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File:  ltr to Congress, 76 scientists 2012.pdfResource Type: Letters

File:  ltr to Congress, 76 scientists 2012.pdfResource Type: Letters

Headline News:

• “Construction Surge Pushes US Wind Outlook Higher” • The US wind industry is on track to connect more than 50 GW of capacity through 2030, Wood Mackenzie said in its US Wind Energy Monitor Q2 2026 report. The research group raised its five-year outlook, noting that construction starts increased 8% from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026. [reNews]

Wind farm (Ørsted image)

• “Deal Sealed To Unlock 3.56 GW Capacity In NSW Renewable Energy Zone” • The New South Wales government’s planned South West Renewable Energy Zone is closer to delivery after EnergyCo signed a Project Development Deed with Transgrid to upgrade a key section of the grid to support 3.56 GW of new renewable energy capacity. [pv magazine Australia]
• “Oil Prices Rise As Fighting Between US And Iran Intensifies” • Oil prices rose as fighting between the US and Iran intensified. Oil prices jumped in early trading as the US announced attacks for a ninth consecutive night. Iran responded to the strikes by targeting US allies across the Middle East. Benchmark Brent crude rose 3.2% to $90.95 per barrel. [Euronews]
• “Court Orders EPA To Implement National Soot Standard” • The US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the US EPA must follow the law and implement the strengthened health-based 2024 National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, commonly called soot. [CleanTechnica]
• “The US Needs 5,000 Miles Of New High-Voltage Lines Every Year. It Only Built 392” • Some transmission experts say the grid needs about 5,000 miles of new lines. The additions reached almost 4,000 miles in 2013. In 2025, the industry added 402 miles. Before we supply AI with electricity, we have to know where it will come from. [OilPrice.com]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

The new solar sites include the retailer’s first store with a rooftop “community solar garden” as it looks to a 2040 net-zero target.

From the edge of a cliff in southern Peru, I watched as three Humboldt penguins made their way from their nests down a steep rocky slope, slipping at times, stopping and then starting again, tentatively navigating around sunbathing sea lions until they arrived, an hour later, on a precipice overlooking crashing waves, where they finally belly flopped into the water.

Penguins skirting sea lions. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission.

That hour was more exciting than any hour of television, their successful dive into the ocean better than any Hollywood ending.

I could see why so many people love penguins. They exhibit qualities we often see in ourselves: Penguins are social, vocal, occasionally clumsy, and organized around parental units. Penguins, like us, try to mate for life. When they young they practice co-parenting; one penguin stays at home with the chicks while the other forages. They switch roles, a child-rearing tag team, until the chicks leave home.

That’s why this journey into the sea — and back again — is so dramatic and so critical. Should one penguin fail to forage and return in time to relieve their partner, the other parent is forced to abandon the nest, leaving chicks to fend for themselves, often to die, a generation lost.

And it is here, on the desert cliffs of Punta San Juan, that penguins who were once part of the largest Humboldt colony on the planet take a valiant stand against extinction.

Punta San Juan is a small, jagged peninsula along the Peruvian coast, 320 miles south of Lima. I traveled here in May to spend time with penguin researchers at the Punta San Juan research station, which is funded by a consortium of zoos in the United States in collaboration with Cayetano Heredia University in Lima. I spent three days shadowing Kevin Farfán as he and his small team of interns monitored penguins across more than a dozen locations.

Along the way I became vividly aware of the many threats these penguins face.

A pair of Humboldts. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission. The Humble Humboldt

Unlike the remote Antarctic penguins of Happy Feet and March of the Penguins, most of the 18 penguin species on this planet live uncomfortably close to humans, along the southern coastlines of South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) is one of the four “banded” penguins, known for distinctive black patterns that curve across their chests like upside-down horseshoes. The other banded species are African, Galápagos, and Magellanic penguins. Years ago I visited the Patagonian coast of Argentina where a tourist trail winds through a colony of tens of thousands of Magellanic penguins — but among Humboldts, colonies typically number fewer than 500, scattered across 20 or so islands along the coasts of Peru and Chile.

What surprised me most about Humboldts was how skittish they were around humans, as if they were trying to escape prying eyes or just terribly modest. While Magellanics are mostly unfazed by human researchers and paparazzi, Humboldts will make themselves scarce the moment they spot a human, even from a safe distance.

I couldn’t help but wonder if this was less instinct than learned behavior. Humboldts were once killed in great numbers by nearby guano harvesters in need of an easy meal. It was guano — bird excrement — that brought humans to bird colonies for hundreds of years, and this mission continues even today.

Walking on Guano

The Punta San Juan research station sits next to a mile-long, decaying wall that divides the peninsula from the mainland. It was constructed back in the 1940s to keep predators away from the hundreds of thousands of seabirds that blanketed the peninsula, primarily the guanay cormorant, named after the “white gold” the birds left behind in great quantities.

This was not an act of conservation as much a business decision. Bird guano is the one of the planet’s best fertilizers, high in both nitrogen and phosphorous. Peru has harvested guano for export around the world since the 1800s, and it was once the country’s most valuable commodity.

Even today the number of researchers at Punta San Juan is dwarfed by the number of guano harvesters. While harvesting is now strictly regulated — the central plateau where penguins cross from nests to sea remains off limits — AGRORURAL, the government agency that manages harvesting, has pushed to ease restrictions. Since avian flu decimated the seabird population in 2023, there are no more guanay cormorants on the plateau, and pelicans are only just beginning to return. This void has heightened the call for more aggressive harvesting.

While I was there, I spoke with one of the employees of AGRORURAL; when I lamented the loss of the cormorants, she said, “This is good news. Because now we can harvest more guano.”

Bags of guano ready to ship. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission.

Today most of the guano is used domestically to supply the growing international demand for organic food. While synthetic fertilizers may be far less expensive, it is the demand for organic food in wealthier countries that fuels demand for guano. The organic Peruvian coffee we enjoy — as well as table grapes, asparagus, quinoa, and more — may well have been fertilized by birds that once lived on Punta San Juan.

