Category: Climate Change
Climate Science: Shift from Carbon Sponge (ODT)
via ‘Alarming’: Tropical Forests in Shift From Carbon Sponge to Carbon Source | Common Dreams News
The cost of doing nothing(ODT)
We need to focus all our efforts on the outcome required because Inaction on climate change will cost the Earth. That is too high a price to pay.
Seibt is promoted by the Heartland Institute. The Koch bros Institute seems to miss an essential point. Neither Science nor those arguing the reality of man-made Climate Change being real are declaring it’s “all” only man made. However, the accumulated effect human activity has had on the accelerating the rate of change can’t be discounted as the trigger and only humans can alter that over the long term.
Righteous anger is a valid response to call for a stop on CO2 emissions. Given the history of denial, which has only recently seen a psuedo shift by denialists like the Kochs and remains neither scientific or rational but purely political, economic and self-interested the anger stems from concern for the common good of the planet. Seibt on that basis is a red herring just as Dr Bjorn Lomborg and his Coppenhagen Climate Council was when also financed by the Koch Bros to distract from the evidence science has and continues to accumulate for over the past 60 years. Today proving the negative influence CO2 emissions have on the planet’s changing climate. (ODT)
“I don’t want to get people to stop believing in man-made climate change, not at all,” she told the Washington Post on Monday, while acknowledging she found the idea that human activity alone was responsible for the warming planet “ridiculous.” The outlet’s profile of the young activist, whom it not-so-subtly dubs “the anti-Greta,” proceeds to paint her as a puppet of the Heartland Institute, which is “paying [Seibt] to question established climate science” – as if she would never have done so on her own.
Rather then give Seibt the benefit of the doubt, at least one other outlet pounced on WaPo for not being harsh enough on the German activist. Motherboard accused the outlet of “amplifying climate change denialism” from a “noted propaganda factory” that “can routinely be found peeing in the public discourse pool on behalf of its corporate donors.” Imagine what hell would break loose if anyone used such terms to describe Saint Greta…
Amazon Rain Forest is now a Net-Emitter of CO2 du to 17% de-forestation.(ODT)
via Deforested parts of Amazon ’emitting more CO2 than they absorb’ – BBC News
”Unprecedented” is the word that keeps being tied to the apocalyptic weather Australia has faced over the past few months.
Teenage Swedish activist against climate change, Greta Thunberg has managed in the most vigorous and loud way to pass the debate over this huge problem, by the heads of state and government and public dialogue, in society and in the friendly discussions, mobilising millions of people around the world, especially young people, who began to demonstrate demanding by governments the immediate taking of measures for the confrontation of climate change.
Swedish MPs rightly suggested her for the Nobel Peace Prize. And of course, Greta Thunberg is right when she says that the measures are being taken to reduce greenhouse gases and, above all, carbon dioxide are not sufficient.
So, what are the appropriate measures to be taken without delay to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and keep the temperature at + 1.5°C?
The basic policies for mitigating the problem consists in promoting and utilising renewable energy sources (wind, solar, biomass, etc.), enhancing energy efficiency, the drastic reduction of the exploitation of oil and gas deposits and the imposition of carbon taxes in order that to limit the use of fossil fuels and thereby to reduce significantly carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050 at the latest, the rapid reduction of emissions of methane, carbon black and other short-lived pollutants that burden the climate, the restoration and protection of ecosystems and, above all, forests.
via Climate change: A major global threat – » The Australian Independent Media Network
So Clive James had various ways to attack the notion of Climate Change. He would deride and belittle those who speak up about IPCC science. He used bon mots or clever twists in language to make jokes about his opponents, who may not be more than political opponents. He approved of those who claim to be experts in scepticism, without bothering to verify them any more than he checked the claims of IPCC science. He asserted claims which were already debunked numerous times. He peppered his writing with historical names as if their name proves something. Far from affirming science, he affirmed denial.
via More Clive James: Climate Change Sceptic (Part 2) – » The Australian Independent Media Network
It’s true Australia is responsible for about 1.2 per cent of global emissions. It’s also true that we contribute a quarter of exports that make up the world’s coal trade and just became the biggest gas exporter.
