Climate change media to 28 April 2009
A weekly service of CarbonEquity and the Climate Action Centre Melbourne
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PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••
••• Ian Plimer - Heaven and Earth
Barry Brook, Brave New Climate, 23 April 2009
Ian Plimer’s book is a case study in how not to be objective. Decide on your position from the outset, and then seek out all the facts that apparently support your case, and discard or ignore all of those that contravene it
••• Industry Ignored Its Scientists on Climate
Andrew Revkin, New York Times, 23 April 2009
For
more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing
industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive
lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions
of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming.
•••Coal burning must end, says scientist
Andrew Darby, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 April 2009
A
CSIRO scientist has told a Senate inquiry it is imperative to begin
phasing out coal burning in order to avoid dangerous climate change.
••• Why Antarctic ice is growing despite global warming
Catherine Brahic, New Scientist, 20 April 2009
It's
the southern ozone hole whatdunit. That's why Antarctic sea ice is
growing while at the other pole, Arctic ice is shrinking at record
rates. It seems CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals have given the
South Pole respite from global warming.
AND
Ozone-sea ice link is hot and cold air
ALSO
Climate change is a cold certainty
••• Climate change will overload humanitarian system, warns Oxfam report
John Vidal, The Guardian, 21 April 2009
Emergency
organisations could be overwhelmed within seven years by the rising
number of people in poor countries affected by floods, droughts,
heatwaves, wild fires, storms, landslides and other impacts
IAN PLIMER'S CONTRARIAN BOOK-------------
Cheerleading for zealotry not in the public interest
Robert Manne, The Australian, 25 April 2009
Last
week, The Weekend Australian published three pieces enthusiastically
welcoming the publication of Ian Plimer's new anti-climate science
book, Heaven and Earth - Global Warming: The Missing Science: an
overwhelmingly favourable editorial, a lengthy interview with the
author and a column by Christopher Pearson of gushing praise. In these
three pieces not one word of criticism of Plimer was to be found.
Climate change - is the ‘missing science’ really missing?
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, 27 April 2009
Kurt
Lambeck, Professor of Geophysics at Australian National University, and
the President of the Australian Academy of Science was extensively
cited by Plimer in one of the chapters of “Heaven and Earth, Global
Warming”, and he doesn’t appear to be very happy at how Plimer has
interpreted his work.
A scarier, colder vision of the climate change future
Bob Beale, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 April 2009
So
the sea ice around Antarctica is growing, not shrinking. Hurrah! We're
all saved from the misguided, mistaken and self-interested
prognostications of those fiendish, bearded, white-coated climate
scientists.
Professor Ian Plimer's climate change book sparks debate
Claire Peddie, the Advertiser, 24 April 2009
University
of Adelaide's climate change Professor Barry Brook says it "pushes
mainstream science out of context, again and again".
ENERGY AND INNOVATION---------------
Carbon Dioxide Snatched From The Air
ScienceDaily, 21 April, 2009
It’s
the reason why chemists envy green plants: by using photosynthesis,
plants can easily fix the carbon dioxide that is so plentiful in air to
make biomass, or organic compounds.
Green is for grow
Adam Morton and Mathew Murphy, The Age, 24 April 2009
IT
IS a line that is often heard: a time of crisis is a time of
opportunity. The opportunity most commonly linked to the financial
crisis is green jobs — in emerging industries, such as renewable
energy, and the re-skilling of those already working in manufacturing,
construction and services
REPORT
Seizing the Opportunities
European Parliament votes for "zero carbon" building rule
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 24 April 2009
All new buildings in the EU could have to comply with zero carbon standards by 2019
Affordable solar purchasing plans gather pace
Danny Bradbury, BusinessGreen, 20 Apr 2009
Solar panel financing plan launched in San Diego is attracting interest from across the US
Mining stalwart sees no future in carbon plan
Paddy Manning, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 April 2009
Kevin Rudd should meet Graham Brown before he decides to spend billions of dollars on carbon capture and storage. A coalminer for more than 20 years, Brown retired in 2007 and is happy to call a spade a bloody shovel.
Global Wind 2008 Report
No
new nuclear or coal plants may ever be needed in the United States, the
chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said today.
Miami's smart grid: A blueprint for the nation's power future
Bryan Walsh, Time, 22 April 2009
Utilities
have been experimenting with small smart-grid initiatives on their own.
But creating a truly nationwide smart grid -- a goal for the Obama
White House -- won't be cheap and it won't be easy.
Qld mulls wrapping up clean coal project
ABC News, 23 April 2009
The Queensland Government has confirmed it is reviewing whether to walk away from a multi-million dollar clean coal project.
POLITICS AND POLICY-------------
Hostage to the past
Melissa Fyffe, The Sunday Age, 26 April 2009
Instead of coming to grips with a clean future, Victoria clings to its polluting habits.
The environment is a spiritual and moral concern
Mary Colwell, Guradian, 24 April 2009
The
Catholic Climate Covenant campaign is a natural step as it links the
effects of climate change to the needs of the vulnerable
Science Extra: Nicholas Stern's Blueprint for a Safer Planet lecture at the London School of Economics
Guardian, Thursday 23 April
Lord
Stern outlines the climate change crisis and how we can solve it in a
lecture at the London School of Economics on 21 April 2009
'World has 6 years to act' on climate change
ABC News, 20 April 2009
The
Government's chief scientist wants the country to set the toughest
possible targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, warning that
action must begin now against climate change.
Time to scrap emission impossible
Kenneth Davidson, the Age, 20 April 2009
The Government may pay the ultimate price if it persists with a flawed carbon scheme.
Climate countdown
David Spratt, 21 April 2009
Last
night, I had an opportunity to debate the topic "Climate Change: What
Should the Federal Government Be Doing?" with Kelvin Thompson, the
Labor member for the federal parliamentary seat of Wills.
UK emissions shame Australia, say Greens
SCIENCE AND IMPACTS--------------
NOAA stunner: “Methane levels rose in 2008 for the second consecutive year after a 10-year lull”
Joseph Romm, Climate Progress, 25 April 2009
The
news from NOAA, “Greenhouse Gases Continue to Climb Despite Economic
Slump,” is that all our dawdling on climate action this decade is
having real impact on the atmosphere
World's major rivers 'drying up'
Katherine Nightingale, 22 April 2009 | EN
Some
of the developing world's largest rivers are drying up because of
climate change, threatening water supplies in some of the most populous
places on Earth, say scientists.
AND
Climate change threatens Ganges, Niger and other mighty rivers
Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, 22 April 2009
Some
of the mightiest rivers on the planet, including the Ganges, the Niger,
and the Yellow river in China, are drying up because of climate change,
a study of global waterways warned yesterday.
Vicious forest fires in Nepal raise climate change questions
Navin Singh Khadka, The Guradian, 24 April 2009
The
forest fires that recently flared up in Nepal raise important questions
about the effects of climate change on the Tibetan Plateau
Gone: Mass Extinction and the Hazards of Earth's Vanishing Biodiversity
Julia Whitty, Mother Jones, May/June 2009
By
the end of the century, half of all species on Earth may be extinct due
to global warming and other causes. Who will survive the world's
dwindling biodiversity, and why?
Extreme weather, climate change and fires
Peter Campbell, 22 April 2009
AND
Bushfires intensifying as they feed climate change, scientist warns
Fire contributes 20% of global warming emissions
mongabay.com, 23 April 2009
Fire
accounts for roughly half of greenhouse gas emissions from
deforestation and about twenty percent of total emissions from human
activities, report researchers writing in the journal Science.
The sun's cooling down - so what does that mean for us?
Laura Spinney, The Guardian, 23 April 2009
The
sun's activity is winding down, triggering fevered debate among
scientists about how low it will go, and what it means for Earth's
climate.
AND
The missing sunspots: Is this the big chill?
David Whitehouse, London Independent, 27 April 2009
Scientists
are baffled by what they’re seeing on the Sun’s surface – nothing at
all. And this lack of activity could have a major impact on global
warming.
