2024 on track to be hottest year ever recorded as global average temperature rises above 1.5°C for 12 consecutive months & more environmental news.

[View this email in your browser]( Friday, July 12, 2024 “Young people are saying we all have a right to know what is in the air we breathe, in the water we drink, and the food we eat. It is our responsibility to leave this planet cleaner and greener. That must be our legacy.” — John Lewis [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [X]( 2024 on Track to Be Hottest Year Ever Recorded as Global Average Temperature Rises Above 1.5°C for 12 Consecutive Months The [global average temperature]( for the period June 2023 to May 2024 — 12 consecutive months — was 1.63 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, making it the hottest on record, according to new data from the [Copernicus Climate Change Service]( (C3S). It was also the longest stretch above the 1.5-degree threshold of the [Paris Agreement](. [Read More]( Related: [110 Million People in U.S. Under July 4 Heat Warnings and Advisories]( New Study Locates PFAS ‘Forever Chemical’ Hot Spots in U.S. A new [study]( by economists from West Virginia University (WVU) has found hot spots of harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [(PFAS) “forever chemicals”]( in United States public [water systems]( including in higher-income, densely populated areas, as well as those that use [groundwater](. At least four [PFAS contamination hot spots]( were identified in the eastern U.S. by Levan Elbakidze, a resource economics and management professor at WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Nabin Khanal, a doctoral student, a press release from WVU said. [Read More]( Related: [PFAS Are Absorbed Through Skin Contact at Higher Levels Than Previously Thought, Study Finds]( UK to Invest $9.37 Billion in Green Industry Projects as Part of New Government’s National Wealth Fund United Kingdom Chancellor [Rachel Reeves]( has announced a new $9.37 billion National Wealth Fund (NWF) to reduce [greenhouse gas emissions]( from heavy industry by investing in areas like [green steel]( and gigafactories, reported The Guardian. The fund is part of a push by the new Labour government to raise billions in private sector funds for infrastructure projects. [Read More]( Related: [UK’s New Labour Government Lifts ‘Absurd’ Ban on Onshore Wind]( Key Largo Tree Cactus Is First Florida Species to Become Locally Extinct Due to Climate Change The [Key Largo]( tree [cactus]( (Pilosocereus millspaughii) has become the first [Florida]( species to become locally extinct due to the [climate crisis]( according to researchers from the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and the Florida Museum of Natural History. [Read More]( Related: [Protecting 1.2% of Earth’s Land Would Stop ‘Sixth Great Extinction,’ Scientists Say]( Climate Crisis 101: Everything You Need to Know The climate crisis refers to the destabilization of the climate conditions that have allowed human communities and current ecosystems to survive and thrive on Earth. It is caused by a rise in global temperatures that scientists conclude is “[unequivocally]( driven by human activity — primarily the burning of fossil fuels and secondarily the destruction of forests and other natural carbon sinks. Luckily, there is something we can do about it, but we have to act quickly. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that we must curb greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent of 2019 levels by 2035 in order to limit global temperature rise to [1.5 degrees Celsius]( above pre-industrial levels and save hundreds of millions from suffering and poverty by 2050. Unfortunately, temperature projections based on current policies and pledges put the world on track for 2 to 3.2 degrees of warming. The climate crisis is therefore a [crisis]( in two senses of the word. It is both “a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger” and “a time when a difficult or important decision must be made.” We can choose to drive our gas-powered SUVs down what UN [Secretary-General António Guterres]( called the “highway to climate hell,” or we can turn off the ignition, take our feet off the gas pedal and walk together down a greener path. [Read More]( Related: [Bioremediation 101: Everything You Need to Know]( Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, [sign up here]( or forward to a friend. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Website]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2024 EcoWatch, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for EcoWatch Top News of The Day Our mailing address is: EcoWatch 1122 Oberlin RoadRaleigh, NC 27605 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](