IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Huge Northern California wildfire explodes in size; Paris Summer Olympics complicated by heat and water pollution; PLUS: After new global heat records, the U.N. calls on governments to move faster to cut climate-warming emissions... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
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IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Carbon Capture Bamboozle: Oil companies sold the public on a fake climate solution — and swindled taxpayers out of billions; Extreme ocean temperatures threaten to wipe out Caribbean coral; An inmate’s body temp was 107.5 when he died. The state of Texas says heat did not kill him; Companies are getting paid 'damages' when governments phase out fossil fuels; Hotter temperatures are causing trees to have heat strokes... PLUS: World's forests failed to curb 2023 climate emissions, study finds... and much, MUCH more! ...
STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY'S 'GREEN NEWS REPORT'...
- California's massive Park Fire explodes in size:
- Massive California wildfire moves up the list of state's largest blazes (Axios):
While arson may have provided the spark that lit the blaze, climate change-related factors, including the heat and extreme dryness, plus land management policies have enabled its spread. - How Did the Park Fire Get So Big, So Fast? (NY Times):
The blaze has been fed largely by exceptionally dry vegetation following more than a month of extreme heat in California. - California's Park Fire has burned an area larger than Los Angeles (SF Gate)
- Thousands of firefighters battling California's Park Fire, other western blazes (CBS News)
- Park Fire arson suspect appears in court. DA says accused man called it 'an accident' (Sacramento Bee)
- California’s wildfires are burning far more land so far this year than in 2023 (NPR)
- Historic mining community is decimated as massive wildfires rage in the Western United States (CNN)
- Restoring Forest Health for Wildfire and Climate Resilience (CA Natural Resources Agency)
- Jasper, Alberta partially destroyed by fast-moving wildfire:
- More than 350 structures were destroyed by Jasper wildfire in the Canadian Rockies, officials say (AP)
- Things could have been worse without decades of fire prevention efforts, says Jasper mayor (CBC):
Despite the losses and the daunting rebuild ahead, Ireland said things could have been much worse without years of preventative work including prescribed burns, thinning diseased forests and installing sprinkler systems. No one was harmed and the majority of the structures in the community remain standing...Just six weeks before the Jasper wildfire, the national park and the Municipality of Jasper exercised a wildfire scenario similar to what they just faced... - Jasper wildfire: GPS collar reveals how bear and 2 cubs survived flames (Global News):
On their Sunday night social media posts, Parks Canada officials noted that in the face of wildfires, "the extraordinary instincts of wildlife, like bears and elk, guide them to safety." - Houston: updated death toll from Hurricane Beryl, extreme heat:
- Texas deaths from Hurricane Beryl climb to at least 36, including more who lost power in heat (AP)
- Beryl death toll rises to 36 in Houston area, with nine out of Fort Bend County, officials say (Houston Chronicle/MSN):
Experts have cautioned for weeks that the number of deaths will continue to rise as they learn more about conditions surrounding the storm. Forensic examiners across the Houston region have determined loss of power and heat played a growing role in the storm’s damage...Hurricane Beryl’s deadly path across Texas left many residents without power just before a triple-digit heat index descended on the area. - Heat-related Texas deaths climb after Beryl left millions without power for days (LA Times):
Half of the deaths attributed to the storm in Harris County, where Houston is, were heat related, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. - Paris Summer Olympics complicated by extreme heat and water pollution:
- Paris faces 35C heatwave: Are Olympic organisers prepared for high temperatures? (Africa News)
- In Paris, athletes caught in 'particularly intense' heat wave (Global News)
- US Olympic and other teams will bring their own AC units to Paris, undercutting environmental plan (AP)
- Team Canada buying AC units for athletes at Paris Olympics (Global News)
- Men’s Olympic triathlon postponed as Seine remains too contaminated for safe swimming (NBC News)
- Big worries over River Seine’s water quality as triathlon training canceled again (CNN)
- Student athletes play in much warmer world than decades past:
- More Extremely Hot Days for School Sports (Climate Central):
As millions of student athletes begin outdoor practice this late summer, they’re playing in a warmer world than their parents or coaches experienced decades earlier. Extremely hot days have become more frequent since 1970 in 212 (88% of 242) U.S. locations analyzed by Climate Central. - Keeping student athletes safe in the heat (WSAZ-Chicago)
- How To Prevent Heat-Related Illness In Young Athletes (9/4/2021)
- U.N. calls on nations to move faster to cut emissions:
- Earth likely just had its hottest two [three] days in thousands of years (Axios)
- UN asks nations to better prepare, cool the vulnerable as ‘extreme heat epidemic’ breaks records (AP):
Nearly half a million people a year die worldwide from heat related deaths, far more than other weather extremes such as hurricanes, and this is likely an underestimate, a new report by 10 U.N. agencies said. - The heat is on: We must rise to the challenge of rising temperatures, urges UN chief (United Nations)
- VIDEO: U.N. chief urges action on extreme heat, calling it 'the new abnormal' (Yahoo News)
- Transcript: Secretary-General's press conference - on Extreme Heat (United Nations)
- Following Three Hottest Days on Record, Secretary-General Launches Global Action Call to Care for Most Vulnerable, Protect Workers, Boost Resilience Using Data, Science (press release, United Nations)
- Over 70 per cent of global labour force working in extreme heat (United Nations)
'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (Stuff we didn't have time for in today's audio report)...
For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists' Daily Headlines page
- Carbon Capture Bamboozle: Oil companies sold the public on a fake climate solution — and swindled taxpayers out of billions (Vox)
- Extreme ocean temperatures threaten to wipe out Caribbean coral (NBC News)
- An inmate’s body temp was 107.5 when he died. The state of Texas says heat did not kill him. (Texas Standard)
- A Test for Harris: How to Talk About the Green New Deal (NY Times)
- World's Forests Failed To Curb 2023 Climate Emissions, Study Finds (Reuters)
- Companies Are Getting Paid When Governments Phase Out Fossil Fuels (Inside Climate News)
- Campaign Funds And Charity Donations Help Big Oil Wield Power In Sacramento (LA Times)
- Hotter Temperatures Are Causing Trees to Have Heat Strokes (Sierra Magazine)
- Washington Giving Tax Breaks to Data Centers That Threaten Green Energy Push (Seattle Times)
- A Surprising Byproduct Of Wildfires: Contaminated Drinking Water (Washington Post)
- Here’s Where Kamala Harris Stands on Climate (NY Times)
- What Project 2025 would do to climate policy in the US (Grist)
- How to power your home through an outage without a gas generator (Washington Post)
- VIDEO: John Oliver on Trump's Project 2025: Blueprint for the Death of Democracy (This Is Not Cool blog)
- Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
- How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
- Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
- How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry's Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
- The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
- Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
- How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
- Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
- Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here's How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
- Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
- Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
- Exxon's Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
- Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)