TEN ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS

January 2025

1. Findings highlight how built environment in low-income neighborhoods presents multiple PFAS exposure routes

Shiwen Li et al., “Examining disparities in PFAS plasma concentrations: Impact of drinking water contamination, food access, proximity to industrial facilities and superfund sites,” Environmental Research (1 Jan 2025). bit.ly/3ZuK79Q

See also, Tom Perkins, “Study links higher PFAS levels to ‘superfund’ sites and limited fresh-food access,” The Guardian (30 Nov 2024).  bit.ly/3VhaRrG  “New research aimed at identifying which US neighborhoods face increased exposure to toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” found those living near “superfund” sites and other major industrial polluters, or in areas with limited access to fresh food, generally have higher levels of the dangerous compounds in their blood.

The study looked at hundreds of people living in southern California and found those who do not live within a half mile of a grocery store have 14% higher levels of PFOA and PFOS – two common PFAS compounds – in their blood than those who do.

Meanwhile, those who live within three miles of a superfund site – a location contaminated with hazardous substances – have up to 107% higher levels of some compounds, and people who live near a facility known to use PFAS showed significantly higher blood levels.”

2. New research estimates a 32% increase in deaths of people under 35 if greenhouse gases not radically cut

Andrew J. Wilson, et al., “Heat disproportionately kills young people: Evidence from wet-bulb temperature in Mexico,” Science Advances (6 Dec 2024). bit.ly/3ZNbHzq

Recent studies project that temperature-related mortality will be the largest source of damage from climate change, with particular concern for the elderly whom it is believed bear the largest heat-related mortality risk. We study heat and mortality in Mexico, a country that exhibits a unique combination of universal mortality microdata and among the most extreme levels of humid heat. Combining detailed measurements of wet-bulb temperature with age-specific mortality data, we find that younger people who are particularly vulnerable to heat: People under 35 years old account for 75% of recent heat-related deaths and 87% of heat-related lost life years, while those 50 and older account for 96% of cold-related deaths and 80% of cold-related lost life years. We develop high-resolution projections of humid heat and associated mortality and find that under the end-of-century SSP 3–7.0 emissions scenario, temperature-related deaths shift from older to younger people. Deaths among under-35-year-olds increase 32% while decreasing by 33% among other age groups.

See also, Oliver Milman, “Younger people at greater risk of heat-related deaths this century – study,” The Guardian (6 Dec 2024).  bit.ly/4fbZ9WH

3.  An area nearly a third larger than India turned permanently arid in past three decades, research shows

The global threat of drying lands: Regional and global aridity trends and future projections, UN Science-Policy Interface bit.ly/49rYNtE

See also, Fiona Harvey, “Drylands now make up 40% of land on Earth, excluding Antarctica, study says,” The Guardian (9 Dec 2024).  bit.ly/4g4Qy9w

“An area of land nearly a third larger than India has turned from humid conditions to dryland – arid areas where agriculture is difficult – in the past three decades, research has found.

Drylands now make up 40% of all land on Earth, excluding Antarctica. Three-quarters of the world’s land suffered drier conditions in the past 30 years, which is likely to be permanent, according to the study by the UN Science Policy Interface, a body of scientists convened by the United Nations.

Africa lost about 12% of its GDP owing to the increasing aridity between 1990 and 2015, the report found. Even worse losses are forecast: Africa will lose about 16% of its GDP, and Asia close to 7%, in the next half decade.”

4.  Discriminating in regulatory monitoring locations in US

Brenna C. Kelly, “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Regulatory Air Quality Monitor Locations in the US,” Environmental Health (4 Dec 2024). bit.ly/4gBIcG5

This cross-sectional study with 329 725 481 individuals found that monitoring disparities exist for all criteria pollutants, particularly sulfur dioxide and lead, followed by ozone and carbon monoxide. Disparities were consistent across most racial and ethnic groups but were generally largest for those of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander race and American Indian or Alaska Native race.

See also, Tom Perkins, “White US neighborhoods have more EPA air quality monitors, study finds,” The Guardian (14 Dec 2024). bit.ly/3BymdRz via @guardian

5.  Data centres will continue to divert renewable energy to serving electricity demand growth rather than displacing fossil fuels

Professor Hannah Daly, “Data centres in the context of Ireland’s carbon budgets,” UCC (for Friends of the Irish Environment). bit.ly/3VCVUAI

See also, Kevin O’Sullivan, “Data centre boom under AI growth in Ireland threatening climate targets, report warns,” The Irish Times (10 Dec 2024).  bit.ly/3VFqRnL via @IrishTimes

“Unchecked growth in Irish data centres is undermining Ireland’s ability to meet critical 2030 climate targets and is leading to increased fossil fuel consumption, a new study warns…

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has warned failure to meet emissions reduction targets in the Government’s climate plan and in carbon budgets – that set carbon polluting limits on all sectors of the economy – could lead to European Union compliance fines of €20 billion in 2030…

Without data centres, Ireland’s electricity demand would have been relatively stable, the report says. Instead, demand between 2012 and 2022 grew by 24.7 per cent, the second-fastest rate in the EU. Between 2017 and 2023, all additional wind energy generation in Ireland was absorbed by data centres.

