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Climate change doubled likelihood of devastating UK floods of 2000

admin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:22:48 +0000

New research has found that global warming made the floods that devastated England and Wales in 2000, between two and three times more likely to happen. This is the first time that scientists have shown that global warming is to blame for a specific event and not just a cause of extreme weather.

Read Full Article: Guardian.co.uk

NYC Is the Cutting Edge for Urban Transportation and a Vision for a Sustainable Future

admin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:22:03 +0000

New York City, America’s most populous city, is often seen as lumbering when it comes to change. However Janette Sadik-Khan, the transportation commissioner, has made great strides in moving New Your City into the 21st Century. She has overseen the building of hundreds of innovative bike lanes; she has secured huge grants from the Feds to improve bus service, and she has made the streets safer than they have been in many decades. Some people believe she is moving too fast, others think she is a visionary – determined and fearless.

Read Full Article: Alternet

International Energy agency downgrades oil production estimates

kategresswell — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:16:08 +0000

The day of reckoning on oil as an energy source is approaching and the world does not have a contingency plan. The world’s output of conventional crude oil has peaked and global oil exports are past their prime. The unconventional sources (tar sands, heavy sour crude, ethanol, natural gas liquids, bio-fuels and shale) are struggling to keep up with the ongoing depletion in the world’s largest oil fields. Therefore, it is probable that the world’s current production of total liquids is at or near maximum capacity. Puru Saxena notes that the “IEA in its latest World Energy Outlook 2010 report presents a far more realistic scenario. According to its latest study, the IEA now expects global total liquids production to increase to just 96 million barrels per day by 2035! Bearing in mind the fact that the world currently produces 88 million barrels of total liquids per day, the IEA is now essentially implying that output will only increase by 9% over the next 25 years!”

Puru states that “it is notable that in 2009, the IEA stressed the importance of oil for economic growth and concluded that 106 million barrels per day will be required by 2030; representing an increase of approximately 18 million barrels per day above current output. Interestingly, in last year’s report, the IEA predicted that global production will peak at only 96 million barrels per day in 2035! So, within the course of a single year, the energy watchdog for the developed world lowered its production estimate by 10 million barrels per day!”

Read Full Article: 321 energy

Extreme weather forecasts: web users unite to power climate change project

jackqian — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:13:00 +0000

From today, anyone with a computer and internet access can be part of a huge, pioneering climate change experiment, probing the controversial question of whether extreme weather events will become more or less common as the world warms.

Full Story

The Story of Stuff

kategresswell — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:10:10 +0000

The Story of Stuff is a short animated documentary about the lifecycle of material goods. The film is written and narrated by Annie Leonard who brings to light the connections between a number of social and environmental issues. The 20 minute video appeals to each and everyone of us to create a more sustainable and just world.

Read Full Article: The Story of Stuff Project

Future of Food

admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:21:10 +0000

New BBC documentary series: The Future of Food explores the growing global food crisis that could impact the world in coming years. TV journalist, George Alagiah, travels the world to discover the truth behind growing concerns that the global population is increasing so rapidly that in years to come we will not be able to produce enough food to feed everyone.

Read Full Article: BBC

New evidence cities rule and suburbs drool

kategresswell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:05:24 +0000

According to a new study published in the journal Environment and Urbanization, carbon emissions in cities are lower than in the suburbs. So if you are looking to lower your environmental impact, and are not keen on living in an earthbag hut, it looks like big cities are the way to go. Public transportation and walkability reduce per-capita carbon emissions making densely populated places greener.

Read Full Article: Grist

Peak Oil=Peak Food=Peak People

kategresswell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:43:01 +0000

It should be reasonable to most people to understand that energy is an analog for food. If you look at a chart of oil production and compare it to population, it seems obvious that food and fuel are the same thing under a different cloak. Energy is food is population.

That creates a giant problem. Peak oil means peak food means peak population. The revolution in Tunisia first; now Egypt and soon in Serbia are not about religion or dictators or police states. We have a police state in the United States; no one cares. No one gives a hoot about dictators until they can no longer afford food. Then they care and the walls come tumbling down.

Read Full Article: 321energy

Climate Change Causing ‘Massive’ Food Disruptions

admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:30:37 +0000

The change in climate around the world is already starting to have a huge effect on global food supplies.
Adverse weather conditions, like the flooding in Australia and the droughts in Russia, have ruined harvests, causing massive food disruptions. Food prices have already become too high for some developing countries to buy the agricultural products they need.

