Climate change has worsened global economic inequality – “Most of the poorest countries on Earth are considerably poorer than they would have been without global warming,”

By Josie Garthwaite 22 April 2019 (Stanford University) – A new Stanford University study shows global warming has increased economic inequality since the 1960s. Temperature changes caused by growing concentrations of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere have enriched cool countries like Norway and Sweden, while dragging down economic growth in warm countries such as India and Nigeria. […]

Only one-third of the world’s longest rivers remain free-flowing – Nearly 60,000 large dams exist worldwide, with more than 3,700 planned

Only one-third of the world’s longest rivers remain free-flowing – Nearly 60,000 large dams exist worldwide, with more than 3,700 planned

8 May 2019 (McGill University) – Just over one-third (37%) of the world’s 246 longest rivers remain free-flowing, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Nature. Dams and reservoirs are drastically reducing the diverse benefits that healthy rivers provide to people and nature across the globe. A team of 34 international researchers from McGill University, […]

Wettest 12 months in U.S. history in April 2019 – “Tremendous rainfall” in southern Texas 300-600 percent of normal May

By Bob Henson 8 May 2019 (Weather Underground) – The 12 months ending in April 2019 were the wettest year-long period in U.S. records going back to 1895, according to the monthly U.S. climate summary issued Wednesday by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Averaged across the contiguous U.S., the total of 36.20” made the period from May […]

Loss of marine stratocumulus clouds could trigger a mega-hothouse climate – “Transitions to a much warmer climate may occur in the future if CO2 levels continue to rise”

Loss of marine stratocumulus clouds could trigger a mega-hothouse climate – “Transitions to a much warmer climate may occur in the future if CO2 levels continue to rise”

By Dr. Jeff Masters 6 May 2019 (Weather Underground) – If humanity maintains its current business-as-usual emissions path for the next 100 years, the resulting 4°C (7°F) of warming may be enough to cause highly reflective stratocumulus clouds over the subtropical and tropical oceans to disintegrate, resulting in an additional 8°C (14°F) of warming, according […]

U.S. Secretary of State says melting Arctic sea ice presents “new opportunities for trade” – Cancels trip to Greenland to observe melting glaciers – Denies climate change at Arctic Council meeting

U.S. Secretary of State says melting Arctic sea ice presents “new opportunities for trade” – Cancels trip to Greenland to observe melting glaciers – Denies climate change at Arctic Council meeting

By Conor Finnegan 9 May 2019 (ABC News) – Two days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cut a stop from his trip to Germany, his office announced that he was canceling another visit — this time to Greenland, where Pompeo was to see melting glaciers at the forefront of climate change. Pompeo had to […]

Pentagon warns about China’s increased activity in the Arctic, growing ambition to expand its presence

By Elizabeth Mclaughlin and Conor Finnegan 3 May 2019 (ABC News) – China is increasing its activity in the Arctic, building a second ice-breaking ship and looking to expand its footprint in Greenland, according to a new Pentagon report, and Beijing’s presence in the region could lead to the deployment of armed submarines, the report […]

North Atlantic Ocean phytoplankton decline coincides with warming temperatures over the last 150 years – “10 percent of the marine food base in this region has been lost over the industrial era”

North Atlantic Ocean phytoplankton decline coincides with warming temperatures over the last 150 years – “10 percent of the marine food base in this region has been lost over the industrial era”

By Jennifer Chu 6 May 2019 (MIT News) – Virtually all marine life depends on the productivity of phytoplankton — microscopic organisms that work tirelessly at the ocean’s surface to absorb the carbon dioxide that gets dissolved into the upper ocean from the atmosphere. Through photosynthesis, these microbes break down carbon dioxide into oxygen, some […]

Aid workers race to contain cholera outbreak in cyclone-hit Mozambique

By Nita Bhalla7 May 2019 NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Aid workers were on Tuesday racing to contain a cholera outbreak in northern Mozambique after a powerful cyclone contaminated water sources and damaged health clinics. Cyclone Kenneth crashed into the province of Cabo Delgado on April 25, flattening entire villages and killing more than 40 […]

The reason renewables can’t power modern civilization is because they were never meant to

The reason renewables can’t power modern civilization is because they were never meant to

By Michael Shellenberger 6 May 2019 (Forbes) – Over the last decade, journalists have held up Germany’s renewables energy transition, the Energiewende, as an environmental model for the world.  “Many poor countries, once intent on building coal-fired power plants to bring electricity to their people, are discussing whether they might leapfrog the fossil age and build […]

Civilization destroying nature at rate “unprecedented in human history” – Up to 1 million species threatened with extinction, many within decades

Civilization destroying nature at rate “unprecedented in human history” – Up to 1 million species threatened with extinction, many within decades

6 May 2019 (IPBES) – Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was […]

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