Posts tagged Climate Change
The Climate Crisis Won't Wait for Politics
The Climate Crisis Won't Wait for Politics

With seven in ten Americans believing climate change is a serious problem, true solutions won’t come from waiting for the political winds to shift but acting now at every level possible. The destructive lessons of Helene and Milton make it clear: our choice isn't between acting and doing nothing but between proactive change and being forced into adaptation as the climate becomes increasingly hostile. With 2024 already shaping up to be the hottest year on record, this second-term vision of Trump's is an extreme contradiction in climate science. While the federal leadership falters, communities are leading the charge, businesses are leading the charge, and local governments are leading the charge. 

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Columns, OpinionNikhil UchilThe climate crisis, Climate, Climate Change, Opinion, Columns, ColumnComment
Climate and Energy: What Trump’s Proposed Policy Actually Entails
Climate and Energy: What Trump’s Proposed Policy Actually Entails

Chapters 1, 3, and 5 of the 2024 GOP platform, linked on the home page of Trump’s platform website, explicitly champion the complete deregulation of the American fossil fuel industry and ambiguously mention the rollback of regulations and policies implemented during the Biden administration. But what does this actually mean?

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Election 2024, National, Editor's PicksLandon KnoxClimate, Climate Change, Energy, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Florida, Helene, Election 2024, Editor's PickComment
Riding the Waves of Change: How Surf Therapy and Similar Programs Can Help Turn the Tide on Child Poverty
Riding the Waves of Change: How Surf Therapy and Similar Programs Can Help Turn the Tide on Child Poverty

With the ever-growing costs of welfare programs in the United States, policymakers and advocates continue to ask the question: Is there a successful and cost-effective way to address this growing problem? Well, for this community in Peru, the answer is an unconventional activity: surfing.

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Editor's Picks, Global, CultureKayla NguyenGlobal News, Global, Climate Change, Editor's Pick, CultureComment
Politics, Philanthropy, and Patagonia: 2022’s Climate Change Reckoning
Politics, Philanthropy, and Patagonia: 2022’s Climate Change Reckoning

“In 2020, a group of the company’s lawyers began searching for alternate ownership methods to answer the question of Chouinard’s eventual succession. Chouinard wanted to “go purpose,” not public. Going public would have been chaotic, in his eyes, because shareholders’ motivation for short-term profit would have drowned out the company’s mission of sustainability and workers’ rights“

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NationalGabriel SchanerPatagonia, Climate Change, National Comment
Let’s Future-Proof Democracy
Let’s Future-Proof Democracy

“Presentism’s endemic presence in democracy is indeed a reflection of its inherent presence in human nature. For this reason, many will argue that it is impossible to overcome without sacrificing any form of self-governance, but this defeatist critique belies a lack of imagination and ignorance of presentism’s true threat given the civilizational challenges we face.”

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Essays, NationalCole MurphyDemocracy, Essays, Future, AI, Climate ChangeComment
For the Fossil Fuel Industry, Sustainability Does Not Have To Be a Zero-Sum Game
For the Fossil Fuel Industry, Sustainability Does Not Have To Be a Zero-Sum Game

“As climate change becomes an impending harbinger of chaos, calls for decarbonization compound throughout all generations of society. When activists push for progress, the fossil fuel industry lobbies in rebuttal. The underlying reason for this is simple: their livelihoods depend upon it. To fight the encompassing issue of climate change, society imperatively necessitates a coalition of disparate actors, including the coal and petrochemical industry.”

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FellowsMichelle LiuFossil Fuels, Environmental Politics, Climate Change, Sustainability, NC Indsustry, EnergyComment
Environmental Justice in North Carolina: Cooper’s Executive Order and Winston-Salem’s Fertilizer Plant Fire
Environmental Justice in North Carolina: Cooper’s Executive Order and Winston-Salem’s Fertilizer Plant Fire

“On January 7, 2022, Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 246, titled ‘North Carolina’s Transformation to a Clean, Equitable Economy,’ and on January 31, 2022, when the Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem caught fire, creating the possibility of one of the worst explosions in US history due to the 600 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate inside.”

