Notices by The Climate Historian (climatehistories@mastodon.social)

Be like her.

(Illustration by Patrick Léger https://patrick-leger.com/)

#reading #books

A masterful news headline from our sizzling little planet. 👇 🔥 🌏

"Extreme heat cancels London climate change event on adapting to extreme heat"

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/extreme-heat-event-london-cancelled-b3001379.html

#climatechange #extremetemps

It's a striking image, two female leaders - Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - holding the signed trade deal side by side.

Whatever your politics, it's historically notable and visually powerful.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-eu-sign-stalled-trade-deal-they-aim-diversify-us-2026-05-22/

#EU #Mexico #Politics

Interesting reading.

China’s Great Green Wall is one of the largest efforts to stop deserts from advancing, it's a vast band of new forests across northern China that acts as a barrier against desertification.

It has succeeded where many similar projects have stalled or failed, giving other countries both a model to follow and lessons on what to avoid when planning their own greening programmes.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01102-w

BP’s profits didn’t just rise when the Iran conflict disrupted global oil flows, they more than doubled in the first quarter.

Once again, the energy giants made money while households struggled with soaring bills.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/iran-rachel-reeves-simon-francis-government-ukraine-b2966166.html

No comment

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-new-science-panel-includes-9-tech-billionaires-and-just-one-scientist/

Sam Altman: “We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter.”

Meaning: We stole all your knowledge , writing, and art, and now we’re gonna put a meter on it and sell it back to you. You’re welcome.”

When I read Murakami, I feel as though something in my mind opens up, as if he’s shifted the walls of my imagination.

#reading #books

"Democracy is now back to 1985 levels according to some metrics, with 72 percent of the world’s population now living under autocracy. Russia and China are less free today than 20 years ago. And so is the United States".

-Human Rights Watch, World Report 2026

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2026

UN secretary António Guterres is right.

“Every fraction of a degree higher means more hunger, more displacement, more economic hardship and more lives and ecosystems lost."

Fossil fuel companies are deceiving the public and undermining climate progress. Every dollar poured into subsidies for fossil fuels is a dollar diverted from our health, our communities and shared future.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/06/missing-15c-climate-target-is-a-moral-failure-guterres-tells-cop30-summit

#cop30

In his new book, Tim Berners-Lee advocates for the #Fediverse, the a decentralised network of platforms like @Mastodon that communicate through open, decentralised protocols and promote user freedom over corporate control.

Central within his movement is Solid (link 👇), a protocol developed by his company Inrupt, enabling users to store and manage personal data in secure pods and decide who can access it, and allowing them to maintain ownership, and digital autonomy.

https://www.inrupt.com/solid

In 2022, Ireland did something bold. It trusted its artists. 2000 creators received €325 a week, no strings attached. The result was more art, less anxiety, stronger communities, and even economic gains.

The program is now permanent, making Ireland the first countryto prove that supporting imagination pays off.

Trusting people does not weaken societies, it makes them stronger, more inventive, and more resilient. I hope other nations will find the courage to follow.

https://open.substack.com/pub/theclimatehistorian/p/what-happens-when-a-nation-invests?r=1qy42b&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

In 2022, Ireland did something bold. It trusted its artists. 2000 creators received €325 a week, no strings attached. The result was more art, less anxiety, stronger communities, and even economic gains.

Now the program is permanent. Ireland becomes the first country to prove that supporting imagination pays off.

This is a vision of what a humane society can be. If we can trust artists to create, why not teachers, caregivers, or researchers?

Who will follow?

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/ireland-basic-income-artists-program-permanent-1234756981/

In Greece, neo-Nazis like the Spartans posed as “helpers” shopping for the elderly, escorting voters then entered into parliament.

Now UK extremists are copying the same playbook. They call it “concierge nationalism,” with street patrols, escort apps and fake charities that sell hate as care.

Don't be fooled. This isn’t protection. It’s fascism repackaged.

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/08/27/concierge-nationalism-how-the-far-right-is-selling-extremism-as-a-lifestyle-service/

In 2001, Philip Morris argued that smoking was economically beneficial, because smokers die early, saving the government money on pensions.

Today, I'm writing how that same logic -harm as savings, disaster as an inconvenient cost—migrated from Big Tobacco to Big Oil.

From cancer to climate collapse, the strategy hasn’t changed: deny, delay, deflect, and profit.

https://open.substack.com/pub/theclimatehistorian/p/death-as-savings-disaster-as-profit?r=1qy42b&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

This Is Not a Drill: Living the Climate Emergency

🌡️ Japan had hottest June on record

🌡️ Spain records highs of 46C

🌡️ Portugal recorded 46°C in some regions

🌡️France recorded 41.9°C in Vinsobres on June 30, with dozens of monthly records broken.

🌡️Greece reported a high of 43.2°C with minimum temperatures exceeding 31°C in some areas.

🌡️Turkey hit 45°C, with minimums as high as 33°C in some areas.

#climatechange #extremetemps 😓

Today, Thursday, Germany will get 99% of its power from solar and wind.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-30/green-power-set-to-meet-99-of-germany-s-demand-on-thursday?utm_source=cbnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2025-05-01&utm_campaign=Daily+Briefing+01+05+2025

#germany #renewables #energy

De-Googling Update: That’s it, I’ve done it. I’ve officially broken up with Google.

No more Gmail, no more Google services. I wasn’t exactly a superfan to begin with, but even so, I was still surprised to see just how much of my data had accumulated there over the years.

It's a clean break, a small act of rebellion, if you will. And it feels good.

#degoogle

There is no doubt in my mind, especially after yesterday's staged meeting with the President of El Salvador, that this is the beginning of state terror in American policy.

Traveling to the United States now may involve significant personal risks.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cwy03j9vddlt

#USPolitics #usa

The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, an Allianz insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/03/climate-crisis-on-track-to-destroy-capitalism-warns-allianz-insurer

#climatechange #capitalism