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With storms becoming more frequent due to the climate crisis, insurers are forcing operators to respond

One of the least considered hazards of climate change is the increasing frequency of hailstorms and the size and the impact of the pieces of ice they produce. This, in turn, threatens one of the most promising solutions to the climate crisis: solar farms.

In the last year, the number of hailstorms in Europe exceeded 10,000 and the size of large hailstones reported from Italy and Germany increased to 10cm (4in) – enough to dent a car, smash greenhouses and break a solar panel. The frequency of storms and the size of the hail is increasing.

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The storm left hundreds of thousands without power, brought flooding and pounded the area with heavy winds and rain. It had weakened from a Category 2 hurricane to a tropical depression as it moved northeastward over central Mississippi, but still threatened areas with dangerous storm surges

• Louisiana residents breathe a sigh of relief as Hurricane Francine recedes

• Francine weakens to tropical storm after slamming into Louisiana coast

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Storm did not cause large-scale damage or loss of life, but ferocity of winds and rain raises fears for the future

As Hurricane Francine churned offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, Danielle Morris, a resident of the village of Dulac out in the swampy Louisiana coast, made a tough call.

“We’re crazy and we’re staying,” she said, speaking by phone before the hurricane hit, as she stocked up on gasoline for the family’s generator. Some might agree with her judgment of her own sanity – Morris lost her previous home in Hurricane Ida in 2021.

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The courts have become one of the most important battlegrounds in the fight over planet-warming emissions. Here are prominent cases to watch.

Science communication is strengthened when we use creative approaches. Art is such a powerful tool for this, especially when communicating to kids.

Last year, I met Dave Schneider, a climate scientist who studies ice sheets and climate systems, work very similar to my own. He recently published a children’s book titled Goodnight Fossil Fuels! that’s specifically about climate change and fossil fuel accountability. The book was co-written and illustrated by environmental educator and artist Kira Davis. It stars a penguin who teams up with scientists to help solve the problem of how fossil fuels are harming the climate system and features colorful watercolor artwork.

I interviewed Dave and Kira about their book and the importance of collaborations between scientists and artists to advance science communication.

Dr. Shaina Sadai: Dave, your bio describes you as “a climate scientist, writer and outdoor explorer” with an inner compass that pointed you to writing children’s books. Can you elaborate on that inner compass, and what motivated you to write this book in particular?

Dr. Dave Schneider: There were three things that intersected for me. The first is that a few years ago I was shopping for holiday gifts for my nephews, and I came across a children’s book section in a toy store. I checked out the science books, and there were some interesting titles but literally nothing about climate change. I mean, you would think that if children’s climate books exist, you would find them in Boulder, Colorado, the city with the most climate scientists per capita in the world. I found a few titles, but they were all about as engaging as a textbook. There was nothing that’d grab a kid’s attention like a Dr. Seuss book, and certainly nothing that conveyed that climate change is a serious threat to our kids’ futures. So, I began to think about creating a book of my own. Reading books with my nephews was a way that I connected with them when they were little. I needed this book for bedtime stories, for opening the conversation about climate change and what I study.

Second, I knew that I would feel guilty if I went through my career and life, knowing that I knew a lot about this problem, but did not communicate it well, did not speak up about it. I felt that I needed to do something a little more visible than what I had done so far.

Third, I am not intrinsically motivated by physics, computer programming, or math. I have a creative side that was not being exercised in my day job. Writing a book was my chance to do something on the side that was creative and fun.

Shaina: The dedication at the start of the book says, “may it help you to envision and build a brighter future without fossil fuels.” Could you talk about how you envision and build a world without fossil fuels in your life and work?

Dave: “Brighter” is the key word there. We need to make everyone aware of the fact that phasing out fossil fuels will be win-win for all but a tiny number of billionaires. The most talked-about steps are on the energy side, where we must build out renewables and electrify everything. It’s also changing how we design our cities, buildings, and transportation systems, and how we grow our food. There are roles for everyone in this transition, whether you are an oil field worker, farmer, or investment banker. It’s an inclusive future with abundant clean energy, healthy soils, clean air and good food. It’s hard to describe, but I’ll know it when I see it. We have no choice but to strive for it.

A collage of images from Goodnight Fossil Fuels! (credit: Shaina Sadai/UCS)

Shaina: Kira, your bio notes your connections to animals, and your dedication at the start is to “the creatures of the Anthropocene, in memory of the Creatures of the Carboniferous.” Your dedication also states, “I wish for this book to heighten awareness and caring towards all living beings sharing this Earth together.” This really resonated with me, especially as someone who has worked on multispecies climate justice. Could you elaborate on your thoughts about our biodiverse world in the Anthropocene?

