News items for September 22, 2023

demo in Bonn at the beginning of COP 23, November 4, 2017 by Leonhard Lenz

• 1. Humanity has ‘opened gates to hell’ by letting climate crisis worsen

  These were the words of UN Secretary General António Guterres as he opened the UN climate ambition summit in New York this week. The summit saw angry denunciations of the fossil fuel industry but was undercut by the absence of many of the biggest carbon-emitting countries.

  The Guardian Climate Action, Climate Summit

• 2. First Nation promised $200M for Columbia River salmon reintroduction

  The Biden administration has pledged over $200 million toward reintroducing salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin in an agreement with tribes that includes a stay on litigation for 20 years.

  Corvallis Gazette-Times First Nation, Salmon

• 3. CA installs 10,000 EV fast chargers, but needs to quadruple that

  The state has installed a record number of EV fast chargers, but it’s still not enough to keep pace with future demand.

  Grist Electric Vehicles, Infrastructure

• 4. Reach of wildfire smoke is going global and undoing progress on clean air

  In the United States, smoke from wildfires is undoing progress from the Clean Air Act. In poorer countries, the situation is even worse.

  New York Times Clean Air Act, Wildfires

• 5. Racing to save salmon habitat in drought-stricken BC

  When tens of thousands of pink salmon became stranded in the Indian River during September’s unrelenting drought, the Tsleil-Waututh nation raced into action, continuing their work to rehabilitate culturally significant spawning streams crippled under the twin pressures of climate change and industrial development.

  The Narwhal First Nation, Salmon

• 6. The threats facing WA’s cougars

  Expanded development on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, viewed as a climate refuge, is encroaching on prime wildlife habitat. As big cats find it harder to avoid people, many are winding up dead.

  Investigate West Development, Habitat, Wildlife

• 7. ‘We’re treated like machines’

  Wildfire fighters describe a mental health crisis on the frontlines: Extreme working conditions, low pay, and high turnover are leading to a crisis exacerbated by more intense wildfires.

  The Narwhal Mental health, Wildfires

• 8. Canada, a giant oil producer, urges others to end fossil fuel subsidies

  Rising oil and gas prices for consumers have made it harder for the G-20 to cut energy subsidies, despite a pledge made 14 years ago.

  Washington Post Environmental policy, Fossil fuels

• 9. ‘It was thought that it couldn’t burn’

  Even in wet Olympic National Park, bigger blazes are becoming more common as climate change results in lower precipitation and those dense forests become ripe with dry fuels for the flame.

  Northwest Public Broadcasting Climate Change, Wildfires

• 10. Could selling sewage save the Salish Sea?

  Waste flushed into Puget Sound harms fish and marine life. A nutrient pricing system—like WA’s cap-and-trade program—may curb pollution.

  Crosscut Waste, Water pollution

More News from September 22, 2023

• White House directs federal agencies to account for climate change in budgets

  The directive is intended to embed the cost of climate change into all federal agencies. But it is not legally binding and could come with legal and logistical challenges.

  New York Times Climate Change, Climate Policy

• Biochar is a ‘shovel-ready’ climate technology, but can it scale up?

  The soil soot is a small-scale solution that climate advocates—and corporations—want more of.

  Grist Climate solutions, Climate Tech