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Solar Farms Look to Produce Something Apart From Power: Pollinator Friendly Habitat
The vanishing mangroves of El Salvador: ‘All our efforts may only slow the destruction’
In Barra de Santiago, local people are struggling to save one of the few remaining mangrove forests, as they are lost to agriculture and urban sprawl
Along El Salvador’s western coast lies a 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) emerald oasis, in stark contrast to the rest of the country’s largely deforested landscape. This lush forest, just a few miles from the Guatemalan border, teems with diverse wildlife – from crocodiles and crabs to fish darting through seemingly endless mangroves.
More than a biodiversity haven, Barra de Santiago serves as a crucial carbon sink in a region battling deforestation, and a natural shield for a country exposed to climate crisis-induced tropical storms and escalating sea levels. It is also home to thousands of people, whose lives are intricately tied to the resources provided by land and sea.
Continue reading...Tourist boom threatens to swamp Indian mountain town where Dalai Lama took refuge
McLeod Ganj is a magnet for domestic holidaymakers fleeing scorching temperatures. But their cars choke the streets and new hotels stretch scarce water supplies
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj’s narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music. The powerful vehicles soon get stuck in the traffic near Kalachakra temple, the place of worship of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
“You can be stuck in this traffic easily for two hours,” says a frustrated local taxi driver, not keen to share his name.
Continue reading...Global heating could raise potential for offshore wind power, study says
Heating of 4C could increase potential offshore wind energy by average of 9% by end of century, research suggests
A warmer world could bring more potential for offshore wind energy, according to a new study. Although it doesn’t bear thinking about, with heating of 4C potential offshore wind energy could increase by an average of 9% globally by the end of this century.
Previous research has indicated that global heating will reduce the potential for wind power generation, but there is much uncertainty in how wind patterns will shift, and in particular how surface wind speeds will change over time.
Continue reading...Australia may delay release of 2035 climate target as world awaits outcome of US election
Experts urge Australia not to delay target too long as report by Climate Change Authority identifies six barriers to net zero
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The Australian government may delay the announcement of a 2035 climate target until after the February deadline and beyond the next election, in part due to uncertainty about the ramifications of the US presidential election.
Some big emitting countries are lagging in developing their 2035 emissions reduction targets, which under the Paris climate agreement are due before the UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil, in November next year.
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Continue reading...A cool flame: how Gaia theory was born out of a secret love affair
Scientist James Lovelock gave humanity new ways to think about our home planet – but some of his biggest ideas were the fruit of a passionate collaboration
Love rarely gets the credit it deserves for the advancement of science. Nor, for that matter, does hatred, greed, envy or any other emotion. Instead, this realm of knowledge tends to be idealised as something cold, hard, rational, neutral and objective, dictated by data rather than feelings. The life and work of James Lovelock is proof that this is neither possible nor desirable. In his work, he helped us understand that humans can never completely divorce ourselves from any living subject because we are interconnected and interdependent, all part of the same Earth system, which he called Gaia.
Our planet, he argued, behaves like a giant organism – regulating its temperature, discharging waste and cycling chemicals to maintain a healthy balance. Although highly controversial among scientists in the 1970s and 80s, this holistic view of the world had mass appeal, which stretched from New Age spiritual gurus to that stern advocate of free-market orthodoxy, Margaret Thatcher. Its insights into the link between nature and climate have since inspired many of the world’s most influential climate scientists, philosophers and environmental campaigners. The French philosopher Bruno Latour said the Gaia Theory has reshaped humanity’s understanding of our place in the universe as fundamentally as the ideas of Galileo Galilei. At its simplest, Gaia is about restoring an emotional connection with a living planet.
Continue reading...Can Australia reach net zero by 2050? A new reports shows it must be ‘the new normal’ | Frank Jotzo for the Conversation
The Climate Change Authority’s sector pathways review says a huge national effort is needed and the net zero goal should become front of mind for business, investors and governments
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A zero-carbon mindset must “become the new normal” in Australia, according to a much-anticipated report from the federal government’s independent climate advisory body.
The report, released today by the Climate Change Authority, describes how Australia can meet the crucial target of net zero emissions by 2050.
Continue reading...Phoenix, Arizona, hits its 100th consecutive day of 100F weather
Hottest large city in US broke previous heat record from 1993 as temperatures are expected to reach 110 tomorrow
Phoenix, Arizona, saw its 100th straight day of 100F (37.7C) heat this week.
The hottest large city in the United States broke its previous record of 76 consecutive 100F days set in 1993. The relentless streak, which started on 27 May and hit its 100th day on Tuesday, is forecast to persist into next week. An excessive heat warning is in effect through Friday, with temperatures expected to reach 110F (43C) tomorrow.
