Island Press Field Notes

During the second presidential debate on October 9, Republican presidential nominee (now President-Elect) Donald Trump claimed that “clean coal” could meet the energy needs of the United States for the next 1,000 years. Now that Mr. Trump will be in the position of making national energy policy, it’s worth examining that assertion.

Walkability is a global movement. Every year walkability professionals come together at the international walking conference, Walk21. In October of this year for the first time the conference was held in Asia, in Hong Kong, where over 800 people from 38 countries gathered to learn from each other, to share their successes and to share their difficulties.

What will happen when thousands of people overwhelm communities? Climate change is mostly a “slow onset” phenomenon.  It does, however, generate fast-onset disasters/catastrophes as well.  Multiple years of drought slowly debilitate the ecosystem, threaten crops growth and healthy forests that absorb rain when it comes. Wildfires fed by dead/dying plant growth destroy communities rapidly, thus leading to soil poised to contribute to mud slides, etc., etc.  The rhythm of the unexperienced and destructive dynamics of climate change play themselves out.

According to both NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2015 was the hottest year on record, and 2016 is well on its way to surpassing it. The signs of climate change are as strong as ever, and the answers to environmental problems won’t come easily. We at Island Press are moving forward to meet the challenge of climate change. Through books, articles, webinars, trainings, and partnerships, we are giving people the tools they need to create a sustainable world.