Super Storms

As America faces Greatest Threat in Climate Crisis, Yellow-Bellied Republican Candidates Cower in Denial

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Neil Vigdor at the NYT focuses on the short moment in the Republican Debate last night when reality intervened in the proceedings and even the Fox News moderators, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, asked about the issue of the climate crisis. They wanted a show of hands by the candidates […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Change is now throwing at us Every Weapon in its Arsenal, from Heat Domes to Massive Wildfires, to Mega-Hurricanes

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – For the most part, the earth is heating up just in the way that climate change models from a decade ago had predicted if we went on spewing 35 billion tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere every year. And we have. The frightening thing is that unfolding climate events […]

Batteries

In 2023, 86% of New Power Capacity in US will come from Renewables, with a Majority of it Solar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Department of Energy has announced that that in 2023, 82% of new additions to electricity generation capacity in the United States will come from wind, solar and battery, and 86% in total will come from non-fossil fuel sources. Of fossil fuels, only fossil gas will provide new capacity, but […]

Climate Crisis

Drilling our way to Climate Doom: The US leads the World in Oil and Gas Production

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Edward Hunt | ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – The United States is producing record amounts of oil and natural gas, despite the fact that the ongoing use of these fossil fuels poses an existential threat to the planet. Even today, as the planet faces catastrophic warming, leaders in both the Democratic and […]

Climate Crisis

Collapse 2.0: What a 2005 Bestseller Tells us about Climate Change and Human Survival

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, geographer Jared Diamond focused on past civilizations that confronted severe climate shocks, either adapting and surviving or failing to adapt and disintegrating. Among those were the Puebloan culture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, the ancient Mayan civilization of Mesoamerica, and the Viking settlers […]

Climate Crisis

When we Drive Gasoline Cars & Run Air Conditioning off Coal, We’re declaring a Hot War on Ourselves

Frida Berrigan

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Too hot. Too dry. Too many weapons. This world needs changing. But that’s too vague. After all, this world is already changing, just not in ways that are good for you and me. You know the facts. July 2023 was the hottest month on record — ever — since we humans […]

Climate Crisis

As Climate Crisis increases Rainfall, We need “Sponge Cities” with Stormwater Drains and Floodable Parks

The Conversation

By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland ( The Conversation) -Tune into news from about any part of the planet, and there will likely be a headline about extreme weather. While these stories will be specific to the location, they all tend to include the amplifying effects of climate change. This […]

Climate Crisis

After Maui: Why Sultan al-Jaber both is and isn’t the Right chief for the COP28 Climate Summit

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sultan al-Jaber, the controversial chairman of the COP28 climate conference, is a United Arab Emirates businessman extraordinaire. His role and that of COP28 appear all the more important in the wake of the terrifying wildfires that swept the tropical island (!) of Maui this week and destroyed the ancient capital […]

Climate Crisis

Renewables supplied a record 69.2% of Germany’s Electricity for Homes in July

Julian Wettengel

By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Renewable energy supplied a record of 69.2 percent of Germany’s public net electricity generation in July 2023, according to data by research institute Fraunhofer ISE. Due to favourable weather conditions, wind power alone contributed about 29 percent. At about 23 percent, the solar power […]