Counting Penguins

Every morning the penguin researchers are up before dawn to make their separate treks to more than a dozen cliffside overlooks. Each location is given a label, such as S2, for the second beach on the southern side of the peninsula. At each stop they count penguins at every nest (via binoculars or spotting scope) and, while I visited during May’s breeding season, try to count eggs within the nests. When food is abundant, a Humboldt penguin couple will raise two chicks.

Walking with Kevin across the plateau felt like exploring another planet. First there was the smell, an acrid odor of guano that stung my eyes and clung to my clothing (we were required to change out of our field clothes after every outing). Then there was the landscape, bleached white and mostly flat, the layers of dried guano spongy under my shoes. Strong persistent winds whipped dust into my face. I realized on that first morning why so many of the guano harvesters wore masks.

We stopped at the edge of a cliff, where a small wooden hut functioned as a viewing blind. Inside, intern Sandra Alcantara was doing her morning counts. Using a handmade map for reference, she zoomed in on each nest and noted what she saw on a clipboard: which nests were occupied, whether there were one or two penguins, and any signs of eggs.

A viewing blind at Punta San Juan. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission.

The scene was alive with activity and noise. Down on the beach, hundreds of sea lions were play-fighting, swimming, or snoozing. Above them darted flocks of Inca terns, while pelicans glided above me. Turkey vultures perched along the cliff edges, on alert for any dying animal below.

On the opposing cliffs we could see penguin nests carved into the guano. Nearby more than 100 artificial nests created by researchers dotted the horizon like miniature cabanas. These nests were created to make up for the harvested guano, the loss of which prevents the penguins from nesting in the ground.

View from the blind. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission.

That morning Kevin brought a drone, which he used to photograph nests from above, the penguins unbothered by the buzzing bird over their heads. He was on the lookout for the numbers on metal tags they had banded onto a small number of birds. Each number unlocks a life story: the age of the penguin, the number of chicks raised, the preferred nesting spot. But not every number returns safely to shore.

While walking back to the station, I was jolted by an explosion in the distance. Kevin pointed to a large expanse of sand-colored mounds beyond the wall, created by the largest open-pit iron ore mine in Peru. Owned by China’s Shougang Group, the mine rattles the peninsula with daily explosions that, on occasion, send the penguins scurrying to sea.

Walking on the bones of pelicans and cormorants, hearing detonations in the distance, felt like living in a dystopian future.

That made it all the more remarkable that penguins continue to nest here. Yet the reason why they have nested here for thousands of years has less to do with the land itself, but what lies just off the coast — the richest marine ecosystem on the planet.

Abandoned cormorant nests. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission. Humboldt Feast (and Famine)

The Humboldt penguin shares its name with the Humboldt current, an ocean phenomenon that runs along the coastline of Chile and Peru, pushing up cold water from the deep. The process, known as upwelling, brings rich nutrients to the surface that feed anchovies and sardines and squid, who in turn provide an easy-to-reach buffet for penguins, seals, and countless other birds. On land the current is invisible except for the ever-present wind that powers it while keeping clouds and rain at bay.

The land may be desert, but the ocean is an oasis of life.

Humboldt penguin headed out sea at sunset. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission.

Humboldt penguins are endemic to this area due to its current; however, if there’s no current, there are no penguins.

That’s why periodic El Niño weather events can be so devastating. El Niños effectively shut down the airstream and, with it, the upwelling. Sardines and anchovies are forced to move deeper into the ocean in search of nutrients, and they swim out of reach for the penguins. In 1972, a major El Niño and overfishing crashed both the anchovy and seabird populations to such an extent the government got involved, regulating fishing and making the Humboldt penguins a protected species.

But these changes were too little too late; since then, climate change has resulted in more acute El Niño events, and the fishing industry (legal and illegal) continues to take its toll.

Remains of pelicans and cormorants on the plateau. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission.

The year 2023 was particularly grim for Punta San Juan. Not only did avian flu wipe out vast numbers of birds but an El Niño left the peninsula devoid of penguins for the first time in recorded history.

Penguins began to return a year later, albeit in diminished numbers. Twenty years ago, Punta San Juan was home to more than 5,000 penguins. When I visited in May just 300 remained.

It’s not just the ups and downs of the food supply that puts penguins in further danger. It’s the humans who compete with them for that same source of food.

Of Fishing Nets and Penguins

In my brief time at Punta San Juan, I noticed several small fishing boats just offshore, despite the protected status of the waters that surround the peninsula.

Yet the larger danger lurks even farther offshore, in unprotected waters, where industrial trawlers cast nets a mile long that sweep up hundreds of tons of anchovies and mackerel — the penguins’ main source of food.

The nets also catch the penguins themselves.

As Kevin’s team knows well, penguins don’t see the borders between protected and unprotected waters; they (like the boats) go where the fish are. When a team of marine researchers surveyed about 800 small-scale fishing operators in Peru and Chile during the 2023 fishing season, they found that more than 3,000 penguins were caught up in nets. And these numbers were conservative, not just because they did not include the larger fishing trawlers, but because many operators intentionally underreport bycatch.

Peru boasts one of the most highly regulated fishing industries on the planet, which allows these fisheries to label their catches as “sustainable” — a label that makes it onto the fish oil products we see on the shelves at Costco and Walmart.

Millions of Americans take fish oil supplements including, including 1 in 5 Americans over the age of 60, according to Harvard Medical School. And more than 20% of the world’s fish oil originates from waters shared by penguins along the coast of Peru. The fisheries based in a port just a mile from Punta San Juan reported 31 dead penguins in January 2023 — a month when penguins are most actively feeding chicks.

The penguins who elude fishing nets don’t have it any easier, as they compete with the trawlers for a declining food supply. Over the past year, approximately 5 million tons of fish, mostly anchovies, were pulled from Peruvian waters, most of it to supply the growing demand for supplements.

