10 Green New Year Resolutions

Cut down on water useHow much? Sydney Water will do everything you need for just $22.How hard? One phone call.Links WaterFixSign up for GreenPowerHow much? Between $4 and $8.50 extra a week for the average family.How hard? A couple of phone calls.Links GreenPower schemeGreen Electricity WatchHow much? A 23W Megaman CFL bulb that replaces a standard 125W light costs $19.25 from Todae (

2007 — when global warming finally cut through

clipped from www.desmogblog.comHark, The Herald (And Lots of Other Papers) Finally Sing About The Climate 24 Dec 07 Big wake-up to global warmingTo illustrate, the Philadelphia Inquirer tracked the number of times the term "global warming" was mentioned in their paper over the years. In 2007 "global

GWW 2007 Highlight — The UN Bali Climate Change Conference

I didn't have to look far back over 2007 for the year's climate change highlight — I didn't get past the exciting outcome from the UN Bali Climate Change for two weeks starting in early December. Trawling the Internet, I find I have been getting a much better sense of the nail-biting excitement from the Bali Conference bloggers, than from msm reports. And I have a gratifying sense that we have

What's traditional about an explosive grenade harpoon?

Dr Kumi Kato, a lecturer in the school of languages and comparative cultural studies at the University of Queensland, dispassionately looks at the claims of the Japanese whalers to hunting rights based on cultural identity.Articulately arguing for a sustainable way forward that recognises the claims of some Japanese to a whaling tradition, while exploding the 'research' myth, it bears

Japan please stop your whalers killing for 'research'

We have a great relationship between our two countries, so I am sure we can resolve the whaling issue and move onto bigger an better things. clipped from www.news.com.auOur petition, created in consultation with environmental campaigners Greenpeace, aims to show Japanese people the intensity of feeling in

Rudd government more different by the day

The real 'me-too' nature of the one-month old Australian Federal Labor is becoming more apparent with each passing day.Day One. Kevin Rudd made good his election promise by triggering the instrument that sets in process the Australian Government ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, as his first act of government. It was signed hours after the new Labor cabinet was sworn in by the Governor-General,

Revolving Doors' reaction to Bali breakthrough

."YES!" Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Calvin Jones' Bali breakdown

Calvin Jones of Climate Change Action offers his Bali Overview:It's complex! (and that's becoming problematic)Linking national cap and trade with international climate fundsDeforestation progress on funding and structure (with unwelcome guest)Australia ratifies but fails to take the leadTwo degree consensus approaching: just adopt c&c you fools!CDM ReviewAdaptation Fund Technology TransferClick

Bali agreement on a 2009 climate pact

Bloody hell, how hard is it for the US to accept the science? What an other-world reality they have about global warming. Complete denial is head-shaking stuff, but, hey, we were there not a month ago living under John Howard's special brand of 25 stations, nuclear-powered delusion.Reality bumped Howard out of the way, and put Kyoto Kevin on the winner's dais.And reality is crudely bumping a

Bali deal deadline over, talks continue

Come on guys, get it together. clipped from news.bbc.co.ukThe UN climate summit in Bali is "on the brink" of a deal, according to the UN's senior climate official, as talks look set to extend into an extra day.The EU has been pressing for a final text committing industrialised nations to specified emissions cuts,

Rudd the Ratifier clarifys Australia's Kyoto intentions

...to another round of applause at Bali. This time to the high-level Heads of State meeting. clipped from www.smh.com.auPrime Minister Kevin Rudd has told world leaders in Bali that climate change is thedefining challenge of this generation, and says Australia standsready to respond to the problem.The community of

Singapore PM has a go at Howard's climate policies

There must be a great depth of feeling for the Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, normally circumspect, to take a passing shot at the ex-Prime Minister, John Howard for his climate change recalcitrance. He also gave the US a poke in the ribs. clipped from www.smh.com.auSingapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien

Open email to Wayne Swan, Federal Treasurer

To: Wayne Swan, Federal Treasurer Cc: Tim Blair, Daily Telegraph Bcc: Global Warming WatchRe: Gettin' me some of that Global Warming ReligionDear Mr Swan,Firstly, thank you for organising with Tim to answer the questions raised by his thought-provoking article in Saturday's Daily Telegraph.Any questions about this column should be addressed to wayne.swan.mp@aph.gov.au.I wondered about the wisdom

7 Thinking Errors You Probably Make

Common thinking errors explained, each backed by a scientific study. Food for thought! clipped from www.lifehack.orgThe brain isn’t a flawless piece of machinery. Although it is powerful and comes in an easy to carry container, it has it’s weaknesses. A field in psychology which studies these errors, known as

Bush systematically mislead US on climate change

clipped from english.aljazeera.netThe White House has systematically manipulated climate science for years to play down the dangers of global warming, a US congressional report says. Monday's report, prepared by Democrats after a 16-month investigation, came as the Bush administration pressed a UN climate meeting

Howard years saw 42% increase in carbon emissions

That will be his legacy. clipped from www.smh.com.auAUSTRALIA has been named as one of the top three world greenhouse gas "sinners" by a European environmental report, ranking it with the United States and Saudi Arabia for failing its responsibilities towards the global environment."The worst climate sinners are

Global warming denier's get no hearing in Bali

Andrew Bolt is apoplectic. Since the Bali Conference began, he has devoted six posts to bagging it. Here is his latest. clipped from blogs.news.com.auWith 15,000 global warming believers already choking the UN’s conference on how to cut the gases they emitted just getting there, it’s natural a few had to excluded.

Having Sex without Gravity

Only four positions? clipped from www.guardian.co.ukUS and Russian astronauts have had sex in space for separate research programmes on how human beings might survive years in orbit, according to a book published yesterday. Pierre Kohler, a respected French scientific writer, says in The Final Mission: Mir, The

Labor's climate change policies will 'boost Aust credibility'

The previous govt was mainly interested in developing ways that the uranium industry could take over from the oil industry. clipped from www.abc.net.auThe head of a climate change review commissioned by state and territory leaders earlier this year says Labor's policies will go a long way to boosting Australia's

Rudd backs deep 2020 emissions cuts

During the election campaign, Kevin Rudd has repeatedly said that Australia would not set its own 2020 target until he received a report from economist Ross Garnaut next year. But when he arrives in Bali next week he will face international expectations from Europe, China and Indonesia to make Australia's position clear whether, having ratified the Kyoto Protocol, it is committed to its own deep

Chinese whispers at Bali Climate Conference

I heard on the radio that the Chinese are giving the developed world a bollocking over their emissions targets. Fair call. They have more people that will be affected than anyone else.So I trotted over to China Daily (I'm becoming a regular these days), and found out that,..China is well on its way to acquiring fully 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020, while the

Blogging yer Bali Conference

Kyoto Kevin, Rudd the Ratifier, well done! Kevin Rudd made good his election promise by triggering the instrument that sets in process the Australian Government ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, as his first act of Government. It was signed hours after the new Labor cabinet was sworn in by the Governor-General, Sir Michael Jeffrey. Bizarre that the English Queen still has a hand in all this —

World's big companies want clear climate outcomes from Bali

clipped from www.ajc.comForty-six of the world's biggest corporations on Friday laid out their "road map" for reducing global warming, putting an emphasis on market-based ways to cut emissions. "Climate change is a serious threat," said Peter Darbee, chairman and chief executive of PG&E Corp., a San

Rudd wins Australian Federal Election on Green vote

Well, that is it. The Australian electorate so convincingly repudiated the meanness and pettiness that became there trademark of the Howard Liberal government. Some rejected Howard's attack on refugees, and their inhumane detention centres. Some rejected the lies, and broken core-promise/non core-promise distinctions. Some rejected the way Hicks was treated in Gitmo Bay. WMB. Many rejected the

GHG set to rise by 57 percent by 2030 — that's 3 degrees C

We have to peak by 2012, or... clipped from www.terradaily.com Emissions of greenhouse gases will rise by 57 percent by 2030 compared to current levels, leading to a rise in Earth's surface temperature of at least three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit), the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on

IPCC Synthesis "...abrupt or irreversible climate changes and impacts..."

Heart-heavy reading, with an impact like the doctor telling you that you have a very serious problem:clipped from abc.net.auGlobal warming could be irreversible: IPCCPosted 2 hours 48 minutes ago — AAP The UN's Nobel-winning panel on climate change completed a draft report that said the consequences of global

UK law mandates 60% emissions cuts by 2050

Good effort by the UK Government under Gordon Brown — becoming the first nation in history to put carbon emissions reductions into law.Prime Minister Gordon Brown has committed the UK to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60% before 2050 to help tackle global warming.While the bill will also enforce reductions of greenhouse gas emissions of between 26% and 32% by 2020, Mr Brown previously said

Most of world ready to combat global warming. Someone tell the politicians

A major change in how we tackle climate change is around the corner, if a new BBC Poll is on the money... clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Most ready for 'green sacrifices' The poll suggests the public are more ready than politicians Most people are ready to make personal sacrifices to address

How much scientific abuse can a polar bear?

