Climate Change

Over the past number of months, extreme weather, wildfires, and other events have brought the immediacy of the climate emergency to light –both in BC, ...

A range of strategies and tools are needed to reduce the associated health harms, and British Columbia’s doctors are uniquely positioned in these efforts. Physicians can play a valuable role in communicating the population health impacts of climate change, as well as contributing to strategies to reduce potential harms. Over the past number of months, extreme weather, wildfires, and other events have brought the immediacy of the climate emergency to light –both in BC, and on a global scale.

How much do your actions as an individual matter when it comes to climate? The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change from the ...

The scientists nod to the climate strikes that have given voice to youth in more than 180 countries, which help build social trust and citizen-led networks. In a school cafeteria or restaurant, the way a menu or choices are presented can make a difference in how people decide what to eat. Offering households a financial reward for energy efficiency had the biggest effect; after that, providing consumers with more information on their energy usage, and a benchmark to compare it to, also had a measurable medium-sized effect over the short-term period that most of these studies covered. “To those of us who are in that privileged category, we have a huge responsibility to respond and to do all that we can to immediately solve this problem,” Creutzig said. That’s the scale that we can really engage because people can see the broader impact of collective action.” But the science body noted that the pandemic is proof that broad, structural behavioral change can and does happen. The top 10 percent is a broad category that includes more than the jet-fliers and yacht-owners. The pandemic has supported that rapid collective change in behavior is possible. And while hard data and peer-reviewed science show individual actions do matter, ultimately, the world has to think beyond the individual carbon footprint in addressing the climate crisis, including thinking about how individuals can bring about structural change. So the bottom line of the IPCC’s first look at individual action is this: By reexamining the way we live, move around, and eat, the world has the potential to slash up to 70 percent of end-use emissions by 2050. But there are things individuals can do at work and in their communities that will do more to push structural change. In other words, a single person taking well-meaning steps to lessen their footprint doesn’t change the fact that billions of people are living off fossil fuels.

Climate change impacts the most vulnerable first and worst and that's why Oxfam is making sure that climate action is central to our fight against ...

3. Black and Indigenous people face the worst impacts of climate change, which causes heat waves, storms, and other disasters. For example, due to the effects of climate change an estimated 13 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia have been displaced in search of water and pasture, just in the first quarter of 2022, despite having done little to cause the climate crisis. It is time that our elected officials give it the urgency, attention, and investment that is necessary.

Mangroves, salt marsh, and seagrass beds, known collectively as “blue carbon” ecosystems, are especially efficient at removing carbon dioxide from the air and ...

The protection and restoration of coastal wetlands such as salt marsh present an opportunity for incorporating nature-based solutions on the state and national levels. Protecting and restoring salt marshes, as well as creating space for them to move inland away from rising seas, are ways that countries and states can ensure that salt marsh persists in the face of climate change. Like U.S. states, countries around the globe can also look to their salt marsh habitats to bolster coastlines against the effects of climate change. However, the report notes that to be most effective, these ecosystems need sufficient space to expand, or migrate, inland and warns that as sea levels rise, coastal wetlands such as salt marsh are at risk of being inundated and converted to open water. To survive, wetlands must have enough space, free from barriers such as roads and seawalls, to migrate and avoid being overtaken by the ocean. The report, drafted by more than 270 leading experts from 67 countries, analyzes the feasibility of various climate adaptation measures and highlights coastal wetlands’ ability to protect against coastal erosion and flooding.

We'll have to do this to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, namely extreme weather like more frequent hurricanes and wildfires. Pew research center says ...

Carbon dioxide emissions tend to acidify oceans making aquatic species and marine habitats more vulnerable to declines and damage. This ocean acidification ...

