Extreme Weather

If melting Glaciers shut down the Atlantic Gulf Stream, Extreme Climate Change Catastrophes will Follow

By René van Westen, Utrecht University; Henk A. Dijkstra, Utrecht University; and Michael Kliphuis, Utrecht University | – Superstorms, abrupt climate shifts and New York City frozen in ice. That’s how the blockbuster Hollywood movie “The Day After Tomorrow” depicted an abrupt shutdown of the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation and the catastrophic consequences. While Hollywood’s vision […]

Climate Crisis

In Earth’s Hottest Year on Record, an Unprecedented 28 Billion-dollar Disasters struck US

The Conversation

By Shuang-Ye Wu, University of Dayton | – National weather analysts released their 2023 billion-dollar disasters list on Jan. 9, just as 2024 was getting off to a ferocious start. A blizzard was sweeping across across the Plains and Midwest, and the South and East faced flood risks from extreme downpours. The U.S. set an […]

Climate Crisis

In Hottest Year on Record, Global Heating Killed a Taylor Swift Fan at Rio Concert

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that 2023 is on track to be the hottest year ever recorded, i.e. in the past 174 years. In fact, it likely is hotter than at any time in 125,000 years. Ocean-surface temperatures were also at all time highs throughout the year. Although […]

Climate Crisis

How Big Oil is Taking us for a Fossil-Fuelized Ride: With the World the Hottest in 125,000 Years, we’re being Gaslighted

Juan Cole

Here is my latest column for The Nation Institute’s must-read Tomdispatch.com site. Make sure to check out the original for legendary journalist Tom Engelhardt’s fantastic introduction. And spread some of the joy by supporting his site, too. As for the dastardly greenwashing of Big Oil, by all means get mad but also get even, and […]

Climate Crisis

Pre-COP Report: German Industry Investments in Climate Protection increased 74% over 10 years

Clean Energy Wire

By Edgar Meza | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – German industry is increasingly investing in climate protection measures, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported just before the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), which kicked off on 30 November. Climate protection investments in the manufacturing sector have increased by 74.3 percent over a decade. […]

Climate Crisis

Human-Caused Climate Change cost US $67 bn., Produced Hottest 12 Months for 125,000 years

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The non-profit collective of high-powered scientists, Climate Central, has released a new report demonstrating that the past 12 months have been the hottest on record, and inferring that they are the hottest in 125,000 years. They find that during the past year, 73% of the world’s population suffered through at […]

Climate Crisis

We can still avoid “Catastrophic Inundation” if we Slash Carbon Pollution – Michael E. Mann’s “Our Fragile Moment”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Informed Comment is pleased to present below an interview with climate scientist Michael E. Mann, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth & Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is one of my heroes. As a young scholar, he co-authored a key paper in which he and his colleagues presented […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis: Recent Evidence suggests Economists have severely underestimated the Financial Hit

The Conversation

By Timothy Neal, UNSW Sydney | – Scientists say severe climate change is now the greatest threat to humanity. Extreme weather is expected to upend lives and livelihoods, intensifying wildfires and pushing ecosystems towards collapse as ocean heatwaves savage coral reefs. The threats are far-reaching and widespread. So what effect would you expect this to […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis: UN Launches Flash Appeal to Aid 250,000 Libyans hit by Devastating Floods

UN News

( UN News ) – Disaster struck on Sunday when torrential rains from Storm Daniel led two dams close to the now devastated port city of Derna to burst, pushing entire neighbourhoods into the sea. “The situation is quite terrible as you can imagine”, UN Children’s Fund UNICEF’s Libya Representative, Michele Servadei, told UN News. […]