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Why are people striking? The climate crisis explained in 10 charts
From the rise and rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to possible solutions
The level of CO2 has been rising since the industrial revolution and is now at its highest for about 4 million years. The rate of the rise is even more striking – the fastest for 66m years – with scientists saying we are in “uncharted territory”.
Continue reading...We want to learn about climate change from weather presenters, not politicians
New Red Cross report warns of humanitarian cost of climate change
Climate crisis leaving 2 million people a week needing aid – Red Cross
Charity warns of cost of doing nothing, saying contributions would need to hit $20bn a year
Two million people a week need humanitarian aid today because of the climate emergency, the Red Cross has warned, as extreme weather takes an “intolerable” toll in human suffering.
The number of people in need of interventions will double in the next three decades – from 108 million a year today to 200 million – if governments fail to act, stretching international humanitarian relief efforts to breaking point and beyond, the global charity said.
Continue reading...Bird populations 'in global crisis'
We can all do our bit to tackle the climate crisis | Letters
Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist, has tapped into a global passion for change from the outdated, exploitative system to a holistic and responsible one (Thunberg tells US Congress: ‘I want you to take real action on climate’, 19 September). The industrial paradigm separates materials from their histories. Forests may have been torn down, lakes polluted, people and animals displaced, but the consumer doesn’t know this. Society has taught us that it is essential to have the latest product and not to question where it came from or who was hurt in the process. The need for change has to be now.
Sometimes it is hard to know what to do. People have been led by consumerism for so long that it is difficult to see that there is another way, but there are many practical things we can do, such as: don’t fly unless absolutely necessary; eat less meat and dairy; plant a tree; create a garden with shrubs and flowers that will attract wildlife; line-dry clothes; unplug electronic devices; turn lights off when not needed; drive less; grow your own vegetables or eat local produce; don’t buy fast fashion; ask where products have come from.
Continue reading...Hundreds of Australian academics declare support for climate rebellion
Open letter says the Australian government’s inaction on the climate crisis requires civil disobedience in response
More than 250 academics at Australian universities say the federal government’s inaction on the climate crisis requires civil disobedience in response and they feel a “moral duty” to rebel and “defend life itself”.
In an open letter, professors, researchers and lecturers from more than a dozen institutions have declared support for the Extinction Rebellion movement and its global week of non-violent civil disobedience in October.
Continue reading...Nuclear energy: Nationals MPs welcome AWU support for domestic industry
Union to tell parliamentary committee it’s ‘ludicrous’ to export uranium but not benefit from the energy source at home
Nationals MPs have welcomed support from the Australian Workers’ Union for a domestic nuclear industry, as the union calls on progressives not to reject a “zero carbon compromise”.
A House of Representatives committee chaired by Barnaby Joyce will hear from the union during a roundtable discussion in Sydney on Friday, before MPs visit the Lucas Heights nuclear facility for a site visit.
Continue reading...US and Canada have lost more than one in four birds since 1970
Three billion birds have been lost across diverse groups and habitats, in what researchers describe as a ‘wake-up call’
The US and Canada have lost more than one in four birds – a total of three billion – since 1970, culminating in what scientists who published a new study are calling a “widespread ecological crisis”.
Researchers observed a 29% decline in bird populations across diverse groups and habitats – from songbirds such as meadowlarks to long-distance migratory birds such as swallows and backyard birds like sparrows.
Continue reading...Pennsylvania GOP presses state agency to obtain legislative authority before pursuing ETS link
Global climate strike: how you can get involved
Millions will take to the streets in global climate crisis protests from 20 to 27 September
The global climate strike kicks off on Friday and will ripple across the world in more than 4,000 locations, the start of a weeklong movement to train international attention on the climate emergency. It’s the latest of a succession of strikes on Fridays led by schoolchildren – but this time adults are invited to join in.
Continue reading...EU falters on whether to resist UN moves to exclude flights from ETS
Denisovans: Face of long-lost human relative unveiled
Fish waste-based alternative to plastic wins Dyson Award
Research Assistant, Autonomy Capital – London
'The crisis is already here': young strikers facing climate apartheid
Young activists call for north-south solidarity to tackle climate emergency that threatens to exacerbate inequality and conflict
Carbon footprints do not get much smaller than those of young Nigerians like Oladosu Adenike. Living in a country with the world’s most extreme poverty, she has had neither the years nor the money to rack up anything more than a fraction of the gargantuan climate debt of the average elderly European or American.
Yet, in the decades ahead, it is post-millennials in the global south like her who are almost certain to suffer greater hardships, as extreme weather and what has been termed “climate apartheid” amplify existing problems of inequality, food shortages, crimes and conflict.
Continue reading...Met police plan to impose restrictions for global climate protest
Force says it will arrest those who break rules in London, as millions worldwide prepare to demonstrate
The police are planning to impose restrictions on the global climate strike in London on Friday, warning that anyone who does not comply risks arrest.
The event in London is part of what is expected to be the biggest mobilisation around the climate crisis the world has seen, with millions taking to the streets in demonstrations and strikes in cities on every continent except Antarctica.
Continue reading...Campaigners urge UN to endorse global fracking ban
Emma Thompson and Mark Ruffalo among signatories of open letter to secretary general
A global campaign backed by 450 activist groups and celebrities, including actors Emma Thompson and Mark Ruffalo, is calling on the UN to endorse a global end to fracking before the industry torpedoes efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
The open letter to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, includes signatures from individuals representing global environmental movements, universities and faith groups.
Continue reading...Burger King is giving up on free plastic toys for kids – when will others follow?
Environmental campaigners say plastic giveaways are disastrous – but will the fast-food chain’s move be the start of something?
Plastic is the wonder product of the last century: durable, flexible, versatile and cheap to produce. It is also catnip to small children, to whom it can be used to sell anything from fast food to extravagantly priced magazines; typically a few sheets of newsprint with a tiny water pistol.
But if parents think they are expensive, so may children in the future. “These toys are nothing but future landfill; the legacy our children will inherit,” says Sian Sutherland, the co-founder of A Plastic Planet, a group campaigning against pollution. “Fast-fix plastic toys are used for moments and exist for centuries.”
Continue reading...EU Midday Market Brief
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