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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Expect extreme and unavoidable climate catastrophes, warns new UN report

    The consequences of global warming are now unavoidable, while climate catastrophes are likely to get worse. Those are the findings of a new report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

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    By Madeleine Brand • Aug 9, 2021 • 50m Listen

    The consequences of global warming are now unavoidable, while climate catastrophes are likely to get worse. Those are the findings of a new report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

    The earth is projected to surpass a heating threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius. It’s at that point when serious climate events are expected to take place. All that is according to Michael Prather, a professor of earth system sciences at UC Irvine and a contributor to the IPCC report.

    “There's probably going to be environmental issues of insecurity and threats around the world because a lot of places will not be livable,” Prather tells KCRW. “When you exceed 40 degrees Celsius … people cannot work outdoors. And so we're basically going into a new world.”

    In this episode

    5 stories
    1. 0:00

      Heat, wildfires, air pollution: Multiple extremes will occur more often, says UN report co-author

      "A lot of places will not be livable. When you exceed 40 degrees Celsius … people cannot work outdoors. And so we're basically going into a new world," says Michael Prather, a professor of earth system sciences at UC Irvine and a contributor to the IPCC report.

      Read the story
      10 min
    2. 10:15

      Dixie Fire becomes California’s second largest wildfire ever, spanning across 4 counties

      The Northern California-based Dixie Fire became the second largest wildfire in state history over the weekend. Burning across four counties since mid-July, it’s consumed about half a million acres and destroyed hundreds of structures.

      Read the story
      9 min
    3. 18:53

      Can you OD from touching fentanyl? How that myth gained a foothold among first responders

      The synthetic opioid fentanyl is about 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, and it’s causing a huge increase in overdose deaths, according to the National Institutes of Health.

      Read the story
      10 min
    4. 29:13

      Florida cruise ship company won the legal right to ask passengers to be vaccinated

      Florida is one of the world’s hotspots now for COVID-19, averaging more than 19,000 new infections per day over the past week. Meanwhile, Governor Ron DeSantis has forbidden mask mandates and vaccine passports.

      Read the story
      8 min
    5. 37:18

      How Woodstock ‘99 devolved into violence and anarchy, as shown in new HBO documentary

      The iconic 1969 Woodstock music festival in upstate New York defined a generation. And for the past half-century, nostalgic Baby Boomers worked to recapture that lightning in a bottle.

      Read the story
      13 min
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      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Angie Perrin

      Producer, Press Play

    • KCRW placeholder

      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

      NewsClimate changeEnvironment

    In this episode

    5 stories
    1. 0:0010 min

      Heat, wildfires, air pollution: Multiple extremes will occur more often, says UN report co-author

    2. 10:159 min

      Dixie Fire becomes California’s second largest wildfire ever, spanning across 4 counties

    3. 18:5310 min

      Can you OD from touching fentanyl? How that myth gained a foothold among first responders

    4. 29:138 min

      Florida cruise ship company won the legal right to ask passengers to be vaccinated

    5. 37:1813 min

      How Woodstock ‘99 devolved into violence and anarchy, as shown in new HBO documentary

    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand