Friday 20 February 2009

Is it all a load of PANTS???

Sometimes I find myself at a loss in knowing exactly how to respond to Climate Change and what to do or say about it. Maybe it is indeed easiest to bury one’s head in the sand – and sand will be a very common commodity in decades to come. But then I think stuff it and get re-enthused and start off a fresh in my campaign to encourage people to KNOW <> CARE <> ACT.

I had two encouraging e mails recently both saying that folks enjoyed reading the climate change blog and the associated press articles.

I also received one e mail that exposed pants! Did you know that
• there is 18kg of CO2 in a pair of cotton pants
• $2 billion is spent on pesticides for cotton
• less than 1p is actually paid to the cotton grower per pairs of knickers
• 20,000 litres of water is required for 1kg of cotton [that’s partly why the Aral sea dried up]

Have a look at the video about PANTS

http://www.morethanprettyknickers.com/

This past week Cadburys Chocolate has been in the news with dairy herds being accused of belching 60% of the CO2 in a bar of chocolate
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/17/cadbury-dairy-milk-

Supermarket packaging was under attack
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/feb/20/recycling-waste-local-government

And the following link is worth looking at and reflecting upon
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/feb/20/coal-protest-power-shift

And all the while the Arctic continues to melt in a manner which nobody really seems able to understand or predict.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/18/arctic-ice-melt

SO ………… what have you done this week that might delay catastrophic Climate Change by even one hour???

KNOW <> CARE <> ACT

PLEASE

Monday 16 February 2009

What do the papers say about Climate Change

The Guardian is excellent and has a wealth of resources – articles <> photos <> points to Blogs and so on.

Essential visiting ….. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment


And the Times is just as good and has a similar wealth of resources

Essential visiting … http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/


The Independent is slightly more compact but it too is in the premier league for resources

Essential visiting … http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/


You have to dig in the Telegraph and that is a pity.

Only visit after the first three… http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/


The Daily Mail hides Climate Change in Science and Technology and is not worth the effort

Don’t visit …. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html


The Herald has no overt mention of Climate Change so …

Don’t visit …. http://www.theherald.co.uk/


And equally, don’t waste time with the Scotsman …. parochialism gone mad!

So don’t visit ….. http://www.scotsman.com/

Knowing <> Caring <> Acting

The Second Week [and a day] in February 2009

What’s in the Climate Change window? A summary …….. Click the links if you want to read more.

Sunday 8th

[1] Gordon Brown is not green enough says the chair of the UK Environment Agency as he warns that Government policy will leave us lagging behind the rest of the world

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/feb/08/gordon-brown-environment

[2] We are urged not to waste food and to conserve every scrap

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/08/food-waste-environment-gm-crop

[3] James Dyson, the Hoover man, wants us to promote engineering as a career and to focus on environmentally friendly schemes

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/08/james-dyson-engineering-britain-railways

[4] President Obama has become to undo some of the Bush Governments anti climate change actions

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/06/epa-lisa-jackson-mercury-coal-environment

Monday 9th

[5] UK homes are to be offered a green make over …. well an eco refit

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/09/eco-homes-refit-

[6] Scientists from across the glove are to meet to warn politicians that they are too timid as far as climate change is concerned

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/09/scientists-summit-

Tuesday 10th

[7] The Northern Ireland Environment Minister, who is a climate change sceptic caused outrage, but kept his job, after he banned a UK Government add about Climate Change

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/feb/10/climate-change-sceptic-

[8] The Government and Environmentalists are at loggerheads over plans to create a tidal power generator on the River Severn. It will destroy the mud flats, but then will rising sea levels not do that anyway

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/10/severn-barrage-

[9] The apocalyptic Australian Bush Fires are a wake up call both for the nation and global community because they indicate just what will happen when temperatures rise and rainfalls move elsewhere – but then Australia refused to ratify Kyoto on the one hand and cause appalling pollution on the other … read Fred Pearce’s Confessions of an Eco Sinner

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/10/australia-bush-fires

The effect of the fires re CO2 is also highlighted on Saturday 14th

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/13/carbonemissions-australia

[10] In recent years Spain has built a huge number of wind farms and in recent days has had a huge surge in clean electricity due to very strong winds. The technology is there – we just need the will

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/09/windpower-spain

[11] The Scottish Government claims to have the most ambitious Climate Change legislation in the world – so why is it about to build another Coal Fired Power Station? Can the money not be invested in tidal power???

