Climate Crisis

By Rene Van Acker, University of Guelph; Evan Fraser, University of Guelph; and Lenore Newman, University of The Fraser Valley | – Globally, about one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and food systems. The carbon footprint of food systems includes all the emissions from its growing, processing, transportation and waste. Agriculture is […]

Belgium

Dumping Russian Gas: 4 European countries seek 65 GW Offshore Wind by 2030, as EU Pledges $314 bn. for Green Energy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Anyone who follows the climate emergency and extreme weather events would think the serial catastrophes of the past couple years would be enough to put the governments into crisis mode in moving swiftly to green energy. It turns out that for Europe, at least, it took the Russian invasion of […]

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

The Iraqi Dust Bowl: The US Invaded for its Oil, but now Climate Change from burning Fossil Fuels is Smothering the Country

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some Middle East countries profit off oil and gas, but the very source of their prosperity is threatening their future, since burning these fossil fuels causes global heating, and you wouldn’t want the Middle East to be hotter than it already is. But it will be. The very oil that […]

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

Busan, S. Korea, constructing Solar-Powered Artificial Biorock Island to replace Coastal land lost to Sea Level Rise

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – UN Habitat, the municipality of Busan in South Korea, and the company OCEANIX are responding to the challenge of sea-level rise by building an artificial floating city off the coast of the country’s second-largest city. A prototype is expected to be in the water as early as 2025. Although a […]

Climate Crisis

Desertification and Land Degradation now Affects 50% of World’s Population, Economy: UN

China Dialogue

By Catherine Early | – ( China Dialogue ) – A “crisis footing” is needed to conserve, restore and use land sustainably, according to a major report that warns of food supply disruptions, forced migration and rapid biodiversity loss. Unless countries scale up action, there will also be a higher risk of zoonotic diseases like […]