John Kerry has been named special presidential envoy for climate change on the National Security Council — aka “climate czar” — by US president-elect Joe Biden. It’s a brand-new position.

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• How can Americans break through the partisan divide when it comes to talking about the climate crisis?
• Scientists rank five types of soft drink containers from best to worst for the environment.
• Small farmers globally are particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis. Here’s the help they’re getting.
• And more…

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• The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season breaks the record for the number of named storms with 29. Why?
• We look at three state environmental amendments and initiatives that were passed by voters.
• What’s regenerative farming, and how could it help reduce climate change? Woody Harrelson tells us.
• And more…

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• Why would a state that is extremely vulnerable to climate change vote for Donald Trump?
• Small Island Developing States lead the fight against climate change — and usually suffer the most.
• The president of the Oakland Firefighters Union talks about what it’s like to face wildfires firsthand.
• And more…

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Key Biscayne, an island town in Miami-Dade County and one of Florida’s wealthiest towns, is also very vulnerable to rising seas. And last night, in the 2020 election, it soundly voted to approve a $100 million bond to protect itself from sea-level rise. Its decision driver? Staving off dropping property values.

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Just in case you didn’t notice, the US election is next week, on Tuesday, November 3. We at Electrek ran a Climate Crisis Weekly roundup on October 10 with the headline, “Humanity’s future rests on American voters.” Someone on the subreddit r/JoeBiden declared, “Tech website Electrek backs Biden for president.” Our reaction to that? We’ll take it.

And here’s why. Electrek is for electric vehicles, green energy, slowing and eventually reversing climate change, and protecting and renewing the environment. And we’ll hop on whatever e-bus we have to ride in order to get closest to the goal of progressing those things.

So instead of rounding up the week’s climate change stories, we’ve done something different this week. Some of us in the 9to5 network explain — each with a unique perspective, from all over the US (and world) — why we back Joe Biden in the 2020 US presidential election. In short, it’s because he’s the e-bus that gets us closest to our destination. Because we believe, with a passion, in what we write about.

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• Naturalist and TV presenter Steve Backshall illustrates animals’ evolution due to climate change.
• Air pollution killed a half-million newborn babies globally in 2019, according to a new report.
• Young people living in the Arctic Circle describe the climate change they see now in a BBC My World film.
• And more…

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• Many Americans say they don’t quite understand the “Green New Deal,” so we demystify it here.
• The percentage of Americans that are alarmed about the climate crisis has doubled in five years.
• Regardless of how you feel about Greta Thunberg, the documentary I am Greta is a must-watch.
• And more…

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• The US presidential election is almost here and voting has started. For the earth’s future, it’s everything.
• Vice President Joe Biden releases the first political ad exclusively about climate change in the US.
• Prince William and Sir David Attenborough launch the biggest environmental award ever, at $50 million.
• And more…

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• Greenland’s ice is melting faster than at any time in the past 12,000 years, according to a new study.
• Sir David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet debuts on Sunday to help us better understand climate change.
• The Environmental Defense Fund launches the Climate Authenticity Meter to evaluate businesses’ climate goals.
• And more…

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