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Category Archives: Climate Change

UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat

“The UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat brings together the diverse expertise and perspectives of ten specialized UN entities (FAO, ILO, OCHA, UNDRR, UNEP, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, UNICEF, WHO, WMO) in a first-of-its-kind joint product, underscoring the multi-sectoral impacts of extreme heat. Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere. Billions of people around the world are wilting under increasingly severe heatwaves driven largely by a fossil-fuel charged, human-induced climate crisis. Extreme heat is tearing through economies, widening inequalities, undermining the Sustainable Development Goals, and killing people.  The Call for Action calls for an urgent and concerted effort to enhance international cooperation to address extreme heat in four critical areas: Caring for the vulnerable – Protecting workers – Boosting resilience of economies and societies using data and science – Limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C by phasing out fossil fuels and scaling up investment in renewable energy.”

Here’s how extreme climate is driving inflation

“TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — In today’s Climate Classroom, we will be speaking to William S. Becker, a writer for The Hill, a Nexstar-owned property on climate inflation, better known by its new name “climateflation.” No doubt it’s a new term to most, but it’s very real and it’s already hitting us in the wallet— think… Continue Reading

The world’s most, and least, walkable cities

The Economist [unpaywalled]: “Cars can be a nuisance. Just ask anyone stuck on London’s M25 motorway or Houston’s Katy Freeway. More cars create more polluting traffic jams, and the amount of space needed to drive them, park them and re-fuel them could be used for more pleasant purposes, such as parks and recreational areas. It… Continue Reading

Warren Leads Senate Response to End of Chevron Doctrine

Truthout: “A group of senators led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) has introduced a bill to combat the Supreme Court’s seismic pro-corporate decision last month to overturn a precedent known as Chevron deference that has enabled federal agencies to issue regulations for decades. Ten senators joined Warren on Tuesday in introducing the bill that would… Continue Reading

We mapped weather forecast accuracy across the U.S. Look up your city.

[unpaywalled] “Everyone complains about the weather forecast, but some people have more cause to grumble than others. In Miami, the temperature forecast is usually accurate a week into the future. But in Paonia, Colo., even the one-day temperature forecast is wrong by almost 6 degrees Fahrenheit on average. That’s according to our analysis of government… Continue Reading

UNESCO raises global alarm on the rapid degradation of soils

“UNESCO is warning that 90% of the planet’s land surface could be degraded by 2050, with major risks for biodiversity and human life. At an international conference in Agadir (Morocco), Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, appealed to the Organization’s 194 Member States to improve soil protection and rehabilitation. UNESCO is also undertaking a number of… Continue Reading

The Fraud of Plastic Recycling

Center for Climate Integrity – “Underpinning the plastic waste crisis is a campaign of fraud and deception that fossil fuel and other petrochemical companies have created and perpetuated for decades. Through new and existing research, “The Fraud of Plastic Recycling” shows how Big Oil and the plastics industry have deceptively promoted recycling as a solution… Continue Reading

The MAGA Plan to End Free Weather Reports

The Atlantic [unpaywalled]: “In the United States, as in most other countries, weather forecasts are a freely accessible government amenity. The National Weather Service issues alerts and predictions, warning of hurricanes and excessive heat and rainfall, all at the total cost to American taxpayers of roughly $4 per person per year. Anyone with a TV,… Continue Reading

Millions of Americans are stranded on “heat islands”

Axios: “Millions of Americans live in parts of cities where the “urban heat island” effect can significantly increase temperatures, especially during heat waves, per a new analysis by nonprofit climate research group Climate Central. Why it matters: Heat islands — wherein heat is trapped by heat-absorbing surfaces and structures — can make cities less livable… Continue Reading

The World’s Power Grids Are Failing as the Planet Warms

Bloomberg [unpaywalled] – Outages from Albania to Texas show how electricity networks aren’t ready for climate change. “…The climate crisis exposes electricity networks to flash floods ripping down transmission towers, droughts drying up hydro reservoirs and demand spikes from cooling during searing heat. “The whole power system was built and designed in one climatic era… Continue Reading

Answers – What’s Project 2025?

Unpacking the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government “…The Forces Behind Project 2025 – Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts launched Project 2025 in April 2022, a few months before Trump officially announced his reelection campaign. Since then, the number of groups backing the initiative has grown. As of now, Project 2025’s advisory board and so-called… Continue Reading