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Degrowth has an image problem it desperately needs to overcome | Larry Elliott
We need to deal with the climate effects of global capitalism the way we deal with inflation – by applying the brakes
The impact of the climate crisis is evident everywhere. Finance ministers meet in Washington DC this week for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in the wake of two devastating hurricanes in the US within a month. Parts of the Sahara have been flooded for the first time in half a century.
Scientists attribute the growing number of extreme weather events to a planet that continues to get hotter as the result of rising concentrations of greenhouse gases linked to human activity. Global temperature records are being broken with every year that passes and the idea that this can continue indefinitely is a fantasy.
Continue reading...Rooftop PV propels renewables to 75 pct share for first time, sends coal and grid demand to record lows
The post Rooftop PV propels renewables to 75 pct share for first time, sends coal and grid demand to record lows appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Cop16: Colombia prepares to host ‘decisive’ summit on biodiversity
Experts say UN event will be critical for world’s declining wildlife population as host nation pushes for inclusivity
World leaders, environmental activists and prominent researchers have begun to arrive in Cali, Colombia, for a biodiversity summit that experts say will be decisive for the fate of the world’s rapidly declining wildlife populations.
The host nation is also hoping that the summit, which formally opens on Sunday evening, will be the most inclusive in history.
Continue reading...Rooftop solar reaches stunning new record of 112.9 per cent of state demand
The post Rooftop solar reaches stunning new record of 112.9 per cent of state demand appeared first on RenewEconomy.
The stench of my local landfill points to a massive problem that Britain isn’t solving | Jennifer Sizeland
Toxic emissions, health risks and leaching pollution – better management of landfill sites is a matter of urgency
Last summer, people living around the perimeter of Pilsworth South landfill in Bury, Greater Manchester, couldn’t open their windows because of the elevated levels of hydrogen sulphide in the air. Referred to as “sewer gas”, its rotten-egg stench can be particularly unbearable at night. Even driving past with the windows closed on the M66, as I do regularly to drop my child at a local play centre, I have gagged at the overpowering smell.
Including Pilsworth, there are 15 odorous landfills across the UK. Hafod landfill in Wrexham is the latest to hit the headlines. Another in Northern Ireland was so noxious before its decommissioning that it was subject to a supreme court ruling and now an appeal. Meanwhile, several others have breached their licences through overtipping, odour issues or poor management, forcing them to undertake engineering solutions to rectify the problems. These remedial works can make things worse in the short term, with smells created when rubbish is disturbed.
Continue reading...Sydney reopens beaches after mysterious tar ball scare
Anti-fossil fuel comic that went viral in France arrives in UK
World Without End topped bestseller lists but was criticised for embracing nuclear power
In 2019, France’s best known climate expert sat down to work with its most feted graphic novelist. The result? Perhaps the most terrifying comic ever drawn.
Part history, part analysis, part vision for the future, World Without End weaves the story of humanity’s rapacious appetite for fossil fuel energy, how it has made possible the society people take for granted, and its disastrous effects on the climate.
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