Rajendra Pachauri: Climate scientists face ‘ new form of persecution’
Rajendra Pachauri: Climate scientists face ‘new form of persecution’
IPCC chair accuses politicians and sceptics of portraying scientists as ‘criminals’ through attacks on their credibility
Rajendra Pachauri: Don’t hound the scientists
- guardian.co.uk, Friday 26 March 2010 17.00 GMT
- Article history
Rajendra Pachauri: Scientific knowledge of climate change is ‘something we distort and trivialise at our peril’. Photograph: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images
The head of the UN’s climate change panel has accused politicians and prominent climate sceptics of “a new form of persecution” against scientists who work on global warming.
In a strongly worded article published on the Guardian website, Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), hit out at those in “positions of power and responsibility” who try to portray “dedicated scientists as climate criminals”.
No stopping controversial dam in Ethiopia
No stopping controversial dam in Ethiopia Ecologist 26th March, 2010 Controversial dam project on the Omo River in southern Ethiopia cannot be stopped says African Development Bank A soure within the African Development Bank has told the Ecologist that the building of a controversial dam in Ethiopia cannot be stopped and will go ahead with Continue Reading →
Gorillas losing battle against loggers and hunters in Central Africa
March 25, 2010 Gorillas losing battle against loggers and hunters in Central Africa Foreign Staff 2 Comments Recommend? The UN called for more help to protect gorillas March 25, 2010 Gorillas losing battle against loggers and hunters in Central Africa Foreign Staff 2 Comments Recommend? The UN called for more help to protect gorillas Gorillas Continue Reading →
Nursing homes at breaking point, says report
Nursing homes at breaking point, says report
- From: AAP
- March 28, 2010
AUSTRALIAN nursing homes have reached breaking point due to chronic underfunding and staff shortages, with reports of physical assaults increasing by more than 50 per cent and sexual assaults by 36 per cent.
The Department of Health and Ageing was notified of 1411 alleged assaults in nursing homes in 2008-09. Of those, 1121 involved alleged unreasonable force, 272 involved alleged unlawful sexual contact and 18 involved both, Fairfax newspapers say.
In 2007-08 there were 725 reports of unreasonable force and 200 reports of unlawful sexual contact.
Minister unaware of emissions target axing
NB There seems to be a lack of communication within the NSW state govt. Could be based on the “Yes Minister” series of the “NEED TO KNOW” Neville Gillmore. Minister unaware of emissions target axing ABC March 26, 2010, 9:35 The New South Wales Environment Minister has been caught by surprise by Continue Reading →
Ships told to go slow to cut carbon emissions
Ships told to go slow to cut carbon emissions
Ecologist
25th March, 2010
‘Slow-steaming’ could reduce shipping emissions by 30 per cent, says a report submitted to the UN, but toxic lubricants remain a serious problem
The shipping industry is being told to reduce vessel speeds to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The current oversupply of ships allows for captains to sail slower and reduce emissions by a third, according to a report presented to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) yesterday.
So far, research into lowering the environmental impact of shipping has focused on developing more fuel-efficient vessels, but environmentalists argue that simply going slower could reduce emissions by more than 30 per cent.
The shipping industry accounts for more than three per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its share is expected to rise over the coming decades.
Critics of ‘slow-steaming’ had argued that more ships would be needed to transport the same amount of cargo if speed restrictions were adopted.
But given that an estimated 12 per cent of container ships are currently lying idle, the report says shipping companies would not need to increase fleet sizes in order to go slower.
Golden opportunity
‘In short, this study shows that the current overcapacity in the fleet presents the global shipping industry with a golden opportunity to make substantial reductions in GHG emissions in the short term,’ said John Maggs, Policy Advisor with Seas At Risk.
‘This is particularly important given the urgent need to peak emissions in the next few years if global warming is to be kept well below 2 degrees and catastrophic consequences avoided,’ he added.
Some shipping companies have already adopted slow-steaming to lower operating costs and absorb surplus capacity. Phillip Damas of Drewry Shipping Consultants said that more than half of the container ships on the east/west trade routes now operate with slow-steaming, compared to zero in early 2008.
Unpopular measure
But whilst some importers can tolerate the extra two or three days transit time, forcing companies to slow-steam would be unpopular in the shipping industry, said Damas.
‘Importers of time-sensitive products, like fashion textiles, need speed of delivery,’ he said.
‘If slow-steaming is universally applied by all providers and forced on time-sensitive importers then the practice would actually result in additional costs and the loss of ‘supply chain agility,’ he added.
Lubricant pollution
In another session at the Marine Environment Protection Committee today, Friends of the Earth (FOE) and WWF called on the IMO to address the issue of ship lubricant pollution.
They estimate that 244,000 tonnes of toxic oil based lubricants are released into the sea each year.
‘Lubricant leakage doesn’t attract the attention of oil spillages, but the quantities are likely to be higher,’ said Simon Walmsley of WWF.
‘It’s the equivalent to approximately one and a half times the amount of oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez disaster every year,’ he added.
Useful links
Full IMO report ‘Seas at Risk‘