Category: Sustainability

https://www.ft.com/content/3be2100f-3ea5-42a2-9523-33e05953705c?accessToken=zwAGDClbwdTwkc874hAPPqVCotOVIzPgWVNwXA.MEQCIHT1yBcO55ONzsrmsoZxsFYiyQrsyRpR386NdGaMpL4SAiA9pnlxrD-Dr4x0p–78Rwrq0U3fhb1SIK5Mufb_NaWsw&sharetype=gift&token=2536f27a-c18b-4616-82e3-8ddbf2b0413c

Unprecedented dry spell plunges residents into crisis and highlights threats to rainforest’s role as carbon sink

One of the world’s largest rivers and a major tributary of the Amazon, the yawning Rio Negro is a pillar of the rainforest ecosystem that is crucial to the stability of the global climate. But vast sections of the waterway are currently dry. For weeks, an unprecedented drought has pummelled the region, reducing water levels in key Amazonian arteries to record lows and wreaking havoc on local communities and the unique wildlife of the biome.

https://www.wsj.com/science/environment/green-concrete-carbon-dioxide-emissions-storage-c70c0a2b?st=yvjrz32dlgh4lae&reflink=article_email_share

ARLINGTON, Va.—At concrete plants across the world, diesel mixer trucks take in a polluting blend of sand, gravel, water and cement. A facility outside Washington, D.C., is adding a new ingredient to clean up the process: carbon dioxide. 

The hybrid material—known as “green” concrete—reduces the carbon footprint of one of the dirtiest industrial sectors in the world and is emerging as an alternative to carbon storage options such as underground wells and pipelines that require regulatory approval and local support. 

https://www.wsj.com/science/environment/climate-change-us-economy-c9fbda96?reflink=integratedwebview_share

Consequences will worsen unless more is invested in clean energy and cities adapt to changing environments, a federal report finds

The U.S. now experiences an extreme weather event in which damages and costs top $1 billion every three weeks.

That compares with every four months in the 1980s, when adjusted for inflation, according to the latest installment of the U.S. National Climate Assessmentreleased Tuesday.

For the first time, the assessment includes a separate chapter on the economic impacts associated with climate action.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/20/climate/global-power-electricity-fossil-fuels-coal.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Carbon-free electricity has never been more plentiful. Wind and solar power have taken off over the past two decades, faster than experts ever expected. But it hasn’t yet been enough to halt the rise of coal- and gas-burning generation.

That’s because global demand for electricity has grown even faster than clean energy, leaving fossil fuels to fill the gap.

The dynamic has pushed up carbon emissions from the power sector at a time when scientists say they need to be falling — and fast — to avoid dangerous levels of global warming.

Climate scientists say fossil fuel use needs to fall rapidly – but oil-rich kingdom is working to drive up demand

Saudi Arabia is driving a huge global investment plan to create demand for its oil and gas in developing countries, an undercover investigation has revealed. Critics said the plan was designed to get countries “hooked on its harmful products”.

Little was known about the oil demand sustainability programme (ODSP) but the investigation obtained detailed information on plans to drive up the use of fossil fuel-powered cars, buses and planes in Africa and elsewhere, as rich countries increasingly switch to clean energy.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/27/revealed-saudi-arabia-plan-poor-countries-oil

The geography of the American Midwest is mighty appealing in a world on fire.

https://degrowthistheanswer.substack.com/p/the-next-great-migration-in-america

In American history, “The Great Migration” refers to the mass migration of African Americans from the South to the North and West between about 1916 and 1970. It is estimated that between 5 – 7 million African Americans made this move to leave an unhospitable South for a better life in the North and West.

This migration has been somewhat reversed since 1970, as many African-American families have returned to the South, drawn by improving governance and social factors, a cheaper cost of living, better weather, and reconnecting family ties. The numbers of the Great Migration have not been reversed, but they have moved significantly. In 1900, about 90% of African Americans lived in the South. By 1970, that number had dropped to 53%. By 2020, about 57% of the country’s African American population lived in the South, not a total reversal, but the reversal of a trend.

Last month, we heard yet again about the need to stop global warming at about 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels. The International Energy Agency outlined a plan to meet that goal, and the United Nations secretary-general implored nations to get serious about cutting emissions to make it a reality.

That goal is a fantasy. This summer, global warming already yielded monthly average temperatures that exceeded pre-industrial averages by 1.5 degrees. It took more than a century for global annual average temperatures to reach the first degree, which happened around 2015. Climate data suggest that the next half-degree is likely to happen by the early 2030s, if not sooner, and that 2023 will be the warmest year on record.

Adaptation means lessening the harm caused by storm surges, floods, heat waves, fires and other weather-related perils. It requires new infrastructure, early warning systems and better awareness of how changes in the climate will harm things we value. The best adaptation strategies go further to pursue resilience—the ability to bounce back from destructive changes.

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-opinion-climate-isnt-emissions-huge.html

These northern U.S. communities may not be completely immune to a warming world, but they are well-placed to meet the needs of an influx of climate migrants.

https://apple.news/AemVPUF0xRhKxjHAAoLLufQ

This year’s record-setting ocean temperatures are the result of decades of climate warming and an El Niño pattern that is releasing heat from the Pacific into the atmosphere and affecting ocean temperatures globally, according to Michael McPhaden, senior scientist at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. 

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/hurricane-idalia-why-climate-change-17ef3607?reflink=integratedwebview_share