The goal is to adopt proper implementation of global strategies that can ensure marine and coastal protection and the conservation of the global oceans in general. The WMO in particular also collaborates with the Food and Agriculture Organisation to understand the impacts of climate change on marine productivity and fisheries. More than hundred countries across the globe responsible for a majority of these emissions, have made national climate commitments and pledges to curb their impacts on the environment. With the Paris Agreement, the recent COP26 summit in Glasgow among others, we can definitely say that we are off to a good start. While 30% of the land on Earth is classified as areas of particular importance for biodiversity protection, in order to reverse the extinction crisis, there needs to be an additional 20% of land that needs to be conserved. To surmise, greenhouse warming has complex and perhaps, severe impacts on the ocean than on land. Countries have also started developing policies and implementing sustainable practices which can conserve the oceans and protect fisheries and marine habitats. On the other hand, La Niña events have also seen a build-up in recent years, and tend to have complex impacts on weather patterns particularly in the Pacific Ocean. Both El Niño and La Niña events are part of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), where the former brings warming effects while the latter brings significant cooling or changes in winter seasons in the Pacific regions. The cumulative impacts of deforestation, agricultural runoff, overexploitation of marine resources, overfishing and more also weaken marine ecosystems of the world. Oceans are known to absorb most of the solar energy reaching the Earth, and warming of the oceans is generally slower than the atmosphere, resulting in moderate coastal weather with few hot and cold extremes. While oceans tend to influence regional and weather conditions around the world, changes in the climate can also have profound impacts on the oceans. Oceans absorb almost 90% of the extra energy from greenhouse gas effects, and this has resulted in ocean warming at depths of 1,000 metres.

Across its 17 chapters, it examines climate change mitigation efforts in use (or pledged for use) in everything from agriculture and transport, to energy supply ...

Climate change is a direct result of more than a century of ignored warnings and and unsustainable approaches to using precious resources. Researchers at ETH’s Future Cities Laboratory believe that part of the answer to this is to enable a circular loop within the urban landscape. The authors say that it could “transform cityscapes from their current status as net sources of GHG emissions into large-scale, human-made carbon sinks.” A paper referenced in the report suggests that constructing timber buildings for 2.3 billion urban dwellers (between 2020 and 2050) could store between 0.01 and 0.68 Gt CO2 per year, depending on a number of factors, including the average floor area per capita. This has prompted many to begin a drastic rethink of the materials supply chain, and of the construction, operation, and demolition cycle. A particularly good example of this is the dominance of private cars seen in many urban areas. More than half of the global human population now live in these areas, and that proportion is forecasted to increase to nearly 70% by 2050. The materials most associated with mid- and high-rise urban construction – namely, concrete, steel, aluminum, and glass – all come with significant carbon (and environmental) cost, despite steady improvements in their production efficiency. Smart (and distributed) electric grids are also enabling a more sustainable approach to electricity supply and demand. There is arguably a fourth strategy too – behavioral change – though, this often follows on from the successful implementation of the other three. The huge range of approaches reflects the fact that the causes of climate change are numerous – though, it should be said, we humans are to blame for all of them – and tackling it will take a multi-pronged approach. Across its 17 chapters, it examines climate change mitigation efforts in use (or pledged for use) in everything from agriculture and transport, to energy supply and manufacturing. We are living in a climate crisis, and the time for action is now.

Can you solve drought by piping water across the country? Is the weather becoming more extreme than scientists predicted? What kind of trees are best to plant ...

NASA scientists, among others, have calculated that any cooling effect would be overwhelmed by the warming effect of all the greenhouse gases we have pumped, and continue to pump, into the atmosphere. The reality is not that clear cut: If the presence of those cryptominers disincentivizes oil and gas companies from piping away that gas to be used elsewhere, any savings effect is blunted. That keeps the number of batteries, and the weight, down. To measure temperatures at the sea’s surface, for instance, the most common method before about 1940 was to toss a bucket overboard a ship, haul it back up with a rope and read the temperature of the water inside. Some researchers put the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave in that category, and are working to figure out whether they need to re-evaluate some of their assumptions. How can we possibly have reliable measures of global temperatures from back then, keeping in mind that oceans cover about 70 percent of the globe and that a large majority of land has never been populated by humans to any significant degree? Given “unexpected” extreme events like the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave and extreme heat in Antarctica that appear to shock scientists, it’s difficult for me to trust the I.P.C.C.’s framing that we haven’t run out of time. The idea of taking water from one community and giving it to another has some basis in American history. And some 2,500 chemical sites are in areas at risk of flooding, which could cause those chemicals to leach into the groundwater. And research “suggests these disruptions to the vortex are happening more often in connection with a rapidly warming, melting Arctic, which we know is a clear symptom of climate change,” said Jennifer A. Francis, a senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center. Where the extreme cold occurs depends on the nature of the disruption to the polar vortex. The connection between climate change and extreme cold weather involves the polar jet stream in the Northern Hemisphere, strong winds that blow around the globe from west to east at an altitude of 5 to 9 miles.

Earth Day this year is based on the theme "invest in our planet" amid strong signs from the planet as wildfires, intense floods, and changing climate ...

