Monday Minisode: “Carbon Bombs” and Fossil Fuels vs. Public Health!

Matt talks about one story detailing massive oil and gas projects that could derail climate progress entirely and another story explaining one more reason to divest from fossil fuels.An investigation by Damian Carrington and Matthew Taylor of The Guardian found that “Oil and gas majors are planning scores of vast projects that threaten to shatter the 1.5C climate goal. If governments do not act, these firms will continue to cash in as the world burns.”The projects would basically bet against humanity slowing global warming and are investments in the event that we fail. Carbon bomb projects will only hit if we do not rapidly slash carbon emissions.We know the environmental harm of using fossil fuels, but researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison used data from the Environmental Protection Agency to estimate that roughly 50,000 premature deaths could be prevented by decreasing the air pollutants created by burning fossil fuels.Sources for today’s episode:Revealed: the ‘carbon bombs’ set to trigger catastrophic climate breakdown | Fossil fuels | The GuardianReport: 'Carbon Bombs' Are Poised to Screw Us Over Big Time (gizmodo.com)Climate chaos certain if oil and gas mega-projects go ahead, warns IEA chief | Environment | The GuardianCutting fossil fuel air pollution saves lives : NPR