Climate change is already responsible for 300,000 deaths a year and is affecting 300m people, according to the first comprehensive study of the human impact of global warming. The report comes from former UN secretary general Kofi Annan's thinktank, the Global Humanitarian Forum. It projects that increasingly severe heatwaves, floods, storms and forest fires will be responsible for as many as 500,000 deaths a year by 2030, making it the greatest humanitarian challenge the world faces.
Economic losses due to climate change today amount to more than $125bn a year — more than the all present world aid. By 2030, the report says, climate change could cost $600bn a year.
Civil unrest may also increase because of weather-related events, the report says: "Four billion people are vulnerable now and 500m are now at extreme risk. Weather-related disasters ... bring hunger, disease, poverty and lost livelihoods. They pose a threat to social and political stability".
Climate change is expected to have the most severe impact on water supplies . "Shortages in future are likely to threaten food production, reduce sanitation, hinder economic development and damage ecosystems. It causes more violent swings between floods and droughts. Hundreds of millions of people are expected to become water stressed by climate change by the 2030. ".
The study says it is impossible to be certain who will be displaced by 2030, but that tens of millions of people "will be driven from their homelands by weather disasters or gradual environmental degradation. The problem is most severe in Africa, Bangladesh, Egypt, coastal zones and forest areas. ."
The study compares for the first time the number of people affected by climate change in rich and poor countries. Nearly 98% of the people seriously affected, 99% of all deaths from weather-related disasters and 90% of the total economic losses are now borne by developing countries. The populations most at risk it says, are in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, south Asia and the small island states of the Pacific.
But of the 12 countries considered least at risk, including Britain, all but one are industrially developed. Together they have made nearly $72bn available to adapt themselves to climate change but have pledged only $400m to help poor countries. "This is less than one state in Germany is spending on improving its flood defences," says the report.
"The world is at a crossroads. We can no longer afford to ignore the human impact of climate change. This is a call to the negotiators to come to the most ambitious agreement ever negotiated or to continue to accept mass starvation, mass sickness and mass migration on an ever growing scale," said Kofi Annan, who launched the report today in London.
Annan blamed politicians for the current impasse in the negotiations and widespread ignorance in many countries. "Weak leadership, as evident today, is alarming. If leaders cannot assume responsibility they will fail humanity. Agreement is in the interests of every human being."
Nobel peace prizewinner Wangari Maathai, said: "Climate change is life or death. It is the new global battlefield. It is being presented as if it is the problem of the developed world. But it's the developed world that has precipitated global warming."
Friday 29 May 2009
Thursday 28 May 2009
In today's Press
I was looking at a review of what is making the news of the Climate Change front.
[1] NATURE MAGAZINE WRITES ABOUT BIOCHAR ....
The bright prospect of biochar
Enthusiasts say that biochar could go a long way towards mitigating climate change and bring with it a host of ancillary benefits. But others fear it could do more harm than good.
Tilling charcoal into the soil can promote lush plant growth as well as sequestering carbon, say biochar enthusiasts.
Jim Fournier wants to help save the planet, though in a most unlikely way: by burning biomass. At the forefront of a carbon-sequestration technology that proponents say offers a rare 'win-win-win' environmental opportunity, Fournier's company Biochar Engineering in Golden, Colorado, manufactures machines that turn biomass into charcoal, or biochar.
Spread on soil, biochar can keep CO2 out of the atmosphere while improving soil fertility and boosting productivity. In addition, gases released in the charcoal-making process can be used to make biofuels that are more sustainable than those currently on the market. "Char happens to be the one thing that represents a solution to all of these factors together. It's a unique opportunity," Fournier says.
But while enthusiasts are pushing to have biochar recognized as an official means of offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, others remain cautious. At best we know too little, say critics, and at worst using biochar to sequester carbon could ultimately lead to unintended consequences, including the destruction of virgin forests to make way for plantations.
[2] REUTERS runs a piece on changes to the environment caused by rising temperatures
Tree-munching beetles, malaria-carrying mosquitoes and deer ticks that spread Lyme disease are three living signs that climate change is likely to exact a heavy toll on human health.
