Climate change media to 25 August 2009
•••••• Sucking the RENT out of RET Bernard Keane, Crikey, 20 August 2009 The
capacity of the Australian Parliament to bastardise good policy and
turn it into a feeding trough for rentseekers and other parasites is
truly remarkable. •••••• The CPRS aftermath David Spratt, CodeRed blog, 19 August 2009 Would
the CPRS, even in its current appalling form, be something we should
support because at least in moves Australia "in the right direction"
and start to reduce emissions? The evidence is clearly to the contrary. •••••• Warming fears intensify as oceans heat up Seth Borenstein, The Age, August 22, 2009 July was the hottest month for the world's oceans in almost 130 years of record keeping. •••••• Is the Great Barrier Reef on Death Row? (video) Dr J.E.N. "Charlie" Veron, Royal Society forum, 6 July 2009 Report •••••• Records fall as temperatures rise nationwide http://www.theage.com.au/environment/records-fall-as-temperatures-rise-nationwide-20090824-ewix.html Adam Morton, The Age, 25 August 2009 The north is sweltering and, in historical terms, the south is rarely cold. The result, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, has been a winter of record-breaking warmth across the continent. ENERGY&INNOVATION-------------- China poised to seize clean tech crown James Murray, BusinessGreen, 21 August 2009 Report from The Climate Group argues China is set to dominate the global market for low-carbon technologies. China to set solar feed-in tariff by year-end, says Suntech chairman Yvonne Chan, BusinessGreen, 24 August 2009 Policy expected to boost PV equipment sales by least 200MW annually Germany approves €500m electric car investment plan James Murray, BusinessGreen, 24 August 2009 Angela Merkel bolsters clean tech credentials with plan to put five million electric cars on German roads by 2030 Electric Cars: China's Power Play Bryan Walsh Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 As
Kevin Czinger breaks free of midtown Manhattan's heart-attack traffic
and floors what would be the gas pedal in a more conventional car, the
only sound is the hiss of the rain outside and something like an
accelerating yawn from the electric motor. Geothermal industry 'left on the shelf' Adam Morton and Tom Arup, The Age, August 21, 2009 THE
fledgling geothermal industry - described by the Federal Government as
a potential competitor with coal-fired power - has warned that the
design of new renewable energy legislation could set its development
back two decades. POLITICS&POLICY---------------- Nine held in carbon trading swoop Michael Peel, Financial Times, 19 August 2009 Fraud
investigators arrested nine people on Wednesday over a suspected £38m
carbon credit trading scam in one of the clearest signs yet of
criminals targeting international schemes to combat climate change. AND An air of deceit Chip Jacobs, Pasedena Weekly, 20 August 2009 Was convicted smog-credit swindler Anne Sholtz part of shady international ‘money repatriation’ schemes? The fallacy of climate activism Adam D. Sacks, Gristmill, 23 August 2009 In
the 20 years since we climate activists began our work in earnest, the
state of the climate has become dramatically worse, and the change is
accelerating—this despite all of our best efforts. Clearly something
is deeply wrong with this picture. Majority of ‘Energy Citizens’ rallies organized by oil-industry lobbyists Kate Sheppard, Gristmill, 21 August 2009 Here’s more evidence that the “Energy Citizens” rallies against climate legislation are anything but grassroots uprisings. Extreme weather predicted for far north ABC News, 21 August 2009 The Queensland Government's new climate change policy has predicted temperatures will soar in the state's far north. AND Will Queensland’s ClimateQ plan reduce state emissions? Report Minister met BAA chief executive before Climate Camp to discuss tactics Rob Evans and Paul Lewis, The Guardian, 23 August 2009 A
government minister met the chief executive of the UK's largest airport
owner in private to discuss how to "limit" the impact of climate change
protests directed against the firm, documents obtained by the Guardian
reveal. Don't Give Up On Your Government Yet http://newmatilda. com/2009/ 08/14/dont- give-your- government- yet Christine Milne, New Matilda, 14 August 2009 The
rejection of the emissions trading scheme by the senate is an
opportunity for Australians to demand meaningful action on climate
change. Climate sceptics like Nazi appeasers: Rees Sydney Morning Herald, 19 August 2009 NSW
Premier Nathan Rees compared climate change sceptics to Nazi appeasers
as he addressed a roomful of scientists at the Eureka Awards last night. Nationals' energy policy mirrors Greens ABC News, 22 August 2009 The National Party federal council has adopted a new policy similar to a Greens plan to boost the use of renewable energy. When money grows on trees Mark Schrope, Nature Reports Climate Change, 13 August 2009 Protecting forests offers a quick and cost-effective way of reducing emissions, but agreeing a means to do so won't be easy. SCIENCE&IMPACTS-------------- Nile Delta: 'We are going underwater. The sea will conquer our lands' Jack Shenker, The Guardian, 21 August 2009 The Nile Delta is under threat from rising sea levels. Without the food it produces, Egypt faces catastrophe PHOTOS The flooding of the Nile Delta Ehrlich: carbon, growth, consequences Ray Grigg, Courier-Islander, August 21, 2009 During
the 1960s, when Drs. Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren were trying to
anticipate the ultimate consequences of perpetual economic growth, they
decided to try quantifying the process Climate change could swamp Venice's flood defence Shanta Barley, New Scientist, 24 August 2009 Rarely
was a city so aptly named. By the end of the century, Venice – Italy's
City of Water – could face daily floods, and according to a new study,
the costly and controversial flood barriers now being built might not
be able to protect it. GRACE reveals groundwater depletion in India ERW, 13 August 2009 In
many parts of the world, groundwater is the main source of fresh water.
