Susanna Pershern / Submerged Resources Center/ National Park Service / public domain
By Melissa Gaskill
Two decades ago scientists and volunteers along the Virginia coast started tossing seagrass seeds into barren seaside lagoons. Disease and an intense hurricane had wiped out the plants in the 1930s, and no nearby meadows could serve as a naturally dispersing source of seeds to bring them back.
<p>The seeding effort eventually delivered more than 70 million seeds — and it paid off, creating some 9,000 acres of the underwater plants.</p>
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</div></blockquote></div><p>Now monitoring of these restored meadows reveals multiple benefits to their restoration, including substantial increases in fish and invertebrate abundance, improved water clarity, and significant trapping of carbon and nitrogen.</p><p>"Planting adult seagrass is very labor intensive, but we started looking at using seeds in the lab and found it was quite easy," said biologist Robert "JJ" Orth, lead author on a new <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/41/eabc6434" target="_blank">paper</a> about the project. "These areas have good water quality, are shallow and are near the ocean so they get bathed in cooler water — perfect conditions. It was a surprise how quickly it happened."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMzMxNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjU4MzU3NX0.r56VbB8AxUb2Q4G3uoSDAejRc-zg8bYudl3C8kV5saQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="6c88d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5909dc34f2c554d80a1f4b0ccefb3e5f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Restored seagrass beds in Virginia now provide habitat for hundreds of thousands of scallops. Bob Orth, Virginia Institute of Marine Science / CC BY 2.0
<p>The paper is part of a growing trend of evidence suggesting seagrass meadows can be easier to restore than other coastal habitats.</p><p>Successful seagrass-restoration methods include <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304377099000078?via%3Dihub" target="_blank">transplanting shoots</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1061-2971.2004.00314.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mechanized planting</a> and, more recently, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17438-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">biodegradable mats</a>. Removing threats, proximity to donor seagrass beds, planting techniques, project size and site selection all play roles in a restoration effort's success.</p><p>Human assistance isn't always necessary, though. In areas where some beds remain, seagrass can even recover on its own when stressors are reduced or removed. For example, seagrass began to recover when Tampa Bay improved its water quality by reducing nitrogen loads from runoff by roughly 90%.</p><p>But more and more, seagrass meadows struggle to hang on.</p><p>The marine flowering plants have declined globally since the 1930s and currently disappear at a rate equivalent to a football field every 30 minutes, according to the <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/out-blue-value-seagrasses-environment-and-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">United Nations Environment Programme</a>. And research published in 2018 found the rate of decline is <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018GB005941" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">accelerating</a> in many regions.</p><p>The causes of decline vary and overlap, depending on the region. They include thermal stress from climate change; human activities such as dredging, anchoring and coastal infrastructure; and intentional removal in tourist areas. In addition, increased runoff from land carries sediment that clouds the water, blocking sunlight the plants need for photosynthesis. Runoff can also carry contaminants and nutrients from fertilizer that disrupt habitats and cause algal blooms.</p><p>All that damage comes with a cost.</p>The Value of Seagrass
<p>As with ecosystems like rainforests and <a href="https://therevelator.org/mangroves-climate-change/" target="_blank">mangroves</a>, loss of seagrass increases carbon dioxide emissions. And that spells trouble not just for certain habitats but for the whole planet.</p><p>Although seagrass covers at most 0.2% of the seabed, it <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/seagrass-secret-weapon-fight-against-global-heating" target="_blank">accounts for 10%</a> of the ocean's capacity to store carbon and soils, and these meadows store carbon dioxide an estimated 30 times faster than most terrestrial forests. Slow decomposition rates in seagrass sediments contribute to their <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238506081_Assessing_the_capacity_of_seagrass_meadows_for_carbon_burial_Current_limitations_and_future_strategies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">high carbon burial rates</a>. In Australia, according to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.15204" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">research</a> by scientists at Edith Cowan University, loss of seagrass meadows since the 1950s has increased carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equivalent to 5 million cars a year. The United Nations Environment Programme reports that a 29% decline in seagrass in Chesapeake Bay between 1991 and 2006 resulted in an estimated loss of up to 1.8 million tons of carbon.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMzMxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDk0NDAwOX0.ILZN1S7VzsMsdiF6usSunDgL0wYRlgtFEoLb5Hinwq4/img.jpg?width=980" id="3b37c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="06cc09d311c7b9b0d90ae063f04bbb5b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Eelgrass in the river delta at Prince William Sound, Alaska. Alaska ShoreZone Program NOAA / NMFS / AKFSC; Courtesy of Mandy Lindeberg / NOAA / NMFS / AKFSC
<p>Seagrasses also protect costal habitats. A healthy meadow slows wave energy, reduces erosion and lowers the risk of flooding. In Morro Bay, California, a 90% decline in the seagrass species known as eelgrass caused extensive erosion, according to a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272771420303528?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">paper</a> from researchers at California Polytechnic State University.</p><p>"Right away, we noticed big patterns in sediment loss or erosion," said lead author Ryan Walter. "Many studies have shown this on individual eelgrass beds, but very few studies looked at it on a systemwide scale."</p><p>In the tropics, seagrass's natural protection can reduce the need for expensive and often-environmentally unfriendly <a href="https://www.nioz.nl/en/news/zeegras-spaart-stranden-en-geld" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">beach nourishments</a> regularly conducted in tourism areas.</p><p>Seagrass ecosystems improve water quality and clarity, filtering particles out of the water column and preventing resuspension of sediment. This role could be even more important in the future. By producing oxygen through photosynthesis, meadows could help offset decreased oxygen levels caused by warmer water temperatures (oxygen is less soluble in warm than in cold water).</p><p>The meadows also provide vital habitat for a wide variety of marine life, including fish, sea turtles, birds, marine mammals such as manatees, invertebrates and algae. They provide nursery habitat for <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/32636/seagrass.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">roughly 20%</a> of the world's largest fisheries — an <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/seagrass-meadows-harbor-wildlife-for-centuries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimated 70%</a> of fish habitats in Florida alone.</p><p>Conversely, their disappearance can contribute to die-offs of marine life. The loss of more than 20 square miles of seagrass in Florida's Biscayne Bay may have helped set the stage for a widespread <a href="https://www.wlrn.org/2020-08-14/the-seagrass-died-that-may-have-triggered-a-widespread-fish-kill-in-biscayne-bay" target="_blank">fish kill</a> in summer 2020. Lack of grasses to produce oxygen left the basin more vulnerable when temperatures rose and oxygen levels dropped as a result, says Florida International University professor Piero Gardinali.</p>Damaged Systems, a Changing Climate
<p>Governments and conservationists around the world have already put a lot of effort into coastal restoration efforts. And that's helped some seagrass populations.</p><p>Where stressors remain, though, restoration grows more complicated. <a href="https://www.rug.nl/research/portal/en/publications/the-future-of-seagrass-ecosystem-services-in-a-changing-world(3a8c56db-7bed-4c9e-ac7f-c72453e2a102).html" target="_blank">Research</a> published this September found that only 37% of seagrass restorations have survived. Newly restored meadows remain vulnerable to the original stressors that depleted them, as well as to storms — and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate change</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMzMyMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzY3MTExM30.z7W72RvpB9iQMUIeVr7IA0G8dzqmtz19gLinEoTfBpA/img.jpg?width=980" id="9e386" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9d2aa1b4aba58ffe18d83acaa13f10f2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Seagrass in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. Alicia Wellman / Florida Fish and Wildlife / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
