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climate change
Planet Earth Is on the November Ballot
If humanity wants to be part of a sustainable future, we know exactly what we need to do by 2030. These are precisely the years we cannot afford to lose.
Jul 18, 2024
Among the several critical issues on the November ballot in the U.S., the future of Planet Earth has to be high on the list.
For decades, scientists have warned of the apocalyptic consequences of global ecological collapse. We know the causes, consequences, and solutions to this existential crisis, but as governments have remained captured by short-term financial interests, they have largely ignored the warnings and resisted taking substantive action to solve the crisis.
This decade, 2020-2030, is widely thought to be our last best chance to make the changes urgently needed to secure a livable future for all life on Earth.
Here is what the science says—we ignore it at our collective peril.
The global environment is in far worse shape than it was in 1970 (the first Earth Day), and is nearing a point-of-no-return. Human activities have caused the loss of half the world’s forests, coral reefs, wetlands, grasslands, and mangroves; annual use of 75% more resources than Earth can sustain; runaway climate change; air and water pollution in every corner of the world; and most of the Earth’s surface significantly impacted by just one species: Homo sapiens.
The global environment is in far worse shape than it was in 1970... and is nearing a point-of-no-return.
By some estimates, we have already caused the extinction of more than one million species, with another million expected to go extinct in coming years. Beyond species extinctions, wildlife population numbers have plummeted in recent decades: overall global wildlife numbers declined by 60%, large oceanic fish by 66%, seabirds by 70%, and insects declined by 40% in the last decade alone.
In addition, the socioeconomic condition of civilization has continued to decline, with 700 million people now living in extreme poverty and hunger; 16,000 children under the age of five dying every day due to preventable causes; 19,000 people dying every day from breathing polluted air; billions living in water-stressed regions; more people enslaved than at any time in history; thousands of nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert; and growing global insecurity.
Scientists have been warning of global ecological collapse for decades.
The 1992 “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity” from the Union of Concerned Scientists, noted the “ever-increasing environmental degradation that threatens global life support systems on this planet,” warning that: “A great change in our stewardship of the Earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided.”
Twenty-five years later, the 2017 “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice,” issued by over 15,000 scientists from 184 countries, noted that this “great change” in environmental stewardship had not occurred, and that most trends had become alarmingly worse, warning that: “Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out.”
The 2019 “Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency” concluded that: “Despite 40 years of global climate negotiations, with few exceptions, we have generally conducted business as usual and are largely failing to address this predicament.” A U.N. report concluded that for critical ecological systems - atmosphere, land, water, oceans, and biodiversity - environmental degradation now ranges from “serious to irreversible.”
The only chance that human civilization can unite to solve these existential imperatives in time is if the Democrats retain the White House.
Science is clear that if present trends continue, the planet will be virtually uninhabitable for humans and perhaps half of all other species by the end of this century. In fact, for many people and species, in many places, it already is. U.N. officials admit that to solve this crisis, we need “an exponential increase in ambition.”
Fortunately, we know exactly what we need to do to solve this crisis. As British naturalist David Attenborough recently said: “Never before have we been so aware of what we are doing to the planet—and never before have we had such power to do something about it.”
If humanity wants to be part of a sustainable future, we know exactly what we need to do by 2030: reduce global carbon emissions by 50%; stabilize human population; halt destruction of forests and other ecological habitat; place half of the Earth’s lands and waters in fully-protected status; reduce extinction rates to the pre-human background level; shift to a zero-waste, circular economy focused on stability and equity rather than growth; transform agriculture into a sustainable, low-impact food system; electrify global transportation; reduce wealth disparity and poverty; provide education, health care, and economic opportunity for all; and eliminate all nuclear weapons.
In discussing “the fierce urgency of now,” Martin Luther King warned that “there is such a thing as being too late.” For the global environment, we are almost at that point.
Simply put, the only chance that human civilization can unite to solve these existential imperatives in time is if the Democrats retain the White House. Hopefully Americans will vote this November like the future of the world depends on it. It does.