If people use up this resource faster than it is replenished, the
shortages of food and drinking water can result. Wheat gets worse as CO2 rises Nora Schultz, New Scientist, 17 August 2009 You
may have thought that the silver lining of rising carbon dioxide levels
would be a boost in crop yields. But evidence is mounting that we may
trade quantity for quality. Tree deaths triple as city's soil turns to dust Kate Lahey, The Age, August 24, 2009 Melbourne lost
900 trees last year - three times more than usual - and 40 per cent of
the remaining trees are stressed, council data shows Climate change media to 18 August 2009
•••• Cap-and-Trade's Unlikely Critics: Its Creators Jon Hilsenrath, Wall Street Journal, 13 August 2009 Economists Behind Original Concept Question the System's Large-Scale Usefulness, and Recommend Emissions Taxes Instead •••• Is there any point in fighting to stave off industrial apocalypse? Paul Kingsnorth and George Monbiot, Guardian, 17 August 2009 The
collapse of civilisation will bring us a saner world, says Paul
Kingsnorth. No, counters George Monbiot – we can't let billions perish. •••• Study links drought with rising emissions Melissa Fyfe, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 August 2009 Drought experts have for the first time proven a link between rising levels of greenhouse gases and a decline in rainfall. •••• Rudd and Turnbull's standoff easier to fix than the planet's ill Peter Harcher, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 August 2009 The
Insurance Council of Australia... told a Senate inquiry that it
classified 425,000 Australian homes and businesses as being vulnerable
to damage from climate change. These are the properties less than 4
metres above mean sea level and within 3 kilometres of the existing
coastline. This is the future definition of a risky investment. •••• 'Life support system pushed to the limit' Sydney Morning Herald, 17 August 2009 Australia
is pushing the limits of its "natural life support system" and
governments and the public must change the way they consider
biodiversity, a new report to the Federal Government says. REPORT AND Garrett moves to save ecosystems, not specific species AND Climate change 'will impact tourism' ENERGY&INNOVATION-------------- Energy Efficiency: Leaping the Efficiency Gap Dan Charles, Science, 14 August 2009, 325: 804 - 811 Experience
has shown that there is more to saving energy than designing better
light bulbs and refrigerators. Researchers say it will need a mixture
of persuasion, regulation, and taxation. Will 'Energy Crops' Become the Next Kudzu? http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/08/12/12climatewire-will-energy-crops-become-the-next-kudzu-Jessica Liber, ClimateWire, August 12, 2009 U.S.
policies are subsidizing new energy crops that are likely to spread off
the farm and wreak economic and ecological havoc, a federal advisory
board cautioned yesterday Green dream within reach http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25937263-11949,00.html Matthew Denholm, The Australian, August 17, 2009 IT'S the ultimate dream of a carbon-conscious world: a land where 100 per cent of energy is renewable and so abundant that it can be exported. Government backdown on renewable energy bill Sydney Morning Herald, 16 August 2009 Labor
has backed down on its hard line on emissions trading and will split
the legislation allowing a vote on its renewable energy target as early
as this week. BUT RET has been dirtied by the Fossil fuel industry http://www.tradingr oom.com.au/ apps/view_ breaking_ news_article. ac?page=/ data/news_ research/ published/ 2009/8/229/ catf_090818_ 061800_0501. html 18 August 2009 Coal gas to get green credits under "Mad Hatter" scheme; Electricity bills are likely to rise to cover extra payments to coal mining companies because their product is "renewable". Sun and wind power struggle Adam Morton, The Age, August 12, 2009 Doubts
are emerging about whether the Government's renewable energy bill will
do what it is supposed to do - trigger immediate investment in cleaner
power plants POLITICS&POLICY---------------- Is it time to start worrying about Copenhagen? James Murray, Guardian Environment Network, 12 August 2009 The
gap between rich nations and emerging economies over carbon emissions
targets is beginning to look unbridgable. From BusinessGreen.com, part
of the Guardian Environment Network UN's climate chief warns of real risk of failure at climate change talks David Adam, Guardian, 14 August 2009 Yvo de Boer says process too slow to reach deal at close of meeting in Bonn aimed at trimming 200-page draft treaty Tough passage to India Keith Orchison, Business Spectator, 17 August 2009 Fifteen
days. That is the time now available for formal negotiations before the
UN climate policy conference starts in Copenhagen in December. Can Geoengineering Help Slow Global Warming? Bryan Walsh, Time, 18 August 2009 As
we pump billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, we're
doing more than warming the planet and scrambling the climate. We're
also conducting what climatologist James Hansen has called a "vast
uncontrolled experiment." Weather forecasters blinded Ros Beeby, Canberra Times, 18 August 2009 Federal
budget cuts are drastically undermining Australia's weather forecasting
services, leaving Bureau of Meteorology stations with ''dangerously
low'' staff levels to predict and deal with extreme weather SCIENCE&IMPACTS-------------- Farmers face hardship as climate changes Debra Jopson and Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 August 2009 While politicians argue whether a climate-changed future is reality or myth, farmers live with the consequences. As Arctic Ocean warms, megatonnes of methane bubble up Michael Marshall, New Scientist, 17 August 2009 It's