Rich nation greenhouse gas emissions rise in 2007
Reuters, 23 April 2009
By Michael Szabo and Alister Doyle
Greenhouse
gas emissions from industrialized nations rose by nearly one percent in
2007, led by strong gains in the United States, official data showed.
As Climate Warms, Species May Need to Migrate or Perish
Carl Zimmer, environment 360, 20 April 2009
With
global warming pushing some animals and plants to the brink of
extinction, conservation biologists are now saying that the only way to
save some species may be to move them.
Study says warming poses peril to Asia
Thomas Fuller, New York Times, 26 April 2009
With
diminished rice harvests, seawater seeping into aquifers and islands
vanishing into rising oceans, Southeast Asia will be among the regions
worst affected by global warming, according to a report scheduled for
release on Monday by the Asian Development Bank.
____
Climate change media to 21 April 2009PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••
••• Our Moral Obligation
Lise Van Susteren, April 16, 2009
I am a doctor. A psychiatrist. Over the years I have heard many troubling stories about the human condition. I have listened to people recount being tortured, abused. People have died in my arms, dropped dead at my feet. But nothing has prepared me for what I am currently hearing: scientists all over the world warning us about the threat of catastrophic and irreversible climate change.
••• EPA Says Emissions Are Threat To Public
Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post, April 18, 2009
The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday officially adopted the position that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to the public's health and welfare, a move that could trigger a series of federal regulations affecting polluters from vehicles to coal-fired power plants.
AND
How Carbon Dioxide Became a 'Pollutant'
••• Fossil corals show catastrophic sea-level rise?
Brian Handwerk, National Geographic News, 15 April 2009
Fossil coral reefs at a Mexican theme park "confirm" that sea levels rose rapidly about 121,000 years ago, according to a controversial new study.
••• Carbon capture and storage 'being oversold as a panacea'
Bea Vongdouangchanh, The Hill Times, April 13, 2009
But critics and experts say there are geological risks, it's a waste of taxpayers' money and the 'economics are deadly.
ENERGY AND INNOVATION----------------
Rudd ignores better options after pressure from industry
James Norman, The Age, 20 April 2009
The
Government would appear to have given into pressure from the heavy
polluting industries, despite the potential job growth and economic
flow-on that would result from Australia becoming a low-carbon economy
of the future.
China's wind-power boom to outpace nuclear by 2020
Rujun Shen and Tom Miles, Feuters, 20 April 2009
China
will have 100 gigawatts of wind-power capacity by 2020, a senior energy
official said on Monday, more than three times the 30 GW target the
government laid down in an energy strategy drawn up just 18 months ago.
How Fast Can Carbon Capture and Storage Fix Climate Change?
David Biello, Scientific American, 10 April 2009
Carbon capture and storage is not being widely built today; the primary problem--it is expensive
Working Toward a Smart Grid, in America and Fast-Growing China
Jim Motavalli, Daily Green, 16 April 2009
Policy
makers and engineers are ramping up efforts for energy efficiency with
new technologies, which will also make way for more electric cars.
Biomass 'worse than fossil fuels'
BBC News, 14 April 2009
Biomass
power could become one of the worst emitters of greenhouse gases, the
Environment Agency has warned. Ploughing up pasture to plant energy
crops could produce more CO2 by 2030 than burning fossil fuels, it said
Electric cars: the expert's view of government transport policy
John Loughhead, The Guardian, 16 April 2009
Today's
strategy makes one thing abundantly clear: government ministers have
identified transport as an important part of the drive towards a
low-carbon economy and have developed some high aspirations in the role
the UK is going to play.
POLITICS AND POLICY----------------
Current targets won't protect planet
Tom Arup, The Age, 12 April 2009
Senior
CSIRO scientists are set to deliver a sharp rebuke to the Federal
Government over its climate change policies, urging deep cuts to
coal-fired electricity and tougher carbon reduction targets.
Obama looking at cooling air to fight warming
Seth Borenstein, Assoc Press, 8 April 2009
Tinkering
with Earth's climate to chill runaway global warming — a radical idea
once dismissed out of hand — is being discussed by the White House as a
potential emergency option, the president's new science adviser said
Wednesday.
AND
Obama climate adviser open to geo-engineering to tackle global warming
Fiddling at the edges as climate goes into tailspin
Stephen Healy, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 April 2009
A
new futuristic eco-flick, The Age Of Stupid, opens with the devastation
of 2055. Pete Postlethwaite plays a lone man wading through video
footage from 2007-08 and asking why we didn't stop climate change when
we still had the chance
Might be best to dump ETS: Garnaut
Sydney Morning Herald, 16 April 2009
The
Government's own climate adviser says it might be best to dump the
emissions trading scheme (ETS) and "have another crack at it" later.
CSIRO climate experts defiant
Ros Beeby, Canberra Times, 14 April 2009
A
group of CSIRO senior climate scientists has defied a gag order by the
organisation to speak out on Australia's proposed greenhouse reduction
targets.
To stop a climate catastrophe we must first believe we can make a difference
James Randerson, the Guardian, 14 April 2009
The
political response to the alarming news on the possibility of runaway
climate change is almost more frightening than the news about the
science
CARBON TRADING------------
Carbon trading won't stop climate change
Andrew Simms, New Scientist, 20 April 2009
One
day renewable energy looks like a sunrise industry, the next,
tumbleweeds are blowing around a setting solar panel. What has changed?
The price of emitting carbon dioxide
SCIENCE AND IMPACTS-------------------
Climate change experts reveal their hopes and fears
Adam Vaughan, David Adam and Lisa Villani, The Guardian, 14 April 2009
We
polled the world's leading climate scientists for their predictions of
how a warming world will unfold - and how humanity will react. Here are
a selection of their hopes and fears, published on the condition of
anonymity
How great is the threat from melting ice sheets?
Reuters, 17 April 2009
The
U.N. Climate Panel says seas could rise by 18-59 cms by 2100, without
taking account the possible acceleration of a melt of ice sheets in
Antarctica or Greenland.
Almost
nine out of 10 climate scientists do not believe political efforts to
restrict global warming to 2 degrees will succeed, according to a
British poll. An average rise of 4-5 degrees by the end of this century
is more likely, they say, given soaring carbon emissions and political
constraints
EU: Earth warming faster
Reuters, 7 April 2009
Global
warming is likely to overshoot a 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) rise seen by
the European Union and many developing nations as a trigger for
"dangerous" change, a Reuters poll of scientists showed on Tuesday.
Climate crisis will stretch aid 'beyond coping point'
Shane McLeod, ABC AM, 21 April 2009
International
aid workers say alarming predictions about the impact of climate change
are already coming true for some of the world's most disadvantaged
people
When is a "safe" level not safe?
8 April 2009
Arctic Literally On Thin Ice, According To New Satellite Data
ScienceDaily, 6 April 2009
The
latest data from NASA and the University of Colorado at Boulder's
National Snow and Ice Data Center show the continuation of a
decade-long trend of shrinking sea ice extent in the Arctic, including
new evidence for thinning ice as well.
Satellites enlisted to track world's fire hot spots
Rachel Brown, ABC News Online, 9 April 2009
In
an attempt to determine which areas of the globe will be most affected
by climate change, US scientists are using thermal satellite imaging to
help map global wildfires, with Victoria's recent deadly fires feature
in the research.
When Oceans Get Warmer Carbon Dioxide Uptake On Marine Plankton Will Be Reduced, Potentially Increasing Climate Change
ScienceDaily, 8 April 2009
The
global ocean plays a central role in Earth’s climate system and has
considerably slowed down climate change by taking up about one third of
the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide emitted through human activities.
New push focuses on quick ways to curb global warming
Science, 17 April 2009
Scientists
say that reducing emissions of black carbon and other short-lived
pollutants that contribute to global warming could buy the world
crucial time while governments begin the slow overhaul of the global
energy systems required to reduce CO2 emissions
Forests could become source of warming
Timothy Gardner, Reuters, 17 April 2009
The
world's forests are at risk of becoming a source of planet-warming
emissions instead of soaking them up like a sponge unless greenhouse
gases are controlled, scientists said.
