Home/Posts Tagged ‘climate’
Posts Tagged ‘climate’
Climate Change, Green living, Videos & Documentaries, May 6th, 2012,
A lot of money and resources go into making our homes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. How can we minimize the amount of power we use for climate control? For example, 1/3 of all energy consumed in Germany is used to heat or cool homes. This can be quite an expense and is a significant source of climate change driving greenhouse gases. People have been insulating their homes for thousands of years with grass, mud and other natural materials. Now we use fiberglass, foam insulation, special glass in more developed areas, while houses in poorer, hotter…
Tags: climate, energy, home, house, insulation
Climate Change, Politics, Dec 12th, 2011,
A last minute deal at COP17, the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, managed to secure a legally binding global treaty, even amongst those most reluctant to sign on: big polluters the US, China and India. But what does the deal entail and is it really any good? First of all, the treaty is to be signed in 2015 and enforced in 2020 – too little too late according to environmentalists and most climate scientists. But what the hell do they know? The climate ‘road map’ was the brainchild and goal of the European Union, who desperately tried…
Tags: China, climate, COP17, deal, Durban, emissions, environmentalists, India, reactions, scientists, South Africa, US
Climate Change, Politics, Nov 30th, 2011,
COP 17 updates, anyone? Anyone care about the future of the climate, planet Earth or its human and non-human inhabitants? No? Well neither do your leaders, apparently. Wo what are they doing there, anyway? One aspect of the climate summit in Durban, South Africa seems to be various large polluting countries balking at committing to reduce emissions unless every other country does. This effectively means that none of them really want to. Not enough to take a stand. Make no mistake: the rule of the day is economic self-interest. Brazil, China, India are not considered industrialized nations and want exemption…
Tags: China, climate, cop 17, Durban, emissions, EU, global, japan, kyoto, REDD, Russia, treaty
Climate Change, Pollution, Videos & Documentaries, May 17th, 2011,
Back in the 80s Morrissey wrote the lyrics to the Smiths song “Meat is Murder”, while KRS-1 called meat eating suicide or “self-murder” in the BDP track “My Philosophy”. These thoughtful musicians were talking about cruelty and spirituality. They were coming from emotional and philosophical standpoints, but today their words ring true in ever more complex ways. Doctors, dieticians, climate and environmental scientists, and researchers from across the gamut of the physical, natural and engineering sciences are discovering more and more how the human diet affects the health of not only our bodies, but that of our planet. Factory farming,…
Tags: climate, dairy, documentary, film, meat, meat is murder, planeat, trailer, vegetarianism
Climate Change, Politics, Oct 6th, 2010,
The UN climate talks currently underway in Tianjin, China are smaller, more subdued and well organized when compared to the major international event at Copenhagen last December. But in the end they are still about China vs. the United States. Tianjin is being seen as an opportunity to find some common ground before the UN summit in Cancún, Mexico later this year, but the chief US envoy is frustrated at the level and speed of progress taking place. Instead of actual progress he sees backtracking. From a report in the Guardian: What is frustrating in these negotiations is to see…
Tags: China, climate, Climate change, copenhagen, low expectations, talks, Tianjin, UN, US
Climate Change, Politics, ,
10:10’s aborted short film ‘No Pressure’ was… an abortion. Not because of what it was – we see more shocking things on TV, the Internet and film all the time – but rather because of its context. It drove a brutal wedge into an already emotional ideological and political divide, which is entrenched in the West, especially in the US and UK. People are understandably sensitive about suggestions that they should be blown up. Of course, I get that. And there is a difference between a PSA and an episode of South Park or Family Guy. Never mind that it…
Tags: 10:10, climate, film, Gillian Anderson, Hugh Grant, No Pressure, skeptic
Climate Change, Politics, Oct 4th, 2010,
This week the final UN climate talks leading up to the summit in Cancun Mexico will be held in Tianjin, China, a large manufacturing city of over 12 million people. In the aftermath of a failed climate summit in Copenhagen last December, hope for any binding treaty between nations is slim. Kyoto part 2 seems like a politically impossible pipedream. Good news for the fossil fuel industry, bad news for most everyone else. If we believe the scientists, that is. From a Reuters article: Scientists say the world is on track for temperatures to rise well beyond 2 degrees Celsius,…