The major economies of the world, including the US, are yet to deliver on their commitments towards a $100 billion per year climate fund. US Climate envoy John Kerry had said that President Joe Biden is committed to increasing U.S. funding to developing countries to help with climate change. Earth Day this year is based on the theme "invest in our planet" amid strong signs from the planet as wildfires, intense floods, and changing climate threaten its survival.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala is pleading with everyone to do their part in addressing climate change.

“Our country will continue to insist on a just transition to green technologies and clean energy sources. “It is a time that we all work together to fight the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, which make the poorest of the poor more vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change,” he said. As we treat climate change as a global emergency, we must also ensure that no one is left behind as we create new jobs that put environmental protection at the heart of how we produce and consume as a nation.

Cities are responsible for over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet cities can also do a lot to mitigate climate change and help people adapt to its ...

The children pointed out that they lived in cities such as Cape Town (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria) and Tabarka (Tunisia) where the impacts of climate change are on the rise. But, without robust action and engagement of children at the local sphere of government, the commitments become empty noise. The Climate Change Act (2016) of Kenya is very clear on the obligations of institutions at the city level in relation to climate governance. I argue that cities can do more to protect children from the impacts of climate change. In a recent study, I explored how city-level climate law and policy protects children in the context of climate change. Almost 1 billion children – nearly half of the world’s children – live in countries that are at extremely high risk of climate change impacts.

Earth Day 2022 Google Doodle: Throughout the day, the doodle images will change to represent different locations of the earth and the impact of global ...

Several events and campaigns are being held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Earth Day is an international event celebrated around the world to pledge support for environmental protection. Each image will remain on the homepage for several hours at a time.

In one of the most creative doodles of all time, Google is spreading awareness about Earth Day 2022 with a time-lapse on its home page, which shows the impacts ...

Earth Day is also celebrated to call attention to the various ways people can be more sustainable in their lifestyle and slow down global warming. UN ActNow has also stated several ways through which people can take action against climate change on the occasion of Earth Day 2022. Google further explained that the major cause of climate change on Earth is greenhouse gas emissions.

President Joe Biden's ambitions to finally put the U.S. on the path to confront climate change are crashing into an election-year scramble to lower gas ...

Last month, Biden announced he would release 1 million barrels of oil a day from the country’s strategic reserve, one of several steps to cut gas prices soon. And as the White House tries to starve Moscow of the funds it needs to wage its war in Ukraine, Biden is pushing countries to stop buying Russian oil and gas. They pointed out that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland had used her discretion to significantly cut the amount of land being offered and raise the royalty rate companies must pay. The White House recently greenlighted exporting more U.S. gas to Europe, a step that requires building costly new export terminals that are likely to stay in use for years — even if the current crisis ends. Biden’s newfound focus on lowering gas prices in the near term has opened up rare divisions between his administration and environmental groups, who largely cheered his efforts in his first year to recommit the U.S. on climate change. But the spending proposal died, taking more than half a billion dollars in climate funding with it, denying Democrats what would have been their biggest legislative achievement to run on ahead of the midterms. But there have been no signs of serious, advanced negotiations — including with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a must-have vote — and time is quickly running out before the campaign season makes legislating in Congress nearly impossible. Yet some energy analysts have questioned that logic, arguing that building mammoth new solar and wind farms is not a viable solution to bring down energy costs immediately. “The problem they have is the energy reality we face just doesn’t square with the quick transition that they would like to sell. But that means increasing global production of gasoline, just when Biden is trying to wean the U.S. off fossil fuels. Yet this week, Biden reinstated rules requiring big infrastructure projects to undergo complex reviews for environmental and climate effects before they can get started, a step that could cause significant delays. “It’ll ensure we’re no longer reliant on petrostate autocrats,” Sittenfeld said.

The consensus among scientists is that we are in an era of global heating and extreme weather events, primarily due to the devastating effects of human ...

“[B]y increasing communication from the health system, by promoting healthier lifestyles, we on the one hand promote behavior shifts that determine low-carbon transitions and facilitate those low-carbon transitions. But […] the response to climate change, and commensurate investment, remains inadequate,” it concludes. That alters hydrological cycles and generates other impacts on the climate [and] on our environment that add to the whole combo that we call ‘climate change’.” “One of the most cited examples of how infectious diseases are changing [is] in so-called arthropod-borne diseases. For example, a study that appeared in PNAS in 2019 looked at how efficiently the immune systems of mice reacted to influenza viruses under different temperature conditions. “[Pandemics are] going to happen more and a key driver of this is climate change. “So what happens [as a result] is that, as heat from the Sun reaches the Earth, they act like a blanket, they trap the heat inside the Earth’s atmosphere, and that makes the temperatures go up. “[G]reenhouse gases that have been accumulating in the atmosphere due to human activity are gases like carbon dioxide [and] methane. As climates change animals will change their distribution; they’ll probably group together more allowing viruses to jump more easily between them. So that also is posing limits on […] food productivity,” stressed Dr. Romanello. In our latest installment of the In Conversation podcast, we discuss these aspects at length with two key experts. Why are researchers concerned, and what are the implications for health?

