Inside Climate News

Thank you for supporting InsideClimate News. Updates from Today's Climate 07/08/2020 Intense Arctic Wildfires Set a Pollution Record Intense wildfires in the Arctic in June released more polluting gases into the Earth's atmosphere than in any other month in 18 years of data collection, European scientists said in a report Tuesday. The fires released 59 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide that month, greater than all the carbon emissions produced by Norway, an oil-producing country, in a year. (The New York Times) Polar Bear Moms Stick to Their Dens, Even When Faced With Life-Threatening Dangers Like Oil Exploration With oil development expected to expand in northern Alaska, and with technology meant to detect Alaskan bear dens effective less than half the time, polar bear mothers are at particular risk of death, a new study warns. Mother bears are unlikely to abandon their dens when they are disturbed—for example, by fossil fuel drilling—even if the disturbance is life-threatening, it found. (InsideClimate News) Climate Woes Growing for Women, Hit Worst by Displacement and Migration From sexual violence in displacement camps to extra farm work and greater risk of illness, women shoulder a bigger burden from worsening extreme weather and other climate pressures that are pushing people to move for survival, a global aid group said on Tuesday. Forced displacement will likely be one of the most common and damaging effects on vulnerable people if warming isn't curbed, it said. (Reuters) As Extreme Weather Intensifies, Can Minority Communities Rely on the Police to Keep Them Safe? In some communities of color, residents report that police are nowhere to be seen when natural disasters hit. When they are present, some say officers only make things worse. As protests over defunding police continue, and as climate change fuels more extreme weather, some communities are discussing what role law enforcement should play in emergency responses. (InsideClimate News) Climate Battles Are Moving Into the Courtroom, and Lawyers Are Getting Creative Around the globe, lawyers are filing lawsuits in response to slow international negotiations, demanding urgent climate action and using creative new legal arguments to challenge companies and governments in court, Reuters reports. Two decades ago, only a handful of climate-related lawsuits had ever been filed worldwide. Today, that number is 1,600, with 1,200 of those lawsuits in the U.S. alone. (Reuters) Even if We Start to Fix Climate Change, the Proof May Not Show Up for 30 Years The young climate activists clamoring today for rapid cuts to the world's fossil fuel emissions could be well into their 30s or 40s before the impact of those changes becomes apparent, a new study warns. Even if humans cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent or more a year, it could still take decades before it's clear those actions are starting to slow Earth's warming, researchers said. (The Washington Post) Brazilian Companies Join Call for Action on Amazon Deforestation A group of 39 companies, including some of Brazil's largest firms, expressed concerns over deforestation in the Amazon rainforest on Tuesday, following global investor demands that President Jair Bolsonaro end the destruction or risk divestment. Deforestation of Brazil's rainforest climbed 34 percent in the first five months of 2020 from a year ago after hitting an 11-year high in 2019, government data shows. (Reuters)