A favourite deceit of AGW sceptics is to present Bjorn Lomberg as a "scientist." He isn't. His PhD is in Political Science — a humanity.There are different methodologies between those used in "hard" and social sciences. Social sciences don't really use the scientific method. This is clearly demonstrated through out a recent Salon.com interview with Bjorn, and was especially telling in the

Vote 1 — responsible approach to climate change

The main question for me in the Australian Federal Election, with three weeks to go (thank god) is, "who now has the best climate change policy?" Of course the economy is important, but how can anyone not see that the economy is but a sub-system within a larger environment? A failing environment will ultimately cause a failing economy. Health, education — they are all up there for me — but they

10 year old boy masters 10 languages using CD-Roms

One boy's amazing gift keeps on giving — for ten countries so far. clipped from www.mirror.co.ukA boy genius of 10 has stunned teachers by learning to speak 10 languages.Arpan Sharma taught himself French, Spanish, German, Italian, Swahili, Mandarin, Polish, Thai and the difficult Lugandan language of Uganda. He

Californian dreaming of massive plankton CO2 sequestering

Global warming is going to be fought and solved in myriads of ways, and enterprise is going to be one one the the major players. Here is one possible way to fight global warming developed by a Californian eco-restoration firm, Planktos — by restoring marine plankton levels to 1980 levels.clipped from

Things we can learn from flies

A fly goes into a barn and sees a fresh cow pat on which he immediately begins to gorge himself, to extent that he is unable to fly. Seeing a rake leaning against a wall he reasons that if he climbs up the handle and flies off he should become airborne. He does this but crashes to his death.Moral of story: Don’t fly of the handle when you’re full off shit!

Arctic melt drives Alaskan Walrus onto land

The Warlus are shifting onto the land. "The Big question is, whether they'll find sufficient prey where they are looking".Clip stolen from Pokkets: clipped from www.mail.comBy DAN JOLING Thousands of walrus have appeared on Alaska's northwest coast in what conservationists are calling a dramatic consequence of

Polar bears on the way out

U.S. Ge­o­log­i­cal Sur­vey sci­en­tists do not hold out much hope that car­bon di­ox­ide can be turned around in time to help the po­lar bears... clipped from www.world-science.netReport: Most polar bears to die out by 2050Two-thirds of the world’s po­lar bears will be killed off by 2050 — and the en­tire

Consumerism: The Musical

Encore.... encore...clipped from www.grist.org

Car makers abandon petrol for electricity

This is a big shift in our energy balance. With car manufacturers desperately trying to "counter a backlash" against the fuel guzzlers, by capitalising on the run away success of Toyota's Prius, they are articulating their solution to emissions problems, a flick pass to the electricity providers. Bob Lutz, GM of Product Planning puts it bluntly, "If people want an electric car, we can deliver it

Right Brain vs Left Brain test

I can only see her moving clockwise! clipped from www.news.com.auTHE Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise? If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa. Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try

UK scientists defend Gore film

clipped from news.bbc.co.ukTwo of the UK's leading climate scientists have hit out at the judge who made the controversial ruling last week on Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient TruthProfessor Chris Rapley, head of the Science Museum (and also a Gore science adviser) and Professor John Shepherd from the National

Melt opens Northwest Passage to science

I'm all for science, but I would have preferred the Northwest Passage frozen. clipped from news.bbc.co.ukOn Monday, the Canadian Coast Guard is preparing to send one its research vessels, the Amundsen, through the Northwest Passage with about 40 scientists on board. Equipped with a remotely operated robot

Peak fitness hour

National Ride to Work was an unmitigated success, given that the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, pledged $30 million over five years to construct 55 kilometres of separated cycle ways.I am yet to bite the bullet, giving in easily to my partner's argument that the 50km round trip is too far. I will let loyal blog readers know if and when I change my mind. Anyone a cyclist? Is 50km too much

World poll tolls death knell for global warming denialists

I really like my BBC climate change news feed I embedded into my Firefox browser. Love it.For example, coming up for quick air during a hard stint working, I mouseover the feed icon, to catch up on GW headlines of news pieces I may have missed over the last three weeks or so.Seems I missed a sweet moment of poignancy when Howard was hosting his fascist-fence APEC green-bath with Bush, selling us

Dreaded hyacinth returns to Lake Victoria, wreaks havoc

Can't beat that for a headline, so I am stealing it. clipped from www.mcclatchydc.com OFF THE SHORES OF LAKE VICTORIA, Kenya — The common water hyacinth, a floating weed that's spreading across the world's largest tropical lake like a moss-green carpet, is known to botanists as "Eichhornia crassipes." Fishermen

Australia 10 England 12

Bugger that. Well done England. I'm getting some sleep. Good luck NZ in yr game against France. clipped from www.rugbyheaven.com.auAustralia 10 England 12John Connolly's worst nightmares came to fruition as England'sJonny Wilkinson kicked the Wallabies out of the World Cup with a12-10 quarter-final boilover at

ANZ calls independent Gunns pump mill environmental assessment.

The ANZ is creating an image for itself as a greener bank, as I discovered when researching who is behind Project Andromeda, a climate initiative by business.So, what are they going to do about the Gunns pulp mill, which as already pulped Turnbull and Garrett and it is only in approval stage? As Gunns' bank for the last 20 years, they face a dilemma.They have gone public when they could have

Wallabies — 24, England — 15

That's my prediction for the game tonight. The Rugby Heaven article linked reckons it will all come down to how well we can tie down Johnny Wilkinson, he of the magic boot. While we keep 'em in their half, and don't give away penalties under the inevitable pressure, our backs will pick them off. Rugby World Cup

What happens after global warming?

So this century is going to be a scorcher for Australia, but the next one is going to see Australia become a (relatively) desirable place to live for populations fleeing the big freeze:clipped from www.abc.net.auA new study from the Australian National University (ANU) has found that this country may not be as

GetUp! gets $250K to put down Government climate campaign

Story so far ... John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, still hasn't made that trip to the Governor General to call the election date. That's because he is so far behind in the polls that he is foisting every bit of taxpayer funded pro-Government advertising he legitimately can while the election hasn't been called. Kevin Rudd, leader of the Labor opposition, is saying the Liberal's spend is

New addition to blogroll

I came across a groovy little global warming blog:回転ドア — Revolving Doors (kaiten doa)A blog mainly devoted to the concern of our madly accelerating world, destined to crumble if we don't slow down. Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Climate Change in Australia

The CSIRO and the BOM put their heads together to work out what the findings of the 2007 IPCC Report means to Australia.In a nutshell, we have to dramatically reduce emissions to keep Australia's average temperature from increasing more than the 1% that is already programmed into the system.If this is a Government agency report, then how can any self-respecting Government ignore the implications

Bush bashed over vapid climate conference

Time Magazine reported on the White House organised Climate Change Conference. They were rather unflattering of Bush, and set him up as a foil for Clinton to do what he does best. Shine.Look at the photos accompanying the article.Clinton looks steely and resolved, Bush defensive ... hunched. Clinton's jaw is firmly set, in contrast to the slack-jawed look of Bush, which is unfortunately what can

Australia don't follow US climate policy failure — ACF

It seems I am not out-of-line describing Australia as the lap-dog of the US when it comes to climate policy, although Don Henry put it more diplomatically, when commenting on the White House-sponsored climate change conference, the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change in Washington.Don Henry, executive director of the Australian Conservation Foundation, said Australia

Global warming boon for brain-eating amoeba

Sensational headline — one with some basis in fact:"This is definitely something we need to track," said Michael Beach, a specialist in recreational waterborne illnesses for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."This is a heat-loving amoeba. As water temperatures go up, it does better," Beach said. "In future decades, as temperatures rise, we'd expect to see more cases." The villain is

Emissions reductions — aspirationals miss the binding obvious

Condoleeza Rice sounds as convincing a leader on climate change, as she is on the Palestinian crisis. But at least she knows that others regard her warily:THE US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has tried to assuage European and green group concerns the US is trying to hijack the United Nations process for developing a new global deal on climate change. "I want to stress that the United

Arctic thaw yeilds mammoth rewards for fossil hunters

Alarming story: clipped from www.smh.com.auONE day, climate change could cost the earth. For now, it is anice little earner for Russian hunter Alexander Vatagin. In Siberia's northernmost reaches, well above the Arctic Circle,the changing temperature is thawing the permafrost to reveal thebones of prehistoric

Australia most global warming aware. No, really!