been predicted for years, and now it's happening. Deep in the Arctic
Ocean, water warmed by climate change is forcing the release of methane
from beneath the sea floor. Acid In The Oceans: A Growing Threat To Sea Life Richard Harris, NPR, August 12, 2009 When
we burn fossil fuels, we are not just putting carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. A lot of it goes into the sea. There, carbon dioxide turns
into carbonic acid. And that turns ocean water corrosive, particularly
to shellfish and corals. Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Warming Will Bring Serious Problems, Experts Warn Miao Xiaojuan, Xinhua, 17 August 2009 The
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is growing warmer and experts warn, if the trend
continues, it will cause environmental deterioration and water
shortages. Kindling For Climate Change Lisa M. Jarvis, Chemical and Engineering News, 17 August 2009 Toolik scientists study the long-term impact of a raging fire in the Arctic AND Trouble In The Tundra Wheat gets worse as CO2 rises Nora Schultz, New Scientist, 17 August 2009 You
may have thought that the silver lining of rising carbon dioxide levels
would be a boost in crop yields. But evidence is mounting that we may
trade quantity for quality. Hazy changes on high Sid Perkins, SCience News, 14 August 2009 A big boost in coal burning, especially in China, is adding more aerosols to the stratosphere As India water and power dry up, the people revolt Mark Magnier, LA Times, 13 August 2009 Hundreds
of times a week across the nation, frustrated residents block roads and
demand resources. But there's simply not enough to go around. AND India's water use 'unsustainable' Warmest Global Ocean Surface Temperatures on Record for July NOAA, August 14, 2009 21st Century climate blueprints Andrew Glikson, ABC Unleashed, 12 August 2009 The
severe disturbance of the energy balance of the atmosphere ensuing from
the emission of over 320 billion tonnes of carbon since 1750 threatens
a shift in the state of the atmosphere/ocean system to ice free
greenhouse Earth conditions. &ETC---------------- Plimer resorts to attack as the best form of defence George Monbiot, Guardian, 12 August 2009 The champion of climate change denial has responded to me, but creates more questions than he answers. Plimer watch larvatusprodeo, 18 August 2009 Climate Change Documentary from 1958 Climate change media to 11 August 2009
••••Small Pacific islands call for big carbon cuts Makereti Komai, AP, 5 August 2009 Island
nations are the least responsible for climate change but will bear the
brunt of its ill effects, Australia's leader said Wednesday, as a group
of small Pacific states called for a 45 percent cut in greenhouse gas
emissions by 2020. AND Drowning In Red Tape AND Forget Watergate, We Now Have Cairns’gate ••••High time for action, says Sherpa Adam Morton, The Age, 11 August 2009 Pemba
Dorje Sherpa is, according to the Guinness World Records, the world's
fastest summit climber. He has scaled Mount Everest 10 times, but says
he has had an advantage his predecessors did not - human-induced
climate change ••••Psychological Factors Help Explain Slow Reaction To Global Warming ScienceDaily, 7 August 2009 While
most Americans think climate change is an important issue, they don't
see it as an immediate threat, so getting people to "go green" requires
policymakers, scientists and marketers to look at psychological
barriers to change and what leads people to action, according to a task
force of the American Psychological Association ••••Ken Ward talks to BZE radio ENERGY&INNOVATION------------------- China Balks at Global Warming-Gas Capture Costs (Update1) Alex Morales and Jeremy van Loon, Boomberg, 6 August 2009 China,
the world’s biggest carbon- dioxide polluter, is balking at the cost
and effectiveness of extracting greenhouse gases from hundreds of coal
plants and storing them underground. Mayor Yu Qun is making Baoding a hub of renewable energy Peter Ford, The Christian Science Monitor, August 10, 2009 How Baoding, China, becomes world’s first ‘carbon positive’ city. Clean-coal technologies may imperil water supply Peter Ker and Adam Morton, The Age, August 7, 2009 Controversial
"clean coal" technologies could dramatically increase the amount of
water used to produce electricity in Australia. A shorter reign for king coal Paddy Manning, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 August 2009 A peak for coal? It's coming sooner than we think: University of Newcastle researchers estimate global production will reach its height at 8 billion tonnes a year (it is now about 6 billion), in 2034 Government unveils high-speed rail plan to ground short flights Dan Milmo and Julian Glover, BusinessGreen, 05 August 2009 Replacing plane journeys with ultra-fast train services 'manifestly in the public interest', transport secretary says POLITICS&POLICY---------------- Trading carbon for disaster Robert Gottliebsen, Business Spectator, 7 August 2009 It has no comparison in importance, but like the Washington Post writers
on Watergate, every time I write on the Australian carbon crisis I feel
this will be my last commentary on the subject. But every time I write,
