Currently in Chicago — June 24, 2024: Week launches with a mild Monday

The weather, currently.

After a weekend of sun punctuated by storms that left a trail of damage and power outages in their wake, Monday returns with a day of milder heat and fewer clouds, then we’ll have another chance of seeing more thunderstorms on Tuesday and Wednesday as the heat cranks back up into the 90s again.

It’s heartening to see that teachers are once again going to bat for our children, as Chicago educators push for their own version of a Green New Deal as part of their contract negotiations. Solar panels and electric buses are among the items on their climate-related wish list.

— Katje Sabin

What you can do, currently.

A Media Matters analysis found that last year — the hottest calendar year on record — network coverage of climate actually declined in the US. What’s worse, just 12% of reports about climate change mentioned fossil fuels as the driving cause. The media still reported on extreme weather, but stopped short of making the climate connection.

Independent climate journalism like Currently is needed more than ever. And this year, with all of these weather warnings already underway, we’ll unfortunately have plenty of opportunities to do better.