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☆ Coral bleaching: Ocean heat is driving a mass bleaching event, and it could be the worst on record
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Rebecca Wright | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Coral reefs around the world are experiencing a mass bleaching event as the climate crisis drives record-breaking ocean heat, two scientific bodies announced Monday — with some experts warning this could become the worst bleaching period in recorded history. If ocean temperatures don’t return to normal, bleaching can lead to mass coral death, threatening the species and food chains that rely on them with collapse. Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a climate scientist specializing in coral reefs based at the University of Queensland in Australia, predicted this mass bleaching event months ago. In February, scientists at the Coral Reef Watch program at NOAA added three new alert levels to the coral bleaching alert maps, to enable scientists to assess the new scale of underwater warming. Bex Wright/CNNIn mid-February, CNN witnessed extensive coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest coral reef system – on five different reefs spanning the northern and southern areas.

Persons: ” Derek Manzello, Ove Hoegh, “, Guldberg, ”, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Niña, El, Manzello, ” Manzello, Lady Elliot, Bex Wright, Selina Stead, ” Stead, David Ritter Organizations: CNN, Atlantic, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Reef, Reef Watch, Pacific, University of Queensland, NOAA, Getty, Niña, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Park Authority, AIMS, UN, Greenpeace Locations: Pacific, Florida, Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Persian Gulf, Indonesia, Africa, Seychelles, Raja Ampat, Indonesia's West Papua, AFP, El, Lady, Greenpeace Australia

☆ The world wastes more than 1 billion meals every day as hundreds of millions go hungry, UN report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —More than 1 billion meals are wasted across the world each day while nearly 800 million people go hungry, a new United Nations report has found. This is on top of the 13% of the world’s food lost as it makes its journey from farm to fork. The vast majority of food waste goes to landfill, generating methane as it breaks down. The report also said food waste is not just a “rich world” phenomenon. The amount of food wasted in high- and middle-income countries differed by just 7 kilograms (15 pounds) per person each year.

Persons: Inger Andersen, ” Andersen, “, unrefrigerated, Richard Baker Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, Programme Locations: London

☆ Man charged with smuggling greenhouse gases from Mexico into US in first-of-a-kind prosecution
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A California man was arrested and charged Monday with allegedly smuggling potent, planet-heating greenhouse gases from Mexico, marking the first such prosecution in the US, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. He is then alleged to have sold them for a profit on sites including Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp. These greenhouse gases are short-lived in the atmosphere, but powerful — some are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide in the near-term. “The illegal smuggling of hydrofluorocarbons, a highly potent greenhouse gas, undermines international efforts to combat climate change,” said David M. Uhlmann, the assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. In 2016, nearly 200 nations including the US agreed to the Kigali Amendment to reduce planet-heating pollution from these greenhouse gases.

Persons: Michael Hart, Hart, Todd Kim, HFCs, ”, David M, Tara McGrath, ” Hart Organizations: CNN, US, Office, Southern, Southern District of, Facebook, Justice Department’s, Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA’s, UN Environment, AC, Department of Justice Locations: California, Mexico, Southern District, Southern District of California, San Diego, United States, Kigali

☆ Opinion: What do you expect when an oil executive runs the climate talks?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Opinion John D. Sutter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —As someone who’s been reporting on the climate crisis for more than a decade, I can say that the most insidious threat to climate action isn’t denial or apathy. That’s tragic, especially in light of the long and frustrating history of fossil fuel interests injecting doubt into policy conversations about the climate crisis. The broad strokes of climate science have been well understood for several decades now. The fallout of that doubt still haunts political conversations about the climate crisis today. In the United States, only 35% of adults talk about the climate crisis at least occasionally, according to a 2021 survey from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Persons: John D, Sutter, Ted Turner, Read, who’s, Sutter Beth Mickalonis, Sultan Al Jaber, Al Jaber, Mary Robinson, ”, Al Jaber’s, It’s Organizations: Environmental Media, George Washington University, CNN, COP28, United, Abu, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, “, The Guardian, UN, Programme, Sutter, Yale Locations: Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, UN, Paris, United States

☆ With striking images, Kevin Cooley is illuminating our relationship with the planet
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Michelle Cohan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

One witness — and documenter — of this trend is Los Angeles-based multimedia artist Kevin Cooley, who has spent the last decade capturing images of fire — both wild and controlled. The photographs are a visual statement about “our desire to control nature.”But lately, Cooley finds himself drawn to a different element, with lower risks. At the same time, California was in the middle of an extreme drought, which sparked his interesting in photographing water. Using flashlights, strobe lights and even drones, Cooley takes long exposure photos of the ocean that illuminate the tides, and ebb and flow of the current, he said. Kevin Cooley looks off into the sunset at Thousand Steps Beach in California, assessing the lighting for his evening photography session of the ocean.