new information is put before me to encourage me to keep going. Climate disobedience: Is a new “Seattle” in the making? Mark Enger, Gristmill, 11 August 2009 Carbon tax by proxy Alan Kohler, Business Spectator, 6 August 2009 Robert Gottliebsen’s call in Business Spectator of “wrong way, go back” on emissions trading (Our carbon trading blunder, July 30) has sparked an extraordinary response from our readers (The Conversation, July 30) and indicates a depth of opposition to the current official policy that should be deeply worrying to the government. Combet fesses up on fossilised influence http://www.news. com.au/heraldsun /story/0, 21985,25889451- 5017909,00. html Olga Galacho, Herald-Sun, 6 August 2009 ON YA, Greg. Thanks for reminding us again that the Federal Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is way more generous in its assistance to big polluters than it needs to be. Pessimism and deadlock dominate as Bonn climate talks kick off James Murray, BusinessGreen, 11 August 2009 UN's
top climate change official warns negotiators are running out of time
to resolve rows over targets and clean tech financing. SCIENCE&IMPACTS---------------- Food crisis could force wartime rations and vegetarian diet on Britons Valerie Elliott, The Times, 10 August 2009 The
British people face wartime rations and a vegetarian diet in the event
of a world food shortage, a new official assessment on the UK’s food
security suggests today. Nobel Halo Fades Fast for Climate Change Panel Andrew Revkin, New York Times, 3 August 2009 Two
years ago, an international scientific panel seized worldwide attention
by reporting that human activity was warming the planet in ways that
could greatly disrupt human affairs and nature. Climate Change Seen as Threat to U.S. Security John M. Broder, 8 August 2009 The
changing global climate will pose profound strategic challenges to the
United States in coming decades, raising the prospect of military
intervention to deal with the effects of violent storms, drought, mass
migration and pandemics, military and intelligence analysts say. Climate change melting US glaciers at faster rate, study finds Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, 6 August 2009 US
geological survey commissioned by Obama administration indicates a
sharp rise in the melt rate of key American glaciers over the last
10-15 years Long Debate Ended Over Cause, Demise Of Ice Ages? Research Into Earth's Wobble ScienceDaily, 7 August 2009 Researchers
have largely put to rest a long debate on the underlying mechanism that
has caused periodic ice ages on Earth for the past 2.5 million years –
they are ultimately linked to slight shifts in solar radiation caused
by predictable changes in Earth's rotation and axis. El Niño slowly consolidating in the Pacific Bureau of Meteorology, 5 August 2009 Two graphs you probably won’t see at Andrew Bolt’s blog Tobias Ziegler, Crikey, 6 August 2009 Hundreds of New Species Found in Warming Eastern Himalayas ENS, 11 August 2009 The
world's smallest deer, a new species of monkey, and a flying frog are
among the 353 new species that have been identified in the Eastern
Himalayas between 1998 and 2008, but conservationists warn that global
warming is threatening to alter the native habitats of these unique
plants and animals. ______ Climate change media to 4 August 2009
•••••The wisdom of crowds Kerri Smith, Nature Reports Climate Change, 30 July 2009 Climate change is inherently a social problem — so why have sociologists been so slow to study it •••••Thinning cloud cover over oceans speeds global warming, study finds Tom Roberts, The Guardian, 29 July 2009 New research dents hopes that clouds could act as brake on climate change •••••Scientists hit back at climate scepticism Marian Wilkinson, August 1, 2009 Fifteen
senior Australian climate scientists have hit back at the resurgence of
climate scepticism among the nation’s politicians and the media,
warning that the threat from climate change is real, urgent and
approaching a series of ‘‘tipping points’’ where it will feed on itself. AND •••••Climate change poised to feed on itself August 1, 2009 Fifteen of Australia's top climate experts explain how we know humans are altering the atmosphere and why we must act now. •••••Why can't the champion of climate change denial face the music? George Monbiot, The Guradian, 3 August 2009 Ian Plimer may come across as a brave maverick, but when challenged to a debate online he lost his bounce. •••••Global poll finds 73% want higher priority for climate change Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, 30 July 2009 Britons
among the most enthusiastic about action to stop global warming, while
Americans among least willing to put environment first, according to
global public opinion poll ENERGY&INNOVATION------------------- Efficiency Drive Could Cut Energy Use 23% by 2020, Study Finds Kate Galbraith, New York Times, July 29, 2009 The
biggest opportunity to improve the nation’s energy situation is a major
investment program to make homes and businesses more efficient,
according to a study released Wednesday by the consulting firm
McKinsey. An investment of $520 billion in improvements like sealing
ducts and replacing inefficient appliances could produce $1.2 trillion
in savings on energy bills through 2020, the study found. Is Biochar a Quick Fix for Global Warming? Amelia Harnish, The Daily Green, 28 July 2009 Researchers
say adding charcoal-like biochar to soil can increase fertility and
sequester carbon. But can it fight global warming? China's installed wind power capacity doubles in H1 Asian giants put the West’s targets for solar energy in the shade Jeremy Page, The Times, 3 August 2009 For
years India and China have been cast in the West as the biggest
obstacles to international agreement on how to tackle climate change.
