Environment

( Tomdispatch.com ) – With his perfect tan and slicked-back hair, California Governor Gavin Newsom stood at a podium at Sacramento’s Cal Expo in late September 2020 and announced an executive order requiring all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emissions by 2035. With the global Covid pandemic then at its height, […]

Climate Crisis

A Slow-Motion World War III? Imperial decline in the Age of Climate Change

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – I’ve been describing this world of ours, such as it is, for almost 23 years at TomDispatch. I’ve written my way through three-and-a-half presidencies — god save us, it could be four in November! I’ve viewed from a grave (and I mean that word!) distance America’s endlessly disastrous wars of this […]

Africa

Climate Crisis could drive 200 million Africans to Extreme Hunger by 2050

The Conversation

By Philip Kofi Adom, University of the Witwatersrand | – (The Conversation) – African countries will suffer significant economic loss after 2050 if global warming is not limited to below 2°C, a new study by the Center for Global Development has found. Environment and energy economist Philip Kofi Adom is the author of the report. […]

Climate Crisis

New Islands are being built at Sea – But they won’t Help Millions made Homeless by sea-level Rise

The Conversation

By Alastair Bonnett, Newcastle University | Dubai’s famous Palm Jumeirah is not the only man-made island to have emerged from the sea this century. Over the past 20 years, many islands have been built to accommodate both tourists and well-heeled residents – especially in the Arabian Gulf states and China. In an era of sea-level […]

Climate Crisis

First US Offshore Wind Farm goes Live off Long Island in Omen of a Green Future, Cheaper Electricity

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – This past week, the United States joined the rest of the advanced industrial countries in the world in having at least one functioning large offshore wind farm. Governor Kathy Hochul and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, among others, flipped a large electrical switch to signal that all 12 of […]

Climate Crisis

If trees could talk: Tree rings show recent decades warmest in 500 years

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Alex Hager/KUNC ( Cronkite News ) The current Western megadrought is unlike any other dry period the region has experienced over the past 500 years. That’s according to a new study in which scientists looked at tree rings to track changing temperatures going back to 1553. Researchers found that human-fueled climate change is driving […]

Climate Crisis

In First, Rich Nations Cut CO2 4.5% in ’23 but still Grew, as Coal fell to 1900 Levels

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Energy Agency issued a report this month that contains a kernel of significant hope for halting the poisoning of the earth by carbon dioxide emissions. The IEA found that emissions from the advanced economies actually fell in 2023, although global emissions increased slightly, by 1.1%. The report says, […]

Ecology

Calls for a ‘Green’ Ramadan revive Islam’s long Tradition of Sustainability and Care for the Planet

The Conversation

By Noorzehra Zaidi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County | – For many Muslims breaking fast in mosques around the world this Ramadan, something will be missing: plastics. The communal experience of iftars – the after-sunset meal that brings people of the faith together during the holy month – often necessitates the use of utensils designed […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis and Mass Extinction: Can Archeology tell us Which types of Species are most at Risk?

The Conversation

By Erin Saupe, University of Oxford and Cooper Malanoski, University of Oxford | – (The Conversation) – Many experts believe we may soon face a mass extinction event, with a high proportion of Earth’s species dying out. Projections indicate the climate will continue to change for centuries to come, and this is a significant threat […]