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Cattle are a central part of the identity of Andrew Msami’s Maasai community in northeast Tanzania. Herd size determines social position, and many people keep all their wealth in livestock, not banks. But in recent years, Msami and others have been forced to sell the animals and buy goats, which can handle drought better but are less financially and culturally valuable. Msami says adapting to a shifting climate has been a part of Maasai life for generations, but recent conditions represent an existential threat.

“We have to adapt because it’s like desertification is attacking our identity,” Msami told Grist. “If you lose your identity, it means you have lost everything.”

The Maasai are pastoralists, a term that describes the roughly 500 million people around the world who tend herds of livestock like cattle, goats, and sheep. They often move with the animals as they seek grass and water. Because they live and work in places with arid conditions and extreme temperatures, they are particularly vulnerable to climate change. 

Around the world, drought and land degradation threaten rangelands, which make up roughly half of the planet’s landmass, and the pastoralists from Tanzania and Sudan to Nepal and Mongolia that rely on them. Desertification is occurring at 30 to 35 times the historical average, threatening even the most resilient communities. That’s on top of an influx of invasive species, extractive industries, tourists, and other threats. 

To address these overlapping crises, Msami and hundreds of other pastoralists are in Mongolia this week for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, or UNCCD. They are calling for stronger protections for Indigenous pastoral traditions, greater access to funding and resources to combat the crisis, and official recognition that the experience of generations living on increasingly marginal lands offers lessons for adapting to a hotter, drier world.

“We want to give the world a message that it’s not only the land that you will have to really look at,” said Msami, who is the program lead for the Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Organizations Forum, or PINGOs Forum, which is a network representing over 50 pastoralist organizations in Tanzania. “But you look at the people in that land, and maybe their lives should not be disturbed or sacrificed for the development of the world.” 

That message must first overcome a global environmental movement that has not always prioritized rangelands and the peoples who steward them. 

In 1992, world leaders gathered at the historic United Nations Earth Summit in Brazil, where they identified three great environmental challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, and desertification. Global conferences were established for each, creating a forum where the world would develop plans to tackle them. In the decades since, trillions of dollars have flowed toward the first two, while desertification has largely been relegated to a problem for the developing world to address.

“But now the history is catching them because when you look at Spain, France, even Sweden, all those countries, they have a bigger drought ever since the last two years,” said Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, who is Mbororo from Chad and the first chair of the Indigenous peoples caucus at UNCCD. “So it is becoming a developed countries issue, and now they start paying more attention, but still it does not get the same attention on the level of political will or finance.”

Although this is the 17th meeting of the convention, Ibrahim described this year’s event as “unique, historic, and particular.” That is because it is the first with a formal caucus specifically for Indigenous peoples, something not found at the climate and biodiversity conferences. Because of that, Ibrahim and others consider this gathering a unique opportunity for Indigenous pastoralists to advocate for their rights and advance their goals on the international stage. 

Read Next Indigenous cultural practices are a climate solution, report finds Joseph Lee

The gathering also comes during the United Nations’ International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, which Ibrahim said has had a positive impact on raising awareness of the challenges communities like his face and the contributions they are making to climate resilience.

Despite those signs of progress, attendees in Mongolia said that the Indigenous caucus has faced resistance. In the first week of the conference, Ibrahim led a protest to demand full participation for the caucus and for its official functions to be established.

As the world increasingly works to address drought, Ibrahim and others are concerned that, after decades of being overlooked, a global focus could sideline them even further. About a third of Mongolia’s population practice pastoral lifestyles, for example, but often have no role in global climate discussions.

Some countries have responded to drought and land degradation by restricting pastoralist herd sizes and restricting movement. That comes despite scientific evidence that pastoralism boosts biodiversity and supports climate resilient landscapes, among other benefits. 

But Ibrahim said that the rate of desertification has accelerated beyond the point where traditional knowledge alone is enough. She said that in Chad the desert is advancing 2 kilometers, or 1.2 miles, each year. “We have the land degradation very, very fast, and of course we use our knowledge to try to restore the land,” she said. “We try to fix it, but it is still there.” 

That’s why a call for greater legal protections and resources for their livelihoods is central to this year’s conference. “Securing land and mobility rights is not separate from climate adaptation,” said Solange Bandiaky-Badji, who is coordinator and president of the Rights and Resources Initiative, a global coalition of over 200 organizations focused on land rights. “It is a fundamental part of building resilience.”

Bandiaky-Badji said the rest of the world should learn about climate adaptation and resilience from pastoralists. But, she said, none of their expertise and experiences matter unless countries protect rights to land and mobility. The right to free, prior, and informed consent, which requires that Indigenous peoples have a say in what occurs on their lands and in their waters, is one that Bandiaky-Badji said needs greater enforcement. Because pastoralists are mobile, their land rights are not always recognized, and pastoralist leaders often do not receive an invitation to negotiate agreements and solutions.

Both Ibrahim and Bandiaky-Badji said global climate change and biodiversity conferences should follow the UNCCD’s focus on active inclusion of Indigenous voices. 

But beyond that, Bandiaky-Badji said desertification and rangelands can no longer be treated as secondary issues. “There is a link between climate resilience, protecting biodiversity, and restoring landscapes,” she said. “They’re all interrelated. And until we start seeing them as interrelated, we might have these different COPs, but it will not really solve the systemic problem that we have been dealing with. And the climate crisis is a systemic problem that we need to deal with.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Living with drought has taught pastoralists lessons the world needs on Aug 24, 2026.

Unprecedented. Record-breaking. Baffling. Experts are running out of ways to describe this year’s tornado season in the Midwest, which has unleashed more twisters on Illinois than any other place on Earth. 

So far, 207 cyclones and counting have touched down in the Prairie State, some of which have flipped homes, toppled power lines, and even torn through solar arrays. That figure may rise as officials continue working through the remaining post-storm assessments, according to the National Weather Service. The season has yet to wrap, but it has already handily topped the previous record of 142 funnel clouds set just two years ago, according to Trent Ford, the Illinois state climatologist. This is the third year in a row that Illinois has experienced a triple-digit tornado season; the state’s historical average is closer to 50. 

“It’s just anything beyond what we would expect,” Ford said. 

The dramatic surge in Illinois and throughout the Corn Belt contrasts with a decreasing trend of twisters in the Great Plains, the region traditionally billed as Tornado Alley. Experts are still working through the data, trying to understand whether it has been inching eastward, and if so whether climate change has anything to do with it. 

Regardless of the answer to that question, Illinois is today the epicenter of tornadoes in the U.S. A recent analysis by Steve Nesbitt, a meteorologist and professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, found that the region is getting a historic hammering. Illinois and Indiana have already recorded the highest level of tornado activity since the National Weather Service started keeping track in 1950. He added that nearby states including Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio are in the top 10. A pair of tornadoes even touched down in New York City and Long Island. 

That said, overall it has been a slow year. “It has been below average nationally, with the southern Plains and Southeast less active than normal,” Nesbit said.

Even with the unusual flurry of tornadoes, the Land of Lincoln remains well short of the all-time record. That belongs to Texas, which experienced 255 in 2015. Some experts argue it’s not a fair comparison because Texas is about 4.7 times larger than Illinois. However, Nesbit said that in terms of tornado density, or concentration of tornadoes touching down in 80-kilometer (50 mile) squares, Illinois is on top. He added that as of mid-August no region of the country has had a higher reported density of tornadoes than parts of central Illinois. 

Tornadoes are the result of atmospheric contrasts and chaos. They develop when moist air near the ground lies beneath drier, hotter air aloft, creating a sandwich of sorts. In this unstable atmosphere, differences in wind speed and direction at different heights create rotation and thunderclouds. “So just a difference between air masses,” said Shel Winkley, chief meteorologist at the research group Climate Central. “That’s also going to provide some spin in the atmosphere.” 

Scientists measure this as “convective available potential energy,” or CAPE, which describes the available fuel for thunderstorm development. Look inside these towering thunderclouds and you’ll find warm air rising but cool air falling, which creates spinning currents that can spawn a tornado. One trend scientists can parse, Winkley said, is the increase in the number of potential thunderstorm days. “That doesn’t necessarily mean a tornado will form,” Winkley added, “but we have these higher values of CAPE over the East and the Southeast during the spring than we used to have.”

