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Removing Hydropower Dams Can Restore Ecosystems

November 11, 2024 Katie Schmidt, Resilience. , , , , , , , , ,
A free-flowing river supports abundant fish and wildlife, provides drinking water, and other intangible recreational benefits. But humans have sought to block rivers with dams for millennia. While dams have provided benefits like hydroelectricity and water storage, they have also been ecologically disastrous. Besides blocking fish migrations, these human-made structures can destroy seasonal pulses of water that keep ecosystems in balance. Some dams—especially those used for power—can deplete water in streams, leaving entire stretches of river bone dry.

Fossil Free London ‘Dies In’ Over Rosebank

November 10, 2024 The Canary. , , ,
Climate crisis activists from Fossil Free London ‘died in’ at the UK parliament over the upcoming legal challenge against the controversial and planet-wrecking Rosebank oil field project. As the Canary previously reported, a court in Scotland has given the green-light for legal challenges against the climate-wrecking Rosebank oilfield project in the North Sea. The decision potentially paves the way to ending the project for good. Now, campaign groups Uplift and Greenpeace UK are gearing up to take on the fossil fuel titans still trying to force the destructive project through the courts.

UK COP29 ‘Partners’ Include Firm With Hundreds of Fossil Fuel Clients

November 9, 2024 Sam Bright, DeSmog. , , ,
The UK’s pavilion at this year’s flagship climate conference is being co-sponsored by an industrial software firm that has worked for some of the world’s biggest polluters, DeSmog can reveal.  This year’s conference will begin next week (11 November) in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the new UK government has vowed to be an international climate leader, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband both set to attend the talks.  The government earlier this week announced the sponsors of the UK COP29 pavilion, which will host a number of events featuring politicians, climate experts, and businesses. 

COP29 CEO Caught Facilitating Oil And Gas Deals During Climate Summit

November 9, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. , , ,
Chief Executive Officer of the United Nations COP29 Climate Change Conference Elnur Soltanov has been recorded by Global Witness apparently agreeing to help facilitate fossil fuel industry deals at the summit, reported The Guardian. A member of the campaign organization posed as a fake oil and gas representative offering to sponsor the event in exchange for assistance with the deals. “COP29 officials abused their positions by facilitating talks about oil and gas deals at a climate conference, pitching a dystopian future which includes fossil fuels ‘perhaps forever,’” a spokesperson for Global Witness said in a press release. “Petrostates are perfecting a sinister playbook which sees COP as just another business opportunity for polluters.”

Leaders From Key Countries Will Not Attend COP29

November 7, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. , , ,
Leaders from some of the world’s major economies, including the European Union, the United States and Brazil, will not be attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, this month. COP29, which will convene from November 11 to 22, is expected to have more than 40,000 delegates in attendance. European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will not attend the summit to prepare for a second term in office, reported The Guardian. Instead, a team of negotiators, including energy commissioner Kadri Simson and climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, will represent the commission at the talks.

EU Accused Of Inviting Fossil Fuel Executives To COP28

November 7, 2024 Sam Bright, DeSmog. , , , ,
The European Commission is facing criticism from politicians and campaigners for giving a free pass for senior oil and gas executives to attend last year’s COP28 summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).  The EU invited five representatives of fossil fuel giants, including executives from BP, ExxonMobil, and Eni, to the flagship climate talks in December last year. More fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to the Dubai summit than any previous year. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra explained in late April that the five oil executives were invited to COP28 on the basis of their participation in EU events during the summit. 

Young People And Transition: Making Space At The Table

November 7, 2024 Gina Umney, Resilience. , , ,
Young people today find themselves on the front line of a rapidly changing world. Whether actively engaged with climate issues or not, these issues will undoubtedly and profoundly shape their futures, quality of life and inner worlds. Witnessing the escalating environmental crisis unfold in real time alongside their personal growth and development, can make these challenges feel overwhelming. With 84% of young people aged 16-25 in the UK worried about climate change and 59% reporting that it affects their daily lives (The Lancet Planetary Health, 2020) it’s crucial that movements such as Transition strive to place young people at their heart, building supportive and empowering pathways to navigate these turbulent times together.

