October 2017 climatic clippings – part 2: All that that we don’t talk about.
“We will have the choice of the collapse of civilisation and into the dark ages we go – or we find something renewable.”
~ Elon Musk
“The only question is will we decide to live sustainably and protect our future or will we continue to live unsustainably until the future no longer exists for any of us.”
Peter Garrett, lead singer of Midnight Oil, in a National Press Club Address which was broadcasted on ABC News 24 on Tuesday 24 October 2017
Just another week at the ‘climate frontier news desk’ of The Sustainable Hour… – with the usual stream of headspinning news headlines that are as compelling as ever.
• ‘We will be toasted, roasted and grilled’: IMF chief sounds climate change warning
• The Lancet: “Climate change isn’t just hurting the planet – it’s a public health emergency”
• Record surge in atmospheric CO2 seen in 2016
• Climate change already bringing disease, air pollution and heatwaves
• Emissions set to bust Paris deal by 30%
• Deloitte climate expert says large parts of Australia could become ‘uninsurable’
I find them disturbing and upsetting in particular because of the silence that surrounds them. Where is the emergency response? Where is the action? It is as if no one else in the city where I live are paying attention to what is going on.
On 20 October, while important news about extreme weather events and climate change findings and new scientific findings about record speed rising CO2 levels were being totally ignored, the most viewed story on the Herald Sun’s home page was about two women presenters who wore the same dress on tv.
The most viewed story on Geelong Advertiser today is about a woman who captured CCTV footage of a person climbing her fence and pouring poison on her lawn.
In Queensland, today’s most viewed story in Brisbane Times is a story about a guy who flew 900 kilometres from Sydney to Brisbane for a burrito at a new fast-food restaurant.
Meanwhile, the news story published by an American news provider about that solar power now delivers the cheapest electricity ever – cheapest anywhere and by any technology – wasn’t seen, shared or told in any Australian mainstream media.
Neither were the stories about the non-violent action that goes on at the climate frontier in the north of the country: the citizens who put work at drilling towers and mining zones to a halt, until eventually they get removed and arrested by police.
“We need to be ramping up our emergency services, climate proofing our infrastructure, etc etc, but instead we’re giving tax cuts to the wealthy and buying submarines. Shifting deck chairs on the Titanic while the band plays on.”
~ Miriam Robinson, climate activist from Melbourne
2017 a turning point year?
It’s not all hush-hush, luckily. There is a lot of climate action and activity going on at ground level. Renewable power plants are shooting up like mushrooms, and the technological progress is promising, with lots of great innovation taking place.
In The Sustainable Hour on 1 November 2017, climate activist and campaigner Leigh Ewbank said: “When history is written about the successful campaign to tackle climate change, 2017 will be viewed as a turning point year. We’ve seen the legislated ban on fracking in Victoria, we’ve seen a Victorian Renewable Target, we’ve seen the Climate Act strengthened, and we have seen Hazelwood, the most polluting coal plant in the developed world, close. In 10-15 years time, I reckon we will look back, and we will think “Bloody hell, that was the moment when we really started to have the wind at our back.”
The continuous stream of exciting, positive news stories underlines that Ewbank could be right.
Worrying reports and warnings
Then again, at the moment, our planet’s carbon dioxide levels are rising at record-breaking speed, and who one knows where that worrying development eventually will be taking us? Our climate scientists are not in doubt where we are heading, and it is not a pleasant place they describe for us.
We’ve known about the problem with our air pollution for decades, and since the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009, it has been clear to everyone that we need to limit and eventually eliminate our carbon emissions. Regardless of all talks and all efforts, last year the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased at record speed to hit a level not seen on our planet for more than three million years.
In case you missed it, here are some of the headlines that ticked in during the latest weeks:
» The Guardian – 3 November 2017:
The three-degree world: the cities that will be drowned by global warming
“The UN is warning that we are now on course for 3C of global warming. This will ultimately redraw the map of the world.”
