Photos by James Whitlow Delano @jameswhitlowdelano for @everydayclimatechange...

Every Day Climate Change 2 years ago

Photos by James Whitlow Delano @jameswhitlowdelano for @everydayclimatechange As summer reaches record heat, and talk turns to the warming planet, it again becomes clear to me that only a few voices in the US can get a word in edgewise. We need more voices, voices of those in the field witnessing and documenting the devastating consequences of our changing climate – not the same celebrity climate activists. 1. A fishing boat left behind on Lake Poopo, formerly Bolivia's second largest, that has completely dried up in large part due to climate change. Lake Poopo dried up completely in 2015. Poopo was suffering for years with increased meltwater diversion and contamination of water along its source, the Desaguadero River but prolonged decrease in rains and intense drought, due to climate change, led to this 2,400 sq km (926 sq. mi.) lake, an area five times larger than Lake Tahoe, to dry out completely, killing estimated 3 million fish and thousands of birds. 2. Riding this road in Bulakan (correct spelling), every day, during high tide is likely riding out to sea, due to rising sea levels and subsiding ground from over-exploitation of an underground aquifer. Bulakan (correct spelling(, Bulacan (correct spelling) Province, The Philippines 3. 2023: The sun filtered through the smoke of the forest fire in San José de Palco. Bío Bío, Chile. In the 13th year of a megadrought in Central Chile, over 425,000 hectares (1,050,197 acres) of forest have burned, most of it in dessicated monoculture tree plantations of highly flammable exotic species of eucalyptus and Monterey pine. At least 26 people have been killed and 2,000 injured. 4. The advancing Sahara: Small fields of wheat, irrigated by water from a solar powered pump drawn from a 15 meter deep well, are planted amid sand dunes which are encroaching upon the palmeraie oasis of M'Hamid. Morocco This palmeraie is drying out due to the the climate crisis and a dam build at the top of the valley at the base of the Atlas Mountains.

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 2 hours ago



Britain’s long-awaited Circular Economy Growth Plan has become pivotal to sustainable construction across the UK, embedding circular economy principles at the core of national policy. Businesses and environmental organisations warn that without a unified framework for whole life carbon assessment, resource efficiency in construction, and end‑of‑life reuse in construction, progress toward net zero carbon buildings will falter. Scotland’s political agenda confirms the recalibration of built‑environment strategy, where embodied carbon, lifecycle assessment, and low carbon design are merging with planning reform to accelerate decarbonising the built environment. Policy now aligns climate targets with sustainable building design, turning environmental sustainability in construction into an economic advantage rather than a regulatory burden.

Technology is reshaping industry assumptions. Innovative fastening systems and improved quality control for heat‑pump installation demonstrate how life cycle cost and building lifecycle performance depend as much on competence as on materials. Reducing the carbon footprint of construction demands rigorous analysis of embodied carbon in materials, life cycle thinking in construction, and eco‑design for buildings that extend durability and adaptability.

The new UK–US fusion energy collaboration, supported by AECOM, signals the fusion of energy innovation with sustainable building practices and green construction supply chains. The market’s shift toward low embodied carbon materials, renewable building materials, and circular construction strategies reflects an ambition to normalise carbon neutral construction within both public and private sectors. Across the industry, impatience is replacing rhetoric; sustainable design, BREEAM certification, and net zero whole life carbon targets are now baseline expectations.

Efficiency, transparency, and sustainable material specification are becoming the determinants of genuine green infrastructure. Sustainable architecture is evolving from aspiration to standard, advancing sustainability as a measurable, deliverable principle for the global construction sector.

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