The Netflix movie about a slow-motion planet-killing climate change metaphor has been the talk of the twittersphere since its release on Christmas eve.
The critics didn’t like it, but many people – including climate scientists, journalists and activists – did like it, and things got pretty heated when it was suggested by some (including the filmmakers!) that not liking it is a bit like climate denial.
Don’t cancel me but I didn’t care much for the film. Sure it made some astute observations and obviously I support its underlying call for action, but I also found it misanthropic and not very funny. (other Unearthers feel differently!)
Now that that’s out of the way, here are some recent headlines which do feel like they belong in Adam McKay’s picture. Truth, as Mark Twain says, can be stranger than fiction.
2021 broke hundreds of heat records
A leading climatologist has said 400 weather stations around the world recorded their highest-ever temperatures last year. It looks likely that 2021 will go down as one of the warmest years on record when NASA / NOAA releases its data.
Despite the increasingly evident climate crisis, and despite some pretty decent noises coming from the White House, carbon emissions from the United States rose significantly last year.
The 7% rise has to be understood in the context of 2020’s unprecedented economic standstill (driven by the pandemic), and it is worth noting that emissions are lower than they were in 2019, but the backslide shows just how difficult it will be to achieve some of the gargantuan (and essential) climate targets set out by this administration, and governments around the world.
UK minister courts oil bosses after climate summit
The energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, dined with oil industry executives days after the Glasgow climate summit to encourage them to keep drilling in the North Sea.
The dinner, designed to give the oil and gas sector ‘political confidence’ after a fortnight at which it was not welcome, failed to reassure some investors, with Shell pulling out of the controversial Cambo oil field project two weeks later.
Fossil fuel firms dominate Google search
If you search a climate-related phrase on Google, it’s likely you’ll see an advert for a fossil fuel company that looks very similar to a regular search result.
An analysis by the Guardian and InfluenceMap has found that when you search climate-related phrases, one in five of those links near the top of your search results are paid for by companies with significant interests in fossil fuels.
Gas to feature in EU’s green investment guide
After years of jostling over which types of energy will be labeled ‘green’ in the European Union’s landmark sustainable taxonomy, the results are in.
Natural gas – a fossil fuel – will be given the sustainable label, so long as projects meet certain emissions standards, since it is considered a transitional fuel.
The inclusion of gas and nuclear energies in the taxonomy (an EU official said they will likely have ‘amber’ status) has prompted widespread criticism from NGOs and even by the new German government, with the Greens – a junior member of the coalition – saying Berlin may not support the proposal.
(Last year we revealed how lobbying that led to the burning of trees for energy was awarded the ‘green’ label)
Deforestation in the world’s largest savannah
New statistics show that deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado savannah, the world’s largest, rose by 8% last year. The 8,500km2 of vegetation cleared is an area of land 10 times the size of New York City.
As we have previously reported, the Cerrado is the main frontier for Brazil’s expanding agrifood industry, which we have traced to chickens and cheeses that are sold in UK supermarkets.
Some things we loved
Since everyone is watching and debating the merits of Don’t Look Up, I thought I’d offer a couple of suggestions of great films that address climate and environment issues.
First is Beasts of the Southern Wild, a beautiful tale of a girl and her imagination in the midst of a storm that threatens to sink her Louisiana bayou home.
And second is Michael Clayton, a thrilling story about uncovering corporate crimes of an agrochemical giant.
Zack at Unearthed
If you like our content please keep us going for as little as £2 a month https://dorseteye.com/donate/