The other component is that moisture. An abundantly clear climate signal is playing out in the Gulf of Mexico, which has been exceptionally warm of late. Since humans began pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the additional heat. The hotter the Gulf gets, the more moisture it can pump into the atmosphere, and the more fuel it can provide for thunderstorms and tornadoes. (This is also how climate change is supercharging hurricanes, as those storms also love moisture.)

Even given all that, it doesn’t seem that climate change is in and of itself resulting in more tornadoes. However, on the days when we get the biggest tornado outbreaks, more twisters are touching down, Winkley said. Tornado Alley also seems to be shifting east, putting new communities in danger.  “At least the science that we have right now, we don’t see a connection between more tornadoes occurring because of climate change,” Winkley said. “It’s more about where they’re occurring, when they’re occurring, and then again the number that they’re happening on specific days versus others.”

Another wrinkle: It has never been easier to spot a tornado. 

“Our radar data has increased in resolution multiple times over compared to even when I started at this office 20 years ago,” said Ginno Izzi, a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service office covering Chicago. He adds that advancement in radar resolution, satellite data, and remote sensing has made it possible to count smaller tornadoes that might not have been previously detected. 

If that seems unsatisfyingly inconclusive, it’s not for lack of trying. Tornadoes are hyperlocal weather events, so they’re difficult to simulate in climate models. Massive hurricanes, on the other hand, are easier to model. So scientists are still working to figure out how much the change in tornado activity is due to natural variability — what you’d expect if humans hadn’t warmed the planet — versus what’s the consequence of runaway greenhouse gas emissions. “That’s still one of those things that we just need faster computers and stronger computers in order to be able to do that sort of modeling with it,” Winkley said, “and we’re just not quite there yet.”

toolTips('.classtoolTips3','Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other gases that prevent heat from escaping Earth’s atmosphere. Together, they act as a blanket to keep the planet at a liveable temperature in what is known as the “greenhouse effect.” Too many of these gases, however, can cause excessive warming, disrupting fragile climates and ecosystems.');

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Even meteorologists are baffled by the Midwestern tornado season on Aug 24, 2026.

This is a guest post by Camilo Sánchez, a communications strategist working for Greenpeace International.

We are living through a cost of living crisis that is being treated as if it were a mysterious, purely “economic” event, when in reality it has a clear, combustible cause: our dependence on coal, oil and gas. Across the United States, Europe and far beyond, the main driver of recent price surges has not been wages or “too much money” in the system, but repeated fossil fuel shocks feeding into everything from electricity bills to food prices. When we talk about inflation today, in many countries we are mostly talking about fossilflation, a price spiral rooted in the fossil fuel system itself.

War, chokepoints and the human cost of fossilflation

The US‑Israeli war on Iran is first and foremost a human catastrophe, with thousands of lives lost, families displaced and communities facing bombing, blackouts and water cuts across Iran and the wider Middle East. Those impacts are compounded by the environmental devastation of burning refineries, major oil spills, leaking pipelines and militarised shipping lanes, whose toxic fallout will last far beyond the nightly news cycle. At the same time, the decision to wage war in a region that carried a substantial share of the world’s oil and LNG has triggered what the International Energy Agency calls the worst energy crisis since the 1970s, sending fuel, food and transport prices soaring.

The closure and repeated disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, which controls around a fifth of global oil and gas shipping, has shown again how easily a single chokepoint can turn into a global economic weapon. Another fossil fuel chokepoint, the Bab al‑Mandeb strait, has become a flashpoint in a connected war over Red Sea shipping and Yemen, against the backdrop of the same energy shock. This strategically located transit route has enabled Saudi Arabia to boost its oil revenue during the crisis, even as missile threats and blockade politics deepen a humanitarian emergency and ripple into higher bills far from the frontline. As long as our energy system relies on oil and gas flowing through war‑prone chokepoints, war anywhere becomes a crisis everywhere.

The US‑Israeli war on Iran is not an isolated episode. Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, earlier energy crises and repeated OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) supply squeezes have all followed a familiar pattern, fossil fuel prices surge, inflation jumps, whiteland households are left to absorb the shock through higher bills. Each time, governments and central banks talk about “temporary energy noise”, but the reality is that every fossil shock leaves a permanent mark on the price level, pushing people deeper into hardship even after headline inflation starts to fall again.

Governments are bailing out fossil fuels, not people

August 06 2023, Canada, Alberta. Tar Sand Processing in Alberta near Fort McMurray. © Markus Mauthe / Greenpeace

Since fossilflation is driven by oil and gas, governments must cut down their countries’ dependence on fossil fuels as a response to energy shocks. But this is not what we are seeing. An analysis of seven EU countries’ responses to the US‑Israeli war on Iran shows that most emergency packages have been designed to protect fossil fuel consumption rather than to cut dependence on it. Across Europe, roughly 86% of crisis spending by governments is encouraging more fossil fuel use through fuel tax cuts, broad VAT reductions on energy (cutting sales tax on everyone’s gas and electricity bills) and untargeted subsidies (direct payments or price supports for fossil fuel costs for all consumers rather than prioritising support for the most vulnerable households. 

Spain, Germany, and Ireland have spent the most on broad fossil fuel bailouts by cutting fuel taxes across the board. This brings prices down for now, but keeps these countries hooked on imported oil and gas.

The Spanish government’s energy relief €5 billion package is a mixed bag: it includes protection for people against rising energy costs and measures towards shifting to renewables but also a massive tax break for heavy industry, making it one of Europe’s strongest renewable energy commitments and one of its biggest fossil fuel lock-ins, at the same time.

Despite its bold climate rhetoric, Germany’s actual response to the energy price shock has been almost entirely fuel tax cuts and price caps, nothing that meaningfully reduces its fossil fuel dependence.

The Netherlands and Sweden have done better, putting more money into things like energy-efficient homes, heat pump incentives, and cheaper public transport. But even they still spend heavily on fossil fuel subsidies.

Overall, none of these seven EU countries has a plan that actually ends fossil fuel dependence, all are allocating more to fossil fuel bailouts than to structural solutions.

Such measures make fossil fuels cheaper to keep using, rather than helping people use less of them which is not only inconsistent with climate goals, it also deepens inequality. Broad tax cuts and general fuel untargeted subsidies tend to benefit higher‑income households and sectors with high fossil consumption, while leaving the poorest communities with only partial relief and no long‑term protection. Only a small share of the government spending is going towards reducing fossil fuel for good, or speeding up the transition to renewables.

Instead of using limited  public budgets to insulate buildings, expand clean public transport, support agroecology and tax windfall fossil profits, many governments are effectively writing cheques to the fossil fuel industry, hoping that temporary discounts will buy social peace.

Fossilflation, inequality and peace

Fossilflation is not just a technical issue for central bankers, it is a justice and peace issue. Every time oil and gas prices surge, it is ordinary households, especially in low‑income communities on the frontlines of climate impacts, that pay the price through rising bills and reduced public services. In the first 50 days of the US‑Israeli war on Iran, an estimated 150 billion dollars moved from households to oil and gas companies through higher energy prices alone, while governments worldwide are on track to spend around 1.1 trillion US dollars propping up the fossil fuel industry in 2026.

Meanwhile, the social and environmental costs of fossilflation are enormous too. Air pollution from burning coal, oil and gas is linked to roughly 8.7 million premature deaths a year worldwide, and climate‑driven disasters such as floods and heatwaves add hundreds of millions of euros to energy bills in countries like France and Germany on top of lives lost. When governments choose to preserve fossil fuel profits and military alliances over people’s wellbeing, they are effectively trading peace and stability for an economy built on volatile, violent energy sources.