These pests and others are expanding their ranges in a warming world, which means people who never had to worry about them will have to start. And they are hardly the only health threats from global warming.
The Lancet medical journal declared in a May 16 commentary: "Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century."
Individual threats range from the simple to the very complex, the Lancet said, reporting on a year-long study conducted with University College London.
There will be more heat waves with "direct temperature effects" which will hit the most vulnerable people hardest, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, especially those with heart problems and asthma, the elderly, the very young and the homeless.
People who live within 60 miles (97 km) of a shoreline, or about one-third of the world's population, could be affected if sea levels rise as expected over the coming decades, possibly more than 3 feet (1 metre) by 2100. Flooded homes and crops could make environmental refugees of a billion people.
As it becomes hotter, the air can hold more moisture, helping certain disease-carriers, such as the ticks that spread Lyme disease, thrive, the EPA said.
A changing climate could increase the risk of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and various viral causes of encephalitis. Algae blooms in water could be more frequent, increasing the risk of diseases like cholera. Respiratory problems may be aggravated by warming-induced increases in smog.
Other less obvious dangers are also potentially devastating. eg …
Pine bark beetles, which devour trees in western North America will be able to produce more generations each year, instead of subsiding during winter months. They leave standing dead timber, ideal fuel for wildfires from Arizona to Alaska.
[3] China Is Said to Plan Strict Gas Mileage Rules
HONG KONG — Worried about heavy reliance on imported oil, Chinese officials have drafted automotive fuel economy standards that are even more stringent than those outlined by President Obama last week, Chinese experts with a detailed knowledge of the plans said on Wednesday. The new plan would require automakers in China to improve fuel economy by an additional 18 percent by 2015,
... some people are obviously taking Climate Change very seriously indeed.
[1] NATURE MAGAZINE WRITES ABOUT BIOCHAR ....
The bright prospect of biochar
Enthusiasts say that biochar could go a long way towards mitigating climate change and bring with it a host of ancillary benefits. But others fear it could do more harm than good.
Tilling charcoal into the soil can promote lush plant growth as well as sequestering carbon, say biochar enthusiasts.
Jim Fournier wants to help save the planet, though in a most unlikely way: by burning biomass. At the forefront of a carbon-sequestration technology that proponents say offers a rare 'win-win-win' environmental opportunity, Fournier's company Biochar Engineering in Golden, Colorado, manufactures machines that turn biomass into charcoal, or biochar.
Spread on soil, biochar can keep CO2 out of the atmosphere while improving soil fertility and boosting productivity. In addition, gases released in the charcoal-making process can be used to make biofuels that are more sustainable than those currently on the market. "Char happens to be the one thing that represents a solution to all of these factors together. It's a unique opportunity," Fournier says.
But while enthusiasts are pushing to have biochar recognized as an official means of offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, others remain cautious. At best we know too little, say critics, and at worst using biochar to sequester carbon could ultimately lead to unintended consequences, including the destruction of virgin forests to make way for plantations.
[2] REUTERS runs a piece on changes to the environment caused by rising temperatures
Tree-munching beetles, malaria-carrying mosquitoes and deer ticks that spread Lyme disease are three living signs that climate change is likely to exact a heavy toll on human health.
These pests and others are expanding their ranges in a warming world, which means people who never had to worry about them will have to start. And they are hardly the only health threats from global warming.
The Lancet medical journal declared in a May 16 commentary: "Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century."
Individual threats range from the simple to the very complex, the Lancet said, reporting on a year-long study conducted with University College London.
There will be more heat waves with "direct temperature effects" which will hit the most vulnerable people hardest, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, especially those with heart problems and asthma, the elderly, the very young and the homeless.
People who live within 60 miles (97 km) of a shoreline, or about one-third of the world's population, could be affected if sea levels rise as expected over the coming decades, possibly more than 3 feet (1 metre) by 2100. Flooded homes and crops could make environmental refugees of a billion people.
As it becomes hotter, the air can hold more moisture, helping certain disease-carriers, such as the ticks that spread Lyme disease, thrive, the EPA said.