Grist wrote:
“A new report from the United Nations World Meteorological Organization warns that global carbon dioxide levels rose at the fastest rate ever measured in 2016 — reaching heights unseen in at least 4.5 million years. That’s before humans existed. Over the past century, carbon dioxide levels have continued to speed upwards. The report says CO2 levels increased by 3.3 parts per million last year. Since the Industrial Revolution, CO2 has risen roughly “10 to 20 times faster” than the fastest rate in Earth’s history.”
Not on track
None of the world’s major industrialised nations are yet doing anything close to what’s needed to avoid drastic global warming in the decades ahead. Not the United States. Not Europe. Not Canada. Not Japan. Not Australia. New York Times shows in this article there’s a large gap between what countries are currently doing to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and what they promised to do in Paris in 2015.
CO₂ and global mean temperature 1958 – present #GlobalWarming #ClimateChange pic.twitter.com/M0OeVuDBYZ
— Kevin Pluck (@kevpluck) November 3, 2017
The Lancet: “It’s a public health emergency”
“Climate change isn’t just hurting the planet – it’s a public health emergency”
“Our scientists have been telling us for some time that we’ve got a bad case of climate change. Now our doctors are telling us it’s bad for our health. The Lancet Countdown report is an important climate health check-up and prescription for the action we need. The benefits of getting climate fit are too good to resist: safer, cleaner air and water, more energy independence, more jobs and vastly improved land use.”
~ Christiana Figueres, chair of the Lancet Countdown advisory board
“The health of hundreds of millions of people around the world is already being damaged by climate change. Heatwaves are affecting many more vulnerable people and global warming is boosting the transmission of deadly diseases such as dengue fever, the world’s most rapidly spreading disease. Air pollution from fossil fuel burning is also causing millions of early deaths each year, while damage to crops from extreme weather threatens hunger for millions of children.”
The findings, published in the Lancet journal, come from researchers at 26 institutions around the world.
In a normal world, statements like that, coming not from some climate activist NGO but from a respectable and credible global health source like The Lancet, would make health authorities and bodies go: “A public health emergency?! Oups, we better drop what else we are busy with and get up to speed with this issue!”
But that is unfortunately not at all what is happening, as far as I can tell. Reports are published, conferences are held, but real action at the level that a public health emergency requires…? Nowhere to be seen.
'We will be toasted, roasted and grilled': IMF chief sounds climate change warning https://t.co/SiMxUlRY4R
— The Guardian (@guardian) October 25, 2017
Christine Lagarde is managing director of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, an organisation of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
Her statement was short but not sweet:
“We will be toasted, roasted and grilled.”
~ Christine Lagarde, managing director, IMF
» The Guardian | Agence France-Presse – 25 October 2017:
‘We will be toasted, roasted and grilled’: IMF chief sounds climate change warning
“Christine Lagarde warns of ‘dark future’ if the world fails to take steps to address global warming.”
» The Guardian – 31 October 2017:
Climate change already bringing disease, air pollution and heatwaves
“Heatwaves, pollution and disease are the main health issues linked to global warming but action to halt emissions would deliver huge benefits.”
» The Mercury | Reuters – 31 October 2017:
Emissions set to bust Paris deal by 30%
“Greenhouse gas emissions are on course to be about 30% above the level needed to keep global warming to an internationally agreed target in 2030, the United Nations says.”
“15 metre flood height”
“By 2100, the estimated 500-year flood height would be 5.2 meters, and by 2300 it would be about 15 meters.”
» Daily Mail – 3 November 2017:
New York under water: Shocking climate change map reveals the parts of the city that could be submerged by storms in 2100
» Scientific American – 20 October 2017:
Oceans can rise in sudden bursts
“Fossilized corals off Texas show that in the past, sea level rose several meters in just decades, probably due to collapsing glaciers”
“Decades of climate research could be wrong, meaning we’re in a much worse situation than previously thought.”
» Newsweek – 27 October 2017:
Our ancient ocean temperature records may be wrong meaning current warming is unparalleled for 100 million years
» The Guardian – 31 October 2017:
Global atmospheric CO2 levels hit record high
“UN warns that drastic action is needed to meet climate targets set in the Paris agreement.”
» BBC News – 30 October 2017:
Record surge in atmospheric CO2 seen in 2016
“CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere jumped to a record high in 2016, says the World Meteorological Organization.”
