code standards in the 10 provinces most affected by last week’s massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which has left at least 32,000 dead and perhaps twice that. Some of the contractors […]

Arctic

Climate Crisis: Atmospheric rivers are hitting the Arctic more often, and increasingly melting its Sea Ice

The Conversation

By Pengfei Zhang, Penn State | – (The Conversation) – Atmospheric rivers, those long, powerful streams of moisture in the sky, are becoming more frequent in the Arctic, and they’re helping to drive dramatic shrinking of the Arctic’s sea ice cover. While less ice might have some benefits – it would allow more shipping in […]

Climate Crisis

“Some say the World will End in Fire, some say in Ice”: Life in a Climate-Destabilized California

Rebecca Gordon

( Tomdispatch.com ) – It was January 1983 and raining in San Francisco. The summer before, I’d moved here from Portland, Oregon, a city known for its perpetual gray drizzles and, on the 60-odd days a year when the sun deigns to shine, dazzling displays of greenery. My girlfriend had spent a year convincing me […]

Climate Crisis

Western Wildfires destroyed 246% more Homes and Buildings over the past Decade – Scientists explain Why

The Conversation

By Philip Higuera, University of Montana; Jennifer Balch, University of Colorado Boulder, Maxwell Cook, University of Colorado Boulder; and Natasha Stavros, University of Colorado Boulder | – (The Conversation) – It can be tempting to think that the recent wildfire disasters in communities across the West were unlucky, one-off events, but evidence is accumulating that […]

Arctic

‘Blue marble’: how half a Century of Climate Change has altered the Face of the Earth

The Conversation

By Robert Poole, University of Central Lancashire; Nick Pepin, University of Portsmouth, and Oliver Gruner, University of Portsmouth | – In December 1972, Nasa’s final Apollo mission (Apollo 17) took the iconic “Blue Marble” photo of the whole Earth. Many, including science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, had expected that the sight of Earth from […]

Climate Crisis

Minnesota House passes Bill mandating Move to Carbon-Free Electricity by 2040

Minnesota Reformer

By Michelle Griffith | – ( The Minnesota Reformer ) – The Minnesota House passed a bill late Thursday that would force Minnesota utilities to move to entirely carbon-free electricity by 2040, after hours of debate that sometimes strayed far off topic. House Republicans sought to derail the bill and score points with over 30 […]