Google Blog: “Natural disasters, like flooding, are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change, threatening people’s safety and livelihood. It’s estimated that flooding affects more than 250 million people globally each year and causes around $10 billion in economic damages. As part of our work to use AI to address the climate crisis,… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Environmental Law
The Supreme Court Is Hiding Important Decisions From You
Politico: “As the Supreme Court begins to release its written opinions from its most recent term, much of the public’s attention is focused on high-profile cases on affirmative action, election law and environmental regulation. But according to Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas Law School, this narrow focus on the most headline-grabbing… Continue Reading
Parking Reform Network
“The Parking Reform Network, a US-based nonprofit that aims “to discourage the building of too much parking supply,” has compiled a map and dataset of ~1,400 relevant local mandates. They focus on policies that reduce or eliminate minimum parking requirements for new developments, or set maximums. For each mandate, the dataset provides a summary and… Continue Reading
USDA Climate Hubs Go Global
“For more than a decade, USDA’s Climate Hubs has been at the forefront of supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts for U.S. farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. Last week, the department significantly boosted its efforts globally, by launching the International Climate Hub. The new hub builds on the experience with 10 regional Climate Hubs… Continue Reading
6 Facts About How Bees Learn, Think and Make Decisions
Hos Stuff Works: ” As trees and flowers blossom in spring, bees emerge from their winter nests and burrows. For many species it’s time to mate, and some will start new solitary nests or colonies. Bees and other pollinators are essential to human society. They provide about one-third of the food we eat, a service… Continue Reading
Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy
UN Environment Programme – Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy – The report proposes a systems change to address the causes of plastic pollution, combining reducing problematic and unnecessary plastic use with a market transformation towards circularity in plastics. This can be achieved by accelerating three… Continue Reading
Global temperatures set to reach new records in next five years
“Global temperatures are likely to surge to record levels in the next five years, fuelled by heat-trapping greenhouse gases and a naturally occurring El Niño event, according to a new update issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). There is a 66% likelihood that the annual average near-surface global temperature between 2023 and 2027 will be… Continue Reading
Casey Tree Report – DC
“Last year Casey Trees reported that DC lost 550 acres of canopy—an area roughly the size of the National Mall—largely to development. While we recognize that a growing DC is a healthy DC, development that does not preserve existing trees and replace those that are lost makes neighborhoods hot, unhealthy, and unsustainable. In response, this… Continue Reading
Climate Policy Radar and Grantham Research Institute launch revamped research and policy resource
“We’re delighted to launch our upgraded version of the Climate Change Laws of the World database, offering new tools and features to make it easier to understand and analyse the global climate law and policy landscape. Climate Policy Radar and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE have partnered to… Continue Reading
Climate-juiced heat waves topple records around the globe
ClimateWire: “A record-breaking heat wave in the western Mediterranean last month would have been nearly impossible without the influence of climate change, new research [Extreme April heat in Spain, Portugal, Morocco & Algeria almost impossible without climate change] finds. And even with the help of global warming, it was an extraordinary event. Statistically speaking, a… Continue Reading
Yet Another Problem With Recycling: It Spews Microplastics
Wired – “Recycling was already a mess. Now a study finds that one facility may emit 3 million pounds of microplastics a year. The plastics industry has long hyped recycling, even though it is well aware that it’s been a failure. Worldwide, only 9 percent of plastic waste actually gets recycled. In the United States, the rate… Continue Reading
CRISK: Measuring the Climate Risk Exposure of the Financial System
New York Fed – Liberty Street Economics, Hyeyoon Jung: “A growing number of climate-related policies have been adopted globally in the past thirty years (see chart below). The risk to economic activity from changes in policies in response to climate risks, such as carbon taxes and green subsidies, is often referred to as transition risk.… Continue Reading