<p>In Chesapeake Bay a cold-water species of seagrass is currently hitting its heat limit, especially in summer, according to Alexander Challen Hyman of University of Florida's School of Natural Resources and Environment. As waters continue to warm due to climate change, the species likely will disappear there.</p><p>Climate-driven sea-level rise complicates the problem as well. Seagrasses thrive at specific depths — too shallow and they dry out or are eaten, too deep and there isn't enough light for photosynthesis.</p>But There’s Good News, Too
<p>Luckily, left to its own devices, a seagrass meadow can flourish for hundreds of years, according to a <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.1861" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">paper</a> published last year by Hyman and other researchers from the University of Florida. The researchers arrived at their conclusion by looking at shells of living mollusks and fossil shells to estimate the ages of meadows in Florida's Big Bend region on the Gulf Coast.</p><p>That area has extensive, relatively pristine seagrass meadows. "Our motivation was to understand the past history of these systems, and shells store a lot of history," said co-author Michal Kowalewski.</p><p>A high degree of similarity between living and dead shells indicates a stable area, while a mismatch suggests an area shifted from seagrass to barren sand. The researchers found that long-term accumulations of shells resembled living ones, suggesting that the seagrass habitats have been stable over time.</p><p>That stability allows biodiversity to thrive, creating conditions where specialist species can survive and flourish, according to Hyman.</p><p>Discovering the long-term stability of seagrass meadows has implications for choosing restoration sites, Kowalewski notes.</p><p>"There must be reasons they thrive in one place, while a mile away they don't and fossil data says they probably never did," he said. "If we remove a seagrass patch, we cannot hope to plant it somewhere else. It's not just the seagrass that is special. The location at which it's found is special, too."</p><p>A better approach is conserving these habitats in the first place, but we're not doing enough of that right now. The UN reports that marine protected areas safeguard just 26% of recorded seagrass meadows, compared with 40% of coral reefs and 43% of mangroves.</p><div id="0e43d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5dd416de57a6668bb7b310f46cb45a94"><blockquote class="instagram-media"
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</div></blockquote></div><p>In the meantime, small actions can make a big difference — such as fertilizer ordinances, for example, Gardinali suggested.</p><p>"Nitrogen and phosphorus are the problem," he said. "It's an easy first step. We can change the way we do small things, one at a time."</p><p>Everything we do at this point will help, not only seagrass but everything that depends on it.</p><p>"These habitats are so vital," Hyman says. "Putting aside erosion control and all these benefits people might not find as important, they harbor juvenile stages of all these marine species we like to eat — blue crabs, for example. From that standpoint alone, seagrass provides countless benefits to the economy."</p><p>Those benefits have mostly gone ignored in favor of more visible, charismatic land-based habitats. That needs to change, the experts say.</p><p>"What the trees in the Amazon rainforest provide for that system is what eelgrass provides in estuarine systems," said Walter. "So many ecosystem services, beyond just being a beautiful grass."</p><p>One that, if we let it, will provide those services for hundreds of years.</p><p><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/gaskill/" target="_blank">Melissa Gaskill</a> is a freelance science writer based in Austin whose work has appeared in Scientific American, Mental Floss, Newsweek, Alert Diver and many other publications. She is the co-author of A Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles and author of Pandas to Penguins: Ethical Encounters with Animals at Risk.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/seagrass-climate-change/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>. </em></p>
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A team of scientists found microplastics in every snow sample taken from Mount Everest. Mariusz Potocki / National Geographic
Apparently, there ain't no mountain high enough to keep away the twin pressures of plastic pollution and the climate crisis.
<p>A series of newly-published studies based on a National Geographic expedition to Mount Everest in 2019 provide a shocking picture of how human activity is impacting the highest point from sea level on Earth. One of the studies even found <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/microplastics" target="_self">microplastics</a> just below the summit, at 8,440 meters (approximately 27,690 feet).</p><p>"Mt. Everest is somewhere I have always considered remote and pristine," University of Plymouth scientist and National Geographic Explorer Dr. Imogen Napper, who was the lead author on the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics" target="_self">plastics</a> study, told EcoWatch in an email. "To know we are polluting near the top of the tallest mountain on earth is a real eye opener – we need to protect and care for our planet."</p>
<h3>Microplastics at the Top of the World</h3><p>Napper's study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(20)30550-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>One Earth</em></a> Friday, found microplastics in every snow sample taken from Mount Everest. The findings join a growing body of research showing the extent of microplastic pollution in even the most remote corners of the planet.</p><p>"These are the highest microplastics currently ever discovered," Napper told EcoWatch. "Although it sounds exciting, this means that microplastics have been discovered from the depths of the ocean all the way to the highest mountain on earth."</p><p>There has been growing awareness in recent years of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/china-mount-everest-trash-2629508814.html?share_id=4408439" target="_self">buildup of trash</a> on Mount Everest left behind by tourists and climbers. In 2019, the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau said it removed 9.3 tons of waste, and China closed its Everest base camp to tourists to prevent more pollution. Some media outlets have even begun to refer to the mountain as the "world's highest garbage dump."</p><p>However, Napper's study is the first to focus on the accumulation of microplastics on the mountain specifically. Microplastics are plastics less than five millimeters in length that typically slough off of larger plastics as they degrade. Their small size means they are easily ingested by animals by mistake and are also extremely difficult to clean up.</p>
<p>Napper's team found more microplastics collected near the base camp, where climbers tend to congregate. But they still found five microfibers at the mountain's "balcony," the highest point they studied. Those fibers numbered one clear acrylic fiber, one red polyester fiber and three blue polyester fibers.</p><p>In general, many of the microplastics found on Everest were fibers that could have been brought by climbers.</p><p>"Samples collected on the mountain and in the valley below it revealed significant quantities of polyester, acrylic, nylon, and polypropylene fibres," Napper told EcoWatch. "The materials are increasingly being used to make the high performance outdoor clothing commonly used by climbers, as well as the tents and climbing ropes used in attempts to climb the mountain."</p>
<p>However, other studies have shown that microplastics can be carried to remote environments by the atmosphere. A <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/plastic-pollution-arctic-snow-ice-2639834233.html" target="_self">2019 study</a> found that plastics were being lifted in the air and deposited as snow in the Arctic and the Alps. Napper said similar mechanisms could be bringing the plastics to Everest.</p><p>"[T]he microplastics may have been transported from lower altitudes by the extreme winds which regularly impact the mountain's higher slopes," Napper said.</p><p>So how can we keep Everest, and other remote environments, plastic free? Napper argued that, while reducing plastic use and improving recycling were both important, it is also crucial to develop new materials. This is particularly the case for the kind of specialized gear used to explore remote areas.</p><p>"There are a lot of promising developments in industry at the moment. We need to keep up the momentum, and ensure that athletic gear is tested and evaluated before use," Napper told EcoWatch. "Solutions need to deliver a positive account, not create future issues."</p>