I've come across this before, but it still catches me by surprise — the fact that Australians are at the forefront of global warming consciousness. A September poll by World Public Opinion.org shows that, despite our fossil-fuel fixated Government's penchant for future non-binding emissions targets we, the governed, want proper action now. A whopping ninety-two percent of us.Twelve countries were

Berks in our backyard

Looks like we have our very own astroturfing outfit in Australia called the Australian Environment Foundation (AEF). Don Burke of Burk's Backyard is the chairman, and he chairs a quality crew — some of whom are presenting at their Rydges Carlton meeting in Melbourne over the next two days. Andrew Bolt is pumped and pumping (tyres apparently).Prof Bob Carter, the environmental scientist, will talk

Global warming denialist scrambles for Bolt hole

It had to happen at some time. That people who make a living casting doubt about the scientific consensus of global warming realise the wheels are falling off their bandwagon. Witness this pitiful bleat that Andrew Bolt concludes with, in his latest carping, and tell me how moved you were.Face facts: There’s no place now for my kind of petty carping. Just go to campaign central and read the

Greens calls Government hypocrites over deforestation

Indeed they are... clipped from www.theage.com.auPrime Minister John Howard will be a hypocrite if he calls onother countries to avoid deforestation while allowing furtherlogging in Tasmanian and Victorian native forests, the AustralianGreens say. A leaked declaration on climate change, energy security andclean

Amazon Deforestation down by 25%

For whatever reason this has happened, surely it is a good thing. Long may it continue. clipped from news.nationalgeographic.comAmazon Deforestation Drops 25 Percent, Brazil SaysThe pace of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 25 percent in arecent 12-month period, according to recently released

Thirteen die in the Land of The Hot Rising Sun

clipped from www.physorg.com A man takes rest on the grass at a park in Tokyo, 01 August. The temperature hit a record high in Japan on Thursday, with the extreme summer heat killing at least 13 people across the nation this week, officials said. The temperature hit a record high in Japan on

Thanks for global warming we didn't have to have

This caught my eye in a report recently tabled in the Australian parliament. It is the acknowledgements of a dissenting chapter. I pulled it out so your kids know who to thank for global warming when they grow up. Feel free to bookmark the page for them.AcknowledgementsWe wish to thank the following people for reviewing the scientific accuracy of this report:1. Professor R.S. Lindzen (Alfred P.

Government splits climate change message

Today was the day that the Australian Government, notorious for dragging its feet on climate change, tabled its carbon trading system recommendations by the House of Representative’s Standing Committee on Science and Innovation. For a moment it looked like the Government was finally coming clean; The report begins with the statement “there is now compelling evidence that human activity is

Newsweek exposé: Global Warming Is A Hoax*

*So say the folks funded by fossil-fuel lobby groups.I've said it often enough, so it was great to read Dave Sag of Carbon Planet saying it:Newsweek is running a fascinating history of coordinated climate change denial in a story The Truth About Denial.It’s been the dirty secret of the dinosaur industries who see their immediate bottom line about to be hit by actions to mitigate against climate

Fine ceramic tubes cut carbon dioxide out of coal-fired power

If this works out, I'm putting my money (ha) into advanced ceramic material... clipped from www.sciencedaily.comScience Daily — Greenhouse gas emissions from power stations could be cut to almost zero by controlling the combustion process with tiny tubes made from an advanced ceramic material, claim engineers on

Alexander downs Alexander Downer

There were atmospherics over climate when Alexander Meekin, 17 years old, from Canberra's Narrabundah College took Alexander Downer to task over the Government's logic behind its climate change/energy policy in a panel debate.Reprinted in full from the new-look SMH:Alex v Alex: verbal joust has Downer hot under collarBy Craig SkehanTHE Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, may have taken a cue from

Leonardo DiCaprio's The 11th Hour

The 11th Hour — see it before time runs out. Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Don't waste energy going to work

Two MIT graduate student dynamo inventors, James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk, have developed an idea for "crowd farm" whereby the lost energy from the impact of a footfall is captured and converted into electricity. Now that's thinking on your feet.clipped from www.smh.com.auENERGY from humans walking through

Bush pushes for international inaction on global warming

President Bush is organising a September conference and inviting the world's major polluters to develop strategies to hold onto business as usual for as long as possible.I'll eat my Grand PooBah hat, Freemasons Apron, and publish the secret handshake on my blog, if they actually agree to reduce emissions.In theory they should — they claim to want to contribute."The United States is committed to

Solar cost-prohibitive? Buckyballs to that

clipped from www.engadget.comResearchers develop "paint-on" solar cellsThe quest to builder a better, cheaper solar cell continues on, as researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology have developed a new type of solar cell that can be printed or painted onto flexible plastic sheets. Unlike traditional

Royal Society: Hurricanes doubled over century

The dearly held tenants that the global warming denialists cling onto so tenaciously are disappearing faster than the Arctic ice-shelf.The latest one to crumble is the notion that global warming does not increase the number and frequency of hurricanes.clipped from news.bbc.co.ukA new analysis of Atlantic

Torres Strait Islands drowning

This is going to disappoint those denialists who make money mocking predictions of rising sea levels swallowing up low lying islands.clipped from www.news.com.auGLOBAL warming is not just a theory in Torres Strait – it is lapping at people's doorsteps. The phenomenon is a visible reality as rising sea levels

Research to show UK flooding is from global warming

I have just read about the fact that, for the first time, computer modelling has been able to detect a "human fingerprint" on the increased rainfall that Britain is seeing. They compare climate simulations run with and without anthropogenic GHG inputs, and the difference that shows up is our "human fingerprint". It has been seen in temperature predictions, but the research that will be published

Britain's great flood a reminder of more to come

An unusual meteorological event is responsible for this summer's weather in the UK, not global warming. A shift to the south in the position of the jet stream brought a heatwave to eastern Europe and storms normally found in higher latitudes to England.But global warming is expected to cause more and more flooding in the UK into the near future.clipped from www.cleantechblog.comWe were talking on a range of topics, but one that piqued my interest was the description of IBM’s work

Greenbox turns car emissions into bio-oil

Carbon dioxide engine emissions are diverted into a Greenbox, which is about the size of, and replaces, the car exhaust system. This Greenbox traps the exhaust carbon-dioxide and holds it inert. It is big enough to capture most of the carbon dioxide emissions from a full tank of fuel. using the carbon dioxide as fuel. When a new tank of fuel is filled, a fresh Greenbox is swapped with the spent

Kevin Rudd and Tasmanian Gunns control

He's a good 'un, that Kevin.He definitely does not want a repeat of Howard's surprising ascendency in Tasmania with the forestry union at the last election. So he has gone to spread oil on potentially troubled waters where all the elements are at play — the loggers, the greenies, nimbys, and now a group worried about the due process — not — that the Gunns pulp mill development applications is

Business is ready to tackle climate change

Australian business CEOs, GMs and MDs are an astute lot, or at least 85.82% of them are. A survey, by Business Climate International shows that, as a group, the vast majority are overwhelmingly concerned about climate change.With a little more education they will become a powerful environmental voice — money talks, and there's money to be saved by using energy more efficiently.clipped from www.smh.com.auTHOUSANDSs of people awoke in makeshift shelters in southern and central England after abandoning their cars on flooded highways or leaving trains disrupted by torrential rains.At Bampton in the west of Oxfordshire more

Ad Hominem

clipped from www.infidels.orgArgumentum ad hominem literally means "argument directed at the man"; there are two varieties.If you refuse to accept a statement, and justify your refusal by criticizing the person who made the statement, then you are guilty of abusive argumentum ad hominem — the truth of an

Ban Ki-moon calls for UN action on climate change

Moving the climate change debate, which has settled down into a consensus on AWG, out of the scientific body advising the UN — the IPCC — and into the General Assembly seems like a good idea.Even better, Ban seems to expect results coming out of his attempt to bang heads together:He said that the outcomes from this meeting would feed into the UN climate negotiation process."I have been advised

Albrechtsen externalises, but not on externality

Janet Albrechtsen of the Australian newspaper shamelessly channels the spirit of Edmund Burke during the French Revolution when she laments that Howard's good work on climate change is just not understood by the Australian public. :::[Now for some sensible talk on climate change]I love the way the headline implies that the talk up to now has been insensible. There's more irony in store — what

Global warming: Beat the heat, eat less meat

Hmmm. Hard one for me to give up entirely, but there are a host of good health reasons to reduce meat intake.On the other hand, all species are in this global warming boat together. Maybe cattle need to rise above their usual bovine selves, stop farting around and show some initiative for once by sourcing locally grown food — just like I do — and stop passing their food miles on in my thick,

A personal emissions reduction lifestyle guide

I enjoy seeing global warming related material on Clipmarks and other social networking sites. It's validation that there are a bunch of people out there that are conscious and care. Anyway, here's Lubaska's clip:clipped from www.global-cool.comUse and lose less energy by doing any or many of these easy

John Howard 2.0 launched on stiff, clunky platform

Things have moved on since the Office of Prime Minister John Howard first launched their rather flat HTML website on December 3, 1998. Internet stocks boomed, bubbled and burst. Enron collapsed and then, 9/11. Everything changed — we perfected the art of no longer needing words to describe things. We had WMD, WoT, GWoT hit in quick succession. Now we have AWAs, SARS and GHGs to contend with. Even

Shanghai building wetlands

Thought I would give Mash a whirl... I like it, except for that blinking ad. Annoying — highlights how nothing is for free, but I would be happy with a redesign of the ad. Anyone who needs to get their college degree that fast can't value an education. Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Global warming caused by too much science

Not a bad characterisation of GWB's global warming policy.clipped from www.alternet.orgIn the video posted at the Alternet page linked above, Will Ferrell plays "the Commander-in-Chief of the World" is this faux promo about climate change. In it Bush struggles to explain the issue and rails against "facts" and "

The Great Global Warming Swindle V4.0 still riddled with bugs.

