Climate

• Why would a state that is extremely vulnerable to climate change vote for Donald Trump?
• Small Island Developing States lead the fight against climate change — and usually suffer the most.
• The president of the Oakland Firefighters Union talks about what it’s like to face wildfires firsthand.
• And more…

Key Biscayne, an island town in Miami-Dade County and one of Florida’s wealthiest towns, is also very vulnerable to rising seas. And last night, in the 2020 election, it soundly voted to approve a $100 million bond to protect itself from sea-level rise. Its decision driver? Staving off dropping property values.

Just in case you didn’t notice, the US election is next week, on Tuesday, November 3. We at Electrek ran a Climate Crisis Weekly roundup on October 10 with the headline, “Humanity’s future rests on American voters.” Someone on the subreddit r/JoeBiden declared, “Tech website Electrek backs Biden for president.” Our reaction to that? We’ll take it.

And here’s why. Electrek is for electric vehicles, green energy, slowing and eventually reversing climate change, and protecting and renewing the environment. And we’ll hop on whatever e-bus we have to ride in order to get closest to the goal of progressing those things.

So instead of rounding up the week’s climate change stories, we’ve done something different this week. Some of us in the 9to5 network explain — each with a unique perspective, from all over the US (and world) — why we back Joe Biden in the 2020 US presidential election. In short, it’s because he’s the e-bus that gets us closest to our destination. Because we believe, with a passion, in what we write about.

• Naturalist and TV presenter Steve Backshall illustrates animals’ evolution due to climate change.
• Air pollution killed a half-million newborn babies globally in 2019, according to a new report.
• Young people living in the Arctic Circle describe the climate change they see now in a BBC My World film.
• And more…

• Many Americans say they don’t quite understand the “Green New Deal,” so we demystify it here.
• The percentage of Americans that are alarmed about the climate crisis has doubled in five years.
• Regardless of how you feel about Greta Thunberg, the documentary I am Greta is a must-watch.
• And more…

• The US presidential election is almost here and voting has started. For the earth’s future, it’s everything.
• Vice President Joe Biden releases the first political ad exclusively about climate change in the US.
• Prince William and Sir David Attenborough launch the biggest environmental award ever, at $50 million.
• And more…

• Greenland’s ice is melting faster than at any time in the past 12,000 years, according to a new study.
• Sir David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet debuts on Sunday to help us better understand climate change.
• The Environmental Defense Fund launches the Climate Authenticity Meter to evaluate businesses’ climate goals.
• And more…

• The biggest climate summit of 2020 took place this week, with more than 350 events.
• Which countries take climate change the most seriously? The ones who’ve experienced it.
• What if the US joined the EU and China in making a pledge to fight climate change?
• And more…

California Governor Gavin Newsom has just announced a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035. The state will require all new cars and trucks sold after that date to be zero emission vehicles. Californians will still be able to operate gas-powered vehicles after that date, and will still be able to buy and sell used gas cars.

This move is the most aggressive yet-announced in the US, and will have major effects for the auto industry as a whole, given California’s leadership on clean air issues. But the thing is: it should be even more aggressive.

• The world’s wildlife population has declined by more than two-thirds in the last 50 years — WWF
• As much as 80% of the European Union’s electricity could be fossil fuel-free by 2030.
• Here’s why a new study of sea urchins will provide great insight into the effects of climate change.
• And more…

• The UN secretary-general urges G20 nations to ditch coal completely in a climate conference.
• Planting seagrass needs to play an important part in reducing emissions. Here’s why.
• Writer Andrew McCormick asks, “The sitting president has no climate plan. Why isn’t that headline news?”
• And more…

• Climate change is causing warmer waters, and it’s making hurricanes more dangerous.
• Pop-up “corona cycleways” in European cities could result in health benefits of $3 billion a year.
• What’s in the US Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis report?
• And more…

• The NOAA Weather Prediction Center thinks Death Valley may have broken a global heat record.
• An environmental science professor describes how climate change affects her students’ mental health.
• Trump plans to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. These animals would be destroyed.
• And more…

• Mauritius suffered a really bad oil spill — and as feared, it’s killing its marine life.
• Carbon dioxide emissions make oceans more acidic, and that’s not good for marine creatures.
• Maine’s lobster fishery lost its sustainability certification due to the endangerment of the Right Whale.
• And more…

• Most US states are cutting emissions without federal help. Here’s who’s succeeding and failing.
• A Chilean photographer’s images of Patagonia’s glaciers reveal a starkly different landscape from a century ago.
• Bill Gates posts a blog on lessons from the pandemic that should guide our response to the climate crisis.
• And more…

• Two new groundbreaking, comprehensive studies prove that reducing air pollution saves lives.
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres has new youth leaders to advise him on climate action.
• July 29 was International Tiger Day, which highlights the importance of protecting the species.
• And more…

• Polar bears live on Arctic sea ice, and it’s melting fast.
• Many African, Asian, and Latin American countries meet the UN’s sustainable development goals.
• Oceana launches Ship Speed Watch, an online tool to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.
• And more…

• Influencers such as Greta Thunberg, Joaquin Phoenix, and Greenpeace call for EU leaders to “face the climate emergency.”
• The fast-food giant Burger King has taken a novel approach to reduce methane emissions.
• A new study finds that tree planting does not always boost ecosystem carbon stocks.
• And more…

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Last week, the Joe Biden-Bernie Sanders climate unity task force put forward a number of recommendations to combat climate change, as Electrek reported on July 9. That followed a huge climate plan from the House Democrats in June to bring the US to net zero by 2050. But are they good preliminary plans?

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• The latest IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has been released, identifying the species most at risk of extinction.
• Vermont becomes the first state in the US to pass a ban on food waste.
• Colorado State University raises its 2020 hurricane forecast in July from 19 named storms up to 20.
• And more…

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• The Plastic Free Foundation launched Plastic Free July in 2011. Here’s how you can make a difference permanently.
• Think you’re not in a flood zone? Double check with this comprehensive new data website.
• Three things we can do to improve resilience efforts against rising sea levels — NRDC
• And more…

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