Tags: Cancun, China, climate, summit, Tianjin, UN
Climate Change, Videos & Documentaries, Oct 1st, 2010,
Check out ‘No Pressure’, the new darkly humorous and somewhat disturbing film from the 10:10 climate change campaign, written by Richard Curtis. Warning: If seeing a bit of blood puts you off you may want to think twice about watching it, but if you don’t mind a bit of gore, get ready for an amusing, edgy treat. Whippersnapping climate campaign 10:10 teams up with legendary comic screenwriter Richard Curtis – you know, Blackadder, Four Weddings, Notting Hill, co-founded Comic Relief – and Age of Stupid director Franny Armstrong to proudly present their explosive new mini-movie “No Pressure”. The film stars…
Tags: 10:10, climate, film, Gillian Anderson, No Pressure, Richard Curtis
Nature, Science & Technology, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Sep 29th, 2010,
Fall is here, which means the leaves are starting to change color. This is the last season of color we get before the world turns to a drab white, brown, black and grey. It’s also one of the most spectacular times of the year to go for a hike. Whether you live near the Swiss Alps or the Rocky Mountains, sometimes nothing is more amazing than walking amongst the trees as their leaves turn to pumpkin orange, golden yellow, or scarlet red. It also makes for great photo opportunities! Given all that information, have you ever wondered why the leaves…
Tags: autumn colors, climate, fall foliage, leaf colors, orange, red, survival, trees, weather, why do leaves change color, Yellow
Climate Change, Politics, Videos & Documentaries, Sep 26th, 2010,
The environmental and geopolitical ramifications of melting Arctic glaciers and the rush of different nations for the region’s mineral wealth is fraught with conflict and change. Melting ice in the Arctic spells trouble for some of Greenland’s traditional indigenous Inuit and for low-lying nations vulnerable to rising sea levels. A warming climate will also change shipping routes in the region, contributing further to the opening up of the region for economic exploitation. The Arctic is becoming the new battleground for the environment. Groups such as Greenpeace, the WWF and Climate Camp actively confront the activities of oil companies, like Scotland’s…
Tags: arctic, change, climate, gas, glacier, greenland, ice, melting, mineral, oil, Russia
Climate Change, Nature, Science & Technology, Sep 25th, 2010,
Coastal population centers have always been more vulnerable to natural phenomena like storms and erosion. It’s the price we pay for the economic advantages of coastal ports and fancying living by the sea. Throughout history, storm surges have caused death and destruction in coastal towns and cities – from a 14th century storm surge that killed as many as 25,000 people in Nordfriesland, Germany to Burma’s tropical storm Nargis in 2008, which left some 140,000 dead. A storm surge happens when windstorms cause sea levels to rise, resulting in flooding like what took place in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in…
Tags: change, climate, risk, storm, storm surge
Climate Change, Politics, Sep 15th, 2010,
The UK’s top business lobby group CBI released a major report on Monday regarding climate change. The report stressed that both the British government and climate scientists need to improve their communication skills if they want businesses to adapt to a changing climate and that businesses themselves should include ‘climate risks’ as part of their corporate reports. From a report in the Guardian: In particular, the report recommends that the existing UK Climate Projections should be repackaged so that they can be easily understood by non-climate specialists and that the government’s upcoming Climate Change Risk Assessment should feature specific recommendations…
Tags: Caroline, changing, climate, Climate change, environment, inevitable, secretary, Spelman, UK
Climate Change, Science & Technology, Sep 6th, 2010,
This week leading climate scientists will meet in the UK to make plans for a project with the aim of creating an international weather databank and revolutionizing the way meteorological disasters are predicted. The project will entail the creation of a global network of weather stations that give daily readings, digitizing old sea logs, gathering weather information from all countries of the world, as well as forging co-operational relationships with web companies such as Google and Galaxy Zoo. We need to answer key questions such as whether the onset of the monsoon in India will be delayed, how the frequency…
Tags: climate, extreme, project, scientists, UK, weather
Climate Change, Natural disasters, ,
El Niño, one of the most impressive natural phenomena affecting our planet, is also changing appearance