May 01 2002, Germany, Ingolstadt. Esso Refinery. © Jens Küsters / Greenpeace

Dependence on fossil fuel chokepoints such as Hormuz and Bab al‑Mandeb also undermines peace directly. It gives armed actors leverage over global energy prices, incentivises military protection of shipping lanes, and turns entire regions into geopolitical battlegrounds where civilians pay in parts: first through war and destruction, then through the economic fallout and ultimately, through more extreme weather. Breaking this dependence is therefore imperative not only to the climate imperative but also to peace.

The way out: decentralised renewables and a fair response to fossilflation

August 16 2023, Indonesia, Jakarta. Electric Bus in Jakarta.© Jurnasyanto Sukarno / Greenpeace

The evidence from the US, Europe and conflict zones points to a clear conclusion: tackling fossilflation means ending our dependence on oil and gas. There is no shortage of sunlight or wind threatening our energy security, what keeps our societies vulnerable is the decision to stick with fuels whose price and supply can be disrupted at any moment by Trump’s mood, a pipeline explosion or a war.

A coherent response needs four pillars.

• Decentralised, price‑stable renewables. Wind and solar have become the cheapest forms of new electricity generation in history, with solar costs falling by around 87% and battery storage by more than 90% since 2010, and they do not depend on shipping through war‑prone chokepoints. Scaling up local energy communities, rooftop solar, heat pumps, smart grids and green storage can turn households and communities from passive bill‑payers into active participants in a resilient energy system.
• Demand reduction and fair transport. Instead of subsidising fossil fuels for private cars, governments can introduce affordable climate tickets for public transport, strengthen rail networks and night trains, and support remote working and speed limits to cut oil demand. Fair transport policies reduce emissions and shield people from future oil price spikes.

June 10 2015, Japan, Kanagawa-ken. Neighbors Visiting at Farmer’s Market in Japan © Kayo Sawaguchi / Greenpeace

• Resilient food system. Large‑scale renovation of homes, phasing out gas from buildings, and investing in agroecology to break dependence on fossil‑based fertilisers can turn cities and rural areas into climate‑resilient spaces, while making heating and food more affordable in the long run.
• Tax justice and ending fossil fuel bailouts. Ending fossil fuel subsidies and broad tax cuts, introducing permanent taxes on super‑profits and on the ultra‑rich, and banning fossil fuel advertising can help fund solutions that can actually protect people from energy shocks while accelerating the transition.

February 24 2025, Germany, Nauen. Wind Farm. © Paul Langrock / Greenpeace

Breaking free from fossil fuels is not just climate policy, it is an anti-inflation policy, social policy and peace policy. As long as we remain locked into oil and gas, we will remain trapped in repeated cycles of fossilflation, war‑fuelled price shocks and widening inequality. Shifting to renewables, efficiency, fair taxation and justice‑based solutions, is both the opportunity and the precondition for real energy independence, economic stability and lasting peace.

What can you do?

For us to fully tackle this situation, we have to look at both its causes and its solutions. You can start by calling it the right way: fossilflation, so that we put the light on the oil and gas addiction that is causing this crisis in the first place.

Together with that, you can also demand your government to tax those fossil fuel polluters that are reaping astronomical profits from the war. That money would fund the policies and measures that are needed to protect you and your community in this and the next crises, as well as to finance the shift towards the clean, stable and renewable energies that we so urgently need.

The post When oil sets the price appeared first on 350.

New accounts show the oil and gas industry trying to weaken methane reporting while saving the federal emissions system it relies on.

Everyone is now on board with the theory of multipolarity. But now that it’s mainstream that unipolarity is dead, it’s time to ask: is the world actually becoming multipolar?

In an old cottonwood tree in Arizona, a small group of Americans are doing what lawsuits and letters couldn't.

Baby gear takes over the living room, outgrown bikes pile up in the garage, and toy boxes multiply faster than anyone can keep track of. Families expanding in size rarely expand in square footage at the same rate, and the gap between the two shows up in every overstuffed closet. Renting storage spaces in Dubai gives busy households a practical way to reclaim their rooms without giving up items they still need.

Make room for daily life

Growing families often collect belongings quickly. Baby equipment, school projects, toys, bicycles, furniture, and holiday decorations can quickly fill closets and spare rooms. Storage spaces give these items a separate location, leaving bedrooms, hallways, and living areas open for everyday activities. Parents also gain clearer rooms by moving rarely used belongings away from busy areas. Kids get more floor space for play, while adults gain easier access to household essentials.

Store seasonal belongings

Seasonal items take up valuable space during months when families don’t use them. Winter coats, holiday decorations, camping equipment, fans, and outdoor furniture can sit untouched for long periods. A storage unit gives these belongings a dedicated spot until the next season arrives. Families free up closets and garages while keeping seasonal goods protected and organized.

Keep children’s items organized

Children grow quickly, and their belongings change with each stage. Clothes, toys, books, school supplies, and sports equipment may no longer suit their current age but still hold future value. Families can sort these items into labeled boxes and place them in storage. Parents can group clothing by size, separate toys by type, and keep school materials together. This simple system makes future access easier and reduces clutter inside the home.

Support home changes

Growing families may rearrange rooms as children get older. A nursery may become a study area, while a playroom may become a bedroom. Furniture and household goods can temporarily move into storage during these changes. This extra space gives families greater freedom during home updates. Parents can clear rooms before moving furniture, painting walls, or setting up new areas for children.

Build better household habits

Storage works best when families use a simple organization system. Clear labels, sturdy boxes, and grouped belongings help everyone locate items quickly. Parents can also keep an inventory of stored goods and review it from time to time. As children grow and family routines change, extra storage gives households a practical place for belongings that still serve a purpose.

Texas Poker, yang lebih dikenal sebagai Texas Hold’em, merupakan salah satu varian poker yang menarik karena kemenangan tidak hanya ditentukan oleh kartu yang diterima. Permainan ini juga menuntut kemampuan memahami situasi, memperkirakan kemungkinan, serta mengambil keputusan berdasarkan informasi yang tersedia. Di sinilah seni membaca kondisi meja menjadi bagian penting dari pengalaman bermain.

Bagi pemain pemula, poker sering terlihat seperti permainan yang sepenuhnya bergantung pada keberuntungan. Padahal, setiap putaran memberikan sejumlah informasi yang dapat dianalisis. Posisi pemain, jumlah lawan yang masih bertahan, pola taruhan, hingga kartu yang terbuka di meja dapat memengaruhi keputusan berikutnya. Pemahaman terhadap faktor-faktor tersebut membantu pemain melihat permainan secara lebih objektif, bukan sekadar menunggu kombinasi kartu yang bagus.

Memahami Informasi dari Setiap Putaran

Dalam Texas Hold’em, setiap pemain menerima dua kartu pribadi, sementara kartu komunitas muncul secara bertahap. Struktur tersebut menciptakan ruang untuk mengambil keputusan berdasarkan perkembangan permainan. Pemain perlu memperhatikan perubahan situasi dari pre-flop, flop, turn, hingga river.

Kartu yang terlihat memang menjadi sumber informasi utama, tetapi tindakan pemain lain juga tidak kalah penting. Misalnya, taruhan besar pada tahap tertentu dapat menunjukkan kepercayaan diri, tetapi tidak otomatis berarti lawan memiliki kombinasi terbaik. Sebaliknya, pemain yang cenderung pasif tiba-tiba melakukan kenaikan taruhan mungkin memberikan sinyal bahwa situasi telah berubah.

Namun, membaca pola taruhan bukan berarti menebak pikiran lawan secara pasti. Pengamatan yang baik seharusnya menghasilkan beberapa kemungkinan, kemudian pemain memilih keputusan yang paling masuk akal berdasarkan informasi tersebut.

Posisi dan Pengaruhnya terhadap Keputusan

Posisi di meja menjadi salah satu konsep penting dalam Texas Poker. Pemain yang bertindak lebih akhir biasanya memiliki keuntungan informasi karena dapat melihat tindakan beberapa lawan sebelum mengambil keputusan. Kondisi ini membuat posisi tidak sekadar menjadi urutan giliran, tetapi juga bagian dari strategi.

