Related Posts
Climate change: Californians care!
A new poll shows that Californians are a bunch of tofu-eating, wheat grass-drinking, hybrid-driving hippies who want a...
Unilever tops UK corporate climate change index – with a little help from Greenpeace
In light of a recent survey naming UK companies as the worst among 300 of Europe’s largest corporations...
World climate news: CO2 rise, no nukes and Cate Blanchett
Climate change is back in the news and on the global political agenda. Sort of. It isn’t trumping...
U.S. eco news: Al Gore speaks about American political opposition to climate change action
Climate change skeptics are not unique to the United States, but they do seem to find more receptive...
Climate expert James Hansen on the Copenhagen summit, climate change science and a carbon taxJames E. Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has been speaking out about climate...
Tip of the Day
Keep eggs out of the fridge to save energy when cooking them
Climate change news
image credit: Hughhunt (Wikimedia Commons)
Here are a few climate change stories making headlines of late.
Thee great State of California has instituted a policy designed to limit its carbon emissions, otherwise known as a cap and trade bill.
Cap and trade treats carbon emissions – or rather, lack thereof – as a sort of commodity to be traded and even profited on. There are plenty of criticisms of cap and trade or carbon trading systems, including among environmentalists. I’m not such a big fan myself, but I guess it’s better than nothing.
From the New York Times:
In a cap-and-trade system, the government sets a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that refineries, chemical companies, cement plants and other businesses are allowed to release. It then issues permits to those companies allowing them to emit a certain amount.
For more explanation on California’s cap and trade initiative, see this article from Southern California Public Radio.
Other groups would like the nascent science of geoengineering to tackle the problems of climate change. A recent survey of residents of the UK, US and Canada shows the public in those countries supports this.
One of the authors of the survey, Professor David Keith of Harvard University, quoted in the Guardian:
Some reports have suggested that opposition to geoengineering is associated with environmentalists, but our results do not support this view. We found that geoengineering divides people along unusual lines. Support for geoengineering is spread across the political spectrum and is linked to support for science concern about climate change. The strongest opposition comes from people who self-identify as politically conservative, who are distrustful of government and other elite institutions, and who doubt the very idea that there is a climate problem.
I’d also like for there to be a magic pill to fix all the damage humanity has done to the planet, but I’m also a bit fearful that such experimental technologies might do more or at least different damage in the process. I guess I’m a geoengineering skeptic.
Finally a so-called ‘climate skeptic’ scientist has changed his mind. Physicist Richard Muller of the University of California Berkeley has reconsidered his criticisms of climate change data.
Read about it in the Los Angeles Times.
Tags: California, cap and trade, carbon, Climate change, geoengineering, skeptic
2 Comments
You can also log in to post a comment.
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Chinese Hakka Houses, a World Heritage site
The Tulou communities on the mountainous Fujian province of China are home to the formidable “Hakka” houses. These ingenious fortresses were built at the height of war and conflict during the 17th century in order to shelter its inhabitants and stave off intruders at the same time. These amazing brick structures built in either square or round shapes form self-sustaining micro-communities complete with food storage, space for livestock, living quarters, temples, armories and more. The UNESCO has cited the Tulou “apartments” as...
Chill out, warm up: Supermarket freezers are big greenhouse gas emitters
Freezing cold supermarkets equal a hotter planet. As reductionist as this may sound, a recent study by Environmental Investigation Agency – an international campaigning organization – claims that greenhouse gases used in large freezers and fridges by supermarkets are as harmful to the environment as plastic bags. The problem is HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) which are coolants that were introduced in the 1990s to replace ozone depleting CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs hydrochlorofluorocarbons). Unfortunately HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases – up to nearly 4,000...
More Energy-Saving Eco-Friendly Tips from BBC’s Bloom
Sometimes you just gotta love the Beeb. The BBC’s interactive website Bloom – ‘smart choices for the carbon conscious,’ features a wealth of information on environmental issues. The site is beautifully done, a pleasure to navigate and offers a vast array of tips on how to make your life Greener. Just click on ‘find actions’ and let your Green online adventure begin! And if you don’t like flash sites just go to the Bloom homepage and choose ‘launch basic version.’ Here...
Lantern Shark Light Switch Powered By Hormones
Lurking in the dark, murky depths of the world’s oceans are quite the number of fascinating creatures. Very little sunlight reaches these deep places of the world, but should you ever decide to brave these territories, you may find yourself amidst a spectacular light show—all courtesy of nature. Bioluminescence is a common thing for many creatures, especially those who lurk between the devil and deep, blue sea. Some glow-in-the-dark creatures you may already be familiar with are things like fireflies, glowworms,...
Madeira update: 42 dead, 250 homeless from floods in Portugal
BBC News reports that the death toll from Saturday's floods and mudslides on the Portuguese island of Madeira has risen to 42. Earth Times puts the official number of injured at 120 with 70 still hospitalized and around 250 people homeless. Saturday's storms were an unprecedented event for the inhabitants for Madeira. According to Der Spiegel an entire month's rain fell on the island in just 8 hours. Rescue efforts include medical teams, divers and members of the Portuguese military. Emergency crews...
Endangered Species of the Week: Tehuantepec jackrabbit
Species: Tehuantepec jackrabbit (Lepus flavigularis) Status: Endangered (EN) Interesting Fact: The Tehuantepec jackrabbit has impressively long ears which can measure up to 12 centimetres in length. The Tehuantepec jackrabbit is considered to be the most endangered hare species in the world. Like other hares, it is characterised by its long legs, large hind feet, huge ears and superb running ability. This species is active at night or at dawn and dusk, sheltering in cover during the day. Like most hares, it does not dig burrows, instead relying on...
More Slavoj Zizek on ecology
How much can we "safely" pollute our environment? How many fossil fuels can we burn? How much of a poisonous substance does not threaten our health? That our knowledge has limitations does not mean we shouldn't exaggerate the ecological threat. On the contrary, we should be even more careful about it, given that the situation is extremely unpredictable. The recent uncertainties about global warming signal not that things are not too serious, but that they are even more chaotic than...
Flying in the EU: Emissions trading scheme ruffles global feathers
In 1991 American industrialist Warren Buffet stated that in over 100 years of human flight, investors had never made any money from the airline industry. So if flying is a net loss industry, which has historically relied on government subsidies, why is it at the same times taxed so heavily? Conversely, if flying is such a money-loser as well as a huge climate change driver, why is it so heavily subsidized? I’m guessing it has something to due with lobbying by other...
Humans Continue Their Abusive Relationship with the Earth
Humans are more wasteful than originally thought. The Global Footprint Network recently put out a report stating that humans use resources equivalent to 1 ½ Earths to meet their needs, and Americans are the worst of all. If the entire world lived as recklessly as those in the US, humans would require 5 Earths to produce the resources everyone needs. “We are demanding nature’s services—using resources and creating CO2 emissions—at a rate 44% faster than what nature can regenerate and reabsorb. That...
Don’t forget Nigeria’s devastating oil spills
The massive leak in the Gulf of Mexico may have been stopped, but oil still continues to spread and flow. Scientists, local communities and businesses wait for the true toll of damage to be revealed as the rest of the world turns its attentions elsewhere. Environmentalists desperately try to prevent the fossil fuel industry from destroying another pristine environment in the icy Arctic, but the thirst for oil is strong and the geopolitics surrounding it complex. Yet there is another place where...
View all articles
I’m a also a bit concern that somehow it would be a trial and error coz this is not the best time for any error..Hence in support with your magic pill we all wish for that but unfortunately the only available is a bitter pill which is so uncertain if it will make the current situation better or worse……
[...] Greenfudge.org [...]