A Small Cut in World Military Spending Could Help Fund Climate, Health and Poverty Solutions

Carlo Rovelli and Matteo Smerlak The world’s military expenditure has nearly doubled since 2000. It now amounts to about $2 trillion per year, more than half of which is from NATO countries. Now, with the war raging in Ukraine, countries are rushing to increase their budgets even more; Germany, for instance, recently announced a roughly … Read more

Japanese encephalitis outbreak in Australia blamed on climate change

By Alice Klein A Culex mosquito, the genus that can spread Japanese encephalitis Konstantin Nechaev / Alamy Australia is grappling with its first major outbreak of Japanese encephalitis, a viral disease that has already killed two people. The mosquito-transmitted infection is typically found in rural regions of Asia, but climate change is thought to have … Read more

Sensors inspired by dandelion seeds can record signs of climate change

Tiny sensors that can drift in the breeze like dandelion seeds can help record environmental signals across a wide area Technology 16 March 2022 By Chris Stokel-Walker A sensor designed to mimic the way dandelion seeds float on the breeze Mark Stone/University of Washington Tiny sensors with a design inspired by dandelion seeds could be … Read more

War in Ukraine and Climate Change Could Combine to Create a Food Crisis

Russia’s war in Ukraine is squeezing food supplies in countries that depend on those two nations for critical grains and cooking oils. The halt in agricultural shipments out of the Black Sea has sent the price of wheat and fertilizer soaring and prompted growing concerns of a global food crisis. In Turkey, people are scrambling … Read more

Science Has Devastating News About Pollen Season as The US Climate Keeps Changing

Brace yourselves, allergy suffers – new research shows pollen season is going to get a lot longer and more intense with climate change. Our latest study finds that the US will face up to a 200 percent increase in total pollen this century if the world continues producing carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, power plants … Read more

Watch Global Temperatures Spiral Out of Control in New Climate Change Animation

Climate change is spiraling out of control, and that’s never been easier to see. A winding coil of global temperatures spanning 1880 to 2021 is practically a maelstrom of menace.   The animation is based on data from NASA’s GISS Surface Temperature Analysis and was designed by climate scientist Ed Hawkins, who is known for … Read more

War in Ukraine Does Not Diminish NATO’s Need to Act on Climate, Report Says

NATO’s role in maintaining security in Europe has never been more critical following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That includes protecting member nations from climate change, according to new analysis from the German Marshall Fund of the United States. In the fund’s latest installment of a series of reports called “NATO in a New Era: Global … Read more

Climate tipping points: Frozen peatlands could begin releasing carbon sooner than thought

We had calculated that frozen peatlands would remain stable until the 2070s, but a new analysis suggests they may begin thawing as early as the 2040s Environment 14 March 2022 By Adam Vaughan Scandinavian mountain range, above the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images Vast expanses of peatland in frozen soil … Read more

Food prices: Cutting biofuels could compensate for loss of Ukraine’s grain exports

By Michael Le Page A wheat field in Ukraine Maksym Belchenko/Getty Images The war in Ukraine has already caused food prices to shoot up as global markets anticipate a loss of wheat and maize exports from one of the world’s largest producers of these crops. But Europe and the US could more than compensate for … Read more

Biden Orders Report on Climate Risk of Cryptocurrencies

President Biden has ordered his administration to produce a report on the environmental costs and potential benefits of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technologies they rely on. Biden’s request came yesterday as part of a sweeping executive order on the “responsible development of digital assets.” Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum are a growing part of … Read more