Climate Bombs, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, and a New Climate Emergency Declaration
Hello Climate Conscious fans,
Welcome to the latest edition of The Current Climate newsletter!
In case you’re new to the publication, our goal with this monthly newsletter is to not only highlight the amazing work of our writers, but also to bring you important climate- and environment-related current events from around the world that you may have missed.
We hope that this newsletter serves as an additional resource to ensure the climate crisis remains at the forefront of our minds, rather than an afterthought.
Top Stories from Climate Conscious
From each prior month, we highlight some of the top stories from the publication based on the number of views/reads, editors’ picks, and relevance to current events.
Stephen Taylor wrote a thought-provoking article this past month on how climate change action is a large-scale prisoner’s dilemma. He states, “Climate action is sacrifice. This is true whether you are a single person, a corporation, or the US government.” This makes solving the climate crisis incredibly difficult and he offers five potential approaches we can take.
Check out the full article here: Why Nobody Cares about Climate Change
Pierre-Louis Lemaire wrote an important article this month alerting us to three major government-backed fossil fuel projects across the world. Pierre highlights an oil pipeline in Africa, an Australian liquified natural gas project, and an oil sand pipeline in Canada. These projects are also known as “Climate Bombs” and Pierre notes they rarely make headlines.
Check out the full article here: 3 Upcoming Government-Backed Mega Fossil Fuel Projects
Dr. Erlijn van Genuchten wrote a thoughtful piece on three initiatives teachers can take to make their environmental education more effective. Teaching relevant and personal information, actively engaging students, and clarifying misconceptions are all important practices for teachers to implement in the classroom. Dr. van Genuchten provides practical examples for all three of these tactics.
Check out the full article here: What Makes Environmental Education Effective
Current Climate News
Important climate-related news from the past month:
In Chelsea, cooling an urban heat island one block at a time (WBUR)
A city block in Chelsea outside of Boston is the site of a pilot from the Cool Block project working to decrease the urban heat island effect. Green Roots, a Chelsea-based environmental group is working with researchers at Boston University to find solutions to the negative effects brought by heat islands, such as increased risk of asthma and stroke. Temperatures in this specific block can be seven degrees higher than others. So far they have planted 47 new trees and installed a white roof on an elementary school. This roof decreased the surface temperature by 20 degrees along with reducing the surrounding air temperature by seven to ten degrees in the summer. The hope is that this Chelsea pilot can become a template for other municipalities as the warming effects of climate change become more pronounced.
‘We are in danger now’: Vanuatu declares climate emergency (Al Jazeera)
Vanuatu’s parliament unanimously declared a climate emergency in May, with Prime Minister Bob Loughman citing the rising sea levels and extreme weather that are disproportionately affecting the Pacific. Vanuatu is a low-lying Pacific island that has suffered from devastating cyclones and severe drought. He stated, “The Earth is already too hot and unsafe. We are in danger now, not just in the future.” The declaration is part of an effort to convince the United Nation’s International Court of Justice to vote to protect vulnerable nations, such as Vanuatu, from climate change. The Prime Minister also discussed the country’s commitment to the Paris agreement which will cost approximately $1.2 billion which needs to come from donor countries. The money will mainly go towards adapting the country to climate change, mitigating its effects, and covering damage.
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Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you next month!
Sincerely,
Sarah Woodams, Editor
Raunaq Nambiar, Editor
Brad Zarnett, Editor
Luke Gloege, Ph.D., Editor
Michael Robert, Editor
Alysha Grace, Editor
Andrea Hoymann, Editor
Eszter Brhlik, Editor
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