Restoring carbon as soil organic matter part of the solution to climate change:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/201...
Climate Change: I don't want to talk about it
Wed, 2017-03-22 05:19
#302
Thu, 2017-03-23 12:56
#303
Climate change helped cause Brexit, says Al Gore
Former Vice President echoes warnings from US military that global warming is causing dangerous political instability
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/brexit-climate-change-al-gore-s...
Thu, 2017-03-23 13:15
#304
Study: Natural Gas Power Plants Emit up to 120 Times More Methane Than Previously Estimated
Researchers at Purdue University and the Environmental Defense Fund have concluded in a recent study that natural gas power plants release 21–120 times more methane than earlier estimates.
Published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, the study also found that for oil refineries, emission rates were 11–90 times more than initial estimates. Natural gas, long touted as a cleaner and more climate-friendly alternative to burning coal, is obtained in the U.S. mostly via the controversial horizontal drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”).
Fri, 2017-03-24 13:47
#305
Mon, 2017-03-27 15:19
#306
Scientists made a detailed “roadmap” for meeting the Paris climate goals. It’s eye-opening.
quote:
A simple (but daunting!) road map for staying below 2°C
They start with the big picture: To hit the Paris climate goals without geoengineering, the world has to do three broad (and incredibly ambitious) things:
1) Global CO2 emissions from energy and industry have to fall in half each decade. That is, in the 2020s, the world cuts emissions in half. Then we do it again in the 2030s. Then we do it again in the 2040s. They dub this a “carbon law.” Lead author Johan Rockström told me they were thinking of an analogy to Moore’s law for transistors; we’ll see why.
2) Net emissions from land use — i.e., from agriculture and deforestation — have to fall steadily to zero by 2050. This would need to happen even as the world population grows and we’re feeding ever more people.
3) Technologies to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere have to start scaling up massively, until we’re artificially pulling 5 gigatons of CO2 per year out of the atmosphere by 2050 — nearly double what all the world’s trees and soils already do.
Wed, 2017-03-29 13:02
#307
China Poised to Take Lead on Climate After Trump’s Move to Undo Policies
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/world/asia/trump-climate-change-paris...
Wed, 2017-03-29 14:23
#308
US Media’s Global Warming Denialism
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/03/27/us-medias-global-warming-denialism/
Mon, 2017-04-10 09:49
#309
Scientists understood the climate 150 years ago better than the US EPA head today:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/20...
It's amazing that deniers seem to think that climate change is some kind of modern left-wing conspiracy. Groupthink and laziness I suppose.
Fri, 2017-04-14 14:27
#310
The New World Order: Failing States and Collapsing Systems (thetyee.ca)
Our global dramas are now driven by the end of cheap energy, journalist Nafeez Ahmed argues.
Fri, 2017-04-14 16:58
#311
White House showdown on Paris deal set for next week
Advisers and Cabinet officials hope to reach consensus Tuesday, though that could prove difficult: They're still divided over whether to abandon the agreement.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/paris-climate-pact-trump-white-hou...
Sun, 2017-04-16 14:29
#312
Hidden from the general public's view is that sea levels will be rising much quicker than most people expect as the business community continues to disregard our global warming signs.
Greenland Glacier Rift Could Worsen Rising Sea Levels
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/04/15/greenland-glacier_n_16036984.html
Mon, 2017-04-17 12:15
#313
NASA Is Digging In The Snow To Help The West Manage Its Water
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/nasa-is-digging-in-the-snow-to-help...
Mon, 2017-04-17 12:29
#314
For the first time on record, human-caused climate change has rerouted an entire river
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/17/for...
Sun, 2017-04-23 11:19
#315
Mon, 2017-04-24 14:34
#316
Trudeau government delays climate action after oil patch lobbying
The Trudeau government and the oil patch are in agreement: Canada needs to delay plans to reduce the heat-trapping pollution that causes climate change because those actions will cost too much.
It’s a stunning retreat from key promises and statements made by the government since its election in 2015. And it has left some environmentalists wondering whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is following the Trump administration’s race to the bottom on climate policy....
