The Generator news service publishes articles on sustainable development, agriculture and energy as well as observations on current affairs. The news service is used on the weekly radio show, The Generator, as well as by a number of monthly and quarterly magazines. A podcast of the Generator news is also available.
As well as Giovanni’s articles it picks up the most pertinent articles from a range of other news services. You can publish the news feed on your website using RSS, free of charge.
Global warming is strengthening heatwaves. The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world, so the temperature difference between the North Pole and the Equator is getting smaller. It is this temperature difference that powers the jet stream. The result is that the speed is falling. And the path is meandering.
The John James Newsletter 65 4 July 2015 – Souppes–sur-Loing
Temperatures in France have pipped 40C over past two days.Records broken as heatwave hits US northwest:Both India and Pakistan have had heatwaves this year, Western Europe is developing one and North America is enduring one, in its northwest. The precise definition differs from country to country but the effects are the same.http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/records-broken-heatwave-hits-northwest-150629104554904.htmlMassive Siberian heatwave next weekGlobal warming is strengthening heatwaves. The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world, so the temperature difference between the North Pole and the Equator is getting smaller. It is this temperature difference that powers the jet stream. The result is that the speed is falling. And the path is meandering.http://arctic-news.blogspot.fr/2015/07/east-siberian-heat-wave.html
We thought you’d like to know that the Keep it in the Ground campaign has now attracted royal support. Prince Charles gave a speech on Thursday night in London on climate change in which he spoke of a need to “re-wire” the global economy and curb fossil fuel subsidies.
“I can only welcome and commend the Guardian’s campaign, which has proved so clear, compelling and powerfully resonant with many millions of people around the world. The ‘Keep it in the Ground’ campaign is the first action of its kind from such a newspaper, and has – like the broader fossil fuel divestment movement – focused the mind very considerably as to the scale of the transition before us.”
The prince went on to say:
“the “Divest / Invest” movement has recently seen significant and increasingly broad-based support, and has sharpened investors’ focus, not just on the risks of holding hydrocarbon stocks within their portfolios, but also to the ever more pressing need to divert vastly more capital into clean energy, low-carbon investments and infrastructure projects.”
Last year, we wrote an article explaining why zero has become the most important number for humanity. Since that time, zero emissions has been embraced as an idea that’s time has come by nearly 120 countries, leading European companies, high-profile CEOs, two Pontifical Academies, climate visionaries like Al Gore, mainstream media outlets and, if you can believe it, even the leaders of the G7. We now address the critical issue of timelines.
The time for timid visions and baby steps is over.
The time for our generational mission is at hand.
Zero emissions: because the first step to making things
better is to stop making things worse.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
Currently, the two target dates most commonly cited for achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions are 2050 and 2100. Given the extreme weather weirding we are witnessing at current levels of pollution, we shudder to think what 35 years—let alone 85 years—of continued emissions will bring. Everyone can see that the climate is already on steroids and wreaking havoc.
The urgency of our planetary emergency requires that we transition from fossil fuels to renewables not in decades, but in years. We must move beyond what conventional wisdom views as politically feasible to what this existential crisis truly demands: an all hands on deck societal mobilization at wartime speed.
To be clear, we are not suggesting ending the use of fossil fuels tomorrow. Decarbonizing our industries, homes, transportation, power generation and food production will take time, probably longer than 2020. Let’s hope it doesn’t take us until 2030. But we must make this transition as quickly as humanly possible.
In 2011, an unprecedented coalition of planetary protection leaders called on the presidents of the U.S. and China to declare a global climate emergency by launching a wartime-like mobilization to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020. Because that urgent call was not heeded, we have lost precious time in the race to save civilization, and must now set our sights even higher.
To this end, we join with our allies at The Climate Mobilization in calling on Congress and the White House to revitalize our economy and put America back to work by declaring a U.S. goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
Some will no doubt call this bold national goal unrealistic, but they would underestimate the innovative genius and social conscience of the American people. America has a long and proud history of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds (consider World War II, Apollo program and Abolitionist movement). What is unrealistic is thinking we can put off for decades action that is desperately needed now to ensure our survival as a species.
We will be reminded of the fragility of our existence this summer when the victims of Hurricane Katrina are honored on the 10th anniversary of that savage storm. We will be reminded again this fall when the victims of Hurricane Sandy are commemorated on the third anniversary of that superstorm’s lethal landfall.
Five months from today, delegates from more than 190 nations will gather in Paris for the 21st UN Convention on Climate Change (COP21) to negotiate a global climate accord—this after decades of failed international talks have only watched fossil fuel emissions continue to soar. For the sake of all that we love, we cannot allow COP21 to become yet another climate cop-out.
