Florida governor Ron DeSantis delivers remarks in Umatilla, Florida,Tuesday, 25 June 2024, during a visit to tout the state’s infrastructure grants program. In May 2024, DeSantis signed a bill that stripped the phrase “climate change” from much of Florida law, reversing 16 years of state policy and, critics said, undermining Florida’s support of renewable and clean energy. Photo: Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel

Florida censors references to climate science in textbooks for public schools – “How do you write an environmental science book to appease people who are opposed to climate change?”

By Leslie Postal 5 July 2024 (Orlando Sentinel) – Textbook authors were told last month that some references to “climate change” must be removed from science books before they could be accepted for use in Florida’s public schools, according to two of those authors. A high school biology book also had to add citations to […]

Motorists splash through the water along North Flagler Drive during king tide flooding in West Palm Beach, Florida on 30 September 2023. Photo: Greg Lovett / The Palm Beach Post

Florida, the state of denial, needs to eliminate “heat index” for climate change relief – “Suggestion for DeSantis: ‘Freedom flooding’” 

By Frank Cerabino 21 May 2024 (The Palm Beach Post) – It is time for Florida to ban the words “heat index.” It’s the next logical step to take for Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed a new law that removes references to “climate change” in state statutes. Man-made pollution that helps to warm the planet […]

Meteorologist Steve MacLaughlin of Florida’s NBC 6 posted on Twitter / X on 18 May 2024: “Don’t Say Climate Change!” As Florida is on fire, under water and unaffordable, our state government is rolling back climate change legislation and language. Graphic: Steve MacLaughlin

TV meteorologist blasts Florida’s new “Don’t Say Climate Change” law amid oppressive heat

By Rachel Ramirez 21 May 2024 (CNN) – As vast parts of Florida sweltered in oppressive heat over the weekend, South Florida TV meteorologist Steve MacLaughlin criticized the state’s new legislation that deleted most references to climate change from state law, and urged his viewers to vote. “The entire world is looking to Florida to lead in […]

Researchers Peter Hotez (centre) and Tara Kirk Sell (right) at a congressional hearing in 2020. Photo: Sarah Silbiger / Bloomberg / Getty

Harassment of scientists is surging, and institutions aren’t sure how to help – “This is a very powerful adversarial force that is seeking to undermine science, and now it’s not only going after the science. It’s going after the scientists.”

By Bianca Nogrady 21 May 2024 (Nature) – As a vocal advocate of vaccinations for public health, Peter Hotez was no stranger to online harassment and threats. But then the abuse showed up on his doorstep. It was a Sunday during a brutal Texas heatwave in June 2023 when a man turned up at Hotez’s […]

Measles cases in the UK (top) and Russian Federation (bottom), Jan 2020 - Feb 2024. Graphic: WHO

Global measles cases nearly doubled in one year, researchers say – “A crisis among many crises”

By Katherine Dillinger 27 April 2024 (CNN) – The number of measles cases around the world nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, researchers say, presenting a challenge to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries. There were 171,153 cases globally in 2022, according to Dr. Patrick O’Connor of the World Health Organization, […]

Emissions offset credits awarded to Shell by the Albertan government (Mt CO2e), 2015-2022. Shell was awarded more than 5.7 million unearned carbon offset credits over 8 years. Data: Alberta Carbon Registries. Graphic: Financial Times

Shell plant reported millions of “phantom” carbon credits – “Selling emissions credits for reductions that never happened literally makes climate change worse”

By Kenza Bryan and Clara Murray 4 May 2024 LONDON (Financial Times) – A Shell-operated plant reported millions of carbon credits tied to CO₂ removal that never took place but were used by Canada’s largest oil sands companies, raising new doubts about a technology seen as crucial to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. As part of […]

Screenshot of a Twitter (X) post showing a photo of Gov. Ron DeSantis signing legislation that erases the words “climate change” from state statutes on 15 May 2024. Photo: Ron DeSantis / UPI

Gov. Ron DeSantis signs law erasing “climate change” from Florida policy – “This purposeful act of cognitive dissonance is proof that the governor and the state legislature are not acting in the best interests of Floridians, but rather to protect profits for the fossil fuel industry”

By Sheri Walsh 16 May 2024 (UPI) – With summer’s extreme heat and this year’s hurricane season rolling into Florida next month, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Wednesday that will erase climate change from state policy effective 1 July 2024. The new law will erase the words “climate change” from state statutes and make energy […]

Effect of political contributions from oil and gas companies on U.S. legislators that vote against the environment. Coefficients and 95 percent CIs for tests of investment (Left) and influence (Right) hypotheses and their corresponding metaanalytic effects for the years 1992 to 2018. In 13 out of 14 analyses, lower LCV scores (i.e., more antienvironmental votes) in one election cycle predicted significantly increased contributions in the following election cycle. For example, the strongest result was observed for the 2016 election: For every additional 10 percent of congressional votes against the environment in 2014, a legislator would receive an additional $5,400 in campaign contributions from oil and gas companies in 2016 (b = −0.54, SE = 0.12; P < 0.001; 95 percent CI [−0.77, −0.31]). This is an especially strong relationship considering that many elected officials vote against environmental policies nearly 100 percent of the time, thereby compounding the cycle of antienvironmentalism and increasing rewards in the form of contributions. Graphic: Goldberg, et al., 2020 / PNAS

Big Oil spent decades sowing doubt about fossil fuel dangers, experts testify – “Big Oil had to evolve from denial to duplicity”

By Dharna Noor 1 May 2024 (The Guardian) – The fossil fuel industry spent decades sowing doubt about the dangers of burning oil and gas, experts and Democratic lawmakers testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The Senate budget committee held a hearing to review a report published on Tuesday with the House oversight and accountability […]

In a victory for climate scientists, jurors in Professor Michael E. Mann’s defamation case against Rand Simberg and Mark Steyn awarded Mann $1 million in punitive damages for defamatory comments made in 2012. Prof. Mann’s lawyer called attacks on the scientist “vile”. Photo: Julian Meehan / Flickr

Jury awards climate scientist Michael Mann $1 million in defamation lawsuit – “I hope people think twice before they lie and defame scientists”

By Suman Naishadham 8 February 2024 WASHINGTON (AP) – A jury on Thursday awarded $1 million to climate scientist Michael Mann who sued a pair of conservative writers 12 years ago after they compared his depictions of global warming to a convicted child molester. Mann, a professor of climate science at the University of Pennsylvania, […]

Michael Mann is a professor of earth and environmental science at the University of Pennsylvania. He’s suing a right-wing author and a policy analyst for defamation. Photo: Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images for HBO

A famous climate scientist is in court with big stakes for attacks on science – “Young people, looking at future careers, looking at how scientists are attacked are going to say, ‘Well, why do I want to go into this profession?’”

By Julia Simon 6 February 2024 (NPR) – In a D.C. courtroom, a trial is wrapping up this week with big stakes for climate science. One of the world’s most prominent climate scientists is suing a right-wing author and a policy analyst for defamation. The case comes at a time when attacks on scientists are […]

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