Where are we on the environment? #12

What's been happening around the world in August in five news items, for those interested in the environment, sustainability and ecological transition.

1.

According to a new UN report climate change, and the consequent increase in the frequency and intensity of disastrous weather phenomena, is «unprecedented» and above all «unequivocally» due to human activities: the report also states that if no action is taken to reduce polluting emissions in a timely manner the effects of the climate crisis could be even worse.

2.

The U.S. government declared that the Colorado River, one of the country's most important waterways, experienced a water shortage for the first time in its history due to the drought of recent months - which has become particularly severe with the climate crisis, especially in California.

3.

The Kebnekaise massif glacier in Sweden, the only one in the country on top of a mountain, has shrunk by two meters in the last year: according to the University of Stockholm, the cause of the decrease in the height of the summit is mainly attributed to higher temperatures, caused by global warming.

4.

An Alaskan court ruled that a large area in the north of the country cannot be drilled by an oil company for a major oil and gas extraction project in reference to climate change: according to the court, the company did not adequately assessed the environmental impact of the project and its consequences on the climate issue as well as on the life of polar bears.

5.

In Greenland it rained for the first time at the highest point of the ice sheet: in that area, at over three thousand meters above sea level, temperatures are generally well below freezing, but in mid-August the average seasonal temperature was exceeded by well over eighteen degrees centigrade.