Amid rising public alarm about human-caused global heating, U.S. government scientists announced Thursday that 2021 was the sixth hottest year since records began in 1880. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams (1/6) It’s official: 2021 was Earth’s 6th-warmest year on record according to NOAA and @NASA scientists. The average global surface temperature rose 1.51°F (0.84°C) above average, […]
“2021 is the 25th year in a row in which Greenland’s ice sheet lost more mass during the course of the melting season than it gained during the winter.” That’s according to the latest report from Polar Portal, a website featuring observations from Danish research institutions that monitor the Greenland Ice Sheet and the sea ice […]
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin came under fire Saturday after The Washington Post reported that the West Virginia Democrat “does not currently support” passing even his own recent $1.8 trillion counteroffer to President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams “Sen. Manchin is operating in bad faith,” tweeted Nida Allam, a progressive congressional candidate in North Carolina. “We […]
As people across the United States this week look back on last year’s January 6 insurrection, environmental advocacy groups came together to remind federal lawmakers and President Joe Biden that efforts to protect U.S. democracy and tackle the climate emergency are fundamentally connected. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams One year ago at 5:04pm, I took this photo of […]
With a new analysis in hand, an international climate advocacy group on Tuesday demanded that banks and investors worldwide use their leverage to force the coal industry to more rapidly end their planet-wrecking operations. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams The new report by Paris-based Reclaim Finance—entitled The Coal Companies Watchlist: How finance can accelerate the coal phaseout—makes […]
A trio of Democratic U.S. senators have sent a letter demanding that the CEOs of Facebook and Google follow through on their promises to stop the spread of climate disinformation on their platforms. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams “The climate crisis poses an existential threat,” states the letter from Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), […]
In what climate campaigners on Wednesday celebrated as not only a “historic” win but also a model for the rest of the country, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and trustees of major public pensions funds announced a $3 billion divestment from fossil fuels. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams “We’d like to thank Comptroller Stringer, for his […]
Inspired by the familiar “The 12 Days of Christmas” carol, climate campaigners crashed the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony Thursday night to launch a series of holiday season actions calling out President Joe Biden for leasing public lands and waters to fossil fuel companies. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams “No peace on Earth, nor mercy mild. […]
As shoppers scoured the internet for holiday deals on Cyber Monday, a pair of environmental groups published a report that exposes the planet-heating maritime shipping practices of four major global retailers: Amazon, IKEA, Target, and Walmart. Entitled Shady Routes: How big retail and their carriers pollute along key ocean shipping corridors”, the new report is from Pacific […]
Climate campaigners and other progressive critics on Friday called out the Biden administration for a new U.S. Interior Department report about leasing public lands and waters to oil and gas companies, slamming its proposals as far too weak given the need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams The report—prepared in […]
Four dozen federal lawmakers and scores of advocacy groups on Thursday sent President Joe Biden and other leaders within his administration letters in support of the yearslong climate case that accuses the U.S. government of violating young Americans’ constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, and failing to protect essential public trust resources. By Jessica Corbett […]
After a summer that featured the “world’s most extreme heatwave in modern history,” which experts linked to human-caused global heating, the Pacific Northwest was inundated with floodwaters Monday, fueling fresh calls for ambitious action to combat the climate emergency. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams The recent rain and subsequent flooding—which came on the heels of the COP26 climate summit in […]
Campaigners at global advocacy groups on Wednesday welcomed a surprise joint statement from the U.S. and Chinese governments about “enhancing climate action in the 2020s” while also calling on both countries to actually deliver on their promises. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams "A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step." US Special Envoy for […]
As a new analysis revealed Monday that fossil fuel industry lobbyists have a larger presence at the COP26 than any country, global campaigners criticized the first draft of the final decision text for the United Nations climate summit for failing to even mention phasing out coal, gas, and oil. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams Greenpeace International, in a statement, highlighted that […]
As the ongoing COP26 climate summit draws attention to the financial institutions that enable fossil fuel companies to keep wrecking the planet, a pair of progressive U.S. senators on Friday introduced a bill that would force big banks to stop pouring money into the destructive industry. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams The Fossil Free Finance Act, sponsored by […]