Great interview with Tony Jones and Martin Durkin. Jones flew to London to record the interview, as Durkins would not come here and participate in the panel discussion afterwards with leaders from industry, science and the environmental movement. Jones demolished Durkins, demonstrating that Durkins chops the end off his Freils Christiansen graph to prove the Medieval Warming Period is the warmer

Big night on ABC TV after The Great Global Warming Swindle

...which starts in just over an hour. I can't say I'm looking forward to the doco itself, but I have the feeling that people are ready to take on the engineered ignorance shamelessly promoted by the denialist industry. That is worth staying up for.If you are interested in a good debunking, Angus Alderman left a link to a New Scientist pummelling in my comments, and the next link is a critique

Will Tony Jones demolish The Great Global Warming Swindle?

It is my fervent wish that Tony Jones exposes The Great Global Warming Swindle as a hoax and fraud on ABC TV after the documentary viewing at 8:30. He is a thorough and dogged interviewer and I hope he takes Martin Durkin to task.It looks like he might.The ANU's Dr Janette Lindesay and Professor Malcolm McCulloch, along with their Stanford University colleague, Professor Robert Dunbar, will

Margaret Thatcher started global warming alarmism

The Great Global Warming Swindle is being shown on ABC Television. My god. How can this be? How all-pervasive is the denialist industry to get their propaganda funded with tax payer's money?How can they be allowed to spread their misinformation about the clarity of climate science's conclusions in their successful attempt, so far, to stall serious action on global warming.'They' is Martin Durkin

Extreme weather: Global warming or El Niño-La Niña baton change?

After Australia's hottest autumn on record and the coldest June since 1950, the SMH asks Dr David Jones from the Bureau of Meteorology why there has been extreme weather.(01:38) Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Live Earth to reach two billion world over

Al Gore has recruited Australian-based Cathy Zoi to run the Alliance for Climate Protection he set up six months ago."It will be the first great note in a worldwide song demanding change that will be heard on every continent in every time zone," Zoi says of the concerts."Post Live Earth, the Alliance for Climate Protection is undertaking a three- to five-year campaign to educate people from all

Greenland's DNA reveals green past

Erik the Red, who settled in Greenland 1000 years ago, named it to lure more settlers, although a small area not covered by ice would then have been very green.While an admirable marketing tactic, Erick was half a million years (give or take a thousand), behind the times.clipped from www.smh.com.auTHE oldest DNA

Downer: Iraq war is about oil

The Aussie government ping-pong championships are on:clipped from www.smh.com.auTHE Foreign Minister has contradicted the Prime Minister, saying that the mission in Iraq is linked to safeguarding the war-torn nation's oil reserves. A day after John Howard said oil was neither a motivation for invading Iraq nor for

War for oil! Who would've believed it?

Flying a kite for the election, Australian Prime Minister John Howard backtracks on claims Iraq is about the oil, but is wrong-footed by current opinion. How will this play out?From howardout:clipped from howardout.blogspot.comWell, Howard may still be in denial, or damage control mode, or insane, but the rest of

Rain in Spain falls mainly on the forest

It's a good thing Spain is developing wind energy and concentrated solar power, because they are facing emissions levels of 37 percent above their 1990 levels. They are allowed only a 15 percent increase under the Kyoto Protocol agreement. So they plan to sink 20 percent of the excess carbon dioxide by re-foresting.clipped from trakker.typepad.comAll humans on the Earth today - over 6,000,000,000 of us - are homo sapiens. While homo sapiens appear to have emerged 200,000 years ago, in Africa, the population grew slowly and was subject to many setbacks.

50 million desertification refugees in next 10 years

More than 200 experts from 25 countries produced a report that warns of a grim outlook if we do not combat the growing problem of advancing deserts.clipped from news.bbc.co.ukTens of millions of people could be driven from their homes by encroaching deserts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, a

Climate science dicked by Dead-Eye Cheney

From Rolling Stone -- The Secret Campaign of President Bush's Administration To Deny Global Warming.clipped from www.rollingstone.comIt is no secret that industry-connected appointees within the White House have worked actively to distort the findings of federal climate scientists, playing down the threat of

Rich's carbon emissions doubles the poor's

The more we learn about the impact of global warming, the more it is apparent that the poor are going to bear the brunt of it.We see that in Bangladesh. And in Australia. New research on carbon footprints across the socio-economic spectrum here, reveals that:At a relatively low carbon price of $25 a tonne of greenhouse pollution, poor families around Australia would be paying about $558 a year

Help spread the word

This guy is good: wonderingmind42.Watch him present a risk analysis that conclusively makes the case for taking action on global warming.I haven't seen anyone logically refute him, yet. But I'll take submissions. If you can't then do like the man says and help spread the word.clipped from break.com clipped from blogs.wsj.comCompanies Judged for Global-Warming

Internet literally global, topographically speaking

clipped from www.cosmosmagazine.comInternet is spherical with a dense coreSYDNEY: The internet is not web-shaped after all. Instead, it's more more like a globe, made up of a dense core and sparsely connected outer regions, according to a mathematical analysis of its structure.Visual representation of the topology

Global warming threatens civilization says top six scientists

See first source for the full article.Present knowledge does not permit accurate specification of the dangerous level of human-made GHGs. However, it is much lower than has commonly been assumed. If we have not already passed the dangerous level, the energy infrastructure in place ensures that we will pass it within several decades.We conclude that a feasible strategy for planetary rescue almost

White House censors global warming report

Take the science out, and Bush is right. clipped from www.truthandprogress.com 

Cannes Lions: Y&R Gore forum upsized by demand

If an ad agency can't toot it's own horn, who can?Not everyone is playing in tune, though.Already, some Australian ad industry executives have taken a shot at Mr McLennan's new green credentials. "Tell Hamish Patts in Sydney has left its lights on," quipped executive chairman Euro RSCG South Pacific Group Tom Moult last week. clipped from www.grist.orgAll eyes are on the Senate this week as it debates a controversial Democrat-penned energy bill. The legislation contains several provisions that make Big Oil, Big Auto, and Big Republicans squirm: it would shift nearly $15 billion in tax credits and

The War on AGW Denial, Part 2

(Second 5 of 10) By PeakEngineer: clipped from peakoildesign.com6. Scientists get paid big bucks to skew their data to indicate global warming.It is far more lucrative to produce research denying global warming.And with tens of thousands of scientists producing research indicating human-induced global warming,

The War on AGW Denial, Part 1

Holocaust denial is illegal in civilised countries of the world.So why shouldn't we render the orchestrated efforts of the well-funded global warming denial industry to nought, by making anthropogenic global warming denial illegal (unless it's genuine scientific research published in peer-review journals)?Advertisers are not allowed to make false and misleading claims about their products. Isn't

No Ball! Climate denialist retracts lawsuit

If you have ever wondered how little integrity a professional anthropogenic global warming denialist must have to ply their trade, this is instructive.From Kevin Grandia of Desmogblog:Thought you might be interested in this. It is a follow up to a story from about a year ago in which a retired professor, Tim Ball, filed suit against a professor of environment at the University of Lethbridge over

Bush Doctrine vs. Peak Oil

In a thought-provoking article Michael Klare explores "How wars of the future may be fought just to run the machines that fight them".My question is, if the amount of fossil-fuel energy that the mighty US military machine consumes daily is more than Sweden's national consumption, what is the carbon-debt? Tropospheric or stratospheric? The way war is conducted now is unsustainable. To maintain

Arctic plants can survive climate change

Expanded north-south habitants of plants and ranges of animals is going to be one of the features of a shift to a warmer world.clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Arctic ice no barrier for plants Arctic plant species can travel vast distances, researchers suggest Arctic plants are able to migrate the

The world's top ten trees

clipped from www.neatorama.com10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World10. Lone Cypress in Monterey9. Circus Trees8. Giant Sequoias: General Sherman7. Coast Redwood: Hyperion and Drive-Thru Trees6. Chapel-Oak of Allouville-Bellefosse5. Quaking Aspen: Pando (The Trembling Giant)4. Montezuma Cypress: The Tule Tree3.

The Scary Side of Global Warming: Potential Sea Level Rise

Greenhouse warming might be more disastrous than the recent international assessment managed to convey, scientists are realizing. But how can they get the word out without seeming alarmist?Scientists are still trying to strike a balance between their habitual caution and growing concern over uncertain but disastrous greenhouse outcomes.clipped by kmcolo clipped from antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov Explanation:Here is what the Earth looks like during a solar eclipse. The shadow of the Moon can be seen darkening part of Earth.This shadow moved across the Earth at nearly 2000 kilometers per hour. Only observers near the center of the dark circle see a total solar eclipse -

World Bank money now grows on trees

Incentives to avoid deforestation is big business on a warming globe.clipped from online.wsj.comFREE PREVIEWWorld Bank Targets Forest Preservation-Climate Link By Tom Wright Word Count: 926 JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The global effort to stem climate change could soon include paying countries in the tropical belt to

Indians most worried about global warming

Emerging economies like India and China are often accused of resisting the need to tackle climate change. But a new survey by Australian environmentalist, Jon Dee, published in the latest issue of New Scientist suggested that people of these two countries are most worried about climate change. More than we may be lead to believe if we just listened to those who would tell us to do nothing about

Six Rules of Critical Thinking

Next time some one tell you global warming is not man's fault or problem, subject their reasoning to the following rules.... :::[csicp.org]A Field Guide to Critical Thinking The six rules of evidential reasoning are my own distillation and simplification of the scientific method. To make it easier for students to remember these half-dozen guidelines,

The organics industry eats itself

Canadian blog, Tempest takes a sobering look at how the popularity and uptake of organic produce by the mainstream has added food miles to the carbon bill. :::[Back to the land: returning organic agriculture to its roots]Once upon a time, “going organic” was synonymous with eating locally grown produce while it was in season. The distance from field to plate was negligible, the ecological

Labor won't flog nuclear power

Rudd is leaving that dead horse for Howard, I think. clipped from www.news.com.auOPPOSITION Leader Kevin Rudd today insisted Australia could reach ambitious emissions reductions targets without resorting to nuclear power.Mr Rudd said the key was to establish an emissions trading market"The science of this is

Carbon trading junction up ahead

The Australian Federal Elections 2007 will bring us to a crossroad. With the Howard Government committing to a cap and trade approach to developing a carbon market, aimed to be established by 2012, we now have choice at the election. In this article Steve Burrell of the SMH surveys the terrain up ahead.clipped

A Jury Of Your Pyrrhus

G8 climate deal is failure or triumph, depending whom you ask.clipped from www.grist.orglifted from gr!stYesterday, the G8 agreed to a climate deal it's been fine-tuning for weeks. It notably did not commit to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's goal of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions 50 percent by 2050, but it did

Twenty three die in rain storms and floods in China

Thousands made homeless.clipped from www.beawareofglobalwarming.orgMillions suffer as storms in China kill at least 23 (Reuters) Reuters - Rain storms and floods have killed at least 23 people across southern China in recent days and made thousands homeless, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday. Original post by

Wild weather disrupting oil shipping in Oman

Cola shipping activity at Newcastle, Australia, the world's largest coal port, is being disrupted by wild storms. Sar, a port in Eastern Oman, is facing similar difficulties with the weather.clipped from www.theoildrum.comDrumBeat: June 9, 2007Posted by Leanan on June 9, 2007 - 9:31amTopic: Miscellaneous Port city

Pentagon eyes renewable energy in the field.

The shape of wars to come...clipped from dissidentnews.wordpress.com The Pentagon foresees a two-front threat to national security: global instability spurred by climate change and a crippling dependence on oil.America’s economic dependence on foreign oil isn’t exactly news.But it’s being viewed with a new level

Global warming survival guide

Just in Time.clipped from www.time.comThe Global Warming Survival GuideGLOBAL WARMING 51 Things We Can Do to Save the Environment Can one person slow global warming? Actually, yes. You—along with scientists, businesses and governments—can create paths to cut carbon emissions. Here is our guide to some of

Plus Five won't allign on G8 climate plan

Not so good.clipped from www.smh.com.auBERLIN: The leaders of five major developing nations have signalled they would not bow to pressure from the Group of Eight to commit to binding targets in the fight against global warming. Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa insisted on Thursday, a day ahead of

Global warming to shrink brains?

Well it seems to have shrunk the brains of climate change denialists.clipped from blog.wired.comUniversity at Albany will soon publish research that suggests the human brain grew dramatically as our ancestors adapted to colder temperatures.Jessica Ash and Gordon Gallup studied 109 fossilized skulls from different

NSW battered by a 1 in 30 year storm

I heard on the news that seven people have died in the same storm that has driven a coal tanker aground in Nobby's beach in Newcastle. The urgency seems to have come off that crisis, it is not breaking up, but the weather is set to get worse.clipped from www.smh.com.auSaturday June 9, 2007 945pm AESTWeather set to

To fight climate change grow by 0.1 per cent less

Is it my maths or his? Terry McCrann of The Australian thinks the cost of 0.1 per cent of GDP until 2050 to cut emissions by 50% is way too much to bear.Now the cost, the very real cost of cutting emissions, tends to be airily dismissed as minor. So it might knock 0.1 per cent off our growth rate, perhaps even 0.2 per cent. But you'd hardly notice.[...]Aggressive emission cuts had been modelled

Sydney storms drive oil tanker aground

Well, the drought has broken. I can hear it pounding outside my window. The rain has been intense for the last three days. clipped from www.smh.com.auFears ship could break up Huge bulk carrier with 700 tonnes of fuel runs aground in Newcastle.Audio slideshow: Pasha Bulker agroundVideo: View from the shoreIemma

Climate change: In graphics

Graphic depictions of the IPPCs predictions for emissions scenarios for the turn of the century. One way or another it is going to be hotter.clipped from news.bbc.co.ukIt is "very likely" that human activity is the cause for climate change, scientists from over 130 countries have concluded. The graphics below

Bush seriously considers 50% emissions cut by 2050

Full marks to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, for turning Bush's forward thrust on climate change into advantage with a neat little judo throw to extract "serious consideration" for her preferred benchmark of 50% cuts by 2050 - backed by the EU, Canada and Japan. Sure, Bush didn't commit to any targets, but he also didn't expect to find himself suddenly lying on his back being helped up by

New Amazonian tribe found living in thick jungle

A 'lost' Amazonian Indian tribe has made contact with the outside world. We are yet to find out why, however, isn't it an amazing thought that these sustainable stewards of the forest might find themselves at the top of the food-chain in a fully-fledged carbon economy. clipped from www.smh.com.auAn Indian tribe

Will Howard be alive to trade carbon?

Yesterday winter officially began in Australia, yet here I am still wearing me favourite t-shirt and blogging away in me favourite grundies. You, dear reader, should consider yourself seriously honoured.So it is with a certain sense of irony that I witness that our prime global warming denialist, Prime Minister John Howard, release his Report on the Task Group on Emissions Trading into such an

Project Andromeda reaches for the stars

Clumsily, I accidentally clicked one of the Google Ad links (I'm not supposed to on my site) but, happily, the action redirected me to The Andromeda Project:Project Andromeda™ aims to measure, offset and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for large numbers of businesses in Australia at low cost. It is a call to action, an education strategy and a networking opportunity that will help businesses save

The drought, and beauty, stricken Murray-Darling

About six weeks ago the Prime Minister of Australia announced that the agricultural communities' water allocations within the 'breadbasket of Australia', the Murray-Darling basin, would needed to be 'turned-off' if drought-relieving rains did not fall in time.That time is about now. So how is the Murray-Darling basin currently holding up? Please do enjoy this stunning photo-essay by Ben Rushton

Global warming terrorism will see more exploding trees

What's summer without a bushfire or two? Indeed, some of our plant life has evolved to germinate as a result of bushfire, but bushfires all year round would be an entirely different thing.Overseas readers may not know this, but the eucalyptus tree has a such a high oil content that they virtually explode in the path of an approaching bushfire that has reached such an intensity it is crowning.

Take out a global warming denialist

If you seriously want to take the global warming sceptic to task, here is your ammunition. And why shouldn't you? The sooner they are extinct, the sooner the rest of us can concentrate on our survival.h/t Fallenmonk clipped from fallenmonk.blogspot.comNewScientist.com has done a great job in compiling a list of the

Costa Rica to be carbon neutral by 2030

In the early 1893 New Zealand was the first nation in the world to enfranchise women. Look at the revolution this started. Can you conceive that women shouldn't have the vote?Nobody can take that away from the Kiwis (Even though the Aussies came a close second in 1901). If Costa Rica does achieve their ambition to become the first carbon neutral country, nobody will be able take that from them

US to sink G8 Summit climate change deal, not CO2

What to make of the Luddite-like obstructionism the US is deploying into the proposed G8 Summit climate change deal mooted for next month in Germany? The deal is wanted by G7 of the other G8 countries, and being pushed very hard by the hosts. :::[Suburban Guerilla]The US has rejected any prospect of a deal on climate change at the G8 summit in Germany next month, according to a leaked

100 things YOU can do to save the environment

clipped from www.seql.orgConserve EnergyReduce ToxicityIf you have central air conditioning, do not close vents in unused rooms. Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket. Turn down or shut off your water heater when you will be away for extended periods. Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for

Climate change will bring menu change

Please, not lamb or chicken! clipped from www.smh.com.auDietary guidelines should take into account the levels of nutrients needed for optimal health while maintaining the natural environmental systems required to produce our food, according to expert advice. The recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on

Are recent zoo breakouts a climate change warning?

