Amy Boyer

Intersections of the natural and virtual world: Researchers are using mapping tools and virtual reality not only to understand our planet better but also give others a chance to experience difficult-to-access ecosystems. They are also wondering whether these experiences provide some of the benefits of being outside. Meanwhile, Planet Tracker is arguing for a Natureverse, parallel to the Metaverse, that aligns online financial markets with nature, including pricing for ecosystem services that are currently treated as externalities. Paradoxically, the Natureverse could also provide a data snapshot that prevents shifting baseline syndrome.

 Claire Inciong Krummenacher

Climate leadership wins in Australia: Several Green and independent candidates advocating for significant reductions in carbon emissions secured Parliamentary seats in Australia's national election this past week, signaling a major shift in the country's climate policy following a decade of conservative government.  Australia—currently one of the world’s largest per-capita carbon emitters as well as a top coal and gas exporter—has thus far failed to match other wealthy nations' climate targets. But incoming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared Australia's commitment to renewable energy in his victory speech and stated that the Labor Party would commit to cutting emissions 43% from 2005 levels by 2030.

 Courtney White

Ecological costs of corporate cash: Bill McKibben has an eye-opening post about the link between banks and carbon emissions. Here’s the lede: “If you've got $125k in the financial system, it's doing as much damage as your cooking and your heating and your flying.” It’s based on a new report on the climate impacts of corporate cash, which banks use to finance fossil fuel projects. For example, in 2021 the greenhouse gas emissions generated by Microsoft’s $130 billion in cash and investments were comparable to the emissions generated by the manufacturing, transporting, and use of its products. This contradicts, of course, Microsoft’s pledge to go ‘net zero.’ Bill recommends joining a protest campaign like this one and promises more are coming!

 Emily Jensen

A better way for creatives to take climate action: This piece published through professional design association AIGA unpacks why brands that integrate climate messaging into their marketing, while sometimes well-intentioned, can do more harm than good. They encourage creatives to imagine what it would look like to dedicate their skills to building a visual language for climate change that isn’t contingent on profit—pointing to Climate Visuals (a non-profit that studies the public impact of climate change photography) as an example.

 Kavya Gopal

Where equity fits into electrifying everything: Global energy inequity continues to be a large challenge to the promise of electrifying everything, and this piece unpacks the starkness of the problem by tracking refrigerators—on average, a fridge in the U.S. consumes more energy in a year than a person in most other countries. Addressing gaps in energy access is going to require expanding renewables, using passive cooling/heating methods, and designing more energy efficient devices.

 Juliana Birnbaum

Europe speeds up the transition from fossil fuels: Again, I'm encouraged by the ambitious steps being taken by many European nations to cut fossil fuel consumption, spurred by the war in Ukraine.  In the Netherlands, over 90 percent of households use gas for heating currently, but this week the government announced it won't allow new fossil fuel heating systems starting in 2026, replacing them with hybrid heat pumps.

 Tim Treuer

Indigenous groups decry Arctic Ice Project: This week brought a fascinating story about the collision between well-meaning scientists working on a (partial) geoengineering solution to climate change and indigenous communities in Arctic Alaska that would face possible risks from the scientists' solution. In short, a group called the Arctic Ice Project eventually wants to run vessels up into the Arctic Ocean near Alaska every fall, spraying absolute gobs of tiny hollow silica dioxide beads over freshly formed sea ice. By increasing its reflectivity, they hope to speed the ice's formation. A dozen indigenous groups have released an open letter decrying the plan as potentially being harmful to the wildlife and ecosystem they depend on (a major concern is the beads could break down into silica dust, which is toxic if inhaled). My take is that this is a good microcosm of why we need to be focused on truly regenerative solutions that from their outset incorporate the perspectives of the communities they affect.

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