Top 10 Climate Stories of the Week
You don't want to miss this week's top 10 most important climate news stories.
Hello and welcome back to The Doomer Dispatch, weekly climate news to spur doomers into doers.
This week’s post is in a lighter style. I’m visiting home this weekend and spent all Thursday (the day that I write the bulk of the newsletter) driving eleven hours from Virginia to Massachusetts. Though it’s a lighter post today, fear not, you ravenous beasts. I promise you’ll still get your fill of climate news.
Also, beasts, check the bottom of the post for some important housekeeping questions after you’ve devoured this week’s news.
Top 10 Climate Stories of the Week
On Monday, Oregon became the tenth U.S. state to ban food containers made of polystyrene foam, the same material Styrofoam is made of.
Earlier this week, the White House yet again broke its climate promises and endorsed coal, oil, and gas advocate Senator Joe Manchin’s plan to expedite fossil fuel projects, all the while spinning the bill as climate-friendly because of its minor benefit to clean energy development.
A new survey from Gallup, a leading American analytics company, finds that support for nuclear power among U.S. adults rose to 55 percent this year, the highest level in a decade.
Energy experts are questioning whether the new EPA power plant regulations will actually bolster carbon capture technology, as many once projected, or leave it behind in favor of shifting to renewable energy instead.
Republican lawmakers in Texas, the leading renewable energy producing state, are attempting to stem the industry’s growth with overly cumbersome regulation while simultaneously loosening rules for natural gas producers.
An intense heatwave in Southeast Asia is breaking records for the hottest recorded temperatures of all-time in nations such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and more.
Wildfires are razing Western Canada, burning 964,000 acres since last week and forcing 30,000 residents of the province of Alberta to evacuate.
A slew of deadly floods and landslides killed more than 400 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; government rescue workers and local residents are now working to recover victims from the fallout.
According to a new analysis from Grist, if emissions continue at their current pace, detention facilities operated on tribal reservations “could see at least 50 days per year in temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century.”
Colorado is poised to pass the nation’s first-ever law that would ban utilities (like electricity and gas providers) from using ratepayer bill money for political lobbying or advertising.
Some quick housekeeping
It’s been a little over two months since I started the Dispatch, and now I’m looking to spice things up. Before starting the newsletter, I worked primarily on freelance long-form climate articles like this one on green infrastructure for the Boston Hassle. I miss writing those articles! While I love providing accessible rundowns of weekly climate news, I also miss the creative dopamine hit of producing something original.
So, I’m thinking of two different options for moving forward that would both satisfy my need to write original pieces, as well as continue to provide the weekly climate news I built the newsletter on.
Option 1: I continue to provide the regular Dispatch, but once a month I release an original piece of climate journalism.
Option 2: I shorten the weekly roundups to this “top ten” style but also introduce “mini” 800-word climate essays that I would post either on Tuesdays or on weekends.
What option tickles YOUR fancy? I think I’m leaning towards option 2, but I would love to hear reader thoughts on this. Let me know in the comments!
Anyways- thank you for joining me for this week’s Dispatch! I hope you enjoyed.
OK doomers, I’ll see you next week.
-Joey
Awesome as usual. I was surprised Texas was the US leader in renewable energy. Thanks for keeping me informed! Option 2 sounds good