Persons: —, Kevin Cooley, ”, Cooley, He’s, we’re, Kevin Cooley's, Kevin Cooley Cooley, ” Cooley, Kevin Myers, CNN “, “ Organizations: Los Angeles CNN —, UN, CNN Locations: Los Angeles, California, Colorado, Arizona

☆ Climate summit leader said there’s ‘no science’ behind need to phase out fossil fuels, alarming scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The president of the COP28 climate summit, Sultan Al Jaber, recently claimed there is “no science” that says phasing out fossil fuels is necessary to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, in comments that have alarmed climate scientists and advocates. The future role of fossil fuels is one of the most controversial issues countries are grappling with at the COP28 climate summit. Al Jaber was asked by Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and current chair of the Elders Group, an independent group of global leaders, if he would lead on phasing out fossil fuels. While some argue carbon capture will be an important tool for reducing planet-heating pollution, others argue these technologies are expensive, unproven at scale and a distraction from policies to cut fossil fuel use. “They are not going to get any help from the COP Presidency in delivering a strong outcome on a fossil fuel phase out,” he said in a statement.

Persons: Sultan Al Jaber, Al Jaber, Mary Robinson, Robinson, ”, Al Jaber’s, what’s, Romain Ioualalen, Al, ” Joeri, Mohamed Adow, Angela Dewan, Rachel Ramirez Organizations: CNN, ”, Guardian, Elders Group, Abu, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, UN, International Energy Agency, IEA, Stockholm Environment Institute, Change, Imperial College London Locations: Paris, “, Abu Dhabi, Stockholm, UN, UAE

☆ 'The silent pandemic': A hotter world makes it harder to stop the spread of deadly superbugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which the World Health Organization has referred to as the "silent pandemic," is an often overlooked and growing global health crisis. Sakis Mitrolidis | Afp | Getty ImagesMaking matters worse, research has shown that climate change is exacerbating the AMR crisis in several ways. "AMR bacteria is known as a silent pandemic. Extreme heat is fueled by the climate crisis, which makes extreme weather more frequent and more intense. "We hear people talking about this 'silent pandemic,' but it shouldn't be silent.

Persons: Sakis Mitrolidis, Tina Joshi, Joshi, University of Plymouth Robb Butler, Butler, Plymouth's Joshi Organizations: Planck, Biology, Getty, World Health, United, AMR, WHO, Afp, University of Plymouth, CNBC, UN, United Arab Emirates, Polygiene, Aircraft, Bloomberg, Plymouth's Locations: United Nations, Sikorahi, Alexandroupoli, Greece, WHO Europe, United Arab, UAE, Hamburg, Germany

That position is opposed by the plastic industry and by oil and petrochemical exporters like Saudi Arabia, who want to see plastic use continue. They argue that the treaty should focus on recycling and reusing plastics, sometimes referred to in the talks as "circularity" in the plastics supply. In a submission ahead of this week's negotiations, Saudi Arabia said the root cause of plastic pollution was "inefficient management of waste." "The plastics agreement should be focused on ending plastic pollution, not plastic production," Kastner told Reuters in a statement. Countries will also be debating whether the treaty should set transparency standards for chemical use in plastics production.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, David Azoulay, Matthew Kastner, Kastner, Bjorn Beeler, Beeler, Christina Dixon, Valerie Volcovici, Katy Daigle, Aurora Ellis Organizations: United Nations, UN, REUTERS, Center for International Environmental, European Union, U.S . State Department, Reuters, The International Council of Chemical Associations, Network, Saudi, Environmental Investigation Agency, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Nairobi, Kenya, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United States