A changing climate could increase the risk of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and various viral causes of encephalitis. Algae blooms in water could be more frequent, increasing the risk of diseases like cholera. Respiratory problems may be aggravated by warming-induced increases in smog.
Other less obvious dangers are also potentially devastating. eg …
Pine bark beetles, which devour trees in western North America will be able to produce more generations each year, instead of subsiding during winter months. They leave standing dead timber, ideal fuel for wildfires from Arizona to Alaska.
[3] China Is Said to Plan Strict Gas Mileage Rules
HONG KONG — Worried about heavy reliance on imported oil, Chinese officials have drafted automotive fuel economy standards that are even more stringent than those outlined by President Obama last week, Chinese experts with a detailed knowledge of the plans said on Wednesday. The new plan would require automakers in China to improve fuel economy by an additional 18 percent by 2015,
... some people are obviously taking Climate Change very seriously indeed.
Tuesday 19 May 2009
Press Release
Yesterday, the Rev
Calling for a radical revision of the MPs allowances system, Mr Rooney said that two decades, and more, of the quite appalling way MPs spoke about each other on the media had resulted in the erosion of their standing. They were now getting the comeuppance they deserved.
Mr Rooney also said that for the record he hoped that the Rev
Mr Rooney said that stable and loving relationships can be physical, but they can also be deep friendships to the level of soul friendships.
He recognizes that others may think differently and he respected their views and the integrity with which they are formed. However he was concerned about what would happen is Scott looses.
Would there be a move against the ordination of women ministers and elders on the grounds that such ordination was not Biblical? Would he be forced to preach that the world was made in 6 days, because the Bible says so?
Will all ministers need to sign a contract that says that they believe in the Virgin Birth, Original Sin, Hell, Bodily Resurrection and so on?
Mr Rooney asked his members to wonder what Jesus would say or do. He suggested that Jesus would be more concerned with the big issues of the day.
Whether or not ministers who state they are homosexual by orientation, but about whom there is absolutely no tangible evidence regarding their sexual practices, should or should not be allowed to serve God, may be important to some.
However Climate Change and human caused Environmental Degradation, Refugees and issues caused by Human Migration, Poverty and being able to live in peace, one with another all seemed far more important.
These are the issues that should be preoccupying the Church of Scotland. Mr Rooney wondered why there were no petitions about these issues.
When asked about the reaction of his congregation to what he said, Mr Rooney said he was overwhelmed by support for his views and for the Rev
Monday 11 May 2009
Climate Change and the Scottish Parliament
As I listened to the Scottish Parliament debate the Climate Change Bill, first reading, I had a picture in mind.
The Captain is aware that there are icebergs ahead and so he has a discussion with his senior staff … we should alter course … yes, but when and by how many degrees … well, let’s think about it and ask for opinions and then make a decision - CRASH!!!!
You see, I think I heard every party agree that
Monday 4 May 2009
And more hope
Again from the US Press ...
Global warming strongly divides Christian clergy
By Bob Smietana • THE TENNESSEAN • May 1, 2009
When the Rev. James Merritt wants to talk about the environment, he does what any good Baptist preacher would do. He picks up the Bible.
"The first assignment that God gave to Adam was to take care of the Garden," said Merritt, who was president of the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention from 2000-02. "As far as I know, that job has never been revoked."
While most Christian ministers agree that human beings are to care for creation, they disagree on the details. That's especially true about the topic of global warming .
A new survey from Southern Baptist-owned LifeWay Research found a split between mainline ministers, like Episcopalians and Methodists, and evangelicals like Southern Baptists. Mainline ministers believe that climate change is manmade and want to take action. Evangelical ministers, on the other hand, remain skeptical.
People in the pews disagree, according to a new poll from the public policy group, Faith in Public Life. It found that "over 60 percent of Americans, including majorities of white evangelical Protestants and Catholics" want to tackle climate change now.
Next month, Merritt will host a green evangelical gathering at Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Ga. Called the Flourish Conference, it's part of the so-called Creation Care movement.
