The data on dirty air is devastating. But it wasn’t just the numbers that prompted freelance journalist Beth Gardiner to chase the story of worsening air pollution around the globe. It was also the impact on human lives and the intersection with politics, power and money. She explains in our latest feature story. Plus, resources for your own reporting.
"The seeds of more than 370 wild crop species have been collected as part of a six-year Indiana Jones-style mission to widen the gene pool of staple crops and ensure future global food security in increasingly unpredictable growing conditions."
"Climate-fueled disasters have forced 20 million people -- or one person every two seconds -- from their homes every year for the last decade, according to a new global report."
"At its peak, one meltwater lake drained the equivalent of an Olympic-size swimming pool every three seconds."
"A cerulean lake consisting of glacial meltwater on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet, located about 18 miles from where the Store Glacier meets the sea in west Greenland, briefly became one of the world’s tallest waterfalls during the course of five hours in July 2018.
"The number of insurers withdrawing cover for coal projects more than doubled this year and for the first time US companies have taken action, leaving Lloyd’s of London and Asian insurers as the “last resort” for fossil fuels, according to a new report."
"ISAFJORDUR, Iceland — Before it became a “Game of Thrones” location, before Justin Bieber stalked the trails of Fjadrargljufur, and before hordes of tourists descended upon this small island nation, there were the fish."
"The United Nations opened a two-week climate summit in Madrid on Monday, where world leaders face growing pressure to prove they can muster the political will to avert the most catastrophic impacts of global warming."
"Ethical investors, including the Church of England, plan to extend their campaign for miners and other big businesses to stop funding industry associations that block progress on U.N. goals to curb climate change, they said on Tuesday."
"The world has squandered so much time mustering the action necessary to combat climate change that rapid, unprecedented cuts in greenhouse gas emissions offer the only hope of averting an ever-intensifying cascade of consequences, according to new findings from the United Nations."
"Governments face a struggle at a United Nations summit in Spain next week to inject momentum into efforts to curb global warming, dogged by lack of consensus, U.S. scepticism and disruptive protests demanding more action."