Continue reading...Climate Change Is Making Glacier Tourism More Popular, and Riskier
Constantine Arch in Rome damaged by lightning during violent storm
Residents tell of ‘apocalyptic scenes’ after more than 60mm of rainfall falls on Italian capital in less than an hour
Lightning has struck the Constantine Arch near the Colosseum in Rome during a violent thunderstorm, breaking off fragments from the ancient structure, officials have said.
The fragments were immediately gathered and secured by workers at the Colosseum Archeological Park, authorities in the Italian capital said. The extent of the damage, which occurred on Tuesday, was being evaluated.
“The recovery work by technicians was timely. Our workers arrived immediately after the lightning strike. All of the fragments were recovered and secured,” the park said in a statement.
Rome was hit by a sudden and powerful storm that dumped more than 60mm of rain in less than an hour, equivalent to a month’s rainfall in autumn. The city’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, described it as a “downburst”.
Continue reading...Europe’s farming lobbies recognise need to eat less meat in shared vision report
Dialogue with green groups results in agreement on ‘urgent, ambitious and feasible’ reforms in agriculture
Europe’s food and farming lobbies have recognised the need to eat less meat after hammering out a shared vision for the future of agriculture with green groups and other stakeholders.
The wide-ranging report calls for “urgent, ambitious and feasible” change in farm and food systems and acknowledges that Europeans eat more animal protein than scientists recommend. It says support is needed to rebalance diets toward plant-based proteins such as better education, stricter marketing and voluntary buyouts of farms in regions that intensively rear livestock.
Continue reading...‘Dangerously hot’ weather to roast US west as brutal summer continues
California, Nevada and Arizona swelter in what could be the most intense heatwave of an already blazing season
Searing temperatures will roast the US west once again this week, as a brutal heatwave could bring some of the highest temperatures of the summer so far.
Excessive heat warnings were in effect across parts of southern California, Arizona and Nevada, affecting tens of millions of people. The harsh weather was predicted to peak beginning on Wednesday and lasting into the weekend.
Continue reading...Physicist MV Ramana on the problem with nuclear power
Nuclear is costly, risky and slow, Ramana says. Why then, he asks in his new book, do governments still champion it?
You would be forgiven for thinking that the debate on nuclear power is pretty much settled. Sure, there are still some naysayers, but most reasonable people have come to realise that in an age of climate crisis, we need low-carbon nuclear energy – alongside wind and solar power – to help us transition away from fossil fuels. In 2016, 400 reactors were operating across 31 countries, with one estimate suggesting roughly the same number in operation in mid-2023, accounting for 9.2% of global commercial gross electricity generation. But what if this optimism were in fact wrong, and nuclear power can never live up to its promise? That is the argument the physicist MV Ramana makes in his new book. He says nuclear is costly, dangerous and takes too long to scale up. Nuclear, the work’s title reads, is not the solution.
This wasn’t the book Ramana, a professor at the University of British Columbia, planned to write. The problems with nuclear are so “obvious”, he wagered, they do not need to be spelled out. But with the guidance of his editor, he realised his mistake. Even in the contemporary environmental movement, which emerged alongside the anti-war and anti-nuclear movements, there are converts. Prominent environmentalists, understandably desperate about the climate crisis, believe it is rational and reasonable to support nuclear power as part of our energy mix.
Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change by MV Ramana is out now
Continue reading...Two Years After Deadly Floods Hit Pakistan, It’s Happening Again
Fire services warn of likely early start to Australia’s bushfire season
Three states and the Northern Territory face an increased risk of bushfire this spring, according to fire authorities and the BoM
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Large parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory, the south-west of Victoria and south-east corner of South Australia face an increased risk of bushfires this spring.
An official assessment from fire authorities and the Bureau of Meteorology, co-ordinated by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities (AFAC) and released on Wednesday morning, points to a likely early start to the fire season in Victoria.
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Continue reading...‘Typhoons have prevented me going to school’: The children behind South Korea’s landmark climate win
Hannah Kim, eight, and Jeah Han, 12, are part of a group of activists that won a four-year fight to tackle climate inaction. For them, it is just the beginning
Hannah Kim, eight, was just starting primary school when she joined the “baby climate litigation” to force South Korea’s government to protect the rights of future generations against the dangers of the climate crisis.
Now, with high school still some way off, she is toasting success after winning her part in a four-year legal battle that has set a significant precedent for climate-related legal action in Asia.