Ketika berada pada posisi awal, pemain perlu lebih berhati-hati karena masih banyak lawan yang belum menentukan tindakan. Sebaliknya, posisi akhir memberikan kesempatan untuk mengamati lebih banyak perkembangan sebelum memutuskan apakah akan mengikuti taruhan, menaikkan taruhan, atau memilih mundur.

Pemahaman seperti ini menunjukkan bahwa keputusan poker sebaiknya tidak dibuat secara terpisah. Kualitas kartu, posisi, perilaku lawan, dan kondisi taruhan perlu dipertimbangkan secara bersamaan.

Pentingnya Mengelola Emosi

Kemampuan membaca situasi juga berkaitan erat dengan pengendalian emosi. Pemain yang terbawa kekalahan sebelumnya dapat mengambil keputusan secara impulsif, sementara kemenangan beruntun kadang membuat seseorang terlalu percaya diri. Kedua kondisi tersebut dapat mengganggu penilaian yang rasional.

Pendekatan profesional justru menempatkan disiplin sebagai bagian dari permainan. Pemain perlu mengetahui kapan harus melanjutkan dan kapan sebaiknya berhenti. Pengelolaan batas permainan juga penting agar keputusan tetap berada dalam kendali dan tidak berubah menjadi tindakan mengejar kerugian.

Kesimpulan

Seni membaca situasi dalam Texas Poker pada dasarnya merupakan perpaduan antara pengamatan, pemahaman aturan, penilaian probabilitas, posisi, dan pengendalian diri. Tidak ada metode yang mampu menjamin kemenangan dalam setiap putaran karena unsur ketidakpastian tetap menjadi bagian dari poker.

Justru karena itulah Texas Hold’em menarik untuk dipelajari. Pemain tidak hanya berhadapan dengan kartu, tetapi juga dengan rangkaian keputusan yang menuntut ketelitian. Semakin baik seseorang memahami konteks permainan, semakin matang pula cara mereka menilai setiap situasi di meja.

Double parking and loading zone violations are down in Center City Philadelphia after local officials implemented automated enforcement and payment cameras — offering inspiration to other cities struggling to enforce parking rules.

In the 15 months since the state-run Philadelphia Parking Authority introduced automated enforcement and payment for loading zones in Center City, traffic speeds increased from 7 to 10 miles per hour, the Inquirer reported earlier this month.

At the same time, the new enforcement has kept private vehicles out of commercial loading deliveries, and the number of freight vehicles using those dedicated spots increased 97 percent, parking authority officials said.

The parking authority now plans to expand the program to more locations in Center City.

“We are making substantial progress in our effort to reduce congestion on Center City streets, which in turn improves public safety and the quality of life in Philadelphia,” said Acting Philadelphia Parking Authority executive director Gabe Roberts in a press release.

Rather than deploying police to catch violators in the act, the camera-based program reduces illegal parking by making it easier to follow the law. Curb users complete a one-time enrollment that links their license plate to an online account, where they are automatically charged 10 cents per minute parked. In other words, the city isn’t asking drivers to follow the law — drivers follow it by design.

That ease of compliance, experts said, can exponentially improve the quality of cities’ streetscapes.

“Loading compliance typically goes from single digits to the 90s because the rules are easy to follow,” said Gabe Klein, the Head of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation under the Biden Administration.

City crash data isn’t up-to-date enough to show safety impacts, but locals say they’ve observed an increase in safety since the automated enforcement program started getting illegally parked cars out of the way of cyclists and crosswalks.

“These changes have probably shown a lot of safety improvements,” said Cody Cowper, who chairs the Complete Streets Committee for the Washington Square West Civic Association, which represents an area included in the program. “You don’t have somebody … swerving around a car and they can’t see the pedestrians in the intersection.”

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Of course, dangerous illegal parking nuisances isn’t limited to Center City, or even to Philadelphia.

The quick rise of e-commerce has handily outpaced expansions of curb capacity across the nation. Cities aren’t able to handle the influx of Amazon and Doordash drivers and trucks, who also compete for space with traditional freight. The Philadelphia Parking Authority’s approach may be the closest yet to a practical solution.

“It’s really exciting,” said Giacomo Dalla Chiara, an urban freight management researcher at the University of Washington. “[Philadelphia is] really trying something new.”

Dalla Chiara worked on a recent study analyzing loading zone management systems across 13 different US cities. Few control commercial loading at all, or call it a day after painting a curb yellow. But the key is to integrate three strategies in tandem, Dalla Chiara said: infrastructure, including painted loading curbs; policy, such as time limits in loading zones; and regulation through pricing and enforcement.

That third element, Dalla Chiara said, is where Philadelphia stands out and others fall short.

“A lot of cities are scared of changing regulations,” he said.

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Philadelphia’s program includes more than 50 cameras, and more on the way, which scan the license plates of vehicles in loading zones. The cameras do not track faces or any other identifying features, according to parking authority officials. Parking enforcement officers review each filmed violation before the authority issues a ticket.

Drivers do not have to operate a commercial vehicle to use the zones, but are required to register with the CurbPass app. The first three minutes of parking are free, and drivers pay 10 cents each minute thereafter. Drivers are fined $51 if they stay in the spot for over an hour or do not register on the app. Drivers who double park must pay a heftier $76 fine.

A loading zone violation ticket with identifying information redacted.

Automating enforcement helps to distribute penalties evenly and promote fairness, according to supporters.

“Our enforcement shouldn’t be selective,” Cowper said. “The things that people are being ticketed for were always illegal. We just didn’t have a good means of enforcing it.”

But Dalla Chiara warned that it’s too early to call the program an unmitigated success, since it only launched in May 2025 and continues to grow.

Curb management data is fairly limited in the US, making it hard to draw conclusions about a single city’s pilot program limited to a few blocks.

“We know very little about curb behaviors,” he said.

Recommended This Tech Could Stop Drivers from Double-Parking and Blocking Bike Lanes Kea Wilson September 21, 2020

Still, Philadelphia officials are nonetheless motivated by the results.

Several US cities already implement some form of automated street enforcement. Los Angeles, New York, Washington, DC and Oakland all join Philadelphia in using bus and trolley-mounted, AI-assisted cameras to issue tickets to cars parked in bus lanes.

Several more use automated cameras to catch speeders and red light-runners with lifesaving outcomes.

Loading zone enforcement could revolutionize street safety on the nation’s busiest commercial corridors, but Philly officials advise other cities to take it slow.

“Any city looking to implement the program, should do a strong public outreach, it will take a while for the public to be aware,” a Philadelphia Parking Authority spokesperson advised other cities’ offficials in an email to Streetsblog. “Build in a warning period, so drivers have a chance to change behavior. You should also build in a grace period for those dropping off passengers, have an internal team review all images before a violation is created to make sure all violations being mailed out are accurate and clear.”

• Federal funding has a greater impact on transit systems in smaller communities than big cities, according to a new study. That doesn’t mean big cities don’t need federal funding, but each dollar spent on cities with populations under 200,000 generates three times the ridership growth. (Futurism)
• Technology is making cars even more expensive as they continue to turn into iPads on wheels. (The Atlantic; paywall)
• The U.S. DOT finally released Sean Duffy’s road trip reality show. (The Guardian)
• A Tennessee driver apparently didn’t even try to stop before plowing through a college cycling team, killing two people and hospitalizing seven others. (Jalopnik)
• A study found that Oakland drivers slowed down substantially after the city installed automated traffic enforcement cameras on dangerous roads. (San Francisco Chronicle; paywall)
• Nebraska is building more roundabouts because they’ve cut crashes by three-quarters. (Nebraska Public Media)
• About two-thirds of pedestrian deaths in Nevada happen in places where there are no crosswalks, according to a UNLV study. (Fox 5)
• Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson personally helped paint a new bus-only lane on Denny Way (The Urbanist). She also issued an executive order to speed up Vision Zero projects (Capitol Hill)
• Massive cuts to TriMet bus service took effect on Sunday. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Phoenix’s Valley Metro is moving forward again with a stalled Westside light rail extension. (Axios)
• A prominent Atlanta developer wants to bring back the Peachtree Street streetcar. (Urbanize Atlanta)
• The family of Iryna Zarutska, who was killed aboard a Charlotte train, has sued the city. (Spectrum News)
• UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to revive the HS2 passenger rail line between Birmingham and Manchester in Northern England. (Coventry Live)
• Dutch regulators fined Uber almost $1 billion for automatically deleting drivers’ accounts without informing them. (Reuters)
• Canada is building a lot of transit-oriented housing. (The Transit Brief)
• Children’s lungs grew faster after London established its Ultra Low Emissions Zone in 2019. (Yale e360)

As part of our solidarity with Cuba, the SftP Anti-militarism and Environment Working Group is sharing a selection of articles from the SftP Archives highlighting the work of the first iteration of our organization in solidarity with Cuba. Each entry in this series includes a link to read the online article as well as the full digitized magazine issue from which it hails.