<h3>Glaciers Melting Into Air</h3><p>Napper's article was just one of at least 16 that came out of the 2019 National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition. That expedition brought 10 research teams including 34 international and Nepali scientists to Everest from April and June of last year in order to study the impacts of human activity on the mountain.</p><p>In addition to the accumulation of microplastics, studies focused on the impacts of the climate crisis on the mountain. One, <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)30915-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">published in iScience</a>, detailed how global warming is actually increasing the oxygen available to human climbers as warmer temperatures have increased air pressure. Another, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(20)30549-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OneEarth</a>, documented how Everest's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/glaciers%5D" target="_self">glaciers</a> have thinned by more than 100 meters (approximately 328 feet) since the 1960s. Not only that, but the ice loss is accelerating, and glaciers are losing mass even at high altitudes.</p><p>Study leader and University of St. Andrews glaciologist Dr. Owen King said the melting of the higher glaciers was the "biggest surprise" from the results. His team measured thinning at the 5,700 meter (approximately 18,702 foot) Khumbu icefall and the 6,000 meter (approximately 19,685 foot) Rongbuk and Rongbuk East glaciers.</p><p>"The conditions found at this altitude are usually considered ideal for snow and ice accumulation, but our data suggest that they have now become more susceptible to ice melt," King said in an email to EcoWatch.</p>
<p>The melting of mountain glaciers is a big deal, because they are an important source of water to surrounding communities.</p><p>"Continued and, as we have shown, accelerating ice loss raises concerns about the sustainability of the supply of glacial meltwater, particularly at times of the year when monsoon rainfall cannot provide a backup, or in times of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought" target="_self">drought</a>," King said.</p><p>Understanding how climate change will impact mountain glaciers is the ultimate goal of the Perpetual Planet expeditions, of which the Everest trip was the first.</p><p>"The 2019 National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Everest Expedition was selected as a fantastic opportunity to support ground breaking research that fills a critical data gap in our understanding of how mountain systems are changing," Nicole Alexiev, vice president of science and innovation at the National Geographic Society, told EcoWatch in an email. "High mountain glaciers serve as the world's water towers, storing and providing water resources for 1/5 of the global populations. Despite the importance of high mountain systems, there is very little research conducted above 5,000m [approximately 16,404 feet] – especially interdisciplinary research – so we were excited to support this expedition which aimed to examine the world's highest mountain and its glaciers using expertise from the disciplines of biology, geology, glaciology, meteorology, and mapping."</p><p>Future expeditions will explore the Andes and western Canada, where mountain glaciers supply water to Santiago, Chile and the Columbia and Fraser river watersheds.</p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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A young girl with a mask stands in the flooded Jiangtan Park, caused by heavy rains along the Yangtze River on July 10, 2020 in Wuhan, China. Getty Images
By Kenny Stancil
"The Covid-19 pandemic has shown how vulnerable the world is to a truly global catastrophe. But another, bigger, catastrophe has been building for many decades, and humanity is still lagging far behind in efforts to address it."
<p>So begins <em>Come Heat or High Water</em>, the 2020 <a href="https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20201116_WorldDisasters_Full.pdf" target="_blank">World Disasters Report</a> published Tuesday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).</p><p>While "Covid-19 has demonstrated that humanity has the capacity to recognize and respond to a global crisis," the authors wrote, "climate change is an even more significant challenge to humanity... one which literally threatens our long-term survival."</p><p>Indeed, "the impacts of global warming are already killing people and devastating lives and livelihoods every year," including in 2020, the report noted. "Climate change is not waiting for Covid-19 to be brought under control."</p><p>The analysis showed that more than 100 climate change-related disasters occurred in just the first six months of the pandemic, affecting over 50 million people.</p>
<p>"Many people are being directly affected by the pandemic and climate-driven disasters all at once," the report said, drawing attention to what researchers called "compounding shocks."</p><p>"And the world's poorest and most at-risk people are being hit first and hardest," which is consistent with "trends in vulnerability and exposure" that have led scholars to describe climate as a "risk multiplier."</p><p>While there is hope that one or more vaccines will soon provide protection against the coronavirus, IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/17/climate-change-bigger-threat-than-covid-red-cross" target="_blank">told</a> reporters that "unfortunately, there is no vaccine for climate change."</p><p>To the contrary, the report stressed that climate-driven disasters "will only get worse without immediate and determined action."</p>
<p>According to the IFRC:</p><ul><li>In the past 10 years, 83% of all disasters triggered by natural hazards were caused by extreme weather- and climate-related events, such as floods, storms and heatwaves;</li><li>The number of climate- and weather-related disasters has been increasing since the 1960s, and has risen almost 35% since the 1990s;</li><li>The proportion of all disasters attributable to climate and extreme weather events has also increased significantly during this time, from 76% of all disasters during the 2000s to 83% in the 2010s;</li><li>These extreme weather- and climate-related disasters have killed more than 410,000 people in the past 10 years, the vast majority in low and lower middle-income countries; and</li><li>Heatwaves, then storms, have been the biggest killers. A further 1.7 billion people around the world have been affected by climate and weather-related disasters during the past decade.</li></ul>
<p>Governments "may well be 'busy' with the pandemic" right now, the Red Cross acknowledged, but the climate crisis is getting worse—not taking a break—meaning "there's still never been a more urgent time to... adapt to its realities."</p><p>"We must work to limit the deaths and damage that climate-driven disasters are already" causing, the report noted, while also "taking action to reverse climate change."</p><p>The good news, the authors wrote, is that "the massive stimulus packages that are being developed around the world in response to Covid-19 are an opportunity to build back better."</p><p>Even though the climate crisis is much more dangerous to human life on Earth than the pandemic, the $10 trillion spent on the global response to the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis is far more than the amount of money the Red Cross said is necessary to "adapt to current and imminent climate-driven disaster risks."</p>
<p>According to the IFRC, "it would take an estimated $50 billion annually to meet the adaptation requirements set out by 50 developing countries for the coming decade."</p><p>The report advocated for investing "not only [in] a green recovery, but an adaptive one, using funds to... create jobs [while] making communities safer and more resilient."</p><p>Using "resources well" is crucial, the authors argued, given the "uneven geographic impacts of... hazards between regions," as well as how land-use patterns and socio-economic inequalities "affect who is at greatest risk... within countries."</p><p>The Red Cross pointed out that "funding for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction does not seem to consistently prioritize the countries at highest risk and with the lowest ability to adapt and cope with these risks."</p>
<p>"Many highly vulnerable countries are left behind, receiving little climate change adaptation support," the analysis showed. "None of the 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change and to climate- and weather-related disasters were among the 20 highest per person recipients of climate change adaptation funding."</p><p>"An additional challenge is ensuring that funding reaches the most at-risk people within these countries," the report continued. "Many communities may be particularly vulnerable to climate-related risks, from people affected by conflict whose capacity to manage shocks is already strained, to migrants and displaced people who may struggle to access the services and assistance they need, to urban poor people and other marginalized communities."</p><p>We must "get the priorities right," the authors added, and ensure that support reaches the "communities that are most exposed and vulnerable to climate risks."</p><p>"Let's not miss our chance," the report said, calling on society to "act effectively before it's too late."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/18/no-vaccine-climate-change-coronavirus-has-been-disastrous-says-red-cross-global?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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Solar Geoengineering Might Not Work if We Keep Burning Fossil Fuels, Study Finds
17 November
Climate
Stratocumulus clouds would break up under high carbon dioxide concentrations, even with geoengineering to cool the planet. Mikael Häggström, M.D. / CC BY-SA 4.0
As carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, some have suggested geoengineering our way out of the climate crisis by intentionally cooling the earth's atmosphere.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Now, a new study has shown that at least one popular global cooling strategy is unlikely to work if <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greenhouse-gas-emissions" target="_self">greenhouse gas emissions</a> continue to rise.</p><p>"I think the paper provides yet another argument for why solar geoengineering can't be a 'get out-of-jail-free' card that lets us off the hook for the need to cut our CO2 emissions; we can't just burn all the fossil fuels in the ground and solve the problem with solar geoengineering," Cornell University senior research associate Dr. Doug MacMartin, who was not a part of the study, told <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/solar-geoengineering-climate-change-crisis-b1723644.html" target="_blank">The Independent</a>.</p><p>The research, published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/11/10/2003730117" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> Monday, looked at one of the most popular solar geoengineering ideas: releasing reflective particles into the atmosphere to reflect the sun's light and thereby cool temperatures. The use of these particles, called aerosols, would be a way to artificially replicate the cooling that happens after volcanic eruptions.</p>
<p>But the solar geoengineering might not compensate for another consequence of greenhouse gas emissions — the thinning and eventual disappearance of certain clouds.</p><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-019-0310-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Previous research</a> from the same team has shown that, under carbon dioxide concentrations of 1,200 parts per million (ppm), the stratocumulus clouds that cover oceans in the subtropics would break up. Since these clouds help keep the earth cool by reflecting sunlight, this would heat the world by a further eight degrees Celsius, <a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/four-things-that-could-kill-us-before-the-cloud-apocaly-1832899684" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Earther reported at the time</a>.</p><p>"Even if the surface warming from increased greenhouse gas concentrations is compensated by solar geoengineering, the infrared effect of the greenhouse gases on the clouds is still there; it is not compensated by solar geoengineering," study leader and Caltech scientist Tapio Schneider told <a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/geoengineering-might-not-save-us-from-a-cloud-apocalyps-1845690617" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Earther of his latest study</a>. "So the question suggested itself whether the clouds can still become unstable and break up at high greenhouse gas concentrations even when solar geoengineering compensates much of the initial surface warming."</p>
<p>The answer? Not once carbon dioxide concentrations reach 1,800 ppm. At that point, the clouds would break up and temperatures would shoot up by seven degrees Celsius.</p><p>"Solar geoengineering may not be fail-safe to prevent strong warming if it is prolonged for more than a century and greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase during that time," Schneider told The Independent.</p><p>However, the paper authors and outside scientists observed that the carbon dioxide concentrations modeled in the paper were extreme. Kate Marvel of Columbia University told Earther they were "BANANAS."</p>
<p>It took 170 years for greenhouse gas emissions to increase carbon dioxide concentrations from 280 ppm to 410 today. Instead, Marvel said the value of the research was in learning more about the climate system.</p><p>"Models let us do 'experiments' that would never, ever happen in the real world in order to try and learn things about complex systems," Marvel told Earther. "This is an example of that. It should in no way be taken as a realistic representation of what would actually happen under any real-world geoengineering scenario, and the authors are very explicit about that."</p><p>There are other arguments against geoengineering beyond the fact that it might not work in an extreme emissions scenario. It could also harm agricultural yields, change rainfall patterns or set off an irreversible feedback loop, Earther noted.</p>
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A dog is seen amongst rubble left behind from Hurricane Eta, in Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, on November 15, 2020, before the arrival of Hurricane Iota. STR / AFP / Getty Images
Hurricane Iota made landfall along the coast of northeastern Nicaragua at 10:40 p.m. Monday night as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm.
<p>The landfall location was just 15 miles away from where the devastating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/hurricane-eta-florida-central-america-2648793233.html">Hurricane Eta</a> made landfall 13 days earlier, according to the <a href="https://twitter.com/NHC_Atlantic/status/1328546095329202177" target="_blank">National Hurricane Center</a> (NHC). It was also the most powerful storm to make landfall in Nicaragua in November, Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach <a href="https://twitter.com/philklotzbach/status/1328547531815456768" target="_blank">noted on Twitter</a>, breaking the record set by Eta.</p><p><span></span>"This is double destruction," Nicaraguan Business owner Adán Artola Schultz told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-nicaragua-storms-hurricanes-38bd0f02ad8733c54ab61a6dd19306de" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>. "This is coming in with fury."</p><p>Artola Schultz lives in Puerto Cabezas, or Bilwi, a Nicaraguan city about 30 miles from where the storm made landfall. He said he watched the wind tear a metal roof off of a two-story home.</p><p>Bilwi university student Jason Bermúdez also reported destruction.</p>
<p>"This hurricane is definitely worse" than Eta, Bermúdez told The Associated Press. "There are already a lot of houses that lost their roofs, fences and fruit trees that got knocked down. We will never forget this year."</p><p>Before it even made landfall, the storm blew a metal roof off of a hospital in Bilwi where victims of Hurricane Eta were being treated, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/world/americas/hurricane-iota-updates.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. Most of the city has been without power since 3 p.m. Monday.</p><p>Iota is the 30th named storm of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tropical-storm-theta-2648850210.html" target="_self">record-breaking</a> 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, the most of any season. It is also the ninth storm this season to rapidly intensify, a phenomenon linked to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, The Associated Press reported.</p><p>Iota strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane but weakened before coming ashore. It was the latest Category 5 storm on record, Klotzbach <a href="https://twitter.com/philklotzbach/status/1328350540904861697" target="_blank">said</a>.</p>
<p>While it was still a Category 5 storm, Iota lashed the Columbian islands of San Andres and Providencia, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/17/weather/hurricane-iota-tuesday/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>.</p><p>"It's the first time that a Category 5 Hurricane has reached our territory since records began," Colombia President Ivan Duque told reporters. "We are facing an issue with characteristics never before witnessed by our country."</p><p>At least one person died on Providencia and 90 percent of the island's infrastructure has been impacted. Both islands also lost electricity, The New York Times reported. The Colombian city of Cartagena also experienced <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" target="_self">flooding</a>.</p><p>Iota has now weakened into a tropical storm with winds reaching 75 miles per hour, according to a 9 a.m. <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT1+shtml/171146.shtml" target="_blank">update</a> from the NHC. It is currently located about 85 miles west of Bilwi and heading further inland across northern Nicaragua today and over southern Honduras tonight.</p>
<p>The storm is still forecast to inundate the region with a dangerous amount of rain; 10 to 20 inches is projected over northern Nicaragua, Honduras, southeast and central Guatemala and southern Belize. Some places could see up to 30 inches of rain. That rain could produce life-threatening flooding, made worse by ground that is still wet from Hurricane Eta.</p><p>"Flooding and mudslides across portions of Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala could be exacerbated by Hurricane Eta's recent effects there, resulting in significant to potentially catastrophic impacts," the <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/MIATCDAT1.shtml" target="_blank">NHC warned</a>.</p><p>Hurricane Iota is expected to dissipate over Central America in the next 48 hours.</p>
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The Sherburne County generating station, a coal-fired power plant owned by Xcel Energy, in Becker, Minnesota. Tony Webster / CC BY 2.0
By Elizabeth Sawin
The next president will be inaugurated in the midst of a raging pandemic, an economic recession, a crisis of structural racism and an escalating climate emergency. The best chance for making progress on any of these issues is to tackle them all together.
