The Party That Ruined the Planet

The most terrifying aspect of the U.S. political drama isn’t the revelation that the president has abused his power for personal gain. If you didn’t see that coming from the day Donald Trump was elected, you weren’t paying attention.

A new federal report finds that climate change in the Arctic is accelerating.

No, the real revelation has been the utter depravity of the Republican Party. Essentially every elected or appointed official in that party has chosen to defend Trump by buying into crazy, debunked conspiracy theories. That is, one of America’s two major parties is beyond redemption; given that, it’s hard to see how democracy can long endure, even if Trump is defeated.

However, the scariest reporting I’ve seen recently has been about science, not politics. A new federal report finds that climate change in the Arctic is accelerating, matching what used to be considered worst-case scenarios. And there are indications that Arctic warming may be turning into a self-reinforcing spiral, as the thawing tundra itself releases vast quantities of greenhouse gases.

Catastrophic sea-level rise, heat waves that make major population centers uninhabitable, and more are now looking more likely than not, and sooner rather than later.

Read the story from The New York Times by Paul Krugman - “The Party That Ruined the Planet.”

Earth just had its 400th straight warmer-than-average month thanks to global warming

It was December 1984, and President Reagan had just been elected to his second term, Dynasty was the top show on TV and Madonna's Like a Virgin topped the musical charts.

The Earth had its 3rd-warmest April on record,
 both NOAA and NASA said. Red areas are
warmer-than-average. North America was the
one part of the world that saw unusually cool
 temperatures in April.

It was also the last time the Earth had a cooler-than-average month.

Last month marked the planet's 400th consecutive month with above-average temperatures, federal scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday. 

The cause for the streak? Unquestionably, it’s climate change, caused by humanity's burning of fossil fuels. 

Read the story by Doyle Rice from USA Today - “Earth just had its 400th straight warmer-than-average month thanks to global warming.”

Iceland elects 41-year-old environmentalist as prime minister

Katrin Jakobsdottir, the 41-year-old chairwoman of the Left-Green Movement, has been elected Prime Minister of Iceland.

The new Prime Minster of Iceland, Katrin Jakobsdottir,
41, chairwoman of the Left-Green Movement.

One of the most well-liked politicians in Iceland, Katrín, a former education minister and avowed environmentalist, has pledged to set Iceland on the path to carbon neutrality by 2040. 

As Iceland’s fourth prime minister in only two years, Katrín will take office at a time when national politics have been tainted by public distrust and scandal. 

A democratic socialist, Katrín is viewed as a bridge-building leader that may lead the country towards positive, incremental change. “She is the party leader who can best unite voters from the left and right,” said Eva H. Onnudottir, a political scientist at the University of Iceland, according to the New York Times. 

Read the Inhabitat story by Greg Beach - “Iceland elects 41-year-old environmentalist as prime minister.”

Plenty of energy went into doing nothing about our energy crisis

In 2017 we heard a lot from the federal government about energy. In fact, there was too much talk, and very little action. As we head into the new year, it's time to reflect on the past 12 months, and ask ourselves whether our elected representatives have been naughty or nice when it comes to climate and energy policy?

Illustration: Andrew Dyson.

The year began on a prescient note, with federal ministers cheerily handing about an actual lump of coal in Parliament, supplied by the Minerals Council of Australia.

Read Petra Stock’s comment in today’s Melbourne Age - “Plenty of energy went into doing nothing about our energy crisis.”