Climate Adaptation
LGBTQ People Face Greater Climate Risks
A new study by the UCLA Williams Institute finds that LGBTQ people in same-sex couples are at greater risk of exposure to the harms of climate change compared to straight couples.
In August of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi, the combination of torrential rain and flawed infrastructure proved deadly. More than 1,800 people died and the price tag for the damage quickly rose to the tens of billions of dollars. In the chaotic disaster response that followed, several communities were disproportionately …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Change and Nigeria
A population explosion. Sluggish economy. Weak governance. Serious climate impacts. What could possibly go wrong?
By the time my youngest granddaughter is thirty, Nigeria will be the world’s third-largest country. It’s also one of the countries that’s least prepared to adapt to climate change, which will be much worse by then. Nigeria’s population is expected to roughly double by 2050, to around 400 million. The population was previously expected to …
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CONTINUE READINGFlorida is a Climate-Denying Hellscape
Florida lawmakers want to erase climate change from their laws and ban local heat protection ordinances ahead of what could be another summer of record-breaking heat.
Take the latest, science-backed climate policies that are gaining traction in state houses around the country — and then do the exact opposite. That seems to be the Florida playbook for dealing with the climate crisis facing Floridians in the form of rising sea levels and deadly temperatures. This legislative session, state lawmakers in the …
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CONTINUE READINGCritical Insights on the Mineral Boom: Part III
On the rise of resource nationalism and building an equitable supply chain: Insights from the Emmett Institute’s “Powering the Future” symposium.
The topic of critical minerals and the energy transition is one of choices and priorities, at least according to author and journalist Ernest Scheyder, who spoke at the second panel in our recent “Powering the Future” symposium. This panel, Critical Minerals and Global Supply Chains, discussed some of the fundamental choices that governments, industry, and …
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CONTINUE READINGRecentering Environmental Law: A Thought Experiment
If we had understood then what we know now. . . .
In 1965, scientists sent LBJ a memo mentioning the risks of climate change. Imagine if history had been a little different. Suppose it had been this memo and a follow-up report, rather than Rachel Carson’s attack on pesticides, that sparked the environmental movement. How would environmental law look different and how might we be thinking about …
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CONTINUE READINGCentering Public Health at the UN Climate Talks
Guest Contributor Meleana Chun-Moy reflects on COP28 and the growing recognition of the intersection between the climate crisis and human health.
The climate crisis is a public health crisis, and it finally seems global leaders have recognized that fact. With the backdrop of the first-ever Health Day at the annual UN climate conference, air quality in Dubai soared, as PM2.5 pollution reached 155 micrograms per cubic unit. The World Health Organization states the annual average concentrations …
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CONTINUE READINGFood and Farming Makes the Menu at UN Climate Talks
Guest contributor Antonia Moure Richard of UCLA Law reports that regenerative agriculture was a big focus of COP28, but industrial farming was largely ignored.
At the United Nations climate conference known as COP28, it was easy to come to the realization that we must confront every aspect of the climate crisis, and we must do it right now. That includes transforming our food systems. Agriculture has historically been left out of the conversation at COP. That changed this year …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Year in California Climate Laws
Looking back at California’s 2023 legislative session, our new environmental laws represent a solid step forward—bigger than expected.
If 2022 was a Rivian with all the bells and whistles, this past year was more a Ford Lightning. After a landmark 2022—a record $54 billion committed to climate spending and legislation that codified the state’s goals of carbon neutrality by 2045 and 90 percent clean electricity by 2035—a significantly gloomier budget forecast gave rise …
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CONTINUE READINGTaylor Swift and Climate Change Songs
Pop culture is how many of us process what’s going on in the world. That’s why Taylor Swift’s next ‘era’ should include a climate anthem.
We don’t need Taylor Swift to “fall in love with a climate scientist,” we just wish she’d write a song about the climate crisis. When the breathless coverage of her relationship with Travis Kelce first boosted ratings for NFL football, some suggested Swift should use her star power for good by “dating a climate scientist.” …
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CONTINUE READINGRecharge net metering (ReNeM) provides win-win-win for groundwater agency, landowners, & sustainable groundwater management
Nature Water publication showcases the economics of a novel groundwater recharge incentive structure
By Molly Bruce, Luke Sherman, Ellen Bruno, Andrew T. Fisher, & Michael Kiparsky An insidious issue has been growing along the Central Coast and throughout the state of California for decades: groundwater overdraft. In response to this growing threat and 2014 legislation designed to put an end to chronic overdraft, many basins have identified managed …
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