Archive for 2019

The Epidemic of Climate Change Induced Wildfires in 2019

December 31, 2019 Add Comment Edit

More intense and longer duration wildfires have ravaged countries all around the world. The thread that weaves all these wildfires together is global warming and the catalyst is heat, the harbinger of fire. Extreme heat exacerbates wildfires making this the new abnormal. Warmer temperatures dry out...

Australian Wildfires and the Federal Government's Complicity

December 30, 2019 Add Comment Edit

Hot dry conditions sparked an early start to fire season in Australia and people are demanding more climate action from the federal government that has refused to acknowledge the seriousness of the crisis. As the situation continues to worsen, protests have broken out across the country, however, Prime...

Event - 2020 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15)

December 29, 2019 Add Comment Edit

The 2020 Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) will take place on October 5, 2020 in Kunming, Yunnan, China. The theme of this event is ecological civilization, which is rooted in the Chinese vision of an ecological civilization and draws inspiration from traditional and new eco-innovations. High level...

December 29, 2019 Add Comment Edit

This event will take place on June 2-6, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Governments of Kenya and Portugal will co-host and assume all costs of the Conference. The General Assembly through resolution 73/292 decided to convene the 2020 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable...

Event - Conference on Sustainability in Engineering

December 28, 2019 Add Comment Edit

CSE 2020 will take place February 21 - 24, 2020 at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. The Conference on Sustainability in Engineering is the CFES' newest conference, ratified at Congress 2018. The conference aims to raise awareness about issues in sustainability and environmental engineering,...

Predictable and Rare Climate Impacts in 2019

December 27, 2019 Add Comment Edit

This year there were a slew of predictable climate related events. There were also some rare global warming impacts including massive volumes of ice melt in Greenland and tropical cyclones that intensified at one of the fastest rates ever observed.According to the IPCC ice is melting and sea levels...

Four Reasons Why 2020 Will be a Make or Break Year for Environmental Action

December 26, 2019 Add Comment Edit

We will face some critical choices in 2020 including momentous decisions that will have profound impacts on humanity, ecosystems and countless species. The first issue is our failure to reign in GHG emissions and the second is the absence of any significant progress at COP25. The combinations of a...

Happy Holidays from the Green Market Oracle

December 25, 2019 Add Comment Edit

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Hope for the Holidays: 101 Good Environmental News Stories in 2019

December 24, 2019 Add Comment Edit

There is reason to hope as we teeter on the cusp of an apocalypse, even as emissions keep rising and ecosystems are collapsing all around us. The ignorance and inaction of national leaderships and the old energy industry can make us feel as though we are doomed.However, there are also many good news...

A Greta Thunberg Christmas Carol - Hope that Augurs Action

December 23, 2019 Add Comment Edit

Greta Thunberg has chided adults for saying, "we owe it to young people to give them hope". The climate icon does not want us to hope she wants us to act. "I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic." Greta said, adding, "I want you to feel the fear I feel every...

Event - Sustainability and the Climate Crisis Conference Call for Abstracts

December 22, 2019 Add Comment Edit

This event will take place on March 16-18, 2020 at Concordia Conference Centre (Sir George Williams Campus), 9th Floor, John Molson Building, 1450 Guy (March 16-17), and 110-130, Jesuit Hall & Conference Centre, 7141 Sherbrooke St O. (March 18), Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The speakers will be Angela...

The Search for Greta - A Short Film about Hope as we Teeter on the Cusp of an Apocalypse

December 21, 2019 Add Comment Edit

Set against the backdrop of the September 27th climate march in Montreal, the protagonists in this short experimental documentary set out to find Greta Thunberg. Although they do not find the climate icon, what they find instead are legions of everyday heroes. This film is a celebration of the power...

Nova Scotia Stands Up to the Mill Responsible for the Toxic Mess in Boat Harbour

December 20, 2019 Add Comment Edit

The provincial government of Nova Scotia is acting to reign-in the Northern Pulp mill near Pictou, Nova Scotia. For 42 years the mill has been dumping harmful waste into lagoons. They have created what a former environment minister called a "toxic mess" and one of the worst cases of environmental racism...

Airships Offer Both Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

December 19, 2019 Add Comment Edit

Varialift solar powered airship conceptThe emissions associated with traditional air travel make airships an ideal low-cost alternative for shipping. Compared to traditional transportation mediums, airships are quiet, cheaper to operate, and most importantly, far more carbon efficient. They also have...

Trump's Impeachement is Not a Hoax Nor is Climate Change

December 18, 2019 Add Comment Edit

Nancy Polosi and the Democrats believe that it is in the national interest to impeach President Donald Trump and support climate action. Trump is being impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. The two articles of impeachment are 'Abuse of Power' and 'Obstruction of Congress'. It is hard to...

How the Political Right Uses Fossil Fuels to Galvanize Opposition to Climate Action

December 17, 2019 Add Comment Edit

It is widely understood that in the main, conservative far-right political movements support fossil fuels and oppose the veracity of climate change and climate action. In the U.S. Republicans have worked with the old energy industry to subvert the facts for many years. Thanks to insidious disinformation...

Ranking National Climate Action - 2020 Performance Index

December 16, 2019 Add Comment Edit

The United States and Canada are some of the worst climate performers in the world. None of the countries reviewed in the 2020 Performance Index have demonstrated that they are on a path that is compatible with the goals laid out in the Paris Climate agreement. Sweden leads the group of high-performing...

Event - ASES Solar 20/20 (Annual National Solar Conference) Call for Submissions

December 15, 2019 Add Comment Edit

The 49th Annual National Solar Conference, ASES Solar 20/20, Renewable Energy Vision, Advances to achieve 100% renewable energy, has put out a call for participation. This event will take place on June 23-26, 2020 in Washington DC. It will include: Women in Solar Energy (WISE) luncheon, solar installer...

Greta Says World Leaders are Doing Nothing Except "Clever Accounting and Creative PR"

December 14, 2019 Add Comment Edit

Greta Thunberg delivered a powerful speech at this year's UN climate change conference (COP25) in Madrid. The Swedish activist said "we no longer have time to leave out the science," and she accused world leader of “clever accounting and creative PR” to avoid action on the climate crisis. Thunberg...

Norwegian Aviation Company Orders 60 Electric Planes

December 13, 2019 Add Comment Edit

Norway's OSM Aviation Academy is committed to fully electrifying its fleet of planes. OSM is a company that specializes in recruitment and training for the aviation industry. They have ordered 60 all electric planes from Colorado-based electric aircraft manufacturer Bye Aerospace. This is the largest...

Heat Records Tell Us What We Need to Know

December 12, 2019 Add Comment Edit

This year will go down in history as one of the warmest years on record and 2019 will also be remembered for the month of July which is the hottest month ever recorded. The months of June, September and October also broke records. Except for January of this year, each month in 2019 has been in...