Kira Davis: We are changing the atmosphere, and the planet is warming to an extent that desertification and warmer temperatures are causing migrations, extinctions, land loss as water levels rise. But even without climate change, the ripping up of the land to mine resources is immense. The transformation of forest and other land into agriculture (and so much to grow animal feed!) is disastrous. The pollution of heavy metals into the water and all kinds of sickening chemicals into the air leaves so many with respiratory diseases. The biodiversity of our planet as we know it is plummeting. So many birds, insects, and plants, are going extinct. But it doesn’t have to be this way. And climate change has become one of the largest factors—if not the largest —that leads to exponentially quickening collapse.

Shaina: Without giving away too much plot, there are times in the book when animals and humans work together. How do you think about interspecies relationships and their role in confronting climate change?

Kira: We are all inter-related. There is no escaping that. Shifting toward plant-based diets would have a huge impact. Cycling and walking and taking the bus when one doesn’t ‘need’ to drive can be a very impactful habit to nurture. I have a list of eco-challenges that people have pledged to do for a habit-forming month. All of these are ways to shift our roles away from fear or autopilot and toward stewardship.

Shaina: What role can collaborations between artists and scientists play in addressing climate change?

Dave: One of the biggest barriers to climate action is communication. Art is one of humanity’s most effective methods of communicating. Climate scientists are often blamed for being poor communicators, which we often are, but that critique is missing the point that we have very little support for communicating. We’re up against the richest industry in the history of the world, which has unlimited resources for marketing, lobbying, and public relations. Collaborations between independent artists and scientists are essential for constructing positive narratives about climate action that are consistent with the science. This book is just one little thing that will work for a niche audience. But there are so many other audiences to reach; I hope more scientists and artists will collaborate and find creative, effective ways to communicate.

Kira: Creating illustrations for environmental education is fun, meaningful, and exciting. I love thinking about how to illustrate an idea and molding it to my audience—in this case, kids!

In his new book, the economist Thomas Piketty argues that the world can’t stop climate change without addressing issues of inequality.

Landslide in Greenland caused unprecedented seismic event that shows impact of global heating, say scientists

A landslide and mega-tsunami in Greenland in September 2023, triggered by the climate crisis, caused the entire Earth to vibrate for nine days, a scientific investigation has found.

The seismic event was detected by earthquake sensors around the world but was so completely unprecedented that the researchers initially had no idea what had caused it. Having now solved the mystery, the scientists said it showed how global heating was already having planetary-scale impacts and that major landslides were possible in places previously believed to be stable as temperatures rapidly rose.

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Four galleries to be overhauled and two more spaces to reopen, including Fixing Our Broken Planet exhibition

The Natural History Museum in London has announced a major programme of transformation it says will mark “a step-change from being a catalogue of natural history to a catalyst for change” in response to the climate emergency.

The scheme to renovate the museum’s celebrated Victorian building and develop a new research and storage facility will build on its aim to turn visitors into “advocates for the planet”, it said on Thursday.

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Over the last three months, which have been declared the world’s hottest summer on record, outdoor workers across the US have endured dangerously hot conditions on the job. They’ve cut grass in 112°F heat in California’s Coachella Valley, handled baggage on the hot tarmac of airports across the country, harvested fruit, delivered packages, and performed countless other functions that go largely unnoticed by our society.

Unlike past Danger Seasons, however, this one included glimmer of hope: After decades of stalling, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed federal heat-protection standard that would require employers to protect their workers from extreme heat (haga clic aquí para leer en español). And truthfully? The proposed standard isn’t perfect, but it’s damn solid. The public comment period on the proposed standard runs through December 30th.

Here’s what we at UCS see as critical for making the final version as strong as possible—and how you, too, can weigh in.

Wait, we still don’t have a federal standard protecting workers from heat?

First off, a quick recap of the current situation.

Across the US, there are only five states that have some level of workplace heat protections on the books. California and Oregon’s standards cover both indoor and outdoor workers; Washington’s standards cover only outdoor workers; Colorado’s protect only agricultural workers; and Minnesota’s cover only indoor workers. Maryland is close to finalizing a standard and would be the first East Coast state to do so.

At the local level, a few localities—including Phoenix, Tucson, and Pima County, Arizona—have passed ordinances protecting city or county workers. But other localities, such as Austin, TX, and Miami-Dade County, FL—have been barred by their state governments from enacting local protections.

What that means is that in most of the country, even in the hottest places, workers are at the mercy of their employers when it comes to working in extreme heat.

