Missing the 2℃ Mark

During a drought earlier this year in Australia, where temperatures reached 117 degrees Fahrenheit, farmers could barely afford to feed their cattle at $10,000 per truckload of hay. All their natural food and water sources are disappearing in a post-industrial climate that is becoming much hotter much quicker than we thought it would. Now, many animals are completely reliant on their farmers—driving around water trucks and tossing out bales of hay.

When temperature change accelerates beyond the current post-industrial rise of 0.8 degrees Celsius and towards the benchmark 2-degree shift that scientists now say is inevitable, many species will already be extinct. At 4.3 degrees Celsius, climate change will threaten one in six species. Sadly, this should not come as a surprise. Humans are already responsible for destroying 83% of the world’s wild animals.

Read the rest of our coverage here.

1. 🍔 Animal agriculture consumes 70% of the world’s freshwater supply. According to 23 leading food scientists, the only way to feed a 10 billion person world sustainably is to eat less meat. [Washington Post]
2. 📸 Images of cracked Earth and starving polar bears may not say, “Save the planet,” after all. Psychologists found that apocalyptic images from a foreseeable future don’t inspire change. They might even make people feel apathetic instead. [National Post]
3. 📈 Australia has a kangaroos population of 45 million and a human population of about half that. They developed with the spread of grassland across the continent, a direct result of changes to the climate. However, these changes were not driven by humans. [Perth Now]
4. 💪 Which animals will withstand climate change? Fast-growing corals are being raised at higher temperatures to see if they will pass down a harder exoskeleton to future generations. [NBC]
5. 🌱 There are more vegans in richer countries. What’s that about? [Economist]