ExxonMobil Sued in Guyana, Less Water for the Dry West, The Great Displacement and more

Guyana has one of the fastest growing economies on the planet as an offshore oil boom gets underway. But a potential spill could wipe out its fishing and ecotourism economy. So a trial judge recently ruled that a major ExxonMobil crude oil project needs an “unlimited guarantee” to cover the costs of such a spill. Also, the states that rely on the Colorado River for water are facing a supply crisis as climate change reduces the river’s flow. Now, after months of tense debates and delay, California, Arizona, and Nevada have finally agreed to substantially reduce their Colorado River water use, at least for now. In return, they’ll receive some federal help to ease some of the economic pain of cutting water use. And climate change is already making some places across the country unlivable and seems likely to uproot millions of Americans in the coming decades. The author of “The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration” collected the stories of people across the U.S. who have been driven out by fires, floods, droughts, and extreme heat. Plus -- when a whale dies, it eventually sinks to the ocean floor. And although that whale’s life is over, that’s when a whole new circle of life kicks off, with thousands of organisms including hagfish, zombie worms, and octopuses feeding off this “whale fall” for 50 or more years.