Notices by Kees van der Leun (sustainable2050@mastodon.energy), page 2

Europe must choose between AI and climate goals, data center lobby says.
OK then: climate goals, please.
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-choose-ai-climate-goals-data-center-chief-warns/

So apparently, gullible investors and gullible investment/pension funds just gave far-right society breaker Musk another $75 billion to spend as he pleases.
#SpaceX

Confirmed: atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa averaged 432.3 ppm in May, probably the highest in 15 million years, and 1.8 ppm higher than last year.

The government of Laos has announced the suspension of imports of most fossil fuel-powered vehicles until the end of 2026 and imposed strict price controls on electric vehicles to ensure affordability
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2026/05/23/laos-halts-fossil-fuel-vehicle-imports-and-sets-price-controls-for-electric-cars

Satellite imagery shows erasure of southern Gaza as Israel expands control.
Detailed satellite pictures with before/after slider. Even cemeteries were completely destroyed.
https://aje.news/0aqrsj

At school, we learned that the river Rhine had a stable water flow, thanks to the glaciers and snow masses in the Alps. Guess what.

In just 14 years, the Swiss glaciers lost almost 25% of their 2010 ice volume, which corresponds to a wastage of around 15 km3 of ice. New paper:
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/20/3111/2026/

Israel issues displacement order for Tyre, one of Lebanon’s biggest cities, day after killing dozens.
https://aje.news/7q3sv8

Looking at a blue sky with planes flying by.
Every 737 burns 3,000 litres (25 bathtubs) of kerosene per hour. That's as much fossil fuel as three gas-heated homes consume in a year. But with twice the climate damage, by the indirect warming effects of burning it in the stratosphere.

Microsoft - a preferred supplier of Dutch government - and Meta shared names of civil servants and scientists involved in European regulation on tech companies with the Trump regime.
Scandalous and intimidating, as one of them Claes de Vreese, says.
https://nos.nl/l/2615391

Big "Refugees welcome" demonstration in Utrecht, just now. A counterweight to the 'spontaneous local' violent protests against asylum seekers organised by the extreme right, and used by their politicians to claim that 'the people' are against taking up refugees.

A Russian ship sank in mysterious circumstances. It may have been carrying submarine nuclear reactors to North Korea
The ship set sail just two months after Kim Jong Un had sent troops to assist with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, end 2024.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/12/world/a-russian-ship-sank-in-mysterious-circumstances-it-may-have-been-carrying-nuclear-reactors-to-north-korea
Via Ivo Daalder on Bluesky

I have the impression that, while public awareness of climate change is widespread, awareness of its irreversibility and long-term lock-in remains limited and substantially below scientific understanding.

Are you aware of opinion research / surveys that produced data on this?

People who are not aware of the practical irreversibility of climate change may think 'Sometime in the future, we'll figure out how to reduce emissions to zero, and then everything will be fine again'. While it won't.
So it could lead to too little sense of urgency.

In her introduction to an event on climate communication, initiator Mare de Wit quoted a man in the movie La Haine.
While falling from a tall building, he kept saying "Jusqu'ici, tout va bien."
So far, so good. A metaphor for climate change, for those of us who weren't hit hard by it yet.

Two months ago today:
Trump Demands ‘Unconditional Surrender’ by Iran, Shifting U.S. Objectives Again https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/us/politics/trump-unconditional-surrender-iran.html

Europe is the fastest-warming continent: over half a degree C per decade; double the global average!
It's already 2.5°C warmer than in pre-industrial times here.

From @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social European State of the Climate 2025: https://climate.copernicus.eu/esotc/2025/why-europe-warming-so-quickly

Iran war disrupts the printed circuit board supply chain, raises costs for tech firms. The unexpected fallout of the Trump-Netanyahu war. In this case, a critical Saudi producer hasn't been able to restart production of PPE after being hit by Iran. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-war-disrupts-the-circuit-board-supply-chain-raises-costs-tech-firms-2026-04-27/

US being 'humiliated' by Iran, German chancellor Merz says
https://abcnews.com/International/live-updates/iran-live-updates-marines-uss-tripoli-seized-iranian/?id=132196152

Trump fires all 24 members of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s governing body
Dismissal of the National Science Board is widely seen as latest move to erase NSF’s independence. https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-fires-nsf-s-oversight-board