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Climate Crisis Made Deadly Heatwave in US and Mexico 35 Times More Likely
"As long as humans fill the atmosphere with fossil-fuel emissions, the heat will only get worse—vulnerable people will continue to die," an author of the analysis said.
Jun 20, 2024
Scientists on Thursday released an analysis showing the likely role of climate change in creating the deadly heatwave that hit areas including Mexico and the U.S. south in late May and early June.
Record-breaking heat caused by a heat dome, which engulfed areas from Nevada to Honduras, was hotter and more likely to occur due to the climate crisis, with five-day maximum daytime temperatures 35 times more likely than in pre-industrial times and nighttime temperatures 200 times more likely, scientists at World Weather Attribution (WWA) found.
At least 35 died of related illness in just one week in early June in Mexico, and the total death toll may have been much higher. The scientists emphasized that the extreme weather causing the death and suffering was brought about by fossil fuel emissions.
"Unsurprisingly, heatwaves are getting deadlier," Friederike Otto, a co-author of the study and climate scientist at Imperial College London, toldThe Guardian. "We've known about the dangers of climate change at least since the 1970s. But thanks to spineless politicians, who give in to fossil-fuel lobbying again and again, the world continues to burn huge amounts of oil, gas, and coal."
Deadly heat that would have been very rare without climate change & even relatively rare just 20 years ago, now common event due to continued increase in emissions from burning fossil fuels. We now this is happening, but we are not prepared. https://t.co/M93eB8TiIu pic.twitter.com/4U8lIXB8xN
— Dr Friederike Otto (@FrediOtto) June 20, 2024
The analysis was published on the same day that the Energy Institute reported that fossil fuel consumption climbed to a record high in 2023, with coal, oil, and gas still making up more than 80% of the global energy mix, though the figure fell below 70% in Europe for the first time.
May was the 12th consecutive month that was the hottest on record globally, compared to the same time period in previous years. And June has proved to be dangerously hot in many areas, with hundreds dying in the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as temperatures rose above 124°F and Balkan countries, as well as much of the U.S., currently under extreme heat advisories.
The WWA scientists sought to connect the May-June heatwave to these larger trends, and repeatedly explained the cause of the problem.
"As long as humans fill the atmosphere with fossil-fuel emissions, the heat will only get worse—vulnerable people will continue to die and the cost of living will continue to increase," Izidine Pinto, a co-author and researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, told The Guardian.
The heatwave coincided with a drought in Mexico, exacerbating already dire conditions as water supplies dwindled and electricity systems faltered. It also followed, and may have helped prolong, a terrible outbreak of dengue in Latin America and the Caribbean that caused over 1,800 deaths. "Every heatwave is a push that builds up dengue transmission," an expert toldScientific American in April. Dengue cases have begun to decline but still persist, according toDialogue Earth.
The May-June heatwave was notable for especially high nighttime temperatures, which prevent the body from resting and recovering from the daytime heat—a process that's only possible below about 80°F. Certain places in the study area saw nighttime temperatures "with return periods of up to 1000 years."
The climate crisis is changing the likelihood of such weather. "The extreme heat slamming the eastern U.S. this week may be a sign of things to come," The Hill's Zach Budryk wrote Thursday.
That was similar to the message of the WWA scientists.
"These trends will continue with future warming and events like the one observed in 2024 will be very common in a 2°C world," according to their analysis, which refers to a time when the planet has heated 2°C above preindustrial levels; it's already heated up by more than 1°C.
In the analysis, the authors called for warning systems, action plans, laws to protect outdoor workers, and other resilience measures such as better grid systems and more green spaces.
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The Case for Unemployment Insurance for All
Undocumented workers are the backbone of our service and agricultural industries; it’s time to make sure they can access the benefits they pay into.