<p>That's an approach called <a href="https://www.climateinteractive.org/ci-topics/multisolving/" target="_blank">multisolving</a> — ensuring that every dollar invested in solving one problem solves others at the same time. It's the preferred approach when facing intersecting problems with tight budgets and an urgent timeline.</p>
<p>A COVID-19 economic recovery package will be one of the biggest opportunities to multisolve in 2021. A well-designed recovery could lock in decades of low-carbon emissions. It could reap the public health benefits that come along with replacing air-polluting energy sources with clean energy generation. And it could steer benefits, like good jobs that can't be offshored, to the communities that have historically been left out of economic opportunity.</p><p>But multisolving doesn't happen by accident. It happens by design. If the next administration wants to achieve four benefits — climate protection, economic recovery, health and equity — for the price of one, it will need to place multisolving at the center of its plans.</p><p>Nine months into the pandemic, there are bright spots around the world that show what might be possible if economic recovery investments were designed to achieve multiple goals. These can be found in small developing countries and in major economies. Their focus ranges from clean energy to ecosystem restoration to walking and cycling infrastructure.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc4MjE0Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzYwNDI3Nn0.rcnnOoURkrdrGUlQeNEE9h7qKHgL-2XnW1KeXVenl7U/img.jpg?width=980" id="c50df" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eae52511e1d1402812b640966a68b242" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Separated bike lane. Paul Krueger / CC BY 2.0
<p>Here are a few cases drawn from a growing <a href="https://www.climateinteractive.org/ci-topics/multisolving/great/great-recovery-policies/#section-1-nat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">database</a> of examples my colleagues and I are tracking:</p><ul><li>The Nigerian government is focusing on solar electricity as part of its recovery <a href="https://www.energyvoice.com/otherenergy/245447/nigeria-plans-solar-household-boost/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plan</a>, with a goal of installing solar-generation capacity on 5 million homes;</li><li><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/10/08/spain-pins-covid-recovery-hopes-green-investment-plan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Spain</a> has pinned its recovery on an "ecological transformation" including installing 100,000 electric vehicle charging stations, making 500,000 homes more energy efficient and accelerating progress toward its goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2050;</li><li>A joint EU-Africa <a href="https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2020-218-eib-and-afreximbank-direct-eur-300m-of-support-to-african-covid-response" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">project</a> will direct €300 million ($354 million) to projects that help businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially ones owned by women. At least 25% of the funds are for projects involving renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change resilience;</li><li>The United Kingdom has launched a £2 billion ($2.6 billion) <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2-billion-package-to-create-new-era-for-cycling-and-walking" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">plan</a> to increase cycling infrastructure as part of its COVID-19 response. In the short term this will help people travel safely through the pandemic. In the long term it will reduce emissions from transportation and capture the health benefits of active travel.</li></ul><p>Sadly, these bright spots are so far the exception, not the rule.</p><p>A <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6514/298.full" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">study</a> published last month in <em>Science</em> highlights the potential of this moment. Countries around the world have already committed $12 trillion to economic recovery packages. If only 12% of that amount were to be invested in the next five years in clean energy and energy efficiency the world could place itself on a path to meeting the goals of Paris Climate Agreement, while also driving job opportunities and improving human health. But so far, the world as whole is falling short of even this modest amount of multisolving.</p><p>Some regions are doing well, though. In the European Union, for instance, somewhere between <a href="https://rhg.com/data_story/green-stimulus-and-recovery-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">19%</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/09/revealed-covid-recovery-plans-threaten-global-climate-hopes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">30%</a> of recovery investments are rated as "green." But many other governments are allowing this opportunity to multisolve slip away. Estimates are that only <a href="https://rhg.com/data_story/green-stimulus-and-recovery-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1%</a> of U.S. recovery funding so far has been green. For China the estimate is 0.3%; for India it's 2.4%.</p><p><br>With recovery plans still taking shape, and with many of the opportunities for investment on hold until the public health threat of the virus is under control, the window of opportunity has not yet closed. That is good news. The United States, under the incoming administration, could direct the funds needed to stimulate the economy in a way that simultaneously helps us meet climate, health and equity goals.</p><p>To ensure this quadruple benefit is captured, each element of a recovery plan will need to be designed with multiple criteria in mind. Policy makers should be asking questions such as:</p><ul><li>Does an energy infrastructure project lock in low carbon emissions while also providing good jobs?</li><li>Does a particular investment include racial, gender and economic equity provisions to make sure benefits go to communities that have been left out of past opportunities?</li><li>Are investments like home weatherization targeted towards low-wealth communities, where the resulting utility bill savings will make the most difference?</li><li>Are job training, healthcare and childcare offered so that everyone can benefit from new employment opportunities?</li></ul><p>Success will require sustained effort well beyond the design phase. It will require agencies to work together. Can an energy efficiency program coordinate with a jobs program? Can a cycling project be designed with input from housing and public health?</p><p>A true multisolving recovery will invest authority in local communities. While the federal government functions in silos, all the elements of carbon emissions, health, jobs, equity and well-being come together on the ground, at the grassroots level. Funding mechanisms will need to be flexible to allow communities to steer their own green and equitable recoveries.</p><p>That's a tall order, and even the most effective multisolving recovery plan will not be enough if it focuses only within the United States. The transition to a zero-carbon future needs to be a global one. Rich nations like the United States can offer financial assistance so that all countries can recover in ways that are green, resilient and equitable.</p><p>The country and the world could emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic more resilient, more equitable, and on track to meet climate goals. But that won't happen by accident. It's time to start multisolving.</p><p><em>You can learn more about <a href="https://www.climateinteractive.org/ci-topics/multisolving/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">multisolving</a> on Climate Interactive's website, where you can also explore a <a href="https://www.climateinteractive.org/ci-topics/multisolving/great/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">database</a> of green, resilient, equitable recovery measures being taken around the world.</em></p><p><em>The opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of</em> The Revelator,<em> the Center for Biological Diversity or their employees.</em> </p><p><span></span><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/elizabethsawin/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Sawin</a> is co-founder and co-director of Climate Interactive a think-tank that helps people find solutions to climate change and related issues like equity, health, food and water.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/multisolving-covid-recovery/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>. </em></p>
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A new study finds ocean waters heated by climate change give them extra fuel for hurricanes. 12019 / Needpix
Hurricanes are staying stronger for longer after making landfall, causing greater and more widespread destruction, because ocean waters heated by climate change give them extra fuel, according to a study published Wednesday in Nature.
