Ecology/Environment

Heat to soar, pipelines to roar in 2024

05/02/24

Author:

Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood

Link:

The longer we fail to address climate change, the more urgent the problem becomes. Photo by Markus Spiske/Pexels

The year 2024 is shaping up to be the most important ever for climate action — just like 2023 before it and 2022 before that, and so on back through at least the 1980s.

It may be a tired refrain. But in this era of accelerating and compounding crises, the longer we fail to address climate change, the more urgent the problem becomes.

So what trends, events and opportunities should concerned citizens be paying attention to in 2024?

Read the full article.

Category:

Oil firms forced to consider full climate effects of new drilling, following landmark Norwegian court ruling

02/02/24

Author:

Daria Shapovalova

Link:

phys.org

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain - Norway Coast

Jan. 31,2024

Norway's district court in Oslo recently made a decision on fossil fuels that deserves the attention of every person concerned about climate change.

This ruling, which compels energy firms to account for the industry's entire carbon footprint, could change the way oil and gas licenses are awarded in Norway—and inspire similar legal challenges to fossil fuel production in other countries.

Read the full article.

Category:

'Alternative' energy and less energy

Climate 'Not Mentioned' in Alberta Water-Sharing Talks

01/02/24

Author:

Bob Weber

Link:

National Observer

Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz says negotiations between water licence holders in three southern Alberta river basins will open this week. Schulz shakes hands with Premier Danielle Smith in Edmonton on Oct. 24, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Jan. 31, 2024

Drought-weary Alberta opens water-sharing talks with large users

EDMONTON — Lance Colby saw what was coming.

The Alberta government said Wednesday it would open talks on water-sharing between large users as the province's drought situation worsens. But Colby, chair of the Mountain View Regional Water Services Commission in central Alberta, had already begun such discussions.

Category:

Quebec’s playbook for beating Big Oil - Video

26/01/24

Author:

The Breach

Link:

The Breach

Screenshot Quebec’s playbook for beating Big Oil - Video

Jan 10 2024

Watch here: https://youtu.be/48QpstQLv6Q

Dru Oja Jay: A few years ago, a movement with hundreds of thousands of participants achieved a stunning climate justice victory, one of the world’s biggest examples of leaving fossil fuels in the ground.

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Alberta's oilsands pump out more pollutants than industry reports, scientists find

26/01/24

Author:

Benjamin Shingler

Link:

CBC News

A study conducted in 2018 used aircraft to collect air samples around 17 oilsands facilities in northern Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Jan. 25, 2024

Data collected by air finds levels of harmful pollutants can be more than 60 times higher than estimated

Alberta's oilsands operations produce far more potentially harmful air pollutants than are officially reported, with the daily output on par with those from gridlocked megacities like Los Angeles, new research suggests.

Read the full article.

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Where Groundwater Levels Are Falling, and Rising, Worldwide

26/01/24

Author:

Delger Erdenesanaa and Mira Rojanasakul

Link:

New York Times

Jan. 24, 2024

Data from more than 1,000 aquifers reveal widespread decline, but improvement in some places shows the trend can be reversed.

An investigation into nearly 1,700 aquifers across more than 40 countries found that groundwater levels in almost half have fallen since 2000. Only about 7 percent of the aquifers surveyed had groundwater levels that rose over that same time period.

The new study is one of the first to compile data from monitoring wells around the world to try and construct a global picture of groundwater levels in fine detail.

Read the full article.

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Megafires are increasing with climate change, experts say — but could the emissions they pump out change the climate?

23/01/24

Author:

Tyne Logan

Link:

abc news

The Statue of Liberty was covered in haze and smoke caused by wildfires in Canada.(REUTERS: Amr Alfiky)

"When it comes to the impact on the climate, Dr Canadell says these fire emissions — though significant — are barely a blip on the radar compared with the decades of accumulated emissions caused by the fossil fuel industry."

Jan. 21, 2024

Just six days in to the northern hemisphere summer of 2023, the skyline in New York City was stained in a sepia smoke haze.

It was streaming from across the border, where, what became Canada's most widespread fires in history, were raging.

And the fires did not let up for months.

Read the full article.

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Police raids rock Edmonton, as Indigenous encampment dismantled

21/01/24

Author:

Brandi Morin

Link:

Ricochet Media

Residents of an Indigenous homeless encampment in Edmonton being evicted by police | Photo by Brandi Morin

Jan. 18, 2024

Read the full article.

Category:

Red alert in Antarctica

20/01/24

Author:

Adam Morton & Graham Readfearn

Link:

National Observer

This complex mixture of different types of Antarctic sea ice was photographed on Oct. 13, 2012, in the Bellingshausen Sea with the Digital Mapping System (DMS) onboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory. Photo by NASA/Digital Mapping System

Jan. 19, 2024

This story was originally published by The Guardian and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

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Drought causes massive drop in Panama Canal shipping numbers, disrupting global trade

20/01/24

Author:

Associated Press

Link:

National Observer

A cargo ship waits near the Centennial Bridge for transit through the Panama Canal locks, in Panama City, on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera)

Jan. 18, 2024

A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world's most important trade routes.

The new cuts announced Wednesday by authorities in Panama are set to deal an even greater economic blow than previously expected.

Read the full article.

Category:

Ecology/Environment

Drought-weary Alberta opens water-sharing talks with large users

Data collected by air finds levels of harmful pollutants can be more than 60 times higher than estimated

Data from more than 1,000 aquifers reveal widespread decline, but improvement in some places shows the trend can be reversed.

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