Fri, 2017-05-05 13:25
#317
There is increasing evidence that as the atmosphere warms due to global warming our boreal softwood forests and the potential for jobs that they represent are not only at threat from the increased number and intensity of forest fires, such as the one that devastated Fort McMurray, but also from their ability to regenerate themselves. As the climate warms, forests that have burned down are more and more replaced by shrubland.
The ability of some Western conifer forests to recover after severe fire may become increasingly limited as the climate continues to warm, scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and Harvard Forest found in a new study published in Global Change Biology. Although most of these cone-bearing evergreen trees are well adapted to fire, the study examines whether two likely facets of climate change -- hotter, drier conditions and larger, more frequent and severe wildfires -- could potentially transform landscapes from forested to shrub-dominated systems.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170427112211.htm
Mon, 2017-06-05 17:59
#318
France Declares All New Rooftops Must Be Topped With Plants Or Solar Panels
A new law recently passed in France mandates that all new buildings that are built in commercial zones in France must be partially covered in either plants or solar panels.
Green roofs, as they are called, have an isolating effect which helps to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building during the winter or cool it in the summer.
They are capable of retaining rainwater and reducing problems with runoff, and also offer birds a place to call home in the urban jungle....
Thu, 2017-07-06 10:01
#319
'Talk Is Cheap': G20 Told to End Public Subsidy of All Dirty Fuels by 2020
Extreme weather trends continue. CO2 emissions remain above the safe threshold. And President Donald Trump's decision to ditch the Paris climate pact underscores the need for other world leaders to live up to their promises to uphold the accord.
But a new report by a group of environmental advocacy organizations presents a sobering finding: G20 governments are bankrolling fossil fuel projects big time. In fact, they're pouring four times more public finance into fossil fuels than they are into clean energy projects.
Released Wednesday by Oil Change International, Friends of the Earth U.S., the Sierra Club, and WWF European Policy Office, Talk Is Cheap: How G20 Governments Are Financing Climate Disaster shows that between 2013 and 2015, public fossil fuel financing from these countries added up to over $71.8 billion annually. The bulk of that amount—84 percent—funded oil and gas projects. Public financing for clean energy, meanwhile, averaged just $18.7 billion annually during that time frame....
Mon, 2017-07-10 20:08
#320
Tue, 2017-07-11 14:43
#321
..when we talk about about stopping climate change from progressing quickly it sounds like an insurmountable task. not so much if know where to focus our attention. in this study names are attached.
What is Carbon Majors?
“Carbon Majors” refers to a groundbreaking peer-reviewed study published in the scientific journal Climatic Change. The study’s published title is “Tracing anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane emissions to fossil fuel and cement producers, 1854-2010.”
The Carbon Majors study is the culmination of more than eight years of work by Richard Heede, Director & Chief Geographer, Climate Accountability Institute, based in Snowmass, Colorado.
In groundbreaking peer-reviewed research forthcoming in Climatic Change, researcher Richard Heede offers the most complete picture to date of which institutions have extracted the fossil fuels that have been the root cause of global warming since the Industrial Revolution.
Rather than attribute emissions to nations, the study aggregates historical emissions according to carbon producing entities themselves. Heede concludes that nearly two-thirds of carbon dioxide emitted since the 1750s can be traced to the 90 largest fossil fuel and cement producers, most of which still operate. online
The research attributes 63 percent of the carbon dioxide and methane emitted between 1751 and 2010 to just 90 entities. Fifty are investor-owned companies such as Chevron, Peabody, Shell, and BHP Billiton. Thirty-one are state-owned companies such as Saudi Aramco and Statoil, and nine are government-run industries in countries such as China, Poland, and the former Soviet Union. The research also classified the 90 entities according to type of fossil fuel extracted and marketed.
There are 56 oil and natural gas companies, and 37 coal producers. In addition, the CO2 emissions from seven cement manufacturers are included.
Top 20 investor- and state-owned entities and attributed CO2 & CH4 emissions 2010....