EU: Earth warming faster
Reuters, 7 April 2009
The
concentration of long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is
already enough to cause warming of more than 2C above pre-industrial
levels, and we are continuing to emit more and more greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere
Retreat of Andean Glaciers
Carolyn Kormann, 9 April 2009
Bolivia
accounts for a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions. But it
will soon be paying a disproportionately high price for a major
consequence of global warming: the rapid loss of glaciers and a
subsequent decline in vital water supplies.
Sin aqua non
The Economist, 8 April 2009
Water shortages are a growing problem, but not for the reasons most people think
Forest Carbon Sinks Threatened By Global Warming
17 April 2009, 13:37 CDT
The
Earth’s forests serve as crucial carbon sinks due to their ability to
absorb greenhouse gases, but that ability is "at risk of being lost
entirely", according to a new United Nations report.
IMAGES-------
In pictures: Images from the new film on Antarctica from director Werner Herzog Encounters At The End Of The World
ACTIONS AND REACTIONS-----------------
Kev’s not all he’s cut out to be, say green groups
Get the picture Kev! Visual petition
Police raid dozens of homes as climate change activists arrested
Matthew Taylor and John Vidal, The Guardian, 14 April 200
Computers and mobile phone records seized in pre-emptive strike on summer climate action
__________
Climate change media to 7 April 2009
PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••
••• US to go further than Rudd over emissions
Adam Morton and Anne Davies, The Age, 2 April 2009
Proposed US climate change laws aim for much deeper cuts in greenhouse emissions than promised by the Rudd Government, reigniting calls for Australia to adopt tougher targets.
••• Clean coal remains a faraway dream
Marian Wilkinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 2009
When the Academy Award-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen used their talents a few weeks ago to make an anti-ad ridiculing clean coal, industry lobbyists were not happy
••• Poor nations call for 'levy' on air tickets to help adapt to climate change
John Vidal, The Guardian, 6 April 2009
World's poorest 49 countries tell UN meeting that aviation industry must help them cope with global warming by raising money from a tax on airline tickets and emissions trading scheme
BUT
Airline group backs global emissions trading scheme
••• Report finds solar power policy flawed
Adam Morton, The Age, 4 April 2009
The State Government has undermined its own solar power policy, releasing expert advice that finds its proposed laws will do little to encourage households to install rooftop panels.
••• Guy Pearse: Quarry Vision
Guy Pearse speaking at Gleebooks on 17 March 2009, on the topic of his latest essay, published in Quarterly Essay 33: Quarry Vision - Coal, Climate Change and the End of the Resources Boom.
••• Animated video: The other CO2 problem - animated adventures into ocean acidification
ENERGY & INNOVATION-------------
Scrap coal plan, says Rudd's man
Matthew Moore, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 April 2009
A member of the Rudd Government's group charged with rebuilding Australia's infrastructure says plans to double the coal export capacity in Newcastle should be abandoned.
Former World Bank head to lead carbon capture panel
A green future where you can borrow cars and drink rainwater
Alok Jha, The Guardian, 28 March 2009
A low-carbon economy will be the culmination of thousands of decisions by governments, businesses and individuals about how we choose to balance environment and economy.
Aust 'left behind' in clean energy stakes
Shane McLeod, ABC PM, 1 April 2009
Industry says it is early days yet and the US political process still has to get to work on the bills
Does carbon-eating cement deserve the hype?
Joseph Romm, Climate Progress, 2 April 2009
POLITICS & POLICY-----------------
Small Islands Urge Deep CO2 Cuts, Fear Rising Seas
Alister Doyle, Reuters, 3 April 2009
An alliance of 43 island states, backed by more than a dozen nations in Africa and Latin America, urged developed countries at U.N. climate talks in Bonn on Thursday to cut greenhouse emissions by "at least 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2020."
Stimulus package makes climate change 'the biggest loser of G20 summit'
Julian Borger and Felicity Carus, the Guardian, 3 April 2009
The $1.1 trillion stimulus package agreed by G20 leaders yesterday risks locking the world into a high-carbon economy in which greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, environmental groups have warned.
Green groups slam G20 "missed opportunity"
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 03 Apr 2009
Vague language and limited low carbon commitments fail to impress green business campaigners
Winds of Change Evident in U.S. Environmental Policy
Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post, 30 March 2009
Daniel Reifsnyder, a 25-year State Department veteran, knew even before President Obama was elected that U.S. environmental policy was going to change.
California Senate votes for stronger renewable energy mandate
ParickMcGreevey, LA Times blogs, 31 March 2009
The state Senate voted today to require private utilities to get 33% of their energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind power by the year 2020, despite complaints from many lawmakers that it will cost ratepayers $1.8 billion more annually.
CARBON TRADING---------------
Report to argue for carbon price of £85 a tonne
Business Green, 6 April 2009
A Government-commissioned study concludes that the price of carbon allowances in the EU's emissions trading scheme should be at least £85 a tonne to ensure the government meets its emission targets.
Subprime Carbon: Environmentalists Warn About the Next Big Bubble
warn-about-the-next-big-bubble
Keith Johnson, Wall Street Journal, 26 March 2009
President Obama and Congress are nowhere near drafting a climate bill, but the angst over the future carbon market is in full bloom. There are two good reasons for that: The recent financial meltdown in the U.S., and the recent carbon-market meltdown in Europe.
REPORT
ACTIONS-------------
Spiderman scales 'inside out' building in climate change protest
ABC News, 3 April 2009
A French urban climber nicknamed Spiderman has scaled the outside of the Lloyd's Building in central London in a protest about climate change.
SCIENCE & IMPACTS------------
The New Age of Extinction
Bryan Walsh, Time, 3 April 2009
Conservationists estimate that extinctions worldwide are occurring at a pace that is up to 1,000 times as great as history's background rate before human beings began proliferating. Worse, that die-off could be accelerating.
Wordie Ice Shelf has disappeared: scientists
Reuters, 3 April 2009
One Antarctic ice shelf has quickly vanished, another is disappearing and glaciers are melting faster than anyone thought due to climate change, U.S. and British government researchers reported on Friday.
AND
Massive Antarctic ice shelf set to break loose
AND
Antarctic ice bridge collapses
VIDEO
Black carbon linked to half of Arctic warming
Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com, 5 April 2009
Black carbon is responsible for 50 percent of the total temperature increases in the Arctic from 1890 to 2007 according to a study published in Nature Geoscience.
Global warming forecast says Spain will run dry
Graham Keeley, Times online, 3 April 2009
Global warming could cause rainfall in the Iberian peninsula to fall by up to 40 per cent by the end of the century, according to a European Commission report.
Heat and Acidity Ganging Up on Coral
Erik Stokstad, ScienceNOW Daily News, 31 March 2009
Human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide are starting to harm marine life with a one-two punch of rising temperatures and stronger ocean acidity.
Final Warning: The world's rapid descent into runaway climate change
Greenpeace report, 24 March 2009
This report is based on latest data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It includes a ‘call to arms’ from some of the Australia’s leading scientists, commentators and politicians.
David Bellamy Gets It Completely Wrong on Climate Change Science
Mitchell Anderson, deSmogBlog, 30 March 2009
There’s another strong contender for the Christopher Booker Prize for Bullshit Reportage of Climate Science.
Ship smokestacks emit unexpected pollutants
Naomi Lubick, ACS, 1 April 2009
“Snapshots” of plumes from oceangoing ships show that the emissions contain larger amounts of pollutants than previously thought, including black carbon.
Natural mechanism for medieval warming discovered
Nora Schultz, New scientist, 2 April 2009
Europe basked in unusually warm weather in medieval times, but why has been open to debate. Now the natural climate mechanism that caused the mild spell seems to have been pinpointed.
SUSTAINABILITY------------------
Redefining Prosperity Report
New from UK Sustainable Development Commission
Climate change media to 31 March 2009PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••
••• Polluters' blank cheque
Guy Pearse, The Age, 30 March 2009
Real cuts in emissions are impossible under the Federal Government's scheme.
