FtF News #162 – 24th August 2022
Floods *and* droughts, rare-earth mineral mining in Myanmar, and the surprising efficacy of removing invasive species from islands
It feels pretty chaotic to be living in the UK at the moment. Energy bills are sky-rocketing (plunging millions into fuel poverty) whilst we face a darkly comedic battle between the two candidates for Prime Minister over who can be more out of touch and dehumanising. Something like 96% of the increase in energy bills is due to gas prices, which emphasises once again the urgency of moving to a greener energy system. Unfortunately, the current government shows little sign of pushing in that direction, but maybe there’s an outside chance that the very real financial pain inflicted by this current crisis might help mobilise people to push for real change. One can hope!
Once again, this week’s issue was ably assisted by Syuan Ruei Chang, who contributed a number of the articles and stories featured this week.
Wild Weather
Mother nature’s reactions to the ever-warming world
Wildfires have burned 659,000 hectares this year in Europe, the most on record, with four times the average number of fires.
Drought has been declared across much of England as dry, hot weather continues, as well as all of Massachusetts, traditionally not somewhere that gets very dry.
Drought has caused a major tributary of the Yangtze to run dry in Chongqing, and is threatening rice, lithium and other major industries in SIchuan.
The European drought is on track to become the worst in 500 years, with the Rhine close to becoming impassible to barge traffic.
Much of the SW US has seen severe rainstorms and flooding after a prolonged period without rain, with 13m people under flood warnings.
New Zealand has seen massive floods after four straight days of rain, with damage that could take years to fix.
According to the UN, July was in the top three warmest months ever on a global scale, at nearly 0.5°C above the average.
It’s Science!
The latest from in climate research and analysis
A new study finds that keeping warming below 2°C would reduce major risks to nearly 25,000 marine species and their ecosystems.
Removing invasive species from islands turns out to be one of the most effective interventions for restoring biodiversity.
A study of 100 years of bumblebees has found that they are becoming increasingly stressed by climate change-induced heat.
First Street Foundation has published a map of heat risks in the US out to 2053, and finds that over 100m people will be exposed to temperatures over 125°F.
Carbon Brief looks at the reasons behind the vast rises in UK energy bills, and how much impact green policies could have made if they weren’t cut in the past decade.
Climate change is making nearly 60% of infectious diseases worse – they’re spreading faster, expanding in range and becoming more severe.
Party Political Broadcast
Climate politics are a special creature indeed
Africa is receiving just 12% of the finance it needs to manage climate impacts – in 2020 it received just $29.5bn of a needed $250bn.
Vanuatu has become one of the first nations to comprehensively address the impacts of weather and sea levels as part of its updated Paris Agreement NDC.
Granada’s former Climate Resilience Minister, Simon Stiell, will become the new UN climate chief.
The Inflation Reduction Act has been signed into law, although a number of activists still have some major reservations about the bill.
Chicago has signed a five year agreement to purchase 100% renewable energy for all city-owned facilities and operations by 2025.
Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss has ‘sewage on her hands’ for her role in cuts to water monitoring that has allowed water companies to leak sewage into rivers in the UK.
Haha, Business!
Climate happenings in the corporate world
Energy companies in the US are moving to exploit a loophole in methane calculation rules to avoid paying fines for excess emissions.
Major corporations created an initiative in Ghana that claimed to tackle the country’s plastic waste problem, but which actually turns out to be yet more greenwashing.
The Future is Electric
Renewables, EVs and all things electrification
Spain has just turned on Europe’s largest solar plant in the region of Extremadura, one of a number being built in the area.
The first freshwater wind farm in North America got one step closer to approval after a win against a legal challenge.
Breakthroughs
New inventions to inspire hope
A new bubble barrier concept has been tested in the Netherlands to capture floating plastic on rivers whilst letting boats and fish pass unimpeded.
Seville is turning to a modern take on 1,000 year old Qanat technology to cool areas of the city as it faces future temperatures above 50°C.
Speaking truths
Efforts in activism and awareness
An interview with Bella Lack, another of the young climate crusaders redefining climate activism for the modern.
Climate Visuals
A picture tells a thousand words…
The drought in the western US has produced some striking photos of the Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico, now at just 3.8% of its capacity.
Long Reads
Interesting deep-dives into climate-related topics
Redlining may officially be gone, but its legacy continues in many Black neighbourhoods in the US, such as this one in Memphis.
Myanmar has become a vital source of rare earth minerals for much of the world, but the environmental impacts have largely flown under the radar.
GDP has many flaws as a metric for progress, but what could we use instead, and why haven’t we moved away from it?