<p>Researchers looked at 71 hurricanes that made landfall since 1967. </p><p>In the 1960s, hurricanes lost 75% of their energy in the first day after making landfall, but recent hurricanes lost only about 50% of their energy in that same timeframe.</p><p>As climate change continues to heat the planet's oceans and make extreme hurricanes even stronger, their slowed "decay" as detailed in this study could have major implications for inland cities unaccustomed to hurricanes. </p><p>"It would not be surprising if category one — even category two — hurricanes start to become more common in a place like Atlanta," Pinaki Chakraborty, a senior author of the study, told the Verge.</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/21560182/hurricane-strength-landfall-inland-climate-change-nature-study?_hsmi=99689147&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-__XQ0NYg8mmXFdTrIVDyam-g5KoYgODdYQsjBq8R8TfZAmz5Oc-0eDHkER176PCb5odVbRL1STweJf5S8A2QJPT_KMa2WMRYOAMvxFMOtR4aOAwdQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Verge</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-climate-climate-change-oceans-florida-f1076d47581e37962e0872af83c3808c?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=99689147&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8f2cLA5iDqXI5H_T37ySs6_WSwSLdCjXyugTmlxJnvpPagN_M1cxSx6GlkVTy58c3zXbvt3s94oSaz0IMUNnQ8Lzx-F7QXTJrCy_or7A3y3_Ah2xQ&utm_content=99689147&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">AP</a>, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/hurricanes-global-heating-north-atlantic-b1721086.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=99689147&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8mqVXPTVt4zu8zA4Q1tXtgiQEPSmak9RWmBi42HmvnIGfHpuKyIfyK5S5Z2dQ_4JYCvuwt2nXE_hh79L1Wnr5v25yfibMivX4OEcJNvg7ajpbWmIA&utm_content=99689147&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Independent,</a> <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/climate-change-hurricanes-lasting-longer_n_5faabf2ac5b66009569ebf5f?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=99689147&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Kwd1u-NdOADEmjjz6a7prQ67K8eaBMKyQwHi6Aznt6RfqDwZcjP1PPw6IYhbDna3_nVivAwXQ_THJm0bu8KwThpgiL5IOcKmWSci0brH0M8nt8Co&utm_content=99689147&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">HuffPost</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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The Dalai Lama has co-written a new book addressing the climate crisis. Kristian Dowling / Getty Images
The Dalia Lama really wants the world to act on the climate crisis.
<p>The Tibetan Bhuddist spiritual leader has co-written a book called <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/our-only-home-9781472980755/" target="_blank"><em>Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the World</em></a>, which urges world leaders and ordinary people to work together to stop global warming.</p><p>"Buddha would be green," he claims in the book, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/11/buddha-would-be-green-dalai-lama-calls-for-urgent-climate-action?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco&fbclid=IwAR19o899tMmpcVQ55oEDqNXfuDJFnurfuyEZ3obc8XdoUfmLQeCq8VkNEqk" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p><p>To promote the book, the 85-year-old leader has been giving interviews from his home in Dharamsala, India, where he lives in exile from his native Tibet. In a talk with <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/11/11/933754512/the-dalai-lama-offers-a-warning-on-climate-change" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NPR's Noel King</a>, he spoke about the title of the book. He pointed to the recent discovery that there is more <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/moon-water-nasa-2648510521.html" target="_blank">water on the moon</a> than previously thought, but noted that settling there would still be "impossible."</p><p>"So now, therefore, we have to take care of our own planet," he said.</p>
<p>The Dalai Lama emphasizes the need for global action. He told The Guardian and <a href="https://www.channel4.com/news/dalai-lama-says-buddha-would-be-green" target="_blank">Channel 4 News</a> that the UN should take a leadership role and that the most powerful nations should step up to the plate.</p><p>"The big nations should pay more attention to ecology. I hope you see those big nations who spent a lot of money for weapons or war turn their resources to the preservation of the climate," The Guardian reported him saying.</p><p>The Dalai Lama has taken a firm stance against isolationism and told NPR he was very disappointed when President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> decided to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-begins-withdrawal-paris-agreement-2641223963.html">withdraw the U.S.</a> from the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris climate agreement</a>.</p><p>"America should think, not just 'America First,'" he said. He added that the U.S. had greater potential to help create a "happier world."</p>
<p><br><br></p><p>President-elect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> has promised to return the U.S. to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-climate-agreement-biden-2648649350.html" target="_blank">climate accord</a> and also encourage more ambitious international action, in a vision that appears more in sync with the Dalai Lama's advice.<br></p><p>In the book, the Dalai Lama also suggested that world leaders be locked in a room full of carbon dioxide until they understand the severity of climate change, Channel 4 News reported. </p><p>But while the Dalai Lama urges global solutions, he is also aware of how the climate crisis will impact his native land. He told The Guardian and Channel 4 News that Tibet is the "roof of the world" and its rivers supply water to at least a billion people. But, as temperatures rise, those rivers could dry up and Tibet could "become like Afghanistan."</p>
<p>The Dalai Lama has advice for what individuals can do as well. For example, he told NPR that people in Western countries eat too much <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/meat" target="_self">meat</a>.</p><p>"Not only is it a question of, a sense of lov[ing] these animals," he told NPR, "but itself is very bad for ecology."</p><p>He also urged the importance of educating people to hold a less individualistic attitude toward the planet.</p><p>He told Channel 4 that students should be taught how "taking care about [the] environment is ultimately taking care of yourself."</p>
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President-elect Joe Biden gestures to the crowd after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020. Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images
If President-elect Joe Biden follows through on his plan to combat the climate crisis, it could put the world "within striking distance" of meeting the Paris agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
<p>That's according to <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/press/bidens-election-could-bring-a-tipping-point-putting-paris-agreement-15-degree-limit-within-striking-distance/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new analysis</a> from <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Climate Action Tracker</a> (CAT), an independent scientific analysis of how national climate policies stack up against the Paris agreement goals. The analysis found that Biden's stated goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 75 gigatons between 2020 and 2050 and lower projected end-of-century warming by 0.1 degree Celsius. Building on recent net-zero commitments from the EU, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/china-climate-action-2060-2648140974.html" target="_self">China</a>, Korea and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/japan-carbon-neutral-2648499409.html" target="_self">Japan</a>, a Biden presidency could help put the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal within reach.</p><p>"This could be an historic tipping point: with Biden's election China, the USA, EU, Japan South Korea — two thirds of the world economy and over 50% of global GHG emissions — would have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century commitments," Bill Hare of CAT partner organization Climate Analytics said. "These commitments are very close, if not within, 1.5 degrees C-consistent pathways for this set of countries and for the first time ever puts the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degrees C limit within striking distance."</p><p>The 2015 Paris agreement <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/president-obama-paris-climate-agreement-a-turning-point-for-the-world-1882129785.html">set a goal</a> to limit global warming well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and ideally limiting it to 1.5 degrees. However, a 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-ipcc-report-2610866229.html" target="_blank">report</a> found there was a big difference between 1.5 and two degrees of warming. Preventing that extra half a degree could save hundreds of millions of people from poverty and climate risk, forestall an extra four inches of sea level rise and limit tropical reef die-off to 70 to 90 percent instead of 99 percent.</p>
