The hottest Climate & Environment Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Climate & Environment Topics

Water withdrawal, depletion, demand: the World's Wells are in Trouble

Adetokunbo Sees • 208 implied HN points • 09 Sep 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Deforestation Carbon Emissions Climate change
  1. Groundwater depletion is a global issue affecting multiple countries from the United States to India and Africa.
  2. Millions of wells are at risk of running dry due to excessive water withdrawal for agriculture and industry.
  3. Increased demand for water and deforestation are exacerbating climate change by accelerating carbon emissions and global temperatures.
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Empty Promises of Circularity

Fight to Repair • 39 implied HN points • 10 Aug 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Repair Environmental Impact Corporate Power E-Waste
  1. Overconsumption is pushing Earth Overshoot Day earlier each year, highlighting the urgency to change consumption habits.
  2. Repairing tools like bicycles promotes self-reliance and community, resisting corporate control over repair and parts.
  3. The push towards a circular economy needs careful consideration; ending ownership doesn't automatically address corporate power, and repairability is key to combating 'enshittification'.

Boox Delivers Sustainable E-commerce for the Next Generation

Warming Up to Climate Tech • 39 implied HN points • 22 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Circular Economy
  1. Boox supplies reusable packaging to e-commerce brands, aiming to eliminate single-use waste and build a circular economy.
  2. The rise in e-commerce has led to increased packaging waste, making sustainability crucial for brands today.
  3. Boox focuses on reusing before recycling, prioritizing the use of polypropylene boxes and aiming to reach 100% post-consumer content by the end of 2024.

A Trio of Environmental Articles For Your Sunday/Monday Reads

crimeandpunishment • 39 implied HN points • 03 Apr 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Politics Health Business Articles Mental health
  1. Politics and our natural world are interconnected; we need to reduce fossil fuel use and harmful chemicals to protect our environment and ourselves.
  2. Deforestation can lead to disease outbreaks by creating close contact zones between humans and wild animals.
  3. Climate change not only impacts physical health but can also have negative effects on mental health, leading to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.

Blended scenarios

Douglass’s Newsletter • 39 implied HN points • 08 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Energy Use Technological solutions Resource Management Sustainability
  1. Three proposed blended scenarios for addressing climate change: drift, embrace localization (Gardenworld), embrace high tech (world)
  2. Use of technology like AI and chatbots to manage Gardenworld projects for feeding, sheltering, and aesthetics
  3. Local efforts to maintain Internet connectivity as a common project in the face of grid failures

what might happen - one sequence

Douglass’s Newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability Urban planning Natural Disasters Resource Management Environmental Activism
  1. Very few are aware of major trends already happening on Earth, such as deforestation, floods, and food production decline
  2. A proposed sequence envisions a path from crisis to Gardenworld through stages like Lifeboats and Security
  3. The concept of Gardenworld offers a goal for continuous experimentation and improvement in education, medicine, and other areas

Environmental Sustainability #1 CEO Priority Over Next 3 Years

Surfing the Future • 19 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Environmental sustainability
  1. Environmental sustainability is expected to be the top CEO priority over the next three years.
  2. Even though A.I. gets a lot of attention, environmental sustainability is predicted to have a greater impact.
  3. Reports from sources like the IBM Institute for Business Value highlight the significance of environmental sustainability.

Circular Economy, Challenges for the Recycling and Repurposing Models

Divergent Futures • 19 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability Waste Management Energy Recycling Economic Models
  1. Recycling requires a lot of energy. To make recycling effective, we need to ensure we have enough energy left over for future use, not just for recycling now.
  2. Repurposing items can be costly at a large scale. It's often cheaper to produce new items because mass production is more efficient than repairing unique, broken items.
  3. The main focus should be on reducing waste, not just on conserving resources. Waste creates urgent problems like pollution and health issues, which need more attention in discussions about sustainability.

The world has enough minerals for low-carbon electricity

Sustainability by numbers • 178 implied HN points • 13 Nov 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Minerals Electricity Greenhouse Gases Supply Chains Renewable Energy
  1. There are enough minerals for low-carbon electricity systems, but issues may arise with mine construction and geopolitical risks.
  2. Most materials needed for decarbonization are available, with demand being a small fraction of global reserves for the majority of minerals.
  3. Building low-carbon electricity infrastructure will require some increase in global production, but the embedded carbon emissions are relatively low compared to using fossil fuels.

The U.S. Rich caused 40% Emissions, China's Rich 32%, Europe's Rich 40%: Blame the Rich for causing Emissions

Adetokunbo Sees • 208 implied HN points • 26 Aug 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Emissions Wealth Disparity Renewable Energy
  1. The rich in different countries are responsible for a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions.
  2. Investments in polluting industries, superyachts, and private planes contribute to high levels of emissions by the wealthy.
  3. To address climate change, the rich need to reduce their carbon footprint from extravagant spending.

