Climate campaigners have called on the UK government to step up its action ahead of the COP26 UN summit set to take place in Glasgow in November, which they say is in “serious jeopardy”. A hundred protesters gathered in Parliament Square this morning to mark 100 days before the talks begin, accusing Prime Minister Boris […]

The post Boris Johnson ‘Missing in Action’ Ahead of COP26 Climate Summit, Say Campaigners appeared first on DeSmog.

On July 14, the European Union (EU) announced a sweeping package of climate proposals that will help the continent cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030, from a 1990 baseline. The so-called “Fit for 55” climate package includes a strengthening of the cap-and-trade system, an effective ban on gasoline and diesel vehicle sales […]

The post European Business Groups Voice Support for New ‘Fit for 55’ Climate Agenda While Lobbying to Water It Down appeared first on DeSmog.

Former UK Energy Minister and original COP26 President Claire O’Neill has been cleared to take up a role at a business consultancy known for running “astroturf” campaigns for fossil fuel companies, despite warnings from the body that approves such appointments.  FTI Consulting, which announced that O’Neill would be joining the company last month, has previously […]

The post Ex-COP26 President’s Role at Fossil Fuel ‘Astroturfing’ Firm Approved appeared first on DeSmog.

Celebrities have joined scientists and cross-party politicians in calling for the UK government to pass a “crucial” bill to meet international climate targets. Former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and broadcaster Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are among the thousands to back the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) bill through a “Zero Hour” campaign […]

The post World on ‘Borrowed Time’ as Celebs Urge MPs to Pass Climate Emergency Bill appeared first on DeSmog.

Fossil fuel companies are pressing ahead with new oil and gas developments, despite a recent warning from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that this will make the Paris Agreement goals impossible to meet, an analysis has found. According to the author of the analysis, the companies and industry bodies, most of which have made public […]

The post Fossil Fuel Giants Ignoring IEA ‘Net Zero’ Report Despite Pledges, Analysis Finds appeared first on DeSmog.

Community-based groups and civil society organisations in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are urging multinational oil companies to keep off a new biodiversity-rich oil exploration block opened in Western Uganda’s region.  The groups are asking fossil fuel giants Total E&P, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) of China, and Australia’s DGR Global Ltd, among […]

The post Communities Petition for Major Oil Companies to Stay Away From Uganda Exploration Frontier Near UNESCO Reserve appeared first on DeSmog.

In February last year, the head of a leading global meat industry body gave a “pep talk” to his colleagues at an Australian agriculture conference.  “It’s a recurring theme that somehow the livestock sector and eating meat is detrimental to the environment, that it is a serious negative in terms of the climate change discussions,” […]

The post Investigation: How the Meat Industry is Climate-Washing its Polluting Business Model appeared first on DeSmog.

DeSmog approached all 10 organisations for which it added profiles to the Agribusiness Database, as part of an investigation into the meat industry’s “climate-washing”. They are: Vion Food Group, Danish Crown, JBS, Tyson, European Livestock Voice, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Animal Agriculture Alliance, North American Meat Institute, European Roundtable on Beef Sustainability and […]

The post Meat Industry Responses: In Full appeared first on DeSmog.

An organization run by former Obama-era Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, with the backing of the AFL-CIO, a federation of 56 labor unions, has created a policy “blueprint” to build a nationwide pipeline network capable of carrying a gigaton of captured carbon dioxide (CO2). The “Building to Net-Zero” blueprint appears to be quietly gaining momentum within […]

The post DOE Quietly Backs Plan for Carbon Capture Network Larger Than Entire Oil Pipeline System appeared first on DeSmog.

By Aaron Cantu. This story originally appeared in Capitol and Main and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. A prominent oil and gas lobbying group seeks to strip environmental protections from groundwater sources designated by the state for agricultural use and which may […]

The post California Oil Lobby Seeks to Strip Environmental Protections for Groundwater Amid Drought appeared first on DeSmog.

Jonathan Howard, in Science Based Medicine, explores myocarditis and spin with the mRNA vaccines.Katherine J. Wu, in the Atlantic, on how to understand breakthrough infections in the vaccinated. Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, in Medium, covers the terri…

Jeremy Samuel Faust, Katie Dickerson Mayes and Céline Gounder, in The New York Times, with more on the risk of COVID to kids and how ultimately the choice will be for them to eventually catch it, or get vaccinated. 
Tess McClure, in The Guar…

Katelyn Jetelina, in Your Local Epidemiologist, explains base rate bias by way of Israel, Delta, and 50% of cases being found in those already vaccinated. Diana Duong, in the CMAJ, briefly interviews me regarding obesity, weight bias, and COVID.L…

Well, it doesn’t look like we’re going to be able to celebrate the Habs winning the Cup, so here’s some stuff we CAN enjoy! First, some very good boys: This good boy set the world record. An 83 yard frisbee catch… pic.twitter.com/8v9dYJ7DPI— Rex C…

Most Canadians are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Consequently, Canadians are starting to think about international travel again, and are beginning to research possible vacation destinations. This leads to the question, which countries can a fully vaccinated Canadian visit? As of July 2021, Canadian citizens who have received two doses of the Pfizer, Moderna, or […]

