Green Lights Nov. 3: Top stories this week
Don't miss a single story of the best from Callaway Climate Insights
. . . . Welcome to Green Lights, our weekly roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. This week, David Callaway shares more from the Dublin Climate Summit, we report on the Catch-22 Brazil is facing over environmental and social concerns amid its desperate need for fertilizer, and Matthew Diebel catches us up on speed dating in the time of climate change. Here are the highlights in a simple and convenient format that makes it easy for our readers. It’s also easy to subscribe.
. . . . Are climate slogans hurting the cause? While terms like “there is no Planet B” and “we’re at a boiling point” might help make a complex message easier to understand, a growing rebellion against such sloganeering is starting to pick up as we head toward COP28, writes David Callaway. “I really think pronouncements of shock doctrine don’t work,” Danny McCoy, CEO of Ibec, Ireland’s largest business lobbyist, said last week at The Climate Summit in Dublin. “If the CEO keeps going ‘we’re doomed, we’re doomed,’ you know what the response will be.” Who could have guessed that China would agree?
. . . . It may be hard to see the value in some of the federal subsidies spurring renewable projects. As the rate cycle turns, however, those benefits and the jobs tied to them will become more clear on an everyday level, David Callaway says. Whether that is in time for the presidential election next year remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that despite the apocalyptic headlines this autumn, an overlooked industry continues to churn to life.
. . . . Brazil, which relies on agriculture more than most countries to feed its people and export, is caught in a vicious circle of environmental ambition and agricultural turmoil, writes Michael Molinski. One flashpoint is around the country’s need to import potash for fertilizer, which it needs to grow its crops.
. . . . Speed dating in the time of climate change: Matthew Diebel says love is in the air, as well as carbon. He writes in his insight column this week about love matches among climate-concerned singles and, in particular, a speed dating event called Love and Climate.
. . . . Stormy weather for the U.S. offshore wind industry: It’s crisis time as inflation, supply chain woes and high interest rates create havoc.
. . . . China’s installation of solar and wind power has helped cut sulfur dioxide, the chief cause of smog, by an estimated 90%. That’s great news for everyone who breathes, but there’s a side effect: clear skies and brighter sunshine are actually raising temperatures.
More greenery . . . .
Right under our feet: Scientists are studying whether white hydrogen can save us. (The Independent)
Go for it, Detroit: Michigan House passes climate change reform, mandating clean energy by 2040 (Bridge Michigan)
Whoa: Psychedelic therapy may help with climate change anxiety (Washington Post)
High stakes: US-China climate talks could affect pace, severity of climate change (Axios)
Heated debate: Famed climate scientist has a new, dire prediction (Washington Post)
Get your gear: Great Lakes Fish Are Moving North With Climate Change (Scientific American)