Is the Gulf Stream in Danger of Collapse?

God's Spies by Thomas Neuburger • 70 implied HN points • 25 Oct 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Global Warming Ocean Currents Climate Crisis Environmental Science Climate models
  1. The Gulf Stream, part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is in danger of collapsing and could do so in the coming decades. It's important because it impacts weather and climate in Europe and beyond.
  2. Scientists are concerned that human activities, particularly global warming, have been slowing down the AMOC for around 60-70 years. This slowdown is indicated by unusual cooling in parts of the northern Atlantic.
  3. Recent studies suggest there's a significant chance of AMOC collapse by 2050. Climate models have refined estimates, showing a 59% chance of collapse before that year.

Nurse Buildings

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 159 implied HN points • 19 May 22
🌞 Climate & Environment Ecology Botany History Architecture Urban Design
  1. Nurse buildings, like the Colosseum, are structures where plants can thrive, thanks to their materials and existing cavities that hold seeds and moisture. This creates a unique environment for plant growth.
  2. The Colosseum has over 600 plant species recorded, showing how nature can reclaim man-made structures, even after efforts to remove them.
  3. Living walls in buildings can enhance urban spaces by providing natural beauty and habitat for plants, making cities greener and more inviting.

If the UK has lots of renewables, why do electricity prices follow gas prices?

Sustainability by numbers • 206 implied HN points • 15 Aug 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Renewables Green Energy Market Dynamics
  1. Electricity prices follow gas prices because the most expensive source that needs to be turned on at any given time, usually gas, sets the price.
  2. In many electricity markets, the price is determined by the most expensive source that has to be turned on to meet demand, known as the marginal price.
  3. To lower electricity prices, there needs to be lower demand or an increase in renewable and nuclear energy sources to reduce the need for more expensive sources like natural gas.

AI’s climate footprint, a nuclear renaissance, and the new climate subsidy wars 🔥

Climate Money • 19 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment AI Nuclear Data Centers Decarbonization Climate change
  1. Global electricity demand from data centers is set to double in the next two years due to AI's growth.
  2. Nuclear industry is experiencing a significant moment with uranium prices reaching a 16-year high.
  3. There is a new competitive landscape in the global climate technology space with Europe's entry leading to climate subsidy wars.

We have enough minerals for the energy transition, but medium-term supply is a challenge [Part 1]

Sustainability by numbers • 163 implied HN points • 01 Dec 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Minerals Energy transition EVs Renewable Energy
  1. There are enough minerals for the energy transition, focusing on low-carbon electricity systems
  2. Supply and demand of minerals can change over time, making long-term projections uncertain
  3. Markets can incentivize exploration and material substitution to prevent mineral shortages

Collapsed Croplands, drought, disasters: possible implications after hottest Day ever Recorded

Adetokunbo Sees • 208 implied HN points • 29 Jul 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Renewable Energy Drought Disasters Food security Global Warming
  1. Heat waves and droughts lead to crop failures and loss of yields, impacting global food security.
  2. Rising temperatures affect crop yields, with each degree increase in global temperature leading to significant decreases in wheat, rice, and maize production.
  3. Reducing fossil fuel emissions is crucial to mitigating the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security.

How much more electricity will the UK need to switch to electric vehicles?

Sustainability by numbers • 188 implied HN points • 15 Sep 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Electric Vehicles Energy consumption Renewable Energy Energy Efficiency
  1. Fully switching to electric cars in the UK would increase electricity demand by around one-quarter.
  2. Transitioning all road transport to electric would lead to a 40% increase in electricity demand in the UK.
  3. Shifting to electric transport significantly reduces overall energy demand due to the higher efficiency of electric vehicles compared to petrol and diesel vehicles.

In Heat

The Cosmopolitan Globalist • 19 implied HN points • 01 Jul 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change Environmental Policy Urban Issues Global Warming Sustainability
  1. Europe is facing extreme heat waves that are causing concern for public health and infrastructure. With rising temperatures, cities like Paris are struggling to cope with the effects on their buildings and services.
  2. Feline High-Rise Syndrome is a real danger for urban cats, as they can fall from windows and suffer serious injuries. A recent close call highlighted the importance of keeping windows safe for pets, especially during hot weather.
  3. The author critiques climate policy and economic decisions, suggesting that current strategies are harming American competitiveness. They believe the focus should be on enhancing clean energy innovation rather than restrictive legislation that might endanger jobs and industries.