Intergenerational justice demands that the centerpiece of the Paris agreement be zero emissions, a goal UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls “ambitious but achievable.” Five months is ample time for the nations of the world to draft their legally binding zero emissions commitments for Paris.
In his widely anticipated encyclical, timed to influence the Paris talks, Pope Francis writes, “Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the part of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most.” As the nation that historically contributed the most to global climate pollution, and that is in the strongest position to respond, the U.S. has a moral imperative to lead the zero emissions charge at COP21.
The current weak U.S. target of 26-28 percent emissions cuts by 2025 cannot be described as honest, courageous or responsible when what is needed is what the pontiff calls a “cultural revolution” to free ourselves from fossil fuels.
The time for timid visions and baby steps is over. The time for our generational mission is at hand.
Zero emissions: because the first step to making things better is to stop making things worse.
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REEF: Is Abbot Point on the brink of collapse?
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Sam R – GetUp!
5:48 PM (3 minutes ago)
to me
It’s been a massive couple of weeks in the fight to protect the Great Barrier Reef from Adani’s Abbot Point coal port and Carmichael coal mine. Things are moving fast, so here’s a quick update on the latest.
Hey NEVILLE,
Mining giant Adani’s plan to build the massive Abbot Point coal terminal on the Reef, dredge millions of tonnes of seabed in Reef waters and build Australia’s largest ever coal mine is starting to look shaky. Really shaky.
Investors are walking away, Adani’s lies are beginning to crumble and they’ve just taken a hammering in court.
The events of the last few days have been enormous. Here’s everything you need to know:
Adani halted all construction work:
Last Friday, Adani told its contractors to immediately stop all preliminary work on the project. It looked for a fleeting moment like they might be getting ready to abandon the port and mine all together. Instead, it now appears to be a high stakes, desperate move to pressure the Queensland Government into fast-tracking approvals and providing the mining company with favourable conditions.1
UNESCO put the Reef on its watch list:
Last night UNESCO narrowly avoided listing the Reef as ‘in-danger’ but the diagnosis wasn’t pretty. The Reef is suffering, only getting worse and UNESCO has put our Government on a short-leash when it comes to protecting our precious icon.2
Despite the Federal Government spending huge sums of money to convince us the Reef is in great health, we know the reality is much bleaker. We need to do so much more to protect it from climate change, declining water quality and coastal development. Not building a giant coal port on the Reef coast would be a great start.
Adani Treasury scandal:
Explosive documents exposed under Freedom of Information show that former Premier Campbell Newman and former Planning Minister Jeff Seeney had ignored advice from its own Treasury who repeatedly warned them Adani’s project was unbankable.3
Incredibly, instead of heeding the advice, Minister Seeney’s department uninvited Treasury from a meeting with Adani before signing a deal to give the mining company $450 million.3
Even for the previous Newman Government and Adani, this is a new low.
But is Queensland Labor Adani’s new saviour?
Unbelievably, it seems that a Minister from the new Labor Government — elected on a mandate of protecting the Reef and stamping out murky-mining deals — looks to be Adani’s saviour.
Mines Minister Anthony Lynham — even after learning the project is an economic disaster — has come out in support of the monstrous port and mine.
It just doesn’t make sense. It will hurt the Reef. It will devastate our climate. The mine may never be built, and even if it is, analysts say it’s unlikely to ever turn a profit.
Eleven major investment banks have vowed not to fund the project. Adani face numerous legal challenges, including ones funded by GetUp members. India and China don’t want our expensive imported coal.4,5 Adani still don’t have State or Federal approvals for the mine and they still don’t have an approved plan for dredging millions of tonnes of World Heritage Area seabed.
But, so long as Mines Minister Anthony Lynham continues to pledge his support, Adani’s mission to build Abbot Point will stay alive.
It’s never been more important to place pressure on the Queensland Government than it is right now. If we can convince Minister Lynham this project is too toxic to touch we could be on the verge of a truly historic victory.
If you don’t have Facebook or Twitter, you can help by forwarding this email to your friends and family and explain why stopping Abbot Point and protecting the Reef means so much to you.
Right now we’re closer to saving the Great Barrier Reef from Abbot Point and the Carmichael mine than we’ve ever been before. Let’s make it happen.
Thank you for everything.
Sam R and Adam, for the GetUp team
References:
[1] Adani halts work on Australia’s largest mine amid political dispute over approvals. Sydney Morning Herald. June 24, 2015.
[2] Great Barrier Reef: World Heritage Committee decides against declaring reef as ‘in danger’. ABC Online. July 2, 2015.
[3] Adani Mining: Senior Queensland bureaucrats frozen out of government’s Galilee Basin deal. ABC Online. July 1, 2015
[4] The End of Coal? ABC 4 Corners, June 16, 2015.
[5] China to cut coal consumption. Australian Mining, March 9 2015.
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