🌱Recycling wars, unprecedented heat waves and the complicated picture of the Southwestern drought

As Alaska grapples with a [wildfire]( just outside its capital and the Midwest scrambles to recover from[reoccurring floods]( the national conversation again turns to the cost of natural disasters that are increasingly being attributed to - or at least exacerbated by - climate change. Scientists across the country are becoming more willing to raise their voice following an event like Hurricane Harvey to point to the inextricable tie to the effects of the rises in greenhouse gases, as highlighted in an article I wrote two years ago about the era of "[mega-catastrophes](. Given previous reluctance in the scientific community to definitively point the finger at climate change, this shift in the tide is a big deal in rallying support for climate change mitigation. Though the U.S. government releases a [quarterly report]( on the number of billion-dollar disasters in the country, it never bridged the gap to weave the climate change conversation into the basic data collection. Carbon Brief has [bridged the gap with a map]( released earlier this year that categorizes major natural disasters across the world based on whether they were influenced by human action aka anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Though there are some they found to be devoid of human hand and others that were inconclusive in their evidence, the overwhelming majority were marked by us. The immediate impact of something like this is fear: The world naturally produces these catastrophes, but we are making them stronger, more frequent and more costly. Beyond that, it shows that no one is immune from the impacts of climate change. The dispersion of the disasters included in the data set are not just in the small island nations threatened by flooding, or the dry areas plagued by wildfires. They're everywhere. Colorado's newly renewed battle to bring back wolves is rooted in a long, national history of man versus wild. What can the successful reintroduction efforts in the 1990s in the Northern Rockies teach the last state in the canine's natural range? [Read More +]( [Tree planting 'has mind-blowing potential' to tackle climate crisis]( New research estimates that a worldwide planting program could remove two-thirds of all the emissions that have been pumped into the atmosphere by human activities, a figure the scientists describe as “mind-blowing". [Read More +]( [Beverage companies recycle, until it costs them]( Beverage companies like Coca Cola and Pepsi are trying to find ways to boost recycling rates for plastic, but only when if the initiative poses no extra headache and financial burden. [Read More +]( [Even after a rush of snow and rain, the thirsty Colorado River Basin is “not out of the woods yet”]( Colorado's historic snow season has many in the West thinking their water woes are cover. A broader look at the history of water - especially Lakes Powell and Meade - paint a much more complicated and daunting picture. [Read More +]( [Great Plains’ ecosystems have shifted 365 miles northward since 1970]( Ecosystems in North America’s Great Plains have shifted hundreds of miles northward in the past 50 years, driven by climate change, wildfire suppression, energy development, land use changes, and urbanization, new research shows. [Read More +]( [Climate change made European heatwave at least five times likelier]( The European heatwave broke temperature records at many locations in France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Spain. In France it was broken by more than 34.7F on June 28, with 114.6F recorded near the city of Nîmes. [Read More +]( What else we're reading this week - Federal government [sues Colorado train]( for starting 416 Fire via The Durango Herald - Arctic fox amazes scientists with [2,000-mile trek in 76 days]( via CNN - Green groups sue to [stop Keystone XL]( construction via The Hill - Fertilizer plants emit [100 times more methane]( than reported via Science Daily - Colorado invests [millions in wildfire response]( via Colorado Public Radio - High-elevation avalanche debris could [fuel bark beetle]( via The Aspen Times Quote of the day: “But we need to remember that we live in a semi-arid state. Another drought is coming — we just don’t know exactly when. I don’t think we can place all our hopes and dreams on this one water year for solving all the problems on the Colorado River.” -Lauren Ris, deputy director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board Tip of the day: At the office, bring in a desk plan to improve indoor air quality and bring some nature into the office environment. [Subscribe now!]( A free weekly environment briefing that comes to you. No algorithms, clickbait or ads – just what's worth reading. I've got your back Hi, my name is Liz Forster. I am an environment reporter and have a particular interest in public land management, natural disasters, climate change and ecology, among other topics. I received a degree in Environmental Policy from Colorado College and have worked for a Colorado newspaper since. Subscribe and each week, I'll comb through newspaper's headlines and send you the latest, most pertinent environment news. Questions, comments, suggestions? Email me at liz.forster@gazette.com or follow me on Twitter at @lizmforster. You're receiving this email because you signed up for Environment Weekly emails The Colorado Springs Gazette, L.L.C. | 100 E. Pikes Peak Ave., Suite 100, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 [Unsubscribe {EMAIL}]( [Update Profile]( | [Our Privacy Policy]( | [About Constant Contact]( Sent by noreply@gazette.com