WTF Just Happened Today?

Day 440: "It’s now or never."


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1/ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report warned that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will likely be irrevocably out of reach within eight years. Holding global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels would require emissions from coal, oil, and natural gas to peak before 2025, and for nations to collectively reduce their emissions by roughly 43% by 2030. “It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C,” the report’s co-chair, James Skea, said. “Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.” At the same time, the report finds that the world still has time to avoid the most extreme dangers of climate change. Doing so would require a “substantial reduction” in the use of fossil fuel coupled with a rapid adoption of renewable energy sources like wind and solar – economically viable replacements for fossil fuels that are becoming cheaper by the day. In 2021, the world generated a record-setting 10% of its energy from wind and solar. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the report revealed “a litany of broken climate promises” by governments and corporations, calling it a “a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track toward an unlivable world.” The World Health Organization, meanwhile, reports that 99% of the global population breathes air that doesn’t meet its standards for air quality. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / NPR / CNN / CNBC / NBC News)

2/ Biden called for a war crimes trial against Putin following reports of indiscriminate killings of civilians and mass graves in Bucha, Ukraine. “This guy is brutal, and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone’s seen it,” Biden said, adding: “I think it’s a war crime.” After Russian soldiers withdrew over the weekend from Bucha, a city on the outskirts of Kyiv, images emerged of dead civilians lying in the streets with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds to the head, and signs of torture. “You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal,” Biden said. “Well, the truth of the matter — we saw it happen in Bucha — this warrants him — he is a war criminal.” Biden added that he is seeking additional sanctions on Russia and will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine. The Biden administration also said it would work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine. (New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / Politico /

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WTF Just Happened Today?By Matt Kiser

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