••• Video: Hazelwood power station action Victoria 28 March 2009
••• Arctic meltdown is a threat to humanity
Fred Pearce, New Scientist, 25 March 2009
I am shocked, truly shocked," says Katey Walter, an ecologist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. "The permafrost is melting fast all over the Arctic, lakes are forming everywhere and methane is bubbling up out of them."
••• Extreme ice video
James
Balog and the Extreme Ice Survey are featured in an upcoming one-hour
documentary on NOVA/PBS. The film follows James as he photographs
spectacular landscapes in Alaska, Greenland, and Iceland and, with his
team, collects images from his time-lapse cameras
••• Perfect storm of environmental and economic collapse closer than you think
Jonathon Porritt, The Guardian, 23 March 2009
Green measures have to be at the heart of any financial rescue packages if we are to avoid catastrophe.
ENERGY AND INNOVATION-------------------
Hidden costs of fossil-fuel power
Marian Wilkinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 March , 2009
The
cost of Australia's cheap coal-fired electricity would more than double
if the toll on human health and the volume of greenhouse gas emissions
were taken into account
Solar law looking shadowy
Olga Galacho, Herald Sun, 26 March 2009
It
beggars belief that in these economically challenged times the
Victorian Government is considering a new energy policy that will do
less rather than more to create jobs, encourage industry and stimulate
consumer spending
Biochar: Much is unknown but this is no reason to rule it out
Chris Goodall, The Guardian, 24 March 2009
Biochar
- where wood and crop wastes are cooked to release the volatile
components buried in the soil - is a cheap and highly beneficial way of
disrupting the global carbon cycle
Coal Hard Facts: Cleaning It Won't Be Dirt Cheap
Jeffrey Ball, Wall Street Journal, 20 March 2009
The Technology to Scrub Out Carbon Dioxide Is Within Reach, but It Costs Too Much Money and Consumes Too Much Energy
POLICY AND POLITICS------------------------
Labor attacked on forest credits plan
Adam Morton, The Age, 31 March 2009
Australian-backed
proposals to reward companies that stop deforestation in poor countries
will derail efforts to tackle climate climate, according to a report.
Earth Hour: flicking a switch is far too easy
Jeff Sparrow, Crikey, 29 March 2009
Traditionally,
there’s a piece of graffiti underneath the toilet paper dispensers at
Australian universities: "Arts degrees. Please take one." At first
glance, the poster for Earth Hour seems equally cynical: "Your light
switch is your vote," it reads.
'We're the first generation that has had the power to destroy the planet. Ignoring that risk can only be described as reckless'
Decca Aitkenhead meets Nicholas Stern, The Guardian, Monday 30 March 2009
Hour of powerlessness
Joe Wakim, ABC Unleashed, 30 March 2009
In
the lead up to Earth Hour every year, my child rolls her eyes. Ever
since this initiative started two years ago, it has darkened and
coincided with the Saturday night when she invites her friends over to
our place to celebrate her birthday.
Another reason why the CPRS is worse than useless
Tim Hollo, Rooted, 25 March 2009
Watching
one of Australia’s leading fossil-fuel rent-seekers, APPEA’s Belinda
Robinson, speaking at the National Press Club today, I was reminded of
another of the key reasons why a weak emissions trading scheme is worse
than useless.
The CPRS kills carbon neutrality
Peter Campbell blog, 23 March 2009
The CPRS is greatly impacting local government across Australia in their efforts to go carbon neutral.
Paul Gilding, OnLine Opinion, 26 March 2009
Is the sustainability revolution really coming soon to an economy near you? Youd better believe it!
Is Earth Hour Working?
Ben Eltham, New Matilda, 27 March 2009
For many of Earth Hour's high-profile corporate supporters, the initiative is little more than greenwash, writes Ben Eltham
GREENHOUSE 2009 CONFERENCE-------------
Hotter days ahead to change farming, greenhouse conference told
Climate action rises above hot air
Beautiful one year, flooded the next
Suffocated by smog and heat
Bushfire origins lie in Indian Ocean
ACTIONS------------------
The lights were on, but no-one was home . . .
Lighter Footprints, 27 March 2009
Today
at 10.30, Lighter Footprints took part in a nationwide action to
highlight the woeful inadequacy of the goverment's action on climate
change.
AND
Climate change protesters march against emissions scheme
Video: Hazelwood power station action Victoria 28 March 2009
AND
Three arrested over power plant protest
ABC
News, 28 March 2009Three people are expected to be charged over a
protest at the Hazelwood power station near Morwell in Victoria this
morning.
Greenpeace accuses Sinar Mas corporation of violence toward its protestors
Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com, March 26, 2009
SCIENCE AND IMPACTS-----------------
Six degrees of separation
Barry Brook, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 March 2009
If the planet is like an oven, it's still possible to turn down the temperature.
Species to be relocated as rivers dry up
Richard Gray, UK Telegraph, 28 March 2009
Rivers
during the summer could have up to 80 per cent less water in them by
the middle of this century, leaving the country facing widespread
drought, according to a new government report to be published this week.
Pancake ice takes over the Arctic
Nicola Jones, Nature, 23 March 2009
Climate
change is not only making Arctic sea ice disappear — it's also changing
the type of ice that forms. Researchers are now trying to determine how
an increase in 'pancake ice' is affecting the far north, including
whether it's accelerating local warming.
RESEARCH
Wilkinson J. et al. Eos Trans. AGU 10, 81-82 (2009)
NOAA Chief Believes in Science as Social Contract
Cornelia Dean, New York Times, 23 March 2009
The
marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco has long urged scientists to abandon
the habitual reticence of the research community and spend more time
engaging the public and public officials about scientific and technical
issues.
Billion people face famine by mid-century, says top US scientist
Lewis Smith, Times Online, 23 March 2009
Famines
affecting a billion people will threaten global food security during
the 21st century, according to a leading US scientist.
World on a starvation diet
Jennie Curtin, The Age, March 26, 2009
Wars and hungry refugees could be some of the dire consequences of global warming.
Climate change media to 24 March 2009PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••
••• Climate sceptics confuse the public by focusing on short-term fluctuations
Stefan Rahmstorf, The Guardian, 9 March 2009
Bjørn Lomborg denies data that sea levels are rising faster than expected with no sign of slowing down
••• Protests call for carbon changes
David Adam, The Age, 20 March 2009
Protest and direct action may be the only ways to tackle soaring carbon emissions, a leading climate scientist has warned.
••• If we behave as if it's too late, then our prophecy is bound to come true
George Monbiot, The Guardian, 17 March 2009
However unlikely success might be, we can't afford to abandon efforts to cut emissions - we just don't have any better option.
••• State emission cuts 'futile' and would aid polluters
Royce Millar, The Age, March 23, 2009
Victoria's climate policies will make no difference to achieving Australia's greenhouse emissions targets and will simply subsidise big industrial polluters, according to a State Government assessment.
••• Warming to force retreat from coast
Marian Wilkinson, The Age, 23 March 2009
The top government scientist leading Australia's efforts to adapt to climate change has warned that some coastal communities will have to be abandoned in a "planned retreat" because of global warming.
ENERGY AND INNOVATION------------------------
'Hearts and minds' approach needed in green tech drive
Colin Barras, New Scientist, 20 March 2009 by
There
is no shortage of research into the alternative energy technology,
however, addressing technical problems alone is not enough.
Green power solution at hand for little cost: experts
Sydney Morning Herald, 20 March 2009
Australia
could build a low-carbon economy based on solar, wind and geothermal
power by the middle of the century for less than half the cost of the
Federal Government's economic stimulus package, says a report
commissioned by WWF Australia.
REPORT
Solar PV market doubled to 6 Gigawatts in 2008
Joseph Romm, Gristmill, 19 March 2009
World solar photovoltaic (PV) market installations exploded by 110 percent last year to a staggering 5.95 GW
Tom Brennan, CNBC, 20 March 2009
Wisconsin
Energy is using chilled ammonia to capture CO2 emissions from burning
coal. While the process can capture up to 90% of the CO2 in lab tests,
when tested at one of the utility’s cleanest coal plants it captures
only 1% of CO2 emissions.
