New York event hears about the red Muppet’s fears during a recent storm as climate crisis increasingly affects children
A generation of political leaders has failed to galvanize sufficient action on the climate crisis for so long now that it was perhaps little surprise that an audience in New York City turned to a three-and-a-half-year-old red furry monster for inspiration on Tuesday.
Elmo, the Sesame Street denizen, made a starry appearance at a Climate Week event that highlighted how the impacts of global heating affect children. The red creature, who frequently refers to himself in the third person, recounted to the audience his fear when a storm hit Sesame Street, an event depicted in a recent episode that featured the singer Post Malone.
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09/23/2026 - 05:00
09/23/2026 - 05:00
There is hope in solar power. As the UN meets, we are urging leaders to pursue a clear goal: clean energy for all by 2030
Our message to global leaders: we need solar power everywhere by the decade’s end
As climate experts from around the world gather in New York for their annual week of talking through the world’s deepest dilemma, the vibes are mostly bad.
Though 2026 seems likely to set a new global temperature record (and 2027, as El Niño gathers steam, is almost certain to break it), and though the planet has careened from one climate disaster to another (European heatwaves that killed tens of thousands, a Nepali flood that wiped out entire communities), and though scientists warn that we’re reaching precisely the global tipping points they’ve long feared (the new research on the faltering great currents of the Atlantic should send a literal chill up your spine), there’s a distinct lack of political momentum.
The path forward is difficult, but the way is clear. We want solar for everyone, everywhere, before the decade is out.
We know that standing up to the powerful can be scary. But if there is one thing that unites us, it is that we live beneath the same sun. That unity is our strength, and we must use it to act now.
Bill McKibben is the Schumann distinguished scholar at Middlebury College. He is the founder of Third Act, organizing people over 60 for progressive change
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09/23/2026 - 05:00
Each autumn the traditional alpabzug (descent of herds) sees farmers in Switzerland move their livestock from mountain pastures down to valley barns. In the Griesalp area above Kiental around 70 alpacas were herded down the valley, before being transported by truck to their winter farm at Aeschi, near Spiez, in the Bernese Oberland
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09/23/2026 - 05:00
As the UN gathers, signatories from Bernie Sanders to Yeb Saño issue an open letter calling for clean power for all
The climate fight has one great ally. You just can’t look at it directly
We the undersigned write this letter out of great fear and great hope.
Over the last few months, we’ve seen the world set ablaze by both war and warming. From the conflict in Iran, which has claimed thousands of lives and disrupted billions more, to the series of ever worsening climate disasters, from wildfires in Europe to collapsing glaciers in Nepal, the world seems to be falling apart exactly when it needs to be coming together.
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09/23/2026 - 01:45
Several measures were previously introduced or supported by Coalition, prompting claim Liberals and Nationals would ‘let climate change rip’
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Angus Taylor has vowed to repeal a raft of emissions reduction and renewable energy policies, including several measures supported by or introduced under past Coalition governments, within a month of being elected prime minister, prompting accusations he would “let climate change rip”.
On Wednesday, Taylor’s energy spokesperson, Dan Tehan, announced a new bill would be introduced to parliament within 30 days after a Coalition win at the next federal election to ensure affordable, reliable and secure energy to Australians.
Scrap vehicle emissions standards.
Remove the legislated net zero by 2050 target.
Revoke four of six offshore wind energy zones due for completion by the late 2030s: the Hunter, Illawarra, Southern Ocean and Bunbury regions.
Introduce a renewable energy code of conduct for developers.
Require energy funding provided to states and territories prioritises energy affordability and reliability.
Change the Australian Energy Regulator’s main focus to affordability and reliability.
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09/23/2026 - 01:31
This year’s ‘super' El Niño currently heating up the planet has surpassed the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon, several months before it has even reached its expected peak. But what exactly is an El Niño and how do they work? Matilda Boseley explains
• Huge El Niño projected to cause 450,000 deaths in next six months
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09/23/2026 - 01:00
Experts say some of António Guterres’s possible successors could be ‘disastrous’ for efforts to tackle crisis
Fears are mounting that the next UN secretary general will downgrade the priority of the climate crisis, according to climate and civil society experts.
The current secretary general, António Guterres, has been the most forthright on the subject, calling fossil fuel companies “the godfathers of climate chaos” and warning governments they are rushing down a “highway to hell” by failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
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09/22/2026 - 23:00
New report predicts a heavy toll from Nigeria to the US – and comes on top of existing impacts of the climate crisis
More than 450,000 people are projected to die from the additional heat brought by the super El Niño in the next six months, according to estimates by climate scientists.
The toll is on top of the early deaths resulting from temperatures already driven up by the climate crisis. It will strike across the globe, from Indonesia to India, and Nigeria to the US. Many further deaths are expected from the droughts, wildfires and flooding that El Niños bring.
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09/22/2026 - 16:19
António Guterres laments world leaders’ inaction and says oil and gas firms ‘must pay’ for climate devastation
For one last time, António Guterres tried to fix the world’s gaze upon the dangerously escalating climate crisis. But the departing UN secretary general found world leaders still largely focused on other issues, even after a painful summer of stunning climate-driven disasters.
Speaking to assembled dignitaries at the UN on Tuesday, Guterres railed against big oil for treating “the atmosphere as an open sewer” and warned again of the catastrophic effects of the climate crisis.
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09/22/2026 - 15:46
The park is the most highly visited and strong winds make trash problem worse, with gusts blowing away items
Hold on to your hats – Yellowstone national park staffers have removed a record-setting 20,100 pieces of trash from hydrothermal areas around the geyser-filled park so far this year
The most commonly found items include 280 hats, 54 camera lens caps, 47 hair ties, 42 pencils, 36 pairs of sunglasses, 20 hotel key cards and 17 baby pacifiers.
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