» Clean Energy Wire – 11 October 2017:
Germany set to widely miss climate targets, environment ministry warns
» Rolling Stone – 5 November 2017:
The Climate Report President Trump Thinks You’re Too Stupid to Read
“The report refines our understanding of key issues that have huge implications for how we live today and in the future.”
» NPR – 2 November 2017:
Massive government report says climate is warming and humans are the cause
» Sydney Morning Herald – 3 November 2017:
‘Critical turning point’ as more nations hit peak carbon emissions: think-tank
“The number of countries in which greenhouse gases has peaked continues to rise, representing a “critical turning point” in the task of curbing climate change, according to a report by the World Resources Institute.”
Weather messed up
In recent months, we have seen record-breaking storms devastate cities and towns in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, along the Gulf Coast, and across the Caribbean. Could the message from our planet be any clearer? We must change. We must drop dirty fossil fuels.
While climate scientists agree that hurricanes aren’t necessarily caused by climate change, they are “certainly worsened by it,” according to climatologist and geophysicist Dr Michael Mann.
Simply put, climate change means seas are getting warmer. Which causes hurricanes to store more water and energy. The result during Hurricane Harvey was more than 50 inches of rain submerging much of southeastern Texas. Hurricanes Irma and Maria followed suit across the Caribbean and Gulf Coast.
In Australia, Channel 9 News started its weather report in this way on 27 October 2017:
“A cluster bomb of weather has smashed New South Wales and Queensland, leaving residents mopping up and wondering what’s coming next. Authorities have been forced to issue severe fire warnings for Adelaide’s Mount Lofty Ranges, despite the fire season having not even officially begun yet. Temperatures more than 10 degrees above average are forecast in Adelaide, along with gusty winds and possible thunderstorms.”
Here are glimpses of what our world looked like in the end of October 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwTjX8WW4DQ
Climate & Extreme Weather News #76 (October 21st to 25th 2017)
00:12 Japan: Typhoon Lan
03:29 The USA: Oregon flooding; Carolina storms; California heatwave & Hawaii storm
20:07 Ireland & The UK: Storm Brian
20:37 Italy: Northern Italy wildfires
23:17 Corsica wildfires
24:23 Inida: Odisha floods
25:37 Thailand floods
27:05 El Salvador: Usulutan flash flood
28:40 Honduras floods
31:01 Global temp anomalies
The most devastating storms that exist
“We have never seen so many Category 5 hurricanes hit land in such a short period as we have this year. In September alone, there were three hurricanes that threatened to hit shores. Scientists say they have never seen anything like that.
Category 5 hurricanes are the most devastating storms that exist. The wind speed can reach up to 250 km per hour. They crash houses, create violent floods and take human lives.
It is now we are beginning to see what climate change looks like – and this is only the beginning. It may sometimes feel so arbitrary and as if there is nothing we can do to stop this. But it is there. We already know the solutions: Conversion to renewable energy sources and discontinuing the use of coal, gas and oil.
World leaders have even signed up on specific goals for this change in the Paris Accord. But while many people and countries around the world have started to act to solve the climate crisis, the government of Norway goes in the opposite direction and puts people’s lives at risk by opening up new areas for oil drilling in the Arctic…”
~ Sune Scheller, Project Manager in Greenpeace
» The Conversation – 26 October 2017:
Why hot weather records continue to tumble worldwide
“It sometimes feels like we get a lot of “record-breaking” weather. Whether it’s a heatwave in Europe or the “Angry Summer” in Australia, the past few years have seen temperature records tumble.”
» Climate Reality – 21 October 2017:
Dr. Michael Mann on extreme weather: “We predicted this long ago”
“We can see it not just in the data, but we’ve seen it play out this season in the form of unprecedented storms.”
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“It’s the greed”
“The problem … is us. It’s our whole way of life. It’s our comfort … It’s the greed. It’s the indulgence. It’s the pattern. And it’s the inertia.”
~ Jerry Brown, Governor of California, USA
Fossil fuel interests versus scientists and activists
“We are engaged in a great political struggle between the deniers who want to turn the world over to fossil fuel interests and scientists and concerned activists who want to see decarbonization.”
