Notices by Athena (climatehistories@mastodon.social)

"Ironically, many people—residents of regions devastated by fossil-fuel-driven hurricanes or have their houses burned down in parts of Los Angeles, cheer a fossil fuel President Trump.

This paradox speaks volumes about the emotionally charged relationship between human behaviour, politics, and climate change. It’s a reminder of the cognitive dissonance at play: cheering for policies that contribute to the very crises being endured."
👇

https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com/p/how-a-fossil-fuel-president-gains

#climatechange #USPolitics

A Woman, Her Hair, and the Liberation of Growing Older

"It all started when I decided to let my hair go grey. A few years ago, standing in front of my bathroom mirror - dye in one hand and a sinking feeling in my chest. For years, I’d been fighting a battle against my roots—every six weeks, like clockwork. But that day, something shifted. I looked at the box of dye and thought, What if I just... stopped?

And so, I did"

https://marginalspace.substack.com/p/a-woman-her-hair-and-the-liberation

Writing Against Time

I thought my last post for the year would be different – a bit lighter, perhaps. But yesterday someone asked me why I write as if I am running out of time. I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t even realised it myself.

Then it hit me.

I write all these stories and thoughts because I really feel like I am running out of time, and I feel that urgency every single day.

Full article on The Climate Historian 👇

https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com/p/writing-against-time

That is fantastic news! Paul Watson’s release is a victory, but the war on whales continues. These majestic creatures are not trophies or targets—they are sentient being and they're vital to our oceans and our planet.

How much longer will we let greed and outdated traditions justify their slaughter?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/17/denmark-refuses-to-extradite-whaling-activist-paul-watson-to-japan-says-lawyer

#whales #nature #whaling

Seriously, I'm at a loss for words. Sometimes, I feel like yelling just to wake people up from their indifference towards our planet and their own health.

"Thirteen vapes are thrown away every second in the UK – more than a million a day – leading to an “environmental nightmare”, according to research."

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/16/more-than-a-million-vapes-a-day-in-uk-thrown-away-says-research

#environment #waste

Still hanging out on Facebook or Instagram, are we?

Check out what’s waiting for you below 👇

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8j9e1x9z2xo

Yet the most glaring omission in #COP29 in Baku wasn’t financial. It was the failure to address the elephant in the room that stares us all in the face: fossil fuels.

Without drastically cutting emissions, all the financial commitments in the world will amount to little more than patchwork.

Fossil fuels must be front and centre, not sidestepped if we’re serious about real progress. Anything less is just rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship.

https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com/p/the-grand-finale-in-baku-money-promised

#climatechange

The once-aspirational COPs, which were envisioned to be a vehicle for solving global heating, have become just another platform for grandstanding and greenwashing where nations, especially petrostates, seek reputation gains over real action.

What was meant to be a collective effort of nations to tackle #climatechange now feels like an elaborate performance: bold speeches, headline-grabbing pledges, and business as usual once the cameras stop rolling.

#COP29 #climate

https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com/p/climate-crisis-or-climate-theater

Extreme weather is driving undocumented migration between Mexico & the U.S., with climate change fueling droughts, storms, and hardships that push more people to risk border crossings, a new study finds.

Rising sea levels & extreme weather will force millions to migrate, creating a surge of climate migrants. This shift poses major social, economic, and political challenges as nations adapt to new population dynamics.

https://phys.org/news/2024-11-weather-extremes-illegal-migration-mexico.html

#climatechange #migration

A few days ago, I was asked on Mastodon what I thought about the upcoming #COP29 in Baku, #azerbaijan I honestly don’t see the point in following COPs anymore.

COPs have become polished brochures of climate politics—designed to look good but lacking the depth of genuine substance. One cannot ignore the influence of petrostates and the big fossil-fuel corporations in shaping the COPs’ agreements.

Read on The Climate Historian 👇

https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com/p/climate-crisis-or-climate-theater

#climatechange #climatepolitics

Can an EV Make It to Lapland? A Study of Attitudes in Finland

A recent study from the University of Turku, Finland, reveals that electric vehicle (EV) ownership may not be as environmentally friendly as it seems. While EVs are often touted as a climate-friendly alternative to internal combustion engine cars, the reality is more complex.

https://theclimatehistorian.substack.com/p/can-an-ev-make-it-to-lapland

#EVs #transportation #fossilfuels

Twenty years after "microplastics" was first mentioned, we now see their widespread impact. They come from tires, textiles, cosmetics, and more, and are found in food, drink, and even the human body, causing harm. With pollution expected to double by 2040, there’s an urgent need to find solutions to prevent unintended consequences.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl2746

#microplastics #pollution #PlasticPollution

One of the most disheartening phenomena of the social media era is to witness the downfall of individuals we once regarded as important voices of reason in their respective fields.

https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/richard-dawkins-lied-about-the-algerian

#socialmedia

This arrived in my inbox this morning. I I have no idea who is behind it, but it's absolutely brilliant.

They're completely tearing this guy apart.

#USPolitics #Election2024

This is one of the most heartbreaking pieces I've read this week, featuring 2 images that capture the threat of a warming planet.

A couple’s holiday photos taken 15 years apart at the same Swiss glacier, now a lake due to rapid melting.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/06/it-made-me-cry-photos-taken-15-years-apart-show-melting-swiss-glaciers?utm_term=66b71121d9e53c076a01799f1a13e33f&utm_campaign=SaturdayEdition&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=saturdayedition_email

#climatechange #globalwarming #glaciers

Momentous day for #Bangladesh 🇧🇩

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the banker of the poor, as he has been known, will head the country’s interim government after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stepped down and fled the country amid a mass uprising against her rule led mostly by students.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nobel-laureate-yunus-to-lead-bangladesh-interim-gov-t-president-s-office/ar-AA1olvNP?ocid=BingNewsSerp

#MohammadYunus

Vermont became the first state to hold oil companies financially liable for climate damages.

The Climate Superfund Act directs the state to charge major fossil fuel companies potentially billions of dollars to pay for climate impacts to which their emissions have contributed.

Unsurprisingly, the law is expected to face legal challenges from the industry.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/31/vermont-oil-companies-climate-superfund-act

#climatechange #climate #Vermont #ClimateintheCourts

India is currently experiencing a severe heatwave, with very high temperatures in many areas. The heat is so intense that a TV presenter fainted live on air.

#heatwaves #India #climatechange

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/doordarshan-anchor-faints-during-live-news-reading-of-heatwave-updates-5490762

Liz Truss, here's the hard truth: the so-called "deep state" sabotaging your agenda?

It's actually all the people struggling with poverty, unable to pay their mortgages, and forced to use food banks because living costs are too high.

Enough of this neoliberal nonsense.The mirror holds the only culprit for your disastrous tenure in government.

You're not the victim of shadowy forces; you're the architect of your own downfall. Take responsibility.

#UKPolitics

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/21/liz-truss-deep-state-cpac-far-right

So, here it is another useful idiot for Bannon

"I wanted to cut taxes," says Liss Truss.

I am so sick of hearing this neoliberal nonsense.

The claim that cutting top rates of tax will boost growth is a prime example of what Paul Krugman has referred to a "zombie economics' - 'ideas that have failed repeatedly in practice, and should be dead, but somehow are still shambling around eating policymakers brains'.

#economics #politics #neoliberalism

video credit: @implausibleblog