Will you sign mine?
Jonathan Hiskes,Gristmill, 17 March 2009
UNEP yearbook distills a years worth of climate science and innovation
What could go wrong?
David Roberts, Gristmill, 16 March 2009
Oh,
great, DARPA -- the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an arm
of the Defense Dept -- is convening a meeting to look into
geoengineering.
POLITICS AND POLICY----------------------------
Motion to reconsider
Ken Ward, Gristmill, 19 March 2009
U.S. groups desert precautionary principle, 53 to 6
Rising Tide Australia Closes Down World’s Largest Coal Port
22 March 2009
Blockades organized by Rising Tide Australia have closed down the Port of Newcastle for the day.
When the global Ponzi scheme collapses (circa 2030), the only jobs left will be green
Joseph Romm, Climate Progress, 20 March 2009
We created a way of raising standards of living that we can’t possibly pass on to our children.
Protests call for carbon changes
David Adam, The Age, 20 March 2009
Protest and direct action may be the only ways to tackle soaring carbon emissions, a leading climate scientist has warned.
'Act on climate or kill future generations'
Sydney Morning Herald, 17 March 2009
One
of the country's top scientists has told politicians to act quickly on
climate change or devastate the lives of unborn generations.
UK government carbon targets 'too weak' to prevent dangerous climate change, scientists say
David Adam, The Guardian,17 March 2009
Official
advice being used to set Britain's first carbon budget is "naïvely
optimistic" and will not stop dangerous climate change, experts from
the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research say
Is the Clean Development Mechanism slumping toward extinction?
Nathanial Gronewold, New York Times, 20 March 2009
A perfect storm of bad economic and political trends could spell doom for the Clean Development Mechanism.
Are the NGOs finally going into battle over climate change?
Bibi van der Zee , Guardian blog, 18 March 2009
So
it's definitely a day to revel in the prospect of watching activists
and NGOs go energetically into action to fight together for us, exactly
as they should be doing.
Scandal sullies Spain's clean energy
Giles Tremlett, The Observer, 22 March 2009
The arrest of 19 people accused of corruption highlights the dirty by-product of the country's booming economy in renewable fuel
CARBON TRADING------------
A carbon tax is the way to cut emissions
Kenneth Davidson, The Age, 19 March 2009
The Rudd Government's environmental credentials are in tatters: the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme has been exposed as sham.
Polluters could shift greenhouse burden to poor countries, say critics
Marian Wilkinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 March 2009
Australia's
biggest greenhouse polluters will be given carte blanche to shift the
burden of cutting their emissions to poorer countries under the Federal
Government's proposed climate change laws.
Worlds of business and activism collide at carbon trading conference
Bryony Worthington, Guardian blog, 19 March 2009
This week's Carbon Market Insights Conference in Copenhagen has proved emissions trading is not as dull as it sounds.
Carbon trading 'undermined by boom and bust'
Terry Macalister and Ashley Seager, The Guardian, 23 March 2009
The
ETS is being badly undermined by volatility and uncertainty as the
financial crisis eats into a scheme that was meant to fight global
warming.
The CPRS kills carbon neutrality
Peter Campbell, 23 March 2009
Further
to the good work of Richard Dennis from The Australia Institute which
has highlighted that the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is
in fact a Reallocation scheme, it has now emerged that the CPRS is also
greatly impacting local government across Australia in their efforts to
go carbon neutral.
SCIENCE AND IMPACTS------------------------
Exodus fears for Murray towns
Peter Ker, The Age, 18 March 2009
Northern
Victorians are in danger of becoming Australia's first climate change
refugees, according to a top Brumby Government water official.
Warming to trigger ice sheet collapse
Sydney Morning Herald, 19 March 2009
Slight
changes in sea temperature and carbon dioxide levels could trigger the
total collapse of Antarctica's vulnerable western ice sheet, scientists
say.
A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian, Posted March 17, 2009
If you think preventing climate change is politically difficult, look at the political problems of adapting to it.
Carbon Sinks Losing The Battle With Rising Emissions
ScienceDaily, 21 March 2009
The
stabilising influence that land and ocean carbon sinks have on rising
carbon emissions is gradually weakening, say scientists attending last
week’s international Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.
Great polar melt-off feared
William Mullen, Chicago Tribune, 19 March 2009
Global warming, human activity speed Antarctic thaw, experts say
AND
Melting of Antarctic ice becoming unstoppable
World faces 'perfect storm' of problems by 2030, chief scientist to warn
Ian Sample, The Guardian, 18 March 2009
Food,
water and energy shortages will unleash public unrest and international
conflict, Professor John Beddington will tell a conference tomorrow
Climate-change damage may double cost of insurance
Tricia Holly Davis, Sunday Times, 22 March 2009
Insurance companies are set to raise their estimates for future premiums because of the effects of climate change.
'Himalayan glaciers 1st victims of global warming'
ZeeNews, 22 March 2009
Himalayan
glaciers were probably the first to bear the brunt of climatic changes
and began to melt during early to mid-18th century, claims a new study.
______________
Climate change media to 17 March 2009
PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••
••• Councils 'politically scared' to reveal climate risks
Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 March 2009
AS the Federal Government grapples with carbon trading, a new report says local councils across Sydney think little is being done to protect the city against climate change.
FULL REPORT
••• Amazon could shrink by 85% due to climate change, scientists say
David Adam, The Guardian, 11 March 2009
Scientists say 4C rise would kill 85% of the Amazon rainforest; even modest temperature rise would see 20-40% loss within 100 years
••• Lord Stern on global warming: It's even worse than I thought
Michael McCarthy, The Independent, 13 March 2009
Lord Stern, the economist who produced the single most influential political document on climate change, says he underestimated the risks of global warming and the damage that could result from it.
AND
Stern attacks politicians over climate 'devastation'
••• Back to the drawing board!
8 March 8, 2009
Environment and community groups unite to call on the PM to send the CPRS back for urgent redesign.
••• 'Biochar' goes industrial with giant microwaves to lock carbon in charcoal
Alok Jha, Guardian, 13 March 2009
Climate expert claims to have developed cleanest way of fixing CO2 in 'biochar' for burial on an industrial scale
Key Messages from the Copenhagen Congress: Official statement by participants
12 March 2009
Climate change transforming rainforests into major carbon emitters, warn scientists
Oliver Tickell, The Guardian, 11 March 2009
Although carbon dioxide encourages growth trees die younger, claims researcher
Severe global warming will render half of world's inhabited areas unliveable, expert warns
David Adam, The Guardian, 12 March 2009
Parts of China, India and the eastern US could all become too warm in summer for people to lose heat by sweating, expert warns
Sea levels rising faster than expected - scientists
Reuters, 10 March 2009
The
U.N.'s climate change panel may be severely underestimating the
sea-level rise caused by global warming, climate scientists said on
Monday, calling for swift cuts in greenhouse emissions.
Carbon tax 'only way to keep planet cool'
March 12, 2009
Greenhouse
gas emissions must be cut more quickly and deeply than thought only two
years ago to avoid dire consequences, and a straight-up carbon tax is
the only realistic way to do it, top climate scientist James Hansen
says.
Global warming may trigger carbon 'time bomb', scientist warns
David Adam, The Guardian, 10 March 2009
Billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and methane could be released from thawing Arctic soils.
Climate change warning: 'We're sick of having our messages lost in political noise
SCIENCE INSIDER AT COPENHAGEN...
Proposal: Make Every Earthling Pay Their Personal Carbon Debt (Sort of)
Soil Carbon: An Unappreciated Threat Grows
ENERGY AND INNOVATION----------------
“It seems like when donkeys fly they’ll do it on a commercial basis. Secondly, a lot of water is used in that process.”
Joseph Romm, Climate Progress, 13 March 2009
Battery breakthrough could make electric cars practical
ABC News, 13 March 2009
Researchers
in the US say they have made a major breakthrough, developing a new
lithium ion battery that is smaller and lighter than those used today
and can recharge in seconds.
