Daniel

ENDLESS RECORD HEAT IN CHINA
16 stations broke their August record,of which those all time highs as follows:
44.2 Wuxi
41.0 Cangxi
40.6 Nanzheng
39.5 Xiaogan
38.2 Yajiang
37.8 Liuba

Heat records have been falling for months,relentlessly

The #RRSSirDavidAttenborough is in Frederikshavn, Denmark for a summer glow up ☀️

After one of the longest seasons ever for the UK's icebreaker research ship and a voyage through the polar night, it's due some R&R (refit and repair work).

📸 Richard Turner

Belief in divine (versus human) control of earth affects perceived threat of climate change - npj Climate Action npj Climate Action - Belief in divine (versus human) control of earth affects perceived threat of climate change

Study: “Religious characteristics are predictive of Americans’ skepticism toward climate-related science and policy. Though attributable to a variety of interrelated factors, we propose specific religious beliefs help explain the dynamic in part.”

Very happy to talk about the human side of energy systems today on this panel.

Confused politics fans the flames of southern Europe’s wildfires In Cyprus, an early warning system failed and an evacuation plan confused locals. The government’s struggles are emblematic of a wider problem across many countries.

The Cypriot government has denied it was ill-prepared for the massive blaze that began in the south of the island earlier this month — pointing to the new resources, staff upgrades and updated protocols.

But its struggles are emblematic of the situation now engulfing southern Europe.

Exactly 💥

Curious how Jeffrey Epstein became a crisis only after Republicans got their tax cuts.

The Lancet Countdown on health and plastics Plastics are a grave, growing, and under-recognised danger to human and planetary health. Plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losse...

'Plastics are a grave, growing, and under-recognised danger to human and planetary health. Plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding US$1·5 trillion annually.'
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Deadly 'flesh-eating' bacteria cases rise along Gulf Coast, doctors warn Health officials are warning of a rise in potentially deadly "flesh-eating" bacteria cases along the Gulf Coast, with Louisiana reporting higher numbers than usual.

Not now flesh eating bacteria!

Water firms cause more than 100 potentially illegal sewage spills a day Raw sewage is pouring into waterways on dry days far more often than reported as infrastructure fails to keep pace with population growth and climate change

Raw sewage spills from England's sewage works are only legal when there's been heavy rain

There shouldn't be any on dry days, although still thought to be about 6000 per yr

New analysis shows in 2025, there were over 6000 "dry day spills" in just January & February
www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Millions of people now live for weeks each summer in hazardous air quality due to smoke from wildfires nearby or far away. Imagine if the weather apps that advise us to stay inside or wear masks (echoes of covid 😬) told us that climate change is substantially to blame for the fires.

‼️EXTRAORDINARY
We are witnessinfg something beyond imagination:
Dozens of thouisands of records are being brutalized with extreme marhins in >150 countries in every Continent.
August 2025 in just 3 days has already broken more records than any full August in history

Wait for the incoming updates.

Weak climate (industry) policy in EU member states = weak future perspectives.
Not just for EVs, maybe more so for business as usual construction.

You can’t power a state on fantasy.
Nuclear: 10–15 years out
Coal: No new builds planned, anywhere
Gas: 5–7 year delays
States banning solar & wind are picking losers—and guaranteeing failure.

When gas finds out they're the *only* resource a state will allow, prices skyrocket.

IMO: You will only get the transition at the speed necessary if you use policy and regulations to shutter fossil fuels.

At the same time, that policy is easier to pass when you have better and cheaper alternatives at hand.

If we can reduce fossil fuel emissions by the same 1500% as the % Trump claims to have reduced drug prices with then Earth’s climate would be able to return to its beautiful pre-industrial climate within a just 5 to 6 years!

We will capture 15 years of emissions every year!

This thread neatly summarizes the main divide I see in the energy and climate community. Do you think we need political intervention to intentionally wind down fossil fuels, or do you think if we make clean alternatives cheap enough then companies will voluntarily wind down fossil fuels?

Calling for support after destruction of over 100 structures in fires PLETTENBERG BAY AND SEDGEFIELD NEWS - More...

This happened last night just east and west of where we are.

We have had a couple of unseasonably hot days/nights over the last while ahead of cold fronts passing through.

When a fire starts in an informal settlement the results can be catastrophic. 100 homes lost, 600 individuals displaced. 😢

An interesting question to consider while listening to the Carbon Bros podcast.

While the podcast interrogates the origins of the disinformation supply side, this post interrogates the fertile demand side.

How did this ground for fossil fuel disinformation even become so fertile and susceptible…

This iconic Fabian Todorovic cartoon is still one of the best I’ve seen at illustrating the remarkable amount of space we surrender to cars, leaving little space left for everyone and everything else. The text added later makes the bonus point that many drivers still manage to complain about it.

World in $1.5tn ‘plastics crisis’ hitting health from infancy to old age, report warns Plastic production has increased more than 200 times since 1950 and hits health at every stage from extraction to disposal, says review in the Lancet

Plastic is often seen as a cheap material but scientists in The Lancet argue it is expensive when including damage to health

One estimate of the health damage from just three plastic chemicals – PBDE, BPA and DEHP – in 38 countries was $1.5tn a year.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Ireland’s nature lovers on their favourite trees: ‘I felt I could talk to it, like going to a good therapist’ Connecting with woodland can have a profound influence on our lives

"The limbs of the tree reach out into space, because it’s on the side of this cliff. The whole shape is incredibly unique and charismatic: there’s a real power to the tree."

I described a very special wild oak in my West Cork rainforest for the @irishtimes.com
www.irishtimes.com/life-style/p...

The magic of an Irish rainforest
🌍

Going out for a walk before the next round of smoke arrives on the East Coast...
rapidrefresh.noaa.gov/RAPsmoke/

Carbon Bros, Ep 1: The Testosterone Pipeline Investigating the obstacles to action on climate change.

This podcast on petromasculinity and the manosphere (lol) by @amywestervelt.bsky.social and Daniel Penny is characteristically informative and insightful, but also surprisingly funny. Just the theme song (HUUUGH!!!) cracks me up.

Moodys Chief Economist Mark Zandi: “The (US) economy is on the precipice of recession…Consumer spending has flatlined, construction and manufacturing are contracting, and employment is set to fall. And with inflation on the rise, it is tough for the Fed to come to the rescue.”

Timeline cleanser

Graphic: the difference between Planning & Engineering

I feel too often planning & engineering are indistinguishable to many people, and often are understood as "just another study" that kicks the can down the road on inaction. For transit projects, both are needed, and engineering is essential to advance to construction and, ultimately, service.

Many of these are now all over central Milan:

How to be an "apocalyptic optimist" Dana R. Fisher calls herself an "apocalyptic optimist" based on her research as a sociologist of large social movements. Her studies suggest that ever-increasing climate disasters will get people out ...

Seems a lot like apocalyptic optimism here (fueled by rage, despair, and climate shocks) go.ted.com/danarfisher