- The spirit of Paul Ehrlich lives on. The Danish government is restricting weekly rations of beef, lamb or veal to a wartime-like 2.8 ounces, less than one Big Mac, if you have the misfortune to be dependent on the state. (Which we might add was never a good idea.) From the government and here to help. And how’s this for blaming the victim? “Birgitte Kehler Holst of the left-wing green Danish party The Alternative” defended imposing it on people in nursing homes because, she snarled, “Everyone, including the elderly, must contribute to achieving our climate goals. It is precisely the generation that has screwed up the most.” Honour thy father and mother, unless they exceed their carbon budget.
- All misery all the time. A pitch from the Guardian for “the Hotspot – our new newsletter on sport and the climate crisis” offers this dismal prospect: “Nelson Mandela said that sport ‘can create hope where once there was only despair.’ Too optimistic in 2026? Almost certainly. The pitches we play on, rivers we swim, seas we surf, mountains we climb, parks we run in, air we breathe – all are being degraded by the burning of fossil fuels as the climate crisis turns the sporting landscape upside down.” So if your idea of fun is to go to the ballpark and worry that the pitcher’s mound will go up in flames, sign right up.
- It’s not all bad news. Something called Reuters “Beacon”, to which we did not realize we had subscribed, tells us “Iraq’s historic marshes revive as water returns after years of drought”. They’re not making up these “historic” marshes, with their remarkable natural beauty and long-standing local way of life. And we’re not making up that drought comes and goes naturally, or that it sounds great that: “After years of drought that left large swathes of Iraq’s historic marshes cracked and empty, rising water levels are beginning to revive the wetlands, drawing buffalo herders and fishermen back to areas once abandoned. In Chibayish marshes in southern Iraq, canoes once again glide through waterways that had dried up in recent years, while water buffalo wade through restored marshland and patches of green pasture have reappeared.” So by all means let’s look after nature, including not draining all the wetlands in the name of progress while calling them swamps. But let’s respect nature’s rhythms too, instead of calling everything we don’t like “climate change” and saying no one ever saw it before. Like, say, a story last year that “The marshes once spanned over 20,000 square kilometres—they are now barely half that size. Years of upstream damming along the Tigris and Euphrates, initiated by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s, combined with climate change-induced drought, have pushed the ecosystem to the brink.” As if between massive upstream damming and climate-change-induced drought the latter was significant.
- The Canadian government’s carbonphobe climate jet-setters are at it again: “Canada’s Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, the Honourable Julie Dabrusin, and a delegation of experts from Environment and Climate Change Canada, attended the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Germany, from April 21 to 22, 2026, and the G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Paris, France, from April 23 to 24, 2026. These events brought together international partners and ministers from major economies to advance shared priorities on climate action, nature conservation and finance, water and oceans, and resilience to natural disasters.” And we ask again: what can they possibly have to say to one another that they haven’t said in 30 previous COPs, preparatory meetings, side meetings, other climate conferences and general gabfests that even justifies the price of a plane ticket, let alone (to them) the carbon footprint? But we hear Paris is nice in the spring.
- Money ill-spent: Canada’s Globe & Mail wheedles “Canada is entering a critical climate countdown. With 2030 fast approaching, the country must dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet legally-binding international commitments. But the road ahead is anything but straightforward.” No duh. Glad you noticed. Or did you? Because it continues “Join us at the Road to Net Zero Summit, where business leaders, climate experts, and investors will share insights, strategies, and solutions for navigating the complexities of climate action.” Which they don’t have. Thanks anyway.
- Oh, and one more from the “so you admit it” file: the May 7 “First Up” newsletter from the Toronto Star begins “Good morning. ⛄ I understand it is May, and none of us want to think about snow anymore…” before pitching a tax increase to fight it. Thus admitting that warmth is nice not scary and winter isn’t ending. Again.
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13 May 2026 | News Roundup