After last week's gorilla escape from a Northern European zoo, we see listed next to BBC News Video reports on the harbingers of climate change, more primates breaking out of zoos.Given that animal instinct is far more alert to impending natural disaster than ours is, could the recent behaviour also be a harbinger? A forewarning? Perhaps not as dramatic as the dolphins leaving the planet after

Manhattan ice island found 50 kms offshore

The first major ice-shelf calving in 25 years, in 2005, from the Ayles Ice Shelf in the Arctic, is slightly thicker than anticipated; Between 42-45m (138-148ft) - the equivalent of the height of a 10-storey building.That's the good news. clipped from news.bbc.co.ukScientists in the Arctic have just carried out the

Low flow for $10 billion Murray-Darling river rescue

'twas a plan hatched on back of the envelope that crossed no squinting Treasury eyes, so why shouldn't the States look askance at the Federal Government's Murray-Darling River offer? Today's water allocation is tomorrow's pork barrel, if yesterday is any guide. clipped from www.smh.com.auThe Federal Government will

David Hicks converts to new green religion

I can just imagine the headline of opinion writers like Andrew Bolt, "Hicks rejects Islam for environmentalism", or "Hicks trained in Greenpeace tactics - is nine months enough?" "Trrrist or Envirmntallist, what's the difference?". The glee with which they will wield that tarred brush will be unrestrained.Hicks was described as the "worst-of-the-worst" during times of high political sensitivity,

One billion climate refugees in our lifetimes

But, don't worry, Howard's proven Pacific solution will deter them from coming to Australia. clipped from www.smh.com.auA BILLION people - one in seven people on Earth today - could be forced to leave their homes over the next 50 years as the effects of climate change worsen an already serious migration crisis, a

Washington wishes world would fry

Still panting after undermining the Kyoto Agreement, the American Government is now attacking the draft agreement of next month's G8 summit, watering down clauses agreeing to keep temperature rises under 2C this century.As anyone who has been following global warming knows, when the world average temperature tips over 2 degrees Celsius from what it is today, we engage runaway climate change.

Climate tipping out faster than forecast

Like the failing kidneys of an alcoholic , global warming may be reducing the capacity to plants and soils to absorb carbon dioxide. This is an anticipated tipping point, the next stage is runaway climate change, and we have a predicted ten years to stop it. clipped from www.smh.com.auCLIMATE change may have

Aboriginal weathermen say drought breaking soon

There is so much we can learn about surviving this vast, dry, continent from the Aboriginal people, especially now that the climate has taken a turn for the worse.For example, I understand that in the north they have two seasons, and up to seven distinct seasons as you travel south. Makes sense if you have experienced both locales for at least a year or so, and it brings home the awkwardness of

Coal industry pledges "clean-coal" research dollars

Whenever I hear of "clean-coal", I think of safe-sex . Unless you and your partner are 100% 'healthy', and monogamous, there is no such thing as safe-sex, only safer-sex. Risks remain.Anyhoo, there is more money for cleaner-coal research. This time coming from the industry itself: clipped from au.news.yahoo.com

Where have all the global warming denialists gone?

Now that Rupert Murdoch drives a hybrid and has announced an intention that News Corp. become carbon neutral within three years, strange, strange things are happening on Fox: Global Warning Climate Change Energy

Methane damns green hydro-electricity claims

Deutsche Welle Radio presents recent research from scientists in the Brazilian Amazon that is showing that many hydroelectric dams cause the release of more greenhouse gas for theequivalent amounts of electricity created, that would be released if that electricity was created by burning fossil-fuels. (Audio link to DW Radio's program, Living Planet - the piece on the methane dams is a little

Revenge is best served old

The Queen had Bush for toast, when she stirred him about his gaff exaggerating her already impressive durability. She also displayed how contemporary she is, by offsetting the carbon emissions caused by her visit. clipped from www.truthdig.comQueen Elizabeth began a toast on Tuesday by teasing the president: “I

Myth busted: Cheap-coal powered electoral-cycles

The Liberal Government budget 2007 has been described as clever politics, but we live in a time that demands clever policies based on sound climate science. Not the clever politics of election year electoral largess.Admittedly, the government can afford the splurge; Costello has provided good economic management, and all credit to him. But John Howard still hasn't communicated that he understands

Greenpeace's aggressive tactics not winning Mac users over

Apple is the tactical low-hanging fruit in Greenpeace's campaign to reduce toxicity in electronics, such as arsenic and PVC, and to encourage waste recycling. But is it wise to push Mac users, veterans of the PC wars, to pull their wagons into a laager?H/t Mark Lawrence who provides this take on the Steve Jobs – Greenpeace stoush from online/email Mac magazine TidBITS.clipped from www.smh.com.auThe Federal Government will spend nearly $20 billion over thenext five years on environmental measures, according to theAustralian Greens. The Greens claimed they have been leaked details of the budgetin what would be a sensational breach of security of

World Wolfowitz Bank almost solves climate change - for big fossil-fuel

A pro fossil-fuel agenda has been smuggled into the World Bank by another controversy-causing Wolfowitz Human Resources placed candidate. This time it's the former conservative finance minister from El Salvador, and strong Iraq war advocate, Mr Juan José Daboub, who is raising the hackles of senior staff.The outcome of his intentions would have been to make developing countries completely

Catastrophe reinsurance buffeted by hurricanes, global warming

Warren Buffett's AGM is described as "Woodstock for capitalists" by NPR.org. In a neat, closed economy, his investors have the opportunity to buy the products of the thousands of companies Berkshire Hathaway invest in. The guy knows how to make money, so his words on future reinsurance rates are worth hearing. As are those of his vice chairman, Charlie Munger, on counter-productive

Could Spanish cities run on tower power?

Holy Toledo Batman (well actually Seville), check out the solar tower: clipped from www.engadget.comJust last month we witnessed a gigantic skyscraper / solar tower hybrid that generates a whopping 390-kilowatts of energy, but even that looks like child's play compared to the 40-story solar power plant that

Global warming to change time as we know it.

Jochem Marotzke and research partners at the Max Planck Institute in Germany has published one of the most surprising effects anticipated by global warming in the March 28 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.This adds to LiveScience's Top Ten Surprising Things About Global Warming... making it a Top Eleven, I guess.clipped from www.climateark.orgAll of the predicted catastrophic consequences

How to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions

The explosive popularity of Wikipedia shows the wiki concept to be of value. Here is a how-to wiki on everything that you can do that reduces your greenhouse gas emissions. clipped from www.wikihow.comWikihow: How to Reduce Your Greenhouse Gas Emissions More and more people are wondering how

Computers can't keep up with melting Arctic

Out of an exercise mapping real-world observations to computer climate models comes news that global warming is more accelerated than the scientific consensus holds.Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado co-authored the latest study of Arctic ice melt, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, with other scientists from NSIDC and

What Is Denialism?

Five general tactics are used by denialists and the modern-breed of global warming skeptics to sow confusion. They are:conspiracy; selectivity or cherry-picking; fake experts; impossible expectations or moving goalposts; and, general fallacies of logic. clipped from scienceblogs.comDenialism is the employment of

Global warming skeptic backs himself by $6000 over 20 years

Global warming skeptics ready to put up or shut up, that's what I like to see. You have to give it to David Evans, a few professional denialists have refused to take bets to back their positions (Lord Gilbert Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley comes to mind). Evans, formerly with the Australian Greenhouse Office, has, but he will lose a lot more than $6,000 in 20 years, if he loses.He

Solar breakthrough: households can power grid

Australia's future energy may be secured by a grid of good, old fashioned, trusty nuclear. Nuclear families, that is, and the roofs over their heads linked into a giant electranet, if the following breakthrough in photovoltaic cells holds true to its market promise. clipped from www.theage.com.auResearchers at the

The relationship of truth to science

Seed Magazine explores an interesting topic in their latest edition. clipped from www.seedmagazine.com Seed editor-in-chief Adam Bly on truth in science.by Adam Bly Posted April 30, 2007 10:17 AMWe are living in a moment where our traditional sources of truth—legacy news outlets, heads of state, community

Rudd positioned to win the environmental vote

The Australian Prime Minister's worst dreams were realised when his months of hoping that Labor's national conference would be a showcase of all the worst aspects of the ALP came to naught on the weekend.He had been hoping they would implode and had been pressing Labor's super-sensitive spot on uranium, the exposed raw nerve of an unfinished, three-decade-long factional argument. clipped from edition.cnn.com Hunters kill one of last surviving Amur leopardsThe story so far...• Hunters have killed one of the last seven surviving female Amur leopards• There are 25 to 34 Amur leopards still living in the wild, WWF

Marginals want investment in biodiversity infrastructure

Eight in ten Australian voters in marginal seats believe the way to fortify against climate change is to strengthen the biodiversity of their natural habitats, according to Galaxy Research. It shows an encouraging sophistication in their understanding of climate change and the future it will bring. I'm guessing they believe a strong and healthy biodiversity is vital to our environmental health

Howard denies moral dimension to global warming

Honestly, if John Howard had been reading Global Warming Watch, like he should, he would have known months ago that global warming will feature heavily at the next Australian election. And he wouldn't have made this faux pas. :::[SMH]Prime Minister John Howard has rejected Labor leader Kevin Rudd's claim that climate change is the overwhelming moral challenge facing Australians.Which has me

Global Warming: Historical data confirms it

Global warming... not all bad... clipped from www.thehumorarchives.com  Global Warning Climate Change Humour

This Earth Day in America

A Washington Post, ABC News and Stanford University poll reveals:- a third of Americans now say that global warming is the world's single largest environmental problem, double the number of a year ago.- seven in 10 Americans want more federal action on global warming, and half said that believe the government should do much more than it is now.- fifty two percent said the issue is "extremely" or

