By Tess Scholfield-Peters, University of Technology Sydney (The Conversation) – Mark Raphael Baker began writing his final book, A Season of Death, from his hospital bed, in the wake of his terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis. His second wife, Michelle, would later observe: “More than a comfort or distraction, in him it was a need.” The […]
The Alarming Findings of AI Model that analysed Millions of Images of retreating Glaciers
By Tian Li, University of Bristol; Jonathan Bamber, University of Bristol, and Konrad Heidler, Technical University of Munich (The Conversation) – The Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the global average since 1979. Svalbard, an archipelago near the northeast coast of Greenland, is at the frontline of this climate change, warming up to […]
How smaller, more affordable Electric cars can Accelerate the Green Transition
By Agnieszka Stefaniec, University of Southampton and Keyvan Hosseini, University of Southampton (The Conversation) – Norway is set to make history by becoming the first nation to sell only zero emission (electric- or hydrogen-powered) vehicles by the end of 2025. While this doesn’t mean that fossil fuel-powered cars already on the road will suddenly disappear […]
Gaza Deal: What it means for Peace in the Middle East
By Scott Lucas, University College Dublin (The Conversation) – After 15 months of bitter conflict on the Gaza Strip, a ceasefire deal has been agreed which promises an end to the fighting and will allow for the access of food and other desperately needed humanitarian aid to the civilian population. Since the Israel Defense Forces […]
Lebanon’s new President faces uphill Struggle to steer Country away from Brink of Collapse
By John Nagle, Queen’s University Belfast and Drew Mikhael, Queen’s University Belfast Lebanon’s parliament elected a new president on January 9 after a two-year political deadlock and 13 failed attempts. Joseph Aoun met the threshold for victory in the second round of voting after his rival, a Hezbollah-backed candidate called Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew from the […]
How the US Religious Right is making Religion Unpopular
By Galen Watts, University of Waterloo (The Conversation) – In 1961, less than one per cent of Canadians identified as having no religion. In 2021, 43 per cent of those between 15 and 35 considered themselves religiously unaffiliated. Organized religion — and especially Christianity — is in decline. Secularization is advancing apace. Most sociologists of […]
2024’s extreme Ocean Heat breaks Records again, leaving 2 Mysteries to solve
By Annalisa Bracco, Georgia Institute of Technology (The Conversation) – The oceans are heating up as the planet warms. This past year, 2024, was the warmest ever measured for the global ocean, following a record-breaking 2023. In fact, every decade since 1984, when satellite recordkeeping of ocean temperatures started, has been warmer than the previous […]
L. A. Fires show the Human Cost of Climate-Driven ‘Whiplash’ between Wet and Dry Extremes
By Doug Specht, University of Westminster (The Conversation) – October to April is normally considered to be the wet season in California, yet this January, the region is experiencing some of the most devastating fires it’s ever seen. As of January 10, five major fires in and around Los Angeles have burned over 29,053 acres, […]
As Los Angeles combusts, 2024 is declared Earth’s Hottest on Record
By Andrew King, The University of Melbourne and David Karoly, The University of Melbourne (The Conversation) – The year 2024 was the world’s warmest on record globally, and the first calendar year in which global temperatures exceeded 1.5°C above its pre-industrial levels. The official declaration was made on Friday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, […]