How Did the End of the World Become Old News?

There has been a lot of burning lately. Last week, wildfires broke out in the Arctic Circle, where temperatures reached almost 90 degrees; they are still roiling northern Sweden, 21 of them. And this week, wildfires swept through the Greek seaside, outside Athens, killing at least 80 and hospitalizing almost 200. At one resort, dozens of guests tried to escape the flames by descending a narrow stone staircase into the Aegean, only to be engulfed along the way, dying literally in each other’s arms.

The fire this time (in Sweden).

Last July, I wrote a much-talked-over magazine cover story considering the worst-case scenarios for climate change — much talked over, in part, because it was so terrifying, which made some of the scenarios a bit hard to believe. Those worst-case scenarios are still quite unlikely, since they require both that we do nothing to alter our emissions path, which is still arcing upward, and that those unabated emissions bring us to climate outcomes on the far end of what’s possible by 2100.

Read the story by David Wallace-Wells from the New York magazine - “How Did the End of the World Become Old News?”

At least 20 dead in Greece as wildfires rage out of control

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 100 injured as two forest fires rage out of control near the Greek capital of Athens.

A house in Kineta near Athens is engulfed by flames.

Authorities urged people to abandon their homes on Monday after high winds whipped up the worst fires for more than a decade in two areas either side of the capital, destroying properties and closing the main motorway west to Corinth.

The majority of the victims died in their homes or their cars in Mati, a holiday resort 29km (18 miles) north-east of Athens that was devastated by a fast-moving blaze that started at around 5pm local time, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said early on Tuesday.

He said 88 adults and 16 children were injured, 11 of them seriously. One of the youngest victims was thought to be a six-month-old baby who died of smoke inhalation.

Read the story from The Guardian - “At least 20 dead in Greece as wildfires rage out of control.”

Laura Lakers wonders if Edinburgh is better for bikes?

I

’m chasing Kim Harding down a hill. We’re heading from the Royal Mile to Princes Street on the kind of descent one rarely encounters, living as I do in a very flat part of the country. “I love that hill,” he says as we regroup at the traffic lights.

Like Athens and Rome, Edinburgh is built on seven hills, but perhaps more akin to a “lumpy” city like Bristol, those hills don’t deter people from cycling in relatively high numbers by UK standards - 6% of journeys to work and school are by bike, or 2% of all journeys.

Where Edinburgh stands alone is that its city council is committing a percentage of its transport budget to cycling - starting from 5% in 2012 and rising 1% each year to 10%. It’s currently at 8%, or just over £2m, with funding from the Scottish government on top. I’m curious to see what they’re spending the money on, and whether it’s making a difference.

Harding, co-founder of Pedal on Parliament, and the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling, has kindly agreed to show me around during my week-long visit to the city.

Read Laura Laker’s story in the Guardian - “Is Edinburgh's cycling budget making the city better for bikes?”