Book-burning in Washington DC, 2007 AD

The anti-science nature of the Bush Administration is well known. Their latest assault involves manoeuvring that withdraws chemical research libraries from scientist and researchers. And lawyers. A briefing paper for the agency enforcement director concludes that the loss of library access will substantially impede investigations and prosecutions of polluters. clipped from www.smh.com.auCarbon credit debate gets personalA range of regulations and carbon trading schemes were emerging in Britain and the US, but

Solomon needs his temple foundations examined

David Solomon needs to take great care with his statistical work, if he does not want to be tarred with the same 'Chicago school of economics' oily brush that brought us the Iran-Contra affair, the invasion of Iraq, and Paul Wolfowitz.He doesn't take care, and so his latest work is gleefully used by Andrew Bolt to prove that activities directed towards 'global-cooling' are a waste of time. What

Aussies up for a fight against global warming

I don' think our federal leaders and oppositions are going to get by on simple global warming tokenism any more. clipped from www.worldpublicopinion.orgPoll Finds Worldwide Agreement That Climate Change is a ThreatAn international poll finds widespread agreement that climate change is a pressing problem. This

Doing your global warming homework

clipped from www.desmogblog.comTruthiness vs. Science

Global Warming Watch picked up by Reuters

Upon randomly checking my BlogBurst workbench I discovered that one of my posts in early April was picked up by Reuters UK. It's a buzz for this blogger, and explains the recent spike in traffic . As I am experimenting with Clipmarks' clip-to-blog function, I clipped the first few paras. clipped from

The 3rd man in history to ever walk on water

clipped from www.funny-potato.comThe 1st one was Jesus Christ...The 2nd one was Peter (the apostle)........Then there was this guy .......Jose Global Warning Climate Change

At last! Al Gore planning to run...

..his house on solar power. I think it is great that the Get Gore campaign got Gore going. When it comes to walking-the-talk, he is running - emissions-free, from his manor. So thinks Green Options: clipped from www.greenoptions.comSign seen in front of Al Gore's mansion in the posh Belle Meade section of

One Bolt doeth not a thunder-storm maketh

Climate change denial advocate, Andrew Bolt, doesn't know that the increase in average temperatures from around the globe, measured over time is what we commonly call "global warming". That's a lot of individual measurements, in the googles, yet he persistently claims to debunk the theory based on his observations of the temperature on any one day somewhere in the world. :::[Andrew Bolt Blog:

Let them eat my gasses

A few weeks ago the ruling Australian Liberal Party dealt themselves into the upcoming green elections by outsourcing our environmental policy to Indonesia: :::[The Road to Surfdom]So, Malcolm Turnbull and his boss, The Rodent*, have suddenly come out with this policy to pay $A200m to encourage developing nations in the southern hemisphere with significant rainforest, such as Brazil, Australia

IPCC Report specifics for Australia

IPCC Report implications for Australia: * more drought, fires and inundation caused by sea-level rises * withdrawal on private insurance on coastal properties * increased water security problems * areas of the coast, especially Cairns and south-east Queensland, face increased risks from sea-level rises and "increases in the severity and frequency of storms and coastal flooding""Hot spot"

IPCC's clarion call

Coming to an IPCC Report near you. :::[SMH: Window closing on planet's chances]"Unmitigated climate change would, in the long term, be likely to exceed the capacity of natural, managed and human systems to adapt."The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is due out tomorrow, and that is some of the wording just agreed upon between scientists and governments after last-minute

Bush forced to regulate carbon dioxide from cars

In enormous news for the mitigation of global warming, the US Supreme Court has forced their federal government to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from cars. The directive forces the Bush Administration into a major policy u-turn: :::[CNN] In a 5-4 decision, the court said the Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate the emissions of carbon dioxide and

Was Earth Hour a candle in the wind?

Sydney's Earth Hour was an unconditional success in raising awareness about what we can do to fight global warming, with well over fifty percent of the population participating : :::[SMH]MORE than half of Sydneysiders - as many as 2.2 million - switched off their lights to celebrate Earth Hour on Saturday night, a poll has found.No one saw this avalanche of support coming - only 65,000 households

Earth Hour got a bit... well... earthy.

It was very romantic to spend the first night in a long time having a candlelight dinner and drinks with my wife.Not so for my three year old - when he realised that no birthday cake was to follow the dowsed lights, and that he was not going to be allowed to blow out the candles... he took himself off to bed with his favourite car. Early.Yesss!So did we. But not before checking out the darkened

Spanish wind power blows nuclear away

It is often pointed out by the nuclear power fetishists and the coal-power aficionados, that renewable energy is variable because it relies on the winds or sunny weather depending on your source.So variable, in fact, that last week in Spain the winds generated more energy than did Spain's nuclear power plants, and more energy than that glorious country's coal-powered electricity plants. :::[The

Thank god I don't live in that country...

I thought John Howard allowing the fossil-fuel industry to make up our greenhouse gas policy was bad enough, but when a government environment department in another Axis-of-Ignorance country is this brazen about pushing US government propaganda I become grateful for small mercies: :::[U.S. Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works: GORE REFUSES TO TAKE PERSONAL ENERGY ETHICS PLEDGE]“Are

Green-collar jobs - jobs of the future

Van Jones, a civil-rights lawyer, is founder and executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, as I discovered from Dave Roberts' Grist.org article on the man.In 2005, the center unveiled an initiative that would put it at the cutting edge of progressive activism: Reclaim the Future, a program aimed at ensuring that low-income and minority youth have access to the coming wave of "

Hansen to Congress: Big Brother censoring climate science for big oil

James Hansen heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies. On Monday he revealed to the US Congress the extent the Administration is censoring climate science. :::[SMH: Scientists Muzzled, Congress told]THE Bush Administration has run a systematic campaign to play down the dangers of climate change, demanding hundreds of politically motivated changes to scientific reports and muzzling a pre-eminent

Uni NSW research harnesses sea, sun for hydrogen fuel.

University of NSW researchers have been working on a revolutionary technology that uses sunlight to split sea water into hydrogen fuel, and water. It could be developed within a decade, and take another five years to be commercialised. But this is how long nuclear plants take to be built, and hydrogen fuel has two advantages - it's unlimited when sourced from seawater, and 100% clean, with water

More about the Chicago Climate Exchange

wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Climate_Exchange:Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil. CCX employs independent verification, includes all six greenhouse gases, and has been trading greenhouse gas emission allowances

AGL joins the Chicago Climate Exchange

Yes that is our AGL - Australian Gas and Light - and what are they doing in Chicago is looking for a mechanism whereby they can market their energy efficiencies and emissions savings to less efficient companies around the world. That's the beauty of global warming - abatement is an instantly globalised industry. :::[SMH: Energy giant embraces carbon trading]THE energy giant AGL has said it will

Garrett: Put economy first by addressing climate change

Federal Parliament ALP member, Peter Garrett, places global warming in an economic context, looking at the positive and negative implications: :::[SMH: Economy put at risk by climate inertia]Last week Michael Molitor, the principal of CarbonShift (a wholesale supplier of voluntary carbon units) and a former director of climate change services at PricewaterhouseCoopers, described the opportunity

Examining our fears around global warming

In today's Age Thornton McCamish takes a nostalgic walk through his anxieties wrought from the then threatened nuclear annihilation promised by the policy of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) of the '80s, and compares them to fears of ecological collapse resulting from human-induced global warming that characterise our current angst. :::[The Age: A Climate of Fear]Proliferation is scary. For

Climate change front & Centre in Queensland politics.

In September 2006, the Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, promised Queenslanders a headquarters from which to fight climate change, if they re-elected him: :::[ABC News]Mr Beattie says a re-elected Labor government would offer $10 million over four years to water safety initiatives and would bring together a panel of experts to set up a climate change centre of excellence.They did, and today he

UK politics now just a climate change auction

I started blogging about global warming, I dunno, about 14 months ago. Mainly out of a sense of frustration born of the media and greater public attitudes towards climate change. The media reported a 'debate' on global warming, while science reporters (and I) knew there was no question in the climatology community that it was happening. Big time.It was an awful time. The media gave 50% of time to

Who's winning the global warming war?

