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Climate
A Major Push to Protect Nature Is Happening Now
From drones to genomics, science can help fight extinction: that work must begin at Cop16 | Angela McLean
As nations meet in Colombia to confront species and ecosystem loss, the onus is on the global north to put science and collaboration at the heart of the issue
- Angela McLean is chief scientific adviser to the UK government
Biodiversity, the incredible variety of life on Earth, is the backbone of the ecosystems that allow life on this planet to flourish. From the rich soil that nurtures our food and stores our carbon, to the green spaces that improve our mental health, biodiversity is an unsung hero upon which our societies and economies thrive.
Despite the clear benefits of – and moral arguments for – protecting nature, human activities are accelerating biodiversity loss at unprecedented rates. We are destroying habitats, overexploiting natural resources and introducing invasive species, which put plant and animal species at risk of extinction. Human-induced climate change is intensifying biodiversity loss and altering ecosystems, reducing their ability to provide natural climate solutions. Right now, in South America, devastating drought and fires – exacerbated by climate change – are destroying millions of acres of forest habitats.
Continue reading...Smoke pollution from wildfires may be killing an extra 12,000 people a year, new research suggests
Global heating particularly increasing risk of death from smoke inhalation in Australia, South America, Europe and parts of Asia
Global heating is causing more of the planet to be burned from wildfires and probably killing an extra 12,000 people a year from breathing in smoke, according to new research.
Global heating was particularly increasing the risk of death from wildfire smoke in Australia, South America, Europe and the boreal forests of Asia, one modelling study found.
Continue reading...Scientists Are Mapping Landslide Risk in Alaska. Some Homeowners Don’t Want to Know.
Why the Oil and Gas Industry Is So Afraid of Kamala Harris
‘I’m not voting for either’: fracking’s return stirs fury in Pennsylvania town whose water turned toxic
The small town of Dimock saw its water become brown, undrinkable, even flammable – and its residents are still feeling the effects
Fracking has burst back on to the national stage in the US presidential election contest for the must-win swing state of Pennsylvania. But for one town in this state that saw its water become mud-brown, undrinkable and even flammable 15 years ago, the specter of fracking never went away.
Residents in Dimock, a rural town of around 1,200 people in north-east Pennsylvania, have been locked in a lengthy battle to remediate their water supply that was ruined in 2009 after the drilling of dozens of wells to access a hotspot called the “Saudi Arabia of gas” found deep underneath their homes.
Continue reading...Humanity is on the verge of ‘shattering Earth’s natural limits’, say experts in biodiversity warning
As the Cop16 conference begins, scientists and academics say human activity has pushed the world into a danger zone
Humanity is “on the precipice” of shattering Earth’s limits, and will suffer huge costs if we fail to act on biodiversity loss, experts warn. This week, world leaders meet in Cali, Colombia, for the Cop16 UN biodiversity conference to discuss action on the global crisis. As they prepare for negotiations, scientists and experts around the world have warned that the stakes are high, and there is “no time to waste”.
“We are already locked in for significant damage, and we’re heading in a direction that will see more,” says Tom Oliver, professor of applied ecology at the University of Reading. “I really worry that negative changes could be very rapid.”
Continue reading...Degrowth has an image problem it desperately needs to overcome | Larry Elliott
We need to deal with the climate effects of global capitalism the way we deal with inflation – by applying the brakes
The impact of the climate crisis is evident everywhere. Finance ministers meet in Washington DC this week for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in the wake of two devastating hurricanes in the US within a month. Parts of the Sahara have been flooded for the first time in half a century.
Scientists attribute the growing number of extreme weather events to a planet that continues to get hotter as the result of rising concentrations of greenhouse gases linked to human activity. Global temperature records are being broken with every year that passes and the idea that this can continue indefinitely is a fantasy.
Continue reading...Cop16: Colombia prepares to host ‘decisive’ summit on biodiversity
Experts say UN event will be critical for world’s declining wildlife population as host nation pushes for inclusivity
World leaders, environmental activists and prominent researchers have begun to arrive in Cali, Colombia, for a biodiversity summit that experts say will be decisive for the fate of the world’s rapidly declining wildlife populations.
The host nation is also hoping that the summit, which formally opens on Sunday evening, will be the most inclusive in history.
Continue reading...UK facing calls at Commonwealth summit to pay billons for role in climate crisis
Slavery also on agenda at meeting of government heads, which King Charles will attend for first time as monarch
Britain faces growing calls at this week’s Commonwealth summit to pay billions of pounds in reparations to poorer countries for causing climate change as well as slavery.
The leaders of some of the nations at most risk from the effects of climate change plan to use the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa to lobby for reparative justice from the UK and other wealthy countries that are among the biggest polluters.
Continue reading...Sudamérica enfrenta un alarmante futuro de sequías históricas
Los meteorólogos ofrecen un vistazo a los pronósticos para este invierno
An Alarming Glimpse Into a Future of Historic Droughts
Reinventing Concrete, the Ancient Roman Way
Anti-fossil fuel comic that went viral in France arrives in UK
World Without End topped bestseller lists but was criticised for embracing nuclear power
In 2019, France’s best known climate expert sat down to work with its most feted graphic novelist. The result? Perhaps the most terrifying comic ever drawn.
Part history, part analysis, part vision for the future, World Without End weaves the story of humanity’s rapacious appetite for fossil fuel energy, how it has made possible the society people take for granted, and its disastrous effects on the climate.
Continue reading...Hundreds evacuated in California city after brush fire grows out of control
Oakland residents told to flee as 80 firefighters battle blaze amid power shut-offs to combat major ‘diablo wind’
A fast-moving brush fire Friday in northern California damaged at least 10 structures in the hills of Oakland, prompting an evacuation order as it grew to 13 acres (4 hectares).
No injuries were immediately reported. Crews were called to the area around 1.30pm for a vegetation fire. In less than 30 minutes, the blaze had grown, requiring more firefighters to race to the scene. By 2.30pm, more than 80 firefighters were working to control the blaze alongside state crews, the Oakland fire department said.
Continue reading...A ‘New Day’? Justices Step Back, Slightly, From an Aggressive Climate Stance.
The week around the world in 20 pictures
The death of Yahya Sinwar, tributes to Liam Payne, Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas and the world twins festival: the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists
Continue reading...Kamala Harris urged to flesh out climate plan amid warnings about Trump
Democratic presidential nominee has raised alarm about Trump’s plans but has not said much about her own
As the US south-east struggles to rebuild after two deadly and climate-fueled hurricanes, some environmental advocates are demanding Kamala Harris flesh out a strong climate plan.
Since Hurricanes Helene and Milton ravaged parts of the country, the vice-president has slammed Donald Trump’s climate record by airing a new campaign ad showing the oft-criticized moment the former president redrew a hurricane’s path with a marker, and taking aim at Trump’s spread of climate misinformation and history of withholding disaster aid.
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