Green Lights Sept. 27: Top stories this week
Green Lights Sept. 27: Top stories this week
Don't miss a single story from the best of Callaway Climate Insights.
. . . Welcome back to Green Lights. Here’s our weekly roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. David Callaway reports from the front lines at Climate Week in NYC, including The Independent’s Climate 100. Michael Molinski explains what Latin America’s growing “pink tide” means for climate change and the U.S. election. Enjoy the fun, the football, the fall — and don’t forget to subscribe for 40% off while this limited-time offer lasts (until Monday).
. . . . We celebrated publication of The Independent’s Climate 100 List this week in New York with almost two dozen of the honorees, and were treated to a rousing speech from former British Prime Minister Theresa May about a different angle to the climate threat. But, David Callaway writes, it was a single slide presented by one of the earlier speakers that stole the show. The 1950s-era ad above is from the Humble Oil Co., a predecessor to Exxon. It shows a massive glacier, and the copy said “Each day Humble provides enough energy to melt seven million tons of glacier.”
. . . . While South America burns (see the fire map, above), one of the region’s periodic bouts of populism has generated a shift in the past year toward more leftist governments that will no doubt impact how the region fights climate change and how it works with the next U.S. president, writes Michael Molinski. With Brazil’s wildfires and its hosting next year of the COP30 climate summit, attention at this week’s UN meeting in New York is focused on what the political shift means for fighting global warming, handling immigration and trade policies.
. . . . A week focused on the future of fighting climate change kicked off with a look at the past Monday night as Lord John Browne, former chairman of BP BP 1.20%↑ and an early advocate for renewable energy, reminisced about his journey from oil executive to climate investor, and forecast an unexpected future.
. . . . It’s time for the annual Fat Bear contest. Get ready to vote in the other big election. We care about the fun, fabulous Fat Bear competition and we want you to, also. Why? Because it is a celebration of environmental success. According to Explore.org, “Fat bears exemplify the richness of Katmai National Park and Bristol Bay, Alaska, a wild region that is home to more brown bears than people and the largest, healthiest runs of sockeye salmon left on the planet.” This year’s competition runs from Wednesday, Oct. 2 to Tuesday, Oct. 8. The public gets a chance to vote for the chunkiest champion. Find out more and vote at Explore.org’s Fat Bear Week site, or follow Katmai National Park on X (formerly known as Twitter).
. . . . At the other big event in New York this week, global leaders at the UN General Assembly gave courteous nods to fighting global warming, but despite hundreds of climate advocate events all around them, mostly bypassed the issue as fears about the Middle East and Ukraine soared. Even with the deadly and devastating Hurricane Helene only a few states away in Florida, they always tend to find more pressing priorities, David Callaway writes.
More greenery . . . .
It was just a “hot year”: An Architect of Project 2025 Dismisses Global Warming (The New York Times)
New high-water marks: Climate change supercharged Europe floods (BBC)
Forced to move: Climate change destroyed an Alaska village. Its residents are starting over in a new town (The Associated Press)
Smol climate heroes: Why bringing back oyster reefs could protect coasts from climate change (Nature.com)
Underwater woes: Climate Change Poses Risks to Neglected Public Transportation and Water Systems (Pew)
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