☆ In UN Talks for a Global Plastic Treaty, Delegates to Face off Over Production Limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Persons: Valerie Volcovici, David Azoulay, Matthew Kastner, Kastner, Bjorn Beeler, Beeler, Christina Dixon, Katy Daigle, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Center for International Environmental, UN, European Union, U.S . State Department, Reuters, The International Council of Chemical Associations, Network, Saudi, Environmental Investigation Agency Locations: Nairobi, Kenya, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United States, U.S

☆ Five graphics that show some of the biggest threats facing the natural world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Flo Cornall | Woojin Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In a series of graphics, we take a look at some of the biggest environmental challenges facing our planet. Global wildlife populations plummeted by 69% on average between 1970 and 2018, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022. Swipe to see more Forest loss Note: These figures do not include regrowth or regeneration of forest. But many are facing threats from pesticides and crop monocultures, as well as the destruction of their habitats. Swipe to see more Bird populations Source: BirdlifeDespite the scale of the challenges, there are countless groups and individuals committed to protecting our planet.

Persons: it’s Organizations: CNN, Resources Institute, Global, UN, University of Sheffield, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, British Trust for Ornithology, Birdlife Locations: California, Hawaii, India

☆ T-Pain in your living room: Are virtual concerts the future of live entertainment?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Samantha Bresnahan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

T-Pain is performing songs that will become a virtual reality (VR) concert, delivered directly to fans via VR headsets. “(Virtual reality) is a very big shift,” says Kyung Kuk Kim, vice president and head of production for AmazeVR. (AmazeVR says it plans to launch the T-Pain concert this Fall.) According to AmazeVR, pricing is currently per concert; it will cost $6.99 for one year of access to the T-Pain concert, for example, after that content launches. It is also producing and releasing mixed reality (MR) concerts – a combination of virtual and augmented reality – by overlaying virtual elements onto live, real-world video.

Persons: ”, I’m, Faheem Rashad Najm, “ I’m, AmazeVR, Megan Thee, “, Kyung Kuk Kim, Kim, Lance Drake, Drake, Mel Slater, Slater, ‘, ’ ”, ” Slater, ’ ” Slater, Jamie McCarthy, they’re, Taylor Swift’s, don’t, AmazeVR’s Kim, it’s, you’re, ” CNN’s Leif Coorlim Organizations: CNN, Florida -, Apple, VR, Dire, YouTube, University of Barcelona, Neuroscience, Technology, UN, Apple Vision Locations: Culver City , California, American, Florida, New York City

☆ Climate change and extreme weather, like Maui wildfires, are hurting affordable housing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

For people on Maui and across the US, climate change is making the affordable housing crunch even worse. “This is why they have been building these affordable housing buildings. It is a safe place, but it doesn’t feel like home.”Affordable housing picture on Maui was already ‘pretty grim’For people on Maui and across the US, climate change is making the affordable housing crunch even worse. But not fires damaging buildings and taking lives.”“The affordable housing picture was pretty grim on Maui even before the fire,” he said. “There was more than one kitchen, more than one family living there.”These types of cobbled-together solutions to affordable housing are now gone, as are other recent hard-won affordable housing projects.

Persons: Josh Green, Hannah Harris, Tony Ellett, ”, Harris, “, ” Harris, Ellett, Jae C, Shantal Catanach, Keanu, ” Catanach, she’s, Stan Franco, Franco, –, Diane Yentel, ” Yentel, Yentel, Hurricane Sandy, Sandy, Peter Niess, Justin Sullivan Organizations: DC CNN, Urban Institute, UN, University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, NOAA National Centers for Environmental, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, Income Housing Coalition, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Hurricane, Maui Architectural Locations: Washington, Maui, Lahaina, Catanach, Maui County, Hawaii, Corelogic, Maui –, Lahaina , Hawaii

REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File PhotoJuly 27 (Reuters) - The number of court cases related to climate change has more than doubled in five years as impacts ranging from shrinking water resources to dangerous heatwaves hit home for millions, a report said on Thursday. Some 2,180 climate-related lawsuits have been filed across 65 jurisdictions over the past five years, according to the report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and New York's Columbia University, which tracks ongoing climate cases in a global database. Many cases involve claims based on accusations of corporate greenwashing or advocating for greater climate disclosures. Youth climate activists have already played a central role, with 34 cases brought forward on behalf of children, teens, and young adults. Litigation targeting the disruptive actions of climate activists is also on the rise, Tigre said.

