Climate protesters won’t be deterred by fines, jail or political mixed message – time to rethink our responses on the environment

Adam Morton in The Guardian Activists are convinced a wartime campaign of resistance is the only way to highlight the existing system’s failure to meet the moment Tue 9 Jul 2024 As pro-Palestinian protesters sparked outrage scaling the roof of Parliament House last week, a few dozen activists at Newcastle were making an equally sharp…

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Geo-engineering: glaciers

Scientists call for ‘major initiative’ to study whether geoengineering should be used on glaciers Report finds many questions remain around technology to address glacier melting and sea-level rise Date: July 11, 2024 Source: University of Chicago in Science Daily Summary: Scientists have released a landmark report on glacial geoengineering — an emerging field studying whether…

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Calling all influencers: standup and be counted on climate

in Pearls and Irritations By Ken Russell Jul 6, 2024 If tidal waves of science and activism along with increasing extreme weather events aren’t enough to turn things around, where can we turn to? From the late 1970’s ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest oil company was aware of the connection between fossil fuels, climate change, and…

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Californians to vote for climate resilience funding

Californians will likely see $10B climate bond on November ballot BY SHARON UDASIN – 07/01/24 1:59 PM IN The Hill The California Legislature came to an agreement Sunday on the terms of a $10 billion climate resilience bond that it expects to appear on the November 2024 ballot. The anticipated inclusion of such a bond…

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Plastic Free July is a waste of time if the onus is only on consumers

in The Conversation July 1 Bhavna Middha ARC DECRA and Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Ralph Horne Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, College of Design & Social Context, RMIT University Every year, the Plastic Free July campaign asks us to refuse single-use plastic. The idea is that making a…

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Yes, we really are dumb enough to import our own gas. Here’s why

By Mike Foley in The AGE July 4, 2024 Bob Hawke said in 1988 that Australia should become “the clever country”. Judging by the current state of the gas market, the nation is a long way from that goal and about to reap the results of some truly dumb decisions. Australia looks set to import…

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Denmark will introduce the world’s first emissions tax for cows and pigs

The Danish government says it hopes it will inspire other countries to follow suit. SBS news from Reuters Denmark, a major pork and dairy exporter, will introduce a tax on livestock carbon dioxide emissions from 2030, making it the first country to do so. The tax was first proposed in February by government-commissioned experts, to…

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Sharp rise in number of climate lawsuits against companies, report says

Figure 2. climate litigation filings and decisions against US and European corporations. from Report Impacts of climate litigation on firm value. London School of Economics & Political Science, Houghton St, London, WC2A 2AE. Misato Sato Glen Gostlow Catherine Higham Joana Setzer Frank Venmans† About 230 cases filed against corporations and trade associations around world since…

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New fabric cools people in sweltering cities

The thin, three-layer material not only reflects heat from the sun, but also heat radiating from buildings and pavements By Anthropocene Team June 20, 2024 As record-high temperatures rack the globe, rethinking how we stay cool is increasingly important. Energy-hungry air-conditioning is already contributing to global warming, and its use will only go up as…

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Opportunity: The 12 actions to power First Nations jobs in clean energy

In National Indigenous Times by David Prestipino – June 26, 2024 A new report released Tuesday has found the transition to clean energy will require the development of a skilled workforce – creating new career opportunities for Indigenous people. The First Nations Clean Energy Network report ‘Powering First Nations Jobs in Clean Energy’ launched with…

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Australians have been forced to leave their homes 240,828 times in recent years due to worsening climate change fuelled disasters

from Climate Council DOWNLOAD THE ‘TOO CLOSE TO HOME’ REPORT HERE Key Findings 1. Communities and first responders are struggling to cope with increasingly frequent climate-fuelled disasters, with assistance from the Australian Government sought by states and territories 226 times since 2019/20. Financial assistance has been called for and provided by the Australian Government in…

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The issue nearly 80 per cent of the world wants government action on

A majority of survey respondents said they support a quick transition away from fossil fuels. Published 20 June 2024 5:27pm Source: AFP sbs news Four in every five people want their country to strengthen its commitments to addressing climate change, according to a global poll of 75,000 participants. The background: The survey by the United…

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Legal cases hot up against fossil fuel companies

Climate victims file criminal case against bosses of oil firm Total Case alleges French company’s exploitation of fossil fuel contributed to deaths of victims in extreme weather disasters Damian CarringtonEnvironment editor The Guardian Tues 21 May A criminal case has been filed against the CEO and directors of the French oil company TotalEnergies, alleging its…

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Why scientists fear a second Trump term, and what they are doing about it

In the Washington Post Democracy Dies in Darkness Several federal agencies are working to safeguard research, including climate science, from future political meddling. By Maxine Joselow and  Scott Dance Updated June 12, 2024 When the union representing nearly half of Environmental Protection Agency employees approved a new contract with the federal government this month, it…

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Researchers are reinventing glass for a warmer world

Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of the polymer-based micro-photonic multi-function metamaterials (PMMM) for integrated light, thermal and wettability management. From: Radiative cooling and indoor light management enabled by a transparent and self-cleaning polymer-based metamaterial Scientists have devised a window coating that looks like frosted glass but is brighter, provides cooling to reduce reliance on air-conditioning, and…

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