Ecology Under Socialism: Meeting the People’s Needs

By Dick Levins in the SftP Magazine, vol. 13, no. 2 (March 1981)

Read the full article in the SftP Archives

View the original digitized magazine issue

Shout-out to the Just Seeds Open Type Project for the amazing AvoidGrotesk font used in these graphics (font pack 21)!

 

On one block in Philadelphia’s Norris Square neighborhood, there were three active community gardens in 2019. Five years later, in the summer of 2024, only one remained. One former garden has been replaced by a pristine vinyl-sided rowhome, its backyard fenced in and partially paved to make way for an expansive patio. According to online […]

Dominika Parry never stopped fighting for Jackson, Mississippi, residents even after the Trump administration terminated a multibillion-dollar program last year meant to help the Black city still reeling from a water crisis. 

For years, if water did flow out of Black households’ faucets in Jackson at all, it was often brown. It left elders and babies with rashes and caused a slew of health problems across the city.

Parry and other community leaders and organizations got some semblance of hope in 2023 with a federal grant. Yet, two years later — before any funds could be distributed — President Donald Trump entered office and terminated a $2.8 billion program meant to help mitigate the harm from climate change and environmental issues in Black, low-income, and disadvantaged communities. 

More than a year later, federal courts stepped in and rebuked the administration’s effort to dismantle climate funding. The case centers on the administration’s effort to roll back climate investments authorized by Congress under the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s cornerstone economic policy.

Read Next Biden’s climate law is dead. The energy transition might not be. Jake Bittle

Last month, a South Carolina federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to resume distributing funds designed to address environmental and health challenges in underserved communities.

The July ruling came just before the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court blocked the EPA from rescinding nearly $20 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund awards. That program is different from the environmental justice grants promised to Jackson and other overburdened communities. 

That means that over $22 billion meant for climate and environmental projects in disadvantaged communities may soon be distributed. 

Parry did not respond to requests for comment after the ruling, but Matt Sedlar, climate analyst at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said the outcomes of these lawsuits are “sending a message to the administration that the separation of powers exists and that it must follow the law.”

What the billions could be spent on in Black communities

In 2023, a $20 million federal grant offered a life-saving chance for Jackson’s poorest. The money was for a resilience hub that would offer year-round access to housing where the lights would stay on with clean drinking water in the time of disaster by funding a micro electric grid. It would also include backup generators, an independent water well, showers, and overnight shelter for up to 150 people at a time facing water issues in their home.

The goal was building “a place where people can come, stay overnight, have access to energy, be in healthy conditions,” Parry said last year. Parry founded the recipient group 2C Mississippi, a Ridgeland-based nonprofit focused on climate resilience in Mississippi.

Since February 2025, the billions made available through the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program have languished as the Trump administration has moved to gut a historic number of environmental rules and protections. The Associated Press estimates that the EPA programs and rules cut were projected to prevent roughly 30,000 deaths per year, particularly in Black and disadvantaged communities. 

After prison, Leon Dillard participated in a solar installation program for formerly incarcerated people in Houston. The program no longer exists. Adam Mahoney / Capital B

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund was designed as a $27 billion national clean-energy financing program. Its goal was also to make clean-energy investments like home-energy upgrades, solar installations, and electric vehicles more accessible in low-income and disadvantaged communities that have historically been shut out of affordable green financing.

The Trump administration has already moved to legally appeal the judge’s ruling regarding the environmental and climate justice grant program, claiming that the EPA now lacks the money and staff to implement the program. (The Trump administration has fired 25 percent of EPA workers since 2024, bringing the agency to its lowest staff total ever.) 

Already, some of the programs that received the initial approval for funding in 2024 have ceased to exist, including a solar installation program for formerly incarcerated people in Houston. 

Last year, Leon Dillard, a formerly incarcerated man who was a part of the program before it was cut, said the climate-friendly work gave him a “sense of purpose.” 

“I really just needed to be a part of [the program], be a part of something,” he said. “You have to make a choice to take a chance, or your life will never change. But you need other people with you on that journey.”

It is likely that the administration will attempt to appeal the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund ruling as well. 

Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant Program projects include: 

• More than $14 million to install wastewater systems in Alabama’s Blackbelt communities where failing septic systems and untreated sewage have long sickened Black residents.
• A $500,000 micro electric grid project in Gentilly, a historically Black New Orleans neighborhood that has faced chronic flooding, heat, and power-outage risk, particularly during hurricane season.
• A $20 million grant for four connected disaster hubs in Florida’s historically Black areas of Lee County. The hubs would include cooling centers and, during disasters, sites for electricity, communications, water and food distribution, and emergency health support. The project also included money for stormwater treatment, new shade trees, and workforce training.
• $500,000 for solar-workforce training for formerly incarcerated Texans, illegal-dumping cleanup, and environmental education in a Black community in Houston overburdened by pollution. 
• $20 million to weatherize, electrify, repair, and improve air quality in 500 homes in East Alabama and West Georgia. The plan also included 10 solar-and-battery resilience hubs for residents during outages and extreme weather. 

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund projects include:

• Mississippi Solar for All: Hope Enterprise Corporation received $62 million to expand residential solar access for low-income and disadvantaged Mississippians.
• Arkansas Solar for All: Hope Enterprise Corporation received $94 million for a companion program bringing solar benefits to low-income households across Arkansas.
• Georgia BRIGHT Communities Coalition: Capital Good Fund received $156 million to expand access to clean energy and related jobs in Georgia.
• EnergizeNC: The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality received $156 million for its statewide low-income solar initiative.
• Industrial Heartland Solar Coalition: Growth Opportunity Partners received $156 million for a multistate solar effort serving Midwestern industrial communities.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Trump ordered to release billions in climate grants meant for Black communities on Aug 23, 2026.

Headline News:

• “Romania Is Falling Behind The Renewables Race. Can The EU’s Biggest Solar Farm Save It?” • The EU’s largest solar farm has taken one step closer to becoming a reality, and could soon deliver enough power for almost one million people. The Dama Solar farm, led by Rezolv Energy, will be in the northwest of Romania, near the Hungarian border. [Euronews]

Solar array (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

• “Paks Nuclear Plant Reconnects First Turbine To National Grid” • Paks turbine 6 has been successfully connected to the Hungarian electric grid and is producing increasing amounts of energy. The eight turbines are expected to be back in operation by Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Magyar said on a live television broadcast. [The Budapest Times]
• “COP17 In Mongolia: Finding Solutions To Land Degradation” • Delegates of 179 members of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification are engaging with business partners and local communities to find solutions for land degradation. The issue affects half of the world’s population, creating poverty. It is a cause of migration. [Euronews]
• “Europe’s Devastating Wildfires Unveil Deadly New Threat – Buried Bombs From WWI And WWII” • As fires burned huge areas of land in western Europe in recent months in extreme heat and droughts, firefighters have faced the additional threat of exploding shells. Explosions have been reported in France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. [Euronews]
• “Red States Are Killin’ It With Their Solar Factories” • In the topsy-turvy world of US energy policy, some conservative states are pushing the solar industry envelope the hardest. Texas is one clear example, and now a startup that specializes in transportable microgrids is putting deep red South Carolina on the map with a new 1.3-GW solar factory. [CleanTechnica]

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

Walk into any of the world’s great seed banks, and you will find one of humanity’s quietest triumphs.

Within carefully monitored facilities are millions of seeds, protected as a vital safeguard against war, climate change, disease, and loss. Governments, scientists, farmers, nonprofits, Indigenous communities, and others have spent decades building an extraordinary safety net for our food system.

This work is essential. But it is not enough.

Every time I stand in one of these collections, I find myself asking a singular question. It’s not, “Have we saved enough seeds?” Instead, it’s, “Who will carry these seeds forward?”

For decades, much of the conversation about agricultural biodiversity has centered on preservation. How many varieties have been collected? How many are safely stored? How many have been documented, cataloged, and protected?

These are important questions. But seeds have never saved themselves.

Every variety that still exists today survived because someone, somewhere, decided it was worth growing for one more season. Perhaps it produced through a drought. Perhaps it thrived in a mountain valley where little else would. Perhaps it made the best sauce, the sweetest pie, or the meal that brought a family together every August.

Long before there were professional plant breeders and modern gene banks, Indigenous peoples, and generations of farmers, gardeners, cooks, neighbors, and grandparents were making careful seed-saving choices year after year.

They selected the plants that performed well, tasted good, or held meaning for their communities. They saved those seeds and passed them on.

We often call these varieties “heirlooms,” a word that can make them sound like antiques. But heirlooms are not objects preserved behind glass. They are the result of continuous observation, adaptation, and innovation by dedicated people.

Every year someone selected the best of them. Every year someone decided they were worth saving again. That is not nostalgia. It is one of the longest-running experiments in human history.

Today, we rightly celebrate new agricultural technologies and advances in plant breeding. They can also help farmers respond to changing climates, emerging pests, disease, and shifting production needs.

But somewhere along the way, we began to assume that newer automatically means better.

Better for whom?

Better for shipping across a continent? Better for mechanical harvest? Better for shelf life? Sometimes the answer is yes. But what about flavor? What about local adaptation developed over generations by people who knew their land intimately? What about the bean a community continued to grow because nothing else matched its taste or cultural significance?

Those choices contain knowledge. And that knowledge ought to help guide the future of agriculture alongside the latest scientific breakthroughs.

Preserving this knowledge has always been a shared responsibility. Indigenous communities, farmers, gardeners, seed libraries, nonprofit organizations, public gene banks, and universities all serve as bridges between generations. They carry forward genetic material along with the stories, practices, relationships, and ways of understanding the land connected to it.

Much of this work happens quietly and with modest resources, even though it sits at the intersection of some of the defining challenges of our time: food security, climate resilience, biodiversity, and cultural survival.

We have invested in preserving seeds. We must also invest just as deliberately in the people who will keep them alive and useful.

It means creating opportunities for young farmers and gardeners to learn how to select, save, and share seeds. It means making collections more accessible to the communities and growers who can put them to use. And it means supporting the next generation of plant breeders and gene bank professionals.

It also means recognizing that chefs, seed companies, educators, and eaters have roles to play. When people choose diverse crops, ask where their food comes from, grow unfamiliar varieties, or support organizations maintaining public collections, they help create a future for those seeds.

Agricultural biodiversity is not something we simply store. It is something we participate in.

A seed may remain alive in a freezer for a century, but its fullest value is realized when someone plants it. When someone tastes it. When someone observes how it responds to a changing environment. When someone decides, among all the other options available, “This one is worth saving and growing again.”

That decision, repeated, is how diversity has always moved through history.

The most compelling question before us today is not whether we can preserve the biological diversity we have inherited. It is whether we can inspire enough people to see themselves as part of its future.

Every generation receives this extraordinary inheritance. No generation can claim it as its achievement alone. We borrow it from those who came before us, add our own chapter, and pass it along.

The future of crop diversity will not be decided by freezers, databases, or scientific breakthroughs alone. It will be decided by people—by what we choose to grow, eat, share, study, support, and save.

Who will carry the diversity forward?

The answer must be all of us.

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 

The post Op-Ed | Who Will Carry Seed Diversity Forward? appeared first on Food Tank.

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Perbincangan mengenai slot gacor anti rungkad RTP hari ini semakin sering muncul di tengah perkembangan permainan slot online. Istilah tersebut biasanya digunakan untuk menggambarkan permainan yang dianggap memiliki peluang hasil menarik dan tingkat pengembalian tertentu. Namun, bagi pemain maupun pembaca pemula, penting untuk memahami bahwa istilah populer tidak otomatis menjamin kemenangan.

RTP atau Return to Player menjadi salah satu informasi yang kerap diperhatikan ketika membahas permainan slot. Secara sederhana, RTP menunjukkan persentase teoritis dari total taruhan yang dikembalikan kepada pemain dalam jangka panjang. Misalnya, permainan dengan RTP 96% secara matematis dirancang untuk mengembalikan sekitar Rp96 dari setiap Rp100 yang dipertaruhkan dalam periode yang sangat panjang. Angka tersebut bukan prediksi hasil untuk satu sesi permainan.

Karena itu, istilah RTP hari ini perlu disikapi secara kritis. Nilai RTP teoretis sebuah permainan tidak serta-merta berubah setiap hari hanya karena sedang ramai dimainkan. Informasi yang muncul di komunitas atau situs tertentu bisa saja merujuk pada statistik, promosi, atau interpretasi terhadap pola permainan. Pemain sebaiknya memeriksa sumber informasi dan memahami bagaimana angka tersebut diperoleh sebelum menjadikannya pertimbangan.

Mengenal Arti “Anti Rungkad”

“Anti rungkad” merupakan istilah populer yang menggambarkan harapan bermain dengan kerugian yang lebih terkendali. Dalam praktiknya, tidak ada karakteristik yang dapat menjamin seseorang pasti terhindar dari kerugian. Permainan slot menggunakan mekanisme acak, sehingga hasil setiap putaran tidak dapat dipastikan berdasarkan hasil putaran sebelumnya.

Pendekatan yang lebih profesional adalah melihat permainan secara menyeluruh. Selain RTP, pemain dapat memperhatikan volatilitas, aturan pembayaran, fitur bonus, serta informasi resmi dari penyedia permainan. Volatilitas membantu memberikan gambaran mengenai karakter risiko sebuah permainan, meskipun tetap tidak dapat digunakan untuk memprediksi hasil berikutnya.

Pentingnya Memeriksa Informasi

Kredibilitas sumber menjadi bagian penting ketika mencari informasi tentang slot gacor. Jangan hanya terpaku pada klaim seperti “pasti menang”, “jaminan jackpot”, atau “RTP tinggi hari ini”. Klaim semacam itu sebaiknya dipandang sebagai promosi, bukan fakta yang menjamin hasil.

Pengalaman bermain juga perlu ditempatkan secara proporsional. Catatan permainan dapat membantu seseorang memahami kebiasaan dan pengelolaan anggaran, tetapi pengalaman pribadi tidak bisa dijadikan bukti bahwa suatu permainan pasti memberikan hasil serupa kepada orang lain.

Pada akhirnya, slot gacor anti rungkad RTP hari ini lebih tepat dipahami sebagai istilah yang berkaitan dengan tren dan informasi permainan, bukan jaminan kemenangan. Memahami RTP, volatilitas, mekanisme acak, serta kredibilitas sumber akan membuat pembahasan menjadi lebih objektif. Dengan pengetahuan tersebut, pembaca dapat menilai informasi secara lebih rasional dan tidak mudah terbawa klaim yang berlebihan.