Tags: climate, El Nino, environment, global warming
Climate Change, Politics, Aug 26th, 2010,
The activists at the recent Climate Camp in Scotland have stirred up controversy and debate, at least in the little corner of the media that pays attention to climate change activism. After a day of ‘climate action’ on Monday, during which several windows were broken at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) headquarters in Edinburgh, 12 Climate Camp protesters were arrested. A group of Climate Camp protesters intentionally broke the law. One of them, Dan Glass, explains their motivation in a comment piece for the Guardian entitled ‘Yes, we broke the law as climate change activists. And this is why’. Glass…
Tags: action, activism, change, climate, climate camp, Edinburgh, Kingsnorth, law, protest, RBS, Scotland
Climate Change, Politics, Aug 23rd, 2010,
Climate change activists stepped up their game and held a rash of demonstrations in Edinburgh, Scotland today. Members of the activist group Climate Camp have been set up outside the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) global headquarters in Edinburgh since last week in order to protest the bank’s financing of the fossil fuel industry. But today has seen a sudden increase in protest activity, with separate actions also taking place at Forth Energy in Leith, Edinburgh and at Cairn Energy in the city’s financial district as well as at other RBS locations. From a report in The Herald Scotland: A…
Tags: activists, bank, Cairn, camp, change, climate, Edinburgh, energy, Forth, molasses, protest, RBS, Scotland, superglue
Climate Change, Politics, Aug 22nd, 2010,
In a bit of ‘News of the Weird’ meets environmental activism, a protester glued herself to a desk in the Royal Band of Scotland’s headquarters on Friday. Hundreds of activists have been holding a Climate Camp outside of RBS headquarters, near Edinburgh Scotland in protest of the bank’s loans to fossil fuel companies, thereby facilitating climate change or ‘climate chaos’. From a Press Association report: The activist managed to enter RBS by dressing like a businessperson – as opposed to an eco warrior – and thereafter glued her hands to a desk with super-glue. She was arrested after paramedics helped…
Tags: activist, bank, camp, change, chaos, climate, glue, headquarters, protest, protester, RBS, Royal, Scotland
Climate Change, Nature, Politics, Aug 20th, 2010,
The mismanagement of irrigation, compounded by drought and a drop in commodity prices, has spelled disaster for Australia’s most important agricultural region. The waters of the Darling River and the massive Murray irrigate a region that produces almost half of Australia’s fresh produce. But the worst drought in over 100 years has plunged the Murray-Darling Basin into crisis causing economic hardship and many farmers to pack up and leave. Australian climate scientists see the country as ‘extremely vulnerable’ to climate change and the Murray-Darling Basin as a ground zero for global warming. Climate change advisors to Australia’s government have warned…
Tags: agricultural, australia, Australian, Basin, climate, Climate change, Darling, drought, Independent, Kathy Marks, Murray, Murray-Darling, region, river
Climate Change, Politics, Wildlife & Flora, Aug 19th, 2010,
In advance of a major UN meeting for the Convention on Biological Diversity, the organization’s secretary-general, Ahmed Djoghlaf, recently warned of the threats posed against the natural world – and life itself – by population growth, urbanization, agriculture and climate change. Despite these increasing threats and an ongoing mass extinction in the natural world, which is almost 1,000 times the normal ‘background’ rate, governments are simply not acting to preserve biodiversity and the overall health of the planet. No country has met its targets to protect nature. We are losing biodiversity at an unprecedented rate. If current levels [of destruction]…
Tags: Ahmed, biodiversity, biological, change, climate, convention, diversity, Djoghlaf, Nature, rainforest, threats, UN
Climate Change, Nature, Aug 15th, 2010,
The massive 160 square mile (414 sq km) ice island that broke off from Greenland’s Petermann glacier earlier this month is ‘certainly a manifestation of warming’ according to Dr. Richard Bates of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Andrews, a geophysicist, is part of a British-led expedition in Greenland, which is measuring glaciers including the Petermann. From an article in the Telegraph: Dr Richard Bates, who is monitoring the ice alongside researchers from America, said the expedition had expected to find evidence of melting this year after “abnormally high” temperatures in the area. Climate change experts say that globally it…
Tags: Bates, change, climate, glacier, greenland, ice, island, melt, Petermann, Richard, temperatures, warming