Falling Out of Love With FutureGen
11 March 2009
FutureGenMany
were shocked last year when the Bush Administration pulled the plug on
FutureGen, a planned "near-zero emission" coal-burning power plant in
Illinois.
New way to farm boosts climate, too
Jared Flesher, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 March 2009
‘Organic no-till’ combines best of two methods and sequesters most carbon. But can it work consistently?
Maldives first to go carbon neutral
Duncan Clark, The Observer, 15 March 2009
The
pioneering new president of the Indian Ocean nation announces plans for
his country - under grave threat from climate change - to go
carbon-neutral in a decade
Europe’s Way of Encouraging Solar Power Arrives in the U.S.
Kate Galbraith, New York Times, March 12, 2009
£50bn of European investment needed to kick-start Saharan solar plan
David Adam, The Guardian, 11 March 2009
Government
investment worth £50bn would convince private companies that power from
the Sahara solar scheme is feasible and attractive option, expert says
POLITICS AND POLICY------------------
Ten ways to save the World
Geoffrey Lean, the Independent, 15 March 2009
We
get the message. The planet's doomed unless we get our act together
PDQ. We even know some of the measures needed to give ourselves a
chance. But which less orthodox proposals could stave off disastrous
climate change?
Young people must take the lead in fighting climate change
Anna Rose, The Age, 16 March 2009
How
many days left do we have to solve climate change, to turn our
emissions trajectory around and make the deep cuts in carbon pollution
we need to save our planet? No one really knows. Some scientists are
saying we have already passed the climate tipping points
Mapping the Contours of Climate Change (interactive)
Economists fiddle while climate burns
Ross Gittins, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 March 2009
According
to a growing band of economists, we'd be better off using a carbon tax
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, not the emissions trading scheme
the Rudd Government introduced to Parliament this week.
The end of economic growth?
Paul Gilding, Business Spectator blog, 13 March 2009
Any
doubt that now is the time for the real debate about the economic
crisis – that is, about whether there is something much deeper going on
– evaporated for me this week
Warning flaw in carbon scheme helps polluters
Rosslyn Beeby, Canberra Times, 11 March 2009
The
Rudd Government has not fixed a critical flaw in its carbon trading
scheme that allows big polluters to reap benefits from community
actions to cut emissions, a leading Australian economist says.
The other climate debate
ABC Radio National program "Background Briefing " on MRETs and Feed in Tariffs.
What's up with 25 to 40% by 2020?
David Spratt, coderedblog
Heat on the hill
SCIENCE AND IMPACTS----------------------
Commercial ships spew half as much particulate pollution as world's cars
10 March 2009
Globally,
commercial ships emit almost half as much particulate pollution into
the air as the total amount released by cars, according to a new study.
Climate change to hit Kakadu
Sydney Morning Herald, 12 March 2009
Climate
change will threaten Kakadu's key attractions with "devastating"
implications for tourism in the world-heritage listed national park,
new research warns
Earth may be entering climate change danger zone
Catherine Brahic, New Scientist, 10 March 2009
Climate
scientists are trying to define the level of risk associated with
future climate change – although they leave it up to others to decide
how much risk is too much.
Study: World's coral reefs likely to 'dissolve completely'
Bob Swanson and Doyle Rice, USA Today, 11 March 2009
Unless
carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere and oceans are reduced,
coral reefs around the world will start to dissolve completely in just
a few decades, according to a new study published this week in the
journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Carbon emissions creating acidic oceans not seen since dinosaurs
David Adam, The Guardian, 9 March 2009
Chemical change placing 'unprecedented' pressure on marine life and could cause widespread extinctions, warn scientists
AND
'Coral lab' offers acidity insight
VIDEO---------
Postlethwaite lambasts climate deniers on eve of green film premiere
Postcards from the future
________________
Climate change media to 10 March 2009
PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••
••• We can keep jobs and save the planet
Ian Dunlop, The Age, 6 March 2009
The target for stabilisation of atmospheric carbon to avoid catastrophic consequences and maintain a safe climate is now probably a concentration of less than 300 ppm carbon dioxide, not the outdated 450-550 ppm carbon dioxide in current proposal
••• Arctic summer ice could vanish by 2013, expert says
David Ljunggren, Reuters, 6 March 2009
The Arctic is warming up so quickly that the region's sea ice cover in summer could vanish as early as 2013, decades earlier than some had predicted, a leading polar expert said on Thursday.
••• Climate's 11th hour
Adam Morton and Tom Arup, The Age, 9 March 2009
Tomorrow, as the Rudd Government releases its draft legislationon emissions trading, 2000 scientists will begin arriving in Copenhagen to share dire news on climate change. Adam Morton and Tom Arup report.
••• Research warns two degree rise will halve rainforest "carbon sink"
James Murray, BusinessGreen, 03 Mar 2009
New study warns that even "safe" level of global warming will lead to huge increase in rainforest mortality rates
••• Why we are going quietly nuts
Ken Ward, Gristmill, 5 March 2009
Lessons from cognitive dissonance theory for U.S. environmentalists
••• The illusion of clean coal
The Economist editorial, 5 March 2009
From The Economist print edition
The world is investing too much cash and hope in carbon capture and storage
ENERGY AND INNOVATION-------------
Clean tech revolution stalled by economic crisis
Andrew Donoghue, BusinessGreen, 4 March 2009
Investment in clean tech remains solid, but analysts warn it is no longer on track to ensuring carbon emissions peak by 2020.
U.S. Energy Dept to fund $84 million for geothermal energy
Reuters, 4 March 2009
The U.S. Energy Department on Wednesday said it plans to provide up to $84 million in funding for geothermal energy projects.
Can Geothermal Power Compete with Coal on Price?
Christopher Mims, Scientific American, 2 March 2009
An
investment bank report says geothermal energy is now cheaper per
kilowatt-hour than coal-derived power. But there are lots of caveats.
POLITICS AND POLICY-------------------
Climate change won't wait for recession's end
Kenneth Davidson, The Age, 5 March 2009
Delaying measures to reduce emissions is economically unsound
Climate scientists warn that world is heading for war of the resources
Lewis Smith, The Times, 9 March 2009
There is a 50-50 chance of temperature rises reaching dangerous levels over the next century, climate scientists have warned
Carbon trade wrong, says Lord Browne
Tim Webb and Terry Macalister, The Observer, 8 March 2009
Lord
Browne, the former chief executive of BP and one of the earliest
proponents of carbon trading to tackle climate change, has conceded his
enthusiasm was misplaced.
We can keep jobs and save the planet
Ian Dunlop, The Age, 6 March 2009
The
target for stabilisation of atmospheric carbon to avoid catastrophic
consequences and maintain a safe climate is now probably a
concentration of less than 300 ppm carbon dioxide, not the outdated
450-550 ppm carbon dioxide in current proposals.
Turning up the Heat on Coal
Living on Earth radio, March 2009
Activists
concerned about the climate and the land in coal country are raising
the stakes by putting their bodies in the path of coal – blocking mine
sites, coal power plants and the companies that finance them. Incidents
of civil disobedience aimed at coal power and coal mining are on the
rise. Living on Earth's Jeff Young takes a look at who's doing it and
whether it will work.
Green electricity purchases in vain: Choice
Sydney Morning Herald, 9 March 2009
Those
who pay extra for green electricity will simply be making it cheaper
for big polluters to meet emissions reduction targets under the
Government's climate change legislation, consumer group Choice says
Dire times call for a bold new path for Victoria
David Hayward, The Age, 6 March 2009
Why not create a Department of Treasury and the Environment?
SCIENCE AND IMPACTS--------------
On the rocks
Joseph Romm, Gristmill, 4 March 2009
The International Polar Year: 'Arctic sea ice will probably not recover'
Greenhouse gas pollution threatens Southern Ocean food chain
Marian Wilkinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 March 2009
Rising
concentrations of acid in the Southern Ocean caused by greenhouse gases
are damaging the ability of some sea creatures to form shells, posing a
serious threat to marine life, a study by Australian scientists has
found.