Fri, 2017-07-21 03:42
#322
Fri, 2017-07-21 03:52
#323
Nature journal issue on climate change:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v458/n7242/full/4581077a.html
Sat, 2017-07-22 13:36
#324
Our Best Shot at Meeting Paris Goals? Make Energy Public
Mayors across the country have vowed to deliver on the goals of the Paris climate accord in defiance of President Trump’s decision to back out. But how can they, realistically, when the national government is questioning climate science and promoting coal, fracking, and pipelines?
Simply put: Make energy public. Instead of privatizing city services, as some policymakers have long advocated, a new report shows that public ownership gives cities and towns the best shot at meeting renewable energy and efficiency targets.
“Reclaiming Public Services: How Cities and Citizens are Turning Back Privatization,” a study by the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute, challenges the ideas that governments are ineffective service providers, that private companies are more efficient, and that austerity budgeting and reductions in public service are inevitable....
Tue, 2017-07-25 02:34
#325
Tue, 2017-08-01 16:16
#326
Study suggests Earth to warm more than 2 degrees C. this century:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/earth-to-warm-more-than-2c-1.4228914
Sun, 2017-08-27 15:46
#327
Harvard scientists take up Exxon challenge and find shocking climate change deception
Two Harvard University scientists who accepted a reading challenge from ExxonMobil have concluded that the company deliberately misled the public on climate change for years.
Earlier this week, researchers Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes published a peer-reviewed study that analyzed 187 of Exxon’s climate change communications beginning in 1977.
The documents included a variety of published academic papers, internal exchanges and paid advertorials, which were checked for consistency in their messaging on climate change as a “real, human-caused, serious and solvable” problem.
The study was launched in response to a public challenge from Exxon, the world’s largest oil company, to “read all of these documents and make up your own mind” as it faced mounting accusations in 2015 that it had deceived shareholders and the public on global warming.
Exxon did not respond to requests for comment on this story, but has been quoted in other media outlets dismissing the study as “inaccurate and preposterous.”....
Wed, 2017-08-30 12:46
#328
A million bottles a minute: world's plastic binge 'as dangerous as climate change'
A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and the number will jump another 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as serious as climate change.
New figures obtained by the Guardian reveal the surge in usage of plastic bottles, more than half a trillion of which will be sold annually by the end of the decade.
The demand, equivalent to about 20,000 bottles being bought every second, is driven by an apparently insatiable desire for bottled water and the spread of a western, urbanised “on the go” culture to China and the Asia Pacific region....
Thu, 2017-08-31 15:20
#329
We Can't Be Silent on Climate Change or the Unsustainability of Capitalist System
quote:
GEORGE MONBIOT: Well, "climate change" is a curiously bland term to describe our greatest crisis, our huge human predicament, that will inevitably lead to catastrophe if we don’t take drastic action to prevent it. It’s a bit like calling a foreign invasion "unexpected guests." It’s that crazily bland, for something which is going to have such an enormous impact on our lives, and, as we’ve just been hearing, has already had such an enormous impact on many people’s lives around the world. And unless you use the right language to describe what you’re talking about, you mislead people as to what the likely implications of that are. And by talking about climate change as if it—"You know, it could be a good thing, could be a bad thing, who knows? It might be a neutral thing. You know, we like a bit of climate change, don’t we? We like it when the winter gives way to summer"—we suggest that this huge catastrophe might not be a catastrophe at all. I don’t think "climate breakdown" is the perfect term. I can’t quite put my finger on the right term, but I think it comes a lot closer to what we need to be saying than "climate change" does.
quote:
GEORGE MONBIOT: It’s an extraordinary thing to contemplate, isn’t it? That the part of the world worst hit by current flooding is not actually Texas. Disastrous, catastrophic as it is in Texas, it is now even worse particularly in India and Bangladesh and Nepal, where we’re seeing huge, horrendous levels of flooding, 40 million people affected by it, 1,200 people dead, basically the complete shutdown of the economy, of public life, of private life across a great swathe of those countries. And yet, there’s almost media silence throughout the rich world.
