Devastating hurricanes, the biodiversity crisis, and re-thinking sustainable development
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.
Angela Phan writes, “The biodiversity crisis does not get the attention it so desperately deserves. While climate change dominates the front pages of our media outlets, biodiversity loss takes a backseat to its more charismatic sibling. In fact, many people do not realize how interconnected these crises are, and both deserve their time in the spotlight.”
Angela explains why biodiversity continues to be an underexplored and underreported topic, pointing to a lack of understanding of the terminology and the challenge of explaining complex and interconnected issues to a general audience. Her solution? Conservation scientists and ecologists need to become a bigger part of shifting the narrative through outreach, connecting biodiversity to human life, and increased collaboration.
Check out the full article here: Why Are We Not Talking About The Biodiversity Crisis?
Sourabh Jain writes about sustainable development, “[when the term was first defined], it conveyed an emotional urgency and request that we must use only what is necessary and protect resources and the environment for our children. While the definition survived over 35 years, I feel it needs to be changed.”
Sourabh argues that in light of intensifying natural disasters that are worsening due to climate change, the focus needs to shift to include the impact of unsustainable development on the present.
He says, “I strongly believe that we need to delete the word generation in the definition of sustainable development and replace it with time to evoke the urgency to save our present and future rather than the present and future of our kids. We must adopt a long-term view for selfish reasons rather than to protect an abstract idea of future generations.”
Read the full argument here: Why Sustainable Development Needs to be Re-defined
Christyl Rivers, Phd. writes about the droughts of this summer, “Life without water means thirst, suffering, overheating, and death. As livestock struggles to find the water that means life, wildlife does too. Choices must be made. […] I do not know if it is right to try to save forage and crop subsidies for the continued use of feed and water for livestock when the new “normal” is hotter droughts every year.”
Christyl explores the issue of various relief programs designed to save the livelihood of farmers, programs that may be well-intentioned but do little to address the long-term drivers behind the record-breaking heat. The article continues to explore the connection between our diets and climate — and why adopting a vegetarian/flexitarian diet may be part of the solution.
Check out the full story here: Dead Cow Politics: Should We Pay Ranchers During Drought?
Current Climate News
Important climate-related news from the past month:
Hurricanes Ian and Fiona
The biggest climate story of the month is the enormous and ongoing impact of Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida and Hurricane Fiona which knocked out power to all of Puerto Rico and traveled north to hit eastern Canada and the role of climate change in these extreme storms. For example, Hurricane Ian was made more powerful and less predictable because of the energy provided by higher ocean temperatures, which in turn made warnings and evacuation orders less effective resulting in much greater human impact. The implications and lessons of this tragedy will no doubt be the subject of study for many months to come.
The Rising Nations Initiative
A group of small island nations announced the Rising Nations Initiative as a forum for the collective action and funding needed to save them from disappearing due to sea level rise. Speaking at a side event during the September UN General Assembly, Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano warned, “This is how a Pacific atoll dies. This is how our islands will cease to exist.” In a related event, on September 29th the White House announced new and increased support for Pacific small island states.
White House Action Plan
Also in September, the White House published its Action Plan in support of the President’s Emergency Action Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), announced at COP26 last November. Key elements of the Plan include an emphasis on climate information services and early warning systems, programs to enhance the capacity of locally led adaptation, and initiatives to unlock finance for adaptation measures. Another new climate initiative, the Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation portal, provides communities with a website for location specific data about climate dangers as well as information about federal funding opportunities.
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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