Now the two emerging economic giants of Asia have challenged the West
to match their bold plans to develop solar power. Warning: Oil supplies are running out fast Steve Connor, The Independent, 3 August 2009 Catastrophic shortfalls threaten economic recovery, says world's top energy economist. A glimpse of the future for Victoria's hilltops http://www.theage.com.au/national/a-glimpse-of-the-future-for-victorias-hilltops-20090731-e4kv.html Adam Morton, The Age, August 1, 2009 Some
will tilt at them, but it would seem a pointless exercise: a surge in
windmill construction is set to recast the Victorian landscape. Coal Power Hitting Roadblocks Matthew Cardinale, IPS, 31 July 2009 As
more and more states are turning against coal power facilities in the
U.S., advocates have been using the legal system to halt new pending
plants. Power firm sued over carbon emissions Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2009 Australia
is about to see its first legal challenge to carbon emissions from a
coal-fired power plant, after a Land and Environment Court case was
initiated yesterday against Macquarie Generation, a NSW
Government-owned utility. POLITICS&POLICY---------------- CSIRO says carbon price cap may hit power supply Tom Arup, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 August 2009 Australia's
chief scientific body, the CSIRO, says price caps on carbon in
Australia’s emissions trading scheme may stifle investment in renewable
technologies and threaten Australia’s power supply. Poll: 3 out 4 Australians want the Senate to toughen CPRS Christine Milne, 3 August 2009 New
research shows massive payouts are poised for foreign companies under
emissions trading while a new Galaxy poll reveals 3 out 4 Australians
want the Senate to insist on amendments to toughen the legislation. Science demands more ambitious climate action ACF, 3 August 2009 Australia
should support the ambitious goal of stabilising atmospheric greenhouse
gas concentrations at 350 parts per million (ppm) or less, the
Australian Conservation Foundation said today. Council 'inaction' on sea level fears causes temperatures to rise Hannah Ross, Northern Star, 31 July 2009 Environmentalists have criticised Ballina Shire Council for failing to act fast enough to counter the potential impacts. 75 Million Environmental Refugees to Plague Asia-Pacific Neena Bhandari, IPS, 4 August 2009 Pacific
Islanders, aiming to secure their very survival, are calling for
immediate commitments from the developed world to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by at least 45 percent by 2020. Our carbon bubble danger http://www.business spectator. com.au/bs. nsf/Article/ Our-carbon- bubble-danger- pd20090804- UKT7J Robert Gottliebson, Business Spectator, 4 August 2009 When it comes to carbon trading, we are once again too busy running our businesses to realise what is happening. Coal exemption would cost $10 billion Phillip Coorey, Sydney Morning Herald, 29 July 2009 Exempting
the coal industry from the emissions trading scheme would cost the
scheme $10 billion in revenue over 10 years and force the Federal
Government to either cut compensation to households and other sectors
or take money from the budget, Government experts say SCIENCE&IMPACTS---------------- Fertile Crescent 'will disappear this century' Fred Pearce, New Scientist, 27 July 2009 Is
it the final curtain for the Fertile Crescent? This summer, as Turkish
dams reduce the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to a trickle, farmers
abandon their desiccated fields across Iraq and Syria, and efforts to
revive the Mesopotamian marshes appear to be abandoned, climate
modellers are warning that the current drought is likely to become
permanent. The Mesopotamian cradle of civilisation seems to be
returning to desert. Climate threat to heritage sites Josh Gordon, The Age, 2 August 2009 The
Federal Government has warned that Australian icons such as the Great
Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park, the Tasmanian wilderness, Carlton
Gardens and the Sydney Opera House could be damaged irreparably if the
Coalition fails to support Labor’s emissions trading scheme. REPORT Good news on fisheries? With rising CO2 levels, ‘all bets are off’ Pete Spotts, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2009 The late Jerry Garcia, of “Grateful Dead” fame, strikes again. The lyrical snippet? “Every silver lining has a touch of gray.” Uncertainties surround future monsoons Navin Singh Khadka, BBC News Some scientists fear climate change will adversely affect the monsoon season Is a Warmer World a Sicker World? Roberta Kwo, Conservation Magazine, Summer 2009 As
scientists piece together how climate impacts disease, strange patterns
are emerging: mosquito outbreaks can follow drought, shorter migrations
can make butterflies sick, and more birds (not fewer) can ward off West
Nile virus. State faces 'worst-ever' fire season Peter Ker, The Age, 29 July 2009 Victoria
faces a fire season of unprecedented danger, with the state’s fire
officials expecting conditions to be worse than last summer when more
than 170 lives were lost to bushfires. Colorado River Reservoirs Could Dry Out By 2057, Study Says Vivi Gorman, 27 July 2009 The
American Geophysical Union and the University of Colorado on July 20
released a study concluding that the reservoirs along the Colorado
River could dry up by the middle of the century due to temperature
increases. Poisonous gas from African lake poses threat to millions Robin McKie, The Observer, 26 July 2009 Trapped methane and carbon dioxide could be set loose by a quake or landslide, say scientists Study examines feedback mechanism that may be hastening Greenland ice-sheet melt Kate Ravilious, ERW, 27 July 2009 The
Greenland ice sheet and the surrounding Arctic sea ice have experienced
record levels of melting in recent years. But are the two linked? When
sea ice melts does it encourage the ice sheet to melt too? A new study
suggests that the answer to this question may be yes. Damage, pollution from wildfires could surge as western U.S. warms Innovations report, 29 July 2009 By
2055, wildfires in the western United States could scorch about 50
percent more land than they do now, causing a sharp decline in the
region's air quality, a new study predicts. Climate change media to 28 July 2009
Mumbai,
where I live, is an affront to the senses, yet through the filthy
living conditions, a resilient social fabric - somehow - thrives.
