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commentary on environmental news reports

the quotes in italics below are selected extracts from reports appearing on BBC News Website

below each quote is Miller's Bridge comment

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mblog@millersbridge.com

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Friday 22 February 2008

Robbing The Poor

" Most DIY enthusiasts would be shocked to find that their new garden decking helped to increase the poverty of hunter-gatherer communities in the Congo Basin of Central Africa, argues John Nelson.
What about the recently purchased hardwood table and chairs? Did these come from a 300-year-old tree that, until cut down for export to Europe, supplied a hundred poor people in Cameroon with oil, protein and medicine?
Armed with this knowledge, would the customers' new furniture be quite so comfortable? Ngola Baka typifies Pygmy hunter-gatherer communities in Cameroon; it is small, remote, cash-poor and surrounded by small fields of manioc and plantain to supplement a varied and healthy forest diet based upon meat, fish, fruits, nuts, honey, leaves and mushrooms.
Since there is no dispensary, and little money, medicines are found in the forest, in the barks, roots and leaves gathered during hunting and gathering excursions up to 20km (12 miles) away.
Forest biodiversity is at the heart of Baka community subsistence, and Congo Basin forests are widely recognised as a global asset. The UK government has committed more than Ł50m ($25m) towards protecting them.
The wealth of the basin's rainforests is also targeted by big business. Logging and mining companies are legally entitled to exploit millions of hectares.
Only two kilometres from Ngola Baka, for example, the community forest gives way to an industrial logging concession. The Moabi tree found there is particularly favoured by loggers for its hard, dark wood and high market price.
The Moabi's fruit is also a key component of Baka subsistence, especially for the rich oil pressed from the nut. People rely upon it for their survival.
Last year, it was harvested by Baka women in a forest grove 12km from the village, in the middle of the logging concession, as has been done seasonally for years.
But those trees are now gone, cut down during 2007 and exported to Europe to make garden furniture and coffee tables. Ngola Baka is a poorer, hungrier place as a result of European tastes for luxury.
I believe that if most knew the reality, they would be far more discerning about what they bought.
The cruelty of battery poultry farming in the UK, which has received so much attention recently, pales into insignificance when compared with the logging injustices and increasing poverty of indigenous forest communities who simply want their children to survive childhood, to gain greater access to health services, and to learn to read even a little bit.
Europeans, and consumers across the globe, have the power to stop the disaster that is overwhelming forest peoples, but will they take up the challenge? "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Quite. Whether consumer-power is up to the challenge is debatable. But it should be encouraged, and supplemented by legislation and international action. All part of the debate about sustainable capitalism?

Monday 18 February 2008

Paying for Water

" Water meters should be introduced in homes in drought-hit parts of England to help save water, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has said.
Mr Benn called for 'near universal metering' by 2030 in certain areas as part of a wide-ranging water strategy.
The government will also conduct a review of water charges across the country in a bid to conserve water.
Ministers want to encourage any new garden paving to be porous to ensure rainfall soaks into the ground.
In another measure, there are proposals to remove phosphates from washing powders in an attempt to reduce pollution."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Water metering has some undertones, but in the climate situation we face there is little alternative. Will it be a case of the rich are unaffected, whilst the poorer have to scrimp and save for sufficient water for basic needs? Possibly a test case of sorts for sustainable capitalism. Garden paving is a problem. How far 'porous' paving is a solution is uncertain.

Thursday 14 February 2008

A Nice Summer??

"The risk of a fatal heatwave in the UK within five years is high, but overall global warming may mean fewer deaths due to temperature, a report says.
A seriously hot summer between now and 2012 could claim more than 6,000 lives, the Department of Health report claims.
But it also stresses that milder winters mean deaths during this time of year - which far outstrip heat-related mortality - will continue to decline.
The report is to help health services prepare for climate change effects.
A panel of scientific experts commissioned by the Department of Health and Health Protection Agency (HPA) has looked at the way the UK has responded to rising temperatures since the 1970s, and how the risks are likely to change.
While summers in the UK became warmer in the period 1971 - 2003, there was no change in heat-related deaths, while annual cold-related mortality fell by 3% as winters became milder - so overall fewer people died as a result of extreme temperatures.
Rather than physiological changes explaining our ability to adapt to rising temperatures, the report put this down primarily to lifestyle alterations: our readiness to wear more informal clothes, for instance, and the shift away from manual labour.
Nevertheless, there is at present a one in 40 chance that by 2012 South-East England will see a severe heatwave which could cause 3,000 immediate deaths and the same number of heat-related deaths throughout the summer. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's difficult to know how seriously to take the various weather warnings. Probably should take them all seriously. But the British climate has always been variable and full of surprises. It's the long term trends with proven statistical significance that matter most.

Wednesday 13 February 2008

A Fig Leaf?

" Abu Dhabi has started to build what it says is the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste car-free city.
Masdar City will cost $22bn (Ł11.3bn), take eight years to build and be home to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses.
The city will be mostly powered by solar energy and residents will move in travel pods running on magnetic tracks.
Abu Dhabi has one of the world's biggest per capita carbon footprints and sceptics fear Masdar may be just a fig leaf for the oil-rich Gulf emirate.
Others fear Masdar City - on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi City - may become a luxury development for the rich.
The project is supported by global conservation charity, the WWF. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

There is indeed a sceptical question-mark over this project. There's no doubt that 'green-wash' is a real phenomenon, and this could be a prize example. On the other hand, some value could come from the experience.

Tuesday 12 February 2008

Not So Simple

" Two scientists have claimed that climate change was not the only cause of the collapse of a 500bn tonne ice shelf in Antarctica six years ago.
The 656ft (200m) thick, 1,255 sq mile (3,250 sq km) Larsen B shelf broke apart in March 2002.
But Neil Glasser of Aberystwyth University and Ted Scambos of Colorado University claim in a new study that it had been on the brink for decades.
They argue that glaciological and atmospheric factors were also involved.
In a paper published in the Journal of Glaciology, the pair say that when Larsen B collapsed it appeared to be the latest in a long line of victims of Antarctic summer heatwaves linked to global warming.
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey predicted in 1998 that several ice shelves around the peninsula were doomed because of rising temperatures in the region, but the speed with which Larsen B went shocked them in 2002.
But Prof Glasser said the dramatic event was 'not as simple as we first thought'.
He acknowledged that global warming had a major part to play in the collapse, but emphasised that it was only one of a number of contributory factors.
Dr Scambos, of the University of Colorado's national snow and ice data centre, said the ice shelf had probably been in distress for decades before its demise.
'It's likely that melting from higher ocean temperatures, or even a gradual decline in the ice mass of the peninsula over the centuries, was pushing the Larsen to the brink,' he added. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It will be good news for the remaining climate change sceptics. But it's also good news for those already convinced that something is happening. In the sense that the more scientific research, the more accurate data, enables us to get a bit closer to the truth.

Monday 11 February 2008

Sand in the Oceans

" Scientists have been sailing across the Atlantic in a bid to track down sand from the Sahara Desert.
The team is trying to find out how the dust is affecting marine biology and, in turn, the ocean's ability to soak up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
The researchers encountered two large sand storms during their cruise and recorded footage of their dust-drenched experience for the BBC News website.
They followed the sand with the help of satellite images and wind forecasts.
Eric Achterberg, principal scientist for the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) funded Solas (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study) expedition, said he was relieved to have encountered dust storms during the one-month cruise.
Another expedition that took place two years ago had failed to find any Saharan sand, he said.
He told the BBC: 'We encountered two dust storms: one lasted for about three days, the other was a big one that lasted for about four to five days.
'We were on top of the ship, you could just see it coming - there was a wall of dust coming towards us and it got very hazy after that. The ship was covered in dust - it was just fantastic.
The dust from this one went all the way to south-west England; we heard reports that in Plymouth there was Saharan dust on cars.'
The ultimate aim of the expedition, said Dr Achterberg, was to look at the dynamic relationship between dust, marine organisms and carbon dioxide absorption.
As well as increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, climate change was also affecting deserts such as the Sahara and the amounts of nutrient-containing sand that they deposit in the seas and elsewhere, Dr Achterberg explained.
A recent report suggests that increases in rainfall levels could make deserts greener, while other studies support the idea that they will grow in size in some regions - either way the amount of sand falling into the oceans around the world could change."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is another case of more scientific data to add to our eventual understanding of climate change. The importance of the scientific research cannot be overestimated.

Friday 8 February 2008

The Technology Approach

"Some of the biggest names in European industry have begun a public-private partnership with the EU to produce greener aircraft.
Airbus, Dassault, Saab and Rolls Royce are all taking part in the 1.6bn euro (Ł1.2bn) 'clean sky' initiative.
Half the money will be raised by the European Union and half by industry.
EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik said the investment would keep Europe at the cutting edge and help combat climate change.
The use of public money for a project involving companies such as Airbus could cause friction with its US competitor, Boeing.
Last month the European Commission proposed a package of measures aimed at cutting carbon emissions by a fifth by 2020.
Launching the clean sky project in Brussels, Mr Potocnik said aeronautics accounted for 3% of current emissions.
'But with passenger numbers increasing by five per cent every year, these emission levels will grow over coming decades.'
He said there would have to be improvements in fuel-efficient engines as well as breakthroughs in wing technology. Research institutes and universities will also be involved."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A good example of capital fighting back! The Bush approach. Technology will get us out of the mess. All right, it can be a contribution to the solution, but alone it isn't sufficient. The danger is that it diverts resources and effort from the real solutions.

Thursday 7 February 2008

The Social Justice Bit

" Two senior bishops are urging people to cut back on carbon for Lent instead of the conventional chocolate or alcohol.
The Bishops of London and Liverpool, Dr Richard Chartres and James Jones, are launching the Carbon Fast at Trafalgar Square with aid agency Tearfund.
They hope to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint for 40 days.
The scheme aims to raise awareness of global warming to help protect poor communities around the world who are already affected by climate change.
The 'fast' involves a simple energy saving action each day, including avoiding plastic bags, insulating the hot water tank and checking the house for draughts.
Bishop Jones, who is vice president of Tearfund, said: "It is the poor who are already suffering the effects of climate change.
'To carry on regardless of their plight is to fly in the face of Christian teaching.'
Sir John Houghton, former Met Office chief executive and first chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's scientific assessment said: 'Climate change shows us that our energy-hungry lifestyles are harming our poorer neighbours across the world now. The moral imperative for us to act is unquestionable and inescapable.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This message for Lent touches on a fundamental issue about human-induced climate change (could it be shortened to HICC?). It's the social justice bit. Social justice goes hand in hand with environmental concern. But when push comes to shove, social justice leads the way.

Wednesday 6 February 2008

The Polluter Pays

" The most heavily polluting lorries are facing charges of Ł200 per day to enter Greater London as Britain's first low emission zone (LEZ) comes into force.
The Ł49m scheme uses cameras to check all lorries over 12-tonnes entering the zone against a database of vehicles certified as meeting EU exhaust limits.
Firms whose vehicles are not on the database will be told to pay up.
The rules, aimed at improving London's air quality, will be extended to cover buses and coaches in July.
By 2010, it will also cover some vans and smaller lorries. Cars and motorcycles are exempt.
Firms are responsible for making sure their vehicles comply with the anti-pollution rules, which stipulate the amount of airborne dirt and nitrogen oxide each vehicle is permitted to emit.
Unlike London's congestion charge zone, which is lifted in the evenings and at weekends, the LEZ will be in force 24 hours a day, every day.
It also covers a larger area of 610 sq miles (1,580 sq km).
Failing vehicles will be issued with a warning letter the first time they are seen in the zone. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is unquestionably welcome news. About time this sort of action was taken. As soon as any problems are sorted, it should be extended nationwide.

Tuesday 5 February 2008

A Cooler Patio

" A call for a ban on outdoor heaters has been backed by the European Parliament. MEPs voted to endorse a report that says a timetable should be set to phase out patio heaters, as well as standby modes on televisions.
Report author Fiona Hall - a British MEP - says significant steps have to be taken to cut CO2 emissions, and a ban should at least be considered.
But experts disagree about the impact outdoor heaters have on the environment compared with other appliances.
A climate change expert commissioned by the UK's biggest supplier of one of the fuels used by patio heaters, liquefied petroleum gas, Calor, said the overall impact of the heaters on emissions was 'very minimal'.
Dr Eric Johnson, National Expert Reviewer for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that plasma TVs produced more carbon than patio heaters under normal usage patterns.
But Fiona Hall told the BBC that figures she had seen showed that if a car was run for a year it would emit three tonnes of carbon dioxide, while the figure for an outdoor heater would be four tonnes.
'Many people are already aware that patio heaters produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide,' she said.
'It's important that we at least look into taking them off the market.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Patios heaters are really a nonsense, pure and simple. They have gained popularity with pub landlords in order to try to keep the custom of smokers forced outside by the anti-smoking legislation.