A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 16, 2026 thru Sat, August 22, 2026. Stories we promoted this week, by category:

Climate Education and Communication (6 articles)

• The false and the furious: We aren't just bothered by different beliefs-we're bothered when we think others are wrong When people use facts to defend their preferences, tastes or values, they may turn a disagreement over priorities into a dispute over who is right and who is wrong, turning up the emotional heat. The Conversation, Andras Molnar, George Loewenstein, Aug 15, 2026.
• `It is not only a future certainty - the disaster is already here`: why we need climate fiction As wildfires rage across Europe and Britain swelters through its hottest summer on record, literary fiction has a vital role to play in capturing the severe consequences of climate crisis The Guardian, Tara Menon, Aug 16, 2026.
• Climate Trunk - Science Summary post of John Lang's Climate Trunk visuals in the "Science" ring Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler, Aug 18, 2026.
• Climate doom may discourage climate action, but there`s a way to counter it The Conversation, Sander van der Linden & Rachel O'Boyle, Aug 18, 2026.
• The cognitive bias behind bad climate math A new study finds two persistent mental shortcuts—not ignorance—are why people keep overrating recycling and underrating flying less. The Anthropocene, Sarah DeWeerdt, Aug 18, 2026.
• In a Summer of Catastrophe, Climate Scientist`s Words from the 80s Playing Out A review of what scientists were saying to the public about climate change in the 1980s. This is Not Cool, Peter Sinclair, Aug 19, 2026.

Climate Policy and Politics (6 articles)

• In Germany, record heat meets climate action fatigue DW, Oliver Pieper, Aug 17, 2026.
• UK politicians vastly overestimate public opposition to climate policies, study finds Members of Parliament from the UK's three biggest political parties in the House of Commons significantly overestimate levels of public resistance to major policy proposals for tackling climate change, a University of Cambridge study suggests. Phys.org, Gaby Clark, Aug 19, 2026.
• How far-right parties are using extreme weather events to boost their cause Political scientists explain why extreme weather events like this summer's European heatwaves can drive support to parties that traditionally deny human-made climate change. NPR, Ruth Sherlock, Aug 19, 2026.
• How Florida quietly removed climate change content from textbooks Publishers acceded to state requests watering down information on climate change’s impact, WUSF/Hechinger Report investigation finds. Now the state has turned to updating its science standards The Hechinger Report, Jessica Meszaros and Katie Worth, Aug 20, 2026.
• How Trump Is Trying to Crush California`s Climate Policies At least a half-dozen federal agencies have taken action against the state that has led the nation in environmental protections. New York Times, Maxine Joselow, Aug 20, 2026.
• Extreme Heat Waves Fuel Political Tensions in Europe At the limits of adaptation, governments face a choice: point fingers, or seize the moment for transformational change. Inside Climate News, Bob Berwyn, Aug 21, 2026.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (4 articles)

• With Puerto Rico`s water crisis, climate change meets ineptitude LA Times, Carlos De Loera, Aug 14, 2026.
• Fire rangers of Mongolian steppe: climate crisis spurs revival of ancient knowledge - photo essay Fire has always be part of life on the grasslands, but has grown worse due to rising temperatures and severe droughts. In response, people have turned to their nomadic heritage to help tackle the blazes The Guardian, Michael O Snyder, Aug 16, 2026.
• Flights over Atlantic will adjust paths in test to reduce contrails Hundreds of commercial flights will be told to change their paths over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean during the next two winters to show how minor altitude adjustments can reduce aviation’s climate impact. AP News, Jennifer McDermott, Aug 19, 2026.
• As Minnesota gets warmer and wetter, what does that mean for drought? Climate change demands climate adaptation; Minnesota Public Radio unpacks how this looks for farmers and others in daily life. MPR News, Harshawn Ratanpal, Aug 21, 2026.

Climate Science and Research (4 articles)

• Scientists detect a surprising shift in human blood as atmospheric CO2 rises Researchers analyzing more than two decades of U.S. health data found that blood bicarbonate levels have climbed about 7% since 1999, while calcium and phosphorus have declined—changes that closely track increasing atmospheric CO2. Science Daily , The Kids Research Institute, Australia, Aug 15, 2026.
• Explainer: How the ‘super El Niño’ will reshape the world’s weather Carbon Brief, Robert McSweeney and Daisy Dunne, Aug 18, 2026.
• The pace of climate change matters more than overall heat in the race to save key Atlantic currents, study finds The rate of global warming, rather than the extra heat itself, could determine whether a system of ocean currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation will cross a tipping point, new research suggests. Live Science, Sascha Pare, Aug 18, 2026.
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #34 2026 Skeptical Science's weekly survey of the entire scope of climate research, from physics to policy. Skeptical Science, Doug Bostrom & Marc Kodack, Aug 20, 2026.

Health Aspects of Climate Change (3 articles)

• As temperatures get hotter, pesticides are more dangerous to farmworkers Research shows heat amplifies the dangers of pesticides for farmworkers, and that the problem is poised to grow as the global climate warms. Inside Climate News, Amy Green, Aug 17, 2026.
• A federal case in Texas could change how we treat prisoners during hot weather As heat waves intensify, advocates are pushing for protections for incarcerated people, who have little ability to escape dangerous temperatures. Yale Climate Connections, Sarah Kennedy, Aug 21, 2026.
• Heat wave-hit Europe logs over 30,000 excess summer deaths: First figures Phys.org, Luca MATTEUCCI, Olivia BUGAULT, Pascale JUILLIARD , Aug 22, 2026.

Climate Change Impacts (2 articles)

• Is this El Niño a glimpse of a future, hotter Earth? There are important differences between long-term global warming and El Niño warming The Climate Brink, Andrew Dessler & Zeke Hausfather, Aug 17, 2026.
• Emissions are Flatlining. So Why’s CO2 Rising at Record Speed? ClimateAdam on Youtube, Adam Levy, Aug 22, 2026.

Climate Law and Justice (1 article)

• What happened after 13 young people in Hawaii sued over climate change Charlotte Madin joined the lawsuit at age 12. Today, she is part of a youth council advising the Hawaii Department of Transportation on climate priorities. Yale Climate Connections, Bridgett Ennis, Aug 17, 2026.

Public Misunderstandings about Climate Science (1 article)

• Witnessing a grand jeté of climate-change denial Defense and policy analyst Gwynne Dyer critiques climate change fatalists. Brandon Sun, Gwynne Dyer, Aug 19, 2026.

Miscellaneous (1 article)

• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #33 2026 A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, August 9, 2026 thru Sat, August 15, 2026. Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler & Doug Bostrom, Aug 16, 2026.

If you happen upon high quality climate-science and/or climate-myth busting articles from reliable sources while surfing the web, please feel free to submit them via this Google form so that we may share them widely. Thanks!

DOE Again Denies Access to DNFSB at Nuclear Weapons Facilities; Contact Your Elected Officials

Once again, the Department of Energy and its semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration has denied the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board access to nuclear weapons facilities, including at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).  At a time when LANL is ramping up production of plutonium pits, the triggers for nuclear weapons, the DOE is restricting access to the Board and its resident inspectors preventing them from fulfilling critical oversight and public reporting responsibilities.  As a result, the public is no longer informed about potential issues of adequate protection at defense nuclear facilities.

The Board provides oversight of DOE and is independent in the execution of its mission.  It is part of the Executive Branch of government. 

Further, the five-member Board has been eviserated because neither the recent Democratic nor Republican administrations have filled positions on the Board. Currently there is one Board member, which means the Board cannot issue formal recommendations without a quorum – all to the detriment of the public.

The Board is governed by the Atomic Energy Act which requires that the Energy Secretary “shall fully cooperate with the Board and provide prompt and unfettered access to such facilities, personnel, and information as the Board considers necessary to carry out its responsibilities.”  

Based upon a lack of jurisdiction argument, DOE falsely claims that it has the authority to deny the Board access to facilities, personnel and information among other improper denials – again, all to the detriment of the public. 

Senator Martin Heinrich: 202 224-5521
Senator Ben Ray Lujan: 202 224-6621
Representative Melanie Stansbury: 202 225-6316
Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez: 202 225-6190
Representative Gabe Vasquez: 202 225-2365

Get all the details at nuclearactive.org

The U.S. has faced a critical shortage of firefighters at the Forest Service, or USFS, this summer as thousands of fires erupted across the country.

Despite officials’ claims that the firefighting workforce was stronger than ever, the agency has failed to keep pace with escalating conditions and the catastrophic fires fueled by them, according to nine firefighters who spoke to the Guardian anonymously, because they are barred from disclosing the information to the public.

Several people familiar with internal hiring data at the agency said there were also large gaps in important leadership roles, which had caused bottlenecks and operational challenges during a busy and dangerous year.

