Climate

More than 40 percent of the world’s electricity was generated without burning fossil fuels in 2024. All other things being equal, this would have resulted in a drop in emissions. However global electricity demand has continued to rise, significantly because hotter temperatures are leading to a greater demand for electricity for cooling. Some predict that emissions could start to fall next year as renewable generation of electricity continues to grow. A contribution from the Reevaluation Counseling Community

Stories from this unique moment on Earth …. What’s happening with the climate?! Wealth Tax on the Wealthiest Half of 1%Could Raise $2.1 trillion Annually The Tax Justice Network recently reported that if all countries enacted a wealth tax on the wealthiest 0.5% of their populations, as Spain did recently, countries would raise $2.1 trillion per year. They noted that this sum is almost twice the entire cost of the external financing that developing nations will need annually to combat climate change. This year had the hottest January worldwide since C3S records began in 1950,

Stories from this unique moment on Earth …. What’s happening with the climate?! Global Warming Is Particularly Bad for Women-Led Families  A new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization with data from 24 low- and middle-income countries, finds that women-led families suffer more from extreme heat than other families. While heat stress is costly for all rural households, it is significantly more costly for households headed by a woman. Female-headed households lose 8 percent more of their annual income compared to other households. While many women are farmers, fewer women own the land they farm. Women-headed households […]

Distinguished Professor of AnthropologyDirector of Environmental Dynamics, University of Arkansas UAF, FULBRIGHT COLLEGE RESEARCH CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE ARCTICJune 27, 2024. CONGRATULATIONS Dr. Ungar! From Omni Founder Dick Bennett:UAF’s Dr. Peter S. Ungar, recently awarded Omni Center’s climate change fellowship, sent me an illustrated comic strip narrative of his and related research for K-12 kids. Here is the link, you’ll enjoy it. Among the hundred facts of the research I learned the word “ Fennoscandia” and gained a stronger identification with fellow herbivores– reindeer and lemmings et al.! Penny’s Adventures in the New Arctic

Stories from this unique moment on Earth …. What’s happening with the climate?! 2000 Elder Swiss women win human rights case against Swiss government’s failure to protect life by implementing adequate climate policies  The European Court of Human Rights has decided that Swiss authorities have violated the right to life of a group of elder women in Switzerland by not implementing sufficient climate change policies. “For the first time, an international tribunal recognizes that human rights include the right to climate protection,” said one activist. The European court’s ruling is binding and requires the Swiss to take greater action to […]

Stories from this unique moment on Earth …. What’s happening with the climate?! World breaches 1.5°C for an entire year for FIRST TIME ON RECORD https://www.ecowatch.com/average-global-temperature-record-2024-paris-agreement.html For the first time on record, the average global temperature has exceeded 1.5 degree Celsius over a 12-month period, according to new data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Last month was also the hottest January worldwide since C3S records began in 1950,