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As Trump Mulls His FEMA Pick, a Political Land Mine Awaits in Florida
Florida may also present Trump with one of his thorniest political challenges: FEMA is hiking insurance rates and punishing flood-prone construction in the president-elect’s favorite state.
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Catastrophic Sea Level Rise Possible within Our Lifetime? Yes, Here’s How
This prospect of near-term runaway sea level rise is considerably more serious than sea level projections issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). There is thus an urgent need for climate experts to advise the government on strategic planning and risk management. This is especially true for our intelligence and national security communities.
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Improving Safety in the Open Air: TU Graz Evaluates Lightning Risk in Real Time
Airport aprons, large construction sites or open-air events are usually defenseless against lightning. To increase safety and reduce downtimes, electrical engineers at TU Graz are developing a forecasting system.
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Calls Grow for Sustainable Governance as Groundwater Resources Become Scarce
The depletion of groundwater resources, driven by unsustainable agricultural practices and increasing demands for food production, is a pressing issue, and it underscores the urgent need for sustainable groundwater governance.
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Sounding the Alarm: Fire's Speed Is More Threatening Than Its Size
Most news reports about wildfires include the number of acres a given fire has burned, but according to a new study, these reports should also note how fast the fire is moving.
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Delay and Pay: Tipping Point Costs Quadruple After Waiting
There’s more to weigh than catastrophic environmental change as tipping points draw near. Another point to consider, a new study reveals, is the cost of undoing the damage.
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Thinking the Unthinkable at COP29
We shouldn’t need to be thinking of future global temperatures well in excess of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, where the wildfires, droughts, flooding and other extreme weather effects of climate change are expected to become catastrophic. But alas the consequences of burning all those fossil fuels for energy and the feeble progress towards cutting emissions means that is where we are heading at the moment. Has the time come to consider climate repair as a necessary measure?
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New AI Tool Generates Realistic Satellite Images of Future Flooding
Visualizing the potential impacts of a hurricane on people’s homes before it hits can help residents prepare and decide whether to evacuate. The method could help communities better prepare for approaching storms.
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Collaborative Planning for Australian Food Security Preparedness
Australia’s food security, commonly assumed safe thanks to our being a net food exporter, is increasingly vulnerable in a world marked by geopolitical and environmental instability.
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Wargaming the Future of Climate Change
Military leaders have used games to think through everything from nuclear escalation to pandemic disease to the dangers of artificial intelligence. Players in these games might face any number of calamities with every turn—but, until recently, climate change was not one of them. That has changed.
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Global Catastrophic Risk Assessment
Global catastrophic and existential risks hold the potential to threaten human civilization. Addressing these risks is crucial for ensuring humans’ long-term survival and flourishing.
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Can We Live on Our Planet without Destroying It?
With eight billion people, we use a lot of the Earth’s resources in ways that are likely unsustainable. How can we adapt our lifestyle to stay within the limits of what the Earth can give? Klaus Hubacek investigates planetary boundaries.
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Amid Hurricane Milton’s Devastation, a Sliver of Good News
Earlier this month Hurricane Milton caused an estimated $50 billion in damage and claimed the lives of at least 14 people, yet didn’t deliver the scale of destruction some had feared. Cellphone data suggest evacuation mandates, warning systems worked.
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Climate-Fueled Extreme Weather Is Hiking Up Car Insurance Rates
As climate change accelerates, hurricanes, wildfires and hail storms pound the U.S. with growing vigor—and the insurance market is struggling to foot the bill of the damages they leave behind for customers. Home insurers have raised premiums after extreme weather events. Now car insurers in the U.S. are doing the same thing.
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Hybrid Reef-Mimicking Experiment Could Provide Protection from Storms and Coastal Flooding
The U.S. Air Force installed a new kind of structure in the waters of St. Andrew Bay on the shore of the Tyndall U.S. Air Force Base in Florida. The first section of the “self-healing” reef is made of custom-designed concrete modules and living oysters. The reef is designed to protect the base and its people from hurricanes and tidal surges.
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The long view
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.