In The News

Australia's Burn-Me Cities: Sydney Morning Herald

Elizabeth Farrelly February 9, 2020
Heavy rain falling in eastern Australia has doused the bushfires but not the horrific memories of destruction. Australians must rethink how they build cities and prepare for a changing climate. “Cities have always been shaped by fire,” writes Elizabeth Farrelly for the Sydney Morning Herald, and she refers to the sturdy, stark architecture that followed the 1666 Great Fire of London that...

US and EU Argue on Carbon Tax: Financial Times

Gillian Tett, Chris Giles and James Politi January 30, 2020
The European Union’s new tax plan on carbon imports may exacerbate transatlantic tensions. The Green Deal plan comes at the heels of France delaying imposition of a digital services tax, resisted by the Trump administration. According to Wilbur Ross, US commerce secretary, the United States could retaliate with tariffs if it finds the new carbon tax stems from trade protectionism. From the EU...

Hot Water Blob and Seabird Deaths: EcoWatch

Sam Nickerson January 18, 2020
As the planet warms, oceans absorb far more heat than the air. Researchers report patches of warm water in the Pacific, from New Zealand to Alaska. The University of Washington reported on one that killed more than 1 million seabirds. One patch stretched for 1000 miles, increasing temperatures by more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit and killing more than 1 million seabirds, report University of...

Australia Must Prepare for Climate Change: CFR

Alice C. Hill January 11, 2020
Australia endures horrific fires and one of the worst fire seasons in history, with more than 25 people killed, thousands of homes destroyed, a billion animals killed by some estimates, and more than 12 million acres burned. Climate change, high temperatures and drought exacerbate and lengthen the fire seasons. Average temperatures have increased by more than 2 degrees since the 1950s. Alice Hill...

End of Oil Dependence and Geopolitics: BBC

James Landale January 4, 2020
Technological advances in renewable energy are putting purveyors of fossil fuels on notice. For example, solar energy is advancing with improved site locations, molten salt and mirrors. Battery and electric vehicle technologies are also advancing, and such developments will impact global politics, suggests James Landale. “From that moment, much of the history of the 20th Century can be seen...

Massive Floods: Jakarta Post

Kharishar Kahfi January 3, 2020
Jakarta, home for more than 9 million people, is prone to flooding with two-fifths of the city under sea level. The city with 13 rivers is increasingly swampy and rapidly sinking. Extreme rainfall with the start of 2020 is described as the worst in a decade, causing severe flooding. Indonesia’s weather agency, BMKG, suggested more than 370 millimeters, or about 15 inches, of rain fell in a...

Young Urge Climate Action: Sydney Morning Herald

Alexandra Smith January 2, 2020
Fire conditions in Australia are horrific, and the rest of the world questions a strategy that relies on a largely volunteer firefighting force and poor examples of leadership, allowing a massive fireworks display to welcome the New Year. More than 12 million acres have burned. Tens of thousands have evacuated, hundreds of homes destroyed, and roads are closed with infrastructure under threat....