Climate Crisis

By Jacqueline Peel, The University of Melbourne (The Conversation) – Climate change “imperils all forms of life” and countries must tackle the problem or face consequences under international law, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has found. The court delivered its long-awaited advisory opinion overnight. The momentous case opens the door for countries impacted by […]

Climate Crisis

How Electric Vehicles and Water Heaters are turning Cities into giant Batteries

The Conversation

By Bin Lu, Australian National University and Marnie Shaw, Australian National University (The Conversation) – As the electrification of transport and heating accelerates, many worry the increased demand could overload national power grids. In Australia, electricity consumption is expected to double by 2050. If everyone charges their car and heats water using electric systems at […]

Climate Crisis

Green Energy and protecting Nature get the Thumbs up in Climate Change study in 68 Countries

The Conversation

Marina Joubert, Stellenbosch University (The Conservative) – Africa has begun experiencing frequent extreme weather events. Extreme weather is defined as the kind of heatwaves, droughts, storms and floods that have historically been rare occurrences for the place and time, and which pose a danger to large numbers of people and the economy. Marina Joubert researches […]

Climate Crisis

Trump’s Terrorism against the Planet

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Yes, he’s done quite a job so far and, in a way, it couldn’t be simpler to describe. Somehow he’s managed to take the greatest looming threat to humanity and put it (excuse the all-too-appropriate image) on the back burner. I’m thinking, of course, about climate change. My guess is that […]

Climate Crisis

We Made the Climate Breakdown; We can Halt It, before it is too Late

H. Patricia Hynes

Greenfield, Mass. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature)In the summer of 2023, researchers “binge-watched 250 of the most-rated movies” of the past 10 years for climate research purposes. A mere 13 percent of films made mention of climate-related disasters, some more seriously and others “offhandedly” in dialogue. In contrast, since the rise of Hollywood as the […]

Climate Crisis

Extreme Weather alone doesn’t Change Views on Climate Change, People need to Link Them

The Conversation

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, […]