Returning to Sydney is a welcome break from the chaos and makes me feel
privileged to have grown up in such a clean, well-functioning
environment. But climate change makes me wonder if the privilege is not
a burden, or at least a responsibility •••• A force of nature: our influential Anthropocene period Simon Lewis, The Guardian, 23 July 2009 What humanity does has important consequences, so we must manage our global life-support system •••• Australia's safe climate vision ABC Radio National "Future Tense", 23 July 2009 Climate
campaigner Al Gore launched a new organisation at a one thousand head
breakfast in Melbourne last week. Safe Climate Australia has a goal to
develop a whole-of-society plan to restructure Australia's economy,
transitioning it out of fossil fuels to 'net-zero carbon' -at emergency
speed. AND Ready and running for race against time •••• Carbon emissions must be cut by 80 per cent by 2020: scientist Andrew Glikson, Radio National, 23 July 2009 Even
domestic measures are subject to bitter politics and trade-offs, like
the Australian government's plans to cut emissions by five-to-15 per
cent by the year 2020. Even if such measures did pass, one expert says
it'd be like giving aspirin to a cancer patient. He says nothing less
than 80 per cent emissions cuts over the next ten years will avert
catastophe. Bernard Keane, Crikey, 27 July 2009 Climate
change is already having major effects on Pacific Island states,
according to a new report from Oxfam, which looked at mitigation and
adaptation strategies in the region and assistance from Australia and
New Zealand. Oxfam report ENERGY&INNOVATION----------------------------- China to subsidise solar power projects Malaysian Insider, 23 July 2009 China's
government says it will pay up to 70 per cent of the price of new solar
power systems in an effort to speed up development of clean energy
industries. A Jump-Start for New Battery Plants Steven Mufson, Washington Post, July 25, 2009 The
Energy Department is getting ready to hand out about $2 billion in
grants to create a domestic industry for electric-car batteries, and
122 companies are scrambling to get pieces. Coal on the slide as renewables top 11 per cent of US power mix http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2246344/renewables-top-per-cent-power Cath Everett, BusinessGreen, 20 July 2009 As a raft of states pass new legislation demanding increased renewables capacity, new figures confirm green power now accounts for over a tenth of US energy. Carbon capture for coal costly, study finds Ken Ward Jr, Charlestyon Gazette-Mail, 21 July 2009 Harvard
University researchers have issued a new report that confirms what many
experts already feared: Stopping greenhouse gas emissions from
coal-fired power plants is going to cost a lot of money. State's high-polluting power plants seek to expand their output Marian Wilkinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 July 2009 Greenhouse
pollution from the state's coal-fired electricity plants increased last
year, making them overall the worst in the country, figures show, but
the Planning Minister, Kristina Keneally, is now being asked to
consider expanding them. Victoria proving the dirtiest state Adam Morton, The Age, July 21, 2009 Victoria
is the least climate-friendly state — home to three of Australia's four
dirtiest power stations and none of the 12 biggest renewable energy
plants New Electricity 42% Wind Says DOE Susan Kraemer, 25 July 2009Last year almost half the new electricity capacity added to the grid was wind power, according to Secretary Chu of the US Department of Energy. POLITICS&POLICY----------------------------- Are We Open For Green Business? Ben Eltham, New Matilda, 23 July 2009 Are
Australia's restrictive immigration policies for venture capitalists
letting us down? Ben Eltham investigates the case of renewable energy
entrepreneur Stewart Taggart. Ministers accused of blocking energy greening Marian Wilkinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 July 2009 The
state and federal energy ministers, led by Labor's Martin Ferguson, are
being accused of undermining the Rudd Government's climate change
policies in light of a report which finds the national electricity
market they oversee is discouraging energy efficiency and new renewable
energy. Act now on climate change or pay later ABC News, 27 July 2009 The
Climate Change Institute in Canberra has warned that Australia must
think beyond the emissions trading scheme, if it wants to have an
impact on global warming. The Political History of Cap and Trade Richard Conniff, Smithsonian magazine, July 2009 How an unlikely mix of environmentalists and free-market conservatives hammered out the strategy known as cap-and-trade IPCC Special Report
Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation Climate Change Needs Government Push in Global Investors’ Poll
Share Kim Chipman, Bloomberg, 23 July 2009 Global
investors say climate change is a threat and want government action to
combat it, even as a plurality says the effort will hurt corporate
profits. U.S. top greenhouse gas emitter, counting imports Reuters, 22 July 2009 The
United States is by far the biggest greenhouse gas emitter ahead of
China if consumers in rich nations are given responsibility for energy
used to make imported goods, a researcher said on Wednesday. Spotlight on Russia’s Role in Climate Control Tom Zeller Jnr, New York Times, 26 July 2009 Earlier
this month, President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia and leaders of
various Russian districts gathered in Arkhangelsk, near the shores of
the White Sea, to discuss the country’s still-recovering economy and
where energy — in all its manifestations — fits into the bigger picture. SCIENCE&IMPACTS----------------------------- Will Global Warming Melt the Permafrost Supporting the China-Tibet Railway? Abrahm Lustgarten, Scientific American, 21 July 2009 This
crucial line of transportation crosses the Tibetan Plateau, parts of
which are barely below freezing. Will any added warmth--either from
climate change or the railway itself--destabilize the track's frozen
foundation? ‘Motion Picture’ of past warming paves way for snapshots of future climate change 20.07.2009 By
accurately modeling Earth’s last major global warming — and answering
pressing questions about its causes — scientists led by a University of
Wisconsin-Madison climatologist are unraveling the intricacies of the
kind of abrupt climate shifts that may occur in the future. 35m people to be climate refugees by 2050 The New Nation, 26 July 2009 Experts
in a population and climate change programme observed that at least 35
million people have to migrate by 2030-50 as one third area of the
country will be submerged due to sea level rise for global warming. Revealed: the secret evidence of global warming Bush tried to hide Suzanne Goldenberg and Damian Carrington, The Observer, 26 July 2009 Photos