Monday 4 February 2008

A Parallel Climate Summit

" Climate experts from 16 of the world's largest economies are in Hawaii for the second in the series of President Bush's Major Economies Meetings.
They will be looking to forge common ground between 'old' emitters like the US and Europe and the 'new' polluters, such as China and India.
The meeting aims to feed ideas into the UN climate negotiations process.
The EU had threatened to boycott the talks unless the US offered specific proposals rather than general talks.
Since then, the US has passed its Energy Bill that mandates big increases in efficiency from cars and from some appliances.
But the US is still resisting a global agreement on specific emissions reductions from all developed nations.
EU delegates at the meeting in Honolulu do not anticipate any major moves by the Bush administration on climate change.
Some believe he is primarily trying to neutralise climate as an issue in the forthcoming US elections.
However, they are relieved that the US does appear actively engaged in climate talks at last.
A White House spokesman used a briefing to say that the US supported global moves to slow, stop and eventually reverse emissions.
But the official added that the burden must be shared between all the major polluters, including China and India. These nations are suspicious that the US is trying to shift blame on to them.
The first climate meeting that brought together the world's biggest polluters was held in Washington in September 2007. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Yes, it's all probably to do with the impending US Presidential elections in November. Certainly, suspicions about real motives are aroused. It seems like some sort of outflanking move, rather than a serious contribution to a global strategy.

Friday 1 February 2008

Better Houses

" European governments and the European Commission are being urged to hasten the development of housing that produces no greenhouse gases.
The European Energy Network (ENR), which includes energy advisory bodies across the EU, says better enforcement of green building codes is also needed.
Less than a quarter of EU states have introduced certification schemes for houses, as required under EU law.
European governments have agreed to boost energy efficiency by 20% by 2020.
Britain has introduced energy performance certificates and set a target of building only zero-carbon homes from 2016.
Even so, Mr Sellwood says the government has not set up the support mechanisms needed to encourage householders to invest in energy saving measures.
'In the UK, the average home has the potential to save Ł300 per year by just installing the most effective measures such as loft insulation and modern heating controls,' said Mr Sellwood.
'Energy supply companies are under an obligation to help their customers become more energy efficient; but lots of householders don't trust their energy companies.
So we have these schemes within national government, local authorities and supply companies; what we don't have is a long term strategy for sustainable housing.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Not a very reassuring picture.This is a very important part of the strategy to avoid energy waste, and it is not being implemented effectively or urgently.

Thursday 31 January 2008

Another Sort of Global Warming Threat?

" An asteroid some 250m (600ft) across is about to sweep past the Earth.
There is no chance of it hitting the planet, but astronomers will train telescopes and radar on the object to learn as much about it as they can.
The asteroid - which carries the rather dull designation 2007 TU24 - will pass by at a distance of 538,000km (334,000 miles), just outside Moon's orbit.
Scientists who study so called near-Earth objects say similar-sized rocks come by every few years.
The moment of closest approach for 2007 TU24 is 0833 GMT. The asteroid is only expected to be visible through amateur telescopes that are three inches (7.6cm) or larger.
Detailed observations of 2007 TU24 could reveal whether the asteroid is a solid object or simply a loose pile of space rubble.
Knowledge of how asteroids are put together will be key to working out how we might defend ourselves against future, more threatening rocks.
Given the estimated number of near-Earth asteroids of this size (about 7,000 discovered and undiscovered objects, says the US space agency, an object similar to 2007 TU24 would be expected to pass this close to Earth, on average, about every five years or so.
The average interval between actual Earth impacts for an object of this size would be about 37,000 years, Nasa adds."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A different sort of global threat - not human-induced. But a serious one, and one that must be taken seriously. The consequences could be cataclysmic. Once in 37,000 years seems a long shot, but it could be very soon.

Wednesday 30 January 2008

Pressure for New Nuclear??

" Britain is likely to face a shortfall in electricity generation within five to seven years, a report concludes.
Energy and environment consultancy firm Inenco says that the number of nuclear and coal plants coming out of service over the period makes shortages likely.
Old coal plants, whose operating hours are limited under European legislation, have been running more than expected because of higher gas prices.
But other analysts say new plants can be built quickly and shortages avoided.
Earlier this month, the government announced it was prepared to approve applications to build new nuclear reactors, but anticipates it would be 10 years before they came on stream.
'With the recent announcement about new nuclear stations, there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief,' said Inenco's deputy managing director Michael Abbott.
'We believe that demand overtakes supply somewhere between 2012 and 2015, creating a serious 'generation gap'.'
Rob Gross from Imperial College London, head of policy and technology assessment at the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), believes Inenco is presenting a worst-case scenario.
'For black-outs to occur, pretty much everything would have to go wrong,' he said.
'Perhaps studies such as this will help issue a 'wake up' call that makes new build and other measures happen more quickly,' observed Dr Gross.
Other options for filling the energy gap would include making greater use of the large number of small generators that the National Grid can call on in time of shortage, and extending the use of contracts that allow the grid to interrupt supply to industrial customers at peak periods.
Even if the gap is plugged, Inenco predicts the price of electricity in the years ahead will be higher and more variable than at present."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It seems that consumers and indeed the country are at the mercy of energy producers and suppliers. There appears to be nothing that we can do about it, other than sigh in resignation at escalating prices and increasing profits. This latest report seems designed to get a new nuclear programme on the move more quickly.

Tuesday 29 January 2008

Not In My Backyard?

" Plans to build one of Europe's biggest wind farms on the Isle of Lewis are set to be turned down, BBC Scotland understands.
The BBC's Gaelic news service, Radio nan Gaidheal, has learned that Scottish Government ministers are 'minded to refuse' the 181 turbine scheme.
More than 5,000 letters of objection to the proposals were received by the Scottish Government.
It is believed environmental concerns are behind the decision.
An official announcement from the Scottish Government is not expected for a further two or three weeks.
Campaigners had warned the wind farm would cause 'irreversible damage' to one of the country's most important wetland sites.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds also opposed the project, disputing job figures put forward by developers Lewis Wind Power and raising concerns about the farm's impact on local wildlife.
Supporters of the turbines pointed to potential economic benefits, claiming more than 400 jobs would be created during construction. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

There is clearly a balance to be struck. It's not simple. The question of nimbyism arises, but there may equally be genuine concerns. There must surely be plenty of potential sites in the UK where environmental and other local concerns would be minimal.

Monday 28 January 2008

Clearing the Forest

"The Brazilian government has announced a huge rise in the rate of Amazon deforestation, months after celebrating its success in achieving a reduction.
In the last five months of 2007, 3,235 sq km (1,250 sq miles) were lost.
Gilberto Camara, of INPE, an institute that provides satellite imaging of the area, said the rate of loss was unprecedented for the time of year.
Officials say rising commodity prices are encouraging farmers to clear more land to plant crops such as soya.
The monthly rate of deforestation saw a big rise from 243 sq km (94 sq miles) in August to 948 sq km (366 sq miles) in December.
The state of Mato Grosso was the worst affected, contributing more than half the total area of forest stripped, or 1,786 sq km (700 sq miles).
The states of Para and Rondonia were also badly affected, accounting for 17.8% and 16% of the total cleared respectively. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's not really surprising that there are pressures to clear forests. It must be tempting, even apart from the inevitable land-grabbers and the get-rich-quick merchants.At least, it seems that the government of Brazil is attempting to tackle the issue.

Friday 25 January 2008

Bring on the Barrage

" Details of a feasibility study into the Severn Barrage, a tidal power plan that could provide about 5% of UK electricity, have been announced.
The government said the scale of the project and the impact it could have on securing energy supplies and tackling climate change was 'breathtaking'.
The study will also look at lagoons, and the social, environmental and economic impacts of all the proposals.
The barrage could extend from the South Wales coast to Weston-super-Mare.
It would harness the power of this estuary using a hydro-electric dam, but filled by the incoming tide rather than by water flowing downstream.
The study is expected to last two years and will conclude with a full public consultation in 2010.
The study will assess the costs, benefits and impact of harnessing tidal power from the estuary, and identify a single preferred project.
Some environmental groups have warned that a barrage could affect wildlife.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said it would put thousands of birds, salmon and other fish at risk.
The estuary contains mudflats, saltmarshes, rocky islands and food that support some 65,000 birds in winter.
Mr Hutton said the study would recognise the nature conservation significance of the estuary."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's important that this project study goes ahead. Commitment to the barrage would signal general support for alternative energy sources. However, the environmental impact is serious, and must be carefully evaluated.

Thursday 24 January 2008

More data, Please

" Rising sea levels and stormy weather may damage the Giant's Causeway and other coastal areas of Northern Ireland, the National Trust has warned.
A new Trust report says sea level rises of up to a metre this century will affect some of Northern Ireland's most important tourist and wildlife areas.
Areas such as Strangford Lough could also be badly affected, says the Trust.
The Giant's Causeway is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Ireland, and is a World Heritage Site.
The National Trust report warned access to the site would become more difficult, with problems as early as 2020.
It also warned that rising sea levels in Strangford Lough could hit wildlife such as Brent geese and that the Murlough National Nature Reserve could see coastal erosion and flooding.
The report, Shifting Shores: Living with a Changing Coastline, predicted sea level rises of between 85 and 100cm by 2100.
Hilary McGrady, National Trust director for Northern Ireland, said it was essential for more detailed coastal data.
'Our planning system, and in particular development plans and planning policy statements, must take predicted coastal change into account,' she said. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Clearly another example of the need for careful data collection in the future years. Overall, there must be far more accurate scientific data collected and available for study.

Wednesday 23 January 2008

Don't Ask Us

" More than 700 businesses have called on the chancellor to scrap a planned rise in fuel duty.
The increase of 2p per litre, due to take place in April, will cost the haulage industry Ł170m, they say.
Fuel duty went up by 2p a litre in October, and the average price of a litre of unleaded is now over 104p.
In a letter to Alistair Darling, the companies said the higher fuel tax would make British hauliers less competitive than their European rivals.
The planned duty rise comes as oil prices hover near $100 a barrel. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A little example of users not wanting to pay a whack to reduce human-induced global climate change. They would, wouldn't they?

Tuesday 22 January 2008

It's Not Hairshirts All The Way

" Climate change is not a myth peddled by green propagandists; there is no shady ulterior motive behind the campaign to stop environmental destruction, writes Caroline Lucas.
'Lack of evidence' does not explain why world leaders have so far failed to act; lack of political will is the problem.
As long as GDP is relied upon to measure a nation's success, political leaders will not fully recognise and act upon the cost of unfettered economic expansion on the environment.
It is the US administration's refusal to do anything that might reduce US citizens' 'right' to consume as much as they want which hampered efforts at the Bali talks.
Nuclear power is dangerous, inefficient and incredibly expensive. Just imagine what we could achieve if the government spent the billions earmarked for Trident on generating renewable energy?
Highlighting the positive changes that we need to make is the challenge facing campaigners and politicians.
A zero carbon future doesn't have to be a future of shivering around a candle in a cave - it can be a comfortable and more secure one.
The policies we need for an improved quality of life are precisely the policies we need to tackle climate change. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The problem is really a mindset one. We have been brainwashed into believing that ever-increasing consumption is the only happy way forward. It wasn't always thus. And it will have to change, if there is to be any future for Planet Earth.

Monday 21 January 2008

Paying the Price

" A court in Paris has convicted French oil company Total of "maritime pollution" over France's worst oil disaster in 1999.
The tanker Erika sank 75km (45 miles) off the coast of Brittany, leaking 20,000 tonnes of oil into the sea.
Fuel contaminated 400km of coastline after the tanker broke up on 12 December 1999.
Total was fined 375,000 euros (Ł280,000) and ordered to pay a share of nearly 200m euros in damages.
The fine was the maximum penalty allowed.
The Erika's owner, Giuseppe Saverese, and its manager Antonio Pollara, were also found guilty, as was Rina, the Italian company that declared the Erika seaworthy.
Total and 14 other defendants went on trial in February 2007. All denied responsibility.
There were scores of plaintiffs in the trial, including the French government, local councils and environmental groups."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It is more important than ever that the polluters pay. So this judgement is welcome in fixing responsibility more firmly on the polluters.

Friday 18 January 2008

Shrinking Britain

" Climate change is having a major impact on Britain's coast, the seas around the coast, and the life in those seas, a government-sponsored report concludes.
The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) says seas are becoming more violent, causing coastal erosion and a higher risk of flooding.
Higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere are making oceans warmer and more acidic, affecting plankton, fish and birds.
2006 was the second warmest year in coastal waters since records began.
'Our seas play a vital role in regulating our climate and are a lifeline for the communities that live around them,' said Scotland's Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead.
'Our marine life is now having to cope with these as well as other pressures, and is beginning to suffer as a result.'
The increasing choppiness of coastal waters means that 17% of Britain's coastline is being eroded.
England is feeling the impact most, with 30% of its coast affected, compared to 23% for Wales and 12% in Scotland."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Coastal erosion is not new. But it's helpful that scientific data is being collated on this. It all helps our understanding of human-induced global warming.

