Jill Suttie – How to Raise an Environmentalist

We read it in the news every day. From climate change to overfishing to deforestation, it seems that we are on the brink of a natural disaster on an epic scale. If we cannot do something to reverse these trends, we will surely make our planet uninhabitable. But how do we encourage people—especially our kids—to care more and take action? …

Axel Bojanowski – World Risk Index – The Human Factor in Natural Disasters

How vulnerable is your country to natural disasters? The 2016 World Risk Index is now out and it shows that infrastructure is a key factor in the ability to withstand events like hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Over and over again, we are reminded of the horrific rule, with a particularly stark example coming in 2010. That year, large cities in …

Five islands in Solomons submerged due to sea-level rise

Aerial and Satellite images show rising sea levels have caused five islands in the Solomons in the South Pacific to completely disappear, the first scientific evidence that confirms the dramatic impact of climate change on low-lying islands. A newly published study by Australian academics using time series aerial and satellite imagery of 33 reef islands from 1947- 2014 reveals that 11 islands …

Alex Kirby – El Niño and war drive aid agencies to the brink

Climate News Network, 30 December, 2015 – The global humanitarian system, designed to save those at risk of dying because of human or natural disasters, faces unprecedented demands in 2016 from levels of strain it has never before had to face, a leading development agency says. With more than 10 million people in a single African country expected to need …

American Academy of Pediatrics links global warming to the health of children

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement that links climate change with the health of children, urging pediatricians and politicians to work together to solve this crisis and protect children from climate-related threats including natural disasters, heat stress, lower air quality, increased infections, and threats to food and water supplies. “Every child need a safe and …

Chapman University’s second annual Survey of American Fears released

What Americans fear most in 2015 Chapman University recently completed its second annual Chapman University Survey of American Fears (2015). Each wave of the survey focuses upon what Americans fear, the potential causes of those fears and the consequences of fear. In addition, the comprehensive survey includes extensive background information about respondents, allowing for examinations of how fears vary by …

Catey Hill – Report: 43% of U.S. homes are at high risk of natural disaster

Four hurricanes are currently brewing in the Pacific and Atlantic. Wildfires have ravaged more than 8 million acres in the U.S. in 2015 alone. And in just the first two weeks of May this year, nearly 150 tornadoes touched down in the U.S. Many American homeowners might still be surprised at the risk their home faces of getting hit by …

Naomi Klein – Change Everything or Face A Global Katrina

For me, the road to This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate begins in a very specific time and place. The time was exactly ten years ago. The place was New Orleans, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The road in question was flooded and littered with bodies. Today I am posting, for the first time, the entire section on Hurricane Katrina …

Poor Farmers Bear The Brunt Natural Disasters In Developing Countries

Nearly a quarter of damages wrought by natural disasters on the developing world are borne by the agricultural sector, finds a new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) study released in Sendai, Japan on March 17, 2015 at the UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction. Media reports and a FAO news release said: Twenty-two percent of …