The selected measurements are from coastal locations spanning from Maine to Alaska. About 40% of the US population lives in or near coastal areas. (...)

Generally speaking, the sea level is rising faster on the US east and Gulf coasts compared with the US west coast, partially because land on the eastern seaboard is gradually sinking.

The “up next” feature dictates what users watch for 70% of the time they spend on YouTube. The exact make-up of the YouTube algorithm that drives recommendations, designed to keep users on the platform for as long as possible, is a closely guarded secret. Experts say the algorithm appears to have learned that radical or outrageous content is more likely to engage viewers. (...)

In January 2019, responding to criticism over the platform’s tendency to drive people towards more radical political and social viewpoints, YouTube announced that in the U.S. it would begin reducing recommendations of “borderline” content that pushed the limits of Community Guidelines on areas like hate speech, as well as “content that could misinform users in harmful ways—such as videos promoting a phony miracle cure for a serious illness, claiming the earth is flat, or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9/11”. In December, YouTube said that policy had been successful, driving down the average time spent by U.S. users watching recommended “borderline” content or harmful misinformation by 70%.

We have already had countless bushfire inquiries. What good will it do to have another?

I used to believe that only catastrophes manifestly caused by climate change would break through the psychological walls of denial. But I was mistaken. It’s now clear that the deniers would sooner see the whole country destroyed than admit they have been wrong. Their houses could burn down, their families could be incinerated, and still they would find a way of dismissing the scientific evidence. (...)

Early in 2019, 23 former chiefs of fire and emergency services formed a coalition and sought a meeting with the prime minister to warn him of the impending calamity and the need to prepare. It’s global warming, they said, with the weather extremes now far more extreme.

But their meeting requests were ignored.

Now the government has rebuffed their request for a bushfire crisis summit, so they have decided to convene their own for late March. “Firies” are revered in Australia, and the admiration for them has reached new heights in recent months as they have fought, and sometimes died, to protect others.

The newfound activism of the former fire chiefs presents an acute political difficulty for the government. The Australian has attempted to make them out to be environmental activists, but the public is listening to them, and their message is stark.