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/10/waveandtidalpower-

[12] A British firm has developed a removal truck that runs on battery power and will cover up to 150 miles on one charge and takes 45 mins to be 75% recharged. Interested in green motoring, then Google … What Green Car …

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/feb/10/transport-

Thursday 12th

[13] Sir David King brands the Second Iraq War, the first resource war

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/12/king-iraq-resources-war

[14] There is a call for £277 billion pounds to create clean power, insulate homes and create jobs. Well there goes a couple of bankers bonuses!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/11/stern-climate-change

[15] The Met office are concerned that there should be a balanced debate about Climate Change and are worried about sensationalism

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/11/climate-change-misleading-claims

[16] Relationships between the USA and China took a step in the right direction as far as tackling Climate Change is concerned

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/11/network-us-china-climate-change

This was also addressed on Saturday http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/14/hillary-clinton-china-climate

[17] B&Q have built a new store that harvests green technology

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/11/kingfisher-builds-green-store

[18] The potential to carbon neutralise ordinary homes is revealed and we are encouraged to visit www.sustainable-energyacademy.org.uk/ for more information

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/12/eco-homes-energy-efficiency

Saturday 14th

[19] There is a call for environmentalism to become part of mature political debate

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/14/activism-green-politics

[20] The complications of water consumption are under the spotlight, especially where the water has to be pumped electrically. People are urged to save water!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/13/network-water-efficiency-climate-change

[21] Looking ahead a number of decades extreme concern has been expressed about the effects of rising sea levels on transportation and communication routes – many of which will be submerged. Action must be taken now to plan for such an eventuality argues the Institute of Mechanical Engineers

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/13/climate-change

Sunday 15th

[22] Did you hear about the Irishman who said that Climate Change was NOT man made and that publicity about it was “New Labour Propaganda”? Oh well ………

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/13/sammy-wilson-northern-ireland

[23] On coal, coal and more coal …………

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/15/carbon-capture-emissions

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/15/james-hansen-power-plants-coal

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/15/carbon-capture-coal-energy

Monday 16th

[24] There is very real concern that rising temperatures and drought will dry out tropical forests and leave them vulnerable to fires similar to the one that has caused such damage in Australia

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/16/chris-field-wildfires-

[25] Global Warming is warming the oceans and causing dramatic changes in the distribution and diversity of food sources for animals higher up the food chain … just watch a polar bear trying to catch seals in the ice free Arctic

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/15/climate-change-

[26] And just because it is cold does not mean that Climate Change has gone away …. ask the Australians!!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/16/climate-change-global-temperatures-january

And there you have a taste of what is in the media in the past week about Climate Change.

Do you KNOW …. Do you CARE …. Will you ACT?

Wednesday 4 February 2009

A Spiritual Response

It's all doom and gloom. The headlines tell it all. "British economy in recession". "No growth expected for 12 months". "Recession to get worse". "Deep in the mire of recession". So opinion shakers and movers from politicians to stockmarket traders take fright, share prices plunge, pensions plunge, spending dips, our charity giving may come under pressure, recession gets worse. But does the way recession is defined mean that we talk ourselves into something because of unrealistic expectations?

Recession, as decreed by the authorities, is defined as negative growth in a country's national income (gross domestic product) for two consecutive quarters of the year, six months in all. In other words, a country produces less in these months than it did in the months before. No matter that an economy may have been growing by say 3%; if it registers a fall in growth of 0.1% it is in recession. Doom and gloom all around.

But what right have we to expect economic growth to just keep on going up? There is a lot of talk about sustainability. Sustainable growth, sustainable output, sustainable development - these are the buzz terms. If we are to take sustainability seriously then in a world of finite resources we surely need to live within the limits of our resources, not to expect that economic growth will rise all the time. That's just greedy.

Time to revisit John Taylor's classic work Enough is Enough, and to look at recession from a wider perspective. In this book Taylor develops the theology of enough. The dream of the Biblical Hebrew people, he points out, is summed up in the word shalom, "something much broader than peace, the harmony of a caring community, informed at every point by its awareness of God".

"At every point" is a key phrase. It speaks of a "wholeness that is complete because every aspect of life is included", says Taylor. Economically and socially, the dream of shalom finds expression in the theology of enough, he adds: "There are many reference in the Old Testament to covetousness and greed ... ordinary covetousness is simply a persistent longing for something that isn't yours."

In the New Testament, a word that is commonly translated as covetousness, pleonexia, means excess or wanting more and more, says Bishop Taylor. Mark's gospel speaks of greed as an evil which makes a person unclean. In Colossians, Paul urges that greed be "put to death". He warns in Ephesians that no greedy person "has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God".

