In The News

COP21: A Potluck Dinner in Paris

John Cassidy December 4, 2015
Nations will likely agree to limit greenhouse gas emissions, but governments must ensure enforcement. The climate conference in Paris does not aim for a treaty. Instead leaders “have agreed to hold a huge potluck dinner, in which each country brings what it can,” explains John Cassidy, writing for the New Yorker. The result is a hodgepodge of targets and pledges to reduce emission levels by some...

The Challenge of Urban Flooding

December 3, 2015
Research suggests that heavy rainfall events are on the rise. “The time has come to take serious cognisance of the link between climate change and extreme weather events like Chennai floods,” notes an essay from the Hans India. “As recommended by Centre for Science and Environment, India should start internalising climate change adaptation in all developmental policies and programmes.” Cities as...

COP21: China Prepares to Act on Climate Change

Isabel Hilton December 1, 2015
The climate talks in Paris known as COP21 are underway, and world leaders confront overwhelming scientific evidence that catastrophe is inevitable if countries continue to rely on fossil fuels. Global awareness runs high about the increasing economic and security threats of volatile weather patterns, including food and water shortages, infrastructure damage and rising insurance costs, as well as...

Why a Climate Change Deal Is the Best Hope for Peace

Jason Box and Naomi Klein November 25, 2015
A deal on climate change is a global priority after the terrorist attacks in Paris, argue climatologist Jason Box and author Naomi Klein. Their essay for the New Yorker points out that severe drought instigated a mass migration within Syria from rural areas to cities, contributing to discontent. Conflict in the Middle East should inspire “an urgent push to lower emissions as rapidly and deeply as...

Filipina Entrepreneur Shines at APEC

Doris Dumlao-Abadilla November 23, 2015
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation regional group supports sustainable growth and prosperity among its 21 member states, both developed and emerging economies through trade, investment, sustainability and innovation. One individual may exemplify such goals. “A Filipina who co-founded Sustainable Alternative Lighting (SALT), a company that makes innovative lamps powered by saltwater, was thrust...

Climate Change Is Forcing People to Migrate and the World Doesn’t Have a Plan

Aura Bogado November 11, 2015
The UN climate talks scheduled for December will review how governments should treat refugees fleeing the effects of climate change. The UN 1951 Refugee Convention covers persecution, but not a changing climate, and in the meantime such refugees “remain in a bizarre legal and political limbo.” Aura Bogado, writing for Grist, argues that “Developed countries, which have emitted more carbon in the...

Just a Nudge Could Collapse West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Raise Sea Levels 3 Meters

Carolyn Gramling November 5, 2015
Freezing and melting of the Arctic and Antarctic regions along with global weather patterns are volatile. Researchers prepare models to predict when a large West Antarctic Ice Sheet will break away, eventually causing global sea levels to rise by as much as 3 meters. “Just a few decades of melting leads to ‘thousands of years of ice motion,’” writes Carolyn Gramling for Science Magazine. “More...