Greetings and welcome back to another Monday as summer slowly rolls out and fall comes in.
Here’s what you need to know today:
The IPCC’s blockbuster climate report points to a hotter, wilder future
The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released today doesn’t paint a rosy picture of the future. Thanks to unconstrained global emissions, an increase of another 1.5 degrees Celsius is all but guaranteed in the next 30 years, on top of the 1.1 degrees Celsius the planet has already warmed by. That means intensifying floods, droughts, wildfires, and famines, as well as the possible collapse of the global Jetstream. All-in-all, not exactly an optimistic way to start off the week, but the silver lining is that if countries work together to slash their emissions by 2050, the absolute worst crises might still be staved off.
H/t to the New York Times
London’s Tower Bridge span is stuck upright
London’s iconic Tower Bridge is stuck in an upright position after opening to accommodate a tall ship… one year after the exact same thing happened. The bridge reportedly opens about 800 times a year, but the 121-year-old bridge’s bascules faltered due to a “technical error,” according to the City of London police.
❌ Tower Bridge is currently closed to traffic and pedestrians due to technical failure.
Please avoid the areas. Updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/KT9HiB7APi
— City of London Police (@CityPolice) August 9, 2021
H/t to CNN
Katerra’s Spokane CLT factory sold off in bankruptcy proceedings
Mercer International Inc. is the latest company to snap up the now-defunct Katerra’s assets. On August 3, the global forest products company announced that it had received approval to purchase Katerra’s CLT panel factory in Spokane, Washington, for $50 million. The 270,000-square-foot factory sits on a 54-acre plot and holds one of the largest CLT presses in the world, and outputs approximately 30 percent of North America’s total mass timber manufacturing capacity.
New York State pledges another $35 million towards building supportive housing
New York State has pumped another $35 million into its Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, aimed at creating 1,400 new supportive housing units. This is the sixth round of funding for the initiative, which ultimately aims to create or preserve 100,000 units of affordable housing across the state, and 6,000 units of supportive housing.
H/t to New York YIMBY
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home added to Washington’s Heritage Register
Father of the Pacific Northwest grunge scene Kurt Cobain’s childhood home has been added to the Washington Heritage Register, making it a state landmark. The home at 1210 East First Street in Aberdeen, a small city in Grays Harbor County that serves as the southern gateway to the Olympic Peninsula, was added in June, and the house’s current owner is working to restore the building to how it would have appeared when Cobain was living in it (and wants to offer tours).
H/t to Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A 7-foot-tall bronze sculpture of a Native American woman vanishes in Kansas City
A bronze statue commissioned to celebrate the founding of Kansas City, Missouri, was stolen last week, leading police to scratch their heads over who could have taken the 400-pound sculpture and why. The 7-foot-tall statue of an Osage Native American woman, the one taken, was installed as part of a scene sculpted by artist Kwan Wu in April of 2020 in celebration of Missouri’s bicentennial. Police suspect that the suspects took the sculpture, which is 90 percent copper, to melt down and sell for scraps.
H/t to the Art Newspaper