Thursday 17 January 2008

Fishing to Death

" The dire state of many fish stocks means calls to increase catch quotas are misguided, argues Callum Roberts. Restraint now, he says, could yield major benefits later.
Britain's Fisheries Minister, Jonathan Shaw, goes to Brussels this week for the annual round of haggling over fish quotas.
His stated goal is to allow more cod to be landed from the North Sea.
In the minister's view, there are too many cod today following a modest increase in numbers this year, which is why boats are catching more than their quotas.
Only 20,000 tonnes could be taken legally this year from the North Sea by all comers, and about half this amount by British boats.
The rest that are caught have to be thrown over the side - dead.
By any standards, chucking away good fish after spending time and fuel catching them seems like madness.
It is. But the minister would be deeply unwise to deal with the problem of throwing away fish simply by raising quotas.
Fisheries in Europe are in serious trouble. Catching more fish at a time when stocks of many species, including cod, are at or near all time lows will only aggravate problems.
A little history paints a very different picture of cod's recent 'recovery'. England's cod fisheries can be traced back to the 11th Century. At this time, falling stocks of freshwater fish and rising demand persuaded people it was worth fishing at sea.
They have never looked back.
For the following eight centuries, the fishing industry boomed, and cod and herring were the mainstay of British fisheries, dwarfing catches of all other species.
At the turn of the 20th Century, UK boats caught six to eight times more cod from the North Sea than today using much more primitive technology. Cod stocks then were at least ten times greater than today.
Cod of vast size were caught in the North Sea in previous centuries.
Rewind another 50 years to the middle 19th century, and stocks were at least twice as great again as in 1900.
Fisheries science predicts that we can maximise the productivity of fisheries by maintaining populations around half their unexploited size, which for cod would be a level 15 to 25 times higher than the present population.
Industrialising fisheries of the 20th Century sustained catches only by inventing ever better ways of catching fish and spreading across the globe in search of less intensively exploited stocks.
But we are near the end of that road. Looking forward today, instead of a prosperous future for the industry, we can see the end of fishing.
Best estimates suggest we need to cut fishing effort by half to rebuild fishery prosperity. The science is clear - by fishing less we will catch more.
And of critical importance, we need to reduce the footprint of fishing by creating marine reserves in around 30% of the area of our seas where fish and their habitats can prosper."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The cod situation is a valuable story about the destruction of the environment by human exploitation and greed. There is a lesson for the learning.

Wednesday 16 January 2008

Dirty Jobs for Export?

"Trade unions and business leaders say EU plans to cut carbon emissions could harm European jobs and industry.
The European Trade Union Confederation fears up to 50,000 steelworkers' jobs could go if their industry moves to areas with lower costs for polluters.
And lobby group BusinessEurope says companies will lose competitiveness if they are forced to buy all their rights to emit carbon dioxide.
The European Commission's proposals will be revealed next week.
But the aim of the new rules on fighting climate change is clear.
It is to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, by increasing the use of renewable energy and revamping the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Launched in 2005, the scheme has been criticised for allowing big polluters free carbon credits.
Companies are set CO2 limits and then buy or sell permits if they miss or beat their targets.
It is thought the commission will now try to reduce the number of free credits substantially, requiring industry to buy most of them at auction.
Trade unions are concerned that a new permits system would force heavy industry to move operations out of the EU, to neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Ukraine and Russia.
'What we don't want is for companies to fire people in Europe and relocate to cheaper, dirtier locations,' says European Trade Union Confederation General Secretary John Monks. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A valid concern. This is just the sort of move that will seem attractive to companies under the carbon trading approach.

Tuesday 15 January 2008

More Second Thoughts

" Biofuels may play a role in curbing climate change, says Britain's Royal Society, but may create environmental problems unless implemented with care.
In a new report, the Society suggests current EU and UK policies are not guaranteed to reduce emissions.
It advocates more research into all aspects of biofuel production and use.
The report says the British government should use financial incentives to ensure companies adopt cutting-edge and carbon-efficient technologies.
'Biofuels could play an important role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions from transport, both in Britain and globally,' said Professor John Pickett from Rothamsted Research, who chaired the Royal Society's study.
'But it would be disastrous if biofuel production made further inroads into biological diversity and natural ecosystems. We must not create new environmental or social problems in our efforts to deal with climate change.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Another report firing a warning shot about biofuels. We need to tread very carefully, and not only with biofuels. The global environment is such a complex and poorly understood thing.

Monday 14 January 2008

Second Thoughts on Biofuels

" Europe's environment chief has admitted that the EU did not foresee the problems raised by its policy to get 10% of Europe's road fuels from plants.
Recent reports have warned of rising food prices and rainforest destruction from increased biofuel production.
The EU has promised new guidelines to ensure that its target is not damaging.
EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said it would be better to miss the target than achieve it by harming the poor or damaging the environment.
A couple of years ago biofuels looked like the perfect get-out-of-jail free card for car manufacturers under pressure to cut carbon emissions.
Instead of just revolutionising car design they could reduce transport pollution overall if drivers used more fuel from plants which would have soaked up CO2 while they were growing.
The EU leapt at the idea - and set its biofuels targets.
Since then reports have warned that some biofuels barely cut emissions at all - and others can lead to rainforest destruction, drive up food prices, or prompt rich firms to drive poor people off their land to convert it to fuel crops.
'We have seen that the environmental problems caused by biofuels and also the social problems are bigger than we thought they were. So we have to move very carefully,' Mr Dimas told the BBC.
'We have to have criteria for sustainability, including social and environmental issues, because there are some benefits from biofuels.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

So it's not just in the science that we have to be very wary about reaching conclusions without adequate evidence or consideration. It's in political decisions also. The biofuel rethink is an important warning.

Friday 11 January 2008

Punching above Weight

"Which charities are most deserving? Those working on environmental issues tend to come low on most people's lists, judging by the paltry amounts they receive; yet, argues Sylvia Rowley, they can make a huge difference to some of the world's most pressing problems.
What can UK charities do about climate change when China is building two new power stations every week?
How can conservation charities make a difference when fish are being hauled from the oceans so rapidly that 70% of species are in danger of collapse by 2048?
And when an area of Amazon rainforest the size of Belgium has been hacked down in one year, is the problem simply too big for charities to tackle?
Climate change and the destruction of the environment are unprecedented global problems.
In the face of the sheer scale of these challenges, charities may look impotent. But they are not.
With dedication and innovation, relatively small charities can influence massive corporations, or even whole markets.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), for example, is trying to tackle plummeting fish numbers by influencing the global fish market. It has devised a certification scheme for sustainably run fisheries, and is creating a market for sustainably caught fish by persuading retailers to stock them.
In 2006, MSC convinced Walmart, the world's largest retailer, to stock only wild-caught fish that it has certified as sustainable.
Other retailers such as Carrefour and Aeon, Japan's largest supermarket, have also agreed to stock a range of certified fish.
There is evidence that, now large retailers are on board, some unsustainable fisheries are cleaning up their acts in order to meet MSC standards.
A solution to overfishing, such as the one MSC is devising, is desperately needed. If things continue as they are, collapsing fish stocks will deprive up to a billion people of their primary source of protein within 50 years."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An important issues. Not just about small organisations affecting large ones. But about whether tiny actions, for example to reduce human induced global warming, are even worth bothering about. Such a small effect, is it worth while? The answer is yes.

Thursday 10 January 2008

Nuclear Power Ahead

" A new generation of nuclear power stations is expected to get the formal go-ahead from the government later.
The cabinet backs the move in principle, and Business Secretary John Hutton is to make a statement to MPs.
Gordon Brown said on Wednesday the UK needed a more independent power supply, but critics say new stations will be expensive, dirty and dangerous.
Existing nuclear power stations produce about 20% of the UK's electricity, but most are due to close by 2023.
But Green Party principal speaker Caroline Lucas said: 'What we are being offered by the government is far too little too late, at far too high a price. We should be putting energy efficiency at the heart of our strategy.'
The campaign group claims research shows that even 10 new reactors would cut the UK's carbon emissions by only about 4% some time after 2025.
Environmental campaigners are also concerned that a concentration on nuclear power will deflect attention and funding from development of renewable energy and "carbon capture" projects."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This decision about a new generation of nuclear power stations has been pushed through with the merest figleaf of public consultation. Just a token. The long term radioactive waste problems, and the safety and security dangers, alongside a hypocritical position of objecting to other countries developing nuclear power, all point against this decision.

Wednesday 9 January 2008

Stirrings in the Forests

" Data on tropical forest cover is so poor that we do not know if the forests are declining, a study has found.
Alan Grainger from the UK's University of Leeds examined UN analyses going back almost 30 years, and found that 'evidence for a decline is unclear'.
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), he proposes a global forest monitoring system.
The UN admits there are problems with the data, but says tropical forests are certainly in retreat.
Dr Grainger is not so sure. 'People have been assuming that forest cover is shrinking,' he told BBC News, 'and certainly deforestation has been taking place on a large scale.'
But, he says, there is also evidence that in some countries, forests are expanding spontaneously.
'Our analysis does not prove that tropical forest decline is not happening, merely that it is is difficult to demonstrate it convincingly using available tropical forest area data,' he writes in PNAS.
For his PNAS paper, Dr Grainger looked at the four most recent FRAs, published in 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2005.
Each of the individual reports showed a decline in tropical forest cover; but across the four reports, he found no trend was discernible.
This is largely because each assessment revised earlier estimates of cover. For example, in 1980 the FAO estimated natural tropical forests spanned 1,970 million hectares. But the 1990 assessment used a revised figure for 1980 of 1,910 million hectares.
The FAO says it made these revisions because better data became available, and because each assessment used different criteria.
'What you've got is a desire by the FAO for consistency inside each of its studies,' commented Dr Grainger, 'but that's come at the expense of consistency between studies.'"
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An excellent proposal - a global forest monitoring system. Another example of the value of more good science. It's hardly science, just good consistent updated data. But that's a key ingredient of good science.

Tuesday 8 January 2008

More Swings and Roundabouts

" The Environment Agency has called for more information to be made available on the health and environmental risks posed by low-energy light bulbs.
It says because the bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, more information about safe recycling is needed.
It also wants health warnings printed on packaging and information on how to clear up smashed bulbs in the home.
Unbroken used bulbs can be taken back to the retailer if the owner is a member of the Distributor Takeback Scheme.
Otherwise, many local waste disposal sites now have the facilities to safely collect and dispose of old bulbs.
However, this advice is not printed on the packaging that low-energy bulbs are sold in.
Toxicologist Dr David Ray, from the University of Nottingham, said about 6-8mg of mercury was present in a typical low-energy bulb, which he described as a 'pretty small amount'.
'Mercury accumulates in the body - especially the brain,' he said. 'The biggest danger is repeated exposure - a one off exposure is not as potentially dangerous compared to working in a light bulb factory. If you smash one bulb then that is not too much of a hazard. However, if you broke five bulbs in a small unventilated room then you might be in short term danger.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The introduction of low energy light bulbs is not universally welcomed. It seems the logical and right thing to do. But health issues have been raised - headaches, and the effects of the gloomy light quality. Now mercury hazards. Nothing is as simple as it seems. And these bulbs are meeting the resistance to green change - the hairshirt resistance - of many other proposed measures. Reducing air flight, for example.

Wednesday 26 December 2007
Boxing Day

A Second Chance for the Beaver

" Plans are in the pipeline for beavers to be released into the Scottish wild for the first time in 500 years.
Wildlife bodies have asked the Scottish Government for a licence to allow about 20 beavers to be set free in Argyll in 2009.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland believe the animals will improve the eco-system and boost tourism.
Beavers were hunted to extinction in Scotland in the 16th Century.
The mammals, best known for their dam building and tree felling skills, have been successfully reintroduced elsewhere in Europe, including parts of Germany and the Netherlands.
The licence application submitted to the Scottish Government is for a trial reintroduction of European beavers in the Knapdale Forest in Mid-Argyll.
Beavers are thought to play an important role in aquatic and wetland eco-systems, and on the wider biodiversity of the area in which they live.
The ultimate aim of the trial would be to monitor the success and impact of the beaver reintroduction before the animal is released elsewhere in Scotland. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It makes a change - a species about to reappear in its old habitat - rather than the dismal record of another extinction in a locality. However, it raises some questions, which the trial may answer. This is not the habitat the beaver left 500 years ago. Will it necessarily fit in this time? Or is it humans interfering with the best of intentions, but making a mess of it all?