Yet human health need not come at the expense of animal health, because we don’t need fish oil to get our allotment of Omega-3s. Alternative sources such as flax seed oil, nuts, and other plant-based foods are even better: Many experts say that fish oil supplements offer dubious health benefits because the process of extracting mercury and other toxins from fish oils renders them minimally effective. The most potent alternative is lab-grown algae, which is free of contaminants and “statistically non-inferior compared to fish oil supplements,” according to recent research published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Humboldts returning to the sea. Photo: John Yunker, used with permission. A Species on Edge

Two weeks after returning to the United States, I emailed Kevin and learned that the colony of 300 penguins had since fallen in half, primarily due to the acute El Niño now enveloping the region.

A drop such as this naturally leads to the question: How many Humboldt penguins are there across all of Peru and Chile? The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates 23,800 globally, labeling it a “vulnerable” species; yet given how quickly penguin populations can fluctuate, this label may be more optimistic than realistic.

The truth is we don’t know exactly how many Humboldt penguins there are. There aren’t enough researchers like Kevin and his team working across all the colonies to know with confidence how stable this species is.

Humboldt penguins live on the edge — of a continent and of a species. Every year their entire world can rise or fall based on factors outside of their control — fishing vessels, warmer waters, and humans taking the guano they use for nests.

On my last day there, we visited several cliffside nests, most of them empty. Kevin remained optimistic. He found several occupied nests with eggs, a sign that this colony may rebound yet again.

The researchers themselves remind me of the penguins — tenacious and tireless. Kevin and other researchers can protect these birds on land, he told me, but “We cannot protect them out there.”

We who live half a world away do have the power to protect the penguins out there — through the choices we make. The demand for seafood and fish oil supplements ensures that some penguins will die in nets. Remove the demand and more penguins stand a chance at making it home to their nests. And we can help protect penguins on land by seeking out imported organic food that doesn’t rely on guano.

We all have a role to play in protecting penguins on land and at sea; as with all animals, for penguins, peace begins on our plates.

Republish this article for free! Read our reprint policy. Previously in The Revelator:

Speak of the Devils: The Animals We Fear the Most Are Fading Away

The post The Plight of the Desert Penguin: Caught Between Extraction and El Niño appeared first on The Revelator.

Headline News:

• “Heading For The North Pole On Tara Polar Station’s First Expedition” • The Tara Polar Station, a scientific research station designed to drift with the sea ice, left the port of Lorient on its first expedition to the North Pole. The objective is a better understanding of the biodiversity of the Arctic Ocean and the effects of global warming in the region. [Euronews]

Tara Polar Station (Tara Station Foundation image)

• “Geely Unveils New EV Powertrain That Is 93.8% Efficient” • Observers like Bill McKibben note that, considering well head to engine efficiency, only about 15% of the energy that comes out of the ground actually goes to moving our cars and trucks forward. By comparison, this week Geely announced a new EV powertrain that is 93.8% efficient. [CleanTechnica]
• “Serentica Renewables Secures 58-MW Round-The-Clock Power PPA With DCM Shriram” • Serentica Renewables signed a PPA to supply 58 MW of round-the-clock renewable power to DCM Shriram’s chemicals manufacturing plant in Gujarat. A subsidiary will combine solar power from Rajasthan and wind power from Karnataka. [pv magazine India]
• “European Energy Secures Oz Hybrid Financing” • European Energy reached financial close on the Mokoan Hybrid solar and battery project in Victoria. Deutsche Bank is providing a non-recourse financing package to refinance the operational 58-MW Mokoan Solar Farm and support construction and operation of a co-located 40-MW, 80-MWh battery system. [reNews]
• “Offshore Wind Shines During Summer Heat” • America’s offshore wind farms have already shown their ability to keep electricity flowing during brutal winter storms. Now, the clean energy resource has proved it can also bolster the grid during major heat waves, as dangerously hot and humid temperatures settled over the eastern US. [Sierra Club]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

"Flexibility works. The real bottleneck is scaling participation fast enough to matter."

Headline News:

• “India’s Solar And Wind Power Hits Record 42.79% Of Grid Load” • India’s power sector achieved a landmark on July 13 as variable renewable energy sources accounted for 42.79% of the total electricity generation in the country. Wind and solar output combined to peak at 103.7 GW. India is accelerating its transition toward cleaner energy sources. [Whalesbook]

Wind farm in India (Thangaraj Kumaravel, CC BY-SA 2.0)

• “US Reaches Solar Power Milestone Amid Fossil Fuel Decline” • While gas and nuclear plants still lead the country’s energy mix, solar generated 12.8% of the nation’s electricity in May, according to an analysis of government data by Ember. Coal provided less, just 12.2%. Five years ago, solar was less than half of its current levels and coal was at 20%. [Kiowa County Press]
• “Spain Faces Hottest Week Of Summer With Temperatures Up To 45°C Next Week” • Spain’s State Meteorological Agency set out a timetable for its next heatwave: Climbing temperatures will intensify by Tuesday, July 22, at the latest, and last until at least Thursday, July 23. Readings that could locally be as high as 45°C (113°F) in the south-eastern third of the country. [Euronews]
• “Every Day In Every Way, Attribution Science Is Getting Better And Better” • The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published a report on attribution science. It backs a large body of scientific knowledge that could help governments hold oil, gas, and coal companies responsible for damage caused by extreme weather. [CleanTechnica]
• “Climate Scientists Have Predicted Greater Flooding In Texas For Decades. It’s Happening Now” • One of the shocking things about the storms that hit Texas this week is that a similar rainfall event struck almost exactly a year ago in many of the same areas. That tragic repetition may not be surprising to those who follow climate science. [Texas Public Radio]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

This is a guest blog by Peter Crisp of Fossil Free Football, a fan campaign aiming to kick big polluters out of the world’s favourite sport.  

The ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup will likely be the hottest ever, produce more pollution than any event in history, and promote the world’s biggest oil company to billions of viewers. Yet it could also be a turning point. As football’s vulnerability to the climate crisis becomes impossible to ignore, more and more fans and players are calling for sporting authorities to do better.

The Heat Threat 

The climate crisis is fuelling extreme heat across the planet, driven by decades of burning coal, oil and gas. And the 2026 World Cup is not immune. Researchers predict that 14 out of 16 match venues this year will exceed dangerous temperatures with one in four matches expected to be played in hazardous heat conditions. Just last year, a June heat wave hit multiple World Cup host cities at once. A repeat this year could put attendees at real risk. On June 24 2025, it was 102F/39C  in Boston. This year, on June 23, England will play Ghana in that same city  in a stadium without shade (see below) at 4PM…

Gillette Stadium, Boston, which will be used during the tournament, offers little heat protection to fans and players. Source: Nathan Macoul, Unsplash

The heat threatens safety and changes the game itself. Extreme heat means slower tempo, less pressing and earlier substitutions. 97 of 104 scheduled matches face a higher probability of performance-impairing conditions due to climate change — meaning fans paying record prices are increasingly likely to watch a less intense game. And while players have medical teams and cooling breaks, fans are often left to fend for themselves. While 3 of the 16 venues are air-conditioned, fans in queues, fan zones and on transport routes can be exposed to dangerous heat for hours — often far longer than the players on the pitch.

The International Federation of Association Football or FIFA (which is the governing body of world football), has done little to keep fans and players safe from obvious heat risks during World Cups. We’ve already seen the consequences when it doesn’t: In June 2024, an assistant referee collapsed during a Copa America match, while last year’s Club World Cup saw players and fans sheltering inside as heat again became a major point of concern. Despite this, FIFA has selected many stadiums without any shade, in locations that are not typically used for summer sports. 

A group of experts recently told FIFA that it should do more to keep players and fans safe. They called for it to lower the temperature threshold at which matches are delayed. Currently, FIFA will only consider pausing play at 32°C (measured in Wet Bulb Globe Temperature or WBGT, a scale that accounts for heat, humidity and sun exposure together). That bar is so high that it wouldn’t be triggered at 45°C with 20% humidity, or 35°C with 80% humidity — conditions that would be dangerous for anyone, let alone athletes playing at full intensity. Seventy professional players have also publicly backed those calls. FIFA has added water breaks to all matches regardless of temperature — fundamentally altering the experience of the game — but experts say those breaks should be doubled to six minutes to properly protect players. Many fans have pointedly noted that FIFA may be equally motivated by the advertising slots these breaks create.

FIFA’s unserious attitude on heat risks extends to its broader engagement with the climate crisis. Despite holding a “green card for the planet” and committing to net-zero by 2040, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has massively expanded the tournament, and the pollution it will produce as a consequence. He has added an extra 16 teams and 60 matches, and spread the World Cup across North America so that huge amounts of flying are required. Researchers estimate the whole tournament will generate over 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent worth of pollution. 

FIFA President Gianni Infantino once held a ‘green card for the planet’ to show his commitment to sustainability. Source: FIFA

Promoting Fossil Fuels to Billions

FIFA’s massive emissions are worsened by its sponsorship choices. It is reportedly earning about $100m per year to advertise the world’s largest oil company, Aramco. Billions of fans are therefore now receiving pro-oil messaging, just as we must urgently move away from fossil fuels. 

Aramco is 98.5% owned by the Saudi state and is a dominant source of the regime’s funding, earning $33.6bn in the first quarter of this year. These profits have bankrolled Saudi Arabia’s recent push into world sport including football –  often framed as part of its post-oil ‘Vision 2030’ diversification strategy. But the fact that Aramco is being globally promoted, (instead of any other non-oil enterprise) makes clear these sports investments are about protecting fossil fuel profits, not moving away from them. Sponsorships have helped promote Saudi Arabia and shielded it from criticism of its commitment to fossil fuels. It’s clear that the Aramco deal too is part of a broader pro-oil strategy that includes blocking climate talks and ‘hooking’ poorer countries on its oil. 

SoFi stadium, Los Angeles, USA vs. Paraguay, June 13. Source: image supplied

Aramco has been given top billing, with its brand splashed around stadiums at kick off, including at the tournament opener. Notably, the fixture was a repeat of the 2010 World Cup, but nostalgic fans looking back to iconic images from that year might have noticed a surprising (and disturbing) difference. While the 2010 tournament was sponsored by solar energy, this one is promoting Big Oil. Aramco’s World Cup advertising centres around its supposed “innovation” ,but there is nothing innovative about drilling, extracting and burning fossil fuels. The real breakthroughs are in solar, battery storage and electric vehicles — technologies that are cleaner, cheaper and faster-growing than oil has ever been. 

Opening match of 2010 World Cup, featuring solar sponsorship.

The Bigger Picture: Global Access to Sport Under Threat 

This summer, the heat impacts felt by football’s elite will be impossible to miss. But if the climate crisis is reaching its most well resourced event, then grassroots football,  the foundation the whole game is built on,  is surely being hit much harder. For every high-profile match affected by heat, there are thousands more unseen players around the world that are harmed by heat or flooding rain. FIFA profits billions from an ever-expanding tournament and big oil sponsorship — but it is ordinary fans and players who bear the cost, in dangerous heat and a worsening climate, without seeing any of the cash.

Credit: Sadhin Mahmud, Unsplash

Climate Damage: the Ultimate Fan Ripoff  

Many football fans feel our loyalty is being exploited. FIFA’s incessant focus on profit is stripping away the essence of our beloved game — and we must use this discontent, linked to the climate crisis, as a powerful opportunity for change.

The pattern of FIFA’s constant prioritisation of revenue over tradition and affordability is consistent. Unprecedented prices for match tickets, public transport and fan zones. Commercial “hydration” breaks inserted into matches. Fans banned from bringing their own water. Big oil on the stadium hoardings. Everything FIFA does turns up the heat for supporters while lining its own pockets. Its response to obvious heat risks at the next two World Cups hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal, and then Saudi Arabia, has been to float moving the tournament to winter, discarding decades of tradition rather than addressing the cause.

