Climate News: Bill McKibben of the catastrophe that is Donald Trump; The Guardian reports on our record breaking summer

"Americans elect a climate change denier (again)"; "What Is COP29? Here’s What to Know About Global Climate Talks Next Week."; "A Donald Trump presidency is bad for climate action, but Australia should get on with the job"; "U.S. Election Sends Alarming Message for Global Climate Efforts"; "What Trump’s Victory Says About America"; "This year ‘virtually certain’ to be hottest on record, finds EU space programme"; "A second US exit could ‘cripple’ the Paris climate agreement, warns UN chief"; "Typhoon Yinxing Hits Philippines as a Powerful Storm"; "Donald Trump can’t stop global climate action. If we stick together, it’s the US that will lose out"; "A warming planet will not stop energy hardship – excess heat will drive energy demand"; "Use your imagination and stop playing too safe"; "What Is COP29? Here’s What to Know About Global Climate Talks Next Week."; "Climate Change Is Making Disasters Deadlier. Here’s How Much."; "2024 Temperatures Are on Track for a Record High, Researchers Find"; "The U.N.’s Verdict on Climate Progress Over the Past Year: There Was None"; "How our regions can help make Australia’s growing cities more sustainable"; "Natural Disaster Destroyed Part of València. Populism May Take Us All the Way Down."; "The World Isn’t Spending Nearly Enough to Adapt to Climate Shocks, U.N. Says"; "The extreme floods which devastated Spain are hitting more often. Is Australia ready for the next one?"; "America Makes a Perilous Choice"; "Leaders from key countries to skip COP29 climate summit"; "Climate Action Isn’t About “Saving the Planet”"; "Hours after Trump win, Biden moves to limit oil drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge''; "What Trump’s victory could mean for oil companies and climate change policy"; "Current climate pledges by nations ‘miles short’ of 2030 goal, UN body says"; ''Tesla shares leap as Trump win sets stage for Musk's EV business"; "Trump victory casts shadow over upcoming COP global climate talks"; "Climate Change Has Dangerously Supercharged Fires, Hurricanes, Floods and Heat Waves. Why Didn’t It Come Up More in the Presidential Campaign?"; "The Environmental Dark Side of Live Music"; "How Trump’s second term could derail the clean energy transition"; "Make no mistake: Donald Trump is a demagogue"; "With Trump back in the White House The impact will be felt in many aspects of American life and across the world With Trump returning to the presidency, this iswhat's at stake"; "Warren Washington, Groundbreaking Climate Scientist, Dies at 88"; "'Nuclear will drive up the cost of electricity': Matt Kean clashes with former colleagues – video"; "An oil supply crisis will trigger a sovereignty crisis for NZ"; "‘Unprecedented’ stress in up to half of the Amazon may lead to tipping point by 2050": "‘We don’t know where the tipping point is’: climate expert on potential collapse of Atlantic circulation"; "‘Cold dro

One of Australia’s preeminent philosophers, Raimond Gaita (pictured), a conversation enthusiast, delivered the second annual oration following the annual general meeting of the Melbourne-based "Climate at the Crossroads". The Importance of Conversation in the very Idea of our Common Humanity". He is a Honorary Professorial Fellow, at the Melbourne Law School and Emeritus Professor of Moral Philosophy,  King's College London. Promotional material for the lecture said Mr Gaita has long been a beacon of moral clarity in a world increasingly defined by division and despair. Conversation is where everything begins and the answers to the present climate crisis can be found in simply talking with each other. And so, although Mr Gaita did not directly address climate issues, he did help the audience of about 100 better understand the importance of conversation.