This week in the U.K., we’ve been hearing a lot about Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been in the headlines for the last two days, and there’s been loads of commentary written about it. Why is that? Because Bangladesh won the cricket against Australia. I’m quite serious. This is a country in which 6.9 million people are now displaced by flooding, in which a third of the country is underwater, in which hundreds have died. We don’t yet know how many, because it will be a long time before that count is ever made, if it is made at all. Loads of children can no longer go to school. It’s a total disruption, devastation of that country. And finally, it features in the news, because of the cricket.
quote:
GEORGE MONBIOT: Right. We need a radical change, driven by the need to prevent this catastrophe, to both politics and economics. And an economic system which depends on perpetual growth on a finite planet is destined to deliver disaster. We need a new economy built around the commons, built around community ownership of local resources, inalienable ownership of those resources, which are not expected to deliver more and more and more money, but are expected to deliver continued and steady prosperity to the people of those communities and the people of this planet. The system we have at the moment, which is about accumulation, the accumulation of capital, the continuation of growth, in a planet which does not itself grow, that system is destined to push us over the cliff.
Sat, 2017-11-11 14:58
#330
Project Drawdown is the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. Our organization did not make or devise the plan—we found the plan because it already exists. We gathered a qualified and diverse group of researchers from around the world to identify, research, and model the 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change. What was uncovered is a path forward that can roll back global warming within thirty years. It shows that humanity has the means at hand. Nothing new needs to be invented. The solutions are in place and in action. Our work is to accelerate the knowledge and growth of what is possible. We chose the name Drawdown because if we do not name the goal, we are unlikely to achieve it.
Drawdown is based on meticulous research that maps, measures, models, and describes the most substantive solutions to global warming that already exist. It is the most important goal for humanity to undertake.
Mon, 2017-11-13 19:59
#331
Over 15,000 Scientists Just Issued a 'Second Notice' to Humanity. Can We Listen Now?
Yikes.
Over 15,000 scientists hailing from more than 180 countries just issued a dire warning to humanity:
"Time is running out" to stop business as usual, as threats from rising greenhouse gases to biodiversity loss are pushing the biosphere to the brink.
The new warning was published Monday in the international journal BioScience, and marks an update to the "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity" issued by nearly 1,700 leading scientists 25 years ago.
The 1992 plea, which said Earth was on track to be "irretrievably mutilated" baring "fundamental change," however, was largely unheeded.
"Some people might be tempted to dismiss this evidence and think we are just being alarmist," said William Ripple, distinguished professor in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University, and lead author of the new warning. "Scientists are in the business of analyzing data and looking at the long-term consequences. Those who signed this second warning aren't just raising a false alarm. They are acknowledging the obvious signs that we are heading down an unsustainable path."....
Sat, 2017-11-25 00:02
#332
Global warming hiatus never happened:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/climate/global-warming-hiatus-never-happened
Sun, 2017-12-24 02:39
#333
Natural gas has no climate benefit and may make things worse:
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2017-11-14/natural-gas-has-no-climate-...
Sat, 2018-01-13 14:01
#334
Global Warming Stirs The Methane Monster
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/01/12/global-warming-stirs-the-methane...
"...An impending disaster seems destined to happen."
Tue, 2018-03-06 21:42
#335
The Arctic Heats Up In The Dead of Winter
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/03/06/the-arctic-heats-up-in-the-dead-...
"Every once in a while a climactic event hits that forces people to sit down to catch their breath. Along those lines, abnormal Arctic heatwaves in the dead of winter may force scientists to revaluate downwards (or maybe upwards depending) their most pessimistic of forecasts.
In a remarkable, mindboggling turn of events, thick ice in early February by month's end turned into wide open blue water, metaphorically equivalent to an airline passenger at 35,000 feet watching rivets pop off the fuselage..."
Wed, 2018-03-07 12:58
#336
Electric cars are the future, eh. Perhaps but they have a long, long, way to go. Only 1.5 cars out of 1,000 cars sold are electic. So in other words, presently 0.0015% of all cars presently being sold are electric cars.
