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Don’t blame Dubai’s freak rain on cloud seeding—the storm was far too big to be human-made
Don’t blame Dubai’s freak rain on cloud seeding—the storm was far too big to be human-made Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Some years ago, I found myself making my way up the narrow stairs of a Learjet on a sultry runway in a deserted airport near the South Africa-Mozambique border. The humidity was there to taste—the […]
More climate-warming methane leaks into the atmosphere than ever gets reported – here’s how satellites can find the leaks and avoid wasting a valuable resource
More climate-warming methane leaks into the atmosphere than ever gets reported – here’s how satellites can find the leaks and avoid wasting a valuable resource Far more methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is being released from landfills and oil and gas operations around the world than governments realized, recent airborne and satellite surveys show. That’s a problem for the climate as […]
Only 57 producers are responsible for 80% of all fossil fuel and cement CO2 emissions since 2016 – new report
Only 57 producers are responsible for 80% of all fossil fuel and cement CO2 emissions since 2016 – new report Just 57 companies and nation states were responsible for generating 80% of the world’s CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels and cement over the last seven years, according to a new report released by the thinktank InfluenceMap. This finding […]
Ecological doom-loops: Why ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected
Ecological doom-loops: Why ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected Credit: Anna Kucherova / Shutterstock Around the world, rainforests are becoming savanna or farmland, savanna is drying out and turning into desert, and icy tundra is thawing. Indeed, scientific studies have now recorded “regime shifts” like these in more than 20 different types of ecosystem where […]
Ecological doom-loops: why ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected–new research
Ecological doom-loops: why ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected–new research Across the world, rainforests are becoming savanna or farmland, savanna is drying out and turning into desert, and icy tundra is thawing. Indeed, scientific studies have now recorded “regime shifts” like these in more than 20 different types of ecosystem where tipping points have been […]
Insects are vanishing worldwide – now it’s making it harder to grow food
Insects are vanishing worldwide – now it’s making it harder to grow food Over the past 20 years a steady trickle of scientific papers has reported that there are fewer insects than there used to be. Both the combined weight (what scientists call biomass) and diversity of insect species have declined. Some studies were based […]
Rising authoritarianism and worsening climate change share a fossil-fueled secret
Rising authoritarianism and worsening climate change share a fossil-fueled secret Around the world, many countries are becoming less democratic. This backsliding on democracy and “creeping authoritarianism,” as the U.S. State Department puts it, is often supported by the same industries that are escalating climate change. In my new book, “Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate […]
Intense heat and flooding are wreaking havoc on power and water systems as climate change batters America’s aging infrastructure
Intense heat and flooding are wreaking havoc on power and water systems as climate change batters America’s aging infrastructure The 1960s and 1970s were a golden age of infrastructure development in the U.S., with the expansion of the interstate system and widespread construction of new water treatment, wastewater and flood control systems reflecting national priorities in public […]
I’m a Luddite. You Should Be One Too.
I’m a Luddite. You Should Be One Too. Editor’s note: Luddism is often dismissed as “backwardness,” but it is actually a more advanced, considered, and wise position on technology. To be a Luddite is to stand with workers and the natural world against the death march of technology. This essay is a general introduction to the […]
Chemical pollution exceeds safe planetary limit: researcher Q+A on consequences for life on Earth
Chemical pollution exceeds safe planetary limit: researcher Q+A on consequences for life on Earth The production and release of plastics, pesticides, industrial compounds, antibiotics and other pollutants is now happening so fast and on such a large scale that it has exceeded the planetary boundary for chemical pollution, the safe limit for humanity, a new study […]
Beavers offer lessons about managing water in a changing climate, whether the challenge is drought or floods
Beavers offer lessons about managing water in a changing climate, whether the challenge is drought or floods It’s no accident that both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology claim the beaver (Castor canadensis) as their mascots. Renowned engineers, beavers seem able to dam any stream, building structures with logs and mud that can flood […]
E.O. Wilson’s lifelong passion for ants helped him teach humans about how to live sustainably with nature
E.O. Wilson’s lifelong passion for ants helped him teach humans about how to live sustainably with nature E. O. Wilson was an extraordinary scholar in every sense of the word. Back in the 1980s, Milton Stetson, the chair of the biology department at the University of Delaware, told me that a scientist who makes a […]
If all 2030 climate targets are met, the planet will heat by 2.7 C this century
If all 2030 climate targets are met, the planet will heat by 2.7 C this century Corals will not likely survive more than 2℃ global warming. Credit: Shutterstock If nations make good on their latest promises to reduce emissions by 2030, the planet will warm by at least 2.7℃ this century, a report by the […]
Climate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap
Climate scientists: concept of net zero is a dangerous trap Sometimes realisation comes in a blinding flash. Blurred outlines snap into shape and suddenly it all makes sense. Underneath such revelations is typically a much slower-dawning process. Doubts at the back of the mind grow. The sense of confusion that things cannot be made to […]
Facebook or Twitter posts can now be quietly modified by the government under new surveillance laws
Facebook or Twitter posts can now be quietly modified by the government under new surveillance laws A new law gives Australian police unprecedented powers for online surveillance, data interception and altering data. These powers, outlined in the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill, raise concerns over potential misuse, privacy and security. The bill updates the Surveillance Devices […]
