Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2021, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city. This time the levees held. Billions of dollars invested in reinforcing them had paid off – at least for part of the population. A strong similarity between Ida and Katrina still emerged: Low-income communities and […]
We live in a world with stronger and more frequent extreme weather events. As a result, giving and receiving hospitality is becoming the new normal for humans. By Citizens’ Climate Lobby Citizens’ Climate Radio host Peterson Toscano speaks with public theologian Jayme R. Reaves and public health expert Dr. Natasha DeJarnett (pictured above). What are […]
New research published Wednesday revealed the Arctic Ocean has been warming for decades longer than scientists previously understood, raising fresh concerns as the polar region faces the growing threat of a total loss of the seasonal ice that is crucial to the survival of the imperiled marine ecosystem. By Brett Wilkins Common Dreams A study published in Science Advances found […]
Arctic sea ice melt has driven an increase in “fire-favourable weather” across the western US over the past four decades, according to new research. The study, published in Nature Communications, finds that low Arctic sea ice levels during July to October have knock-on impacts in the atmosphere that push the jet stream northwards. This tends to […]
The floods across Europe, China and the US in recent months have again brought to the fore the ability of extreme rainfall to take lives, destroy homes and displace communities. Evidence suggests climate change is causing increases in extreme precipitation, leading to a greater risk of flooding in urban areas. As a result, agencies around the world are responding to this threat by […]
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 […]
People who fret about the debt we’re taking on to deal with climate change are (half) right. Because there’s two ways of dealing with the climate emergency: either we can avert it, or we can seek high ground and erect high walls. By Corey Doctorow Pluralistic Guess which one we’re doing. Yeah. The world’s richest […]
By Tom Corringham, University of California San Diego The Conversation Ask people to name the world’s largest river, and most will probably guess that it’s the Amazon, the Nile or the Mississippi. In fact, some of Earth’s largest rivers are in the sky – and they can produce powerful storms, like the ones now […]
Officials issued evacuation orders for people living downhill from several of California’s wildfire burn scars on Oct. 24, 2021, as a powerful storm system known as an atmospheric river began to drench the West Coast. While the storm brings much-needed water to a region in the midst of an historic drought, and should significantly lower […]
I’m writing this from New Orleans a little more than one month after Hurricane Ida devastated Southeast Louisiana—after most national TV crews have long since packed up and left. A blue tarp lies atop my parents’ roof, flapping in the occasional sticky breeze. Aside from some cosmetic damage, their home is okay. They’re some of the […]
A South Korean official has denounced Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s call to begin releasing contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea starting in 2023. Kishida, who took office last month, visited the plant and said the plan to release more than one million tonnes of water into the sea over […]
I wrote the below article in 2010 warning of the consequences of not protecting the ocean from oil spills, oil drilling, pollution and all human impacts other than fishing and gathering in the “marine protected areas” created under the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. This article warned of the consequences of allowing a Big […]
An oil spill first reported on Oct. 2, 2021, has released thousands of gallons of crude oil into southern California coastal waters. The source is believed to be a leak in an underwater pipeline connected to an oil drilling platform 17.5 miles offshore. Oil has washed ashore in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach and into […]
Less than 48 hours after one of the worst oil spills in Southern California history was first spotted—and as officials continue to monitor oil leaks that started weeks ago when Hurricane Ida collided with the Gulf Coast’s extensive fossil fuel infrastructure—the Biden administration on Monday confirmed its plan to expand offshore drilling, provoking resistance from environmental advocates. By Kenny Stancil Common Dreams The […]
While “marine protected areas” created under the leadership of a Big Oil lobbyist are currently threatened by a massive oil spill off Huntington Beach, the oil and gas regulatory agency under Governor Gavin Newsom has issued 138 oil permits for operations in state waters since he assumed office, Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance revealed today. By Dan Bacher The […]