Bolt goes:US chills17 Comments 0 Trackbacks Permalink Andrew Bolt Blog By Andrew Bolt Friday, March 09, 2007 at 04:42pmThe US National Climatic Data Center has chilling news: The average temperature in February 2007 was 32.9 F. This was -1.8 F cooler than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the 34th coolest February in 113 years. Most predictions of global cooling say it won’t happen for a

Gaia warns America, "Don't get me mad"

Those who accuse global warming realists of falling for a new green religious hysteria should take note of Gaia's power to smite their arguments, and everything else in Her path. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and scientists at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have reported their findings in the journal,

Neville Chamberlain of Climate Change

Andrew "Neville" Bolt is preparing for his 7:00 am debate on global warming with David Koch:By Andrew BoltTuesday, February 27, 2007 at 04:45pmDavid Koch, host of Channel Seven’s popular Sunrise program, is apparently not pleased with my reference to him on Alan Jones’ show this morning.And so we shall debate global warming, or so I’m told, on his show tomorrow just after the 7am news. Cover up

Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth

In a boon to PowerPoint, Al Gore picked up an unlikely Oscar for his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. This will bring his message to a wider audience. The more that see his engaging presentation about the current state of the science of global warming, and what it is telling us, the better the catalyses. By any measure this once obscure science being honoured with Hollywood's highest accolade

Good Style Watch

One of the things I want to do with Global Warming Watch is to pick out any good writing style and expression that I come across in my reading. If it is expression that delights, or something that I disagree with but is argued well, it will make the cut. With this in mind, I came across a new site for me, Conscious Earth, and the following:The Washington Times -"Global warming has becomethe

Whalers ram 30cm hole into side of pirate anti-whalers

It's the annual whale hunting season down in Australia's Antarctic Whale Sanctuary.I know that sounds peculiar. It is. Long story.In recent years, instead of your usual runaway slaughter (Japan - 990, Whales - 0), the blood-sport's scoreline differences have become smaller as the whales stage a comeback under the captaincy of Captain Paul Watson, the totally lunatic with whale conservation

Back to reeducation camp for global warming ex-skeptic

In September 22, 2006, Ronald Bailey of Reason Magazine published his Confessions of an Alleged ExxonMobil Whore. Reason Foundation had been in receipt of $250,000 of ExxonMobil's money since 2000 - to promote a contrarian media view to the scientific consensus on global warming.Earlier in the week, Bob Ward, the British Royal Society's senior manager for policy communication, had sent a letter

Cheney's money talks of an inconvenient truth

Dick Cheney is a scary guy to boldly express dissent to — no matter who your are.If you are swarthy and have a beard, you run the risk of being rendered by the bloke's private army. Even if you are a CIA agent, you're not safe . A newly discovered hazard of the job — like you need more problems in that role — is that you risk being outed on his instruction for something you didn't do.Like

Turnbull vs. Garrett in the great climate change clash

The 7:30 Report is the setting: Kerry O'Brien the referee. I'm expect a good clean bout by two high profile political newcomers. With science, economics, and politics for weapons there promises to be interesting jousting on hand, for a public newly engaged with global warming issues: :::[7:30 Report transcript]Kerry O'Brien lays down the rules and terms.KERRY O’BRIEN: This is the third decade

Climate change heavyweights duke it out

Here is one contest I am going to enjoy big-time: Garrett vs. Turnbull.Photo SMH Malcolm Turnbull, to the right, is a self-made millionaire, seemingly an independent thinker, ex-journalist, and until I moved he was my local federal member of parliament. The amount of money he spent to get the gig was exciting and instructive. He is the type of guy you naturally like, however it's early days

Jakarta flooding blamed on global warming

A deputy minister for the environment for the Indonesian government has claimed that global warming is the cause of floods that have submerged huge areas in Jakarta and its surroundings since last week have killed 50 people and displaced hundreds of thousands: :::[SMH]"It's a natural phenomenon affected by climate change. It's been made worse by negligent behaviour," said Masnellyarty Hilman, a

Get your greenhouse confusion here

Andrew Bolt is useful for collating the ragtag bunch of sorry-arsed denialists who are still left standing after the 2007 IPCC report tsunamied out of Paris across the globe: UPDATE IPCC warming shock. Dissent not crushed! Shooting back are: Professor Steve McIntyre’s blog Lord MoncktonSenator Inhofe Fred SingerJake Young Professor Philip Stott How proud he must be, facilitating such

Stern view of global warming deniers after IPCC report

Sir Nicholas Stern take a dim view of the remaining global warming denial objections in the wake of the IPCC report. :::[SMH]"I have heard three kinds of argument claiming that it is not necessary to combat climate change," Sir Nicholas told a conference in Paris on Friday."Myth 1: The scientist are wrong about global warmingThe assessment by the IPCC said global warming was almost certainly

Florida tornado kills 19 - withdraw emissions now

When I hear of a suicide bombing that kills a big number in Iraq straight after the Iraq Study Group withdrawal recommendations, I think, "C'on Bushy, surely this prompts you into taking the recommendations more soberly, and spurs you into a frenzy of remedial action?".So the day after the release of the 2007 IPCC report telling us there is only a less than ten percent chance we are wrong about

2007 IPCC report released to the world

The much awaited 2007 IPPC Report was delivered in Paris last night: :::[SMH]A turbulent future of violent storms, devastating drought, higher temperatures and rising sea levels is inevitable, according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which released its 1200-page report in Paris last night. The work of 2500 scientists over six years, it is considered the most

Another trick of the dark: The Tuvalu canard

Professional global warming denier, Andrew Bolt, floats a favourite from his box of tricks - the Tuvalu strawman: :::[Andrew Bolt Blog] So when he speaks on global warming, it is with the voice of outstanding authority. Observe his latest pronouncement: “In fact, there is an island called Tuvalu, which was completely evacuated and New Zealand accepted all the residents because of sea level

Planet to Earth. SOS.

The Greens are advertising: :::[SMH]A new Australian Greens' advertising campaign on climate change will see the letters SOS loom over Australia's major cities for the next 30 days. Billboards, depicting the international distress signal SOS with a satellite image of the earth as the middle letter, are part of the Greens' campaign ahead of this year's federal election. Greens leader Bob Brown

Still the Lucky Country

Somewhere along the way over these last ten years, I lost that feeling that comes with buying into to the sentiment that Australia is the Lucky Country. I felt we had surrendered the title in Kyoto. But c'mon ozzy, how spoilt rotten am I? It's not like we're the really unlucky country.I looked up how much we had worth in energy resources:CoalWe have 73 billion tonnes of identified in situ black

Michael Duffy: New green heresy hunter

SMH's Michael Duffy has a crack at painting the 80% or so of us who acknowledge the science of global warming as members of a new green religion. It's an old motif that is done the rounds of the fossil-fuel think-tank shills who pose as journalists, but Duffy's own brand of spin is good for a belly laugh: :::[SMH]In my lifetime I've experienced two religious movements, Christianity and Marxism.

Will Bush propose carbon dioxide emissions surge in State of the Union speech?

Chief executives from Alcoa Inc., PB America Inc., DuPont Co., Caterpillar Inc., General Electric Co., and Duke Energy Corp., and executives of Lehman Brothers, PG&E Corp., PNM Resources, FPL Group and four leading environmental organizations have signed a letter asking Bush to announce big emission cuts on the eve of his State of the Union address: :::[Yahoo! News] WASHINGTON - The chief

Wealthy swordfish do Norway & Greenland for school holidays

It's all too easy to blame fossil fuels for global warming, but they have brought prosperity unknown in previous generations of tropical swordfish. So much so, in fact, that there have been frequent sighting of holidaying swordfish recorded off the coast of Norway and Greenland. :::[SMH]Parts of the North Atlantic are setting winter heat records, allowing species ranging from swordfish to

World Wide Weird Weather

And on the seventh day the climate has lost its cool in Greece, its waters in Australia, and sent Californians surf snowboarding. In their cars. And at Manchester airport landing planes did almost loseth their runways.And we all saw that it was not good: :::[SMH Video] Global Warning Climate Change Environment Science CO2 Carbon Sink Earth Australia Kyoto Energy

How do you tell Jesus you stuffed the climate?

At first glance it's hard to understand what the Exclusive Brethren religious sect has against the Greens political party? :::[SMH]A MYSTERY Sydney businessman belonging to the Exclusive Bretheren sect spent $370,000 on advertisements and pamphlets during the 2004 federal election, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.This finding follows a year-long investigation sparked by Senator

Howard's vapourware or Al Gore's hard truth?

John Howard is in China. He's looking to sell Australia's non-expertise in yet-to-be-developed clean-coal messiah technology. It's only expected to potentially bear fruit under favourable conditions at some abstract time in the 20's. In software development this is called vapourware, but the irony of Howard's hawkings gives the term a new context. When considering the value of Howard's offer, the

Regime change in the US and Australia (a winning coalition needed)

With the first ominous sniff of federal elections hanging in the Australian air like a distant bushfire, and with the US presidential elections due in less than half a term, the question has to be asked.How do we get carbon dioxide emissions regime friendly governments into power into these two countries, the only non-signators of the Kyoto Protocol?Well, let's knock over the easier case first;

ExxonMobil's $16 millon FUD campaign

FUD is an old sales technique widely used in the telecommunications and other sales oriented industries. It stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt and it is what a salesperson plants in the minds of their prospects in relation to his or her competitor, while trying not to appear to denigrate the competition. That's regarded by good salespeople, and good clients, as tacky.To prevent the public

Bush pisses in Merkle's global warming pocket

George Bush and Angela Merkel met to dicuss the world's problems. She seems to have extracted a softening from Bush on global warming: :::[Environmental News Network]WASHINGTON -- President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged closer cooperation on combatting global warming and in trying to prod a Middle East peace on Thursday, brushing aside lingering differences between the two

What in the world are we doing about global warming?

Running Dog's World Solutions provides a round-up of the co2 emissions reduction activities being deployed in various countries and continents around the world. Global Warning Climate Change Environment Science CO2 Carbon Sink Kyoto Energy