"Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right bloc sought to win over the environmentalist Greens for a possible coalition Tuesday as the parties that hope for a share of power in Germany wrapped up their first talks on forming a new government."
It sometimes feels like journalists lurch from one catastrophe (or hurricane, flood, wildfire, heat wave) to the next. But that can mean missing the bigger story: Disasters, increasingly linked to climate extremes, are often interlocking events, in which one system failure causes the next and the next. The latest Backgrounder explores three case studies, and how news media can focus attention on steps toward resilience.
A growing body of research shows the links between global warming and extreme weather. And that knowledge can help communities prepare, and assign responsibility for damages. Veteran climate journalist Bob Berwyn lays out the science of climate attribution — for heat waves, flooding, wildfires and, ironically, crop-killing freezes — and discusses its implications for future climate change policy.
A critically important global gathering to advance the Paris climate accords gets underway in Scotland next month. And the latest TipSheet offers an extensive walk-through on the UN meeting — basic terminology and negotiating aims, global politics, green climate funds and more — to help environmental journalists report on it with relevance, whether from there or home.
"Two journalists and an environmental activist have been beaten up by suspected illegal loggers in a forest in northeastern Romania while making a documentary about illicit deforestation, authorities said Friday."
"Even the staunchest defenders of traditional whaling in the Faroe Islands have condemned the “cruel and unnecessary” massacre on Sunday of a superpod of nearly 1,500 dolphins, which were driven into shallow waters of the Skálabotnur beach on the island of Eysturoy and left writhing for hours before being killed."
"The center-left bloc headed to a victory in Norway’s elections Monday as official projections pointed to the governing Conservatives losing power after a campaign dominated by climate change and the future of the country’s oil and gas exploration industry."
"Roma communities driven from Romania's booming city of Cluj-Napoca say the authorities treat them like human garbage. Pollution from a nearby landfill is damaging their health."
"In the Netherlands, officials ruled that Shell has to halt ads that claim customers can render their fuel purchases “carbon neutral” by paying for carbon offsets. The reasoning is pretty straightforward: Shell has, uh, no proof that their claims were true."
Recent images of flooded-out homes are a potent reminder to environmental reporters that where and how houses are built are major factors in how they will survive increasingly common extreme weather-related flooding. The latest TipSheet takes a look at how construction and zoning codes play a role, with story ideas and resources to cover the issue in your region.
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