Climate Crisis

By John Spicer, University of Plymouth | – The ocean sustains all life on our planet. It provides food to eat and oxygen to breathe, while playing a key role in moderating our climate. But marine life is increasingly threatened by climate change. The ocean is becoming considerably warmer, affecting its ability to sustain life. […]

Climate Crisis

You know you want an Electric Car. What does the IRA mean for Consumers this Year?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Thinking of buying an electric car? With the signing by President Biden yesterday of the Inflation Reduction Act, it is a great time to make the move from expensive and destructive gasoline to a much cleaner electric vehicle. But the rules on the $7,500 federal tax break for buying a […]

Climate Crisis

Next US energy boom could be wind power in the Gulf of Mexico

The Conversation

By Michael E. Webber, University of Texas at Austin and Hugh Daigle, University of Texas at Austin | – With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which contains US$370 billion for climate and energy programs, policy experts are forecasting a big expansion in clean electricity generation. One source that’s poised for growth is offshore wind […]

Climate Crisis

As Last Coal Plant closes, Cheap Solar Power Rescues Hawaii, which has reached ~40% Renewables

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Veteran green energy journalist Julian Spector at Canary Media tells the story of how the last-minute opening this July of the 39-megawatt (MW) Mililani 1 solar farm out near Pearl Harbor — which is hooked up to a 156 MW battery — saved Hawaii from brownouts when its last coal […]

Climate Crisis

Why Fightin’ Joe Biden may be the most Consequential President in Forty Years

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Joe Biden has been easy for the pundit class to write off. He isn’t, unlike Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, a great speechifier. He overcame his childhood stutter, but he still sometimes hesitates just as he gets to an applause line. He is still the little guy who got picked […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Emergency: Europe Parched, Farms Fallow, as Lakes and Rivers Dry up in worst Drought since time of Christ

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Europe is in the throes of a once-in-500 years severe drought that is making its rivers into shallow streams and its lakes into vanishing puddles. The mighty Rhine in Germany is so low that it may soon not be navigable. The biggest lake in Italy is fast disappearing. These are […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Change Threatens the Most Iconic U.S. Landscapes, from Joshua Trees to Wetlands

OtherWords

By Farrah Hassen | – ( Otherwords ) – Over the past decade, I’ve traveled countless times to the desert regions east of San Bernardino in Southern California. In the Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park, I’ve been captivated by the desert’s complex and diverse ecosystems — at once beautiful, perilous, fragile, and […]

Climate Crisis

Why Climate Activists Need to Celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act, a major Turning Point despite its Warts

Waging Nonviolence

By Daniel Hunter | – ( Waging Nonviolence) – Congress just passed a major $375 billion climate bill, and it will be signed by the president. Yet, when I texted long-standing colleagues in Sunrise Movement, climate justice groups, Sierra Club, local pipeline fights and elsewhere, I found the mood to be… ambivalent, cautious, and non-celebratory. […]

Antarctica

The World’s biggest Ice Sheet is more vulnerable to Global Warming than Scientists previously Thought

The Conversation

By Chris Stokes, Durham University and Guy Paxman, Durham University | – The eastern two thirds of Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet so large that if it melted the sea would rise by 52 metres [~yards]. Most scientists had once thought this ice sheet was largely invulnerable to climate change, but not any […]