“Without decisive action, data centres will continue to divert renewable energy to serving [electricity] demand growth rather than displacing fossil fuels; deepen reliance on fossil fuels and exacerbate Ireland’s carbon budget overshoot and energy security threats,” the report published on Tuesday finds.”

6.  Tackling climate change relies on everyone, but the hold of the status quo is powerful

L. Martin, S. Timmons & P.D.Lunn, “How to Encourage Collective Climate Action,” ESRI (2024). bit.ly/4frr98B

Tackling climate change relies on everyone – households, businesses and governments – working together to reduce emissions. For individuals, climate action involves, for example, adopting energy-efficient technologies, reducing use of petrol and diesel cars, and switching to low-emission products, including food. While these actions often benefit the individual as well as society, changing behaviour takes effort. Individuals are often willing to take on a cost for the benefit of the larger group, but this kind of “cooperation” is far from guaranteed and can easily unravel. A large body of evidence in behavioural science explains how people make decisions when faced with collective problems, and what drives cooperation. This study explores what matters for cooperation and applies these lessons to climate behaviour in order to draw policy implications.

See also, Kevin O’Sullivan, “People see benefits of climate action but often prefer to keep status quo, research bulletin finds,” The Irish Times (16 Dec 2024). bit.ly/4fosSf3 via @IrishTimes

7.  How Weather and Climate Change Affects Christmas Tree Production

“A Christmas Tree’s Journey:  How Weather and Climate Change Affects Christmas Tree Production, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information  bit.ly/3VYGQO1

See also, Ann Betts, “Researchers race to climate-proof Christmas tree production: ‘We’re up to the task’,” The Guardian (25 Dec 2024).  bit.ly/4iW7KQ9

The climate crisis is increasingly affecting agriculture in the United States, including the production of Christmas trees.

Like all crops, Christmas trees are vulnerable to a changing climate, as the United States continues to experience warmer temperatures, more frequent and severe heat, increased rainfall, droughts, wildfires and hurricanes, as a result of global warming and the climate crisis – primarily driven by humans’ burning of fossil fuels.

A recent report from the National Centers for Environmental Information, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), highlights how dire the climate crisis is and how it will continue to affect Christmas trees.

The report states that high temperatures and drought can stress Christmas trees, making them more vulnerable to pests and diseases, that excessive rainfall can cause flooding and root rot, and that extreme cold can cause frost damage, drying out buds and shoots.

8.  How climate crisis is impacting landscapes, nature and the places we look after. 

“Weather and Wildlife Review 2024,” National Trust bit.ly/3BPbdiS

With 2024 declared the world’s hottest year on record, it signals a red alert for nature. As global temperatures rise, scientists have previously said that the UK is likely to experience a wetter climate. That reality is now playing out in real time, impacting landscapes, nature and the places we look after.

Following record-breaking warm years in 2022 and 2023, 2024 was mild and very wet by comparison, with unsettled weather dominating forecasts across the UK in the past 12 months.

2024 has seen record-breaking warm and wet months as well as temperatures see-sawing from one extreme to the other within a matter of days.

Storms, flooding and multi-hazard weather events bringing snow, rain and wind simultaneously in different pockets of the country have caused destruction and disruption. Unusual sightings in the natural world from across the year also act as warning beacons for what’s happening to our wildlife and seasons.

See also, Steven Morris, “National Trust records ‘alarming’ drop in insects and seabirds at its sites,” The Guardian (26 Dec 2024).  bit.ly/3PebqiD

9. Analysis shows fossil fuels are supercharging heatwaves, leaving millions prone to deadly temperatures

“When Risks Become Reality: Extreme Weather In 2024,” World Weather Attribution (27 Deec 2024). bit.ly/49YPhON

When Risks Become Reality: Extreme Weather in 2024 is our annual report, published this year for the first time.

Every December, people ask us how severe the year’s extreme weather events were. To answer this question, we’ve partnered with Climate Central to produce a report that reviews some of the most significant events and highlights findings from our attribution studies. It also includes new analysis looking at the number of dangerous heat days added by climate change in 2024 and global resolutions for 2025 to work toward a safer, more sustainable world.

See also, Damian Carrington, “Climate crisis exposed people to extra six weeks of dangerous heat in 2024,” The Guardian (27 Dec 2024). bit.ly/4guTtbR

10. 10 environmental long reads to digest over Christmas

David Wolf and Clare Longrigg, “Dirty water, sentient trees and hope in a climate crisis: 10 environmental long reads to digest over Christmas,” The Guardian (26 Dec 2024). bit.ly/40gjZ32

Mother trees and socialist forests: is the “wood-wide web” a fantasy?

The great abandonment: what happens to the natural world when people disappear?

How the world got hooked on palm oil

Dirty waters: how the UK’s Environment Agency lost its way

How to move a country: Fiji’s radical plan to escape rising sea levels

The coalmine that ate an Indian village

The plastic-eating bacteria that could change the world

A different dimension of loss’: the entomologists confronting the great insect die-off

The war on Japanese knotweed

Ten ways to confront the climate crisis without losing hope