Persons: Remo Casilli, Maria Antonia Tigre, Andrew Raine ,, Shell, Tigre, Gloria Dickie, Conor Humphries Organizations: della, REUTERS, UN, Programme, New York's Columbia University, Columbia's, European, of Human, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, New, United States, Brazil, Indonesia, Toronto

REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File PhotoJuly 27 (Reuters) - The number of court cases related to climate change has more than doubled in five years as impacts ranging from shrinking water resources to dangerous heatwaves hit home for millions, a report said on Thursday. Some 2,180 climate-related lawsuits have been filed across 65 jurisdictions over the past five years, according to the report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and New York's Columbia University, which tracks ongoing climate cases in a global database. While the United States still dominates with more than 1,500 cases, other countries are seeing increases. About 17 percent of cases have been filed in developing countries, according to the report, with rainforest-rich Brazil and Indonesia among the countries seeing the most. Youth climate activists have already played a central role, with 34 cases brought forward on behalf of children, teens, and young adults.

☆ I moved my family from the US to Japan. Healthcare and housing are significantly cheaper and I feel a lot safer here.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Alex Evans moved from Jacksonville, Florida, to Mukaishima Island, Japan, in June 2022. I'm not in Hiroshima City, I'm in an island city, so the prices in Hiroshima City would be very different. We sold that house about a year before moving to Japan and rented for a year because it felt easier. Expenses for my family are significantly cheaper in JapanI ride my bike to a lot of places, but we do own a car. I feel a lot safer hereMy initial reason for moving was for family reasons, but pretty quickly after getting here, I had a lot of other reasons.

Persons: Alex Evans, He's, Evans, I'm, — it's, I've Organizations: Service, Nashville Locations: Jacksonville , Florida, Japan, Wall, Silicon, Mukaishima, Hiroshima City, Mocksville , North Carolina, Winston, Salem, Chapel Hill, South Carolina, Hawaii, Maui, Jacksonville, Hiroshima, I'm

New York CNN —Homeowners insurance is becoming more expensive and, in many places, more difficult to find. The companies also blame limits placed on insurance premiums in some states, including California. Insurance premiums nationwide aren’t up significantly – only 1.6% in the last 12 months according to the Consumer Price Index, the government’s main inflation measure. For instance, in Louisiana, 17% of homeowners insurance policyholders had their policies canceled last year, according to an annual report from Louisiana State University. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of policyholders said homeowners and flood insurance are more expensive in Louisiana than other states.

Persons: Ian, ”, Matthew Carletti, “ They’ve, it’s, ” Carletti, Dave Jones, ” Jones, policyholders, Carletti, Frank Frievalt’s, ” Frievalt, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN — Homeowners, Farm, Allstate, JMP Securities, Consumer, State Farm, State, Louisiana State University, Citizens Property Insurance, UN Locations: New York, Florida, California, California , Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, , California

☆ Wildfire smoke: Should people still be worried about health effects? Our medical analyst explains
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Katia Hetter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

More than 75 million people in the eastern US were under air quality alerts as wildfire smoke shrouded major cities. People with chronic lung and heart conditions should continue to monitor air quality, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said. CNN: What are the short-term health effects of wildfire smoke inhalation? And there is research that has linked wildfire smoke exposure events to an increase in influenza months later, suggesting that there could be lagging effects. CNN: If people were exposed for a few days to bad air quality, should they be worried about long-term consequences?

Persons: Leana Wen, Wen, we’ve, Mandel Ngan Organizations: CNN, UN, Program, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Getty Locations: Canada, York, Washington, AFP

☆ UNEP chief on the $1 billion Green Climate Fund pledge and taking critical action on climate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Tania Bryer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUNEP chief on the $1 billion Green Climate Fund pledge and taking critical action on climateTo mark Earth Day 2023, CNBC's Tania Bryer talks to Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, about U.S. President Biden's recent $1 billion climate pledge and what more needs to be done globally to accelerate tackling the climate crisis.