~ Jerry Brown, governor of California
“Bad public policy”
“When we start ignoring the real world we make bad public policy, and it’s happening in Australia as well as the United States.”
~ Professor Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist, chairman of board which presides over the Doomsday Clock
“The public will panic”
“We must declare a global climate emergency.”
~ Paul Beckwith, climate system scientist, professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada
“The extreme weather events will ramp up significantly. If we think they are bad now, we haven’t seen anything yet, they’re going to get a lot worse and then as the Arctic thaws there’s going to be something that absolutely terrifies the public. They’ll be screaming at politicians and scientists, “you didn’t let us know this was happening.” Politicians will have to take very rapid action if they haven’t done so before.
I think it’s important for the media to start bringing this message to the public. Why wait until we lose the sea ice completely? It’s basically a done deal. We’re going to lose the sea ice completely. It’s a done deal. Is it going to happen, there’s a very small chance it could happen this year, it may happen next year, probably certainly before 2020 based on the trends and then the public will panic.
So why not get strong action done now. Why not get governments to declare a climate change emergency?”
~ Paul Beckwith
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The fossil fuel industry moves ahead regardlessly
The Global Coal Exit List identifies 225 companies that are planning to expand coal mining, and 282 companies that are planning new coal-fired power stations, at a time when climate science tells us the coal industry must be curtailed.
» Vice – 8 November 2017:
At COP 23, America’s Answer to Climate Change is Using More Fossil Fuels
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Indifference and opposition
These are just an excerpt of the many stories, statements, observations and reports that ticked in on my Twitter account and Facebook wall during the last week of October 2017.
Most people seem to assume that things will remain the same, or only change in a predictable linear fashion. This mind-set needs to be challenged when such an overwhelming amount of news stories, reporting and evidence comes along.
In my world this is the stuff we should all be talking about in our communities and families, in city halls and parliaments. And in particular, in media. In news programs. At events. As a society. Why don’t we see everyone busy finding out more about it, learning about solutions and discussing them at personal level, at work, in school, over the dinner table?
Instead, we are seeing an absurd indifference and even opposition to taking any real action on the emergency both at the personal, the administrative and the political level.
As mentioned earlier, solar already has become cheaper than any other energy form. Not switching over from fossils to renewables doesn’t even stack up economically any longer. The only reason we have not committed ourselves to switch our society to 100% renewable energy sources long ago is that there are a small group of highly influential people who have a strong economic interest in making us think that the sun and wind technologies are not reliable and too expensive, and, on top of that, that the climate crisis is a hoax.
We get flooded with lies and manipulation, for only that one reason, which Musk explains: the coal-oil-gas profit machine thinks it should continue running its machinery as long as it possibly can.
It will probably only be a few more years before this masquerade will eventually be revealed in all its ugly details, we will learn how money was passed around under the tables and a new play in courtrooms will begin. It has already started here and there around the globe.
» ThinkProgress – 26 October 2017:
Environmental group sues Irish government over climate change
“In the wake of Hurricane Ophelia, an Irish environmental group is taking its government to court.”
» The Economist – 2 November 2017:
Climate-change lawsuits
“Global warming is increasingly being fought in the courtroom.”
» National Geographic – 7 November 2017:
Fight climate change by suing polluters, says prominent climate scientist
» Slate – 15 November 2017:
Climate Litigation Needs to Become a Mass Movement
“Europe is leading by example.”
» The Guardian – 17 November 2017:
‘We should be on the offensive’ – James Hansen calls for wave of climate lawsuits
“Veteran climate scientist says litigation campaign against government and fossil fuels companies is essential alongside political mobilisation in fighting ‘growing, mortal threat’ of global warming”
We are taking legal action against UK Govt for 3rd time over persistent failure to deal with illegal #airpollution https://t.co/XEija1wxFN
— ClientEarth (@ClientEarth) November 7, 2017
“How much longer do have to allow so few to control governments all over the world to the extent that we are all going to be extinct very soon. Is profit, entitlement, and privilege so bloody important? Maybe it is to those few, but the politicians who we elect to keep us safe are so bloody weak that a small party donation, a free lunch and a promise of a future Board position can make them criminally negligent are the real failures in the system. Time to boot them all OUT.”