Climate change can feel confusing, big and scary. Trust us: We get it. Just take a deep breath, and let it back out again (it will be full of carbon dioxide ...

To mark the nation's 52nd Earth Day, Robert Feder, MD, outlines how climate change will exacerbate mental health challenges and the importance of global ...

The first is the direct impact of changes in climate on mental health. Concerns about climate change are now showing up in therapists’ offices.6 Despite accumulating knowledge about how to help with these problems,7 the number of “climate informed” therapists remains low. 7. Feder R. A brief guide to individual therapy for climate-related mental distress. 1. Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaption, and vulnerability. In addition, rising ambient temperatures are associated with higher suicide rates3 and growing emergency room mental health visits.4 The New York Times. Published February 6, 2022. Climate change escalates mental health issues in 2 ways. In addition, there will be a large loss of human habitat through rising sea levels and temperature increases. 6. Barry E. Climate change enters the therapy room. Improved access to mental health services, an increase in the number of mental health providers, and a reduction in the use of fossil fuels will all be necessary to meet this challenge. Approximately 37% of American people currently live in areas that have serious problems with access to mental health care.8 This is likely to get significantly worse in the coming decade as global temperatures warm and climate change creates increasing demand for mental health services. This results in significant psychiatric morbidity with new incidences of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, as well as exacerbation of pre-existing mental disorders.

Could we save Earth if we treated it like a child? We are in crisis and need to heal the planet. Climate work is not about diluted commitments coldly discussed ...

Zelda Keller is executive director of the Institute for Climate and Peace. She also works with organizations to develop peacebuilding initiatives throughout the Pacific Asia region. We liken the climate crisis to the doldrums. Even the quietest, distant of cries can awaken a mother from a deep sleep, and we must establish similarly visceral bonds for effective and just climate action. It is a feeling, location and knowingness at the same time. During doldrums, the boat might be moving very quickly in the storm while the crew is unable to see the way to safety. Despite the demonstrated successes of locally based efforts like these, governments and philanthropies invest most climate finance in top-down and technology-centric approaches. Positive peaceful climate solutions present the greatest opportunity to build social cohesion, create lasting commitments that survive beyond partisanship, and are sustained beyond each of us. The communities and lands where these projects are based are now stronger, healthier, more connected and better prepared to face climate impacts with resilience. Central to our climate justice work is helping to frame the conversation about what peace is. We are in crisis and need to heal the planet. Their nerves express concern to you with quiet messages designed to tug at your unique receptivity – a tight squeeze, a shifted foot, a tear in the corner of the eye. As mothers, we have often felt engulfed by the gnawing worry of climate change, the jagged feeling akin to that moment when you, as a mother, drop off your child in the care of someone who hasn't yet earned your trust.

Climate change is contributing to rising losses from natural disasters, including increased damage to physical assets and disruption to business operations.

Models can also be used to sensitivity test the implemented protection measures against future climate conditions and a comprehensive range of high impact scenarios. When we think about the damage from recent natural disasters, it is important to place climate change in the wider context of what is contributing to rising losses. This includes the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, a global network of business leaders from various industries developing cost-effective solutions to transitioning to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. Many of the dangerous and costly manifestations of climate change are already here. But for other perils — tornadoes, hurricanes, and other windstorms— the impact is less clear. Climate science is a fast-evolving field of study, and while projections of future environmental outcomes remain uncertain, the need for investments in long-term resilience strategies has never been clearer.

Twitter is banning advertisements that promote climate change denial in an effort to curb the reach of groups seeking to downplay the extent of the ...

Google similarly announced a move to ban advertisements that contradict scientists’ understanding about the existence and causes of climate change. In recent years, tech companies have been introducing new labels and information hubs to elevate accurate information about the environment while taking steps to limit the spread of falsehoods. “We recognize that misleading information about climate change can undermine efforts to protect the planet.”

