#ClimateChange #carob "A research team developed two flavor-enhancing techniques that transform carob pulp into a delicious, sustainable alternative to cocoa. Rising temperatures and the spread of crop diseases are placing increasing pressure on the global supply of cocoa. In response to these challenges, researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) began investigating ways to improve the flavor of carob, with the goal of positioning it as a more sustainable and attractive alternative to cocoa. Carob pulp comes from Ceratonia siliqua (carob), a tough, climate-resilient plant that has drawn growing interest as a potential substitute for cocoa. When roasted, carob develops an aroma similar to cocoa, but its taste has not yet matched the richness consumers expect from chocolate. This flavor gap has been a key barrier to its broader use. The research effort is led by Associate Professor Liu Shao Quan from the Department of Food Science and Technology (FST) at the NUS Faculty of Science. His team has introduced two new methods designed to significantly improve the taste profile of carob pulp."

SciTechDaily

This Little-Known Plant Could Help Save Chocolate From Climate Change

A research team developed two flavor-enhancing techniques that transform carob pulp into a delicious, sustainable alternative to cocoa. Rising temp...

#ClimateCrisis #Somalia "Funding to fight the climate crisis is failing the countries that need it most My country, Somalia, is on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Today, an acute climate-driven drought is expected to affect around five million people. Without a major increase in adaptation and resilience support, climate-related floods and droughts could inflict up to $100 billion in losses and damages by 2050. Yet Somalia receives just over $300 million (£223m) in climate-related funding each year – less than one per cent of what is needed. By contrast, more than $1 billion flows into the country annually in humanitarian aid. This imbalance exposes a flaw at the heart of the global climate system: it is easier to help countries recover after crises than it is to invest in preventing them."

Funding to fight the climate crisis is failing the countries that need it most

COMMENT: For Somalia — and countries like it — transparent, accessible and predictable climate finance is the difference between resilience and...

#ClimateCrisis "How climate campaigns can cut through ad fatigue Since November 2025, commuters at Southwark tube station in London have been passing walls lined with vintage-style posters parodying oil and gas advertising, instead of ads promoting flights or energy companies. One 1950s-style poster shows a woman holding a small yellow aeroplane as if it were a cigarette; another has the slogan: For a quicker climate crisis use … Fossil Ads. This visibility and attention to the climate crisis is welcome. But with more campaigns competing for attention – often with conflicting messages – the effect can quickly become overwhelming. Messages designed to raise awareness or inspire action also trigger ad fatigue. Ad fatigue is well recognised in marketing: when people encounter the same message too often, it loses impact. A growing body of research shows that repeated exposure to similar advertising messages has negative consequences within and beyond climate contexts. Climate ad fatigue refers to a decline in effectiveness when people become overexposed to climate-related messages."

The Conversation

How climate campaigns can cut through ad fatigue

Across the UK and Europe, campaign groups are pushing for limits on fossil-fuel ads in public spaces. But even counter-climate ads can trigger fati...

#ClimateCrisis #Kentucky #coal "After Barack Obama followed Bush, his EPA put in place a raft of pollution reduction rules and programs, many of them targeting coal mining and coal burning — significant contributors to water pollution and global warming. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell dubbed those years as 'Obama’s war on coal,' and President Donald Trump took steps to reverse many of those environmental initiatives after he was elected in 2016. Now we have a second Trump administration following President Joe Biden, who did the most of any president to address climate change through legislation (Inflation Reduction Act, for one) and executive actions to boost cleaner power from wind and solar and reduce heat-trapping emissions from cars and other methods of transportation. This time, when it comes to the federal government’s response to climate change and the environment, what is happening goes far beyond a normal tit-for-tat change in public policy. The Trump administration is taking a wrecking ball to the very infrastructure of climate science — going after the scientists themselves and the institutions that support their work. Consistent with Project 2025, Trump has sought to neuter NOAA and NASA climate scientists by denying funding and seeking to eliminate climate research programs. And last week, EPA eliminated references to how people were contributing to rising temperatures from some of its climate change webpages. (. . .) But stifling science promotes a philosophy that ignorance truly is bliss. It goes along with the administration’s equally anti-democratic attacks on journalists and attempts at intimidating or trying to silence media outlets. Shutting down this well-respected global climate and weather science lab is stupid and tragic. This is more than shooting ourselves in the foot. It’s shooting the messenger, which is probably the point." https://kentuckylantern.com/2025/12/19/sure-debate-what-to-do-about-climate-change-but-trumps-war-on-science-cant-end-well/

#CAIR #neoNazis "Video: CAIR-MI Condemns Neo-Nazi Vandalism Targeting Jewish Center at MSU, Welcomes Hate Crime Probe Statement: Acts of neo-Nazi vandalism and antisemitic intimidation are an attack not only on the Jewish community, but on the values of safety, dignity, and pluralism that should exist on every college campus." https://www.cair.com/press_releases/video-cair-mi-condemns-neo-nazi-vandalism-targeting-jewish-center-at-msu-welcomes-hate-crime-probe/