So what effect does the action we take on climate change within Australia have on cutting emissions? What is our part in solving a problem that is, by its nature, global?
via Australia emits 1.2 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases. So who must act to cut emissions?
First
I’m, of course, talking about the recent bushfires. Just to recap the main talking points:
The bushfires, while bad, are nothing new because we’ve always had them.
These bushfires are not unprecedented. We’ve had worse.
They should not be politicised by talking about climate change.
They are the result of “greenie” influence and a lack of fuel reduction burns.
They are unprecedented because, in the past, we used to do fuel reduction burning.
They are not the result of climate change because a hotter climate doesn’t cause fires.
Don’t talk about climate change and try to politicise the issue.
Have we mentioned arson?
It’s all the states’ fault for not doing fuel reduction burning because that used to enable the fires to be put out before they’d got out of control.
We’ve always had droughts and fires and floods, so this is nothing new.
Of course, we believe in climate change, but, of course, some people will want more evidence before we do anything like… well, before we do anything.
Who is Matt Kean and why should we listen to someone who’s NSW Environment Minister?So in spite of the clear signals that Scott Morrison is considering that he’s prepared to change Coalition policy on climate change as long as it doesn’t involve anything which will affect jobs… In particular, his job. And so long as somebody can guarantee that this action won’t affect the Surplus, coal exports and ensure that his daughters get to ride on a unicorn, then he’s prepared to take it to the party room.
Then there’s Twiggy
His advice came from Roskam and the IPA. Someone has told him the next election is 2 years away. (ODT)
Australia and the UK beg Iraq to allow the Coalition of the Killing to stay on to fight ISIS after Trump declared their fight has been put on hold despite Trump’s declaration of victory and news he’s now ready to cut and run. These are the world’s self-declared peacekeepers (ODT)
Boris Johnson pleads with Iraq not to kick out UK and US forces | Daily Mail Online
As bushfires rage and the demands for action on climate rise, the gas cartel is developing a suite of enormous fossil fuel projects destined to blow Australia’s commitments to the Paris Agreement to smithereens. Michael West reports on the push to frack new provinces; the propaganda and the reality.
LNP “Normal Weather” Murdochians duck for cover in their denials of Climate Change. (ODT)
via “Get out Now!” Australia’s Climate-Driven Extreme Fire Danger forces 30,000 to Evacuate
Politicising Cricket will it get anybody’s attention? (ODT)
The civil society groups’ joint statement noted that in the final hours of the summit, “it is not too late for developing countries to stand strong, to resolutely refuse the agenda of polluters.”
“From the Amazon to the Arctic, our world is on fire,” the statement read. “Allowing expansion of coal, oil and gas production at this moment of history is throwing gasoline on the fire.”
Andrew Bolt will be pissed for not being noticed alongside his boss and Alan Jones. (ODT)
Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘do-nothings’ who argue fact or fiction on climate science | The New Daily %
But despite the bulk of scientific evidence connecting drought, water shortages, heat waves and bushfires to climate change, Jones manages to consistently link these issues to claims that climate change is “a hoax”, and “there’s no evidence whatsoever to support [it]”.
Since August, Jones hasn’t interviewed any climate scientists, but he has given a platform to climate science denier Christopher Monckton, climate sceptic Peter Ridd and fossil fuel advocate Bjorn Lomborg.
He has also suggested that the government secretly wants the cattle of drought-stricken farmers to die because reduced methane emissions would help it reach its Paris target.
Doing what Big Tobacco has been doing for years (ODT)
“It gives the shrill voices someone with science credentials who they can use to support their claims about bogus science and conspiracy theories and so on.”
Dismissed by James Cook University, climate sceptic Peter Ridd sued for unfair dismissal and won. Now, he’s touring the globe, and being feted for insisting the Great Barrier Reef is fine and the science behind claims to the contrary is broken. By Max Opray.
via Peter Ridd and the climate sceptics | The Saturday Paper
Is this climate change in action?
No fire can be blamed on climate change alone, but Bowman says the rise in higher temperatures, extreme dryness, worsening fire seasons, extreme bursts of fire weather and behaviour and the spread of fire across the country all align with scenarios painted by climate change projections.