Tuesday 25 December 2007
Christmas Day

Carbon Quotas - From 2012

" EU ministers have agreed to impose carbon emissions quotas on airlines in an attempt to fight climate change.
The Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas, said a strong signal had to be sent, although MEPs had wanted carriers to be included in the EU emissions trading scheme in 2011, not 2012.
The United States opposes the idea and has threatened legal action.
And the airline industry fears the cost of the carbon trading scheme could force some carriers out of business.
But Mr Dimas, said that aviation was responsible for 3% of carbon emissions, more than the steel industry which was already part of the trading scheme.
He said aviation emissions had doubled since 1990 and were predicted to double again by 2020.
Under the trading system, the EU limits the amount of carbon dioxide that industry is allowed to emit.
The airlines would have to meet their quotas, either by cutting their emissions or by buying credits from other industries.
Environment ministers meeting in Brussels agreed that airlines would have to buy 10% of permits upfront at auction in 2012, substantially lower than the proportion suggested by the European Parliament. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The airline industry is being dragged kicking an s

Monday 24 December 2007
Christmas Eve

Conserving the Seas

" Public consultation has begun on proposals to extend protection for marine life around Britain.
Seven areas, totalling 10,000sq km (4,000sq miles) of sea, have been earmarked as sites for the UK's first offshore Special Areas of Conservation.
They include habitats of important sea life, such as sandbanks, sand volcanoes and cold water coral reefs, found in the seas surrounding the UK.
Currently, only coastal and inshore areas are protected.
The government says areas rich in wildlife further out to sea face a different kind of threat.
Jonathan Shaw, the minister for marine, landscape and rural affairs, said: 'The UK has one of the richest marine environments in the world.
We want to bring conservation standards at sea up to the level of those that we have on land, to give greater protection to sea life.
I want to see a network of marine protected areas around the UK by 2012, and these seven new proposed offshore areas would be a big part of that.'
The sites will be presented to the European Commission in September 2008.
The projected conservation areas include the Darwin Mounds, an exceptional cold water coral reef to the north-west of Scotland, and the Scanner and Braemar Pockmarks in the North Sea where methane seeps from the sea floor, sustaining communities of worms and other organisms. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An excellent move which seems long overdue. One wonders how this sits with the various EU directives about fishing quotas?

Friday 21 December 2007

Badgers and Foxes

" Culling badgers in order to control bovine tuberculosis (bTB) can cause a doubling in fox numbers, UK government scientists have found.
This could impact on livestock farming and conservation, the authors write in Biology Letters journal.
The researchers looked at effects on foxes during the badger culling trials in England between 1998 and 2006.
Their figures show that intensive culling of badgers resulted in roughly one extra fox per square kilometre.
Red foxes are of concern to farmers and conservationists alike because they prey on livestock, ground-nesting birds and brown hares. They are widely culled by farmers and gamekeepers.
Many farmers blame badgers for a sharp increase of bTB in their herds. But culling the animals remains a controversial option.
Lead author Iain Trewby said the experiment had been designed to control other factors which can affect fox densities, so the researchers could ensure any changes they saw were due to the culling of badgers.
'What we saw was an increase of fox numbers in the culled areas,' Mr Trewby, from the Central Science Laboratory, told BBC News.
He added: 'Whether this increase that we've seen here is enough to impact on other species in the ecosystem, we can't say. But all these factors need to be taken into account when you're considering badger culls.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A useful reminder of the interdependence of eco-systems. Even in this relatively simple scenario, there are quite complex implications. How much more so for changes we make to the climate system.

Thursday 20 December 2007

Less Food?

" The soaring cost of food is threatening millions of people in poor countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned.
Food prices have risen an unprecedented 40% in the last year and many nations may be unable to cope, the agency says.
It is calling for help for farmers in poor countries to buy seeds and fertiliser, and for a review of the impact of bio-fuels on food production.
The FAO says 37 countries face food crises due to conflict and disaster.
'Without support for poor farmers and their families in the hardest-hit countries, they will not be able to cope,' said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.
The agency's food price index has jumped almost 40% from last year, hitting its highest level since its inception in 1990.
The increases are partly due to droughts and floods linked to climate change, as well as rising oil prices boosting demand for bio-fuels, the FAO said.
Changing diet in fast-developing nations such as China is also considered a factor, with more land needed to raise livestock to meet increasing demand for meat. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report sadly may be a sign of things to come. The shortage is clearly due to a variety of factors, not all of which may be related to climate change, although the biofuel issue certainly is. Regular reports on this food shortage ought to be made available, through the Un, rather like the scientists' reports from the ICCC.

Wednesday 19 December 2007

More Fudge?

" The US has said the climate change negotiating process it agreed to in Bali must ensure developing states take their fair share of emission cuts.
The deal did not meet this principle fully, the White House said - climate change could not be curbed by emission cuts from developed countries alone.
Environmentalists have criticised the lack of firm reduction targets in the plan which the US initially rejected.
It launches talks to reach emissions cuts to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
There is nothing in the White House statement that contradicts the Bali roadmap, the BBC News website's Richard Black notes.
It is more a question of the White House spelling out what its concerns are, and what it will be looking for as the negotiations from Bali proceed, our environment correspondent says.
The White House regards the Bali agreement as a 'critical first step' towards creating an effective new set of climate goals, its press secretary said.
The text of the roadmap refers to 'common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities' and calls for 'nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties'.
Agreement was reached in Bali after marathon talks which spilled over by a day and were at times emotional.
It came only after an EU demand for industrialised nations to make emission cuts of 25-40% by 2020 was dropped from the draft text, and the EU and China agreed to soften language on commitments from developing countries.
A bloc containing the US, Canada and Japan had opposed the specific targets suggested by the EU."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

So it turns out that Bali was just about setting an agenda (or a 'road map') for more talks over the next two years. A lot of hot air to achieve rather little? The US delegations' behaviour was pathetic. It's easy to imagine that a lot of people are aboard a nice negotiating gravy train.

Tuesday 18 December 2007

The No-Ice Arctic

" Scientists in the US have presented one of the most dramatic forecasts yet for the disappearance of Arctic sea ice.
Their latest modelling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years.
Professor Wieslaw Maslowski told an American Geophysical Union meeting that previous projections had underestimated the processes now driving ice loss.
Summer melting this year reduced the ice cover to 4.13 million sq km, the smallest ever extent in modern times.
Remarkably, this stunning low point was not even incorporated into the model runs of Professor Maslowski and his team, which used data sets from 1979 to 2004 to constrain their future projections.
'Our projection of 2013 for the removal of ice in summer is not accounting for the last two minima, in 2005 and 2007,' the researcher from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, explained to the BBC.
'So given that fact, you can argue that may be our projection of 2013 is already too conservative.'
Professor Peter Wadhams from Cambridge University, UK, is an expert on Arctic ice. He has used sonar data collected by Royal Navy submarines to show that the volume loss is outstripping even area withdrawal, which is in agreement with the model result of Professor Maslowski.
'Some models have not been taking proper account of the physical processes that go on,' he commented. 'In the end, it will just melt away quite suddenly. It might not be as early as 2013 but it will be soon, much earlier than 2040.'
Former US Vice President Al Gore cited Professor Maslowski's analysis on Monday in his acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A dramatic prediction - 2013 and no arctic summer ice. This is scary. It is of course also a hostage to fortune, or rather a hostage to imprecise computer climate modelling.

Monday 17 December 2007

More New Technology

" Oil reservoirs could have an environmental make-over with the help of bacteria. A report in Nature has shown how crude oil in deposits around the world are naturally broken down by microbes to methane.
Scientists say that increasing microbe activity would produce a more energy-efficient method of methane recovery.
It is likely field tests will start by 2009.
The ability to recover methane directly from deeply buried oil reserves means energy-intensive and thermal polluting processes are removed.
But methods like injecting steam into the reservoirs to heat and loosen the heavy viscous oil, so it can be pumped to the surface, are no longer needed say the authors of the Nature report.
'The main thing is you'd be recovering a much cleaner fuel,' says co-author Steve Larter, a petroleum geologist from the University of Calgary.
'Methane is, per energy unit, a much lower carbon dioxide emitter than bitumen. Also, you wouldn't need all the upgrading facilities and piping on the surface.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is rather like the 'clean coal' business. It's fine, except it builds on our dependence on burning fossil fuels. Doing that more efficiently and in a cleaner way, but still doing in nonetheless.If it shifts our eye from the ball of excessive consumption, it is creating a problem.

Friday 14 December 2007

Windmills Everywhere

" All UK homes could be powered by offshore wind farms by 2020 as part of the fight against climate change, under plans unveiled by John Hutton.
Up to 7,000 turbines could be installed to boost wind produced energy 60-fold by 2020.
The business secretary admitted it would change Britain's coastline, and mean higher electricity bills.
Senior Tory Alan Duncan backed the plans, adding: 'We're an island nation. There's a lot of wind around.'
Mr Hutton said there would have to be a switch to low-carbon energy production to combat the threat of climate change.
'But if we could manage to achieve this, by 2020 enough electricity could be generated off our shores to power the equivalent of all of the UK's homes,' he told a European energy industry conference in Berlin. This could be a major contribution towards meeting the EU's target of 20% energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Next year we will overtake Denmark as the country with the most offshore wind capacity.' Just 2% of Britain's power comes from renewable sources, and wind is the source for around 2.2 gigawatts.
The government hopes that it could provide around 33 gigawatts by 2020, which would mean introducing some 7,000 turbines.
Mr Hutton conceded that having a wind installation every half-mile around the coast was 'going to change our coastline. There is no way of making the shift to low-carbon technology without making a change and that change being visible to people,' he said."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is good news. But it's not clear why the windmills have to be even distributed linearly around the coast. It would seem advantageous to locate them in proven windy areas, in clusters. It's interesting how windmills have made a come-back. For many years in the past they were a wonderful source of energy in the countryside. Then they became regarded as obsolete, and a few kept for their picturesque contribution to the rural scene. Now they look like a lifeline to save us from global climate change. It's a strange world.

Thursday 13 December 2007

Is Technology the Answer?

"Decision-makers in the climate change field have little faith in biofuels as a low-carbon technology, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) has found.
Unveiled at the UN climate convention meeting in Bali, its survey shows professionals have more confidence in bicycles than in biofuels.
The findings come as ministers assemble for the final part of the UN talks.
'Technology must be at the heart of the future response to climate change,' UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer declared at the talks.
But which technology? In a survey of 1,000 professionals in 105 countries, IUCN attempted to gauge which technologies inspire the most confidence.
The survey included people from governments, NGOs and industry.
Of 18 technologies suggested by IUCN, the current generation of biofuels came bottom of the list, with only 21% believing in its potential to 'lower overall carbon levels in the atmosphere without unacceptable side effects' over the next 25 years.
Nearly twice as many were confident in the potential of nuclear energy while solar power for hot water and electricity emerged as the most favoured low-carbon technologies.
Overall, respondents said increasing energy efficiency and reducing demand could produce more benefits than "clean" energy sources.
Although the EU and the US are attempting to boost the expansion of biofuels, recent evidence is equivocal about their potential.
Studies show they may produce only marginal carbon savings compared to conventional petrol and diesel.
In Indonesia and elsewhere, forests are being cleared for palm oil plantations, partly to produce biofuels. There is evidence that leaving forests intact results in greater climate benefits while protecting biodiversity. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The caution over biofuels is well-placed. Clearing vast areas of rain forests to grow fuel crops is a good example of a short-sighted policy. Faith in nuclear power also underestimates the risks and dangers to the environment. It only takes one disaster..... Technology can only go so far. Likewise reliance on 'carbon trading'. Ever-growing consumption is close to the heart of the problem. And underlying that are maybe deeper and more fundamental issues.

Wednesday 12 December 2007

Protesting the Climate

" Mass demonstrations have taken place across the UK and worldwide to coincide with UN climate change talks in Bali.
Marches were held in 50 cities globally, including London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast.
In London protesters delivered a letter to Downing St calling for climate change measures to be a priority.
The rallies come midway through the summit, which is considering how to cut greenhouse gas emissions after current Kyoto Protocol targets expire in 2012.
Organisers said 10,000 turned out for the London march and rally outside the US embassy.
The letter delivered to Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: 'We feel that dealing with this threat should be the number one priority of the British government, a priority for all areas of policy and across all departments of government.'
The letter also urged the government 'to secure an equitable emissions treaty that is effective in preventing the catastrophic destabilisation of global climate and which minimises dangerous climate change.'
Australia's Trade Minister, Simon Crean, has warned that both rich and poor nations must commit to slashing greenhouse gas emissions.
He said Australia would not sign any binding commitments until it has the results next year of a climate change report commissioned by new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Mr Rudd signed papers leading to the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol as soon as he took office, reversing the policy of the previous conservative government."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Marches and demonstrations are a valuable way of protest and calls for action. The demonstrations this weekend were relatively small, an estimated 10,000 people in London. But it's an important marker. The numbers could swell dramatically over the next few years, unless the call to decisive action by all governments is heeded.

