It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Busted: Coast Guard denies changing guidelines after 'huge backlash' from public
RAINBOW FLAGS STILL BANNED
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem participates in a tour at the U.S. Coast Guard Station, in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S., November 7, 2025. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) changed direction this week after a bombshell report revealed it had reclassified symbols like swastikas and a noose from “prohibited hate symbols” to “potentially divisive” symbols. According to one CNN reporter, it caused a “huge backlash.”
Last week, a new set of guidelines for the USCG recast symbols such as a noose or swastika as “potentially divisive.”
The sudden policy flip happened mere hours after The Washington Post reported that new “harassment guidelines” were about to be enacted. The decision was set to take effect on Dec. 15, the report said.
CNN correspondent Brian Todd called the matter "unbelievable."
"What's extraordinary, Pamela, is that we're even sitting here talking about something like this," he told host Pamela Brown.
Todd said that on Friday, President Donald Trump's administration denied that the policy had changed it in the first place.
"But they did change it," Brown cut in.
"They did change it," agreed Todd, "again, to downgrade the language referring to nooses and swastikas and other similar symbols as, 'potentially divisive.'"
Tricia McLaughlin, public affairs assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, "is denying that the Coast Guard is even backtracking on this issue," Todd said.
According to CNN, McLaughlin claimed "the 2025 policy is not changing."
"USCG issued a lawful order that doubles down on our current policies prohibiting the display, distribution, or use of hate symbols by Coast Guard personnel," McLaughlin said in a statement.
She did not clarify whether the policy would change after 2025.
"It's a lot of confusion. It's a lot of back-and-forth," commented Todd, noting the Post has proof of the change.
"Then when they reported that there was a huge backlash, as there should be, obviously," Todd continued. "And now they're changing it back, but they're denying that they ever really went there in the first place."
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
‘Derailment’ warning as world faces threats to its ability to act on climate change
The worsening consequences of the climate crisis could fatally “derail” climate action, researchers have warned.
With global warming breaching 1.5°C – and Earth system tipping points, such as the widespread dieback of warm-water coral reefs, now being reached – the consequences of climate change are guaranteed to escalate.
The new report – by the Strategic Climate Risks Initiative (SCRI), the University of Exeter, University College London’s Climate Action Unit, and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) – says this could create a vicious cycle in which dealing with climate impacts gets in the way of action to tackle the underlying problem.
This could keep the world off a trajectory for emissions reductions that keeps temperatures below the 2°C target set in Paris in 2015.
The researchers say this “derailment risk” is dangerously overlooked.
Their work is the culmination of a two-year project that engaged hundreds of science and policy experts and officials around the world to consider how to “navigate the new climate reality”.
Comparing the world’s fight against climate change to sailors facing a deadly storm, lead author Laurie Laybourn, from SCRI and Exeter’s Global Systems Institute, said: “Until now, the job has been to persuade the crew that the storm is coming, to change course, and to tackle the vested interests who don’t want to do this.
“We have taken some climate action – the bearing has changed, with huge progress made in clean technology – but now we are entering the figurative and literal ‘storm’ of 1.5°C overshoot.
“At this point, navigating becomes harder – our ability to act is pulled in different directions by worsening climate impacts and their chaotic consequences. These could distract us from rapid decarbonisation, keeping us on a trajectory to global disaster.
“So, we need a strategy to get focussed, stay focussed, and navigate to safety.”
Laybourn said we often assume our ability to deal with climate change will only increase, when in fact humanity could become “too distracted by climate chaos to focus fully on climate action”.
He added: “This situation – which we call derailment – is like sailors becoming overwhelmed by a storm and so losing their ability to navigate, or even stay afloat.”
Vicious cycle: Vox in Valencia
In explaining derailment risks, the report highlights the example of the 2024 floods in the Valencia region.
A year’s worth of rain fell in eight hours, leading to the deaths of more than 200 people and causing widespread damage, costing billions of euros.
Climate change supercharged the disaster, increasing both the risk of extreme rainfall and of flooding, due to persistent drying of the ground.
However, the populist Vox party – which opposes climate action – capitalised on public anger and low trust in politics and blamed the floods on “climate fanaticism”.
Vox falsely claimed that an obsession with protecting river ecosystems had come at the cost of protecting local people.
Polls recorded an increase in support for Vox, with many people already disillusioned and mistrusting of the government.
