Construction crews work on a section of Highway 1 which collapsed into the Pacific Ocean near Big Sur, California on 31 January 2021. Heavy rains caused debris flows of trees, boulders, and mud that washed out a 150-foot section of the road. Photo: Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty Images

Floods after wildfires are washing California’s Pacific Coast Highway into the ocean – “It was great while it lasted”

By Joel Shannon and Doyle Rice 2 March 2021 (USA TODAY) – Soaring mountains on one side of the road and the Pacific Ocean on the other: It was 1956 and Gary Griggs was experiencing California State Route 1 for the first time. He was a child, but in the following decades he would drive […]

A child tosses a surgical mask into a fire during a mask-burning event at the Idaho Capitol building in Boise, Idaho on 6 March 2021. One protest sign reads, “I will not self-suffocate”. Photo: Nathan Howard / Getty Images

“Destroy them!” Anti-maskers encourage kids to burn their face coverings on the Capitol steps in Idaho

By Kim Bellware 7 March 2021 (The Washington Post) – Cheering parents watched as children tossed surgical masks into a fire outside the Idaho Capitol in Boise on Saturday as more than 100 people gathered to protest mask mandates as an affront to their civil liberties. The rally was one of several held statewide in […]

A western monarch butterfly balances on a flower in Vista, California. The number of western monarch butterflies wintering along the California coast has plummeted to a record low. Photo: Gregory Bull / AP

Fewer butterflies seen across the warming, drying landscapes of the American West – Increasing fall temperatures may be a significant driver of declining butterfly populations

By Mike Wolterbeek 4 March 2021 (Nevada Today) – New methods of conservation and management of butterfly habitat may be needed to stem the consistent annual decline in the numbers of butterflies over the past 40 years in the western United States, according to a new study published in the journal Science. “The widespread butterfly […]

Ice drapes machinery at the Entergy power plant in Houston, Texas, after Winter Storm Uri, 16 February 2021. Photo: Lauren Talarico / KHOU / Twitter

Texas power coop seeks bankruptcy protection after Winter Storm Uri – “The consumer and the taxpayer are pretty much one and the same. Whether it comes out of your left pocket or out of your right pocket, it’s coming out of your pocket.”

By Michelle Chapman and David Koenig 1 March 2021 (AP) – The largest and oldest power cooperative in Texas is filing for bankruptcy protection, citing last month’s winter storm that left millions without power, and it is unlikely to be the last utility to seek shelter in the courts. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative serves distributors […]

Total U.S. debt as a percentage of GDP, 1900-2021 and projected to 2051. In CBO’s projections, federal debt held by the public reaches 107 percent of GDP (surpassing its historical high) in 2031 and continues to climb. Federal debt held by the public is projected to equal 202 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2051, and the deficit is projected to equal 13 percent of GDP. Graphic: CBO

U.S. debt to break World War 2 record by 2031 – “Even if economic conditions were more favorable than CBO currently projects, debt in 2051 will probably be much higher than it is today”

By Niv Elis 4 March 2021 (The Hill) – The nation’s debt burden is on track to surpass its historic high point in a decade, reaching 107 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2031, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (pdf).  The debt surpassed 100 percent of GDP last year […]

Workers in decontamination suits spray down the deck around the “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Dado Galdieri / The New York Times

Brazil’s Covid crisis is a warning to the whole world, scientists say – “The acceleration of the epidemic is leading to the collapse of public and private hospital systems”

By Manuela Andreoni, Ernesto Londoño, and Letícia Casado 3 March 2021 RIO DE JANEIRO (The New York Times) – Covid-19 has already left a trail of death and despair in Brazil, one of the worst in the world. Now, a year into the pandemic, the country is setting another wrenching record. No other nation that […]

Texas power grid load shedding in the early morning of 15 February 2021, 0123-0203. Up to an additional ∼24,000 MW net generation was unavailable due to extreme weather. Loss of generation was 52,277 MW (approximately 48.6 percent) at the highest point. Peak load shed was 20,000 MW. Most of the loss was caused by limited gas availability for gas-fired power plants. Graphic: ERCOT

Texas power grid failure during Winter Storm Uri mostly due to limited gas availability for gas-fired power plants

25 February 2021 (ERCOT) – [The following report is excerpted from the ERCOT slide presentation, Review of February 2021 Extreme Cold Weather Event (pdf), presented by ERCOT CEO Bill Magness to the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee House Joint Committee on State Affairs and Energy Resources on 25 February 2021. –Des] Overview of Cold […]

Forest degradation in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve core area, 2002-2020. The presence of the Monarch butterfly in the Mexican hibernation forests decreased by 26 percent last December, occupying 2.10 hectares (ha) compared to the 2.83 hectares reported during the same month in 2019. Meanwhile, the core forest area in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) where the lepidopteran establishes the main hibernation colonies recorded, between March 2019 and March 2020, 20.26 ha of degradation, four times more than in 2018-2019 when 5 ha were degraded. Graphic: WWF

Eastern Monarch butterfly population declined by 26 percent in 2020 – Degradation of temperate forests in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve was four times higher than in 2019

By Wendy Caldwell 25 February 2021 MEXICO CITY (Monarch Joint Venture) – The presence of the Monarch butterfly in the Mexican hibernation forests decreased by 26 percent last December, occupying 2.10 hectares (ha) compared to the 2.83 ha reported during the same month in 2019. Meanwhile, the core forest area in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere […]

The Arkup luxury floating villa docked at Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida, on 5 February 2021. It costs $5.5 million and adjusts to the rising sea levels that are threatening Florida. The house, covered with a roof of solar panels, remains stable thanks to four hydraulic pillars that fix it to an underwater bed. Photo: Chandan Khanna / AFP

Miami mayor announces plan to spend billions tackling sea-level rise

27 February 2021 (AFP) – The U.S. city of Miami is to invest billions of dollars to tackle its vulnerability to rising sea levels, a reality that already affects the daily lives of residents used to constant flooding. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava said Friday she will protect communities hardest hit by rising sea levels, […]

Results from the WEF Global Risks Perception Survey 2020. The Global Risks Network chart shows how respondents rank the most concerning risks globally and their drivers. Data: World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2020 / The Global Risks Report 2021. Graphic: WEF

WEF Global Risks Report 2021: Risk landscape dominated by pandemic and climate change – “Ignoring risks doesn’t make them go away”

By Colleen Zitt 3 February 2021 (Zurich) – As Chief Risk Officer for Zurich North America, I eagerly await the annual release of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Risks Report. This year’s 2021 edition is no exception. Its thoughtful, laser-sharp analysis of short- and long-term global risks — dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change — […]

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