Saving Our Humanity
"How could people literally be cooking because of climate change, but still behave so unsustainably?" This was a question posed in a recent thought piece by Jury Gualandris and Cassandra Caslini published by Network for Business Sustainability (NBS). As a team of environmental mathematicians here at We Are Neutral, we find ourselves returning to this question often. We can see, measure, and experience the horrific effects of climate change and yet, somehow, we have not been moved to collective action. One theory is that this problem–the climate crisis– feels too big to tackle; another is that people think it's "too late" to make a difference, so why even bother. We consider ourselves "Mother Earth's Accountants" and we are here to assure you that it's not too big and it's not too late, but it is going to take all of us and we need to start now. Let's get into The Good Stuff...
The Good Stuff
Sweden's Emission Mission: Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is introducing a fuel and diesel car ban in its city centre to slash emissions. This marks the first time the country has introduced such strict environmental rules for vehicles. Read more via EuroNews.
Bye Bye Big Oil: In a watershed moment, California signs Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and two landmark corporate climate-disclosure bills while launching lawsuits against oil companies. Read more via Corporate Knights.
Airline Accountability: A wave of anti-greenwashing litigation is seeking to hold major players in the aviation industry accountable for sensational claims of being sustainable, low-carbon or contributing to net zero. While the industry has faced legal backlash in the past, the dramatic proliferation of these cases may spell disaster for major airlines. Read more via Corporate Knights.
The Bad Stuff
Category 5 Destruction: At least 27 people are dead in Acapulco, Mexico after Hurricane Otis devastated Southern Mexico. Experts say the rapid intensification Hurricane Otis underwent in the hours before it made landfall is a symptom of human-caused climate change– and that this fatal phenomenon is only becoming more frequent and more intense. Read more via CNN.
Climate Denial in the House: Newly elected U.S. House Speaker Representative Mike Johnson champions fossil fuels and dismisses climate concerns. The Republican from Louisiana oil county does not believe burning fossil fuels is changing the climate, and the unanimous election suggests that his views are not out of step with the rest of his party. Read more via The New York Times.
Too Hot for Humans: Some of the most populous parts of the world including the Indus River Valley in India and Pakistan, eastern Asia, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, are hotspots which are on the brink of exceeding temperature thresholds that can support human life. The infuriating reality: These regions that will bear the brunt of climate change have contributed relatively little to its causes. Read more via The LA Times.
On the Horizon: The Climate-Correcting Power of AI
"Transportation is responsible for one quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. While companies have touted electric vehicles and sustainable aviation fuel as ways to cut emissions from air and road travel, reducing the climate impact of rail transport has received relatively little attention.
A Canadian startup wants to lessen that impact. Montreal-based RailVision Analytics has developed artificial intelligence-enabled software to help locomotive engineers make small adjustments in train driving that could lead to big savings in diesel fuel. That could help freight and passenger trains cut into the roughly 100 million tons of planet-warming gases released into the atmosphere every year." Read more via Bloomberg.