Hundreds of millions of fans have every reason to demand better. As heat impacts worsen and the costs of fossil fuels become impossible to ignore, football lovers have real power to push for a fundamental reset that puts players and fans before FIFA’s bottom line.

Source: Quang Nguyen Vinh, Pexels

What Could Serious FIFA Climate Policy Look Like?

FIFA claims its core mission is to “unite the world” by making football accessible to all. Delivering on that mission means putting the climate first, because we can’t play in dangerous heat or on a flooded field. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• End the expansionist mentality. More teams, more matches, more flights means more pollution. Growth cannot come at the planet’s expense.
• Revise heat guidelines. Current thresholds don’t protect players or fans. FIFA must lower the bar for match delays and take welfare seriously.
• Ease the fixture calendar. An oversaturated schedule drives player burnout and unsafe conditions. Less is more.
• Drop the polluters. Sponsorship deals with oil companies like Aramco must give way to partnerships with clean, innovative industries.
• Put climate at the centre. Every decision FIFA makes should be guided by one question: does this make extreme weather worse?

The most popular sport on the planet needs to stop scoring ‘own goals’, and start playing for the right team.

If you’re a fan who is ready to take this message to your club or national association, connect with us at Fossil Free Football on social media and join our next online campaign session! 

The post 2026 FIFA World Cup & Extreme Heat appeared first on 350.

Headline News:

• “International Flights Set To Pay Carbon Costs Under EU’s Carbon Market Review From 2029” • The EU’s revised its carbon market rules to accelerate progress toward its climate goals. The new rules say international flights coming to the EU from origins within 5,000 km (3,100 miles) will be required to pay for their CO2 emissions starting in 2029. [Euronews]

Plane landing in Zurich (Pascal Meier, Unsplash)

• “East Coast States Will Sue Trump for Illegal Payoffs” • Eight Attorneys General filed a notice of intent that they will challenge two unlawful payoffs from the Trump administration to energy companies. The administration paid energy companies nearly $2 billion in exchange for the companies to abandon offshore wind projects. [CleanTechnica]
• “Severe Storms In France Leave At Least Two Dead And Over 50,000 Homes Without Power” • Thirty départements in central and eastern France were put on orange alert for thunderstorms on Thursday, with a risk of large hail. Power grid operator Enedis said nearly 53,000 households were affected by power outages following the severe storms. [Euronews]
• “India Launches First Hydrogen-Powered Train Built In The Country” • India rolled out its first indigenously built, hydrogen-powered train, a move aimed at expanding use of clean energy in its vast rail network. The train has two driving cars powered by hydrogen and eight passenger coaches. It will operate in the northern state of Haryana. [ABC News]
• “Ocean Winds Secures Go-Ahead For The 2-GW Caledonia Offshore Wind” • Ocean Winds has secured planning approval from Scottish ministers for the 2-GW Caledonia wind farm in the Moray Firth. The developer submitted separate applications for the 77-turbine Caledonia North and 78-turbine Caledonia South sites in November 2024. [reNews]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

Standing in Tofino, looking out at the rainforest-covered mountains, you would never know that up the inlets, trouble is brewing…

Floating open-net pen fish farms dot the inlets. These facilities spread pathogens, parasites and poop, and are pushing wild salmon to the brink of extinction.

The crowded open net pen facilities do nothing to contain tiny viral particles or salmon lice. Most farms are infected with PRV, a deadly virus from the Atlantic ocean. Because fish breath through gills, it is dead-easy for a wild salmon migrating past to become infected. Salmon farms are parasite incubators. The lice pass freely through the nets to infest baby wild salmon, which are too young to have developed protective scales. One louse can be a fatal load…

Then there’s the poop and uneaten pellets. These simply drop out the bottom, smothering any creatures living on the ocean floor. One fish farm emits salmon sewage equivalent to a city of 150,000 people! And there are 20 fish farms in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region…

Removing fish farms works!

On a good note, removing fish farms from the ocean works. Forty percent of salmon farms in BC waters have been removed since 2020, thanks to First Nations on the east coast of Vancouver Island.

And those Nations are being richly rewarded, with abundant returns of wild salmon. This has been going on since 2022, when the first Pink salmon runs not exposed to fish farms returned to their natal streams. And every cycle, they return in greater abundance!

More good news: the Canadian government has banned open-net pen salmon farms from BC waters as of July 1st, 2029. This winter, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the Minister’s right to use the precautionary principle when making decisions, noting the dire consequences that declining wild salmon stocks could have for First Nations rights, the economy, and the social fabric of British Columbia.

Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations stopped the loggers on Meares Island in 1985. During Clayoquot Summer 1993, nearly a thousand people chose to commit civil disobedience to protect ancestral forests. It paid off—30 years later, local First Nations were able to announce with the BC government that 62% of their territories is protected from industrial logging. Now it’s time to ensure wild salmon will continue to feed these rainforests for years to come!

130 First Nations want salmon farms removed from the ocean—along with 75% of British Columbians. Washington State has banned fish farms. BC is now the only jurisdiction on the west coast of North America allowing fish farms in the ocean.

As someone who loves, visits, or lives on the west coast, you have an opportunity to take a stand for wild salmon. Take action, no matter how small. Refuse to purchase farmed salmon—always ask your server ‘is your salmon wild or farmed?’. Please take a moment to sign our petition, reminding government officials that people like you care about protecting Nature.

Dan Lewis is Executive Director of Clayoquot Action.

The post Backbone of the coast appeared first on Clayoquot Action.

