Jul 15, 2024 3 min read Climate

Climate in the elections 🌿 LGN is back 🌿 Record-breaking hurricane season

Looking at the world’s biggest crisis through a decolonial lens.

Hi, Everyone!

I’m Amanda Magnani, a Brazilian (photo)journalist and OptOut News’ climate editor. Every other week, I bring you the most important climate news from our network—with an extra serving of decolonial perspectives. ✨🌿

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The past two years have seen record high levels of CO2 in our atmosphere, in spite of policies from the Biden administration targeting the climate crisis. The elections in November will be a turning point to future action, especially after Trump promised oil executives in April that he would reverse current environmental policies and stop all future ones if reelected, States Newsroom reports via Missouri Independent. At the same time, however, the climate agenda barely came up in the presidential debate, which The New Republic reports as possibly a good thing, given Biden’s apparent decline.

And speaking of Biden and declining, the curtains have already closed on his administration’s pause on liquefied natural gas exports, adopted in January. A policy that was seen as win by climate activists lasted only six months and didn’t survive protests from Big Oil and the GOP, Grist reports.

Meanwhile, even states that used to be “cooler” such as like Rhode Island and Connecticut are now facing extreme heat, fueled by–you guessed it–climate change, Stateline reports via Rhode Island Current. By the end of June, temperatures in these states reached the 90s, which is pretty bad when you add humidity and the radiant heat from concrete. And even worse when you consider that extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S.

That being said, 2024’s hurricane season promises to be a lively one. It has already started with the earliest and fastest Category 4 storm in recorded history, as Hurricane Beryl made landfall in June and reached the category in less than 42 hours, Grist reports. So far, Beryl's havoc has gone from Grenada, in the Caribbean, through the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, all the way to Vermont.

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And More

🛢️ “Why Colorado’s Celebrated Oil Well Cleanup Reforms Face a $3 Billion Shortfall,” by DeSmog.

🛢️ “Wildfire Smoke Affects the Function of Lake Ecosystems,” by Eos.

🛢️ “Inside Big Oil’s Business as Usual: Failure on Climate and Profits from War,” by DeSmog, republished by WhoWhatWhy.

🛢️ “The Justice Department’s Next Climate Test,” by The American Prospect.

🛢️ “Amid A.I. Boom, Google’s Emissions Have Grown by Half,” by Yale Environment 360.

🛢️ “Trump dodges climate change question despite its effect on Florida,” by Florida Phoenix.

🛢️ “FEMA will now consider climate change when it rebuilds after floods,” by Grist.

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Decolonizing Climate Change

🌱 “Environmental StoneWorks workers allege widespread wage theft, racial discrimination,” by Minnesota Reformer.

🌱 “Climate Reparations with Esther Afolaranmi,” by Planet: Critical.

🌱 “A Biden effort to conserve oceans is leaving out Indigenous peoples, report finds,” by Grist.

🌱 “Biden administration announces new rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses,” by States Newsroom.

🌱 “The Supreme Court Just Pushed Environmental Justice Even Further Aside,” by The Nation.

🌱 “Climate change has forced America’s oldest Black town to higher ground,” by Grist.

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Around the World

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: “Extreme heat kills 1,301 pilgrims during the Hajj in Mecca,” by Grist.

🇧🇷 Brazil: “Floods drown Brazil. What happens to the poor? w/Mike Fox,” by The Real News Network.

🇸🇪 Sweden: “How Oil Giant Exxon Bought Influence Over the Swedish Moderate Party,” by DeSmog.

🇲🇽 Mexico: “Can Claudia Sheinbaum solve Mexico’s water crisis?” by Grist.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: “Revealed: Hundreds of Ad Campaigns by Oil and Gas Companies Have Appeared on London Public Transport Since Mayor’s Carbon Zero Pledge,” by DeSmog.

🇰🇪 Kenya: “Who is greening Nairobi?” by Africa is a Country.

🇳🇬 Nigeria: “Minister backs Nigerian gas despite calls to curtail fossil fuels,” by Gas Outlook.

🇨🇦 Canada: “What Happened to the Push for Urban Green Spaces?” by The Tyee.

🇰🇷 South Korea: “Debris flow hazards in urban environments – an example from South Korea,” by Eos.

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To Lighten Your Heart

💚 “How to Save a Forest,” by The Nation.

💚 “Climate Equity Initiative Places the South Front and Center,” by Next City.

💚 “Stella McCartney on Pioneering Sustainability in Fashion,” by Atmos.

💚 “How To Date During The Climate Crisis,” by Brown Girl Green.

💚 “Let's Celebrate Rare Environmental Win,” by The Majority Report.

💚 “To Avert a Mass Extinction, Protect 1 Percent of Earth,” by Yale Environment 360.

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Before you go, check out WhoWhatWhy’s advice on how to refute climate change deniers.

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That’s all for now, folks! If you have any questions or suggestions, hit me up at amanda@optout.news.

Obrigada and have a great week!

The OptOut Media Foundation (EIN: 85-2348079) is a nonprofit charity with a mission to educate the public about current events and help sustain a diverse media ecosystem by promoting and assisting independent news outlets and, in doing so, advance democracy and social justice.

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