Hello and welcome back to The Doomer Dispatch’s weekly climate news roundups delivered every Friday.
At the top of today’s rundown is — you guessed it — the Canadian wildfire smoke that is disrupting life up and down the eastern United States. Outside my window here in northern Virginia, the sky is still as grey and hazy as it has been for the past few days. While dangerous and unfortunate, this whole debacle is sparking more climate conversation than I’ve seen in a while, so there’s a bit of a bright spot in all of this (smoky) mess.
There’s even a chance that you’re reading this article today because your skies are hazy as well. If so, welcome, and please stick around. Staying informed about the climate crisis becomes more important every day as crises like this continue to grip our world with increased frequency.
Side note: If anyone’s feeling climate anxiety from the apocalyptic orange skies, or the smoke curling in their lungs, know that just by reading this short roundup, by choosing to learn and understand even a little, you are making a commitment to a sustainable future — and that’s something to be proud of.
Top stories this week
Smoke from Canadian wildfires is moving across the northeast U.S., affecting over 55 million people. Experts confirm that climate change-driven warming increases the likelihood of wildfire events by making forests drier and more flammable. As a result of the smoke, blanketed in a thick, orange haze, New York City reported some of the worst air quality in the world on Wednesday.
An alarming new study finds that the summer Arctic sea ice could melt a decade earlier than researchers predicted. Now forecast for the 2030s, the melting may be unavoidable even with stronger emissions reductions.
The world’s carbon budget — the 500 billion tons of carbon dioxide that UN scientists estimated we could burn before reaching dangerous warming levels — has been halved in just three years, according to new research.
The United State’s first new nuclear reactor in more than 40 years is now operational in Waynesboro, Georgia. Plant Vogtle’s completion signals a potential paradigm shift for nuclear energy use in the U.S.
Over 90 corporations committed hundreds of alleged human rights abuses while mining for minerals needed for clean energy technology according to a new report from a human rights organization. The report alleges the abuses occurred in mining operations for copper, lithium, cobalt, and other “critical minerals” used to build renewable tech like solar panels, batteries, and wind turbines.
A new bill pending in California’s state legislature would require companies that operate in-state and generate more than $1 billion a year to report all greenhouse gas emissions associated with their products. This unprecedented legislation would provide a fuller look at the emissions associated with big companies’ supply chains and would give the public further agency to hold them accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis.
The Interior Department announced new rules that will block new oil and gas leasing around Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, a culturally significant Native American site. This pro-climate move comes as the Biden administration and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland try to redirect the criticism that followed the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline last week.
Automakers General Motors and Ford struck a deal with Tesla that will allow them to use the electric vehicle manufacturer’s extensive charging network for their future EVs. This means that new Ford and GM electric vehicles will now be compatible with Tesla’s charging locations across the country, greatly expanding the public’s access to EVs.
Oddly, British actor Rowan Atkinson, famous for portraying the comedic Mr. Bean, wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian that argued gasoline cars are better for the environment than electric vehicles. The piece, which made many dubious scientific claims, was quickly debunked by journalists and clean energy experts.
Even as wildfires choke the West with smoke and global temperatures climb, executives at fossil fuel corporations are receiving lavish bonuses for “achieving their climate goals” — goals that are dubiously measured and vastly underreported.
Further reading
Emily Atkin and Arielle Samuelson explain why instead of blaming Canada for the wildfires, we should really be blaming fossil fuel companies in HEATED.
Bill McKibben puts the wildfires into a global perspective in The Crucial Years.
Thank you for joining me for this week’s roundup! I hope you enjoyed it.
OK doomers, I’ll see you next week.
Joey