Climate change

The Guardian -   If you feel like your electricity bill just keeps climbing, you aren’t imagining it. Since 2020, US residential energy prices have surged by about 30%, making power the largest household energy expense behind gasoline, according to the US Energy Information Administration. But for residents like Alex Curtis, the days of feeling powerless against rising costs are coming to an end. Curtis is waging a war on his electric bill, and his new weapon of choice is a lightweight, thin-film solar panel.

“Oh, it’s super light too,” Curtis said as he unboxed the kit on the balcony of his condo in Sunnyvale, California. It weighs just about 10lbs. Unlike traditional rooftop solar, which requires thousands of dollars in upfront costs, specialized mounting hardware and professional electricians, this system is designed for the everyday consumer. It’s a $400 kit from Bright Saver, a non-profit advocating for “plug-and-play” solar that works for renters and homeowners alike. The setup is deceptively simple: you hang the panel on a balcony or prop it up in a back yard and plug it directly into a standard wall outlet.

The Guardian -   The climate crisis is accelerating a global increase in antibiotic resistance that poses a serious threat to human health, experts have said as figures show a rise in salmonella antibiotic resistant genes. Antibiotic resistance is one of the fastest-growing threats to global health. It can affect people of any age in any country and already kills more than 1 million people a year, according to estimates.

Now a study, led by researchers from the UK, France, Australia, Switzerland and China, has revealed how climate change is linked to rising antibiotic resistance in salmonella, one of the world’s most common bacterial diseases.  Climate change is associated with a 10% global increase in salmonella antibiotic resistance genes between 1940 and 2023, according to the first-of-its-kind study, which has been published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal.

The Guardian -   A record-breaking hot year is almost certain by 2030 as the climate crisis intensifies, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization has warned.  With an El Niño event expected later this year, the global temperature record could fall as soon as 2027.

Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are continuing to rise, trapping more heat and driving more extreme weather, including the record-breaking heatwave that has hit the UK and Europe this week.

Global heating is already estimated to be taking one life every minute, with the toll likely to rise unless emissions fall rapidly.

The report, produced for the WMO by the UK Met Office, predicts an 86% chance that at least one year between 2026 and 2030 will surpass 2024 as the hottest ever recorded. There is a 75% chance that the average temperature for the five-year period from 2026 to 2030 will be more than 1.5C above the pre-industrial average.