Edward Nirenberg, Daniel A. Freedman, Risa Hoshino, Jonathan Howard, and Alastair McAlpine,  in BMJ Blogs, on vaccinating kids vs. COVID. Anna Merlan, in Vice, on the invermectin conspiracy mongers. Hilda Bastien, in The Atlantic, on wh…

Math professor fixes projector screen. Sound on https://t.co/gcJhzVOrTp pic.twitter.com/ulWFRIWT6l— Channa Prakash (@AgBioWorld) June 19, 2021

Jennifer Yang and Kenyon Wallace, in The Toronto Star, on how cities, provinces and countries awash in vaccines can still mess things up if they’re not cautious with the Delta variant. 
Tavia Grant, in The Globe and Mail, on the need to address ve…

Ed Yong, in The Atlantic, on how health, including during pandemics, cannot be framed as a matter of individual/personal choice.
Elizabeth Cooney, in STAT, on what we do and don’t know about children COVID long haulers. 
    &…

Jessica Smith-Cross, in QP Briefing, on Ontario’s (and really everywhere’s) COVID finish line. James Heathers, in The Atlantic, ponders whether or not he received a microchip in his COVID vaccine.
      Related Storie…

On March 21st 2020, the land border between Canada and the United States was closed to non-essential travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that most Canadians and Americans have received two vaccine shots, many wonder when the longest border in the world will reopen? After 15 long months, we finally have an indication of […]

I was going to put up another funny post, but not tonight. This week I read the books Nomadland and Snakes in Suits so I was a little bummed out to begin with.  And then we got the terrible news about the Kamloops Residential School grav…

John Michael McGrath, for TVO, on what we do and don’t know about the latest scary variant B.1.617
Hilda Bastian, in her blog Absolutely Maybe, on the evidence behind the systematic evidence behind all matters COVID. 
David Leonhardt, in The New …

More than 25,000 Canadians have been lost to COVID-19 (and terrible governance given the bulk of those deaths were preventable), Macleans is collecting their stories. Please take the time today to click at least a few.
     &nb…

Gideon M-K, in Medium, on whether or not we should be vaccinating kids against the coronavirus (tl;dr – yes) 
Bernie Farber and David Fisman, in The Globe and Mail, on the overlap between racism, hate, and COVID denialists. 
Photo byAnthony …

Enjoying his life to the fullest#dogs #dogsoftwitter #DogsofTwittter pic.twitter.com/HOq8cWKGyl— dog lover (@10_Ilovedogs) April 21, 2021 There are 2 types of dogs.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/RtyNme0rHe— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) May 10, 2021 If you’…

Kai Kupferschmidt and Gretchen Vogel, in Science, explore the future of vaccines with rare risks of blood clots.Andrew Althouse, in Medscape, on vaccines and the failure of NNTs.John Michael McGrath, in TVO, makes the case for paying people to get vac…

James Hamblin, in the Atlantic, on the promise of a single coronavirus vaccine which would protect us against SARS, MERS, COVID-19, and every other coronavirus-related disease, forever and ever.
David Robert Grimes, in Scientific American, on how COVI…

I’m back – turned out my keyboard had somehow disconnected itself from my laptop operating system and they needed to find each other again. Sorta like this: The great escapeNothing can keep this cat away from his best friend 😻 pic.twitter.com/6W3PP7L0…

Helen Branswell, in STAT, with the questions experts still have about COVID.
Justin Ling, in Macleans, with the almost unbelievable story of Ontario’s science table and its recommendations versus what our government is doing. 
Julia Belluz, in Vo…

Sorry my laptop is being looked at-all of a sudden the keyboard wouldn’t work. Not sure how long I will be without it. So – later, dude!

Lauren Dobson-Hughes, in The Line, reflecting on Canada’s responses to COVID wonders if we are actually a country?Zeynep, in Insight, on the gaslighting of science.And in non-COVID writing, here’s my latest in Medscape How Dare There Be Effective Drug…

Stephen Maher, in Macleans, with the comprehensive story of Canada’s first year with the pandemic.
Emily Anthes, in The New York Times, on the end of overzealous cleaning.
Gregg Gonsalves, in The Nation, on what comes after the end of this stage of th…

Dangerous numpty. If you see, ignore.
Peter Hotez, in Scientific American, on the anti-science movement and the danger it poses to global public health. 
Derek Thomspon, in The Atlantic, explains why you should unfollow, unfriend, or at the very l…

After breaking his ankle — Russell Jones noticed that his dog Billy was limping too. After an exam, X-rays, and a $400 vet bill Billy presented no injuries. He was just sympathetically limping like his hooman…pic.twitter.com/8mvmNpwMNR— Rex Cha…

everyone’s anti-godzilla until there’s a 200,000 ton boat that can’t be moved— Emma Berquist (@eeberquist) March 27, 2021 So now the world is following the tale of the boat stuck in the Suez Canal, there’s even a website Is The Ship Still Stuck?And al…

Saskia Popescu and Alexandra Phelan, in The New York Times, discuss the unwieldy realities that vaccine passports might face. Leslie Boehm and Gregory P. Marchildon, in Policy Options covers the past realities and future needs of Canadian vaccine…

Javed Anees, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Reid Wilson, in The Hill, on the world leading way in which Africa approached COVID treatment and prevention supplies. 
David Spiegelhalter, in the Guardian, on why you need not be terribly worried about rec…