Ukraine, war and our world

Waking up to a world at war

It is hard to think about the environment when lives are being torn asunder by war.


I woke up this morning yearning for peace, mourning the harm and loss Ukrainians are experiencing, and hoping for better collective wisdom to guide us through this insanity.

At the top of my inbox this morning was a note from Katelyn Jetelina, a University of Texas epidemiologist who publishes the newsletter "Your Local Epidemiologist."

Posting on a global pandemic feels "insensitive without addressing a different kind of pain and suffering and tragedy that millions will soon face," she said. I concur.

Her wisdom is worth sharing:

"Just like the pandemic, many will also fall victim to mis and disinformation—a new tool that enemies have found to work swimmingly well in a time of anxiety and confusion. Please be sure to find (and share) only solid sources; preferably ones with a reporter on the ground in Ukraine. There are such things as disaster epidemiologists, so I hope they come to the forefront, too, ... to share the public health perspective of war or, more accurately, the devastating interaction between war and pandemic."

War and energy

With Russia serving as Europe's largest energy producer, early reporting has focused on how the global response is hindered by the EU's need for Russian natural gas.

But Russia is also a major provider of nickel, copper, cobalt – all necessary materials for alternative energy sources necessary in the transition away from fossil fuels.

Two stories of note:

Could Russian sanctions hobble U.S. clean energy push?

Norilsk Nickel Russia

Hans Olav Lien/Wikimedia Commons

Politico's Jael Holzman explores the metals market—and how reliant clean energy technologies are on exports from autocratic countries like Russia and China.

Key quote:

“Our concern is that our energy markets are so tied up with nations that do not share our values.”

Worth your time...

The Coming Energy Shock

Gasoline shortage florida 2021

CWMc/flickr

The Atlantic looks at the global energy market, Russia's immunity from foreign sanctions, and the havoc Russia could inflict on world markets.

"Any Russian retreat from world oil markets will jolt prices in ways that will be felt at gas pumps around the world."

Keep reading...

Some good news

In dark times I often turn back to Gary Snyder's short poem, "For the Children."

I need this today, and his advice at the end is worth carrying forward:

stay together
learn the flowers
go light

I'm grateful to our researcher, Autumn Spanne, who found this morsel of good news on the website Reasons to be Cheerful:

More women than ever are contributing to the next IPCC climate report

Women's Science March San Francisco

Matthew Roth/flickr

“Things are changing,” Miriam Gay-Antaki, an assistant professor of geography & environmental studies told reporter Jessica Kutz.

“People are realizing that attending to gender is not a nuisance but something that a lot of people actually want.”

Read the good news...

Can crypto mining go green? Critics are skeptical

Some miners are promising more climate-friendly operations, but research shows the industry is a long way from putting that into practice

Sunrise in the woods

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Cattle, not coca, drive deforestation of the Amazon in Colombia – report

Cattle-ranching, not cocaine, has driven the destruction of the Colombian Amazon over the last four decades, a new study has found.

Public lands in the US have long been disposed to fossil fuel companies. Now, the lands are being offered to solar companies

As the nation looks to transition to more forms of renewable energy, the country’s millions of acres of public lands could be key, drawing concerns over how local habitats could be impacted.

Skinny robot “Icefin” studies Antarctica's melting doomsday glacier

Scientists got their first up-close look at what’s eating away part of Antarctica’s Thwaites ice shelf, nicknamed the “doomsday glacier” because of its massive melt and sea rise potential, and it’s both good and bad news.

How climate change is making tampons (and lots of other stuff) more expensive

Cotton farmers in Texas suffered record losses amid heat and drought last year, new data shows. It’s an example of how global warming is a “secret driver of inflation.”

Hurricanes Ian and Nicole left devastating flooding in Central Florida. Will it happen again?

Florida’s wetlands have historically served as natural sponges but are now filled with explosive growth and development. Throw in climate change concerns, and many wonder whether 2022’s flooding represents a new norm.

Rising sea level threatens stability of boundaries, Philippines warns

The Philippines warned that rising sea level threatens the stability of its boundaries, as a United Nations agency highlighted coastlines being “pushed” inward thus affecting baselines from which countries’ maritime zones are measured.
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