Extinction Rebellion Protests Target Murdochs and the Media

Extinction Rebellion Protests Target Murdochs and the Media

Last week in the UK, the Extinction Rebellion (XR) continued their protests, this time targeted newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch.  The police arrested “more than 70 environmental activists who blockaded two British printing plants, disrupting the distribution of several national newspapers,” as the Associated Press reported. 

Why This Matters: While many figures in the UK, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, quickly condemned the XR act as an attack on the free press, freedom of speech extends to protests too.

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Democratic National Convention: Night 2 Recap – A “Side” of Climate Change and Calamari!

Democratic National Convention: Night 2 Recap – A “Side” of Climate Change and Calamari!

Climate change, clean energy, and green jobs and infrastructure were mentioned numerous times during the evening — they came up right off the bat in the “chorus” of bright stars in the Party who delivered the opening Keynote address. It received many additional mentions in the numerous short speeches and testimonials about the Vice President.

Why This Matters:  The COVID crisis, health care, and national security were the issues of the night.  But climate change made it into the discussion.

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Greenland Ice Sheet Past The Point of No Return – Climate Crisis Continues to Roil the Planet click button

Greenland Ice Sheet Past The Point of No Return – Climate Crisis Continues to Roil the Planet

Even if we stop emitting greenhouse gasses, it is too late to reverse the damage done — the Greenland ice sheet is beyond saving, according to a new study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment last Thursday, based on a review of more than 30 years of satellite data. 

Why This Matters:  The perfect metaphor for the climate crisis.  We have fallen off the first step and we can’t stop, but we don’t know how bad it will feel as we keep falling, and falling, and falling. The bottom line is that Florida and other coastal areas are going to be under water and there is no stopping that — we must adapt.

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Now NOAA Predicts So Many Hurricanes This Year They May Run Out of Names – YIKES

Now NOAA Predicts So Many Hurricanes This Year They May Run Out of Names – YIKES

Late last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its annual update on this year’s outlook for tropical hurricanes and they are now predicting the conditions are ripe for a huge season, with 19-25 named storms with sustained winds over  39 mph or greater, and even worse, 7 to 11 are expected to become hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or greater.

Why This Matters:  Hurricane season really gets serious only now, so the worst is still ahead of us. And the revised forecast is a big increase over what had been forecast at the beginning of the season when NOAA said it there was a 70% chance of 13 to 19 named storms.

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Brand New Polling Shows That Climate Moves Voters in Four Key States/Senate Races

Brand New Polling Shows That Climate Moves Voters in Four Key States/Senate Races

Progressive climate policies are more popular in key battleground states — Arizona, North Carolina, Iowa and Maine — than previously understood, according to fresh polling from Data for Progress.  Indeed, voters in these key Senate races want candidates to deliver “bold climate action” and consider the climate crisis a “Day 1 priority.”

Why This Matters:  In these four states, climate change is not a future problem — it is an emergency today.

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Climate TRACE Project Aims to Identify Carbon Emissions Everywhere In Real Time

Climate TRACE Project Aims to Identify Carbon Emissions Everywhere In Real Time

To comply with the Paris Climate Agreement it is crucial to actually track the emissions of greenhouse gases from places like power plants and factories. One newly announced project, Climate TRACE (Tracking Real-Time Atmospheric Carbon Emissions) Coalition, a coalition of nonprofits and tech companies backed by Al Gore, is working to identify emissions from every single specific source, Adele Peters reported in Fast Company yesterday.

Why This Matters: Currently, emissions data is often self-reported, and, according to Fast Company, it “can sometimes take years for the data to be gathered.”

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