In The News

Mother Jones: S Africa Leadership, Climate Crisis

Nathalie Baptiste February 1, 2018
The metropolitan area of Cape Town has about 4 million people, and officials warn that the city’s water supply, dependent on rainfall, could go dry in April. Droughts, poor planning, population growth, urban migration and high consumption rates contribute to water supply challenges in Cape Town. Restrictions of 50 liters per day have been imposed for residents, but compliance has been uneven....

Bloomberg Businessweek: Climate Change Could Make Borrowing More Expensive

Emily Chasan January 23, 2018
The value of bond holdings for locales or companies struck by disaster can plunge: “bond rating agencies such as Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings are looking at whether they should be including more disaster forecasting in calculating the grades they give to government debt and to companies in industries ranging from insurance to construction,” writes Emily Chasen for...

BBC: Could AI Help Create a Meat-Free World?

Jose Luis Penarredonda January 18, 2018
With expanding wealth and middle classes in emerging economies, global production of meat has more than doubled since 1986. Such agricultural production also has environmental costs. So entrepreneurs are trying to develop new foods that taste like meat products. “Meat is not their only target: mayonnaise, cookie dough, cheese, chocolate, and pretty much every other food produced using animal-...

PRI: The Link Between Severe Winters and Climate Change

Carolyn Beeler January 9, 2018
Climate-change skeptics point to a severe winter, long stretches of below-average temperatures and a so-called “bomb cyclone” as confirming that average rising temperatures may not be a problem. PRI’s Carolyn Beeler reports that the term “bomb cyclone” refers to an intense course caused by a quick drop in atmospheric pressure. But the icy weather reaching far beyond the Arctic confirms a...

Caixin: China’s Ban on Plastic Waste Imports to Choke World?

Yang Rui January 4, 2018
Discarded plastic for recycling is a major export for many nations. China was the largest importer of such waste, but that ends with a ban imposed on such imports as of 1 January. Yang Rui reports for Caixin: China “imported 7.3 million metric tons (8 tons) of plastic waste in 2016 mainly from Europe, Japan and the United States, worth billions of dollars. The country’s hunger for plastic has...

Newsweek: What Happens If the World No Longer Has Water?

Peter Schwartzstein December 27, 2017
Countries of the Middle East, a region where population growth is high, may be among the first to run out of water. Shortages are associated with a series of conflicts and refugee crises after the country hosted Palestinians, Lebanese, Iraqis and Syrians. “Globally, water demand is forecast to rise by roughly 50 percent by 2050,” explains Peter Schwartzstein for Newsweek, adding that “21 out of...

The New York Times: When Climate Change Becomes a Credit Problem

Jeff Nesbit December 13, 2017
This year has shown that disasters linked with climate change carry enormous economic costs, and communities that ignore the risks of climate change can expect increased upfront borrowing costs. “In a welcome but long overdue development, one of the world’s leading credit-rating agencies, Moody’s Investors Service, announced recently that it would give more weight to climate change risks in...