Climate Change

By Omid Ghasemi, UNSW Sydney (The Conversation) – Climate change has made extreme weather events such as bushfires and floods more frequent and more likely in recent years, and the trend is expected to continue. These events have led to human and animal deaths, harmed physical and mental health, and damaged properties and infrastructure. Will […]

Climate Crisis

Earth is Trapping much more Heat than Climate Models Forecast – and the Rate has Doubled in 20 Years

The Conversation

By Steven Sherwood, UNSW Sydney; Benoit Meyssignac, Université de Toulouse, and Thorsten Mauritsen, Stockholm University (The Conversation) – How do you measure climate change? One way is by recording temperatures in different places over a long period of time. While this works well, natural variation can make it harder to see longer-term trends. But another […]

Climate Crisis

Republicans and Climate Breakdown: They Know Better

William deBuys

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In the annals of national suicide, the present dismantling of the American state will surely rank high. It may not reach the apogee attained by Russia in its final Tsarist days or by Louis XVI in the run-up to the French Revolution, but Great Britain’s Brexit hardly smolders compared to the […]

Biodiversity

The Earth and Human Beings must Be Saved Together

H. Patricia Hynes

Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – A postcard I use as a bookmarker contains a set of principles for gardening in urban soils for minimizing risks to human health from exposure to lead and other contaminants. Developed many years ago for Boston Natural Areas Network by Dr. Wendy Heiger-Bernays, a toxicologist, and myself, […]

Climate Crisis

The 136 Largest Coastal Cities, including Egypt’s Alexandria, face $1 Trillion Losses per Year from Sea Level Rise by 2050

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a new paper, Chris R. Stokes et al. write in Communications Earth and Environment that even if we manage only to heat up the earth 1.5º C. (2.7º F.) above pre-industrial norms, that might be enough to provoke massive melting of the world’s principal ice sheets — those in […]

Climate Crisis

Earth is Heading for nearly 5ºF Heating this Century — Unprecedented Peril, But We’ve Made Progress

The Conversation

By Sven Teske, University of Technology Sydney (The Conversation) – Is climate action a lost cause? The United States is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement for the second time, while heat records over land and sea have toppled and extreme weather events have multiplied. In late 2015, nations agreed through the Paris Agreement to try […]

Climate Crisis

For many Island Species, the next Tropical Cyclone may be their Last

The Conversation

By Simon Valle, Bangor University and David Jorge Pereira, University of Birmingham (The Conversation) – When a major cyclone tears through an island nation, all efforts rightly focus on saving human lives and restoring livelihoods. However, these storms have permanent consequences for other species that are often forgotten. As the world continues to heat, cyclones […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Breakdown: Wildfire Smoke and Extreme Heat will make for a Hot, Smoky Future

The Conversation

By Stephanie Cleland, Simon Fraser University (The Conversation) – In recent years, Canadians have been subjected to both severe wildfire smoke and extreme heat events, as evidenced by the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season and the 2021 heat dome. Western Canada in particular has a long history of wildfires and heat waves, and with climate change, […]

Climate Crisis

Jerusalem Hills Wildfires: Climate Breakdown, Gov’t Incompetence and Green Colonialism

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The massive wildfires that broke out near Jerusalem and which threatened residents of the city appear to have been largely extinguished, though some embers have reportedly blazed back up. The fires have provoked a vicious blame game inside Israel. The Jerusalem Post argued that the current extremist government cut funding […]