Radical Democracy, Autonomy, Earthy Governance & Climate Justice: a virtual re-encounter #03 - 13/07/2026 In 2025, the Global of and its allies organized various gatherings in different parts of the world. Following our last virtual gathering, this session brings together participants from the encounter we held on GTAGTAalternativesGTAalternativesGTAGTAGTAalternativesalternativesAlternativesAlternativesalternativesAlternativesalternativesTapestryAlternativesalternativesalternativesGTAGTAalter…

People of the Forest is working with the Yawanawá People of Mutum Village in Acre, Brazil to regenerate degraded forest, empower community members and leaders, and advance Indigenous food sovereignty. A new fundraising campaign aims to help the project deepen its impact.

The project uses agroforestry and Traditional Ecological Knowledge to regenerate degraded Yawanawá land, which spans approximately 500,000 acres of the Amazon rainforest. Their holistic approach aims to strengthen ecological leadership, learning pathways for young people, seed-saving, and community resilience.

“If you know how to use the resources you have in the forest, this is wealth,” Julia Yawanawá, a community leader, educator, medicinal plant wisdom keeper, tells Food Tank.

The project recently entered its third round of fundraising. Donations made through Ma Earth, a collaborative fundraising platform, will be matched through July 21. Provided by Biome Trust, Naia Trust, Imaginal Seeds, and Ma Earth Foundation, the matching funds will help increase the impact and create a greater opportunity for positive change.

According to Ma Earth, there is an estimated US$1 trillion per year funding gap preventing regenerative and community-led initiatives from accessing the resources they need.

Extractive practices, including logging, mining, and ranching, harm the local ecosystems of the Yawanawá territory. The effects of the climate crisis, industrialized farming practices, and the introduction of processed foods further threaten the community members’ wellbeing and livelihoods.

Three years ago, Chief Matsini invited People of the Forest to visit Mutum, the second-largest village of the Yawanawá, and collaborate on a project to support healthier food systems for his people. “A person with a bad heart comes—you give him food and he will feel good,” Chief Matsini tells Food Tank. “Food is the greatest unifier.”

The Indigenous-led initiative is hoping to restore a natural equilibrium between people and the land, which the Yawanawá have stewarded for thousands of years. Its three main goals are to regenerate food systems, reforest native plants, and educate the local communities.

More than 20 Yawanawá have been trained in regenerative practices and over 1,000 native fruit and nut trees have been planted. A 10,000-square-foot agroforestry demonstration plot offers community members a place to engage in land stewardship and ecological leadership. Film, photography, and field documentation also help to amplify Indigenous voices. Through mentorship, youth are learning how to tell their stories in their own voice.

“It is important that this project doesn’t depend on us, it is theirs,” Timo Granzotti, Co-Founder of People of the Forest, tells Food Tank.

The next phase will expand its agroforestry work into other communities by cultivating household kitchen gardens and building nurseries to propagate native species. It will begin community-led design of aquaculture infrastructure to further build local food systems and continue to educate community members. Funding will also provide emerging Indigenous leaders with scholarships to agroforestry schools in Brazil.

“We are not guardians. We are multipliers,” Yawanawá says. “We sow the world, we sow the forest. We are the hands that multiply the food.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Archie Macpherson

The post Indigenous-led Project Advances Food Sovereignty in the Amazon appeared first on Food Tank.

A version of this piece was featured in Food Tank’s newsletter, released weekly on Thursdays. To make sure it lands straight in your inbox and to be among the first to receive it, subscribe now by clicking here.

Before I travel on ground-truthing trips to rural and agricultural communities around the globe, the Food Tank team does prep research. Sometimes, the first data points that jump out at us are challenges that folks are facing, global crises hitting close to home.

But here’s the thing: When I’m in Guatemala or Ethiopia or even at home here in Baltimore actually talking to people on the ground, what shines far brighter are the visionary individuals and organizations working hard to make their communities better.

By highlighting these stories of hope and success from on-the-ground efforts to build better food systems, Food Tank aims to be the antidote to the helplessness and hopelessness we might feel sitting at a computer or scrolling on our phones. There’s plenty of good in the world, too, if we open our eyes to it!

This week, we’re sharing 10 bright spots—big and small—in the world of food systems, guiding us like beacons toward more equitable, resilient, nourished communities.

Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming, India

This agroecology project, led by the organization Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, is one of the largest and most successful in the world. The project earned the 2026 Food Planet Prize for their work empowering women farmers, helping them transition to practices that are better for them and the environment.

“What we are doing is very simple but very profound. It’s something anybody can do anywhere in the world,” says Vijay Kumar Thallam, Executive Vice Chair.

Asociación De Agricultores Tinecos (ADAT), Guatemala

I was fortunate to spend time with women coffee farmers in the ADAT co-op during a ground-truthing trip to Guatemala, where I saw how women are involved in every part of the supply chain—from planting to harvesting to roasting to selling—giving them access to resources they often lack.

“Every step we take opens a door for another woman,” group members told me.

ARISE-Farmers, Asia-Pacific Region

Since ARISE-Farmers was launched in 2021 to champion producer-led solutions, the program has reached over 20,000 farmers in 12 countries across Asia. It’s supported by the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), to strengthen food and nutrition security and improve livelihoods.

CIMMYT, Global

CIMMYT, a Spanish acronym for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, is demonstrating how science-driven approaches can help farmers respond to shifting weather patterns, improve local systems and access to innovations, and boost productivity sustainably.

“The innovations we invested in together are now protecting harvests and building resilience for millions of farmers across Africa and beyond. This is what science diplomacy looks like in practice — and it is a model the world needs to see more of,” says Gisele Fernández Ludlow, Ambassador of Mexico to Kenya.

In just a couple weeks, I’m heading to Mexico to visit CIMMYT researchers there, so stay tuned for dispatches from on-the-ground.

EMBRAPA (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), Brazil

At EMBRAPA, researcher Mariangela Hungria was named the 2025 World Food Prize laureate for work helping Brazil become an agricultural powerhouse while proving that success is possible while reducing farmers’ reliance on harmful synthetic inputs. Take a listen here to a fascinating conversation I had with Dr. Hungria last year on the Food Talk podcast!