Tuesday 11 December 2007

Counting the Cost

" Britain's Trade and Development Minister Gareth Thomas has said that developing countries will need targets for greenhouse gas emissions.
Rich nations had to lead emissions cuts, he said, but developing countries such as China should have targets too.
A major sticking point in the UN process has been whether big developing countries such as China, India and Brazil should take on firm commitments.
The US in particular argues that with China's emissions set to overtake and eventually exceed its own, there is little point in making a deal that includes only developed nations.
Others argue that the per-capita emissions of developing countries are still much lowed than in the west, and they should not yet take on any commitment that could impair their economic development.
The Bali meeting is also looking at adaptation - assisting developing countries to protect their societies and economies against climate impacts such as hotter growing seasons, drought, floods and disease.
The British and Dutch governments will be announcing a two-year project in six developing countries to research the best ways of funding adaptation.
The idea was endorsed by Oxfam, one of the charities heavily involved in climate adaptation.
'This would be an absolutely vital piece of research that has to be done,' a spokesman commented.
'We've previously called for a global audit for adaptation - Oxfam believes the sum needed will be around $50bn (Ł25bn) a year.
But the fact that they're taking adaptation seriously and doing research doesn't mean we should take a breather and wait for the results - people need to start funding adaptation immediately.'
Earlier this week, Oxfam, together with other charities and the UN Development Programme, poured scorn on the scale of the global commitment to adaptation funding - 'less than Americans spend on suntan lotion each month' and 'roughly what Britain spends on flood defences each week' were two of the unflattering comparisons.
Gareth Thomas agreed that the sums available fall well short of what was needed."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This approach, whilst better than nothing and at least a start, may be seen as just tinkering round the edges of the problem.It could be added that the Ł25bn is about the sum provided by the British Government to bail out one bank - Northern Rock. It is not just too small, it is a fundamentally inadequate response.

Monday 10 December 2007

A Progressive Burden?

" As a key UN climate change conference gets underway in Bali, Malini Mehra says the current global political system is 'abysmally unfit for purpose'. In this week's Green Room, she calls for nations to stop playing the blame game, and work together to deliver a low carbon global economy.
As I sit here in Delhi, the talk is of Bali being an almighty battle between the 'rich North' and the 'poor South'.
The position of my own government is well known. India is a staunch supporter of the 'principle of common but differentiated responsibilities' enshrined in the text of the UN climate convention when it comes to environmental effort.
In short, this holds that as non-historical emitters with large poor populations and negligible per capita emissions, developing countries should not be expected to reduce their emissions.
Development pathways cannot be compromised as a result of climate change, and developing countries need room to develop.
Finding a politics more suited to the precarious climate-constrained age we are living in will require a return to first principles, new thinking and new mindsets.
The first principle is to recognise a common human interest in a pro-active response to climate change. Playing the waiting game will not benefit anyone - we are imperilled as a species, not as nationalities.
Climate justice requires that we maintain climate stability for poor, vulnerable and marginalised communities in every country. The poor should not be used by others as an excuse for inaction. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The use by Malini Mehra of the phrase 'climate justice' is important. The thesis that she is advocating is pivotal. The current system and approach, applied to the problems of climate change, will not work.A new philosophical basis for action is essential.

Friday 7 December 2007

Burying the Problem

" New research into capturing carbon dioxide produced by coal-fired power stations and burying it beneath the Firth of Forth has received funding.
Scottish Power plans to capture CO2 emissions and bury them deep beneath the seabed in the estuary.
The Westminster government is supplying the bulk of the Ł2.3m funding for research into the plan.
Edinburgh University will search for the best sites, which will require specific rock formations.
They will be looking for porous rock into which the CO2 can be piped, covered by impermeable rock, to stop the gas escaping.
If successful they could help to create world leading techniques.
Environmentalists have given it a qualified welcome.
They are worried it could divert attention from developing greener energy sources.
A carbon capture scheme proposed for Peterhead power station in Aberdeenshire failed to get off the ground due to disputes over funding.
The proposal would have seen an industrial-scale hydrogen power scheme based in the town.
It would have converted natural gas to hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases, then used the hydrogen gas to fuel a power station. The carbon dioxide would then have been stored safely. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The qualified welcome is about right. In principle, burying the problem could be a solution. But getting the coal ie mining and miners, is an obvious issue, and this new technology, if successful, would indeed tend to divert efforts from getting and using cleaner energy sources. It might be a useful temporary measure, but the trouble with temporary measures is their tendency to become permanent.

Thursday 6 December 2007

More Tropical

" Climate change is causing the tropics to widen, with possible impacts on the global food supply, research suggests.
Scientists examined five different measures of the width of the tropical belt, and found it expanded by between 2 and 4.8 degrees latitude since 1979.
Other researchers meanwhile said climatic change could increase the number of thunderstorms in the US.
The findings emerged as delegates met in Bali for UN climate talks focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The capacity of poorer countries - many of them in the tropics - to respond and adapt to impacts of climate change will be another major theme of the talks.
While geographers define 'The Tropics' rigidly as the region between 23.5 degrees North and 23.5 degrees South, to atmospheric scientists it is a more variable zone marked by features such as the jet stream and the circulation known as Hadley cells.
On these measures, the tropics have expanded since the era of reliable satellite observation began in 1979."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

These findings are another wake-up call for the poorer countries located close to the equator. It's the question of poorer countries - and poorer people in the richer countries - having to bear the main burden of the impact of global warming.

Wednesday 5 December 2007

Replacing Kyoto

" World governments are meeting for a key UN climate summit that will attempt to reach a deal on what should replace the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012.
Talks will centre on whether binding targets are needed to cut emissions.
It is the first such meeting since the IPCC, a panel of leading scientists, concluded that climate change was 'very likely' caused by human activity.
The two-week gathering in Bali, Indonesia, will also debate how to help poor nations cope in a warming world.
The annual high-level meeting, organised by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is under pressure to deliver a global agreement on how to cut rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its Fourth Assessment Report (A4R), in which it projected that the world would warm by 1.8-4.0C (3.2-7.2F) over the next century.
At the top of the conference's agenda is the need to reach a consensus on how to curb emissions beyond 2012. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A difficult but vital aspect of any decisions will be - are they adequate to meet the challenge of the threat? This is hard to judge. It's linked with how able is the present global economic system to cope with the problem, anyway?

Tuesday 4 December 2007

The Singing Birds

"A Ł200,000 study into what happens when people hear birdsong is taking off. Researchers at Aberdeen University will spend two years listening to birds to find out how their songs, calls and cries become a part of people's lives.
'Listening to birds: an anthropological approach to bird sounds' has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
The team is keen to hear from anyone interested in birds from across Britain and throughout the world.
Researchers from the Department of Anthropology will be carrying out the study.
Dr Andrew Whitehouse, the project's lead researcher, said: 'We are interested in understanding how people come to focus on particular sounds and how they develop the skill of identifying songs and calls. We also intend to explore how bird sounds evoke time, place and season and how people experience and draw upon bird sounds in science, art, music and their everyday lives.'
He continued: 'One thing I'll be exploring is how technology shapes the way we hear. For most people hearing is an activity we do unaided, but new digital technologies are making it much easier for people to record sounds. I'm interested in the effects this has on our interactions with birds.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A fascinating study. Bird song, and the wild birds generally are a precious and wonderful part of our wildlife heritage. Sadly, under attack from various directions, including changing farming methods, urbanisation, pollution and climate changes.

Monday 3 December 2007

The Venus Model

"Observations of the planet Venus might assist efforts to tackle the threat of climate change here on Earth.
Data from a European probe orbiting Venus paints a picture of a planet that may once have been like Earth, but later evolved in a very different way.
Venus has undergone runaway greenhouse warming, where trapped solar radiation has heated the surface to an average temperature of 467C (872F).
New results from the Venus Express mission appear in Nature journal.
In size, mass and composition, Earth and Venus are remarkably similar. Venus is closer to the Sun, but this alone does not explain the differences with Earth.
Venus lacks the Earth's magnetic shield, which means that its atmosphere feels the full onslaught of the solar wind - a stream of charged particles from our star - and cosmic radiation, and has done so for billions of years.
The absence of this shield means that hydrogen, helium and oxygen are blown away by the solar wind much faster than happens on Earth.
The scientists think that Venus may once have held copious amounts of water on its surface.
But the solar wind removed most of it during the first billion years or so after the formation of the Solar System."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An interesting and fascinating approach - using the other planets in the solar system to develop our understanding of the Earth's environment. But the other planets are so different now from Earth that comparisons may be of limited use.

Friday 30 November 2007

Disappearing Toads

" Britain's native toads are at risk from a deadly infection that has driven many of the world's amphibians to extinction, say UK scientists.
The fungal disease is currently confined to Kent, where it was brought in by imported frogs.
But if it spread further it could, in theory, completely wipe out the British toad population, according to research published in a Royal Society journal.
Experts want tighter controls on the aquarium trade to protect native toads.
The chytrid fungus, or Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, BD, as it is sometimes called, infects the skins of amphibians such as frogs, toads, salamanders and newts.
One-third of all the losses in amphibian species recorded around the world are thought to be due to the disease.
Although the frogs that brought the fungus to Kent have long since disappeared, it is likely that they have left a reservoir of infection in the environment.
And scientists fear the disease is being brought into Britain time and time again through the world trade in amphibians.
'We strongly suspect BD is being introduced into the UK on a daily basis through the amphibian trade,' said Dr Matthew Fisher, of Imperial College London."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It would be sad to risk losing such a familiar and welcome British creature. Toad of Toad Hall. But this report highlights the risks involved in moving wild creatures around the globe.

Thursday 29 November 2007

Science and Politics

" The UK government's chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, is to call for a rethink on GM crops in his farewell speech before leaving his post.
He will be making his comments to a group of senior scientists at the Foundation for Science and Technology.
He will also look at the role of nuclear power and the need for robust and urgent action on climate change.
Sir David steps down after seven years, having often been in the maelstrom of where science meets politics.
He believes there is a moral case for the UK and the rest of Europe to grow GM crops, and thinks Europe's backing would kick-start a technology that would help the world's poorest in Africa.
He says GM crops will be essential to deal with an ever-growing population and diminishing water supplies. He is calling on more to be done to deliver a future beyond the Kyoto climate treaty, and says he is 'feeling very impatient about this'.
To prevent long-term disaster, he suggests a global target for atmospheric carbon has to be set. To keep all nations on board, he calls for a 'fiscal policy'.
'We have to create carbon dioxide as a negative tradable commodity - so we need to introduce cap and trade.'
He told BBC News that he was disappointed that the UK government had not pushed forward with more power stations in the 2003 Energy White Paper; the government said that it wanted to see if renewables would fill the gap.
However, Sir David now says that he knew at the time he did not believe renewables on their own would be enough.
His frustration, over the need to make the right decision based on the best evidence, was repeated throughout the interview: 'It is true - that I still feel a sense of frustration about the way government operates where science could contribute to science making.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An important and difficult theme. Yes, public policies ought to be based on the facts, on the scientific evidence. But interesting and new science doesn't necessarily make a policy good.There are other non-science concerns that should be taken into account. The policies adopted must not fly in the face of science, but will be based on other considerations.

Wednesday 28 November 2007

Understanding the Oceans

" Warming seas, overfishing and pollution mean it is vital to improve the system for monitoring the world's oceans, says a group of distinguished scientists.
The researchers say more data is needed to ensure the world is able to respond effectively to any potential threats.
An 'adequate initial system' would include an integrated network of buoys, research vessels, satellites and tagging marine animals, they added.
The scientists want the global scheme to be completed within the next decade.
The call for action has been made by the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (Pogo), which includes many of the world's leading oceanographic research centres.
A delegation of Pogo members will make their case at the annual ministerial meeting of the international Group on Earth Observations (Geo) in Cape Town, South Africa.
According to Pogo, completing such a system over the next 10 years would cost an estimated $2-3bn (Ł1-1.5bn), and would include:
A network of satellites - to survey the oceans' vast surfaces
Fixed monitoring stations - for continuous measurements on the sea bed, water columns and surface
Small robot submarines - some will drift with ocean currents, while others will follow pre-determined routes
Tagging - electronic devices will relay information about the areas marine animals visit Research vessels - to be used for scientific surveys
The scientists say a better understanding of how the oceans behave would have a range of benefits, from improving short-term forecasting of potentially devastating storms and hurricanes, to the possible impact of warming waters on marine and coastal ecologies. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report repeats the most vital point that more data is a cornerstone of a scientific approach to global climate change. More data, more analysis, more refined hypotheses and predictions.

Tuesday 27 November 2007

The Colour of Water

"Rivers and lakes in northern Europe and North America that have turned brown are returning to a more natural, pre-industrialised state, a study says.
A major reduction in acid rain since the 1970s has resulted in more dissolved organic carbon entering the regions' waters, researchers suggest.
Writing in Nature, they say soils are becoming less acidic, resulting in more carbon being washed away by rainfall.
The staining has previously been linked to global warming and land-use change.
'The solubility of organic carbon is pH-dependent, so the more acidic a soil gets, the less soluble a number of these organic compounds are,' explained co-author Don Monteith, from University College London, UK.
'This issue was identified about five years ago, and since then there have been a number of papers trying to explain what is going on,' Mr Monteith told BBC News.
'A lot of these ideas would suggest that that there is this global process which is linked, in some way, to global warming.
What we are demonstrating here is that the main driver is acid rain. It is unlikely that this process is occurring globally - it is going to be confined to these industrialised nations that are cleaning up their emissions.'
Although the discolouration is a sign that waters are becoming less acidic, Mr Monteith, said many people would view it as a deterioration in water quality.
'The problem is that people have been living with the impact of acid rain for so long that no-one alive today really has an idea of what the waters were like before acid rain took hold,' he said. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An interesting report. However, in my experience the colour of river and canal water is related closely to recent rainfall. Heavy rain increasing the water flow in the waterways appears to stir up and carry away mud. The water turns a shade of brown.Is this another process, on top of the issue discussed in this report?