Wed, 2018-03-07 13:02
#337
Electric cars are the future, eh. Perhaps but they have a long, long, way to go. Only 1.5 cars out of 1,000 cars sold are electic. So in other words, presently 0.0015% of all cars presently being sold are electric cars.
1.5 in a thousand = 0.15%
Wed, 2018-03-07 18:26
#338
The point of the matter is it is less than 1%, so electric cars will not be taking over anytime soon, and the death of the oil and gas industry is highly premature, and not one country meets is climate change targets
Wed, 2018-03-07 18:36
#339
The Curse of Energy Efficiency
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/02/26/Energy-Efficiency-Curse/
Thu, 2018-03-15 01:04
#340
CP Radio: Dahr Jamail - Episode 98 (audio) *Must Hear*
https://store.counterpunch.org/dahr-jamail-episode-98/
Eric discusses climate crisis with Dahr Jamail...
Thu, 2018-03-15 03:14
#341
The point of the matter is it is less than 1%, so electric cars will not be taking over anytime soon, and the death of the oil and gas industry is highly premature, and not one country meets is climate change targets
It seems to me that Smartphones were also not that prevelant 15 years ago so technology can change quickly. It'll be interesting to see how many electric vehicles are around in 15 years. The big auto makers seem to be banking on an electric vehicle revolution.
Mon, 2018-03-26 22:38
#342
The Many Ends of Planet Earth
New book examines the mega-disasters in our past, and what lies ahead.
‘We take our existence for granted, when it’s statistically almost impossible. Between nuclear weapons and anthropogenic climate change, we’re lengthening the odds against our survival still more.’ Photo by texaus1, Creative Commons licensed.
- The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions
- Peter Brannen
- HarperCollins (2017)
Opponents of action to curb global warming have long argued that climate change is natural, and happened long before humans ever discovered fire. So there’s no point in blaming ourselves, let alone trying to do something about it.
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But as The Ends of the World points out, we are currently living in an ice age, and civilization has flourished in a 12,000-year-long interglacial period. Most interglacials last about 10,000 years, and without human activity the glaciers would now be building up, not melting away.
But even 10,000 years offer little real perspective on our present situation. Peter Brannen takes us back half a billion years and then forward to each of the five mass extinctions that life on Earth has endured. Each destroyed a rich and complex world, leaving few survivors to evolve and replace it. We are now supposedly in the Sixth Extinction, destroying species through hunting, habitat destruction, our sheer numbers and the climate change we’ve caused.
True enough, no doubt, but natural forces have been far more thorough than we could ever be.
https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2018/03/26/Many-Ends-Planet-Earth/
Mon, 2018-03-26 22:45
#343
It's a good thing Liberal and NDP governments are implementing carbon-taxes.
Sun, 2018-04-15 17:07
#344
Trial Date Set for Groundbreaking Kids' Climate Lawsuit
A trial date of Oct. 29 has been set for a landmark climate change lawsuit brought by a group of young Americans despite the Trump administration's efforts to halt the case.
Juliana v. United States was filed in 2015 on behalf of 21 plaintiffs who ranged between 8 to 19 years old at the time. They allege their constitutional and public trust rights are being violated by the government's creation of a national energy system that causes dangerous climate change.
The trial will be heard before U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene, Oregon, according to Our Children's Trust, the non-profit group supporting the plaintiffs. Aiken joined the court in 1998 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton.
“We have our trial date. In the coming months there will be depositions of the parties, defendants' disclosure of their experts, and expert depositions in late summer. We will build a full factual record for trial so that the Court can make the best informed decision in this crucial constitutional case,” said Julia Olson, executive director of Our Children's Trust and co-lead counsel for the youth plaintiffs, in a statement....
Sun, 2018-04-15 18:01
#345
Juliana v. United States was filed in 2015 on behalf of 21 plaintiffs who ranged between 8 to 19 years old at the time.
What kind of Grinch could say no to an adorable 8 year old who presents clear and relevant testimony against "Foffil fuels"?
