The atmosphere is to the earth as a layer of varnish is to a desktop globe. It is thin, fragile and essential for preserving the items on the surface.150 years of burning fossil fuel have overloaded the atmosphere to the point where the earth is ill. It now has a fever. Read the detailed article, Soothing Gaia’s Fever for an evocative account of that analogy. The items listed here detail progress on coordinating 6.5 billion people in the most critical project undertaken by humanity.Â
The establishment of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) underscores Australia’s dismal record on renewable energy, the Australian Greens said today.
While many of the countries signing the IRENA Treaty in Bonn this week are making great strides towards renewably powered economies, the Australian Government and much of the Australian industry appear content for renewable energy to remain a marginal business.
The Government is jogging on the spot when it needs to take big strides.
WHEN representatives of community climate action groups from around Australia gather in Canberra for a meeting this weekend, discussion will focus on understanding how the Rudd Government got climate policy so wrong, and what can be done in 2009.
The proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme will allow Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions to increase, just as the scientific case for reducing emissions towards zero as quickly as possible becomes more compelling. While emissions permits will drop 5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, the Treasury modelling that underpins the scheme plans on the large-scale purchase of permits from other countries, so that Australia’s total emissions, as opposed to domestic permits, will rise.
Trekkers crossing Gangotri glacier in Indian Himalayas. Photograph: Alamy For centuries, writers, painters and photographers have been drawn to the wild and seemingly indestructible beauty of glaciers. More practically, they are a vital part of the planet’s system for collecting, storing and delivering the fresh water that billions of people depend on for washing, drinking, Continue Reading →
Densely populated and low lying Jakarta is extremely vulnerable to all climate chaos related events except for tropical storms according to a report from Pdjadjarang University in Singapore revealed last week.
The report combined the predictions of floods, drought, landslides, rising sea levels and extreme weather with the population density and economic preparedness to deal with disaster. It also identified the Philipines as a high risk area with the potential for a combination of tropical storms, leading to landslides and flooding combined with possible sea level rises.
Cambodia and Laos are vulnerable to major social disruption largely because of the lack of disaster recovery resources. Other areas such as Vietnam may face major disasters but are reasonably well prepared.
In line with his campaign promises to develop a clean, Green future for the economy of the United States, President Obama has made his inaugration an ecologically conscious event. The food served at the balls to celebrate his induction to the highest office on the planet will be sourced from local, organic food growers , carbon emissions will be offset and the soap in the rest rooms will biodegradable. In case cynics should mistake the green tie event for greenwash, those attending the green tie ceremony by bicycle will be able to park at special bike free bike valet stations specifically set up for the event. Hybrid vehicles form a significant portion of the official transport fleet.
When Australian agriculture meets the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) next year, it faces an extraordinary scenario in which stands to lose up to 8pc of farm cash margins to a scheme it plays no part in.
Agriculture has been written out of the CPRS as being in the “too hard basket”, but in fact the scheme as it is currently designed will still overwhelm farm profits, according to a new report from the Australian Farm Institute (AFI).
Not only will agriculture wear additional costs passed on from players within the CPRS, like the transport and fertiliser industries, but it faces lower returns from large processors obligated to pay out under the scheme.