It seems, some people are indeed panicking, but, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the issue and mindful of their position as just one person on a planet of billions, they feel powerless. This has led to the phenomenon of ‘eco-anxiety’, described by Psychology Today as “a fairly recent psychological disorder afflicting an increasing number of individuals who worry about the environmental crisis”. Anxiety disorders more generally vary in severity and, according to Anxiety UK, more than 1 in 10 British adults are likely to experience a “disabling anxiety disorder” during the course of their life. It’s possibly unsurprising, since it’s hard to read the landmark 2018 report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which called for “urgent and unprecedented changes” to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions of 45% by 2030 (11 years from now) without feeling some degree of uncertainty. That’s the minimum we need to do if we want to keep the increase in global warming to 1.5C, beyond which the report warned of catastrophic results including flooding, extreme weather events, drought and famine.
BBC 27th March 2019 read more »
Lloyd’s of London has a “responsibility” to help combat climate change after hurricanes, typhoons and wildfires left it counting large losses for the second year running, its boss has said. The 333-year-old insurance market, which is facing pressure to overhaul its culture following allegations of sexual harassment, paid £19.7bn in claims last year due to hurricanes Florence and Michael, Typhoon Jebi in Japan and wildfires in California. That contributed to a loss of £1bn for the year, half the losses reported the previous year but a significant drop on the £2.1bn profit it made in 2016.
Telegraph 27th March 2019 read more »
The world’s northernmost settlement and home to what is known as the “Doomsday vault” – the subterranean Svalbard global seed vault which stores specimens of almost all the world’s seeds – is now believed to be the fastest-warming location on Earth, according to a new report. Longyearbyen, on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, had an average temperature in Svalbard was -7.8C in 1900 but since then, it has risen by 3.7C – more than three times the global average rise of about 1°C. Not only has it become significantly warmer, but wetter too, spelling trouble for the Doomsday vault as the seeds’ preservation depends on stable temperatures and bone-dry conditions.
Independent 27th March 2019 read more »
