Green Cities
Week in Review: Environmental News for Aug. 26-31
August 31, 2018
Here’s our week in review, a roundup of the top environmental stories of the week, with reports on climate impacts and action, threats to public health and species, progress in the fight to end plastic pollution, efforts to safeguard science, and more.
California’s State Assembly passed a bill to require the Golden State to obtain 100% of its power from clean sources by 2045. (Liam Dillon, LA Times)
“This is a huge victory for the state of California,” said state Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), the bill’s author. “It’s a victory for clean air. It’s a victory to tackle climate change and the devastation that it’s leaving in its wake.” More…Two big sports and entertainment arenas in Los Angeles announced they are going to stop serving plastic straws: Staples Center, home to the LA Lakers and Clippers, and StubHub Center, home to the LA Galaxy.
A new study shows that rising carbon emissions could make food crops less nutritious, threatening the health of hundreds of millions of the world’s most disadvantaged communities. (Ellen Wulfhorst, Thomson Reuters Foundation) Public schools in Detroit, Michigan, were closed when high levels of lead and copper were found in the water. (Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News)Protect the Pitch ✊️ pic.twitter.com/nsxxpEp9z2
— StubHub Center (@StubHubCenter) August 24, 2018
“… Kids are in school to learn, not to be poisoned by lead.” More…Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh finished his swim in support of actions to protect our oceans. (Francesca Marshall, Telegraph)
On completing his swim he said: “I have also seen plastic on every beach from Land’s End to Dover. We have taken the fish out of the ocean and replaced them with plastic.” More…Recommended Reading and Viewing “How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?” (New York Times) “As temperatures keep trending up, ‘heat belt’ cities maneuver to stay livable” (Robert Moore and Katherine Davis-Young, Washington Post) “Trump’s Dirty Power Plan is much worse for kids’ health than for climate change” (Dana Nuccitelli, The Guardian) “John McCain was an American climate hero, too” (Eric Holthaus, Grist)
“Suppose we’re wrong, and there’s no such thing as greenhouse gas emissions, and we adopt green technologies. All we’ve done is give our kids a better planet.” — Senator John McCain. More…
139 years of summer temperature anomalies in less than 1 minute of your twitter time #heatwave2018 #wxtwitter #climatechange pic.twitter.com/nsdUvUZ3Zp
— Peter Gibson (@SciGibson) August 22, 2018