~ David Anthony Hood
“Legacy of our politicians already in tatters”
“Witnessing the nonsensical and disgraceful behaviour of some – even many – of our politicians often leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. How can they continue their actions against any efforts to ameliorate the threat of climate change? A threat that has been evident for the last thirty years and more so over time with increasing clarity? What motivates them to continue their aggressive rear-guard action against all attempts to mitigate global warming?” (…) “These actions are bordering on criminal negligence. At best history will not treat them kindly. At worst they will he hated and reviled. Their legacy is already in tatters.”
~ Peter Gardner, climate blogger, 25 October 2017
» Climate Change News – 26 October 2017:
Shipping executive: ‘We have deliberately misled public on climate’
“Industry veteran said lobbyists at UN shipping talks were ‘prostitutes employed by our racket to try and put one over on the general public’.”
I predict that in 10-15 years time, historians and judges of the 2030s – or our own children, who by that time will be asking us, “Why didn’t you act when there was still time?” – will benefit from understanding which kind of information war was playing out at the climate frontier of our time – with weapons of deception, smokescreens and distortion of facts.
Elon Musk describes it masterly in this 10-minute presentation of his from 2016:
Elon Musk’s break down on climate change
Lecture by Elon Musk about how the fossil fuel industry has hijacked democracy – and what we need to do about it.
Published on youtube.com on 31 May 2016
» CommonDreams – 20 October 2017:
Because Paris Deal Not Nearly Enough, European Climate Kids File Suit
“Whether we like it or not, we are going to be the main ones affected by the consequences that climate change entails.”
“We face an unprecedented moment in this country. Today’s greatest threat is not climate change, not pollution, not flood or fire. It’s that we’ve got people in charge of important shit who don’t believe in science.”
~ Harrison Ford, American actor
The professional confusionists
The reason we find ourselves in a climate emergency today is not the extreme weather evens and rising seas. It is a specific group of people. As Elon Musk describes it in his presentation, professional ‘confusionists’ funded by the fossil fuel industry are using every trick in the book to prolong the period of confusion, procrastination and inaction – with the purpose of maintaining status quo in industry.
Young climate activists aren’t the only ones getting ideas about taking these matters to the courts. On 25 October I received an e-mail from Judy Ryan which said:
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From: Judy Ryan Date: 2017-10-25 22:13 GMT+02:00 Subject: 19 We are writing to state why we think that the ABC is a threat to Australia’s democracy. To: Michelle.Guthrie@abc.net.au Ms Michelle Guthrie Dear Ms Guthrie We are writing to state why we think that the ABC is a threat to Australia’s democracy. We had hoped that the ABC might have become less socialistically biased under your directorship, but apparently not. The latest incident we refer to is the alarmist documentary by Professor Will Steffen. As he detailed the temperature record of the last century he omitted to mention the cooling phase that occurred during the 70’s. The historical record shows that scientists via the MSM were actually stating that human caused global cooling would occur Click to access GlobalCoolingAlarmismInThe1970s.pdf This kind of systemic Climate Alarmism reporting, via the ABC, clearly misinforms its listeners. In our opinion the ABC is wilfully or recklessly reporting subversive, dangerous propaganda. Respectfully Yours Affiliated With Citizens Electoral Council Dr David Evans Principia Scientific International The Carbon Sense Coalition The Climate Realists of Five Dock The Climate Sceptics The Galileo Movement The Sensible Environmentalist Members As truly independent scientists we will always debate the Science. However, we are united in our recognition and rejection of the politically driven post-normal science (such as climate alarmism) – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
Need for climate journalistic training
So while in The Sustainable Hour we have been calling on the ABC and SBS to break the silence on the climate emergency, others are on a climate war path accusing the ABC for “systemic Climate Alarmism reporting”.
We suggested the ABC and SBS to start broadcasting daily segments on climate impacts and climate solutions, as we see this as a natural part of their civic duty as public broadcasters, just like they issue warnings and information about weather, fires, floods and UV levels in their news bulletins.
