Climate Crisis

New flood maps show US damage rising 26% in next 30 years due to climate change alone, and the inequity is stark

By Oliver Wing, Carolyn Kousky, Jeremy Porter, and Paul Bates | – Climate change is raising flood risks in neighborhoods across the U.S. much faster than many people realize. Over the next three decades, the cost of flood damage is on pace to rise 26% due to climate change alone, an analysis of our new […]

Climate Crisis

Another Sign Big Three Automakers are dumping Big Oil: GM to invest $7 Billion in Michigan Electric Vehicle, Battery Plants

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Kalea Hall at the Detroit News reports that General Motors will invest $7 billion in the development of electric vehicles and batteries, in a bid to overtake Tesla. Article continues after bonus video WXYZ 7 Detroit: “GM to spend nearly $7B on EV, battery plants in Michigan” That $7 billion […]

Climate Crisis

‘Huge Climate Victory’ as Judge Blocks Biden’s Oil Lease Sale in Gulf of Mexico

Common Dreams

By Jake Johnson | – A federal judge late Thursday blocked the Biden administration’s massive oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, a significant win for environmentalists as they work to prevent the Interior Department from handing public lands and waters over to the fossil fuel industry. In his 68-page decision (pdf), […]

Climate Crisis

Youth, NGO, launch Major Lawsuit against German Gov’t for slow Climate Action in highest court

Clean Energy Wire

By Jessica Bateman | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Young Germans supported by an environmental NGO have filed a new lawsuit with the country’s highest court to force the government to further step up its climate ambitions. Nine children and young adults, along with Environmental Action Germany (DUH), launched a constitutional complaint claiming […]

Batteries

Climate Hope: Record $920 bn. was invested in Low-Carbon Tech in 2021

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – BloombergNEF reports that in 2021, a record-breaking $920 billion was invested globally in low-carbon technology, just short of $1 trillion. The report says that $755 billion was spent to implement low-carbon technologies, with $366 billion going into renewable energy and $273 billion into electrifying transportation. That $273 billion put into […]

Agriculture

With fewer animals to spread their seeds, plants could have trouble adapting to climate change

The Conversation

By Evan Fricke, Alejandro Ordonez, Haldre Rogers, and Jens-Christian Svenning | – Picture a mature, broad-branched tree like an oak, maple or fig. How does it reproduce so that its offspring don’t grow up in its shadow, fighting for light? The answer is seed dispersal. Plants have evolved many strategies for spreading their seeds away […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Emergency Parable: Mammoth Iceberg that broke free from Antarctica Dumps 168 billion tons of Water in South Atlantic

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Anne Braakmann-Folgmann et al. in an article for Remote Sensing of the Environment observed by satellite the now-disintegrated Iceberg A68A over its 3.5-year life since it hived off the Larsen-C Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 2017, and found that it dumped 168 billion tons of fresh water into the ocean […]

Climate Crisis

Europe is dependent on Russian Gas during Ukraine Crisis because it didn’t Ramp up Renewables Faster

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The growing conflict between the United States and the Russian Federation over the Ukraine has taken an increasingly dark turn, with press reports that US embassy personnel and dependents are being pulled out of Kiev and that President Biden is considering sending US troops to Ukraine’s neighbors. The conflict has […]

Climate Crisis

The Climate Emergency is Already Here: Deaths in Heat Waves are Increasing even in the Cool North

The Conversation

By Chloe Brimicombe | – When you take age out of the equation, temperature-related deaths are on the decline in England and Wales. That’s according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). But more people are going to hospital, compared with 20 years ago. It turns out, that’s not the only […]