El Niño Heat Bends Water Markets and Pacific Fisheries
July 15, 2026
As record ocean temperatures and thawing permafrost turn Arctic rivers acidic and South American forests into carbon sources, Australia is codifying new laws to prevent the financial manipulation of water as a tradable asset. These metabolic rifts in global food chains and carbon sinks are forcing a shift from hopeful climate forecasting toward the urgent construction of community-led infrastructure for survival in a permanent state of emergency.
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With an El Niño looming, Australia has new laws to stop water market manipulation
Vicki Smith/Getty It might feel strange to talk about being able to trade water as a financial asset, in the same way as company shares or bonds. But water is big business. Australia leads the world on the size, extent and adoption of formal water markets, especially in our largest river system, the…
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El Niño Is Already Wreaking Havoc on Pacific Fisheries
As the climate phenomenon sends warm water surging across the eastern Pacific, some parts of the fishing industry are suffering—but other regions are seeing a windfall.
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Record El Niño threatens to unleash floods across East Africa and Asia
Aid groups warn a record-strength El Niño could unleash flooding and hunger from Somalia to Pakistan.
- geopolitics
- structural power
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Tropical forests can stop acting as carbon sinks during El Niño, says research
Some South American tropical forests effectively stop absorbing carbon during extreme climate events like El Niño. Teo Tarras / Shutterstock Tropical forests draw down and store large quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The Amazon rainforest in South America, for example, stores approximately 123…
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David Suzuki refuses to give young people ‘hopium’ about the future
On In Bed with the Elephant, the legendary environmentalist reflects on his legacy, why he believes climate catastrophe can no longer be avoided, and why preparing our communities is now more urgent than promising hope The post David Suzuki refuses to give young people ‘hopium’ about the future appe…
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Rusting Rivers: Alarm Grows Over Rising Acid in Arctic Waters
Climate change is thawing permafrost and increasing rainfall, producing sulfuric acid in rivers and lakes.
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A Climate Expert on What’s Missing From Super El Niño Headlines
Meteorologist Gerry Diaz is less interested in predicting how much rain is coming. What’s more important is what happens after it falls.
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Why climate scientists need to talk more about the very worst-case scenarios
London is under water. The Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Bank of England are all submerged. Far away, the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have collapsed, triggering accelerated sea level rise which, combined with a storm surge in the North Sea and a hig…
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Tropical forests can switch from carbon sinks to carbon sources during El Niño
Some South American tropical forests effectively stop absorbing carbon during extreme climate events like El Niño. Teo Tarras / Shutterstock Tropical forests draw down and store large quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The Amazon rainforest in South America, for example, stores approximately 123…
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