They described a response system that’s been pushed to the brink, as unsustainable pressure is put on skeleton crews with months to go before the highest fire risks subside. Last year, many firefighters had to work more than 1,000 hours of overtime — the equivalent of cramming an extra five months of work into an already busy season. This year is expected to be even worse.

“We just do not have enough people,” said a federal fire captain who works in the Pacific Northwest, where wildfires recently devastated neighborhoods in Washington state’s second largest city, Spokane. “Every firefighter is engaged at the highest priority we can possibly engage them, but houses are burning. When it’s not Spokane, it’s going to be the next town, and the next town.”

Read Next Wildfire season is changing. Spokane is showing how. Sachi Kitajima Mulkey

The USFS, housed under the Department of Agriculture, employs the bulk of the federal government’s fire workforce and manages more than 193 million acres across the country. The agency has struggled with recruitment and retention for years, an issue that’s come to a head as the climate crisis fuels a rise in dangerous fire conditions.

A fire captain put the shortages in context by comparing crews to players in a soccer match, where each team has 11 players allowed on the field but an active roster of 30 in case substitutions have to be made. In the forest service, he said, there were no backup players.

“Showing up to a game with 13 people is insane. Playing a whole season with 13 people is abuse,” he said. “That’s how we fight fire — and nobody gets to take a day off.”

The picture stands in stark contrast to the one painted by Tom Schultz, the USFS chief, who has repeatedly assured lawmakers and the public that the agency’s firefighting workforce is at full capacity.

“Our firefighting workforce is stronger than at any point in recent years,” Schultz said in testimony to a congressional subcommittee in July. “We are fully staffed and equipped to respond aggressively to every unplanned ignition.”

The agency has avoided disclosing breakdowns in its staffing totals, even after repeated requests from journalists and members of Congress. Instead, the USFS points to a hiring goal of 11,300 positions as the benchmark for operational staffing levels — a number that has remained flat for years.

Read Next Michigan winemakers have a new climate worry: More wildfire smoke Vivian La

John Winn, a spokesperson for the USFS, declined to answer questions about the staffing challenges or provide clarity on the numbers. He doubled down on Schultz’s claims, saying in an email that the agency was “fully staffed at the level we are funded for, and our posture allows us to respond effectively — just as we have for decades.”

But the minimum “operational” staffing levels are far different from what’s required to have a functioning firefighting force in the current climate, according to several firefighters.

Firefighters who have seen internal staff totals said the actual number of people who were able and available to be deployed when large blazes erupt was probably far smaller than what the USFS had reported to the public.

The disparity between the rhetoric repeated in public and the situation on the ground has added to the burdens borne by exhausted crews.

“Having more firefighters means I have a higher probability of coming home,” a fire captain said. “How are we supposed to feel when our leaders — the same people who get up and speak to the mourning families when firefighters die — are lying about our capacity?”

Gaps in leadership

Firefighters who spoke to the Guardian were most concerned about the widening gap at the management level. Specialized positions needed for running large-scale fire suppression operations, including taskforce leaders, division supervisors, and heavy equipment bosses, require decades of experience. Losses in these on-the-ground leadership roles have become extremely difficult to replace.

Seth McKinney, a fire management officer with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, spent 12 years working for the USFS before leaving the agency, but he returned this summer to help because the forest he previously worked for was short on chief officers.

“It shouldn’t really surprise anybody that we’re in the situation that we are in, because we haven’t invested in our federal firefighters,” he said, adding that the workforce had become a shadow of what it once was.

For years, escalating job hazards paired with low pay pushed scores of people with experience to leave the USFS. Even after an overdue bump in pay was finalized in 2025, the damage was already done. The USFS lost nearly half of its permanent employees between 2021 and 2024 alone, leaving the agency scrambling to fill leadership positions during the most active parts of the year.

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The agency lost roughly 20 percent of its workforce during the Trump administration’s mass-firing spree in 2025, according to a recent government report. While the cull wasn’t directed at firefighters, it affected vital support roles that crews are now searching desperately to fill.

“Without experienced middle management you don’t have anything resembling effective coordination,” a firefighter familiar with the shortages said. “It’s no small thing to be short in those areas and it is a significant safety issue.”

These positions oversee thousands of people deployed when big blazes erupt. When there are gaps, it can mean that other parts of the fire-suppression workforce can’t be utilized.

When fires tore across Oregon this summer, private contract resources sat idle, because there weren’t enough qualified managers available to supervise them, state Senator Mike McLane said. He found out about the issue from constituents and then confirmed with the incident management team staff and the Oregon department of forestry.

The problem has been compounded by decades of mismanagement at the agency, according to a firefighter who explained that the losses in positions critical to coordination and supervision left holes that exponentially affected response efforts. “We are now completely unequipped to deal with the sort of fire seasons we will see more and more of.”

A destructive summer adds more pressure

It’s already been a destructive wildfire season. The country has been classified at “preparedness Level 5” — the highest level of resource deployment and an indication that new requests for support may go unanswered — since July 18.

As of Tuesday, more than 49,200 wildfires have erupted and burned more than 7.2 million acres (2.9 million hectares) nationwide since the year began, eclipsing 10-year averages, and the dangers are far from over. In many regions, fire risks will remain high through autumn and could linger into winter.

Inter-agency complex-incident management teams, specialized groups that are crucial for organizing responses to large-scale disasters, have also taken a hit, with fewer experienced leaders to run them. There were 46 teams in 2023. Now there are just 38.

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Dave Upthegrove, the commissioner of public lands for Washington, a publicly elected official who manages the state’s roughly 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares) of public lands and directs statewide wildland firefighting efforts, said the USFS has been an important partner. But he raised the alarm early this year about the agency’s diminished capacity.

“There are fewer teams, which was true in 2025 as well,” Upthegrove said. “The difference this year is the extreme weather conditions, dangerously high winds at times, very dry fuels, and a fourth year of drought. All of that has combined to make us highly vulnerable to large and catastrophic fires like we have seen throughout the state, especially in Spokane.”

With resources spread thin, it’s also been increasingly challenging to meet the needs for equipment and manpower when new fires ignite.

More than 600 requests went unfilled during a 72-hour period last week, according to an internal dataset shared with the Guardian, the bulk of them coming from the Pacific Northwest region currently being hammered by fires. Requests for aircraft, crews, and equipment were unable to be filled 265 times over the three-day period. Dozens of requests for experienced managers and supervisors also went unfilled.

Staffing shortages have also affected urgently needed landscape treatment work that helps stop blazes before they spread.

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More than half of federal firefighters who responded to a survey, conducted in March by the firefighter advocacy group Grassroots Wildland Firefighters and the National Federation of Federal Employees union, said their unit had to cancel prescribed burning projects due to staffing shortages.

Last year, the USFS treated 35 percent fewer acres than in 2024, according to an analysis from the nonprofit Center for Western Priorities. In Oregon, a state now in the midst of a historic season when more acres have burned than in any other recorded year, treatments fell by 47 percent.

Only a quarter of federal firefighters who responded to the survey said their unit was fully staffed. A fifth reported that unqualified personnel are filling the vacant positions.

This comes amid a major consolidation of the federal firefighting workforce under a new agency, known as the Wildland Fire Service, housed under the Department of the Interior. Officials say the strategy will ensure better coordination and streamline costs.

While many federal firefighters are supportive of a centralized approach, there are also widespread concerns about how this consolidation will be achieved and whether officials will make good on promises to improve working conditions for the crews who bear a severe mental and physical toll trying to protect communities year after year.

After years of raising the alarm about the widening gap between limited capacity and growing catastrophes, federal firefighters are becoming disillusioned with the sacrifices they’re being asked to make.

“What’s the purpose of the fire service? That’s the hard question we’re starting to ask ourselves,” one fire captain said. “Is it actually to manage fire and to do what we’re telling the public we’re intended to do? Or is it simply to sell the public a belief so that they can sleep at night?”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Firefighters sound alarm as US faces critical staffing shortage: ‘We don’t have enough people’ on Aug 22, 2026.