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Rudd’s greenhouse target wrong by nearly a century; Wong admits mistake,
but no correction issued
Canberra, Friday 29 May 2009
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has acknowledged that one of the
critical scientific targets in the Prime Minister’s May 4 announcement
on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was wrong. The mistake has gone
uncorrected for 25 days, Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.
| The Gulf Stream | ||
| Joanna Gyory, Arthur J. Mariano, Edward H. Ryan | ||
Beginning in the Caribbean and ending in the northern North Atlantic, the Gulf Stream System is one of the world’s most intensely studied current systems. This extensive western boundary current plays an important role in the poleward transfer of heat and salt and serves to warm the European subcontinent. Traditional hydrographic studies in this region include those of Iselin (1936) and Gulf Stream ’60 (Fuglister 1963). The high degree of mesoscale activity associated with this system also has attracted oceanographers. Studies of these phenomena have focused on the “snapshot” representation of the region and have included studies such as SYNOP, Gusto, and ABCE/SME. The Gulf Stream system is powerful enough to be readily seen from space and was visible in even the earliest satellite altimetry studies, such as Seasat and later Geosat. Strong thermal gradients also made it visible to infrared measurements, like VHRR (Very High Resolution Radiometer) readings using the early NOAA satellites, THIR (Temperature and Humidity Infrared Radiometer) readings from Nimbus satellites, and Advanced VHRR (AVHRR) readings from later NOAA satellites.
Climate change solutions cannot be created by unfettered markets, despite what business leaders think
Oscar Reyes
When Sir Crispin Tickell had the temerity to suggest that “the business community needs to re-examine the fundamentals of economics” at the recent World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen, his discordant tone was drowned out by a chorus of more than 800 delegates singing the praises of unfettered markets as a means to tackle climate change.
The commitment to carry on with business as usual took an almost surreal form at times. Indra Nooyi, the chief executive officer of PepsiCo, proudly proclaimed: “The fact that I flew here for 1 1/2 hours to sit on a panel them I’m flying straight back to the US is an example of our commitment to environmental sustainability.”
Lenore Taylor | May 28, 2009
ONLY the 27-member European Union has a legislated and operating emissions trading scheme to achieve the carbon pollution reduction targets it will sign up to at the United Nations climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December.
While the Rudd Government insists it needs its emissions trading scheme legislated to give it a credible negotiating position in Copenhagen, many countries around the world are locked in domestic debates similar to the one under way in Australia – about the targets they can commit to and the best domestic laws to achieve them.
The EU has promised to cut emissions by at least 20 per cent of 1990 levels by 2020, and says it will cut by 30 per cent if other advanced economies follow suit.
Matthew Franklin and Asa Wahlquist | May 29, 2009
KEVIN Rudd has sharply escalated his campaign to return natural water flows to the ailing Murray-Darling river system by buying $303 million of NSW irrigation licence allocations – enough water to meet the needs of Sydney for six months.
But ongoing drought means that, on 2008-09 irrigation allocations, less than 20 per cent of the 240 gigalitres will actually make its way back into the river system.
The Prime Minister announced yesterday the Government had sealed the biggest one-off water buyback deal in the nation’s history, snaring irrigation licences for 240 billion litres of water a year from the NSW-based Twynam Agricultural Group.
Despite the move winning backing from the environment movement, the Opposition ridiculed what it called a waste of public money on “phantom water”, demanding the Government instead spend more to improve irrigation infrastructure to save water through greater efficiency.
Kerry’s comments mark a further sweetening of the mood music between the US and China, which together account for almost half of the world’s greenhouse gas emission
Climate talks between the United States and China have entered a crucial few weeks that will determine the outcome of landmark negotiations in Copenhagen later this year, according to US senator John Kerry.
Speaking in Beijing, the former presidential candidate and chairman of the powerful Senate foreign relations committee, said he was hopeful that an agreement can be reached after what he described as the “most constructive and productive” talks he has had with China over climate change in 20 years.
“Based on these meetings, I am very optimistic at the possibility of producing a successful outcome in Copenhagen,” said Kerry, who has been involved in negotiations since 1988.