Environment

In an academic paper in the journal Science Advances nestles a short sentence that at first glance is hard to detach from the specialist prose and mathematical formulas that dot it. On profile T3-T4, we confirm the formation of a cavity 4 km [roughly 2 and a half miles] wide by 350 m [0.2 miles] […]

Climate Change

European colonisation of the Americas killed 10% of world population and caused global cooling

The Conversation

By Alexander Koch, Chris Brierley, Mark Maslin and Simon Lewis | – While Europe was in the early days of the Renaissance, there were empires in the Americas sustaining more than 60m people. But the first European contact in 1492 brought diseases to the Americas which devastated the native population and the resultant collapse of […]

Donald Trump

Bolton & Trump’s Gerontocrats may drag us into Venezuela over Oil when they could just buy an EV

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – There are many things wrong with National Security Adviser John Bolton, but the worst is his fixation on petroleum politics. His response to the complex crisis of Venezuela is to hope that US energy corporations can produce some of that country’s oil (“It will make a big difference to the […]

Climate Change

The Main Drag on Saving Planet from Boiling? The Super-Rich

Sam Pizzigati

(Otherwords.org) – Millions of years ago, life on Earth survived an existential climate crisis. But that Earth had a distinct advantage: no rich people. We either keep fossil fuels in the ground, or we fry. That’s the conclusion of another new blockbuster study on climate change, this one from the National Academy of Sciences. Our […]

Climate Change

Climate Stress drove Wave of Arab Spring Refugees

Middle East Monitor

Severe droughts made more likely by global warming worsened conflict in Arab Spring countries early this decade, forcing people to flee, researchers said on Wednesday, publishing evidence they said proved the connection for the first time, reports Reuters. The study used data from asylum applications in 157 countries from 2006-2015, together with an index that […]

Climate Change

With World on Precipice of Climate Catastrophe, US CO2 Emissions Skyrocketed in 2018

ProPublica

By Abrahm Lustgarten | – ( ProPublica) – A report by a private research company found that U.S. emissions, which amount to one-sixth of the planet’s, didn’t fall in 2018 but instead skyrocketed. The 3.4 percent jump for 2018, projected by the firm, would be second-largest surge in greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. since […]

Climate Change

We’re on Course to Miss our “Best Chance” of Stopping Runaway Climate Change by 2020

AFP

Paris (AFP) – The world is on course to miss its “best chance” of preventing runaway climate change by ensuring global greenhouse gas emissions peak in 2020, researchers warned Tuesday. Even as Earth is buffeted by superstorms, droughts and flooding made worse by rising seas, and as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise globally, an […]

Climate Change

The Fate of the Planet may Depend on You Changing your Diet – Lancet

contributors

By Isabella Kaminski | – ( ChinaDialogue) – New research calls for a switch to healthier foods and sustainable farming, writes Isabella Kaminski The ideal diet is mainly vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts. (Image: Public Health Image Library) A sustainable international food system that feeds people better would be a global “win-win”, according […]

Pollution

Trump’s EPA to Kill 11,000 a Year with Mercury Nerve Poison

Olivia Alperstein

( Otherwords) – Mercury regulations save 11,000 lives each year. Now, the EPA wants to weaken them. While Americans were quietly preparing to ring in the New Year, the EPA gave families a deadly present to start the year off wrong. On December 28, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal that would effectively weaken […]