☆ The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now so huge and permanent that a coastal ecosystem is thriving on it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Haram and her colleagues examined 105 items of plastic fished out of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between November 2018 and January 2019. Courtesy Linsey Haram/Smithsonian InstitutionCoastal aggregating anemones found on a black floating plastic fragment collected in the garbage patch. Oceans of plasticThe Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is twice the size of Texas, is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world. If you look up at night, you see all those white dots, that’s essentially what you see in the garbage patch. A bag of plastics and debris collected in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is unloaded in Sausalito, California in July 2022.

☆ One of Europe’s top banks is being sued for financing fossil fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

“BNP Paribas continues to write new blank checks to the largest fossil fuel companies without setting any conditions for an oil-free, gas-free ecological transition,” said Alexandre Poidatz, advocacy officer at Oxfam France. In a statement to Reuters, the bank — the largest in the area that uses the euro currency — said it regretted that the advocacy groups chose litigation over dialog and that it could not stop all fossil fuel financing right away. “We’re convinced that the ecological transition is the only viable path for the future of our economies,” BNP said. The lawsuit is based on a French law adopted in 2017 that requires companies to draft so-called environmental damage vigilance plans. A much-awaited ruling in a similar case against TotalEnergies, a top client of BNP’s, is expected early next week.

"BNP Paribas continues to write new blank cheques to the largest fossil fuel companies without setting any conditions for an oil-free, gas-free ecological transition," said Alexandre Poidatz, advocacy officer at Oxfam France. In a statement sent to Reuters, BNP said it regretted the advocacy groups chose litigation over dialogue and that it could not stop all fossil-fuel financing right away. "We're convinced that the ecological transition is the only viable path for the future of our economies," it said. "We are focused on our fossil-fuel exit path, accelerating financing for renewable energies and supporting our customers, without whom the transition cannot be made." No court in France has yet forced a firm to change its ways on the basis of this law.

☆ I'm a millennial advertising CEO and my Gen Z employees have taught me to lead with emotion first
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I've worked as the CEO of my own advertising company since 2020, and my Gen Z employees have taught me a lot. I use a unique approach when giving constructive criticism to my Gen Z workers. When we first started, Wonderkind was made up of the exact target audience of a lot of brands — Gen Z and millennials. I spend a lot of time teaching my Gen Z employees one-on-one, but I would never change that because of the results. I've had Gen Z employees leave much earlier than I wanted, but I try to combat that by checking in frequently with my employees.

☆ The world's oceans are key to slowing the climate crisis, and this year is critical to guaranteeing their longevity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Freya Graham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But oceans are an important carbon sink — some more effective than rainforests. Leaders at Davos said the role of the ocean in combating climate change has been underestimated. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. Understanding 'blue carbon'Plants and trees that grow in coastal waters, such as mangroves, kelp, and seagrass, are all forms of "blue carbon," which means they absorb and store carbon. The Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022, was a big step forward for oceans.

☆ UK government eyes ban on single-use plastic plates and cutlery
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Single-use plastic cutlery, plates and other items are set to be banned by the UK government and replaced by biodegradable items as it seeks to tackle the country’s – and the world’s – growing plastic waste problem. The Financial Times reported that the UK Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey will announce firm plans in the coming weeks. The government said 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of single-use cutlery are used in England each year, equivalent to 20 plates and 75 pieces of cutlery per person. The European Union banned single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds last summer. In the US, California put in place sweeping new restrictions on single-use plastic in June, requiring all single-use packaging and plastic single-use food serviceware be recyclable or compostable by 2032.

☆ Opinion: It's time for African countries to consider a climate tax on exports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Adjoa Adjei-Twum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

I welcome progress here, as African nations are bearing the brunt of climate change. It is now time for African nations to levy a climate export tax on commodities, such as cocoa and rubber, to help pay for climate adaptation. Adaptation is all about building resilience and capacity, and I believe our governments, banks, and businesses must also adapt. Additionally, G20 countries are asking their banks to forecast how risky their loans are due to climate change. It is a wake-up call for African governments, banks, institutions, and companies to unite, step up, and adapt to a new climate reality.

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