But Vox opposes policies to decarbonise and improve climate adaptation – so the researchers warn that their greater influence will make the people of Valencia less safe from such events in future.
Laybourn explained: “This form of politics slows down climate action, making future climate-driven disasters worse, and thereby creating fuel for more counterproductive populism.
“But there’s an alternative. We can encourage the opposite of derailment, exploiting ‘reinforcement opportunities’ for climate action, where climate consequences can encourage more action, which progressively tackles the underlying problem. But the means becoming more resilient to shocks.”
He gave the example of energy-efficient “passive house” buildings that survived the Los Angeles wildfires.
“That design both reduced carbon emissions and made the house more resilient to climate impacts,” he said.
“That approach needs to be writ large across society: more resilient to climate impacts today, while reducing emissions and so helping tackle the drivers of worse disasters tomorrow.”
Navigating the new reality
The report sets out five capabilities that will help us navigate in the “climate storm” of 1.5°C overshoot and avoid derailment – which are similar to the capabilities a ship’s crew needs to navigate a storm:
Situational awareness. Climate risks have been persistently under-estimated, which is like having bad radar in a storm. Situational awareness can be improved by addressing blind spots that are common in risk assessments, developing early warning systems, and undertaking scenario exercises.
Stories. On entering a storm, sailors need a new narrative that motivates action for the new, more difficult reality. Our climate stories should emphasise resilience under pressure and how to navigate extreme conditions without losing focus on tackling the causes and aiming for better futures.
Resilience. A crew must strengthen the ship to minimise distracting disruptions. This is not happening enough for climate change. The world needs to move beyond incremental adaptation of infrastructure – such as flood barriers and temperature regulation – to the transformation of societal systems. For example, poverty alleviation improves social cohesion and general resilience to climate shocks, thereby reducing derailment risks.
Speed. We must rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions while also adapting to new climate realities. One without the other increases the chance of derailment. There is huge potential for adaptation aligning with decarbonisation – for example via nature restoration.
Governance. Decision-making systems must be modified to ensure a beneficial relationship between adaptation and accelerated decarbonisation. Politicians will need to be more candid with populations about the reality of climate change.
Dr James Dyke, Assistant Director of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute, said: “Derailment risks will only grow as the world heads beyond 1.5°C warming.
“The prevailing assumption is that the world has closed off pathways above 3°C warming – but in fact we could be derailed by vicious cycles in societies and nature. Catastrophic environmental change is still very much on the table. “
“This can be prevented if derailment risks are tackled, by greatly accelerating the phase out of fossil fuels, at the same time as increasing efforts to adapt to the climate change that is coming.”
The researchers say everyone has a role to play in tackling derailment because it results from how societies are run at all levels.
They have developed a toolkit to help people identify derailment, and how to act on it. Visit: www.scri.org.uk/derailment.
Article Publication Date
28-Oct-2025
Climate deniers' online strategy: Using scientific aesthetics to appear credible
Climate deniers use scientific aesthetics to reinforce and legitimise their message. At the same time their main opponents, the climate activists, are portrayed as emotional and irrational. This has been demonstrated by researchers from the Universities of Gothenburg and Amsterdam, who have studied how climate deniers communicate online.
– Disinformation is not just about incorrect facts, but about how these facts look and feel. In today’s digital media landscape, messages are spread through images, memes and visual narratives that influence us in an instant, before we even have time to think. By understanding the aesthetic logic behind climate denial, we can also understand why it is so effective, says sociologist Anton Törnberg, one of the researchers behind the study.
The research is based on an analysis of digital communication from eight key actors in climate disinformation in Sweden. The material comprises 17,848 online posts combining text and images, published on blogs and websites between 2010 and 2023.
Builds credibility by mimicking science The analysis reveals clear strategies used by climate deniers. One of these involves presenting themselves and their message as rational and objective, rather than ideological, by creating an aura of scientific credibility.
РThis is done by using scientific aesthetics with graphs, diagrams and technical reasoning, often accompanied by rhetoric that signals neutrality and objectivity. A typical example is posts showing a curve of carbon dioxide emissions or a satellite image of global temperatures, says Anton Țrnberg.
The fact that climate deniers' messages actually contradict the conclusions of established science does not prevent them from borrowing its language.
– It constitutes what we might call scientific mimicry. This means that climate deniers reject the authority of the scientific community, but copy its language, form and visual aesthetics in order to gain credibility.