Monday 26 November 2007

Another Runway - More Carbon?

" Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly is expected to announce plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport and comment on a possible sixth terminal.
She is likely to say a third, short runway will not breach strict noise and environmental limits.
She will talk up the benefits of using Heathrow's two existing runways for take-offs at the same time, rather than the alternation method currently used.
But opponents say the plans will mean increased noise for more than 50 towns.
The news comes just 24 hours after a government report suggested that Heathrow Airport had one of the lowest satisfaction scores for departure lounge crowding, check-in and getting around the airport.
Expansion at Heathrow could see flights increase from 480,000 a year to 800,000 - a move that will anger local residents and green campaigners.
Ms Kelly's announcement follows consultation on plans to expand Heathrow, which were first mooted in the government's 2003 aviation White Paper. furious reaction is expected from conservationists and residents at a time when Gordon Brown says he believes the UK's emission target of a 60% cut by 2050 could be increased to 80%.
Ms Kelly has said expansion at Heathrow is important to the UK economy. It is believed a third, short runway could benefit the coffers by Ł6bn.
The 2M Group, which represents 12 local authorities in the Heathrow area, says the plans will mean increased noise for more than 50 towns and communities.
It said the expansion would mean 900 extra flights a day and noise affecting residents living as far west from the airport as Maidenhead and Windsor and as far in to London as Kensington and Chelsea. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The push for expansion at Heathrow crystallises the debate on carbon emission reduction. Is climate change control incompatible with the drive for growth and expansion, not least in the air transport industry? Is this a circle it's impossible to square? Are we trying to have our cake, and eat it?

Friday 23 November 2007

Kingfishers Thriving

" British canal and river networks are in good shape, even in urban areas, according to an environmental study.
People taking part in the National Waterway Wildlife Survey made 4,000 sightings of various species.
They included more than 300 kingfishers - birds which are seen as a good indicator of healthy water systems.
British Waterways said there were good numbers of kingfishers in places such as central London, Manchester, Aylesbury, Coventry and Preston.
Kingfishers were the fourth most spotted bird species behind mallards, swans and herons.
Also seen were water voles, otters and bats, and even some seals and a massive North American alligator snapping turtle.
British Waterways is planning a number of improvements to kingfisher habitats at locations including Regent's Canal in London and the Grand Union Canal at Leighton Buzzard.
The organisation manages more than 2,200 miles of canals and rivers in England, Scotland and Wales. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Kingfishers are lovely brilliant birds. Often you just see a sudden quick flash of bluish light. And the canals are a national treasure. Possibly in danger of being overused for tourism and pleasure boating, but still a haven for wildlife. So this report is good news all round. Water voles are another matter. They used to be so common on canal banks. I haven't seen one for many years - that once-familiar plop and line of bubbles reaching the water surface.

Thursday 22 November 2007

The Greening of Brown

" Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said there will be a 'green hotline' to advise people on what they can do to cut their impact on the environment.
Mr Brown, who said the UK's emission target of a 60% cut by 2050 could be increased to 80%, said he would also seek the end of one-use plastic bags.
He committed Britain to meeting EU targets on boosting renewable energy.
There would be 'hard choices and tough decisions' but he said a new low carbon economy could bring thousands of jobs.
The new Green Homes Service - a telephone line, website and advice centres - aims to provide a single point of contact for people who want a 'home energy audit'.
It will also give advice on saving water, reducing waste and other ways to be more environmentally friendly.
Mr Brown said that in 50 of Britain's poorest areas homes would be offered energy efficiency deals, and for those selling or buying energy wasting homes it would offer discounted help.
Mr Brown said: 'I believe it will require no less than a fourth technological revolution. In the past the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, the microprocessor transformed not just technology but the way our society has been organised and the way people live.
Now we're about to embark on a comparable technological transformation to low carbon energy and energy efficiency and this represents an immense challenge to Britain, but it is also an opportunity.'
Mr Brown said he wanted Britain to become a 'world leader' in building a low carbon economy, which could lead to thousands of new British businesses, hundreds of thousands of new jobs and a 'vast export market'.
Britain was 'absolutely committed to meeting our share' of the EU's 2020 renewable energy target, he said.
It could mean the UK will have to produce between 40 and 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 - the current figure is about 5%.
BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said this would be 'staggering', but he said that the government was seeking to negotiate down the EU target. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Haven't we heard about a new 'technological revolution' before? Harold Wilson, circa 1964? And what came of it? Mr Brown seems to have said little or nothing about an accompanying social revolution, standing capitalism on its head, without which securing a peaceful sustainable planet is not just staggering, but impossible, it might be argued.

Wednesday 21 November 2007

Scientists Speak Again

" United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has challenged governments to act on the findings of a major new report on climate change.
Launching the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he said real and affordable ways to deal with the problem existed.
The IPCC states that climate change is 'unequivocal' and may bring 'abrupt and irreversible' impacts.
Mr Ban urged politicians to respond at a UN climate change conference in Bali.
'Today the world's scientists have spoken clearly and with one voice,' he said. 'In Bali I expect the world's policymakers to do the same.'
Mr Ban arrived at the IPCC meeting in Valencia from a fact-finding trip to Antarctica and South America.
'I come to you humbled after seeing some of the most precious treasures of our planet threatened by humanity's own hand," he said.
All humanity must assume responsibility for these treasures.'
The IPCC report synthesises the three aspects of climate change that it has already pronounced on earlier in the year, on the science, the likely impacts, and options for dealing with the problem.
The panel's scientists say the reversal needs to come within a decade or so if the worst effects of global warming are to be avoided.
The findings will feed into the Bali talks on the UN climate convention and the Kyoto Protocol which open on 3 December. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

How things change. The idea that a Secretary-General of the United Nations would speak so dramatically and eloquently about the climate would have seemed ridiculous say twenty years ago. Now it's a welcome sign that the problem is being taken seriously in the highest circles. Of course, the UN, through the IPCC Panel of scientists, has been taking it seriously for a long time.

Tuesday 20 November 2007

Fishy Vegetables

"Plants genetically engineered to make fish oils offer a new approach to improving diet, say UK scientists.
Experiments have proved that crops containing genes from marine organisms are able to produce omega 3 fatty acids normally found in oily fish.
Adding the oil to animal feed would create omega 3-rich meat, milk and eggs.
Researchers from the EU-wide Lipgene project say such food would help tackle public health issues like obesity.
Concerns over dwindling fish stocks and marine pollution has led researchers to seek an alternative source of long chain omega 3 fatty acids; fats that have important health benefits, especially for the heart. The best source is oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and herring, but most people do not get enough in their diet.
Omega 3 fatty acids are made not by the fish themselves but by the marine microbes they consume.
Scientists at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Herts, isolated key genes from a species of microscopic single-celled marine algae known as Thalassiosira pseudonana.
The eventual aim is to feed GM-enhanced oils to animals such as chickens and cattle, to produce omega 3 enriched meat, milk and eggs.
This would provide a sustainable source of fish oil amid concern over dwindling fish stocks.
'The big problem is that fish (and fish oils) is a very seriously diminishing natural resource,' said Professor Napier.
'There are big problems with the sustainability of natural fish stocks and there are also concerns about pollution of the marine environment so we're interested in trying to produce a sustainable alternative source with these fish oils.'"
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Mixed feelings about this report. On the one hand, very much against GM interference in crops. And this example of 'transgenic' interference is especially worrying.Yet there is a neatness about this approach to the problem of fish stock conservation which appeals. It needs a lot of consideration and discussion.

Monday 19 November 2007

Power Stations League Table

" A study of the world's power stations has shown the extent to which developed countries produce more carbon dioxide per head than emerging economies.
Australians were found to be the world's worst polluters per capita, producing five times as much carbon from generating power as China.
The US came second with eight tonnes of carbon per head - 16 times more than that produced by India.
The US also produced the most carbon in total, followed by China.
The Carbon Monitoring for Action (Carma) website is the first global inventory of emissions and looks at 50,000 power stations.
Its data was compiled by the Center for Global Development, a US think-tank.
Carma points out that while US power plants emit the most CO2, releasing 2.5bn tonnes into the atmosphere each year, Australian power stations are the least efficient on a per capita basis, with emissions of 10 tonnes, compared with the US's 8.2 tonnes. The UK's 192 million tonnes make it the ninth highest emitter, with per capita CO2 emissions of 3.2 tonnes.
The nation's largest power station, the coal-fired Drax plant, is deemed to be the 23rd most polluting power station in the world.
Kevin Ummel, a research assistant at the Center for Global Development, hoped the online inventory would help the push towards a low carbon future.
The philosophy behind the website is to provide people with information that they currently do not have.
'In this website, we do not push a particular agenda or outcome,' explained Mr Ummel.
'In fact, we are very interested to see how people choose to use the data.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A valuable peice of research and analysis. Slowly, far too slowly, the world is waking up to the reality of climate change. Getting the science right, getting the facts, and doing the analysis is vital.

Friday 16 November 2007

Gore's Private Equity

" Al Gore is to become a partner of a US private equity firm with a history of supporting 'green technology'.
The ex vice-president and environmental activist is to join the board of Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers.
He will lead investments in alternative energy sources and firms involved in areas such as recycling, alternative fuel and water purification.
Mr Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month for his work as a climate change campaigner.
And Mr Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which warned of the imminent and catastrophic danger to the planet of global warming, won an Oscar.
Mr Gore is already heavily involved in supporting energy technology solutions through his investment fund Generation Investment Management (GIM).
In his new role, Mr Gore will concentrate on supporting businesses focused on reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
'We have a working understanding of this urgent, multi-dimensional challenge and are resolved to help business and government leaders accelerate the development of sustainable solutions' Mr Gore said.
Mr Gore is to donate his salary from Kleiner to the environmental foundation, the Alliance of Climate Protection, which he chairs. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This raises an interesting point. To what extent is capitalism, in this case exemplified by a private equity firm, capable of helping solve the global climate change predicament? Is it inherently incapable? Or maybe certain forms of capitalism are sufficiently benign to be of use? Or is capitalism, an economic system which has clearly contributed to the crisis, perfectly able to solve the problem it has created?

Thursday 15 November 2007

Cleaner Acts

"Large events are coming under pressure to clean up their acts
A management system to help organisers reduce the environmental impact of staging an event has been launched by the British Standards Institute (BSI).
Energy use, waste reduction and protecting historical sites are among the areas covered by the new standard.
The green benchmark, BS 8901, was set up in response to the growing demand for environmentally and ethically sound goods and services, the BSI said.
It is hoped that local as well as global events will use the scheme.
This summer's Live Earth concerts, organised by former US vice-president Al Gore to highlight the issue of climate change, were accused by critics of sending out a mixed message.
They said it was hypocritical for performers to fly around the world in order to push the message of cutting down on carbon emissions."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A sensible move. This is just one example of many where we need to update our attitudes. It reminds one of the old wartime phrase - 'There's a war on, you know!' - a reminder to be less wasteful and more careful.

Wednesday 14 November 2007

Too Much Rubbish

" The UK dumps more household waste into landfill than any other country in the European Union, research by the Local Government Association (LGA) shows.
Households sent more than 22.6 million tonnes of rubbish to landfill in the most recent year in which comparable figures were available across the EU.
The LGA, which represents councils in England, warns that if the current trend continues it is estimated the country will run out of landfill space in less than nine years' time.
The figures show Britain sent the same amount of rubbish to landfill as the 18 EU countries with the lowest landfill rates combined, despite their having almost twice the population.
The countries with the highest amount of household rubbish thrown into landfill each year are the UK, with around 22.6 million tonnes, Italy at 17.6 million tonnes and Spain, which throws away around 14.2 million tonnes.
France sends around 12 million tonnes to landfill, while Poland dumps around 8.6 million tonnes.
Councils, and consequently the taxpayer, are facing fines of up to Ł150 per tonne of rubbish that is sent to landfill sites.
Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA environment board, said: 'For decades people have been used to being able to throw their rubbish away without worrying about the consequences. Those days are now over.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The final sentence of the quote - 'Those days are now over' - is pointed. Indeed they are. Or rather, they must be if we are to get on top of the environmental and climate change issues. But where is the waste to go? The answer is certainly less waste, greater reuse, greater recycling. Incineration is a flawed alternative, and not an easy painless way out.

