Category Archives: Environment

When Greenland Was Green: Ancient Soil From Beneath a Mile of Ice Offers Warnings for the Future

Scientists unlock findings about the past and the future using frozen soil extracted during the Cold War from beneath a nearly mile-thick section of the Greenland ice sheet.

Revealed: Media Blitz Against Heat Pumps Funded by Gas Lobby Group

Gas-linked companies’ attack on electric heating confuses consumers and leaves UK trailing behind Europe.

Energy Destinies – Part 6 Energy Policy And Emissions – Hot and Hotter

Based on the current state of science, technology, policy development and implementation, the probability of meeting emissions targets is doubtful. This means that global temperature rises will, in all probability, exceed the recommended levels, most likely substantially and earlier than projected. The consequent changes in planetary geo-physics and meteorology will be substantial.

June 2023 Was the World’s Warmest June on Record

The month featured unprecedented Canadian heat and wildfires, record-low Antarctic sea ice, and a strengthening El Niño.

Energy Destinies – Part 5 Energy Transition – Mystery Destination

An energy transition refers to a major structural shift in energy systems. There have been several such historical transitions – bio-fuels, such as wood, to water and wind energies and then to fossil fuels. In its current usage, it is used to describe the attempt to replace fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption with renewable energy sources.

Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl

Juan Cole examines the US climate change crimes against Iraq and how the neocon’s destructive foreign adventures are increasingly as if the US is invading itself.

Kakhovka Dam Breach in Ukraine Caused Economic, Agricultural and Ecological Devastation That Will Last for Years

Ukrainian yields had already fallen by as much as 60 percent. With the loss of the dam and reservoir, agricultural production will shrink further, affecting food security around the world.

Economics v. the Earth: New Book Explores the History of a Tense Relationship

Fredrik Albritton Jonsson and Carl Wennerlind discuss how belief in infinite growth came to seem reasonable in philosophy and economics.

Energy Destinies – Part 4: Renewable Economics – At Cost

newable energy costs are not easy to figue out, and fully loaded, not favorable compared to the benchmark of grid parity.

Rising Sea Levels Will Isolate People Long Before They’re Underwater

One of the near term impacts of higher sea levels willl be balkanization of low-lying coastal areas.

Are the Californian Wildfires Really “Natural” Disasters?

California wildfires and real estate interests

Climate Risk Stress Tests Underestimate Potential Financial Sector Losses

Given the complexity of the link between climate shocks and financial sector outcomes, the authors argue that current methods have several key limitations that may lead to significant underestimation of potential financial sector losses.