I'm not arguing against a cleaner world here, but conscripting 8 year olds (when, in reality, they're represented by their parents or legal guardians) is literally no different from Demeny voting. Conservatives have been pushing for that shit for years.
Sun, 2018-04-15 18:16
#346
Not to mention having courts make climate policy in that way is a horrifying idea. I usually roll my eyes at the American right wing whining about judicial overreach and activist judges, but the idea of judges creating the legal "right to a stable climate and healthy atmosphere" is staggering in its implications, not least because the (global) climate and (entire) atmosphere aren't actually the jurisdiction of the United States.
Sun, 2018-04-15 18:51
#347
but the idea of judges creating the legal "right to a stable climate and healthy atmosphere" is staggering in its implications, not least because the (global) climate and (entire) atmosphere aren't actually the jurisdiction of the United States.
+1.
It might also be just the eensiest, weensiest bit vague. It would make a great Mission Statement for someone. But are these 8 year olds telling us we need to stop eating meat? Stop driving them to sports practice in a gasoline powered vehicle? Buy them a renewable, organic Corn Doll instead of a PlayStation made of non-biodegradable materials and assembled by a sweatshop worker? That's less clear. What SPECIFIC action(s) will make the world they want?
It's probably past their bedtime, but let's let those 8 year olds weigh in tomorrow.
Sun, 2018-04-15 19:47
#348
..i remember it was some time ago when this case got started. many were also called it manipulation. but after listening to the kids themselves well it was nothing as you describe magoo. the kids were knowledgeable and independent like so many kids can be if allowed to be.
..and cco who do you think will fix the problems?
..certainly not the feds, not the democrats, not the states in my view and probably yours. so why not have the kids do this? if judgement goes against no surprise but maybe there will be a partial victory in there somewhere. this has brought a lot of publicity so far and more than likely inspiration to a lot of other young ones.
Sun, 2018-04-15 19:54
#349
edit oops! wrong thread
Sun, 2018-04-15 20:38
#350
but after listening to the kids themselves well it was nothing as you describe magoo. the kids were knowledgeable and independent like so many kids can be if allowed to be.
When kids parrot something some adults agree with, those adults say "out of the mouths of babes...".
When those same kids want a tattoo, or birthday cake for dinner, or a 12am bedtime, or to eat Tide Pods, the adults say "Sadly, they're but babes..."
Sun, 2018-04-15 20:55
#351
..i remember it was some time ago when this case got started. many were also called it manipulation. but after listening to the kids themselves well it was nothing as you describe magoo. the kids were knowledgeable and independent like so many kids can be if allowed to be.
..and cco who do you think will fix the problems?
..certainly not the feds, not the democrats, not the states in my view and probably yours. so why not have the kids do this? if judgement goes against no surprise but maybe there will be a partial victory in there somewhere. this has brought a lot of publicity so far and more than likely inspiration to a lot of other young ones.
My issue's not with "the kids", and it's certainly not with their cause. It's with the method of action they're choosing. If there's court precedent to the effect that courts can actively legislate (not just strike down) environmental policy based on nebulously defined rights of a random group of plaintiffs who fear for their future, get ready for court-imposed abortion bans based on the future rights of zygotes, courts ordering the military to invade Pakistan because they're up to something shifty that could injure those kids in the future, and just generally courts (overwhelmingly filled with old white men) stepping out of their constitutionally designated role of interpreting the law and into a new one of actively making policy.
If it seems like a cute, original, and perhaps inspiring way of fixing a political problem the democratically elected branches can't, just wait until the first judge makes a sweeping ruling ordering the enactment of policy you and a strong majority of others oppose. Remember, there's no notwithstanding clause in the US.
Think the Canadian Senate is bad? This would be a precedent like an even whiter, more male, vastly more conservative version of the Senate being where most bills are originated, with the Commons being relegated to a secondary role, while the Senate also had the right, not just to defeat, but to instantly strike down and rule unconstitutional anything the Commons had ever passed. It'd be a collapse of the separation of powers. If you think American democracy's having a rough go of it right now, good luck with American kritarchy.