Tuesday 13 November 2007

Palm Oil Problems

" Land clearances in Indonesia to meet the growing global demand for palm oil pose a serious threat to the environment, a report has warned.
Forests are being burned and peat wetlands drained for plantations, causing huge releases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Greenpeace said.
The environmental group warned of a potential 'climate bomb' and called for the clearances to stop.
Palm oil is an ingredient in foods and a bio-fuel added to diesel for cars.
In normal rainforest there is much more carbon stored in microbes in the soil than in the leaves and branches of the trees.
In peat wetlands that is magnified with soils many metres deep. But these wetlands are fast being cleared and drained, causing large quantities of carbon dioxide to be emitted.
Indonesia is looking to become the world's top producer of palm oil.
But in July, environmental groups said a huge project planned for Borneo would cause irreparable harm to the territory and culture of indigenous people. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The palm oil craze is a Catch 22 thing. An interesting example of the old mentality trying to solve the oil problem, and causing even more problems. These collateral problems (to use a phrase beloved of the military) would not have caused a ripple in the old days, or even been noticed till too late. But now we have Greenpeace on the case.

Monday 12 November 2007

Successful Test

" First tests on equipment that will provide key data on the current state of Arctic ice have been successful.
In 2008, explorer Pen Hadow will trek 2,000km across the North Pole, dragging a radar that will probe the thickness of the ever-shrinking ice-cap.
In advance of the expedition, the team headed to Eureka, north Canada, to test whether the instruments could perform in the tough Arctic conditions.
Mr Hadow said that the team's "planning and hard work had paid off".
The radar, known as Sprite, was able to make accurate ice measurements in temperatures of -35C, the team said.
The Vanco Arctic Survey will begin in February next year; Pen Hadow and two team members will spend more than 100 days trekking from Point Barrow in Alaska to the geographic North Pole.
As they travel across the icy terrain, they will be towing a radar that will probe ice thickness every few centimetres; communications equipment onboard the sledge will relay the readings back to the UK base-camp.
The radar measurements, the team hopes, should help to fill in the gaps from satellite and submarine data and enable scientists to accurately predict how long it will be before the Arctic experiences ice-free summers.
Michael Gorman, a Cambridge-based scientist who built the expedition's radar, said it was crucial to test it before the expedition took place, not only because the radar would be key to the expedition but also because it was a prototype design."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Good news. The more scientific data that is available, the better. It all adds up to greater understanding of the environment.

Friday 9 November 2007

More Carbon Trading

" As Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf met US President George Bush at the White House last week, an expert from Liberia's Forestry Development Authority was across the river in a hi-tech laboratory, working on his country's potential involvement in a global strategy to confront climate change,says Peter Seligmann.
Augustine Johnson has been looking at ways to map and assess Liberia's remaining tropical forest and the carbon it stores.
If all goes according to plan, that carbon and the forest's ability to store it will become a valuable economic asset capable of bringing new revenue to the African country in desperate need of help to recover from civil war. The forests are already a valuable environmental asset for the whole planet.
Fifteen years have passed since Liberia and the US were among 190 countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Rio Earth Summit. Liberia's greenhouse gas emissions are roughly 250,000 times lower than those of the US, yet its remaining forests store approximately four billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), equivalent to the amount emitted by 57 million cars over 10 years.
Original forests are universally recognised as one of our planet's greatest natural resources because they provide jobs and sustenance for hundreds of millions of people.
They are nature's pharmacies and raw material factories, with unmatched biological diversity. They cleanse and restore water supplies, and they help prevent the spread of certain tropical diseases.
Regulated carbon markets, recognised by the UNFCCC and mediated by Kyoto Protocol processes such as the Clean Development Mechanism, offer incentives to reduce methane from farming and landfill sites.
The markets also have programmes that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial sectors of emerging economies such as China and India.
Yet they lack any mechanism to reduce the emissions from cutting and burning the valuable tropical forests of developing countries.
Liberia and other developing countries should be able to benefit economically from protecting their forests for the long-term global good, rather than sacrificing them for short-term survival.
But this will require reliable and consistent economic incentives from many different financing sources, including carbon credits and economic development assistance. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is another 'carbon trading' ruse. Allowing the rich countires to buy their way out of doing something themselves,changing lifestyles and cultures. Or is it a cunning, clever idea which will be the saviour of the planet?

Thursday 8 November 2007

Still Not Enough?

" Prime Minister Gordon Brown has committed the UK to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60% before 2050 to help tackle global warming.
The Climate Change Bill will make the UK the first country to put carbon emissions reduction targets into law.
An independent committee on climate change will be set up to advise on "five-year carbon budgets" - part of a new commitment to carbon reduction.
Environmentalists welcomed the move, but said higher targets were needed.
While the bill will also enforce reductions of greenhouse gas emissions of between 26% and 32% by 2020, Mr Brown previously said he would consult the new committee to see if bigger reductions were required.
Green campaigners have urged the government to go further.
A report from think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, the RSPB and WWF on Monday claimed the government's 60% target did not go far enough.
Instead, it claimed Britain could achieve an 80% cut by 2050. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The proposed legislation is of course welcome. It's moving in the right direction, unarguably. The big question is - is it enough? In the future, will we look back and think 'what a pathetically weak response to an impending catastophe'?

Wednesday 7 November 2007

Personal Sacrifice?

"Most people say they are ready to make personal sacrifices to address climate change, according to a BBC poll of 22,000 people in 21 countries.
Four out of five people say they are prepared to change their lifestyle, even in the US and China, the world's two biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.
Three quarters would back energy taxes if the cash was used to find new sources of energy, or boost efficiency.
Chinese respondents were more positive than any others about energy taxes.
BBC environment reporter Matt McGrath says the poll suggests that in many countries people are more willing than their governments to contemplate serious changes to their lifestyles to combat global warming.
According to the survey, 83% of respondents throughout the world agree that individuals will definitely or probably have to make lifestyle changes to reduce the amount of climate-changing gases they produce.
The poll also suggests that a large majority of people in each individual country surveyed believe that sacrifices will be necessary.
'This poll clearly shows that people are much more ready to endure their share of the burden than most politicians grant,' said Doug Miller, director of Globescan, the polling company that conducted the survey on behalf of the BBC.
Globescan interviewed 22,182 people in the UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. Interviews were conducted face-to-face or by telephone between 29 May 29 and 26 July 2007. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

These poll findings are surprising. The generally accepted view is that most people are just not willing to contemplate changing their lifestyle and abandoning the culture of over consumption. Perhaps the penny has dropped. Perhaps people are starting to realise that more and more consumption and spending on things they don't really need, or want, is pointless, a waste, and doesn't make you happier. Sounds like wishful thinking, pie in the sky, but these findings seem to say otherwise.

Tuesday 6 November 2007

Local Action

"More than 100 US mayors are attending a summit in the western city of Seattle to share and develop policies aimed at tackling climate change.
Seattle's own mayor said it was up to individual cities to take on the principles of the Kyoto Protocol, which the US government has not signed up to.
'Our federal government has ignored the problem,' Greg Nickels said.
Seattle says it has exceeded Kyoto goals itself, cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 8% below 1990 levels.
Most of the 110 mayors at the summit are keen to highlight the distance between their policies on climate change and those of the federal government 4,500km away, the BBC's Vincent Dowd reports from the conference.
Democratic and Republican mayors seem to have decided the need to act on global warming is urgent - or at least the need to show their voters they are taking an interest, our reporter adds.
Kyoto 'was the first time the community of nations came together to solve a common problem that didn't involve war and so the fact that the United States didn't join in... was a huge disappointment', Mr Nickels said at the start of the summit.
'But that doesn't give us an excuse for taking no action.'
Former US President Bill Clinton is due to address the conference with his ideas on how the US can lead on the issue.
It is thought he will announce his Clinton Foundation is to become more involved with climate change research."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Is this just 'greenwash', and merely a sign that there's a Presidential election next year? Nevertheless, it's encouraging that local action is apparently happening in the USA despite the perverse attitude of the Federal governmnent.110 mayors sounds a broad and powerful group. This is perhaps a lesson for the UK. Could cities, towns and villages here take a lead? Althought the UK government is not as intransigent as the US government, it is still not taking the issues sufficently seriously, despite the rhetoric.

Monday 5 November 2007

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul?

" Energy savings in UK households could be up to 30% lower than previously thought, jeopardising efforts to cut the nation's carbon dioxide emissions.
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) blamed the miscalculation on "rebound effects" from energy-saving measures.
As people cut their bills by using more efficient devices, they tend to spend the extra money buying additional goods that cancel out some of the savings.
The government has set a binding target of cutting CO2 levels by 60% by 2050.
The report's author, Steve Sorrell, said that there were two main forms of rebound effects - direct and indirect.
He used the example of someone buying a fuel-efficient car as an example of a direct rebound effect.
'It should mean that I use less petrol, that's the assumption,' he said. 'But because I am using less petrol, my running costs are less.
As a result, I may choose more often, I may choose to drive to the shops rather than take the bus.
In the end, I may drive further because driving is cheaper and that will offset some of the energy savings. The energy consumption per mile may be less, but I am driving more miles.'
To illustrate an indirect effect, Mr Sorrell said that if he did not drive more miles then he would save money, which he could spend on other goods and services."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A bit of a worry that these so-called 'rebound' factors have not already been estimated and allowed for in the calculations. It seems a relatively obvious point. All the greater need for more scientific research, more facts, and a wariness in using models and their predictions.

Friday 2 November 2007

GM By Stealth?

" Figures published on Monday show the area planted with genetically modified crops in Europe has grown by 77% since last year.
This year more than 1,000 sq km (386 sq miles) of GM maize was harvested.
The biotech industry says this proves its products are appealing to farmers and are safe for the environment.
The only genetically modified crop grown widely in Europe is maize resistant to the corn borer - a moth larva which eats the stem.
The maize is cultivated for animal feed - not for human consumption.
Planted in Spain for the last 10 years, the maize is now proving popular in France where the acreage has tripled in a year and also in Germany and the Czech Republic.
Neither the pest nor the GM maize is found in Britain.
One thousand sq km (386 sq miles) is still a small fraction of the total farmed area of Europe and also tiny compared with the one million sq km (0.38 million sq miles) under GM around the world - an expanse four times the size of Britain.
Some environmental groups claim beneficial insects could also be harmed by the crop; and in France, President Nicolas Sarkozy has suspended all GM plantings until next year.
Clare Oxborrow is a Friends of the Earth food campaigner. She told the BBC that the increase in the area planted with GM crops should not be viewed as beneficial.
'The reality is, these crops have failed to deliver benefits, and more and more evidence is, in fact, coming to light showing that there are increased concerns about their environmental risks,' she said. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is a worrying trend, happening with apparently little comment or objection. At least France has recently announced steps to halt GM. The science is simply not sufficiently well understood, and consequently GM carries a risk which is unnecessary.

Thursday 1 November 2007

Don't Bury It, Burn It; Don't Burn It, Recycle It ....

" Councils in England are to be given the power to introduce pilot schemes to charge households according to the amount of rubbish they throw away.
It comes as MPs warn the UK could face fines of up to Ł180m a year from the European Commission if it does not cut the amount of waste dumped in landfill.
The shadow communities secretary Eric Pickles said: 'What we should be doing is increasing recycling. We can do that without doing it through a bin tax.' The scheme would lead to a surge in fly-tipping, people dumping their waste in neighbours' gardens and more back garden bonfires, he said.
Meanwhile, the Commons public accounts committee has claimed ministers have been too slow to react to a 1999 EU directive on waste.
It says there is a 'significant risk' that new composting plants and rubbish incinerators will not be up and running in time to meet its targets.
Under the EU directive, the UK must reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going into landfill from the 18.1m tonnes dumped in 2003/4 to 13.7m tonnes in 2010, 9.2m in 2013 and 6.3m in 2020.
The committee said this meant not only encouraging householders to recycle and compost more of their rubbish, but also there was a need for new energy from waste power plants capable of processing up to 15m tonnes each year.
However, MPs conceded the development of waste plants tended to be 'unpopular' with the public and entail construction delays because of large scale protests from locals opposed to schemes. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Well, yes.There is little doubt that people will need incentives to reduce the quantity of waste going into their 'dustbins'.Call it a tax, but what's wrong with taxes apart from people not wanting to pay them? The 'energy from waste' issue is interesting. It sounds a clever wheeze. However, the science is sceptical. So much toxicity up the chimney, and also left in the residue. Small wonder people living near proposed incinerators protest.