ROAM Ranch, United States

At ROAM Ranch in Texas, Katie and Taylor Collins are showing their neighbors the power of regenerative agriculture. Thanks to their stewardship practices, the creek on their property is flowing again after not flowing for decades, and wildlife from deer to birds have returned to the land.

OzHarvest, Australia

OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organization, is using innovative food redistribution models, social entrepreneurship, advocacy, and education to tackle food waste and deliver food to those in need.

“We have forgotten how to value our farmers’ effort it takes to grow food,” says Ronnie Kahn, OzHarvest Founder and “Visionary in Residence.” “If you can embed this in young people, perhaps we’ll start shifting and changing the narrative.”

Solid’Africa, Rwanda

Solid’Africa provides medically tailored meals to more than 100,000 patients in public hospitals, connect public schools with healthy food and nutrition education, and support market stability and training for regenerative farmers.

“If you are building toward regenerative school meals, hospital meals…it has to be a plate that is full of health, full of taste, and most importantly that’s full of dignity,” says Isabelle Kamariza, President and Founder of Solid’Africa.

Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative, United States

The Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative, rooted on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, is helping community members learn how to grow, produce, harvest, and prepare their own food. The initiative’s 7Gen project has also helped revive buffalo populations; the organization’s buffalo range has grown from 50 to 1,000 heads since 2020 alone.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway

Tucked inside a mountain in the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (or “Doomsday Vault,” as it’s sometimes known) is the largest backup facility for the world’s crop diversity. As of June 2026, new additions to the vault have brought the total collection to 1.4 million seed samples, a major milestone.

Each of these bright spots began as a small, visionary point of light in a community. That, to me, is so inspiring because it reminds us all of our power to make a difference.

So let’s let these stories illuminate our own work to transform the food system, too!

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Jono Hirst, Unsplash

The post These 10 Bright Spots Are Beacons for a Stronger Global Food System appeared first on Food Tank.

Checks & Balances Project (C&BP) has filed a complaint against the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad and Sussex County Supervisor Steve White with the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general.

The complaint cites alleged potential fraud involving billing for ambulance calls conducted by the Stony Creek Volunteer Rescue Squad (SCVRS) and the lack of transparency in the squad’s finances.

C&BP has reported that SCVRS lost its federal nonprofit status in 2023 for failing to file tax returns for three straight years. C&BP also reported that in the five years for which tax returns are available – 2015 through 2019 – SCVRS reported a $304,000 surplus.

Minutes from county supervisors’ meetings show that then-Fire Chief Nick Sheffield questioned the squad’s finances, saying it was impossible to determine where the squad’s money went. In September 2025, White engineered the defunding of the positions of Sheffield and his deputy, Chris Bailey.

The next month, records show, the county signed a memorandum of understanding with SCVRS to pay the squad $422,250 for ambulance services for the next year.

Apparent violations

White has engaged in an apparent violation of Virginia’s conflict-of-interest law for elected officials by voting to direct taxpayer funds to the rescue squad.

White is also in apparent violation of Virginia law by serving as Sussex County’s acting administrator after he pushed the firing of County Administrator Richard Douglas in April.

C&BP has filed complaints with the FBI, Virginia state police, Sussex Commonwealth Attorney, Virginia attorney general and the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. It has offered to brief each of these agencies, with no word back yet from Sussex Commonwealth Attorney Regina Sykes.

Funding for emergency medical services has been a consistent issue in Sussex County for the last three years. Supervisors voted on Thursday to approve the construction of a 500MW solar farm that will generate an estimated $4 million a year in taxes, which is twice what the county spends on EMS services.

Ray Locker is the executive director for Checks & Balances Project, an investigative watchdog blog holding government officials, lobbyists, and corporate management accountable to the public. Funding for C&BP is provided by Renew American Prosperity and individual donors.

You may also want to read:

Checks & Balances Project files FBI complaint about White, SCVRS

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The post Checks & Balances Project files complaint with HHS inspector general appeared first on Checks and Balances Project.

Since the first match kicked off in June, there have been no shortage of issues with the 2026 World Cup. Whether it’s presence of ICE at the tournament to the treatment of the Iranian team. Within these many issues, aviation itself plays a role, whether it’s the French national team using ICE deportation planes for their travel through to the boom in flight emissions as a result of the mega-event.

Source

This week, the Federal Reserve released its July 2026 Beige Book, offering a snapshot of economic conditions across all 12 Federal Reserve Districts. The report shows that the economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East continues to spread through the economy: Federal Reserve contacts reported that families are cutting back, businesses continue to raise prices, and the rapid buildout of AI is reshaping hiring and increasing costs.

Trump’s economic chaos has made daily life more difficult for working Americans. Low-wage and rural workers in Chicago and Minnesota report it’s getting more expensive to get to and from work, as the president’s war in Iran rages on and drives up fuel prices. July’s Beige Book further reveals demand for food assistance has surpassed COVID levels in many parts of the country, as President Trump and Republicans in Congress slash federal food aid programs. In Philadelphia, contacts reported that any increase in sales reflects higher prices, as consumers spend more on essentials and cut back wherever possible.

Working families are desperate for relief, the report offers little comfort for Americans struggling to make ends meet in Trump’s economy.

Groundwork Collaborative’s Chief of Policy and Advocacy, Alex Jacquez, reacted with the following statement:

“The president’s choice to renege on his own shaky ceasefire agreement means working families are paying the price for his war in Iran. This month’s Beige Book reflects increasing pressure on business owners, who are choosing to protect their own profits by passing operating expenses onto consumers in the form of price hikes. Across the economy, Americans are cutting back and making sacrifices to keep up with Trump’s high prices.”

Bike lanes are unsafe. Speed cameras cause crashes. Safety redesigns cause congestion and injuries.

Or, as Big Brother said, freedom is slavery, war is peace, ignorance is strength.