The State of the Climate 2024 - good and bad news, but mostly bad. "State of the Climate 2024: Australia is enduring harsher fire seasons, more ocean heatwaves and sea-level rise"; "Screams from retirement home in Spanish town where dozens died in flooding"; "Spain floods disaster: death toll rises to 205 as extra troops mobilised"; "Spain’s floods have killed more than 200. Why have they been so deadly?"; "The planet is ‘on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster,’ scientists warn"; "What Project 2025 would do to climate policy in the US"; "Beyond Growth: A Journey through the Landscape of Sustainable Economics"; "Shrink the Economy, Save the World?"; "Earth’s climate will keep changing long after humanity hits net-zero emissions. Our research shows why"; "Heat contributed to 47,000 deaths in Europe during summer 2023, study finds"; "Five smart policies can turbocharge clean US manufacturing"; "‘More toxic than ever’: Lahore and Delhi choked by smog as ‘pollution season’ begins"; "Finland exports snow-saving mats to ski resorts hit by climate crisis"; "12 books to read about climate action ahead of the election"; "Fast action on methane to keep a 1.5°C future within reach"; "US election: Greens fear the EU may have to keep global climate action alive"; "Biodiversity finance grew ahead of COP16 but came mostly as loans, says OECD"; "NSW police take legal action to prevent climate activists blockading Port of Newcastle"; "At COP16, countries clash over future of global fund for nature protection "; "‘Crippling’ loss of millions of dollars in solar rebates under investigation"; "‘Bad River,’ About a Tribe’s David vs. Goliath Pipeline Fight, Highlights the Power of Long-Term Thinking"; "Fossil fuel transition pledge left out of COP16 draft agreement"; "On Meeker Avenue in Brooklyn, How Environmental Activism Plays Out in the Neighborhood"; "Businesses may be investing more in climate adaptation than we think".

The Member for Shortland, Pat Conroy (pictured), most certainly got the memo. He parrots the words "keeping Australians safe" but then does nothing practical, other than talking the talk, about keeping Australians safe from the impacts of climate change. "Almost 100 including Briton killed in flash floods in Spain"; "At least 95 people dead in Spain’s worst floods in three decades"; "Death toll from Spain's devastating flash floods rises to 158"; "Spain floods: Death toll surpasses 150 as more soldiers join rescue efforts"; "Planet-warming pollution is growing at the fastest rate in history, scientists say"; "A Pivotal Choice: Trump vs. Harris on Climate Change"; "Unprecedented floods claim at least 158 lives in Spain"; "Free Electricity, Anyone? Britain Tries New Tricks to Green Its Grid."; "The world needs $700bn a year to restore nature. But where is the money coming from?"; "Why were the floods in Spain so bad? A visual guide"; "Unintended consequences of using maps to communicate sea-level rise"; "Pioneering Clean Energy at Netflix — and Across the Entertainment Industry"; "Six Building Blocks to Prepare the Grid for EVs"; "'Waste of time': Papua New Guinea will boycott the world's most important climate summit"; "Individual action on climate was tarred as greenwashing or virtue signalling. But it still has a place"; "Spotlight on a Researcher: Belay Gulte Mino"; "12 economic growth myths and how to counter them"; "5 things you can do to end the biodiversity crisis as the world talks about it at COP16"; "Let’s be clear, Peter Dutton’s energy plan is more focused on coal and gas than it is on nuclear power"; "Solar is helping schools save big. Your district could be next."; "A New Trilemma Haunts the World Economy"; "‘We were trapped like rats’: Spain’s floods bring devastation and despair"; "Australia is already 1.5 degrees hotter"; "Free Electricity, Anyone? Britain Tries New Tricks to Green Its Grid."; "'Uniquely vulnerable' Australia faces tough battle to avert climate crisis"; "Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural World at an ‘Unprecedented’ Pace"; "Australia one of the biggest producers of a climate change 'supercharger', new report says"; "A Pivotal Choice: Trump vs. Harris on Climate Change"; "Australia to start November with a heatwave as La Niña chances dwindle"; "How the fast-track saved New Zealand coal"; "Abandoning Bass Strait oil and gas structures would breach international law, expert warns"; "English and Regional Media Coverage of the 2022 Heatwave in India"; "Santos sued by its own shareholder in world-first greenwashing case"; "The Times view on planning red tape: Powering Ahead"; "Hedgehogs ‘near threatened’ on red list after 30% decline over past decade"; "Governor Hobbs Announces Extreme Heat Preparedness Plan"; "2023: A historic year of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters"; "Energy expert Vaclav Smil on how to feed the world without trashing it"; "New Reports Ahead of COP29 Show The World Is Spinning Its Wheels on Climate Action"; "Qua