Scientists to issue stark warning over dramatic new sea level figures
Robin McKie, The Observer, 8 March 2009
Rising
sea levels pose a far bigger eco threat than previously thought. This
week's climate change conference in Copenhagen will sound an alarm over
new floodings - enough to swamp Bangladesh, Florida, the Norfolk Broads
and the Thames estuary.
A sleeping giant?
Amanda Leigh Mascarelli, Nature Reports Climate Change, 5 March 2009
As
the planet warms, vast stores of methane — a potent greenhouse gas —
could be released from frozen deposits on land and under the ocean.
Amazon's 2005 drought created huge CO2 emissions
Alister Doyle, Reuters, 5 March 2009
A
2005 drought in the Amazon rainforest killed trees and released more
greenhouse gas than the annual emissions of Europe and Japan, an
international study showed on Thursday.
AUDIO
Danger Zone
SBS Insight, 3 March 2009
Scientists
say the risk of extreme weather is increasing and that could mean not
just more bushfires here in the south, but more intense cyclones in the
north. So what will that mean for where and how we live?
VIDEO---------------------
"The Monthly" Climate Series: David Karoly on the latest climate science
In
the first of SlowTV's Climate Series conversations, David Karoly talks
to Age environment reporter Adam Morton in considerable detail about
the latest scientific findings in the areas of climate change, ocean
level rises and the changing composition of our atmosphere.
BOOKS-----------------------
Sea Sick: the Hidden Crisis in the Global Ocean
by Alanna Mitchell
Published
2008 in Australia by Murdoch Books; in 2009 in Canada by McClelland
& Stewart, in the U.S. by University of Chicago Press and in the
U.K. by Oneworld
_________________
Climate change media to 3 March 2009
TOP 5 PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••
••• Cohen Bros coal video
AFP, 26 February 2009
Icecaps around the North and South Poles are melting faster and in a more widespread manner than expected, raising sea levels and fuelling climate change, a major scientific survey showed Wednesday.
IPY REPORT
••• Emission impossible: the sad truth
Ross Gittins, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 February 2009
Permit me to ask you a personal question (as long as you don't ask it back of me): how are you going reducing your carbon footprint?
••• How to survive the coming century
Gaia Vince, New Scientist, 25 February 2009
Alligators basking off the English coast; a vast Brazilian desert; the mythical lost cities of Saigon, New Orleans, Venice and Mumbai; and 90 per cent of humanity vanished. Welcome to the world warmed by 4 °C.
••• Global warming is a global emergency
Ian Dunlop, Crikey, 25 Februaruy 2009
The fatal flaw in the current global warming debate is that most of the key players are singing off the wrong songsheet.
ENERGY AND INNOVATION-------------
Eco suburb plan unveiled for city
Jason Dowling and Natalie Craig, The Age, 25 February 2009 A vision for a suburb of the future with no cars, an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions and the ability to grow its own food has been unveiled by a State Government-funded thinktank.
The pluses and (mostly) minuses of biofuels
Speakers at last week’s AAAS meeting presented abundant evidence that tropical rainforest destruction has accelerated in recent years, at least in part because of the worldwide push to produce more biofuel
Less is more
The Economist, 26 February 2009
Sieben Linden--a German self-proclaimed eco-village--is growing fast, unlike the surrounding towns. All 120 inhabitants have decided to live as green as possible--and show that it can be done without undue sacrifice or disruption
Can a 'smart grid' turn us on to energy efficiency?
POLITICS AND POLICY-------------------
Thousands gather in D.C. cold for rally about global warming
Nicole Gaudiano, Gannett Washington Bureau, 3 March 2009
More than 2,000 clean-energy activists converged at a coal-fired power plant on Capitol Hill on Monday for a protest they billed as the largest display of civil disobedience on the climate crisis in U.S. history.
Labor's ETS trickery
Jennifer Hewett, The Australian, February 28, 2009
Debate over biochar
Oscar McLaren, ABC RADIO PM, 24 February 2009
UK faces 'climate criminal' claim
BBC News, 23 February 2009
Campaigners have said the UK will be a "climate criminal" if it allows a new coal-fired power station in Kent.
China's growth is no figleaf for the real source of CO2 emissions: the UK
George Monbiot, Guardian blog, 24 February 2009
China is blamed for soaring carbon emissions and used as an excuse for the west to do nothing on climate change – when in fact we are exporting our emissions there
CARBON TRADING-----------------
Green groups rally for higher emissions reductions
ABC News, 2 March 2009
More than 60 climate action groups are urging the Federal Government to raise carbon emission reduction targets.
Europe’s carbon market plummets
AFP, 1 March 2009
As world leaders scramble to buoy the global financial system, the economic crisis has quietly claimed yet another victim: Europe’s nascent market for carbon pollution.
Middle path on emissions is like doing nothing
Peter Christoff, The Age, 24 February 2009
The Rudd Government's carbon pollution reduction scheme, better known as the emissions trading scheme, is under attack from all quarters
SCIENCE AND IMPACTS--------------
Bushfires release huge carbon load
Asa Wahlquist, The Australian, February 13, 2009
VICTORIA'S bushfires have released a massive amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere - almost equal to Australia's industrial emission for an entire year
AND
Australia fires release huge amount of CO2.
Droughts 'may lay waste' to parts of US
Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, 26 February 2009
The world's pre-eminent climate scientists produced a blunt assessment of the impact of global warming on the US yesterday, warning of droughts that could reduce the American south-west to a wasteland and heatwaves that could make life impossible even in northern cities.
North Atlantic climate shift see-saws on South: Study
Alister Doyle, Reuters, 25 February 2009
Any abrupt climate changes in the North Atlantic region have a quick see-saw effect on the South Atlantic, and affect weather around the globe rather than just locally, scientists said on Wednesday.
Climate Tipping Point Near Warn UN, World Bank
February 23, 2009
The planet is quickly approaching the tipping point for abrupt climate changes, perhaps within a few years, according to the UN Environmental Programme's newly released 2009 Year Book and a separate World Bank report now being presented throughout Latin America
World Bank Report
Global warming 'changing balance' of marine life in polar seas
Scientists involved in the most comprehensive study of life in the oceans ever conducted have documented changes in species distribution in the polar regions as warmer oceans spur migration Jessica Aldred * guardian.co.uk, Sunday 15 February 2009
Climate change lays waste to Spain's glaciers
Giles Tremlet, Guardian, Monday 23 February 2009
Spain loses 90% of its glaciers thanks to global warming, threatening drought as rivers dry up t
MORE
Many glaciers will disappear by middle of century and add to rising sea levels, expert warns
Observations indicate a warming of permafrost regions across the Northern Hemisphere
ERW, 24 February 2009
Recent observations indicate a warming of permafrost in many northern and mountain regions with resulting degradation of ice-rich and carbon-rich permafrost.
MIT Group Increases Global Warming Projections
Andrew Freedman, Washington Post blog, February 23, 2009
High odds of warming over 5°C (9°F) if no action: New research from MIT scientists shows that in the absence of stringent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, 21st century climate change may be far more significant than some previous climate assessments had indicated.
CO2 rise in atmosphere accelerates in 2008
Gerard Wynn,Reuters, 25 February 2009
Increases in the amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere accelerated last year
The age of stupid
The Age of Stupid is a 90-minute film about climate change, set in the future, which will have its world premiere in London on 15 March. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off) stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at “archive” footage from 2007 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
ALSO
Blessed unrest
Based on Paul Hawken's New York Times bestseller BLESSED UNREST How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice and Beauty to the World.
______________________________________
Climate change media to 24 February 2009
•• Picks of the week
ENERGY AND INNOVATION-------------
Printable solar technology 'heralds electronic revolution'
ABC News, 19 August 2009
The CSIRO is developing solar cells that can be printed out by the metre, like banknotes.
California's renewable energy goals feasible
David R. Baker, San Francisco Chronicle, February 19, 2009
California's goal of getting 33 percent of its electricity from the sun, the wind and other renewable sources by 2020 might be more feasible than previously thought, according to a new government report.
