Free Republic

Britons' anxiety about climate change plays a big role in many mental health struggles among the country's youth and can trigger guilt about having children, a new report has claimed. The report by the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also suggests that yoga and visiting "climate cafés" could help stave off this "eco-anxiety" and build emotional resilience in times of change. "An awareness of climate and environmental change can also lead to emotional or psychological responses, such as eco-anxiety," it reads, defining the term as distress caused by the threat of climate change. The authors also reference "solastalgia," which...

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged countries at United Nations climate talks to take “concrete actions” to stop climate change that is threatening the planet, telling them humans are failing in their response to global warming and that God’s creation “is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat.” In a video message played for religious leaders gathered in Belem, Leo said nations had made progress, “but not enough.” “One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes,” Leo said. “To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to...

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — The world’s climate leaders are conceding that Earth’s warming will shoot past a hard limit they set a decade ago in hopes of keeping the planet out of a danger zone. But they’re not conceding defeat. United Nations officials, scientists, and analysts are pinning their hopes on eventually forcing global temperatures back below the red line they set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which sought to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times. Busting that limit and then coming back down is called “overshoot.” In the way climate science uses the term,...

With Bill Gates retreating from his high-profile climate crusade, the stage has opened for more unconventional actors to step into the planetary arena. Enter Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX and self-styled architect of humanity’s future in space.This week, Musk floated an audacious vision: a vast swarm of orbiting satellites, not merely to beam internet or data, but to harvest solar energy and regulate how much sunlight reaches Earth. On Monday, he wrote on his platform X:A large solar-powered AI satellite constellation would be able to prevent global warming by making tiny adjustments in how much solar energy reached...

In doing so, the team has revived an ancient Bulgarian fermentation methodThere was a not-so-secret ingredient in the ice cream sandwiches, creamy cheese and milk-wash cocktails being served at Alchemist, a two Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, in recent years: ants. The team's experiments began with an accidental discovery, reports CNN’s Amarachi Orie. They left milk with an ant in it inside their refrigerator, and noticed the milk soon started to curdle. From there, the restaurant, which aims to “transform and transcend the nature of food and dining,” recreated a nearly forgotten ancient Turkish and Bulgarian recipe for making yogurt...

BOMBSHELL REPORT: Nearly $2 BILLION in foreign dollars were poured into policy advocate groups in the U.S., including to the group behind anti-Trump protests in Washington D.C.

King Charles will be seen 'as never before' as he teams up with adventurer Steve Backshall for a new documentary. In a new 90-minute ITV documentary, to be shown as part of the channel's Christmas schedule, the King will speak to Steve as the latter retraces the Royal's steps from his 1975 trip to the Canadian Arctic. The monarch, 76, is set to discuss the 'devastating effects' of climate change during his appearance in the programme, which is titled Steve Backshall's Royal Arctic Challenge. Steve's journey comes exactly 50 years after the King's expedition, which helped shape Charles's passion for...

As the climate changes, Chicago and the Great Lakes are sometimes referred to as a "climate haven," an area that will be sheltered from some of the worst impacts. Far from Gulf Coast hurricanes and California wildfires, Chicagoland seems like a safe place to be in a warming world. But is it? "There's really no place in the world that is truly a climate haven. It's more a matter of picking your poison," said climate researcher Dr. Kirstina Dahl. "My top concerns would probably be increased flood risk." Heavy rain is now 10% heavier than it was in 1970. Just...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo’s Vatican quadruples down on support for the green agendaDuring his first five months in office, Pope Leo XIV has indeed continued the green legacy of his predecessor, Francis.The Vatican is quadrupling down on its support for the green agenda.Last month, the Holy See submitted to the United Nations its plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent over the next decade.Among other things, the plan, which is part of the Church’s obligation to the Paris Climate Accords – which the Trump administration withdrew from earlier this year – will include developing a 1,000-acre solar panel...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV’s Apostolic Exhortation on the Poor Further Impoverishes the Church and WorldLeo XIV’s Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te, says many pleasant things but ultimately does little more than make stones look more appetizing. Our greatest service to the Church, world, and even Leo XIV is to insist on the Truths of the Church. Yes, Catholics must always strive to practice corporal works of mercy, but the spiritual works of mercy are immensely more necessary today and the greatest obstacle to them happens to be the fact that Leo XIV and his Vatican are apparently fixated on continuing the...