President Trump and federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have made it clear for more than a year that they object to bike lanes, automated enforcement cameras and other proven safety measures — with Duffy going so far as to say that bike lanes are just government “DEI” activism — but neither man went out of their way say that such safety measures were, in fact, unsafe. Until now.

Sometime between June 30 and July 10, the Trump-run Federal Highway Administration changed its web page of “Proven Safety Countermeasures” to eliminate safety strategies that, before President Trump’s second term began, the agency had long supported, including protected bike lanes, speed cameras and road diets:

The previous safety page had proven infrastructure and enforcement strategies (top, circled) that President Trump and Sean Duffy have deleted (bottom).

The administration had previously criticized road diets — the removal of a lane of traffic to make room for bike lanes or pedestrian safety measures, or also to improve flow with turning bays — by claiming without evidence that they cause traffic congestion. The agency has also canceled grants for projects that it deemed hostile to cars.

But the changes to the web page reflect the administration’s new contention that safety measures are not merely annoying to drivers, but unsafe.

Activists can’t believe it.

“Bike lanes and road diets are still legitimate safety measures,” said Ken McLeod, policy director at the League of American Bicyclists. “Absolutely nothing has changed about their effectiveness or the data that led them to be placed on the Proven Safety Countermeasures list in the first place.”

And until July, the FHWA certainly agreed. On the archived web page, the agency said protected bike lanes “can mitigate or prevent interactions, conflicts, and crashes between bicyclists and motor vehicles, and create a network of safer roadways for bicycling. … State and local agencies should consider installing bicycle lanes.”

Bicycle lanes align with the Safe System Approach principle of recognizing human vulnerability — where separating users in space can enhance safety for all road users,” added the web page (which, ironically, was illustrated with a protected bike lane in Washington, D.C. that the president sought to remove earlier this year).

The agency said that creating separated bicycle lane to protect cyclists from car traffic “reduces crashes up to 53 percent.”

And on road diets, the FHWA (at least until July) said they “can improve safety, calm traffic, provide better mobility and access for all road users, and enhance overall quality of life.” The agency said conversions of roadways from four lanes to two (plus a turning bay) lead to:

• Reduction of rear-end and left-turn crashes due to the dedicated left-turn lane.
• Reduced right-angle crashes as side street motorists cross three versus four travel lanes.
• Fewer lanes for pedestrians to cross.
• Opportunity to install pedestrian refuge islands, bicycle lanes, on-street parking, or transit stops.
• Traffic calming and more consistent speeds.
• A more community-focused, Complete Streets environment that better accommodates the needs of all road users.

It promised a 19- to 47-percent reduction in crashes.

And on speed cameras, the agency’s archived page boasted that can reduce crashes by 54 percent. In New York City, which has the nation’s largest speed- and red-light camera enforcement program, officials reported a 95-percent drop in speeding at locations with cameras, and that locations with cameras experienced 14 percent fewer injuries and
fatalities compared to control corridors without cameras.

But as of July 10, those measures are no longer considered safe by the federal government. In a statement, an FHWA spokesperson did not address Streetsblog’s questions about why the agency now considered its own safety countermeasures to be unsafe.

“The Federal Highway Administration is conducting an ongoing administrative review of its ‘Proven Safety Countermeasures’ to ensure they align with US DOT policies and the Administration’s priorities,” the statement read. “The Department is taking action to reverse the last administration’s policies that decreased lane capacity and increased congestion. Drivers paying taxes and vehicle fees expect their dollars to be reinvested into our roads, not social initiatives that burden their commutes.

“Under Secretary Duffy, the Department is getting back to basics and putting safety first,” the statement concluded.

The agency did not respond to a follow up question: “We understand the administration’s position on road capacity, but are bike lanes and road diets now considered unsafe?”

Clearly, bike lanes, road diets, speed cameras are just as safe now as they were a month ago, when they were promoted on the very same agency’s site, advocates said.

“Nothing has changed; no new evidence has emerged to indicate that separating cyclists from motor traffic or slowing and better ordering motor traffic with fewer lanes are anything but tremendously successful street safety measures,” said Jon Orcutt, a former top official with the New York City Department of Transportation under then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a Republican, and Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat. “Their removal from FHWA’s proven safety list is the latest step in Sean Duffy’s intentional infusion of stupidity into US DOT policy.”

Orcutt included in that list Duffy’s war on congestion pricing, which also ended up being a stunning safety and traffic-reduction success.

Orcutt added that FHWA’s action “could be harmful” because there are many places in the country “where the efficacy of bike lanes or road diets is contested, or state or city officials are still foot-dragging over them.”

“In places smart enough to already implement such measures — like the 80 cities that are members of NACTO — [the FHWA change] will be rightly ignored,” he added. “If FHWA tries to use the change to interfere with specific projects, local and state agencies should take their cues from New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and sue the Trump DOT early and often.”

The irony, of course, is that until very recently, federal officials did not dare to testify under oath that bike lanes are unsafe. In ruling earlier this year against the Trump administration’s attempt to remove the 15th Street bike lane in Washington, the court wrote, “The government does not dispute, and it did not submit any data that would contradict, plaintiff’s contention that the dedicated bike lanes reduce collisions. As counsel for defendants acknowledged at the motions hearing, “[t]here is information in the record that says as a general principle, protected bike lanes prevent collision.” 

One former FHWA administrator said there’s a reason that even the Trump administration didn’t put on the record that bike lanes are unsafe — because they remain safe.

“We should be making decisions about safety based on evidence,” Stephanie Pollack, the former acting administrator of the FHWA under President Joe Biden, told NPR. “It’s hard for me to understand how you could say you’re putting safety first, and then make arbitrary decisions about what does and doesn’t improve safety.”

Bank of America analysts project data center demand will outpace planned utility capacity additions by more than 100 GW through 2030, increasing reliance on on-site gas generation and battery storage.

At its monthly meeting, FERC set data center reliability standard deadlines, ordered CAISO and SPP to report on “seams” issues and advanced a complaint over cost recovery for a New Jersey power line.