Climate Disasters, Energy Transitions, and the Consequences of Rampant Consumerism
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.
George Dillard writes, “It’s the nightmare scenario — you go to the doctor for a routine checkup and she finds that you have cancer. An initially slow-moving cancer, but one that will accelerate its growth over time. If you don’t treat it, it will eventually kill you.
Luckily, your doctor says, there is a treatment that you can pursue. It will be unpleasant at times, it will cost money, and it will require you to forego some of the things you had planned for the next few years.”
George continues his compelling analogy, saying that no reasonable person would delay treatment of a serious and life-threatening disease simply because the diagnosis didn't come at a convenient time. Yet, we continue on our course of inaction when it comes to addressing climate change with the focus and commitment it requires.
Read the full story here: There’s Always Something “More Pressing” than Climate Change
Brad Zarnett writes, “If you’re like me, you’re tired of anything that a politician or a corporate billionaire has to say about climate change, but maybe that’s because we continue to ask the wrong questions.”
Brad suggests that instead of asking politicians about policies it might be time to get a bit more personal. Questions such as: “Prime Minister Trudeau, (insert your politician of choice), what are you doing to prepare you and your family for the coming societal breakdown?” Or: “What are your plans to deal with the huge spike in food inflation?”, may finally prompt them into meaningful action — or at least provoke a more insightful answer.
Check out the full article here: It’s time to ask politicians, “what steps have you personally taken to prepare for the coming climate collapse?”
Andrea Hoymann writes about her experience growing up in a former coal mining city in the Ruhr Valley in Germany to now living in Newcastle, Australia, home of the world’s busiest coal export sites and dozens of mines. The Ruhr Valley has transitioned away from coal mining but still acknowledges the vital history coal played in the region’s history and has repurposed many of the mines. Across the world in Newcastle, they are only beginning to consider what a transition away from coal would look like for the area. Andrea reminds readers of Australia’s colonial past and the fact that the resources sector has played in exploiting the Indigenous people, something that needs to be reckoned with in a new energy future.
Read more on her experiences and thoughts here: Coal and Culture: A Tale of Two Cities
Current Climate News
Important climate-related news from the past month:
Heatwave: Ferocious European heat heads north (BBC)
July brought severe heat to many countries in Europe with the UK reaching record high temperatures, forest fires destroying tens of thousands of acres in France, Portugal, Spain, and Greece, and over 1,000 heat-related deaths in Spain and Portugal. Climate change has led to more frequent, intense, and long-lasting heatwaves and is only expected to worsen unless drastic action is taken.
President Biden and Senator Manchin Reach Agreement on Climate Legislation
In a major surprise, U.S. Senator Manchin reversed longstanding opposition to climate legislation as part of an agreement negotiated with President Biden. Dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the proposal includes incentives for electric vehicles, tax credits for clean energy investments, $27 billion for a national green bank, and a methane emission reduction program. Several analyses conclude that if enacted the measures would cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030, or close to President Biden’s target. Final approval of the proposal remains uncertain as at least one Democratic Senator, Kyrsten Sinema, remains uncommitted and the support of all 50 will be required.
Scientists explain how the deadly flooding in Kentucky got so bad: ‘It was bound to be catastrophic’ (ABC)
The end of July brought fatal flash floods to eastern Kentucky with dozens of people losing their lives as rainfall rates reached up to 4 inches per hour in some areas. The U.S. Geological Survey found that flows in nearby rivers reached peaks not observed there for decades. Many of the homes in the region are built in the floodplain as it is some of the only flat land. The stormwater management systems in the area were built for the rainstorms of the 1970s and were not prepared to handle the stronger rainstorms of today. As we’ve seen, climate change is expected to increase extreme weather events such as flooding. In fact, a study in Nature found that flooding costs in the U.S. are expected to increase by 26% to $40.6 billion due to climate change.
Retail’s ‘Dark Side’: As Inventory Piles Up, Liquidation Warehouses Are Busy (New York Times)
Consumers have been cutting down on discretionary spending due to high inflation after the past two years of mass spending on e-commerce, leaving unsuspecting companies with large amounts of unsold or returned goods. In 2021, shoppers returned on average 16.6% of their purchases, double that of the 2019 rate, which totals an astonishing $761 billion in lost sales for companies in the past year. Major retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target have turned to liquidation businesses to take control of their unsold or returned products rather than slash prices. While some returns and excess inventory will be sold to new owners (and then possibly resold again) or donated, others will get recycled, buried in landfills, or burned in electricity-generating incinerators.
Become an Editor!
Want to join our team and become an editor? We are always looking for people to help us edit our submissions and, if you have the time, promote our stories on our social media accounts. If you are interested, please fill out this form.
Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you next month!
Sincerely,
Sarah Woodams, Editor
Raunaq Nambiar, Editor
Brad Zarnett, Editor
Michael Robert, Editor
Alysha Grace, Editor
Andrea Hoymann, Editor
Eszter Brhlik, Editor
Alan Miller, Editor
Anthony Signorelli, Editor
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