Meanwhile, we have Dr Judy Ryan and her affiliated groups writing open letters to the ABC that “Climate Change” is a “null hypothesis” and that ABC “propagates misinformation to the Australian people” because they broadcast interviews with climate scientists and academics.
As it appears from the letter above, the tone is often threatening and aggressive, and even so, public broadcasters keep giving climate sceptic characters air time because of fear of being blamed for being ‘biased’. The general journalistic code of conduct says the ABC always must ensure to provide a so-called ‘balanced view’.
Considering the impact that this kind of ‘smoke and mirrors’-work has on the general public opinion in Australia, causing confusion and doubt about the science and ‘who is right’ and ‘who knows’, there is a huge need for reporters who have the necessary insight and training to be able to cut through the haze and communicate what is really going on here.
Until then, we will keep seeing polls such as this one:
» The Australian | News.com.au – 31 October 2017:
Newspoll: Voters prefer price cut to Paris accord
“One in two Australians believes the Paris accord on climate change should be dumped if that helps deliver cheaper power, according to Newspoll.”
» Daily Mail – 31 October 2017:
Australians prefer cheaper power to meeting climate change targets
“More Australians would rather have cheaper power bills than meet international targets to reduce carbon emissions. Almost half, or 45 per cent of them, want the Paris accord switched off.”
A misleading question asked to a mislead population… What could possibly go wrong?
The cost
» Bloomberg – 8 November 2017:
Climate change costs a lot more than we recognize
“Most estimates ignore the sociopolitical repercussions.”
In the US, a government study has warned that, “fires, floods and hurricanes are already costing the federal government tens of billions of dollars a year and climate change will drive those costs ever higher in coming years.”
“The last decade of climate change has cost the US administration… $350 BILLION! I mean, if you really don’t care about the planet. And if you REALLY don’t care about a population’s health… You gotta care about $350 billion… right?”
» Daily Mercury – 25 October 2017:
Time to address rising cost of climate change: US report
“The recent wildfires in California have caused more than $A80 billion damage.”
Deloitte climate expert says large parts of Australia could become ‘uninsurable’ | https://t.co/20roCWiZhr https://t.co/eXV2NAqrOi
— Carbon Market Instit (@CarbonMarketIns) October 24, 2017
“There will be at least 200 million people displaced by climate change by 2050.”
» Quartz – 9 November 2017:
Climate change will be the border control of the future
» The Fifth Estate – 2 November 2017:
Extreme disasters force millions out of their homes
“Extreme weather disasters forced an average of 21.8 million people from their homes each year between 2008 and 2016, according to a new Oxfam report, which levels much of the blame at climate change.”
» The Guardian – 2 November 2017:
Climate change ‘will create world’s biggest refugee crisis’
“Experts warn refugees could number tens of millions in the next decade, and call for a new legal framework to protect the most vulnerable.”
» Bloomberg – 3 November 2017:
Climate Change to Affect 10 Million Americans by 2075, CBO Warns
» BBC News – 5 August 2017:
Extreme weather ‘could kill up to 152,000 a year’ in Europe by 2100
» The Huffington Post – 2 November 2017:
The Torres Strait Islands are being buried by sea and nobody seems to care
“Climate change is stealing the Islanders’ homes, livelihoods and connection to ancestral lands.”
» Financial Review – 24 October 2017:
Deloitte climate expert says large parts of Australia could become ‘uninsurable
» The Guardian – 11 August 2017:
Australia faces potentially disastrous consequences of climate change, inquiry told
“Former defence force chief decries Australia’s response to climate challenge as a ‘manifest failure of leadership’.”
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» IMF video – 1 hour 4 minutes:
The financial consequences of climate change
Economic and Financial Issues Related to the Impact of Climate Change. Professor and author Nicholas Stern, Ashley Schulten from BlackRock and other experts in a panel, recorded at the headquarters of the IMF.
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September 2017 was the fourth warmest September on record, via @NASA pic.twitter.com/pWsOIbzCGT
— Climate Central (@ClimateCentral) October 23, 2017
“The earth is already too hot. Back in 2010, when he was launching the first Beyond Zero Emissions report on a ten year transition to zero emissions energy, Malcolm Turnbull said that we had no carbon budget left. What a hypocrite! How can he live with himself? It’s time to declare a climate emergency and Malcolm knows it.”
