The global warming problem seems increasingly insoluble. The past record shows growing gaps between ambition and achievement, decreasing time in which to act, and governments, including Australia’s, stubbornly sticking to policies that have failed to stop emissions growth. Clues to the reasons behind this can be found in the Treasurer’s address to the Economic and Continue reading »
climate
Lots of good reasons to plant trees but stopping climate change isn’t one. Krill – abundant but not for long unless we change our ways. Fossil fuels cause conflict and always have. Plantation problems Whether it’s kids, politicians, investors, carbon emitters or fraudsters, and whether it’s one or two in your back garden, hundreds across Continue reading »
Industrial emissions, many hard-to-abate, are increasing. Norway leads the roll-out of EVs but China dominates the number purchased and the production of steel and EV batteries. 40% of amphibians are threatened with extinction. Industry’s rising GHG emissions Industrial activities – for example mining, manufacturing, construction and waste processing but not including the energy sector – Continue reading »
Life on Earth is under siege. A chain of tipping points with catastrophic consequences for everyone are being unleashed. Yet governments worldwide remain indifferent to the danger. Indeed, many continue avidly to stoke the very furnaces that will consume our civilisation. The first two statements above are from two new scientific reports, issued this week Continue reading »
In a recent Q and A, the opposition’s shadow minister for Climate Change and Energy Ted O’Brien’s improbable aim was to convince Australia that small nuclear reactors (SMRs) could replace our coal fired power plants and lead us to carbon neutrality. If you examine the economics of SMRs the proposition has to be classified as Continue reading »
Oceans could reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by a third. Toxic materials from abandoned and currently operational metal mines are polluting half a million kilometres of rivers and their floodplains. What do you know about Tassie Devils? Oceans combating climate change Seven ocean-based initiatives could deliver 35% of the cuts needed to reduce greenhouse gas Continue reading »
We have “likely crossed a tipping point for Australia’s temperate broadleaf and mixed forests when a critical level of heat or drought triggers a massive, devastating event. … Climate change is driving a new era of ‘unnatural disasters’ – and as a country we are not prepared to cope.” – Australian Climate Council, 2021. September Continue reading »
Based on what’s actually happening rather than unfulfilled promises, the world will exceed 2oC of warming in the early 2040s and it doesn’t look like a comfortable place to be (not even for succulents). ExxonMobil’s world in 2050 ExxonMobil’s projections for the 2050-world, likely to contain 2 billion more people than today, are rather dispiriting: Continue reading »
‘It is no longer possible to doubt the human origin of climate change’ (Pope Francis). Popes in the past usually quoted ancient theologians, or themselves, as footnote authorities in official documents. So, you know something’s changed when a pope’s footnotes quote the IPCC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the UN Climate Change 2023 Continue reading »
Wind and solar roll-outs are increasing globally but Australia and other Climate Wreckers are ignoring the science and developing new oil and gas fields. Wind and solar investments and roll-outs increasing Some countries had by 2022 achieved high rates of penetration of wind and solar into their electricity supply (Denmark 61% and Lithuania 48%) and Continue reading »