Jun 07, 2024
During the pandemic more than 46.2 million people relied on unemployment insurance to make ends meet. However, not everyone was able to access that support. Undocumented workers, who make up the backbone of industries like construction, care work, agriculture, and many other industries we all rely on, were left behind.
Working people who are undocumented are taxpayers and contribute significantly to state and local taxes, collectively paying an estimated $11.74 billion a year. And yet, they cannot access the benefits their labor contributes to. Unemployment insurance is a particularly poignant example because their employers pay into the state and federal unemployment insurance trust fund for them—and yet, those workers are left in the cold when they face the catastrophe of job loss, unable to access those funds.
Unemployment insurance in the U.S. was established thanks to the organizing of unions and workers, who demanded a safety net for all during the Great Depression. The importance of unemployment insurance was shown again during the Covid-19 pandemic, when unprecedented job loss affected 22.4 million of us—mainly lower income workers, immigrants, and the working class. Direct cash support in the form of stimulus checks and other pandemic supports like the expanded Child Tax Credit was the lifeline for working people and families, but excluded undocumented workers and their families.
Unemployment insurance is a cornerstone of our safety net, just as undocumented workers are the cornerstone of our food and agriculture system, of care work, and of many other industries we all rely on.
Some states stepped up to fill that gap. The largest support fund was New York’s Excluded Workers Fund, a $2.1 billion cash fund for workers who were excluded from unemployment insurance, including undocumented workers and freelancers. This victory was achieved thanks to the hard work and organizing of a broad coalition across labor and immigrant rights organizations. These checks helped families put food on the table, and also helped make sure local economies stayed stable during the pandemic. However, this relief was temporary.
While these successful support funds raised hope that we would see a more inclusive economy post-pandemic, most state efforts to make unemployment benefits permanent for all workers have stalled. Legislation to include undocumented workers in unemployment insurance in California passed the state legislature, but was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called it too expensive. Both Washington and New York’s legislatures have failed to advance bills that would include all workers in unemployment insurance.The one bright spot is Colorado, which last year established the first ever unemployment benefits program for undocumented workers.
The story of Dolores, an activist in Washington state with OneAmerica, an immigrant rights movement building organization, shows just how crucial it is that workers are able to access benefits in the case of job loss, regardless of citizenship status. Her husband, the primary breadwinner for their family, was laid off for six months when the Covid-19 pandemic began. If he had access to unemployment insurance, they wouldn’t have had to live through the fear and insecurity of deciding between paying their rent or feeding their family. Four years later they are still paying off their missed rent payments. Washington could be next to establish an unemployment insurance system for people like Dolores and her husband, using the funds their employer already pays in for them to the state unemployment insurance fund.
The 10.5 million undocumented workers in the U.S. work across all kinds of industries, but they are the backbone that makes sure agriculture, which is a $1.26 trillion economy—works. Farmers already have trouble finding enough workers to fill their labor needs; to harvest cherries in Washington, to pack tomatoes in California’s central valley, and to help raise cattle and pack chicken in Texas, Alabama, and Kentucky. As we look to the future, extreme weather events due to climate change will mean farmers will face difficult choices, food costs will rise, and it will be even more critical to make sure that the workforce that picks and plants our food has a safety net to rely on if they lose their job.
For survivors of sexual violence who are undocumented, the ability to access unemployment insurance would offer greater flexibility and economic security, which is the foundation of seeking and experiencing safety. Having access to cash benefits is one of the key ways that survivors are able to finally leave unsafe situations, providing freedom from harm for themselves and for their families.
Unemployment insurance is a cornerstone of our safety net, just as undocumented workers are the cornerstone of our food and agriculture system, of care work, and of many other industries we all rely on. Including them in unemployment insurance would provide safety and economic security for working people and their families, benefitting all of us.
The next time you sit down to a meal, I urge you to contact your local officials and let them know how important it is that every single working person in the U.S., especially the many undocumented working people who planted, harvested, and packed the food on your table—are able to access benefits in the case of job loss.
Dolores is a pseudonym used in this article to protect the individual’s identity.
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