Green Lights July 14: Top stories this week

Don't miss a single story: The best from Callaway Climate Insights

. . . . Welcome to Green Lights, our weekly roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. This week, we all want to cool off. Delivery workers are very hot under the proverbial actual collar due to a lack of AC in their trucks as temps soar; Formula 1 racing is feeling the heat as it tries to cope with climate and carbon issues; and don’t miss David Callaway’s look at how some businesses have responded to this summer’s extreme heat with unprecedented new strategies. Here are the highlights in a simple and convenient format that makes it easy for our readers. It’s also easy to subscribe.

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. . . . The strike by Amazon drivers over extreme heat conditions in their trucks is nothing new to the delivery industry. UPS and FedEx workers have complained for years about the dangers of riding around in hot trucks on baking days like we’ve seen this summer, says David Callaway. But it does herald a coming change in how we Americans work — and play — especially in outdoor venues.

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. . . . Canada’s 2023 fire season like you’ve never seen it: From Nova Scotia to British Columbia, Canada’s record-breaking 2023 wildfire season will continue to be abnormally intense throughout July and into August, according to reports from the Canadian Press. As of a week ago, a record 21.7 million acres have burned.

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. . . . Iconic racing sport Formula 1 has weathered many challenges to its survival and business model over the years. But the threat of climate change is forcing new thinking for race series that feature high-speed autos burning fossil fuels for entertainment, writes Calla Kra-Caskey.

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. . . . This summer’s extreme heat has raised the conversation about global warming again, and some businesses have responded with unprecedented new strategies, writes David Callaway. From automakers entering the mining business to a major global commodities player considering getting out of the coal business, 2023 is going to be as much about the renewables transformation as it is about climate tipping points.

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. . . . It’s becoming a vicious cycle. Heatwaves cause more use of air conditioning; more AC use means more fossil fuels burned to power them; and more pollution means more heatwaves, writes Matthew Diebel. In addition, rising middle classes in nations such as India are also demanding air conditioning and more Europeans are buying them. It seems the only way to break the cycle is renewables.

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. . . . President Joe Biden had reason to feel good about his climate talks at Windsor Palace this week with King Charles III. For the first time in his presidency, U.S. emissions have fallen over a prolonged period. But as global warming’s tipping points start to take hold this summer, the sooner climate action is taken out of politics the better, David Callaway writes.

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More greenery . . . .

• How green is your water? Climate Change Is Shifting the Color of Earth’s Oceans

• Washington Post: Extreme flooding from Vermont to India is “as if every alarm bell on Earth were ringing”

• The Independent: Scientists invent whitest paint ever to help cool the planet (It’s won a Guinness World Record!)

• Escaping the sun belt: Maine Is the New Florida for Climate Migrants

• Wear your seatbelt: UK residents more concerned about climate change than dying from a car accident, says study

• What beaver dams can teach us about extreme heat: Animals don’t have AC. But they have beavers.