Our Fragile Infrastructure: Lessons From Hurricane Helene

November 5, 2024 Ellen Brown, Scheer Post. , , , , ,
Asheville, North Carolina is known for its historic architecture, vibrant arts scene and as a gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a favorite escape for “climate migrants” moving from California, Arizona, and other climate-challenged vicinities, until a “500 year flood” ravaged the city this fall. Hurricane Helene was a wakeup call not just for stricken North Carolina residents but for people across the country following their tragic stories in the media and in the podcasts now favored by young voters for news. “Preppers” well equipped with supplies watched in helpless disbelief as homes washed away in a wall of water and mud, taking emergency supplies in the storm.

Why The Climate Crisis Demands More Than Relentless Positivity

November 5, 2024 Steffi Bednarek, DeSmog. , , ,
When the COP29 climate talks open in Azerbaijan next week, we’ll no doubt be told that we’re in an unprecedented and dangerous situation, that there’s little time left, and that we’re not moving in the right direction. The speeches will likely culminate in a general call for urgent action, emphasising the critical importance of maintaining hope. This anticipated opening speech already has a sense of déjà vu. Hasn’t it been time to act for decades? What makes each new speaker so hopeful that their call to action will be the one to finally be heeded? And exactly what action is called for?

COP16 Ends Without Consensus On Financing For Nature Conservation

November 5, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. , , , , ,
The COP16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, ended in disappointment this weekend, with countries failing to determine how to raise $200 billion a year in funding for conservation by 2030, reported Reuters. Originally intended as a check-in on countries’ progress with meeting the goals of the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), COP16 went into overtime Saturday as nations scrambled to reach a consensus while delegates dwindled along with hopes for a decisive conclusion. “I am both saddened and enraged by the non-outcome of COP16,” said Shilps Gautam, carbon removal financing firm Opna’s chief executive, as Reuters reported.

Who Should Be The Next Emperor Of The Violent Global Imperium?

November 4, 2024 K. J. Noh, Popular Resistance. , , , ,
As US voters go to the polls on November 5th, they need to remind themselves that when the US elects its next domestic president, it is also selecting the emperor of a violent, global imperium.  Choices made over sundry domestic issues have far reaching effects, far beyond local pocketbook or civil rights issues.  They determine who lives and dies across the planet, and how much pain, harm and suffering the rest of the world will have to bear. In this context, it's fair to ask, who is the lesser evil?   Trump or Harris? The answer, of course, is "neither".  Like infinity, when it comes to evil, there's not much use in finger-counting which is greater or lesser. 

The Globalized, Industrialized Food System Is Destroying The World

November 4, 2024 Helena Norberg-Hodge, Counter Punch. , , ,
We can thank small farmers, environmentalists, academic researchers, and food and farming activists for advancing ecologically sound food production methods. Agroecology, holistic resource management, permaculture, and other methods can address many of the global food system’s worst impacts, including biodiversity loss, energy depletion, toxic pollution, food insecurity, and massive carbon emissions. These inspiring testaments to human ingenuity and goodwill have two things in common: They involve smaller-scale farms adapted to local conditions and depend more on human attention and care than energy and technology.

Escalating Climate Impacts Threaten Health Worldwide

October 31, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. , , , ,
Human-driven climate change is causing temperatures to rise to dangerous new heights, while worsening drought and impeding food security, according to the ninth Lancet Countdown report. The report by health experts and doctors warned that people all over the world are facing unparalleled health threats because of the climate crisis. “This year’s stocktake of the imminent health threats of climate inaction reveals the most concerning findings yet,” said Dr. Marina Romanello, executive director of the University College London-led Lancet Countdown, as The Guardian reported.

Waffle House Workers, At The Front Lines Of Disasters, Demand More

October 30, 2024 Kim Kelly, In These Times. , , , , ,
Disaster preparedness is as much a part of the Waffle House brand as its all-day breakfast offerings. The 24-hour diner chain — home of a utilitarian menu of generously smothered, covered, scattered and peppered hash browns, among other quick-serve favorites — is omnipresent throughout the Midwest and Southeast. Its iconic butter-yellow letters have welcomed many a weary traveler since its founding in 1955, and its reputation for reliability is far more than a marketing tactic. In 2011, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Craig Fugate created the ​“Waffle House Index” — a metric for measuring the severity of an oncoming storm.

Planet Will Warm As Much As 3.1°C Under Current Policies

October 26, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. , , , ,
Without greater action, the planet will warm as much as 3.1 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, according to the latest United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report: No more hot air … please!. In the coming round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), countries must commit to slashing their collective yearly greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent by the end of the decade and by 57 percent by 2035, a press release from UNEP said. Otherwise, the annual report says, the chance of meeting the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average will disappear within a few years.
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