Read Full Article: Bloomberg

10 Ways Weather Is Wreaking Havoc On The Global Economy

kategresswell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:19:55 +0000

Floods in Australia, Brazil and Pakistan, drought in America and China, Snow in the UK. The global weather situation is terrible. It is a story everyone wants to ignore but it is having a massive effect on the worlds’ economies. If you don’t believe the weather is having an impact, think again.

Read Full Article: The Business Insider

WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices

kategresswell — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:18:52 +0000

Wiki Leaks has released information that Saudi Arabia’s crude oil reserves have been overstated by as much as 300 billion barrels – nearly 40%. The US fears that the world’s largest crude oil exporter may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices from escalating.

Read Full Article: guardian.co.uk

It Will Take 131 Years To Replace Oil, And We’ve Only Got 10

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:26:00 +0000

Both green enthusiasts and peak oil pundits should be starting to panic after the release of a new paper by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The paper states that it would take 131 years for replacement of gasoline and diesel given the current pace of research and development.

Full story

Peak denial about peak oil

jackqian — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:41:24 +0000

‘The myopic view of the world by politicians, the mainstream media and the American public in general is breathtaking to behold. Depite the facts slapping them across the face, Americans believe cheap oil is here to stay.’

Full story: Market Oracle

Leaked German Military Report Warns of Apocalyptic Peak Oil Scenarios

kategresswell — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:50:51 +0000

A German army report has been leaked to the internet, which says “that peak oil will occur around the year 2010 and that the impact on security is expected to be felt 15 to 30 years later”. The impact on cities and economies will be severe.

Read full article: Business Insider

The end of the line – movie documentary on global fish extinction by 2050

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:47:00 +0000

Imagine an ocean without fish – The End of the Line premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2009 and is a feature documentary film revealing the alarming impact of overfishing on our oceans. It outlines the possibility of an imminent extinction of seafood by 2050 unless we intervene in widespread use of poor fishing practices.

China invests heavily in bullet trains

kategresswell — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:55:51 +0000

Three years ago China planned to lay 13,000kms of high-speed railway by 2020, more than the rest of the world combined. Then the Global Financial Crisis hit and Beijing brought that deadline forward by 8 years. China’s bullet train project is ambitious and has generated millions of jobs and utilised millions of tonnes of Australian iron ore to produce the high-tensile steel for tunnels, bridges and tracks. More global high speed rail investment is needed to make cities more resilient to oil depletion and rising jet fuel costs in the coming decade.

SMH story here

World Student Community for Sustainable Development

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:55:28 +0000

The WSC-SD is a multi-disciplinary network of motivated students with the ability to think and act both locally and globally, and who share the vision to make a difference. Our purpose is to be a leading international student organization that carries out meaningful projects which result in positive and enduring changes that improve lives and communities around the world.

Visit them here

Renewable energy plan to replace all Australian coal power in ten years

kategresswell — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:55:06 +0000

During July the University of Melbourne in partnership with the Energy Research Institute released the first national plan for providing base load power to Australia from clean renewable energy. The Beyond Zero Emissions plan proposes a ten year roadmap for Australia to reach a 100% renewable energy target making it the first zero carbon nation on the planet. It proposes that all base load energy can be supplied by renewable sources and is affordable to all Australians at $8 per household per week. The plan has caused a stir in the national energy debate and is gaining widespread support. It is a visionary proposal that offers practical solutions utilising green technologies to tackle climate change.

Beyond zero emissions plan

Australia’s Eastern States – reduced greenhouse gas emission last summer

kategresswell — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:54:49 +0000

A press release by The Climate Group advises that Australia’s 4 Eastern states reduced greenhouse gas emissions by just over 1.2 million tonnes emitted from energy compared to last summer. This is a significant reduction considering that it was one of the hottest summers on record with temperatures reaching 55 degrees. The fall in emissions was driven by a reduction in emissions from coal-fired electricity generation and a fall in emissions from the use of natural gas.

the climate group story here

Cities Go Climate Positive

jackqian — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:01:14 +0000

With the worlds population on the rise and more people moving to cities, President Clinton describes a bold new project that will set the global standard for communities striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to below zero.