Why a dividend-based carbon tax? Because of spectacular, fossil-fueled increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide spell great danger. CO2 emissions, Englander notes, are “increasing 55 times faster than anytime over the last 500 million years.” Fossil-fueled emissions exploded after World War…
What might be Biden-Harris’ strategic entry into climate legislation? What is the must-win bill Biden should want delivered to the Resolute Desk? Without exception, bill No. 1 must reduce greenhouse gas emissions at least 50% by 2030. Only large, fast…
Illinois universities help fuel the climate crisis. First, no Prairie State university has dumped fossil fuel investments. These money-losing, risky holdings serve primarily to legitimize a planet-destroying industry. Second, as large fossil fuel burners, universities are major carbon emitters. Illinois…
As climate wildfires rage and the world burns, we ask: who is rising to the challenges of the multiplying climate catastrophes? Illinois State University (ISU) has not. Instead, ISU has retreated from past climate commitments. The retreat begins in earnest…
I know three people who collapsed from heat stroke. Doctors told frantic parents of two kids to immerse them in a cold-water bath. The third, a high school runner who collapsed during a race, attended a school where the athletics…
In April, some hospitals in the New York region were almost overwhelmed as a wave of COVID patients swept into emergency rooms. By mid- to late-March, foresight of the cresting wave guided the hasty creation of surge capacity and recruitment…
Let me open with a question. Do we want vibrant street life and festivals, hallmarks of healthy cities, to survive as global warming turns urban heat islands into frying pans? Who will saunter down streets radiating oppressive heat? Very few,…
Parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis are spooky. The surge of COVID patients pushed hospitals to the breaking point in New York and required refrigerated meat trucks to store bodies. It may yet overwhelm hospitals in states…
Nature is shouting out warnings of pandemic tsunamis barreling down upon us, but repeated warnings are repeatedly ignored. Angelo Capparella listens to frogs for warnings. Jen Walling reads warnings in ongoing dismantling of environmental regulations. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema sees loss…
Tri-County’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, which covers Peoria, defines heat waves as relatively inconsequential. History tells us differently: Chicago 1995, 700 dead; France 2003, 15,000 dead; Western Russia 2010, 50,000 dead. Before Tri-County releases its 2020 plan, it could consult…
