Oct 28 Bill Gates calls for climate fight to shift focus from curbing emissions to reducing human suffering By Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press Gates wrote a new 17-page memo hoping to have an impact on next month’s United Nations climate change conference in Brazil. He’s urging world leaders to ask whether the little money designated for climate is being spent on the right… Continue reading
Oct 27 Watch 9:05 Vermont town debates rebuilding on higher ground after devastating floods By William Brangham, Frank Carlson From Texas to North Carolina, from New England to the Midwest, communities are facing a growing threat from flash flooding. Many of those regions already lack enough affordable housing, a problem made worse by these storms. For our climate series,… Continue watching
Oct 27 How climate change is fueling Hurricane Melissa’s ferocity By Sibi Arasu, Associated Press The warming of the world's oceans caused by climate change helped double Hurricane Melissa's wind speed in less than 24 hours over the weekend, climate scientists said Monday. Continue reading
Oct 22 U.N. chief defends science and weather forecasting as Trump threatens both By Associated Press U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has led an anti-science push, and Trump has called climate change "a con job." Hundreds of weather forecasters have been fired. Guterres also warned of "the dangerous and existential threat of climate change."… Continue reading
Oct 21 Watch 3:27 Young photographer documents disappearing salt marshes to inspire action By Grace Go, Becky Wandel, Marie Cusick, Briget Ganske, Lizzie Stoner, Joey Wu Salt marshes exist on every coast of the U.S., but these important wetlands are succumbing quickly to the effects of sea level rise caused by climate change. Grace Go of our journalism training program, PBS News Student Reporting Labs, has… Continue watching
Oct 20 Watch 6:41 Permafrost thawed by climate change threatens remote villages in Alaska By Ismael M. Belkoura, Amalia Hout-Marchand, Leonardo Pini, Athan Yanos In the Arctic tundra of Alaska, climate change is forcing an Alaska Native village to relocate. Rising temperatures are melting the underground permafrost. The melted ice then mixes with the soil, creating unstable land the Yupʼik people call Alaskan quicksand. Continue watching
Oct 20 Seed bank in England marks 25 years of preserving plant diversity By Mustakim Hasnath, Associated Press The Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew marks its 25th anniversary. It stores over 2.5 billion wild plant seeds from around 40,000 species to guard against extinction. Continue reading
Oct 17 U.S. blocks a global fee on shipping emissions as international meeting ends without new regulations By Sibi Arasu, Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press The world's largest maritime nations had been discussing ways to move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels. Continue reading
Oct 15 Watch 5:54 Why a billionaire mining executive is betting on green energy By William Brangham and Janet Tobias, Global Health Reporting Center This week, countries may approve a carbon tax on the global shipping industry. The International Maritime Organization is poised to approve new levies on ships for their emissions, but the Trump administration argues it's a harmful tax. William Brangham has… Continue watching
Oct 15 UN agency: CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather By Jamey Keaten, Seth Borenstein, Associated Press Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilization and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather, the United Nations weather agency… Continue reading