Yael Stone (pictured) has become a force in Hollywood, she had just been afforded the Green Card when a Black Summer epiphany saw her switch from her movie dreams to doing what she could to combat the climate emergency, and out of that came "Hi Neighbour". Yael's story, and that of her partner, Jack Manning Bancroft, is told on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's, Australian Story, "The Two of Us". "Pacific and Caribbean Island Nations Call for the First Universal Carbon Levy on International Shipping Emissions"; "A 4300km power line to Asia? Singapore thinks it might just work"; "Chronic Health Problems Amplify Heat Risk in the Rio Grande Valley"; "Australia, the land of iron ore exports, faces a green reckoning"; "Dozens dead in floods and landslides after tropical storm Trami hits the Philippines"; "Let’s tax carbon: Why the time is right for a second shot at carbon pricing"; "What Helene took"; "Labor accuses Peter Dutton of trying to ‘force nuclear energy on Queenslanders’"; "Changing the DNA of Living Things to Fight Climate Change"; "At COP16, South American Nations Face the Climate Crisis in Real Time"; "The U.N.’s Verdict on Climate Progress Over the Past Year: There Was None"; "Antarctica’s Fate Will Impact the World. Is It Time to Give The Region a Voice at Climate Talks?"; "Wildfires in the West Aren’t Just Getting Bigger. They’re Faster, Too."; "This is what the Arctic’s record-hot summer looked like"; "Legal bid for Ecuador forest to be recognised as song co-creator"; "Dog owners warned about boom in ticks on Australia’s east coast after last year’s hot and wet summer"; "‘They regress’: kids struggle without school and structure after Helene"; "Pacific and Caribbean Island Nations Call for the First Universal Carbon Levy on International Shipping Emissions"; "Lifting the Veil on Tens of Billions in Oil Company Payments to Governments"; "Europe’s Electric Vehicle Woes Are a Lesson for E.V.s Everywhere"; "How Fracking Technology Could Drive a Clean-Energy Boom"; "‘We have emotions too’: Climate scientists respond to attacks on objectivity"; "Behind the Scenes: Inside Tech Efforts to Protect Right Whales from Fishing Gear"; "‘We don’t know where the tipping point is’: climate expert on potential collapse of Atlantic circulation"; "U.N. says only a ‘quantum leap’ can keep global climate goals within reach"; "Are tariffs holding us back from our carbon targets, or could they actually help?"; "Our House Is Burning: Discrepancy in Climate Change vs. Biodiversity Coverage in the Media as Compared to Scientific Literature"; "We need distributed solar and energy storage, not utility monopolies"; "Collapsing wildlife populations near ‘points of no return’, report warns"; "It would cost billions, but pay for itself over time. The economic case for air conditioning every Australian school"; "Humanity is on the verge of ‘shattering Earth’s natural limits’, say experts in biodiversity warning".

There is no need to search the world for news about what's happening with the climate crisis - the stories are 'banging the door down'. "Hurricane misinformation is just one piece of America’s rumor habit"; "Everyone loves rooftop solar panels. But there’s a problem."; "Once we pass 1.5°C of global warming, there is no going back"; "Climate change top of the agenda as Samoa hosts Commonwealth meeting"; "Landfill methane is a big climate problem. Here are some easy solutions."; "‘A Royal Park in the sky’: Reece pledges seed funding for rooftop garden plan"; "UNCOMMON WEALTH: Fossil Fuel Expansion in the Commonwealth Dominated by Three Wealthy Countries"; "Pollution From World’s Militaries in Spotlight at UN Summit"; "Transport Minister “Sick and Tired” of Funding Cycleways"; "Wartime emissions rage, but no one’s counting them"; "A Heat Pump Can Cut Your Emissions. But Read This Before You Switch."; "‘The waters become corrupt, the air infected’: here’s how Ancient Greeks and Romans grappled with environmental damage"; "Adelaide launches bid to host Cop31 climate conference in 2026"; "'Little recognition of this threat': Climate report condemns government inaction"; "Our leaders are collaborators with fossil fuel colonialists. This is the source of our communal dread"; "As climate disasters grow, early warning systems become essential"; "Climate disasters challenge right to safe and adequate housing"; "Water gushes through sand dunes after a rare rainfall in the Sahara desert"; "Greening of Antarctica Is Another Sign of Significant Climate Shift on the Frozen Continent"; "Australia facing one of the hottest summers on record, according to BOM prediction"; "As hurricane seasons worsen, taxpayers subsidize people to live in risky areas"; "Hurricane Helene destroyed Asheville’s flourishing arts community. Can they rebuild what was lost?"; "How the ‘climate voter’ might matter in a down-to-the-wire US election"; "No need for nuclear power"; "Ongoing African drought has plunged Zambia into daily blackouts as hydroelectric dam unable to run"; "Water Crises Threaten the World’s Ability to Eat, Studies Show"; "BlackRock accused of greenwashing in ClientEarth legal complaint"; "Global Electricity Demand Is Rising Faster Than Expected, I.E.A. Says"; "Where forest fires have caused an alarming increase in carbon emissions"; "The Flood-Protection Rule That Trump Rolled Back"; "Hurricane misinformation is just one piece of America’s rumor habit"; "Where climate change poses the most and least risk to American homeowners"; "Jordan Peterson’s Online Class Compares Climate Activists to Mass Shooters"; "Politicize Hurricane Milton, Please"; "Everyone loves rooftop solar panels. But there’s a problem."; "Climate change could lead to $11bn in weather damage at NFL stadiums by 2050, experts warn"; "Where there’s smoke: the rising death toll from climate-charged fire in the landscape"; "Expanding coal mines – and reaching net zero? Tanya Plibersek seems to believe both are possible"; "Be honest about what we really mean by marine protection"; "What to do about one of America's last wild places"; "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/21/humanity-earth-natural-limits-biodiversity-warning-cop16-conference-scientists-academics?utm_term=671726c62231210d5eb898002f7c82db&amp;utm_campaign

