Where are we on the environment?

Global events in September in five headlines, for those with concerns over the environment, sustainability and energy transition.

1.

As US journalist Annie Lowrey wrote in the Atlantic while interviewing various experts about the widespread belief that individual behaviour can influence the environment; while such behaviour might be irrelevant on a singular level, it can influence the fight against climate change through shifting mores and norms to habits which can positively influence attempts to build more sustainable societies and economies.

2.

A recent study published in the U.S. scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that two huge glaciers in the Antarctic ice sheet are shrinking and breaking at increasing speed due to global warming. As the ice sheets melt, these glaciers contribute about 5% to global sea level rise, both because of the air temperature - higher than usual - and because the waters below are warmer now than in the past.

3.

ProPublica and The New York Times carried out an extensive study on so-called “climate-driven migration”, i.e. people who, in the near future, will be forced to leave their land due to environmental conditions such as desertification. Amongst the possible consequences, the document cites a change in the geographical distribution of the population, as a consequence of mass migrations that will occur regardless of socio-political barriers.

4.

The fires devastating the northern area of Sacramento in California and the coast of Oregon, from what experts call “August Complex Fire”, look different from fires of the past. The New York Times reported and cited the opinion of various experts. There are some who, like scientist Daniel Swain find troubling “the fact that fires have burned ecosystems where there aren’t typically wildfires. Flames are common in expanses of dry grass (...), but burning Joshua trees, or redwoods and coniferous forests? That’s alarming”; and alongside his colleagues he emphasised the role of climate change in exacerbating such phenomena.

5.

Solutions to capture carbon dioxide from the air, now the focus of studies to help combat climate change, could have a negative impact on the price of food. The energy and water resources needed to operate such devices will have a major impact on land use, leading to an increase in the price of basic food crops for most countries in the global South, to about 5 times 2010 levels.