Other writers and theologians have taken up the theology of enough. For example, Michael Schut, the author of Simpler Living, Compassionate Life, says it "allows us to move away from worshipping the gods of consumption and material need. In living out a theology of enough we will no longer expend our physical resources in consumption and our emotional resources in worrying over status."

The theology of enough has implications for jobs. Employment in industries that make goods that go well beyond "enough" may fall. But encouragement from government could stimulate more jobs in industries that make socially useful products - green technologies, for example. It is surely time to embrace a way of life which elevates socially useful products rather than one based on the expectation of more and more across-the-board economic growth.

In such a world we would take it in our stride when the economy grows by 1% this quarter and falls by 1% in the next. Politicians and the public would stop giving ourselves such a hard time about it. We would see sustainability as meaning a steady but changing economy.

The stockmarket might learn to accept that as normal, instead of having a nervous breakdown. It might even stop reacting in a way that makes things worse. We all stand to gain from a change in the way that we view recession. And accepting that enough is enough might, into the bargain, allow us to reduce our carbon emissions.

• John Madeley is an economic journalist and former lay member of the General Synod of the Church of England

Global Weather .... Global Warming ... Climate Change

The past week has seen a north-south divide on a global scale. While cold and snow have held parts of the northern hemisphere in their thrall, drought and record-breaking heat are gripping some southern regions.

In Europe, Britain is not shivering alone. Periods of heavy snow last week in Austria, Slovenia and Hungary caused power cuts over large areas and caused some roads to collapse. The US was even more badly affected: a storm developed over Texas and the southern plains states and moved east and north, bringing snow and ice storms all the way to the north-east US and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Major snow and ice accumulations left over a million people without power.

Australia, meanwhile, was sweltering in its worst heat wave in decades. On Wednesday, the city of Adelaide, South Australia, recorded a maximum temperature of 45.6C, its highest for 70 years. Neighbouring Victoria had its hottest few days since 1908, and the Tasmanian town of Scamander reached a record high of 42.2C on Friday.

Persistent drought in Argentina prompted its government to declare an agricultural emergency last week. Rainfall has been below average since March, particularly around the Pampas region, where conditions are not dissimilar to those of the Dust Bowl of 1930s America. Meanwhile, heavy rain from Thursday onwards brought floods to southern Brazil.

Tuesday 3 February 2009

A sign of things of things but will people stay, fry and die or will they migrate

Parched: Australia faces collapse as climate change kicks in

Leaves are falling off trees in the height of summer, railway tracks are buckling, and people are retiring to their beds with deep-frozen hot-water bottles, as much of Australia swelters in its worst-ever heatwave.

On Friday, Melbourne thermometers topped 43C (109.4F) on a third successive day for the first time on record, while even normally mild Tasmania suffered its second-hottest day in a row, as temperatures reached 42.2C. Two days before, Adelaide hit a staggering 45.6C. After a weekend respite, more records are expected to be broken this week.

Ministers are blaming the heat – which follows a record drought – on global warming. Experts worry that Australia, which emits more carbon dioxide per head than any nation on earth, may also be the first to implode under the impact of climate change.

At times last week it seemed as if that was happening already. Chaos ruled in Melbourne on Friday after an electricity substation exploded, shutting down the city's entire train service, trapping people in lifts, and blocking roads as traffic lights failed. Half a million homes and businesses were blacked out, and patients were turned away from hospitals.

More than 20 people have died from the heat, mainly in Adelaide. Trees in Melbourne's parks are dropping leaves to survive, and residents at one of the city's nursing homes have started putting their clothes in the freezer. "All of this is consistent with climate change, and with what scientists told us would happen," said climate change minister Penny Wong.

Australia, the driest inhabited continent on earth, is regarded as highly vulnerable. A study by the country's blue-chip Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation identified its ecosystems as "potentially the most fragile" on earth in the face of the threat.

Many factors put Australia especially at risk. Its climate is already hot, dry and variable. Its vulnerable agriculture plays an unusually important part in the economy. And most people and industry are concentrated on the coast, making it vulnerable to the rising seas and ferocious storms that come with a warmer world.

Most of the south of the country is gripped by unprecedented 12-year drought. The Australian Alps have had their driest three years ever, and the water from the vast Murray-Darling river system now fails to reach the sea 40 per cent of the time. Harvests have fallen sharply.

It will get worse as global warming increases. Even modest temperature rises, now seen as unavoidable, are expected to increase drought by 70 per cent in New South Wales, cut Melbourne's water supplies by more than a third, and dry up the Murray-Darling system by another 25 per cent.

As Professor David Karoly, of the University of Melbourne, said last week: "The heat is unusual, but it will become much more like the normal experience in 10 to 20 years."