Greenhouse gas emissions have a clear impact on rising temperatures and, through that, an indirect link on increased dryness in eastern Australia. A recent study found the extreme temperatures that drove historic 2018 bushfires in northern Queensland were four times more likely to have happened because of human-caused climate change
In short, climate change can and does makes bushfires worse.
via Australia bushfires factcheck: are this year’s fires unprecedented? | Australia news | The Guardian
rather than making room for the others, and helping those floundering around in the sea, Donald Trump beats them with the oars – he unilaterally takes his country out of the Paris climate change Agreement because he thinks that doing so will damage the US economy.This ridiculous assumption is like hogging the set of waves on his surfboard while a monstrous tsunami lurks menacingly on the horizon.
Rinehart’s climate change denialism is well known, and she is reportedly and unsurprisingly amongst those voices that argue that 99% of the Fitzroy River’s water is wasted because it flows into the Indian Ocean.
Meanwhile, at the time of writing, Australia was experiencing catastrophic fire conditions across the Eastern seaboard. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the 11 November 2019 was the first day on record that no rain fell anywhere across the entire expanse of this vast continent. The north of Australia, like the rest of the country, is in the grip of drought.
via Water Barons: Gina Rinehart pitches cattle against sawfish – Michael West
The population, science and business are all onside but the LNP isn’t(ODT)
We have truly lost our moral compass, following get-rich-quick cults and ignoring the needs of those who do not have a chance to ‘have a go’!
We waste food while the poor in other countries – and some in our own – are starving.
We have developed a throw-away economy where manufacturers build in obsolescence.
We pollute to the point that some fresh water sources are no longer suitable for consumption.
The rate of loss of species diversity is enormous. No surprise, when we recognise that humankind is the Earth’s most dangerous predator!
The clock is ticking ever closer to Doomsday, and all the wealth, in financial terms, which a few have accumulated, will not save them forever when the air and water are polluted and the temperatures soar out of control! They might end up living lonely lives in luxurious caves!
Government funding cuts and concentration on research that brings in money has not yet quite destroyed the CSIRO. We have plenty of sources of viable plans for action.
via The clock is ticking ever closer to Doomsday – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Key points:
UN chief Antonio Guterres told Asia it is “lagging behind” and said the rollback of coal could help curb rising global temperatures
Australia is the world’s biggest coal exporter
According to the Minerals Council of Australia, most of Australia’s coal production is sold overseas, and mainly to Asia
In a statement, 350 gave the numbers:
From 20th to 27th of September, 1.4 million people took to the streets in Germany, over 1 million in Italy, over 600,000 in Canada, over 500,000 in the United States, 350,000 in Australia and another 350,000 in the United Kingdom, 195,000 in France, 170,000 in New Zealand, 150,000 in Austria, 50,000 in Ireland, 70,000 in Sweden, 42,000 in the Netherlands, 20,000 in Brazil, 21,000 in Finland, 15,000 in Peru, 13,000 in Mexico, 13,000 in India, 10,000 in Denmark, 10,000 in Turkey, 10,000 in Pakistan, 6,000 in Hungary, 5,000 in South Korea, 5,000 in Japan, 5,000 in South Africa, more than 3,500 in Chile, 3,000 in the Pacific, 2,000 in Singapore and much more, since many locations are still striking and the final count is not yet confirmed.
“The week of Global Climate Strikes is on par with the 2003 anti-Iraq war protest as one of the largest coordinated global protests in history,” 350 said.
The event comes at a dramatic crossroads for climate action. Young Americans are more worried about climate change than ever, but federal action to address the phenomenon has only been rolled back since the ascendency of President Donald Trump. Over the past two years, the White House has rolled back or eliminated dozens of the country’s key environmental laws and withdrawn the U.S. from the landmark Paris climate agreement.
At the same time, scientists have been tolling warning bells loudly. Global carbon emissions — the main driver of climate change — rose to a record high in 2018, which was also the fourth hottest year on record.
via From Sydney To San Francisco, Millions Are Striking For Global Climate Action | HuffPost Australia
