wildfires

Australia’s “Greenslide” Shows the Political Dangers for Conservatives of Downplaying Climate Emergency

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had headed the conservative Liberal-National Coalition since 2018, has been turned out of office, and the climate emergency played a key role in his defeat. Morrison’s rival, victorious Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese, proclaimed that Australia could become a “renewable energy superpower.” He […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Emergency: 2022 Drought in Western US the Harbinger of a hotter, thirstier Atmosphere

The Conversation

By Imtiaz Rangwala, University of Colorado Boulder | – Much of the western U.S. has been in the grip of an unrelenting drought since early 2020. The dryness has coincided with record-breaking wildfires, intense and long-lasting heat waves, low stream flows and dwindling water supplies in reservoirs that millions of people across the region rely […]

Climate Crisis

Stressed by Drought and Pests, Trees in Southwest are losing Resilience to changing Climate

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Fiona L.Q. Flaherty | – ( Cronkite News ) – FLAGSTAFF – The electric blue sky frames a stand of ponderosa pines – their ramrod trunks picket the forest floor as sunlight floods the ground. A breeze tickles the green needles, mingling dust with the heady scent of pine. At first, it’s easy to […]

Climate Crisis

Global Heating Hits Working Class Harder, and bakes poor Housing in Hotter Cities

The Conversation

By Stephen Healy, Western Sydney University and Abby Mellick Lopes, University of Technology Sydney | – Cost of living is a major focus in this election campaign, and yet political leaders have been unacceptably silent on the disproportionate impact of climate change on Australians with low incomes. This is particularly true for Western Sydney, home […]

Climate Crisis

The Southwest’s Drought and Fires Are a Window to Our Climate Change Future

ProPublica

By Mark Olalde | – ( ProPublica ) – The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere has reached its highest level in recorded human history. Again. In April, the level of CO2 was 27% higher than it was 50 years ago, according to the latest data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and […]

Climate Crisis

Climate-Driven Drought has risen 29% this Century, will create 216 mn. Refugees by 2050: UN

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Convention to Combat Desertification issued a new report, “Drought in Numbers 2022 on Friday, warning of the dangers of the climate emergency for further desertification and wildfires and massive loss of human life. “The report warns that The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 percent […]

Climate Crisis

Wind and Solar generate Fully 20% of US Electricity in April for First time as Renewables Jump to 26.5%

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The United States generates 6.5% of its electricity from dams, producing hydroelectricity, mainly in the West. Up until about a decade ago, that was the major renewable source of electricity in the country. In 2021, the total proportion of renewables in the US energy mix was 20%, i.e. 13.5% came […]

Climate Crisis

Phasing out Oil can offer a better Life for Many

The Conversation

By Jack Marley | – The EU could ban crude oil imports from Russia within six months if a new round of sanctions is approved. Excluding a handful of countries, refined Russian oil products like petrol and diesel could cease to flow into the EU by the end of 2022. The EU currently relies on […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Emergency: Dangerously Early Southwest Wildfire Season Encroaches on iconic Towns and Nature

The Conversation

By Molly Hunter, University of Arizona | – New Mexico and Arizona are facing a dangerously early fire season. It has left neighborhoods in ashes and is having such devastating effects that the governor of New Mexico on May 3, 2022, urged President Joe Biden to issue a disaster declaration. Over 600 fires had broken […]