<p>However, countries' current pledges under the Paris agreement put the world on the path to 2.7 degrees of warming by 2100, according to CAT. China's recent commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2060 could lop 0.2 to 0.3 degrees of warming off that estimate. If the U.S. reaches net zero emissions by 2050, it would lower that number by another 0.1 degree.</p><p>"Taken together, the U.S. and China going to net zero emissions would reduce our estimate of end-of-century warming to 2.3-2.4 degrees C, taking the world 25-40 percent of the way towards limiting warming to the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degrees C limit," Niklas Höhne of CAT partner NewClimate Institute said.</p><p>In addition to the 2050 goal, Biden's plan also includes a $1.7 trillion investment in renewable energy, an end to fossil fuel subsidies and a ban on future oil and gas drilling on public lands, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/09/politics/biden-climate-plan-election-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. Biden's coronavirus recovery plan also includes investments in greening infrastructure, buildings, power, transport and agriculture, as well as funding conservation and environmental justice.</p>
<p>However, Biden's proposal will face opposition from the Republican party, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/08/joe-biden-paris-climate-goals-0-1c" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. And it is still unclear which party will take a majority in the Senate. Any of his policies that are challenged legally would be decided by a conservative Supreme Court.</p><p>CAT pointed out that Biden could still implement some policies by executive order and that the "<a href="https://www.wearestillin.com/" target="_blank">We're Still In</a>" coalition of states and cities would continue to pursue climate action. Furthermore, U.S. action could make a difference on the international stage, The Guardian reported.</p><p>The U.S. has the world's largest economy and is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. Biden has <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-climate-agreement-biden-2648649350.html" target="_self">pledged</a> to rejoin the Paris agreement and encourage other countries to up their ambitions.</p>
<p>"It is the U.S. driving the world in this direction that will be most important," Obama U.S. special envoy for climate change Todd Stern told The Guardian. "If you have got the U.S., the EU, China working together you can expand to the whole world. It is not just about the U.S.'s domestic emissions, but the U.S. position as a world leader."</p><p>CAT noted that if the U.S. does make a net zero commitment, it would mean that 127 countries covering 63 percent of emissions had made similar pledges.</p><p>"What can other countries now do other than follow this overwhelming trend to net zero greenhouse gas emissions?" Höhne said.</p>
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Florida National Guard / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
From broken buildings to uprooted trees, extreme weather can leave behind a lot of visible damage. But there is invisible damage, too. Many survivors face mental health struggles after a storm.
<p>"They've experienced traumatic loss, fear, displacement. It's very traumatizing, and that's an abnormal feeling," says social worker Darcy Abbott. "And people need reassurance that it's normal to feel that way — an abnormal event has occurred — and that there's resources and support there … and that they will be resilient and they will get through this."</p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/16549436/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>Abbott became the mental health coordinator for disaster recovery at the Florida Division of Emergency Management last year.</p><p>After an event such as a hurricane, her job is to work with state agencies, relief organizations, and private counselors to coordinate services so that the state can respond to residents' needs during the recovery process.</p><p>Abbott says that her position is unique. Other states have mental health coordinators, but Florida is the first to connect the role with emergency management.</p><p>And in a state vulnerable to hurricanes and rising seas, the role will be crucial as the climate changes.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/11/florida-hires-mental-health-coordinator-to-help-people-recover-from-disasters/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Men rest on a beach on the shore of the Caspian Sea in front of oil rigs following the easing of strict quarantine measures against the spread of the coronavirus disease in Baku on August 5. TOFIK BABAYEV / AFP Getty Images
By Nik Martin
In April, the price of oil turned negative for the first time in history, just after the coronavirus pandemic hit. As lockdowns were ordered across the world, demand for black gold plummeted, prompting producers to literally pay buyers to take the commodity off their hands.
<p>The price collapse was exacerbated by the Saudi-Russian price war which blew up around the same time, after Moscow refused to moderate oil production to keep prices at a reasonable level. Overproduction, particularly by US shale producers, amplified the effects of the worst oil crisis in decades.</p><p>In the first nine months of this year, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Total made a total loss of $36.4 billion (€30.6 billion), compared with last year's $50 billion in profit. As investors took flight, the oil majors were forced to slash costs.</p>
Investment Slashed, Jobs Cut
<p>Exxon, once the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company, said in the summer that capital expenditure would shrink by 20%, and just last week, announced it would cut 15% of its workforce — shedding some 50,000 jobs. Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and others have made similar moves, with most slashing investor dividends for the first time in years.</p><p>"The next few years are going to be very difficult," Helal Miah, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, told DW. "But the oil majors have done it before. During the financial crisis, these companies were very good at slashing costs."</p><p>Dozens of smaller firms, however, will struggle to survive. The <em>New York Times</em> reported that more than 50 North American oil and gas companies had already sought bankruptcy protection this year. Many of them took huge risks and even bigger loans to try to compete with the majors.</p><p>This fall, the second wave of the pandemic has forced renewed lockdowns across Europe and will likely prompt a more robust response from US President-elect Joe Biden, who has vowed to create a pandemic task force as soon as he takes office in January. Those measures could cause a further shakeout.</p><p>"The longer the pandemic goes on, the more we'll see the smaller and mid-cap sized oil companies go under, or be taken over by the larger ones," Miah added.</p><p>ConocoPhillips last month bought the independent exploration firm Concho Resources, days after Chevron completed the takeover of rival Noble Energy.</p>Peak Demand or Bottom of Cycle?