Merritt says evangelicals have been too slow to act on environmental issues, just as they were slow to act on civil rights. "Once again we've been the caboose instead of leading the train," he said.
The Flourish conference, organized by Merritt's son, Jonathan, will focus on theology, not the politics or causes of global warming. Instead, they'll talk about biblical ethics and caring for the earth.
"We are really going to focus on the theology of ecology," Merritt said. "If anybody should be sensitive about the world and taking care of God's creation, it ought to be believers.
WHAT DO SCOTTISH EVANGELICALS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE? NOW THERE IS AN ISSUE THEY COULD PROFITABLY ADDRESS ...........................
Global warming strongly divides Christian clergy
By Bob Smietana • THE TENNESSEAN • May 1, 2009
When the Rev. James Merritt wants to talk about the environment, he does what any good Baptist preacher would do. He picks up the Bible.
"The first assignment that God gave to Adam was to take care of the Garden," said Merritt, who was president of the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention from 2000-02. "As far as I know, that job has never been revoked."
While most Christian ministers agree that human beings are to care for creation, they disagree on the details. That's especially true about the topic of global warming .
A new survey from Southern Baptist-owned LifeWay Research found a split between mainline ministers, like Episcopalians and Methodists, and evangelicals like Southern Baptists. Mainline ministers believe that climate change is manmade and want to take action. Evangelical ministers, on the other hand, remain skeptical.
People in the pews disagree, according to a new poll from the public policy group, Faith in Public Life. It found that "over 60 percent of Americans, including majorities of white evangelical Protestants and Catholics" want to tackle climate change now.
Next month, Merritt will host a green evangelical gathering at Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Ga. Called the Flourish Conference, it's part of the so-called Creation Care movement.
Merritt says evangelicals have been too slow to act on environmental issues, just as they were slow to act on civil rights. "Once again we've been the caboose instead of leading the train," he said.
The Flourish conference, organized by Merritt's son, Jonathan, will focus on theology, not the politics or causes of global warming. Instead, they'll talk about biblical ethics and caring for the earth.
"We are really going to focus on the theology of ecology," Merritt said. "If anybody should be sensitive about the world and taking care of God's creation, it ought to be believers.
WHAT DO SCOTTISH EVANGELICALS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE? NOW THERE IS AN ISSUE THEY COULD PROFITABLY ADDRESS ...........................
Climate Change and the USA Church
This is an article which appeared in the US Press just recently. It illustrates the problem and also the hope ....
Conservative Christians launch green awakening
By YONAT SHIMRON
McClatchy Newspapers
Published: Monday, May. 4, 2009 - 5:06 am
WAKE FOREST, N.C. -- For years, some conservative Christians regarded environmentalists as little more than nature worshippers. But on April 24, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., hosted its first conference on what it calls "creation care," or honoring God's good Earth.
The one-day "Creation Care Symposium" was the seminary's first effort to go green, and, no surprise, it came two days after Earth Day.
Southeastern President Danny Akin said his denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, needs to do more to combat pollution and the degradation of the planet. But he added, "We're not jumping on the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Al Gore bandwagon. We're using a more cautious, responsible approach."
That Southeastern is even interested in caring for the planet represents a milestone in the environmental movement. While mainline Protestant Christian denominations, Roman Catholics, Jews and Muslims have made strides in raising awareness among adherents of the challenges of climate change, pollution and degradation of natural resources, conservative denominations have thus far relegated the issue to the back burner.
Only two years ago, Southern Baptists passed a resolution urging the government to "reject mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," and to "proceed cautiously in the human-induced global warming debate in light of conflicting scientific research."
Last month, Richard Land, president of the denomination's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, urged Baptists to write their U.S. senators to oppose global warming legislation that would tax firms for global emissions.
And in a recently released poll, only 47 percent of Protestant pastors said they believe global warming is real and man-made. Among evangelical denominations, only 32 percent of pastors agreed.
Yet a group of younger evangelicals is challenging those views and pushing churches to audit their energy use, analyze their impact on the environment and adopt cost-saving measures.
