communities
Newsletter
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Extreme wildfires have doubled in the last 20 years
Extreme wildfires have more than doubled in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, driven by a warming and drying climate.
In short:
- The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, analyzed 21 years of data and found over 2,900 extreme wildfire events worldwide.
- Wildfires in temperate conifer forests in North America and boreal forests in North America and Russia increased significantly, influenced by climate change.
- Extreme wildfires pose significant risks to nearby communities and affect distant regions through smoke and greenhouse gas emissions.
Key quote:
“We’re seeing the manifestations of a warming and drying climate before our very eyes in these extreme fires.”
— Calum Cunningham, a postdoctoral researcher in pyrogeography at the University of Tasmania
Why this matters:
As temperatures rise and droughts become more severe, forests that once served as carbon sinks are now becoming tinderboxes. These fires release significant amounts of carbon dioxide, exacerbating global warming in a vicious cycle. The smoky haze that blankets cities miles away from the blazes poses serious respiratory risks, particularly for children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions.
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Credit: Fahmi Mubarok/Pixabay
Impact of climate change on Indigenous communities documented in global study
Indigenous and local communities' firsthand experiences with climate change are vividly detailed in a new extensive study.
In short:
- The study gathers over 1,600 firsthand reports from Indigenous peoples across various climates, highlighting significant impacts on their ecosystems.
- It documents 369 local indicators of climate change impacts, emphasizing the nuanced, local experiences often overlooked by traditional measures.
- Researchers advocate for integrating local knowledge into climate research and policies to enhance adaptation strategies.
Key quote:
“There is the idea existing in the scientific community that local knowledge is not a valid source of knowledge, and the study aims to bridge this gap.”
— Victoria Reyes-García, research professor, Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Why this matters:
Indigenous communities, having lived in close connection to their environments over centuries, possess deep-rooted understanding and observations of local ecosystems, weather patterns, and natural resource management. This traditional ecological knowledge can provide crucial insights that are often absent in scientific data.
Be sure to read: Colonialism, the climate crisis, and the need to center Indigenous voices.
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Credit: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash
Disaster disparities affect Western communities
Recent storms in Southern California indicate a future with more intense and infrequent precipitation, highlighting the risk of climate catastrophes.
In short:
- Climate change exacerbates the intensity of weather events, with Southern California at risk of increased floods.
- FEMA data reveals communities of color and low-income neighborhoods face higher natural hazard risks.
- Effective risk communication and community resilience are crucial for vulnerable populations.
Key quote:
“There’s these systems of oppression that have existed and continue to evolve over time, things like racism, sexism, colonialism that have led certain populations to be at a higher risk to hazards and disasters.”
— Nnenia Campbell, research associate with the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder
Why this matters:
Marginalized communities, including those with lower income levels, racial and ethnic minorities, and Indigenous groups often bear the brunt of climate-related hazards more severely than more affluent, mainstream populations.
Over the past century, exploitative practices not only unjustly concentrated climate disasters in communities of color, but are now barring those same communities from clean energy resources essential for weathering the storm.
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Climate migration's billion-dollar question: Who manages the retreat?
Federal efforts to protect communities from climate disasters with buyouts and resilience projects are often fractured and poorly coordinated. Is there a better way?
Newsletter
Photo by Dominik Vanyi on Unsplash
Coal industry faces 1 million job losses from global energy transition
The global coal industry may have to shed nearly 1 million jobs by 2050, even without any further pledges to phase out fossil fuels, with China and India facing the biggest losses, research shows.
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'False promise': DOE's carbon removal plans rankle community advocates
E&E News writer Jean Chemnick reports that the Biden administration has championed carbon removal projects as better neighbors than the pollution-spewing industries of the past. But the Department of Energy’s first two candidates for its $3.5 billion direct air capture program have conducted an opaque early outreach process in the disadvantaged Louisiana and Texas communities where the projects would be built, leaving residents feeling shut out.
In a nutshell:
The Biden administration's push for carbon removal projects, as part of its environmental agenda, faces scrutiny due to concerns over community engagement. The Department of Energy (DOE) selected Battelle Memorial Institute and Occidental Petroleum Corp. for its $3.5 billion direct air capture program in Louisiana and Texas. Environmental justice groups in these areas express frustration at the lack of meaningful outreach before project selection, feeling excluded from the process. DOE, while emphasizing two-way community engagement, faces criticism for not consulting with communities from the project's inception, potentially exacerbating tensions between environmental justice and carbon removal efforts.
Key quote:
“As a community, we are already last on the list,” said Roishetta Ozane, an environmental justice advocate based in Louisiana’s majority-Black North Lake Charles neighborhood. “Everybody knows about this project, it was funded and everything. And now they want to come to the community when it should have been the other way around.”
The big picture:
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facilities aim to collect carbon dioxide generated by coal- or gas-fired power production or plastics manufacturing, pumping CO2 into storage facilities instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. Yet CCS facilities can also perpetuate the reliance on fossil fuel industries, hindering progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, they are energy intensive to operate and often powered by fossil fuels, canceling out the climate benefits and polluting surrounding communities.
Many critics of CCS therefore consider the technology a false solution to the climate crisis. But with new subsidies available for CCS in the Inflation Reduction Act, many environmental advocates warn of a looming CCS boom. That's especially problematic for communities overburdened with pollution from fossil fuel facilities, since CCS enables their continued operation. Disadvantaged communities often face limited opportunities for meaningful input in project decisions.
Read Chemnick's article in full at E&E News.
To learn more, check out Douglas Fischer's piece for EHN, which describes a campaign coordinated by the Center for International Environmental Law that questioned the efficacy of CCS. In an open letter to policymakers, a coalition of 500 U.S. and Canadian organizations wrote that, at best, carbon capture and storage prevents some emissions from reaching the atmosphere – provided the captured gases are not later released. At worst, the coalition claims, CCS masks emissions, increases pipeline infrastructure and prolongs the fossil fuel era."
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Photo by Julie Ricard on Unsplash
The era of climate migration is here, leaders of vulnerable nations say
Heads of climate-vulnerable nations gathered on the sidelines of a United Nations climate summit to call for new policies and agreements to manage the millions of people who are being forced from their homes by extreme weather.
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