<p>Some analysts believe global oil demand may have already peaked, while others believe that if oil prices haven't already, they are close to bottoming out. Seven months on from the unprecedented negative oil price shock, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, one of the benchmarks for calculating oil prices, stood at $38.15 on Monday.</p><p>The price is still 67% lower than its 2014 peak of $114 a barrel, but closer to the $50 that most large oil companies need to break even. Exxon needs prices of around $75, according to analysts. All the same, the oil majors are not expected to reach their pre-COVID profitability levels until at least the end of 2022.</p><p>Already facing pressure to lead the energy transition and help the world ween itself off its fossil fuel addiction, oil giants have vowed to exploit the crisis to speed up investments in renewable energies.</p><p>"Prior to COVID this [energy transition] was a gradual trend," Peter Hitchens, oil analyst at the London-based Progressive Research, told DW. "The question is will COVID accelerate this trend?"</p><p>European firms like France's Total, the UK's BP and the Anglo-Dutch giant Shell have already begun to prioritize renewable energy, and plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. BP and Shell have announced major offshore wind projects this year.</p>US Oil Giants Shield by Trump
<p>Their US counterparts, on the other hand, have enjoyed protection from outgoing US President Donald Trump's climate skepticism and continue to focus on their traditional oil and gas businesses. If the Biden administration reenters the Paris Climate Agreement, from which Trump withdrew six months after taking office, it will likely put pressure on American oil majors, although it is unlikely to curtail the drilling for hard-to- reach oil through fracking.</p><p>Biden has also hinted at building ties with OPEC members Iran and Venezuela, which are currently subject to harsh sanctions on their oil trade. The Democrats' plan for a huge infrastructure plan, dubbed the Green New Deal, to meet the climate change challenge will still require oil prices to be high enough to make clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels competitive.</p><p>Despite their moves to step up investment in renewables, the Share Centre's Miah sees oil firms still mostly profiting from fossil fuels in the medium term,</p><p>"If we look a decade ahead, I would say that they will still be majority oil and gas companies rather than renewables-focused," he told DW. He added that most investors still see oil as a sensible way of achieving "good, solid returns."</p>Investors Give Wide Berth
<p>Some major London-based institutional investors have taken a different view, however. Asset managers Fidelity International and Sarasin & Partners have blacklisted the likes of Shell and BP over concerns that the green shift will cripple profits.</p><p>Last month, the <em>Daily Mail</em> reported that several asset managers have written to the oil majors requesting full transparency on the true value of their assets, including oil fields, which they claim could be rendered worthless if a slump in oil demand became more permanent.</p><p>Others, like Hitchens, see the fortunes of the oil industry tied in with the duration of the pandemic and how quickly oil demand recovers, once business and everyday life return to normal.</p><p>"The performance will very much reflect the movement in oil prices" and "very much depends on the economic recovery after COVID," he told DW.</p><p>Other analysts are more bullish and think big oil firms, with their deep pockets, have the strength to ride out their worst crisis. They say they'll likely acquire renewable energy firms and continue to thrive despite likely flat oil demand.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/how-are-oil-companies-dealing-with-the-shift-to-renewables/a-55542378" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2648827745#/" target="_self"></a></em></p>
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Climate crisis debates often take a generational rather than party-line split. laflor / Getty Images
The climate crisis and debates about its severity were at the forefront of the U.S. election, but in private homes and communities, the rift between the sides often took a generational rather than party-line split. While young people often cited a sense of despair and outrage over global heating, their alarm was often met by indifference and even dismissal by some of their older relatives and acquaintances, reported The Guardian.
<p>For example, Gemma Gutierrez, a 16-year-old in Milwaukee, was inspired by Greta Thunberg to contact her local elective representatives to voice her concern about the climate crisis. Her grandparents, self-described conservatives, think that she's been misled by popular opinion. Gutierrez plans to write a letter to her grandparents to explain her distress but also knows that discussions may end up, as they have in the past, in a stalemate.</p><p>She said, "I feel [older people] are voting against the better interests of our climate and I want them to see a different perspective. I think I would be doing the world a disservice by not trying."</p><p>17-year-old Lily Jarosz told The Guardian, "I can see a really clear generational split," when talking climate with her "apolitical Gen X-er" parents and "openly hostile" grandmother. "That hurts me so much, like she doesn't care about me or understand the immediacy of the issue."</p><p><a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/492507/concerns-about-climate-change-united-states-by-age-group/" target="_blank">Statista</a> found that 51 percent of surveyed 18- to 34-year-olds agreed that the climate crisis would pose a serious threat within their lifetime, while only 29 percent of those surveyed aged 55 and older agreed with the statement.</p>
<p>"The <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/03/im-fighting-for-my-future-a-climate-change-generation-is-making-itself-heard/" target="_blank">climate change generation</a> is a generation of young people born into a warming world, who will be alive to see which climate model scenario plays out, and who have spent — and will spend — essentially our entire adult lives fighting for a just and stable future," Harvard postdoctoral fellow Geoffrey Supran told <a href="https://www.manomet.org/publication/the-climate-change-generation-looks-to-their-future/" target="_blank">Manomet</a>. He pointed out that many younger members of the "climate change generation" will outlive the climate projections that scientists have created through 2100.</p><p>Similarly, Zach Fayer, a business sustainability college program alum, explained to Manomet, "Members of my generation care about climate change because we're going to live through it."</p><p>"[W]e need to recognize that the climate crisis will arguably be the defining issue for younger generations," said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International, in an <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/12/climate-change-ranks-highest-as-vital-issue-of-our-time/" target="_blank">Amnesty International</a> report. "The right to a healthy environment, including a safe climate, is essential for the enjoyment of so many other rights. It is a right that young people today have been forced to take the lead in asserting."</p><p>A report by David Karol cited in a <a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2019/02/04/age-gap-environmental-politics/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Columbia University blog</a> demonstrated that disagreements surrounding the climate crisis revolve more around an age gap than a party distinction. While millennials grew up widely discussing climate change, the same was not true of baby boomers and generators prior to them, Karol said. Comparing the generational gap within the Republican party revealed "widespread recognition" in college-aged Republicans that climate change was real and in part caused by human activity. These younger GOP scholars were also open to solutions to the climate crisis and 57 percent of them believed there to be "solid evidence" of climate change, Karol found. By contrast, the majority of GOP baby boomers and those older than them did not accept that there was solid evidence.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/do-younger-generations-care-more-about-global-warming/" target="_blank">Yale survey</a> did not find the same generational differences between young and old Democrats. While more than 90 percent of both groups believed that global warming is happening, more Silent Generation Democrats supported the idea than millennial Democrats. The groups flip-flopped on anthropogenic influence, with 81 percent of millennial and 74 percent of Silent Generation Democrats believing that global warming is human-caused.</p><p>Yale offered that young Americans concerned about the climate may be able to transform it into a voting issue and thereby help advance mitigation policies. In particular, "young Republications... may be critical to bridging the political divide on climate change and building bipartisan support for reducing carbon emissions."</p><p>Kathryn Stevenson, who has studied how climate education for children can raise concern for parents, told The Guardian, "Climate change is visceral for young people. They can see this coming down on them in their future."</p><p>Stevenson noted that even simple conversations at home and at school can also help bridge the generational gap, especially because "[i]t's hard to look a kid in the face and ignore them when they are talking about their future."</p>
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