Leading the charge is Jonathan Merritt, a graduate of Southeastern and the son of former Southern Baptist President James Merritt. Now an Atlanta-based writer, Merritt said the environment is no longer the exclusive domain of the liberal left.
"In the last few years we've seen many conservatives say this is a moral issue, and Christians have an answer for it," Merritt said.
He points to pastors such as Rick Warren, the Southern Baptist megachurch minister who has shown an environmental awareness. And he notes comments by Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, who in a recent issue of Newsweek calls for energy independence from foreign oil. (Although Gingrich approves of drilling in Alaska.)
Conservative Christians launch green awakening
By YONAT SHIMRON
McClatchy Newspapers
Published: Monday, May. 4, 2009 - 5:06 am
WAKE FOREST, N.C. -- For years, some conservative Christians regarded environmentalists as little more than nature worshippers. But on April 24, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., hosted its first conference on what it calls "creation care," or honoring God's good Earth.
The one-day "Creation Care Symposium" was the seminary's first effort to go green, and, no surprise, it came two days after Earth Day.
Southeastern President Danny Akin said his denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, needs to do more to combat pollution and the degradation of the planet. But he added, "We're not jumping on the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Al Gore bandwagon. We're using a more cautious, responsible approach."
That Southeastern is even interested in caring for the planet represents a milestone in the environmental movement. While mainline Protestant Christian denominations, Roman Catholics, Jews and Muslims have made strides in raising awareness among adherents of the challenges of climate change, pollution and degradation of natural resources, conservative denominations have thus far relegated the issue to the back burner.
Only two years ago, Southern Baptists passed a resolution urging the government to "reject mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," and to "proceed cautiously in the human-induced global warming debate in light of conflicting scientific research."
Last month, Richard Land, president of the denomination's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, urged Baptists to write their U.S. senators to oppose global warming legislation that would tax firms for global emissions.
And in a recently released poll, only 47 percent of Protestant pastors said they believe global warming is real and man-made. Among evangelical denominations, only 32 percent of pastors agreed.
Yet a group of younger evangelicals is challenging those views and pushing churches to audit their energy use, analyze their impact on the environment and adopt cost-saving measures.
Leading the charge is Jonathan Merritt, a graduate of Southeastern and the son of former Southern Baptist President James Merritt. Now an Atlanta-based writer, Merritt said the environment is no longer the exclusive domain of the liberal left.
"In the last few years we've seen many conservatives say this is a moral issue, and Christians have an answer for it," Merritt said.
He points to pastors such as Rick Warren, the Southern Baptist megachurch minister who has shown an environmental awareness. And he notes comments by Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, who in a recent issue of Newsweek calls for energy independence from foreign oil. (Although Gingrich approves of drilling in Alaska.)
A letter to parliament
CLIMATE CHANGE BILL
I am writing to urge you to take rigorous, and if necessary unpopular, action to respond to the challenge of Climate Change.
As a nation we must reduce our consumption of, and dependence upon, carbon. I do not believe that Carbon Capture is a tenable option because it simply signals business as usual.
I believe that the challenges of Climate Change move far beyond partisan politics and I would urge consensual action.
In practical terms I suggest
[a] 2010 reducing national speed limits … built up areas to 20mph
… A roads to 50 mph
… Dual carriage /
2011 reducing Dual carriage /
[b] Identification of wave power as the Scottish bench mark
[c] Encouragement of locally produced food and a return to seasonality in food
[d] Introduction of a 2p in the pound Climate Change levy with all funds being reinvested in public transport infrastructure
[e] Serious engagement with secondary school pupils to foster a climate aware ethos among young people – and to give these youngsters a real say in the future of their
[f] An assessment of the implications of sea level rise for homes, businesses and transport infrastructure.
[g] Government sponsored advertisements drawing attention to the issues of Climate Change
[h] An assessment of fishing, farming and general environmental management to promote sustainability
It seems to me that the first two decades of the 21st Century will be the defining years as far as the nature of the final two decades of the 21st Century and beyond are concerned.
More than any other group, Politicians will be judged by their efforts to tackle Climate Change.
Will you lead us to a point where the following will be our epitaph
When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today
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