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Editor's Picks, LocalNing SoongClimate Change, Environmental Politics, Environmental Racism, Winston Salem, Natural Disaster, NCPOL, Editor's PickComment
State Corruption Threatens to Impede South Africa’s Transition to Renewable
State Corruption Threatens to Impede South Africa’s Transition to Renewable

“South Africa’s $8.5 billion funding package represents a pivotal rejection against climate inaction. Lethargy may be a political opiate, but the passion at the COP26 proves one notable fact: 2022 is not the year to cry alligator tears. But, caught up in fervency, policymakers may forget that political intricacies and the normalization of corporate corruption can hinder their lofty goals.”

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Editor's Picks, GlobalMichelle LiuClimate Change, Foreign Policy, South Africa, COP26, Editor's PickComment
China Making Steps to Fight Climate Change Amongst Brazil’s Neglect of Deforestation
China Making Steps to Fight Climate Change Amongst Brazil’s Neglect of Deforestation

“Our environment has dramatically changed since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. We have increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere by 48%. Although we are developing sustainable, renewable technology, there are those that still oppose the transition to cleaner energy. If we are to preserve our environment for generations to come, we must have global leaders that are reducing environmentally unfriendly practices and switching to cleaner, sustainable sources of energy.”

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Editor's Picks, GlobalJulian LoboUN, Climate Change, Carbon Emissions, China, Editor's PickComment
Mere Words: Biden Pledges for Carbon Neutrality, but Has Achieved Little Action
Mere Words: Biden Pledges for Carbon Neutrality, but Has Achieved Little Action

“As world governments fight in over stagnating debates on climate policy, oceans continue to rise, smokestacks continue to run, and emissions continue to increase. The world is down to the wire, and even America, as a global hegemon, cannot escape these impacts. California already battles wildfires that grow in intensity and breadth each year, putting lives and communities at risk. With such culling approaching, President Biden issued a dire message: America only has a decade left to confront climate change before irreversible impacts manifest.”

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Editor's Picks, NationalMichelle LiuClimate Change, Biden, Editor's PickComment
Hurricane Ida’s Destructive Path and the Role of FEMA
Hurricane Ida’s Destructive Path and the Role of FEMA

“Hurricane Ida has brought tolls on lives and infrastructure; yet, this disaster, where many Americans, especially Lousianans, have been affected, has illustrated the combination of efforts within the local, state, and federal levels of government. Particularly, FEMA has taken great measures to address natural disaster relief ever since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, including financial relief and supply delivery. Ultimately, Hurricane Ida importantly underscores the role climate change scientifically plays in natural disaster formation and emphasizes forward-thinking solutions that combat climate change.”

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NationalAnthony HuiClimate Change, FEMA, Hurricanes, Natural DisasterComment
U.N. Climate Report Establishes New Understanding of Climate Change
U.N. Climate Report Establishes New Understanding of Climate Change

“There is still a window for humanity to mitigate climate risk. In all of the U.N.’s climate predictions, the world temperature will increase by 1.5° C. Yet if countries mobilize rapidly to decrease emissions and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, global warming may fall back below 1.5° C in the latter half of the century”

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GlobalEvan TarrClimate Change, un, World Health OrganizationComment
Why Climate Change Matters in the 2020 Election
Why Climate Change Matters in the 2020 Election

“Despite its lack of voter priority, climate change is one of the biggest threats to face the world, and political action is needed immediately to slow its shocking predictions. The United Nations Climate Panel warns that the world has until 2030 to prevent ‘irreversible damage from climate change.’ The five warmest Augusts have all occurred since 2015, evidently showing that the climate is warming, with the year 2020 on course to be the warmest year ever recorded. With the warmest year upcoming, it is crucial to highlight why climate change matters in the 2020 Election.”

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2020 Election, NationalLejla BrkaClimate ChangeComment