Pope Leo XIV has hit out at those who minimise the "increasingly evident" impact of rising temperatures in his first major statement on climate change. Reiterating the words of his predecessor Pope Francis, the new pontiff lambasted critics who "ridicule those who speak of global warming". The Pope's remarks, at a speech in Castel Gondolfo near Rome, will be seen as an implied criticism of US President Donald Trump, who last month called climate change a "con". Pope Leo also called for greater action from citizens the world over on climate change, saying there was no room for indifference or...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican invites pro-abortion, pro-LGBT Arnold Schwarzenegger to speak on climateThe former California governor, who officiated at two homosexual ‘weddings,’ spoke at a Vatican press conference ahead of a ‘climate justice’ meeting at Castel Gandolfo.Actor-turned-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is pro-abortion and pro-gay “marriage,” spoke at a Vatican press conference Tuesday welcoming Catholics’ contributions to the environmental movement.Schwarzenegger spoke at a Holy See Press Office press conference ahead of the “Raising Hope for Climate Justice” conference to be held in Castel Gandolfo on October 1-3, when more than 1,000 political and religious leaders as well as “climate experts” will...

New York will soon require most new buildings to be fully electric, following a vote by the state Building Code Council, according to the Times Union. Beginning January 2026, gas and oil systems will be banned in newly constructed homes and low-rise buildings, with broader mandates kicking in by 2029. Supporters say the move helps cut emissions and long-term costs, but critics argue it burdens residents and stresses an already strained power grid. The law includes exceptions for buildings with permits filed before year’s end and does not apply to renovations. New York’s building sector is the state’s largest emissions...

The administration is not only allowing more greenhouse gases. It is undermining the nation’s ability to understand and respond to a hotter planet.When the Trump administration declared two weeks ago that it would largely disregard the economic cost of climate change as it sets policies and regulations, it was just the latest step in a multipronged effort to erase global warming from the American agenda.But President Trump is doing more than just turning a blind eye to the fact that the planet is growing hotter. He is weakening the country’s capacity to understand global warming and to prepare for its...

The Trump administration this week summarily dismissed more than 400 scientists and other experts who had begun to write the latest National Climate Assessment report, informing them by email that the scope of the report was being reevaluated. The report, mandated by Congress, is prepared every four years under a 1990 law. It details the latest science on climate change, and also reports on progress in addressing global warming. Scientists said they fear the Trump administration could seek to shut down the effort or enlist other authors to write a very different report that seeks to attack climate science —...

The Trump administration’s plan to override a late Biden-era waiver approving California’s 2035 ban on gas-powered cars — embraced by 12 states and Washington, D.C. — hit a major roadblock as the Senate’s parliamentarian ruled the act is not subject to standard congressional review. ... the EPA, which falls under the president’s authority, must approve waivers for each new California policy. That’s why California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the capital in the waning days of the Biden administration to secure approval of several waivers — including its ban on emissions-producing cars in 2035 — before the Trump administration took power....

A bombshell report from a clean energy group admitted that shifting to solar and wind may mean chaos for New York’s power grid as the state’s green energy law creates hurdles for cost and reliability. The report from the New York Affordable Clean Power Alliance, which represents solar and wind energy firms, noted that the state’s timetable to phase out energy generated by fossil fuel is unrealistic — and even dangerous. “The New York City area is forecasted to experience a generation shortfall starting in 2033, driven by an increase in peak demand and the planned retirement of existing dispatchable...

TRENTON, N.J. — A new bill introduced in the New Jersey Legislature aims to phase out gas-powered lawn equipment statewide, prohibiting its sale within three years and its use within five. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymembers Herbert Conaway and Mila Jasey, seeks to curb emissions from gas-powered devices such as lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and chainsaws, which contribute to air pollution and health risks. This bill doesn’t just seek to make it illegal to buy gas powered lawn equipment. It is intended to criminalize the actual use of any gas powered lawn tools within 5 years.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) plans to ban the use of plants within five feet of residential homes in what are designated as “fire-prone” areas — which could include much of the state of California, given the recent wildfires. ..... Snip..... The San Francisco Chronicle reported: Gov. Gavin Newsom is ordering the state to speed up its rulemaking for wildfire safety around homes in fire-prone areas that would ban most plants and combustible materials like mulch and wood fencing. The rules would require people to clear an area within 5 feet of homes — dubbed zone zero, or an ember...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will again withdraw the United States, a top carbon polluting nation, from the landmark Paris climate agreement, dealing a blow to worldwide efforts to combat global warming and once again distancing the U.S. from its closest allies.The White House announcement, which came as Trump was sworn in Monday to a second term, echoed Trump’s actions in 2017, when he announced that the U.S. would abandon the global Paris accord. The pact is aimed at limiting long-term global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels or, failing that, keeping...