Climate Crisis

By Christine Ro | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Netflix styles itself as a climate action leader, but the world’s most popular video streaming service is far from eliminating all of its emissions, despite a 2022 net zero target. The US company with more than 220 million subscribers is taking many steps to […]

Climate Crisis

Past 8 Years have been Hottest on Record, probably Hottest since Time of Christ

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The past 8 years are the hottest on record. So concludes The UN’s World Meteorological Organization. In 2022, the average surface temperature of the earth was 1.15 degrees C. [2.07 degrees F.] higher than the average surface temperature of the earth in 1850-1900. So this is the eighth year in […]

Climate Crisis

With Electric Vehicles, 90% of Americans would see Transportation Costs, CO2 Emissions Plummet

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A new University of Michigan study has shown that today, 90% of Americans would see lower transportation costs and lower CO2 emissions if they switched from a car with an Internal Combustion Engine or ICE to an electric vehicle (EV). They were only looking at the cost of running a […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis: We’re Seeing Alarming Changes in the entire Global Water Cycle

The Conversation

By Albert Van Dijk, Australian National University | – (The Conversation) – In 2022, a third La Niña year brought much rain to Australia and Southeast Asia and dry conditions to the other side of the Pacific. These patterns were expected, but behind these variations there are troubling signs the entire global water cycle is […]

Brazil

Brazil’s Jan. 6: Right wing Mob invades Nat’l Congress, Tries to Stop Progressive Policies like Saving Amazon

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, denounced the invasion of the national Congress and some ministry buildings in Brasilia on Sunday by a far right wing mob as “reprehensible and anti-democratic coup attempt by conservatives in Brazil, incited by the leaders of oligarchic power, its spokespersons and […]

Climate Crisis

Great Salt Lake Could be gone in 5 Years: Huge Environmental Climate Catastrophe, Arsenic Dust Storms

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Excessive water use is draining the Great Salt Lake so quickly that at this rate, it could be gone in as little as five years. So argue Benjamin W. Abbott and Bonnie K. Baxter, et al. in a new scientific paper. The Great Salt Lake is already not what it […]

Climate Crisis

Just How Big Can Wind Turbines get, as Some already Rival Skyscrapers?

The Conversation

By Simon Hogg, Durham University | – In 2023, some 100 miles off the coast of north-east England, the world’s largest wind turbines will start generating electricity. This first phase of the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm development uses General Electric’s Haliade X, a turbine that stands more than a quarter of a kilometre high […]

Climate Crisis

Shrinking Glaciers threaten Chinese and Indian Energy Transitions

The Third Pole

By Alok Gupta ( Third Pole ) – As glaciers shrink and monsoon rainfall becomes more unpredictable due to climate change, uncertainty around the viability of hydropower projects in the Hindu Kush Himalayas is increasing. A recent study on the state of a glacier on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau raises questions about the region’s long-term water supply and […]

Arctic

Why the Arctic turning into a Lukewarm Puddle should be a bigger Headline than a bit of Inflation

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Let me start 2023 with a glance back at a December news moment that caught my eye. To do so, however, I have to offer a bit of explanation. First, the obvious: I’m an old guy and, though I spend significant parts of any day scrolling through endless websites covering aspects […]