We have enough minerals for the energy transition, but medium-term supply is a challenge [Part 2]

Sustainability by numbers • 150 implied HN points • 07 Dec 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Minerals Energy transition Supply Recycling
  1. Short- and medium-term supply of minerals for the energy transition is a challenge that requires increased recycling, substitution, mining, and refining capacity.
  2. The time it takes to discover new mineral deposits, open mines, and scale up refining capacity can create bottlenecks in the short- and medium-term.
  3. To meet the growing mineral demand by 2030, there is a need to accelerate new mine openings, build refining capacity, and ensure strong environmental and social oversight.

Competition is good for net zero

Klement on Investing • 1 implied HN point • 26 Jan 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate Policy Emissions Trade policy Carbon Pricing Market Competition
  1. Cutting import tariffs causes domestic firms to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, with affected companies showing about 20–25% lower scope 1 intensity and 5–10% lower scope 2 in the year after a tariff reduction.
  2. The reason is competition: cheaper imports push firms to innovate, switch to greener products that fetch a premium, or invest in modern, less emissions‑intensive machinery to protect margins.
  3. Broadly protecting home markets with higher tariffs can weaken competitive pressure to decarbonize, though targeted border measures aimed at preventing regulatory arbitrage can still be useful.

Two guides for a healthy biosphere

Technology, Environment, and Art • 19 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Philosophy Environmental Impact Sustainability Education
  1. Human happiness and contentment is tied to the health of the biosphere, including all life forms, not just humans
  2. We need more thinkers who ask basic, general questions without relying on specialized knowledge, encouraging a return to fundamental philosophy
  3. We should move beyond prioritizing profit and measurable variables to embrace a new philosophy emphasizing harmony with the biosphere and a shift towards empathetic and wise thinking

Rising Emissions | Addicted to fossil-fuels

WeBeGreen • 39 implied HN points • 12 Jan 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Renewable Energy Legislation Economics Sustainability Environmental justice
  1. We're addicted to fossil fuels but can transition smoothly to renewable energy alternatives.
  2. Legislative changes like making polluters pay and enforcing reparations for environmental damage are vital.
  3. Economic solutions like prioritizing planet well-being over individual profit can lead us towards a sustainable future.

The Fire Before the Fire

KERFUFFLE • 39 implied HN points • 21 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Wildfires Environmental Policy Climate change Natural Disasters Energy Management
  1. Residents of Altadena asked SoCal Edison to turn off the power to prevent fires, but the request was ignored.
  2. A fire known as the Eaton Fire later broke out, highlighting the danger of power lines during dry conditions.
  3. The causes of fires, like the one in Pacific Palisades, can be complex and may involve various factors like fireworks and weather conditions.

Fight to Repair Weekly: Week of December 5, 2022

Fight to Repair • 39 implied HN points • 07 Dec 22
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change Consumerism Environmental Impact
  1. Climate change is not the main threat to the planet, but rather runaway consumption and production leading to biodiversity loss.
  2. Reducing consumption and focusing on repair can help combat ecological collapse, especially in wealthier nations.
  3. Recent news highlights issues such as cybersecurity flaws in cars, Samsung's new repair app, and legal battles over biometric data collection.

Europe's Fast-Closing Carbon Window

European Straits • 11 implied HN points • 10 Aug 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate Policy Carbon Pricing Sustainability Technological Innovation
  1. Europe is creating a unique carbon market that will charge importers for the carbon in goods like cement and steel. This could raise around €100 billion in its first years, encouraging other countries to reduce emissions.
  2. Carbon removal technologies can turn captured CO₂ into valuable products like concrete, fuels, and chemicals. This means companies can make money while helping the environment, which is vital for creating new industries.
  3. To succeed, European firms need to focus on scaling up their operations and capitalizing on new technologies. It's not enough to follow market rules; they need to invest in building strong companies that can compete globally.

Eco-tips #1: Stuff you can do for the environment

Technology, Environment, and Art • 19 implied HN points • 19 Dec 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Deforestation Consumption Conservation
  1. Avoid investing in companies contributing to deforestation by researching your retirement funds.
  2. Check if your country has signed the UN High Seas Treaty to protect the oceans and international waters.
  3. Reduce consumption by consuming less and opting for resource-efficient alternatives to cultivate an attitude of respect for the environment.

The three types of changes for a sustainable future

Technology, Environment, and Art • 19 implied HN points • 18 Dec 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability Ecology Conservation Environmental Activism
  1. Type I changes are superficial changes that may sound good but do little to solve sustainability issues.
  2. Type II changes make a significant positive impact on the environment while still operating within current systems.
  3. Type III changes are radical, revolutionary changes that challenge the status quo and are essential for creating a truly sustainable future.