Mobilises emotions through caricatures of the opponent Another strategy used is to portray the opposition as irrational. Climate activists are depicted as being driven by emotions rather than reason and fact-based arguments. This contrast is used to reinforce a narrative in which ‘the rational sceptic’ stands in opposition to ‘the hysterical climate cult’.
– The images used are often taken at intense moments, showing angry faces, chaotic demonstrations and people shouting or crying. In some cases, memes and parodies are used in which Greta Thunberg is portrayed as hysterical, religious or childish. Sometimes there are images of her in a halo or accompanied by her own statue.
This tactic is also used to attack the ideological roots of climate policy, which are often portrayed as sectarian or totalitarian.
РThis can be done through memes and images alluding to Mao Zedong. Others use images of Joseph Goebbels, suggesting that today's climate communication is propaganda. In some cases, the swastika is replaced with the recycling symbol on a Nazi-like armband, a visual strategy that portrays the environmental movement as authoritarian and manipulative, says Anton Țrnberg.
In May 2023, devastating floods hit Emilia-Romagna, causing deaths, displacement, and estimated damages of €8.5 billion.
Cul-de-sac effect: The CMCC research team described for the first time how a specific configuration of mountain topography and circulation patterns trapped moisture coming from the Adriatic, while a stationary cyclone fueled prolonged rains that lasted for several days over the same area, leading to extreme flooding.
From the analysis of the Emilia-Romagna case, the research suggests that the same effect could occur in geographical areas with a similar orographic conformation in the Mediterranean region.
Extreme events of this magnitude, which have been very rare so far, could become more frequent in a continuously warming Mediterranean climate, as demonstrated by research analysing trends over the past 40 years.
CMCC researchers have developed cyclone density persistence, a new metric that could prove useful in improving early warning systems.
From the analysis of past events and in light of the cul-de-sac effect, the study highlights the urgent need for better monitoring, forecasting, and preparedness across Mediterranean regions.
In May 2023, Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region experienced devastating, if not unprecedented, floods that caused widespread damage to infrastructure, homes, businesses, and farmland. Seventeen people lost their lives, and the disaster caused an estimated €8.5 billion in damages. The persistent rainfall and resulting landslides and flooding displaced tens of thousands of residents, leaving a deep mark on the region’s economy and communities.
New research from the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) sheds light on why this extreme event occurred, the role that climate change may have played, and what it could mean for the future of the Mediterranean region and beyond.
CMCC scientists describe a “cul-de-sac” effect, where mountains block moisture from the Adriatic Sea, trapping rain over the region and causing extremely rare floods which, statistically, would be expected to happen only once every 500 years.
Researchers identified a stationary cyclone over central Italy as a key driver, channeling humid air from the Adriatic Sea toward the region of Emilia-Romagna. A similar configuration is also believed to have led to flooding in the same area in 2024.
“Our analysis shows that the kind of persistent cyclone that caused the 2023 and 2024 Emilia-Romagna floods is not unique to this region. Other Mediterranean areas with similar geography could face the same risks – and these events may become more frequent as the climate continues to change,” says CMCC senior scientist Enrico Scoccimarro, first author of the study. “This has important implications for how we design and operate early warning systems.”
The study introduces a new metric, cyclone density persistence, which could help develop more effective early warning systems. By tracking the presence and persistence of such cyclones, forecasters may improve predictions of extreme precipitation events, not only for short-term forecasts but potentially for seasonal outlooks as well.
“This work represents the first step in a long-term plan to develop Early Warning Systems for flood events on a seasonal timescale at CMCC,” says Scoccimarro. “We aim to assess the capability of our numerical models and AI-based tools to forecast the large-scale conditions that lead to extreme precipitation events. Our goal is to go beyond current limitations of state-of-the-art numerical models, and aim at higher skills in directly forecasting extreme precipitation, and help communities better prepare for floods.”
Analysis of historical data suggests that conditions favoring these prolonged, extreme rainfall events have been increasing over the past 40 years. With climate change, these “cul-de-sac” floods may become more frequent – highlighting the urgent need for improved monitoring, forecasting, and planning across vulnerable Mediterranean regions.
Sinking land is quietly destabilizing urban infrastructure in India’s largest cities, putting thousands of buildings and millions of people at risk, according to Virginia Tech scientists.
Groundwater overuse is a critical driver of the problem, said Susanna Werth, assistant professor of geosciences who co-authored the paper published Oct. 28 in Nature Sustainability.