from US spy satellites declassified by the Obama White House provide
the first graphic images of how the polar ice sheets are retreating in
the summer. The effects on the world's weather, environments and
wildlife could be devastating AND Arctic sea ice extent tracking below 2008 Colorado River reservoirs could bottom out from warming, business-as-usual Innovations Report, 21 July 2009 All
reservoirs along the Colorado River might dry up by mid-century as the
West warms, a new study finds. The probability of such a severe
shortage by then runs as high as one-in-two, unless current
water-management practices change, the researchers report. Meltdown is a warning the world can't afford to ignore Robin McKie, The Observer, 26 July 2009 The
release of America's spy satellite images of Arctic sea ice provides
unexpected, dramatic new evidence about the dangers of global warming. Pacific less cloudy, suggesting faster warming The Age, 24 July 2009 Fewer
clouds dot the Pacific skies than a half-century ago, allowing the sun
beat to down on the sea and raise temperatures, according to scientists
who say the discovery means our planet may heat up more than forecast. ____ Climate change media to 14 July 2009
•••• Wild weather in the year ahead, scientists predict John Vidal, The Observer, 12 July 2009 Climate
scientists have warned of wild weather in the year ahead as the start
of the global "El Niño" phenomenon exacerbates the impact of global
warming. As well as droughts, floods and other extreme events, the next
few years are also likely to be the hottest on record, scientists say •••• Launch of Safe Climate Australia: Chilly reminder of potential disaster Olga Galacho, Herald-Sun, 15 July 2009 A
sobering reminder of the devastation wreaked by the Victorian bushfires
flashed before an audience of 1000 business elite invited to an
exclusive breakfast with climate change crusader Al Gore at Docklands
this week. AND Al Gore Warns Australia to Expect More Severe Bushfire •••• The rich can relax. We just need the poor world to cut emissions. By 125% George Monbiot, The Guardian, 13 July 2009 British and G8 climate strategy just doesn't add up. As soon as serious curbs are needed it turns into impossible nonsense. •••• Strategies to Address Global Warming & Is Sundance Kid a Criminal? James Hansen, 14 June 2009 http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2009/20090713_Strategies.pdf ENERGY&INNOVATION----------------------------- Wave machine could be key to industrial generation of renewables Charlene Sweeney, The Times, 9 July 2009 A
new wave-power machine that could generate up to ten times more energy
than existing versions may turn out to be “the missing link between
industrial-strength power generation and the renewables industry”,
according to experts. Just one device may be capable of producing
enough electricity to power an entire town. Buses May Aid Climate Battle in Poor Cities Elisabeth Rosenthal, New York Times, 9 July 2009 Like
most thoroughfares in booming cities of the developing world, Bogotá’s
Seventh Avenue resembles a noisy, exhaust-coated parking lot — a gluey
tangle of cars and the rickety, smoke-puffing private minibuses that
have long provided transportation for the masses. POLITICS&POLICY----------------------------- The Carbon Logic Problem Statement Ken Ward, Gristmill, 9 July 2009 Environmentalists
are trying to get out of a deep pit too, and in our push for
Waxman-Markey we are acting like the mountaineer, minister and
economist. We support ACES because, well, it’s there, and we are
accustomed to moving doggedly forward for the best we can get. We also
hope for deliverance via a gentle greening, where fossil fuels wither
away and a sustainable future of vegetable gardens, strong local
communities and good jobs blossoms. Finally, we have invested in what
may be termed serial delusional assumptions. Feuding climate camps seek Gore blessing Michael Bachelard, The Age, 12 July 2009 When
climate change guru Al Gore arrives in Melbourne today, he will find a
conservation movement in vitriolic disagreement with itself. Disillusioned Environmentalists Turn on Obama as Compromiser Leslie Kaugman, 10 July 2009 For
environmental activists like Jessica Miller, 31, the passage of a major
climate bill by the House last month should have been cause for
euphoria. Instead she felt cheated. Gore addresses young activists at climate conference Sydney Mornijng Herald, July 12, 2009 More
than 1000 people aged 15 to 25 have converged on Sydney to learn
political strategies for combating climate change, using lessons from
US President Barack Obama's election campaign. Turn up the Heat in the Climate Battle Michael Renner, Worldwatch Institute, 29 June 2009 While
compromise and horse-trading may be essential in politics, the Earth's
climate is not swayed by it. In light of the disappointing trajectory
of climate policymaking, environmentalists need to rediscover their
roots. The Two-Degree Solution By Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times/Dot Earth, 10 July 2009 After
years of resisting efforts to define a dangerous level of warming in
international climate discussions, the United States joined with the
rest of the world’s major industrial powers on Wednesday in a
(non-binding) pledge to avoid warming the planet beyond a threshold
long favored by European governments and many climate campaigners as a
no-go zone. Developing countries urge G8 to impose 40% emissions cut by 2020 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/10/developing-countries-emissions-cut-g8 Patrick Wintour, The Guardian, 10 July 2009 Diplomat says developing nations 'will commit once they have certainty that developed countries are commiting themselves' Can Barack Obama save us from hell? Geoffrey Lean, Telegraph, 9 July 2009 As
G8 leaders in L'Aquila wrestle with climate change, Geoffrey Lean
reports on the US President's mission to prevent global catastrophe. Big REDD Rhett Butler, Washington Monthly, July/August 2009 Right
now, there’s more money to be made cutting tropical forests down than
leaving them standing. Environmental policymakers are trying to reverse
that equation. Why it would be naive to abandon emissions negotiation at Copenhagen Jim Watson, Guardian, 9 July 2009 A new report advocates exclusive emphasis on clean technology – but rejecting emissions caps is simplistic and will not work Most Americans don't believe humans responsible for climate change, study finds Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian, 9 July 200 In contrast, scientists overwhelmingly believe global warming is caused by human activity Don't leave sacrifices to us, says India Matt Wade, The Age, 10 July 2009 For
many Indians, the global debate on climate change is all about justice.
