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USA Today – “Last year, Patrick Anderson went electric: He got a Porsche Taycan EV in dark blue. Anderson, who is CEO of East Lansing-based economic consulting firm Anderson Economic Group, loves the zippy acceleration and “exciting” features the car offers. He also gets satisfaction in knowing that driving an EV benefits the environment, he said. But Anderson’s joy comes with a dark side. “They …
Net Zero: principles for successful behaviour change initiatives. Key principles from past government-led behaviour change and public engagement initiatives, BEIS Research Paper Number 2021/063 October 2021. “The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) was commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to undertake a rapid review and synthesis of successful (and to a …
“Climate change is reshaping the geostrategic, operational, and tactical environments with significant implications for U.S. national security and defense. Increasing temperatures; changing precipitation patterns; and more frequent, intense, and unpredictable extreme weather conditions caused by climate change are exacerbating existing risks and creating new security challenges for U.S. interests. The risks of climate change to …
Treasury Press Release: “The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has released a new report in response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14030, Climate-related Financial Risk. For the first time, FSOC has identified climate change as an emerging and increasing threat to U.S. financial stability. The report and accompanying recommendations demonstrate FSOC’s commitment to building on …
In Defense of Plants – Podcast, October 10, 2121 – “How long can a tree live? How old are the oldest trees? The answers to questions like these are more nuanced that some might think. We sit down with curator of The Gymnosperm Database, Dr. Chris Earle, for some insights on tree longevity.” [h/t Barclay …
Beyond Plastics – Plastics are the New Coal: “Plastics are on track to contribute more climate change emissions than coal plants by 2030, a new report finds. As fossil fuel companies seek to recoup falling profits, they are increasing plastics production and cancelling out greenhouse gas reductions gained from the recent closures of 65 percent …
National Intelligence Estimate – Climate Change and International Responses Increasing Challenges to US National Security Through 2040. October 21, 2021. “We assess that climate change will increasingly exacerbate risks to US national security interests as the physical impacts increase and geopolitical tensions mount about how to respond to the challenge. Global momentum is growing for more …
UN – The Production Gap:”Governments still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than what would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, in stark contrast to increased climate ambitions and net-zero commitments. This report first introduced and quantified the “production gap” in 2019, finding that the world’s governments planned to …
Phys.org: “For five million years, woolly mammoths roamed the earth until they vanished for good nearly 4,000 years ago—and scientists have finally proved why. The hairy cousins of today’s elephants lived alongside early humans and were a regular staple of their diet—their skeletons were used to build shelters, harpoons were carved from their giant tusks, …
Yale Environment 360: “As temperatures rise in northern regions, migrating species are seeing less benefit from migrating north for the summer months, according to scientists who reviewed 25 recent studies. In the warm months, birds, mammals, and insects head north to access food, escape predators, and avoid diseases made worse by summer heat. But with …
Fast Company: “…Solving the plastic problem will require rethinking how the material is used in the beginning, so it isn’t landing in the ocean in the first place. That means a long list of changes, from consumers and companies moving away from single-use plastic and governments making brands responsible for the trash they create to …
Estimated Mortality and Morbidity Attributable to Smoke Plumes in the United States: Not Just a Western US Problem, First published: 21 August 2021, GeoHealth, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000457 – “The pollutants from landscape (wild, prescribed, and agricultural) fires are expected to have an increasing impact on air quality and health in the United States (US) across the current …
