Environment

They think they can — and that thinking just may doom the rest of us. ( Inequality.org) – So where do you see yourself living the rest of your life? The richest among us are keeping their options all open. On the one hand, our deepest pockets are buying up new super-luxury abodes as if the […]

Climate Crisis

Global Heating of more than 3°C this Century may wipe 40% off the world’s Economy

The Conversation

By Timothy Neal, UNSW Sydney (The Conversation) – The damage climate change will inflict on the world’s economy is likely to have been massively underestimated, according to new research by my colleagues and I which accounts for the full global reach of extreme weather and its aftermath. To date, projections of how climate change will […]

Climate Crisis

Big Banks accept a Catastrophic 5.4º F. Temperature Rise, Hope to sell People more Air Conditioners

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Corbin Hiar reports at the Scientific American that the big banks are now banking on a 5.4º F. (3º Celsius) rise in global temperatures above the pre-industrial average. Morgan Stanley let the conclusion slip in a report on air conditioner sales, which it expects to double, what with the extra […]

Climate Crisis

Your Gasoline Car is an Engine of Trump’s Fascism: Resistance requires going Green

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Mussolini defined fascism as the “merger of state and corporate power.” But not all corporations are equally complicit. Obviously, our current fascist moment is driven in part by a merger of the US government with the portfolio of companies owned by Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. The focus on the […]

Featured

China’s BYD has a $16K “Tesla-killer,” as IEA finds EVs are an Oil Company-Killer

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Incredible new developments in electric vehicles are taking place in China with global implications. China’s BYD sold $100 billion worth of its electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024, outstripping Tesla, the sales of which were $97 billion. Since CEO Elon Musk has ruined the Tesla brand by attacking Americans’ social security, […]

Climate Crisis

Iraq’s Climate Crisis is a Human Rights Crisis

Human Rights Watch

Sarah Sanbar Iraq Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division ( Human Rights Watch ) – By any metric, Iraq’s environment is under severe pressure. Lakes, rivers, and marshlands are shrinking, and in some cases entirely disappearing. Sandstorms are increasing in frequency and severity, resulting in hospitalizations and the grounding of flights. Decades of conflict-related […]

Climate Crisis

Shamash! “Night Flight”

Juan Cole

Panel #40 Previous panels : >

plastic

Microplastics Hinder Plants’ Photosynthesis, threatening Massive Crop and Seafood Losses

The Conversation

By Jack Marley, The Conversation (The Conversation) – A graph I saw in high school appeared to show the Earth breathing. It was a graph that plotted carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st. CO₂ had risen steadily, and then more rapidly, but it hadn’t gone […]

CO2

CO2 in Atmosphere Higher than in 2 Million Years, with 2024 the Hottest Year Ever Recorded

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual report of the World Meteorological Organization concludes that in 2023, the latest year for which a complete analysis has been carried out, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere reached its highest level ever recorded —- about 420 parts per million (ppm). That’s 151% higher than […]