The heat suffocates, the fires rage - even by Australian standards, this summer is brutal

In this week's newsletter: The south-east of the country is suffering through the worst heatwave since 2019's 'black summer', while the government continues to back fossil fuel projects ? Don't get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereAustralians are no strangers to blistering weather - being a "sunburnt country" of "droughts and flooding rains" is baked into our national identity. But since the 2019-20 bushfires, which burned through an area almost the size of the UK, and killed or displaced 3 billion animals, the arrival of warmer weather each year is accompanied by dread. This summer has brought punishing extremes of heat and fire that are brutal even by Australian standards.More, after this week's most important reads.'A different set of rules': thermal drone footage shows Musk's AI power plant flouting clean air regulationsThe death of Heather Preen: how an eight-year-old lost her life amid sewage crisisTrump lashes out at California governor's green energy deal with UK'Landmark' greenwashing case against Australian gas giant Santos dismissed by federal court'What's more important, the electricity or food?': extreme heat is driving up power bills in central AustraliaWhat the Albanese government did on the environment amid the Liberals' turmoil: threatened species, a new coal project and carbon leakage Continue reading...