Continue reading...Por qué los destinos más populares de Europa ya no quieren más turistas
Let’s be honest: Australia’s claim to have cut climate pollution isn’t as good as it seems | Adam Morton
Take renewable energy out of the equation and there isn’t much else expected to reduce fossil fuel use this side of 2030
Australia has a problem with greenhouse gas emissions – a bigger problem than the political debate concedes.
Late last week, as Australians endured record August warmth and global heating-fuelled extreme rain, the federal government released data that suggest heat-trapping gases across most of the economy are currently headed in the wrong direction or yet to budge much from historic highs.
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Continue reading...Climate Plans for Aging US Must Focus on Higher Risks to Older Adults
It’s hard to keep up with the latest stories on extreme heat. 2023 was the world’s hottest year—a record that is likely to be broken by 2024. And just last month, NASA recorded the hottest day on record ever on July 22, the latest in a 13-month stretch of consecutive record-setting weather. These events are part of an upward march in extreme heat in the US that has turned summer into a veritable danger season. And what gets lost as we confront these record-breaking conditions is the reality that heat—like many other effects of climate change—has a disproportionate impact on older adults. But the good news is that when we center our heat response and broader climate resilience efforts in reducing the impacts to older adults, we also create safer communities for all.
Unique risksThe toll that climate change is taking on older adults is evident in the fatality rates recorded from an array of climate-fueled disasters:
- In July 2024, older adults accounted for 75% of the fatalities resulting from power outages following Hurricane Beryl in Texas. The deaths occurred in the days and sometimes weeks after the storm during which people were unable to cool their homes and power in-home medical equipment.
- In December 2023, atmospheric rivers hovered over Ventura County, California, flooding nearly 500 homes largely occupied by low-income households, undocumented people, and older adults. The relatively small size of the event failed to trigger traditional FEMA disaster relief, and many older residents lack the savings to rebuild or the willingness to take on a loan that may result in the loss of their largest remaining asset.
- A year ago, older adults represented 73% of the fatalities in the Lahain’a wildfires, in large part because they live with mobility challenges because of advanced age or disability, or the economic vulnerability that comes with living on a fixed income with little or no retirement savings.
Heat may be the topic that captures our attention this summer—and deservedly so. For older adults, hotter weather poses unique risks because older bodies are less able to regulate heat. They may also have pre-existing health conditions or take medications that make them more vulnerable to rising temperatures. That helps to explain why 80% of the 12,000 heat-related deaths each year in the US are among people over 60.
Higher costsBut a hotter planet threatens older adults in other ways, too. More hot days also mean greater demand for cooling, which in turn leads to higher utility bills that people of limited incomes can rarely afford. Already, low-income people pay 8% of their income on utilities—2.5 times more than the national average. For the 15% of older adults who live near or below the poverty line, this remains an untenable expense.
More extreme weather also means more frequent and deadly hurricanes, and increased flooding— and therefore higher insurance premiums as the insurance market adjusts to our new climate realities. Together, the rising cost of utilities, insurance, and rent or mortgage means that older adults are more housing cost-burdened than ever before. Today, more than half of all older renters pay more than one-third of their income on housing, as do more than one-quarter of older homeowners.
The effects of climate change on older adults are rarely made a centerpiece of climate resilience planning—despite the fact that people over 65 years of age are the fastest-growing demographic in the US. By 2030, older adults will outnumber children for the first time ever, a demographic shift that Newsweek described as a “population time bomb,” and one that will coincide with the growing risks of climate change.
Few communities consider the needs of older adults when planning for climate disasters if they plan for these disasters at all. While some communities and states have committed to becoming more “age-friendly” in an effort to create places where people of all ages can thrive, not nearly enough consider the climate-related impacts on housing, transportation, and connectedness that will shape how or if older adults can safely age in place.
Plan for an aging USIt’s not too late to get ahead of this challenge. Communities must learn from our recent experience of how climate change differently impacts older adults, and commit to climate resilience planning that centers their needs. When local and state leaders embrace solutions that work for older adults—like incentives to make homes more energy-efficient to reduce utility costs, and public transit systems that work better for non-drivers in times of emergency—benefits accrue to all.
It all begins by getting to know who the older adults are in your community and what they need. That means looking well beyond the two percent of older adults who live in nursing homes and assisted living, and identifying the housing, transportation, communication, and service needs of the 98% who live in the community, often alone. Invite older adults—and those who represent them, like Area Agencies on Aging—to be a part of climate resilience planning. Leverage resources such as those offered by AARP and FEMA on the topic of disaster resilience for older adults to start a broader conversation on climate risks to older adults, and how those risks can be mitigated—before, during, and after disasters. There are two things that we can be sure of: our hottest days are yet to come, and we (as individuals and as a nation) will continue to age. Let’s take action now to address the ways in which those two trends intersect.