~ Jane Morton
“My understanding is that due to irreversible melting of one of the Antarctic ice sheets, about 3m sea level rise is already inevitable, in the long run (maybe later than 2100 of course). So ceasing all coal is probably something that should have been done by like 2000 not 2050. ie ASAP. I find the 2050 timeline narrative rather lulls us into a false sense of security.”
~ Ben Courtice
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PETITION:
Tell the EPA to crack down on climate pollution
Victoria’s environmental watchdog is undergoing a $165 million reform process to turn it into a 21st century regulator. Despite these much needed reforms, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) is still failing to tackle climate change.
The EPA monitors pollution to our air, land and water, but they are allowing climate polluters to dump unlimited amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.
Victoria’s new Climate Change Act came into force this week and it confirms that the EPA has the power to regulate climate pollution. And with over 45 years’ experience regulating other types of pollution, they are perfectly placed to prevent harm to Victoria’s climate.
They have the power and the expertise – all they need is the will. Can you call on EPA to step up and respond to the biggest environmental threat of our time?
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Coal-free future
It’s time to step it up and take a real step forward into a coal-free future.
The era of coal is already ending – fast. As of 2016, across the world, 23 countries, states and cities will have either phased out coal-fired power plants or set a timeline to do so by 2030. More than a quarter of the 1,600+ companies involved in coal power have already left the coal business entirely since 2010.
“A decision to build a greenfield megamine would appear to come down to the facts, with the known harms weighed against the potential benefits. Yet we can identify three distinct traits in official discourses around the Adani mine that show truthiness at work.”
» The Conversation – 25 October 2017:
Nothing but truthiness: Adani and Co’s post-truth push for the Carmichael mine
» Greenpeace – press release – 18 October 2017:
23 countries and states to phase out coal as US$432 billion of capital leaves the industry
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New online platform for climate insights
Launching in November 2017, Climate Watch brings together dozens of datasets for the first time to let users analyze and compare national climate pledges under the Paris Agreement, access historical GHG emissions data, discover how climate objectives can help achieve sustainable development goals, understand vulnerabilities and readiness to climate impacts, and use models to map new pathways to a lower-carbon future.
Climate Watch is implemented by World Resources Institute in collaboration with partners such as The World Bank, Google, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Climate Action Tracker, Climate Analytics, German Institute for International Cooperation (GIZ) and more.
The online platform is designed to empower policymakers, researchers, media and other stakeholders with the climate data, visualizations and resources they need to gather insights on national and global progress on climate change.
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Carbon drawdown
“No doubt getting slammed by successive category 5 storms, unprecedented flooding and mudslides, city-leveling wildfires, heat waves and droughts has something to do with focusing the attention. Mother Nature is seriously angry now.”
~ Albert Bates
» Medium – 29 October 2017:
Acceleration
“We need to get to above-the-line climate solutions with the same urgency as beach communities spying an approaching tsunami.”
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Climate change game for 12-year-olds
CO2peration is an interactive, online game developed for children aged 12-14. It teaches climate science in a politics- and emotion-free zone.
“In most countries, the topic of climate change is usually introduced at around the age of 16. Unfortunately, students at this age have largely made up their minds about climate change. So around age 12, children’s worldview is still open to change and they can take on board new information in a way that their older selves may not.”
» Read more on www.theconversation.com
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Planetary prosperity means zero carbon
“The resource hunger of the human enterprise has become too large for our planet. The Paris Climate Agreement recognizes this. It aims to limit global warming to less than 2°C above the preindustrial level. This means ceasing fossil-fuel use before 2050, increasing ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, and improving human well-being.
We, Blue Planet Laureates, wholeheartedly and emphatically support this transformation. It is technologically possible, economically beneficial, and our best chance for a prosperous future.
Our planet is finite. But human possibilities are not. The transformation will succeed if we apply people’s greatest strengths: foresight, innovation, and care for each other.”
~ Blue Planet Prize Laureates Statement, 31 October 2017
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» Link up with the Climate Emergency Mobilisation on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/ClimateEmergencyMobilisation
» What to do? First of all: Get involved!