Crisis slowing investment in renewables: IEA
David Sheppard, Reuters, 16 February 2009
Economic slowdown and the recent collapse in oil prices is slowing investment in alternative energy, needed to wean the world off dependence on hydrocarbons
How to Use Solar Energy at Night
David Biello, Scientific American, 18 February 2009
Molten salts can store the sun's heat during the day and provide power at night
Coal lotta shakin' goin' on
Kate Sheppard, Gristmill, 19 February 2009
Anti-coal activists get a boost from Tennessee ash spill and other mishaps
Kicking Coal
Living on earth, 20 February 2009
Plans for some 150 new coal-fired power plants have bitten the dust as uncertainty grows about how to handle coal's emissions. Now the Obama administration adds to coal's woes with steps to regulate mercury, fly ash and greenhouse gases from coal plants.
Sun-powered device converts CO2 into fuel
Jon Evans, New Scientist, 18 February 2009
Powered only by natural sunlight, an array of nanotubes is able to convert a mixture of carbon dioxide and water vapour into natural gas at unprecedented rates.
Response to an Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) critique
Barry Brook, BraveNewCliamte, 21 February 2009
As noted in my previous post on Integral Fast Reactors (IFR), Jim Green, from Friends of the Earth (FoE), has posted a critique of IFR.
POLITICS AND POLICY-------------------
••Ten lessons for the climate movement: looking back, moving forward
Damien Lawson, GreenLeftWeekly, 21 February 2009
Looking back at the growth of the climate movement, it is clear we have made significant progress.
Power Shift: Global youth climate movement comes of age
Casper ter Kuile, guardian.co.uk, 20 February 2009
We're now well into Obama's first 100 days as president, and as is obvious from his trip to Canada, his green credentials are being seriously challenged.
AND
•• A Call to Action on Global Warming from Dr. James Hansen
AND
•• Capitol Climate Action
UK is branded a 'climate criminal' over coal plans
Juliette Jowit, The Observer, 22 February 2009
Campaigners in 40 countries say UK's proposed new coal power plants will undercut emission deals
Plan tells developers to weigh up years of sea change
Ben Cubby and Wendy Frew, Sydney Morning Herald, February 21, 2009
Every new beachside home, coastal apartment block and piece of infrastructure on the coastline of NSW would have to be re-examined under a State Government draft policy on rising sea levels.
Greens shine light on Government's solar energy targets
ABC AM, 18 February 2009 .
CARBON TRADING-----------------
No crash through on ETS
Christine Milne, The Australian, February 24, 2009
THE global financial meltdown has given Australia pause for thought in how we deal with the climate meltdown, after a year of rushing headlong into an ill-thought-out emissions trading scheme.
Scrap the emissions trading scheme
Kenneth Davidson, the Age, February 23, 2009
Rudd Labor's plan to reduce carbon emissions is poorly conceived and inadequate.
Industry to get $9b carbon cushion
Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 February 2009
THE Federal Government will spend $9 billion cushioning industry against the impact of carbon trading over the next three years.
To slow climate change, tax carbon
Nick Schulz, Christian Science Monitor, 13 February 2009
"Cap and trade," is based on the trade of highly volatile financial instruments: risky at best.
Left and Right agree on carbon tax
Richard Denniss, The Australian, February 18, 2009
LIKE Kevin Rudd before the 2007 federal election, emissions trading used to hold much promise for those interested in tackling climate change.
Coalition warms to carbon tax
ABC AM, 19 February 2009
Kevin Rudd isolated on emissions trading scheme
Lenore Taylor, The Australian, February 21, 2009
THE Rudd Government is increasingly isolated on the emissions trading scheme, with business supporters demanding further concessions to mitigate its immediate impact and green groups and the Coalition intensifying their attacks.
SCIENCE AND IMPACTS--------------
Leading scientists discuss latest climate change data
Margot O'Neill, ABC Lateline, 23 February 2009
The Government and Opposition have been jockeying in recent days over who can do the most to tackle climate change while doing the least to hurt the Australian economy. And while the politicians are still arguing over how much reform the carbon industry can bear, two of Australia's leading climate change scientists believe the climate debate has moved way past that.
Climate science: Where next?
Todd Neff, Daily Climate, 17 February 2009
With the human role in climate change largely settled, researchers see a need to shift science's focus from discovery to mitigation, solutions and policy.
Fifth of world carbon emissions soaked up by extra forest growth, scientists find
David Adam,the Guardian, 18 February 2009
Trees in the tropics are getting bigger, which means they are soaking up an extra 5bn tonnes of CO2 a year
Keeping a Watchful Eye On Unstable Antarctic Ice
Environment 360, 9 February 2009
NASA’s Robert Bindschadler explains the dramatic impact a large and fast-moving glacier in West Antarctica could have on global sea levels.
AND
Ministers get close look at Antarctic ice threat
Charles J. Hanley, AP, 23 February 2009
A parka-clad band of environment ministers landed in this remote corner of the icy continent on Monday, in the final days of an intense season of climate research, to learn more about how a melting Antarctica may endanger the planet.
Global warming strains at species interactions
Barry Brook, Brave New Climate, 17 February 2009.
Climate change is like a stalking predator, a threat that first crept up, and then swiftly leapt out at the ecological science community.
Global warming 'changing balance' of marine life in polar seas
Jessica Aldred, guardian.co.uk, Sunday 15 February
Scientists involved in the most comprehensive study of life in the oceans ever conducted have documented changes in species distribution in the polar regions as warmer oceans spur migration
U.N. says food production may fall 25 percent by 2050.
Daniel Wallis, Reuters, 17 February 2009
Up to a quarter of global food production could be lost by 2050 due to the combined impact of climate change, land degradation and loss, water scarcity and species infestation, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Stuck in the mud: plants on death row in changing world
Deborah Smith, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 February 2009
MOST southern hemisphere plants - except for weeds - will not be able to adapt to rapid climate change, a study of more than 11,000 species suggests.
•• 'Feedback' could amplify climate change peril
Sydney Morning Herald, 16 February 2009
New studies have warned of triggers in the natural environment, including a greenhouse-gas timebomb in Siberia and Canada, that could viciously amplify global warming.
Bubbles of warming, beneath the ice
Margot Roosevelt, LA Times, February 20, 2009
As permafrost thaws in the Arctic, huge pockets of methane -- a potent greenhouse gas -- could be released into the atmosphere. Experts are only beginning to understand how disastrous that could be.
Arctic's personal greenhouse turns up the heat
Catherine Brahic, New Scientist, 18 February 2009
It might be one of the coldest regions on the planet but the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the globe - and now we know the reasons why.
AND
Scientists Predict Ice-Free Arctic Summers by 2013
AND
Melt-pools 'accelerating Arctic ice loss'
Gwladys Fouché in Oslo, guardian.co.uk, 18 February 2009
AND
More ice in Arctic not such hot news
AND
Ocean Less Effective At Absorbing Carbon Dioxide Emitted By Human Activity
ScienceDaily, February 16, 2009
In the Southern Indian Ocean, climate change is leading to stronger winds, which mix waters, bringing CO2 up from the ocean depths to the surface.
Scientists capture dramatic footage of Arctic glaciers melting in hours
Jessica Salter, UK Telegraph, 20 February 2009
Scientists have captured dramatic footage of massive lakes in the Arctic melting away in a matter of hours.
Will Climate Go Over The Edge?
Fred Guterl, Newsweek, 21 February 2009
Even a miracle of diplomacy wouldn't put global warming back in its box.
Climate change is here and now and getting personal
Bill Becker, Gristmill, 19 February 2009
BOOKS------------
The Vanishing Face of Gaia by James Lovelock
Bryan Lovell, The Times, 21 February 2009
It is now a commonplace that there is a plausible threat to the welfare of our species from the environmental damage caused by us.
RADIO--------------
Radio essay on the fires and climate change
Colm McNaughton, Dispatches, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 16 February 2009
Top scientists say CO2 enough to melt the poles
--------------------------------
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