In Africa, the climate crisis is threatening the livelihoods of millions and the availability of food and water. In recent years the continent has seen economic ...

He said the funds come with conditions and restrictions that make it difficult for the nations to use them in ways they would prioritize. Fredrick Owino works with 16 African countries on how best to increase and preserve forests as one of the ways to mitigate global climate change. In recent years the continent has seen economic and population growth that has led to environmental degradation while suffering extreme climatic events such as floods, heatwaves and drought.

Companies use AWS services in creative ways to build local and global innovations designed to address the climate.

Retailers can replace products, change colors and configurations, and swap entire item sets with the click of a button. Climate change is a key ESG issue, and retailers are actively looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprints and reach net-zero emissions targets in the next few years. Creating and selling a product involves a long chain of transactions, with each one contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Hexa is an AWS Partner and 3D commerce and augmented reality (AR) expert. ArcGIS StoryMaps is a story-authoring, web-based application that allows users to share their maps in the context of narrative text and other multimedia content. Although Costa Rica accounts for only 0.03% of the Earth’s surface, it’s home to nearly 6% of the world’s biodiversity. According to The Nature Conservancy, 83.6% of people live in urban areas. Pairing robust EO datasets with modeling leads to more accurate and relevant predictions of how ecosystems behave and might evolve. Climate Next featured The Nature Conservancy’s work to reduce tree disparity in Los Angeles. They built MOIA using AWS services, including Internet of Things (IoT) that powers the vans’ sensors and let MOIA collect data and continually improve performance. One of the greatest counterforces to climate change is nature. The app’s user interface (UI) includes pick-up and overall trip times, stops en route, walking duration needed to complete the journey, and vehicle number.

Twitter announced a new policy on Earth Day: it now bans ads pushing climate denial. The company says conversations about sustainability and climate change ...

Google told The Verge at the time that it reviewed the content and decided to take “appropriate enforcement actions.” Facebook has also come under fire for failing to label climate misinformation despite its policy on flagging such content. Talk about “sustainability” on the platform has grown by over 150 percent since 2021, Twitter says. Twitter also said that it will soon share more details about how it plans to “add reliable, authoritative context” about climate change on its platform.

While there is no silver bullet to address climate change, carbon pricing certainly moves the needle in limiting greenhouse gas emissions and rising global ...

In buildings, energy efficiencies can be achieved with well-insulated homes and factories making efforts to reduce energy use. This scenario limited global temperature rise to 1°C. You can pump in economic growth and still stay under 1.8 °C," he said. It also includes lowering methane and other emissions, limiting deforestation and increasing afforestation. What is critical is that the electricity sources are renewable, like solar and wind. Midgley pointed out that there are very few silver bullets in addressing climate change. Some countries have an emissions performance standard, which puts a limit on the greenhouse gas emissions allowed from power stations or certain industries. Midgley noted that the solutions do not happen in isolation. The simulations have helped policymakers, businesses and academics understand the effects of different climate solutions, which has also benefitted their strategies. The rate is expected to be $2- per ton or ~R300 by 2026. From 2026, the carbon tax will be increased with larger annual hikes to reach $30 per ton or ~R460 per ton by 2030. Combining electrification with energy efficiencies in transport and buildings can limit temperatures further to 2.8°C. Energy efficiencies in the transport sector can be achieved through expanding public transport and promoting the use of hybrid cars.

To commemorate Earth Day, which is celebrated annually on April 22, environmentalists made it clear that climate change was here and needed urgent action ...

Volschenk said southern Africa was already highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as warm and dry regions were projected to become even warmer and drier, with warming in the interior of the region increasing at twice the global rate. It is not imminent – it is happening now. Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner Thandile Chinyavanhu said: “Climate change is unfolding violently before our eyes.

The study used Kenya and South Africa as key examples. In many countries, and in these two countries specifically, I observed that city governments have the ...

The children pointed out that they lived in cities such as Cape Town (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria) and Tabarka (Tunisia) where the impacts of climate change are on the rise. This could include sporting and fun activities, forums and other opportunities for children to be engaged on the climate discourse at community level. The Climate Change Act (2016) of Kenya is very clear on the obligations of institutions at the city level in relation to climate governance. I argue that cities can do more to protect children from the impacts of climate change. In a recent study, I explored how city-level climate law and policy protects children in the context of climate change. Almost 1 billion children – nearly half of the world’s children – live in countries that are at extremely high risk of climate change impacts.