But help is on the way: a federal heat-protection standard is now in sight. It’s critical that the next steps in the rulemaking process are as expeditious as possible and we get a strong final rule soon.

OSHA has issued a proposed heat-protection standard

In the fall of 2021, OSHA announced it was initiating the rulemaking process to create a workplace heat-protection standard. After obtaining thousands of comments through two rounds of public comment and getting recommendations from a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel, on August 30th, OSHA formally issued a proposed heat-protection rule—officially called “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings.” The proposal is now open for public comment through December 30, 2024.

For more background on the rulemaking process, click here.

The good stuff in this proposed rule includes:

• The core health-protective measures workers need when it’s hot: water, shade, and rest;
• Provisions that require rest breaks to be paid—a real win that will ensure workers don’t have to choose between their health and their livelihoods. UCS research shows that outdoor workers could collectively be losing billions of dollars in earnings due to worsening extreme heat by midcentury if provisions like this are not in place;
• The inclusion of an initial heat trigger at 80°F, above which certain protective measures go into place, and a high heat trigger at 90°F, when those measures get ramped up;
• Requirements that managers involve non-managerial employees in identifying hot spots in workplaces and in developing plans to monitor employees when it’s hot.

OSHA has also provided extensive, science-based background materials supporting the proposed rule.

But there are also some weak points that can be improved with pressure through public comments. For example:

• Exempting employers with fewer than 10 employees from putting heat injury and illness protection plans in writing. There are different means of assessing how many employers and employees this would exempt, but it’s safe to say it’s a lot. Pew research shows that half of small businesses in the US have fewer than five employees, for example. And the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council has used Census data to estimate that nearly 80% of employer firms have fewer than ten employees.
• Weak and limited recordkeeping requirements. Under the proposed rule, employers would not be required to keep records of heat illnesses and injuries experienced in their workplaces or how those cases were resolved. Employers would only be required to keep six months’ worth of records of workplace temperatures.
• A fixed length for rest breaks—a minimum of 15 minutes every two hours—rather than progressively longer breaks as the temperature rises, as was suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their 2016 recommendations.  
• Shorter-than-needed acclimatization periods. The proposed rule requires employers to implement a gradual period of acclimatization for new workers that is, at a minimum, four days long. Science suggests this is much too short. OSHA’s own data has shown that most workplace heat-related fatalities occur during the first week on the job. And the CDC notes that acclimatization can take longer than one week. That said, a longer acclimatization period means less time hourly workers are working, so this may be a tough sell.

A lesson from California and Oregon: A heat protection standard alone isn’t enough to protect workers

If the proposed federal standard went into place as-is, it would be a huge step forward in the fight for worker safety in the face of a warming climate. But evidence from states that have had standards in place for years suggests that such rules, on their own, aren’t enough.

In California, there’s evidence that rates of heat-related injuries in the workplace have declined—but not to zero—since the state’s heat-protection standards went into effect in 2006. But over the last several years, there’s been a drop in workplace inspections and enforcement of that law. And without inspections and enforcement, it’s all too easy for employers to fly under the radar.

Recognizing that climate change threatens to increase instances of heat-related injury, illness, and death, California lawmakers passed a bill, SB1299, that is now waiting for Governor Newsom to sign that would create a revolving workers’ compensation fund to compensate workers who incurred medical costs resulting from workplace heat exposure (or, grimly, their families who are owed death benefits).

At the same time, workers in California are organizing and fighting for additional protections, including earning hazard pay for working through extreme heat and smoke; being paid for full workdays even if heat or smoke cause employers to send workers home early; and, just generally, earning higher wages.

Similarly, in Oregon, despite statewide heat-protection standards, workers are still having to choose between health and paycheck because they don’t want to lose income and they fear employer retaliation if they take time off. For the last several years, a stopgap program in the state has compensated farmworkers who lost wages due to heat or smoke. But the fund is no longer accepting new applications and, earlier this year, the state legislature decided not to approve additional funding.

The Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act is an important complement to the OSHA standard. Among other provisions, this bill underscores OSHA’s responsibility and authority to develop and enforce worker heat-health protections and puts a timeline in place for finalization of a rule. Click here to tell your members of Congress to support and pass this important bill.

Tell OSHA to act quickly to enact a strong heat standard

If you’ve never submitted a public comment to a federal agency before, there’s no better time than the present!

OSHA is accepting comments on its proposed heat-protection standard through December 30, 2024, and you, too, can weigh in. Click here and fill out the form to contribute your perspective. To do so you could draw the strengths and weaknesses I list above if you’d like. You could also draw from fellow advocate Juanita Constible’s excellent blog post about the proposed rule. Or you could read the proposed rule itself and decide how you’d like respond.