“When cities pump more water from aquifers than nature can replenish, the ground quite literally sinks,” Werth said. “Our study shows that this overexploitation of groundwater is directly linked to structural weakening in urban areas.”
Using satellite radar data from 2015-23, the research team assessed differential ground sinking, or subsidence, in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, covering more than 13 million buildings and home to nearly 80 million people.
Results revealed that 878 square kilometers of urban land, or about 339 square miles, is sinking, with nearly 1.9 million people exposed to subsidence rates greater than 4 millimeters per year.
The study estimates that 2,406 buildings in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai are already at high risk of structural damage. If current subsidence trends continue, over 23,000 buildings could face a very high risk within the next 50 years.
Land subsidence compounds the threats from flooding and earthquakes. When the ground beneath a city sinks unevenly, it weakens foundations, damages utility lines, and amplifies structural vulnerability.
“The silent strain we see today could lead to tomorrow’s disasters if cities do not adapt their infrastructure and groundwater management policies,” said lead author Nitheshnirmal Sadhasivam, a graduate student working with Werth.
The study demonstrates the value of cutting-edge satellite techniques in preventing tragedy, according to co-author and Associate Professor Manoochehr Shirzaei.
“Our research shows how satellite-based ground mapping techniques can reveal risks that are otherwise hidden until collapse occurs,” said Shirzaei. “Investing in adaptation now, through groundwater regulation, resilient design, and proactive monitoring, will save lives and resources in the long run.”
The findings extend beyond India, warning that subsidence-driven building damage is an emerging global urban challenge. As more cities depend on stressed aquifers and expand rapidly, subsidence will continue to erode infrastructure resilience worldwide.
In a global first, Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, has unveiled a groundbreaking new online course dedicated to tackling the excess of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth’s atmosphere, one of the root causes of climate change.
The Carbon Dioxide Removal from a Systems Perspective course, delivered by Heriot-Watt Online, is the first university-led initiative of its kind to focus exclusively on the science, technology, and policy of removing CO₂ from the environment.
This short course, lasting 50 hours, is designed for professionals across sectors such as government, energy, agroforestry and tech as well as those looking to pivot into climate-focused roles.
It explores the science of the global carbon cycle and will unpick the latest carbon removal technologies such as direct air capture and enhanced rock weathering. It will also investigate the economic, environmental and societal trade-offs of different approaches.
With the scale-up of the Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) sector representing a major economic opportunity for Europe - projected to become a €220 billion annual market and support 670,000 high-quality jobs by 2050, according to a 2025 whitepaper from Carbon Gap - the demand for skilled professionals has never been higher.
Developed in collaboration with industries, government bodies, and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the programme equips learners with the knowledge and practical skills to address one of the world’s most urgent climate challenges. Without large-scale carbon removal, experts agree, global climate targets will remain out of reach.
Dr Mijndert van der Spek, Associate Professor and course lead at Heriot-Watt University, is an internationally recognised expert in the environmental and economic evaluation of climate mitigation technologies.
“We’re incredibly proud to pioneer this course,” said Dr van der Spek. “For years we’ve been advancing carbon dioxide removal technologies, but there’s been little formal education for professionals who want to transition into this vital field. CDR is essential if we’re serious about meeting our climate goals and we need a workforce ready to build an industry even larger than oil and gas.
“Whether you’re in government, industry, or finance, this course gives you a comprehensive understanding of what carbon removal involves, from technology and systems thinking to policy and implementation. What excites me most is knowing that by growing this community, we’re helping people contribute directly to solving the climate crisis.”
The online course offers flexible access for students who can start anytime and anywhere in the world and offers a reduced price for learners from emerging economies. For more information or to enrol visit the website.
The arrival of the new course has been welcomed by Chris Sherwood, Secretary General of the Negative Emissions Platform, the leading CDR industry association based in Brussels.
"It’s exciting to see that leading universities are recognising the importance of carbon dioxide removals and preparing to equip a new generation of climate entrepreneurs who will lead the growth of a powerful new green economy," he said.
Carbon dioxide is primarily produced through the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas, and by altering natural carbon sinks through land-use changes and industrial activities. Having an excess of CO2 in the atmosphere intensifies the greenhouse effect, leading to significant environmental and climatic changes.
There are many significant challenges in removing carbon dioxide from the air such as uncertain long-term storage and high costs. Without a skilled workforce, these challenges are magnified and jeopardise climate goals.
