Ice Melt

Industrialized Nations must stop Producing Fossil Fuels by 2034 to keep Climate from Going Tropical and Chaotic

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Scientists Dan Calverley and Kevin Anderson at Manchester University have brought out a new report looking hard at what would have to be done for us to have a 50/50 chance of keeping the increase in the average temperature of the earth’s surface to 2.7 degrees F. (1.5C) over preindustrial […]

Climate Crisis

Arctic hits 50° F above normal, as Scientists predict it will soon have more Rain than Snow

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – While it made headlines because it is freakish, that parts of Antarctica are 70 degrees F. warmer than usual may just be a fluke. Climate is a trend line you can see over 50 years of changes. Weather is what happens for a day or a week. The more alarming […]

Climate Crisis

IPCC report: Half the world is facing water scarcity, floods and dirty water — large investments are needed for effective solutions

The Conversation

By Balsher Singh Sidhu, University of British Columbia | – More than half the world’s population faces water scarcity for at least one month every year. Meanwhile, some people have to deal with too much water, while others have access to only poor water quality. That’s billions of people living with drought in Africa and […]

Agriculture

UN Climate Panel: 50% of Species have fled toward Poles, as Extinctions and Food and Water Shortages Burgeon

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued its 2022 report and the scientists have bad news for us. This report is far more pessimistic than its predecessors. The climate emergency is being caused by humans burning coal, petroleum and methane gas for electricity and heating and cooling buildings. […]

Climate Crisis

UN: Pace of Climate Change too fast for many Plant and Animal Species to Adapt

China Dialogue

Shifting seasons, intensifying wildfires and noise pollution are flagged as increasingly urgent environmental issues in a bleak report by the UN Environment Programme. ( China Dialogue ) – The pace of climate change is accelerating too fast for many plant and animal species to adapt, and leading to profound impacts on species’ ability to survive […]

Climate Crisis

“Niagara Falls becoming Horizontal:” NOAA warns of nearly 1 foot Sea Level Rise in 30 years, “Common” High Tide Floods

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The sea level along the US coastline in the lower 48 will rise as much in just the next 30 years as it had the century before our own moment (1920-2020), which is to say, nearly a foot or a third of a meter. That is the takeaway from the […]

Climate Crisis

Not Since Charlemagne: Megadrought in US Southwest, boosted by Human CO2 emissions, is worst since 800 AD

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The megadrought in the US West has produced drier conditions as of the past year than any seen in over 1,200 years, according to a just-published article in Nature Climate Change by scientists A. Park Williams, Benjamin I. Cook and Jason E. Smerdon of UCLA. The length and intensity of […]

Batteries

Biden’s Moonshot: Announces Green Race with China for Electric Vehicle Dominance as MSM Misses Story

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Biden admitted on Tuesday that, regarding electric vehicles, “China has been the — leading that race up to now. But this is about to change . . .” The president of the United States announced a Green Race with Beijing for dominance of the electric vehicle manufacturing sector, in […]

Climate Crisis

A quarter of the world depends on Glacier Melt for their Water; it will be Gone Sooner than Expected

The Conversation

By Mathieu Morlighem | – Mountain glaciers are essential water sources for nearly a quarter of the global population. But figuring out just how much ice they hold – and how much water will be available as glaciers shrink in a warming world – has been notoriously difficult. In a new study, scientists mapped the […]