Whatever route you choose, please consider submitting a comment. The health and wellbeing of the roughly 30 million outdoor workers in the U.S. depends on this standard being as strong as possible, and it’s up to all of us to ensure it lives up to its potential.

A new federal database helps users determine the likelihood of their community experiencing a landslide.

The prime minister blamed the Tories for ‘breaking’ the NHS and said reform of the service was needed

Starmer sets out some of the most negative findings in the report.

Take the waiting times in A&A - more than 100,000 infants waited more than six hours last year.

And nearly a tenth of all patients are now waiting for 12 hours or more.

Even Lord Darzi, with all his years of experience, is shocked by what he discovered. It is unforgivable, and people have every right to be angry.

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While the Greens remain hopeful of compromise, the PM has indicated he wants a deal struck with the Coalition

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Anthony Albanese is rejecting demands from the Greens and some Senate crossbenchers to subject development projects to climate-impact assessments and remove forestry’s effective exemption from environmental protection law, as the government negotiates on stalled legislation with parties to the left and right.

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is in talks with the Greens, crossbenchers and the Coalition over legislation to establish an environment protection authority.

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The case argues the government violated young people’s constitutional rights by failing to curb the use of fossil fuels. A lower court had thrown it out.

Accidents involving blades made by GE Vernova have delayed projects off the coasts of Massachusetts and England and could imperil climate goals.

Wildfires east of Los Angeles threaten tens of thousands of homes since accelerating during weekend heatwave

Firefighters battling three major wildfires in the mountains east of Los Angeles took advantage of cooler weather as they slowly gained the upper hand, but not before dozens of homes were destroyed and thousands of people were forced to evacuate.

California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season but already has seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023. The wildfires have threatened tens of thousands of homes and other structures across southern California since they accelerated during a triple-digit heatwave over the weekend.

The Airport fire in Orange county, which has burned more than 35 sq miles (91 sq km). The fire was 5% contained on Wednesday night and was reportedly sparked by heavy equipment operating in the area.

The Line fire in the San Bernardino national forest, which was 18% contained on Wednesday and had charred 57 sq miles (148 sq km). The blaze has injured three firefighters. Authorities said it was caused by arson in Highland. A suspect was arrested on Tuesday.

The Bridge fire east of Los Angeles, which grew tenfold in a day and has burned 78 sq miles (202 sq km), torched at least 33 homes and six cabins and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people. The cause of the fire is not yet known. It remained 0% contained on Wednesday night.

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As increasingly explosive fire seasons ravage the country, federal firefighters say their employer is exacerbating exhaustion by misclassifying their jobs

Firefighters are feeling the strain of another long and intense season, with months to go before the highest risks subside. But as they battle the flames, the thousands of people working for the US Forest Service (USFS), the largest federal employer of firefighters, are also fighting for changes within the agency to tackle issues they say have made the work even harder.

Federal firefighters have been waiting for years for revisions to outdated job descriptions, which have forced them to do more for less. Many have opted to leave altogether.

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Communities, states and advocacy groups push to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for role in climate crisis

Big oil is facing a soaring number of climate-focused lawsuits, a new analysis has found. It’s a sign that more communities are demanding accountability for the industry’s contributions to the climate crisis.

For the report, published on Thursday, Oil Change International and the climate research organization Zero Carbon Analytics pulled data from a Columbia University database, focusing on cases in which the world’s 25 largest fossil fuel producers were named as defendants.

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The Earth Commission says hope lies in sustainable lifestyles, a radical transformation of global politics and fair distribution of resources

All of humanity could share a prosperous, equitable future but the space for development is rapidly shrinking under pressure from a wealthy minority of ultra-consumers, a groundbreaking study has shown.

Growing environmental degradation and climate instability have pushed the Earth beyond a series of safe planetary boundaries, say the authors from the Earth Commission, but it still remains possible to carve out a “safe and just space” that would enable everyone to thrive.

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David Moot nabs ‘dream’ Cape Cod home next to eroding cliff in imminent danger of crumbling due to climate crisis

A man who says life’s too short to resist buying a home that might fall off a cliff in a few years has taken ownership of a house with a beautiful view that’s just 25ft (7.6 metres) from a sandy, crumbling cliff.

David Moot paid $395,000 for the house on Cape Cod on the Massachusetts coast and said he intends to enjoy it while it lasts.

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The climbers from Italy and South Korea were found on Tuesday after they went missing three days earlier during a period of bad weather on the peak.