Climate Crisis

Oslo (Special to Informed Comment) – In November 1970 the Great Bhola Cyclone smashed into the southern coast of what is now Bangladesh, killing 500,000 people. It wasn’t just the deadliest storm in human history — it knocked over the first domino in a political chain reaction that brought the world to the brink of […]

Climate Crisis

Stanford U. Electricity now 100% Green, with Savings of $ .5 Billion; Why aren’t more Universities in Forefront of Climate Battle?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Chelci Adami of the Stanford Report writes that Stanford University has transitioned to 100% renewable electricity. The Stanford Solar Generating Station #2 went online in mid-March, adding 63 megawatts to the university’s electricity supply. The campus had completed a previous 54-megawatt solar installation in 2016, and the new facility has […]

Climate Crisis

In 20 years of studying how ecosystems absorb carbon, here’s why we’re worried about a tipping point of collapse

The Conversation

By Caitlin Moore, David Campbell, Helen Cleugh, Jamie Cleverly, Jason Beringer, Lindsay Hutley, and Mark Grant | – From rainforests to savannas, ecosystems on land absorb almost 30% of the carbon dioxide human activities release into the atmosphere. These ecosystems are critical to stop the planet warming beyond 1.5℃ this century – but climate change […]

Climate Crisis

The Five Horsemen of Today’s Apocalypse

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Once upon a time, the tutelary gods of nationalism and internationalism met for a chat. They had a superb perch above the clouds. From there, they could see everything happening on the Earth below and they set to arguing, as they so often did. Sophia, the goddess of internationalism, began by […]

Climate Crisis

If Biden Really wants Putin to Fall, He should make Green Energy a War Measure

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden, at the end of his impassioned address in Warsaw, said: “A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty. Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia — for free people […]

Climate Crisis

There’s No Better Time to Buy an Electric Car and Kick Our Oil Addiction

Sonali Kolhatkar

( Otherwords.org ) – Long used to cheap gas at the pump, Americans are experiencing serious sticker shock these days. News headlines link this sharp increase to Russia’s war on Ukraine. But that assumes oil companies have no control over the price of oil — that high prices stem “naturally” from things like the war […]

Climate Crisis

Human-Driven Climate Crisis: East Antarctica Ice Shelf collapses for First Time in Human History

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Associated Press reports that the Conger/Glenzer ice shelf in East Antarctica has collapsed. The event was caught on satellite video, and it is the first such collapse known to have occurred on the east coast of Antarctica, which had been thought to be more stable and less affected by […]

Climate Crisis

Largest American Wind Farm ever Built all-at-Once Opens in Oklahoma, Saves Customers $1 Billion over Fossil fuels

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – This week, American Electric Power (AEP), which operates in several states, inaugurated what it called the largest wind farm in the US ever built all at once. That is, there are larger wind facilities, but they were actually a congeries of several projects built over many years. The nearly 1 […]

Climate Crisis

American Exceptionalism is the Wrong Lens for our Massive Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Tomdispatch

By Aviva Chomsky | – Three years after the end of World War II, diplomat George Kennan outlined the challenges the country faced this way: “We have about 50% of the world’s wealth, but only 6.3% of its population. In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real […]