There is a perception that rich countries are pushing for a carbon
emissions deal that will let their people live in relative affluence,
while tens of millions in countries like India remain trapped in
relative poverty. Just a load of hot air George Monbiot, The Guardian, 10 July 2009 A
book denying that climate change is man-made has been greeted with
derision by experts. So why, wonders George Monbiot, has the Spectator
swallowed the line so enthusiastically? SCIENCE&IMPACTS----------------------------- Victoria Fall Rain The planet's future: Climate change 'will cause civilisation to collapse' Jonathan Owen, The Independent, 12 July 2009 Authoritative new study sets out a grim vision of shortages and violence – but amid all the gloom, there is some hope too. Melt season in high gear NSIDC, 6 July 2009 The
Arctic is now in the midst of the summer melt season. Through most of
June, ice extent tracked below the 1979 to 2000 average, and slightly
above the levels recorded during June 2007. Warm temperatures and
southerly winds led to quickly declining ice concentration in some
regions, such as the Laptev Sea. Study suggests dry spells here to stay http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/09/2621591.htm ABC News, 9 July 09 The author of a new climate study commissioned by the Federal Government says people in southern parts of Australia can expect the dry weather in many areas to continue indefinitely. Indian monsoon among risks from rapid climate change David Fogarty, Reuters, 10 July 2009 10, 2009 3:27pm IST Rising
seas, a rapid weakening of the Indian monsoon and spiraling costs of
adapting to a warmer, drier world are just some of the looming risks
from rapid climate change, a report for the Australian government says. More on Thinning Arctic Sea Ice Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times/Dot Earth, 8 July 2009 I
sent some questions to some of the authors of the new study showing how
much the thickness and total volume of Arctic sea ice have declined
since 2003. Here’s a response from two of them, Ron Kwok and Jay
Zwally of NASA. THE RESEARCH New NASA Satellite Survey Reveals Dramatic Arctic Sea Ice Thinning ____ Climate change media to 8 July 2009
•••• Report: Climate Change 2009 - Faster Change and More Serious Risks Today
the Australian Government Department of Climate Change released a new
report prepared by Professor Will Steffen. The report draws on the
science of climate change since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change’s Fourth Assessment Report which was released in 2007. •••• Costa Rica is world's greenest, happiest country Latin American nation tops index ranking countries by ecological footprint and happiness of their citizens Ashley Seager, Guardian, 4 July 2009 •••• Global Carbon Project: Permafrost report A
new assessment published this week on the quantity of organic carbon
buried in the permafrost regions of the Northern Hemisphere, a key
vulnerability to future climate change. ENERGY & INNOVATION------------------------
Gore to launch green scheme in Melbourne http://www.theage.com.au/environment/gore-to-launch-green-scheme-in-melbourne-20090706-daho.html Paddy Manning, The Age, July 7, 2009 IT'S
not every superannuation fund boss who can persuade environmental
activist Al Gore to come to Melbourne to launch a plan to move
Australia to clean energy.
SCIENCE------------------------ Sea level rise: It's worse than we thought Anil Ananthaswamy, New Scientist, 1 July 2009 For
a few minutes David Holland forgets about his work and screams like a
kid on a roller coaster. The small helicopter he's riding in is
slaloming between towering cliffs of ice - the sheer sides of gigantic
icebergs that had calved off Greenland's Jakobshavn glacier. "It was
like in a James Bond movie," Holland says afterwards. "It's the most
exciting thing I have ever done." Arctic ice thinned dramatically since 2004 - NASA Reuters, 8 July 2009 Arctic
sea ice has thinned dramatically since 2004, with the older, thicker
ice giving way to a younger, thinner kind that melts in the northern
summer, NASA scientists reported on Tuesday. Green power saved earth from iceball fate 1st July 2009 Vegetation
helped save Earth from runaway cooling that would have encased the
planet in ice, according to a study published today. Global warming tactic cools climate but won’t help corals, say Stanford researchers Christine Blackman, Stanford Report, 2 July 2009 “Geoengineering”
experiments proposed to reduce global warming by blocking sunlight with
atmosphere-injected particles may cool the world but still leave carbon
dioxide levels dangerously high, Stanford scientists say. Emerging El Nino set to drive up carbon emissions David Fogarty, Reuters, 7 July 2009 Across
the globe an emerging El Nino weather pattern threatens to cause
droughts and floods and trigger a spike in planet-warming greenhouse
gas emissions from burning forests. Sydney's climate to 'become like Brisbane's' By Anna Salleh, ABC News Online, 6 July 2009 The
globe's tropical zone is expanding rapidly and by the end of the
century, Sydney's climate will be more like Brisbane's is today,
Australian experts say. FOR THE DENIERS------------- More bubkes Real Climate, 1 July 2009 Roger
Pielke Sr. has raised very strong allegations against RealClimate in a
recent blog post. Since they come from a scientific colleague, we
consider it worthwhile responding directly. |