Afflicted by the tyranny of the immediate journalists around the world, report on conflicts and try to tell their stories about the tragedy of war while integrating the exploding costs of climate change. No one group is more aware of this challenge than those behind Covering Climate Now and so to further understand this dilemma it staged the press briefing "War and Climate Change". Neta C. Crawford, who was at Brown University when she wrote the paper: "Pentagon Fuel Use, Climate Change, and the Costs of War" was one of three reporters on the panel. Following that theme was an opinion piece from Politico Magazine by Sherri Goodman and Leah Emanuel: "Why You Won’t Hear the Military Arguing About Climate Change".

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, the author of "What If We Get it Right?", has been described as the"rock star" of the climate movement. Here, she appears on "Climate One" with Bill McKibben and Abigail Dillen. "Hot, wet summers becoming the norm in Australia"; "Pollution from cremations is set to double. Can saying goodbye be a greener process?"; "Australia still a contender in green hydrogen race, says BP"; "‘Gas is here to stay’: Opposition pledges public funds for fossil fuels": "The one simple change you can make to cut household bills"; "When money’s tight, we can’t afford to worry about our costliest threat"; "Why might people believe in human-made hurricanes? Two conspiracy theory psychologists explain"; "Will the Earth warm by 2°C or 5.5°C? Either way it’s bad, and trying to narrow it down may be a distraction"; "Another major climate conference helps a despotic regime"; "Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson"; "What if we Act as if We Love the Future"; "New evidence says gas exports damage the climate even more than coal. It’s time Australia took serious action"; "Fossil fuels could become cheaper and more abundant, says IEA"; "Coalition pledge to subsidise AusMYCtralia’s most expensive form of energy makes ‘no sense’, Labor says"; "Queensland Premier Steven Miles is promising to hold a vote on nuclear power. Here’s why"; "How do solar railways work? Startup gets green light for pilot project in Switzerland"; "UK Faces Second-Worst Harvest on Record Amid Climate Change"; "Hurricane Milton costs Florida billions in damage and wreaks havoc on countless lives"; "Trump Signs Order Rolling Back Environmental Rules on Infrastructure"; "The world wants climate action"; "Can energy-rich Pennsylvania chart a path toward decarbonization?"; "3,000 risk experts and 20,000 citizens name climate change as number one threat facing the world"; "This farmer was skeptical about solar — until he began grazing sheep"; "Countdown to COP29 – NDCs 3.0 and the path to 1.5°C"; "Water industry ownership should be decided by citizens’ assembly, new bill says"; "Supreme Court clears way for Biden’s plan to cut power plant emissions".

Richard Denniss (pictured), the Executive Director of The Australia Institute laughingly said in an ABC interview, that Nature Positive can be anything you want it to be. And on the 7:00 am podcast, we are told "Why Plibersek’s "nature positive" plans won’t fix the environment". "Is our Government less “nature positive” than a mining magnate?"; "Eighteen years since warning of climate refugee crisis, Albanese has the power to do something, but not the will"; "Weeks after Hurricane Helene, many remain missing in the mountains"; "Some Australian states are discovering what happens when they have too much rooftop solar"; "They are relics of the Gondwana age but five years after Australia’s black summer these trees are dying a ‘long, slow death’"; "As the UAW Moves Into Battery Plants, New Research Shows the Shift to EVs Doesn’t Lead to Job Losses"; "Is Your Company Losing Money Due to Climate Change? Consider Moving to the Midwest, Survey Says"; "The First Gas Utility Sued for Climate Deception"; "Companies That Fought Climate Action Now Accused of Price Gouging Hurricane Milton Evacuees"; "State of Queensland: Disaster Ground Zero"; "Insurance is failing hurricane survivors: ‘People thought they were covered’"; "Fears for future of ski tourism as resorts adapt to thawing snow season"; "Will the Earth warm by 2°C or 5.5°C? Either way it’s bad, and trying to narrow it down may be a distraction''; "Rushed response to oil and gas exploration led to testy select committee"; "King Charles will not attend Cop29 climate meeting, palace confirms"; "Big EV bus revolution: what you need to know and Chinese companies’ role in it"; "Money Pit" with George Monbiot; "How to Prepare for Extreme Weather With Community-Powered Resilience"; "Fund green energy schemes with bonds, urges think tank"; "As Climate Warms, More Are Asking: Should I Have Kids?"; "FEMA maps missed parts of North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Helene, Post analysis shows"; "Romanian authorities beef up preventative measures after devastating flooding"; "Weeks after Hurricane Helene, many remain missing in the mountains"; "These 5 ‘post-truth’ claims are fuelling the water wars in Australia"; "Australian Security Leaders Climate Group calls for overhaul of federal government's climate threat preparedness strategy".

A Senior Fellow with the World Resources Institute, Dr Karl Hausker (pictured), delivered a public lecture on October 10 at the University of Melbourne on "Recent developments in US climate policy." And it was during the lecture, thanks to what Dr Hausker said, that I realised I was a purist as opposed to being a pragmatist when it came to my approach to the climate crisis. "Earth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance, say climate experts"; "‘It’s mindblowing’: US meteorologists face death threats as hurricane conspiracies surge"; "Explainer: How hotter oceans can fuel more intense Atlantic hurricanes"; "25 of 35 Vital Signs for Earth Have Reached Record Extremes, Scientists Warn"; "Global Deforestation Increased in 2023, Report Finds"; "BP Scraps Target of Reducing Oil Production by 2030"; "A 20-Foot Sea Wall? Miami Faces the Hard Choices of Climate Change."; "‘It’s almost beyond belief’: Findings blast Australia’s biggest carbon offset scheme"; "‘Earth is sending out an SOS’: the battle to reverse wildlife losses"; "Florida’s governor prepared for this inevitable storm by burying his head"; "Anatomy of a monster: Inside the one-in-1000-year hurricane that smashed Florida"; "Tanya Plibersek defends Aboriginal heritage order blocking ‘irreversible damage’ of goldmine tailings dam"; "You’re probably underestimating the willingness of your fellow citizens to act on climate"; "Queensland’s LNP leader David Crisafulli says plan to end coal energy by early 2030s is ‘fanciful"; "In a comparison of life-cycle emissions, EVs crushed combustion cars"; "From the sea to your plate: how to choose more sustainable salmon"; "Solar panel prices have fallen by around 20% every time global capacity doubled"; "At least 18 people dead in Hurricane Milton’s aftermath"; "Hurricane Milton: Flooded industrial sites and toxic chemical releases are a silent, growing threat"; "Meteorologists Get Death Threats as Hurricane Milton Conspiracy Theories Thrive"; "Hurricane Milton has left two worlds in its wake. Elon Musk lives in one of them. The other is called reality"; "How we created a beautiful native wildflower meadow in the heart of the city using threatened grassland species"; "Ocean Warming Has Doubled in Past 20 Years: EU Copernicus Report"; "The renewable energy hidden in our wastewater ponds – here’s how it could work"; "New Energy Outlook2024"; "Rebates for buying e-bikes and e-scooters are good but unlikely to greatly boost sustainable transport on their own"; "Global River Flows Fell to Record Lows in 2023, WMO Report Says".