Wednesday 31 October 2007

Must Do Better

" A powerful new body must be established to drive climate change policy after a decade of failure by the government, a Commons committee has said.
In a report, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said the government had not risen fully to the challenge.
It voiced concern at the government's likely failure to meet its own targets to cut CO2 emissions by 20% by 2010.
This would damage the UK's lead role in efforts to reach a new international climate change agreement, it warned.
The EAC was first established in November 1997 to look at the environmental impact of all Government departments.
It welcomed the draft Bill and the creation of the cross-government Office of Climate Change last year as positive moves.
And it highlighted transport policy and rapidly-rising vehicle ownership in Britain as an example of the government's failure to ensure departments talk to each other constructively about climate change policy.
The government must develop long-term policy frameworks to make sure decisions made today did not hinder future emissions reductions, it added.
This was particularly important in light of the government's house building plans, the committee warned.
The EAC's chairman Tim Yeo said: 'The UK must be equipped to meet both the challenge of a carbon constrained world and the likely climate change impacts that will occur.
It would be disastrous if bad planning policy meant that today's new housing developments become tomorrow's climate slums', he said. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

So the answer is - a whole new committee! But the point is a serious one. Basically, the danger of a clash of policies and priorities. The housebuilding programme is a difficult area. Houses must become affordable to young people again. This may involve more building. But the extra growth, especially in the south-east,could easily have negative aspects.

Tuesday 30 October 2007

Endangered Primates

" Almost a third of the world's primates are in danger of extinction because of destruction of their habitats, a report by conservation groups has warned.
The report says many apes, monkeys and other primates are being driven from the forests where they live or killed to make food and medicines.
The research is being presented at the International Primatological Society (IPS) on the Chinese island of Hainan.
It was compiled by a team of 60 experts led by the World Conservation Union.
The report focuses on the fate of the world's 25 most endangered primate species, which are threatened by a depressing list of problems.
The authors say all the surviving members of these species combined would fit in a single football stadium. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The idea of all these creatures filling Wembley Stadium is fascinating. Which team would they cheer most? This report is a reminder that not all destruction of the earth's biodiversity is due directly to global warming. Our plundering of the earth takes many forms.

Monday 29 October 2007

Organic Air Miles

" Food flown into the UK will be stripped of its organic status unless it meets new stricter ethical standards, the Soil Association has warned.
The association, which certifies 70% of the UK's Ł1.9bn organic food sector, says firms must show trade brings real benefit to developing world farmers.
It wants all air-freighted food to meet tough 'ethical trade' standards.
But Trade and Development Minister Gareth Thomas said he feared the changes could harm African farmers.
The Soil Association says few overseas firms currently meet the planned new standards.
The rules will affect the 1% of the organic food market in the UK which is flown in from abroad, about 80% of which comes from low to lower-middle income countries.
The association's policy director Peter Melchett said some overseas producers would find it impossible to meet the standards.
'One of the things we assume this will do is eliminate the casual use of air freight,' he added.
Anna Bradley, chair of the Soil Association's standards board, said: 'It is neither sustainable nor responsible to encourage poorer farmers to be reliant on air freight but we recognise that building alternative markets that offer the same social and economic benefits as organic exports will take time.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is a good step by the Soil Association. And an interesting negative response from the Government.The organic food movement has been a slow process, but very gradually we are getting there - that is, getting back to where we were about fifty years ago.

Friday 26 October 2007

Complexity

"Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have risen 35% faster than expected since 2000, says a study.
International scientists found that inefficiency in the use of fossil fuels increased levels of CO2 by 17%.
The other 18% came from a decline in the natural ability of land and oceans to soak up CO2 from the atmosphere.
About half of emissions from human activity are absorbed by natural "sinks" but the efficiency of these sinks has fallen, the study suggests.
The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was carried out by the Global Carbon Project, the University of East Anglia, UK, and the British Antarctic Survey.
The weakening of the Earth's ability to cope with greenhouse gases is thought to be a result of changing wind patterns over seas and droughts on land.
'The decline in global sink efficiency suggests that stabilisation of atmospheric CO2 is even more difficult to achieve than previously thought,' said report co-author Dr Corinne Le Quere of the British Antarctic Survey."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

These findings illustrate yet again just how complex is the global climate. Factors are so inter-related that our climate models seem to be in constant need of revision.

Thursday 25 October 2007

Surprising and Worrying

" The amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the world's oceans has reduced, scientists have said.
University of East Anglia researchers gauged CO2 absorption through more than 90,000 measurements from merchant ships equipped with automatic instruments.
Results of their 10-year study in the North Atlantic show CO2 uptake halved between the mid-90s and 2000 to 2005.
Scientists believe global warming might get worse if the oceans soak up less of the greenhouse gas.
Researchers said the findings, published in a paper for the Journal of Geophysical Research, were surprising and worrying because there were grounds for believing that, in time, the ocean might become saturated with our emissions.
Of all the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere, only half of it stays there; the rest goes into carbon sinks.
There are two major natural carbon sinks: the oceans and the land 'biosphere'. They are equivalent in size, each absorbing a quarter of all CO2 emissions. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Surprising and worrying, except for those 'in denial' of course. It's worrying because it's another unexpected finding which may indicate that things are worse than we think, or at least our understanding of how climate mechanisms operate is, to say the least, shaky.

Wednesday 24 October 2007

Setting Aside Set Aside

" The number of wild farmland bird species breeding in England is at the lowest level since records began, a key government wildlife 'indicator' shows.
The RSPB called the UK government's Wild Bird Populations 2006 indicator 'extremely depressing'.
The data showed that these species had declined by about 60% since 1970.
The charity warned that cuts in 'set-aside' payments, which take land out of food production, could hit bird numbers even harder in the future.
The farmland bird population index, which measures 19 species, showed a decline of more than 50% in bird numbers between 1977 and 1999, but then stabilised at this level.
'However, the indicator has fallen slightly in recent years,' the document published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) stated.
'[But] it is too early to say whether this is the start of a further period of decline.'
Defra suggested that the decline of species included in the index was a result of changes to agricultural processes, 'including the loss of mixed farming, the switch to autumn sowing of cereals... and the loss of field margins and hedges'.
Since the 1990s, farmers have received payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) to set aside some of their land and take it out of food production. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Set Aside started out as a sort of panacea. Payments made to farmers to grow less, because of the various food 'mountains' that were getting bad publicity for the European Union, as it is now known. But Set Aside has had a beneficial impact on wildlife, undoing some of the damge done by the widespead ripping out of old hedges in earlier decades.So now the impending demise of Set Aside may reveal the true negative impact of the changes in farming practices.

Tuesday 23 October 2007

Planes and Ships and ....

"Global emissions of carbon dioxide from shipping are twice the level of aviation, one of the maritime industry's key bodies has said.
A report prepared by Intertanko, which represents the majority of the world's tanker operators, says emissions have risen sharply in the past six years.
Previous International Maritime Organisation estimates suggested levels were comparable with those of planes.
Some 90,000 ships from tankers to small freighters ply the world's oceans.
Intertanko says its figures are the most realistic estimation of the current levels of CO2 from ships.
It says that growth in global trade coupled with ships burning more fuel to deliver freight faster has contributed significantly to the increase."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Further, if more goods were produced locally, there would be less need to move items halfway round the world by ship.

Monday 22 October 2007

It's a New Wind ..

" The Arctic is being hit by melting ice, hotter air and dying wildlife, according to a US government report on the impact of global warming there.
A new wind circulation pattern is blowing more warm air towards the North Pole than in the 20th Century, scientists found.
Shrubs are now growing in tundra areas while caribou herds are dwindling in Canada and parts of Alaska.
The report stresses that the fate of the Arctic affects the entire planet.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report found that in 2007 winter and spring temperatures were 'all above average throughout the whole Arctic and all at the same time' unlike in previous years."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The new wind circulation pattern, and it's possible impact on the Actic, is another reminder how complex and inter-related are environmental phenomena.

Friday 19 October 2007

Just in Case ....

" The UK is looking to claim sovereignty over a large area of the remote seabed off Antarctica.
The claim for an area around British Antarctica is one of a number being prepared by the Foreign Office, a spokeswoman said.
Even if granted, those rights would not allow Britain to contravene the treaty that prohibits oil and gas tapping under the seabed.
The spokeswoman labelled the move 'a safeguard for the future'.
The claim, which the spokeswoman stressed is still being prepared in advance of a May 2009 United Nations deadline, could extend Britain's stake for Antarctic waters by more than 1,000 square miles (2,590 sq km) and is permitted under the Law of the Sea Convention.
The move does signal Britain's willingness to join the current rush by countries to try to secure their potential oil and gas rights to seabeds should circumstances change.
The most notable recent example was the claim by Russia over the Arctic seabed.
'It is essentially to safeguard for the future and if (the treaty) is abolished in the future we will have safeguarded our claim to that area,' the Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
She added that any change to the ban on mineral exploitation in the Antarctic is 'highly improbable'. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

How cynical can you get? For all the talk of taking global climate change seriously, at the same time the Foreign Office is busy planning for business as usual. Of course, it's only just in case ... !

Thursday 18 October 2007

Exactly How Thick is the Ice?

" To trek alone, without re-supply, from Canada to the North Pole was deemed so difficult experts felt it was an endurance act too far.
But in 2003, Briton Pen Hadow made history by becoming the first person to do just that, and next year he plans to return. However, this time he has more on his mind than just adventure.
Research shows that for three decades, sea ice cover in the region has been shrinking; and this summer, figures revealed a record withdrawal - the smallest area covered by sea ice since the beginning of the satellite age.
'I realised one of the biggest environmental questions of our time was how long the North Pole icecap could survive the onslaught of global warming,' said Mr Hadow.
'And the only way to get a more accurate figure... is by doing a direct surface survey; and I find myself in the wonderful and unexpected position of being able to do that.'
Next February, Mr Hadow, along with Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley, will set out on an 2,000km (1,200 miles) trek from Point Barrow, Alaska, to the geographic North Pole; a journey that will take approximately 100 days.
As they walk - and at times swim - across the hostile landscape, they will be towing a sledge carrying a host of scientific instruments.
To date, most information on thickness has come from submarines.
Professor Peter Wadhams, head of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at the University of Cambridge, said: 'The role of submarines has been vital.
The very first measurements of ice were done from the Nautilus, the American submarine in 1958, and every year since then a submarine, either British or American, has gone to the Arctic.
In fact, submarines have been the only way of mapping how the ice thickness has changed over the last 40 years.'
The vessels use an upward-looking echo sounder to probe the ice thickness, and recent technological advances mean they can even produce 3D maps of the terrain above.
However, there are drawbacks.
The missions are dependent on time aboard military vessels or the use of expensive remotely operated vehicles (Rovs), meaning they are limited to a few weeks, just once or twice a year, in specific locations. In other words, the submarine picture is an incomplete one.
So scientists use another technology to get around this problem, measuring the ice from above using satellites. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's interesting to note that the ice thickness data is coming from three independent sources: direct measurements from an expedition across the ice; submarine soundings; and the use of satellites.This makes good sense, and good science.

Wednesday 17 October 2007

Gore's Nobel Prize

" Al Gore says his Nobel Peace Prize is an 'honour' and a chance to 'elevate global consciousness' about the threat posed by climate change.
The former US vice-president was awarded the prestigious prize jointly with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The White House congratulated Mr Gore but said it would not change its policies on global warming.
Mr Gore's film on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth, won an Oscar.
He said he accepted the Nobel award on behalf of scientists - like those in the IPCC - who had worked tirelessly for years to get the message about global warming out.
'This is the most dangerous challenge we've ever faced,' he said, speaking in Palo Alto, California.
'I will be doing everything I can to try to understand how to best use the honour and recognition of this award as a way of speeding up the change in awareness, and the change in urgency.'
He said he would donate his half of the $1.5m prize money to the Alliance for Climate Protection.
The IPCC, established in 1988, is tasked with providing policymakers with neutral summaries of the latest expertise on climate change. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Elevating global consciousness, in Gore's phrase, is important. A major problem is putting across the degree of urgency. The consequences of inaction or inadequate action now may not be felt directly for many years.This apparent disconnection tends to lead to apathy or, worse, denial.When the consequences are obvious, it will be too late to do much about it.

Tuesday 16 October 2007

Oil Industries and Global Climate Change

" Long-term thinking has never been more important in the energy industry, says James Smith, UK chairman of Royal Dutch Shell plc.
Energy companies routinely invest billions of dollars in mammoth projects that often have life spans of 30 years or more.
If we are to plan effectively, we must have an idea of where current trends will take us. At Shell, we see these trends as 'hard truths' because they are inescapable and, in some cases, unpleasant.
The first hard truth is the acceleration of global energy demand. By 2050, the world's population could reach more than nine billion, compared with today's 6.6 billion.
The second hard truth is that fossil fuels will continue to be the main source of energy for decades to come.
Fossil fuels presently meet about 80% of global energy demand, whereas biofuels, wind and solar energy currently supply less than 1%.
Even with heroic efforts to increase the use of alternative energy they would still only provide around 30% of predicted global energy demand by 2050.
The third hard truth is that production of 'easy oil' (oil and gas that are relatively easy to extract) will not keep pace with the growing demand.
The fourth hard truth is that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are set to rise even faster than demand for energy, unless we take quick action.
Alternative sources will only meet 30% of our energy needs by 2050.
Yet, as I've said, most of the world's growing energy needs will continue to be met by oil, natural gas and, especially, coal.
To secure future energy supplies and become less dependent on imports of oil and gas, countries will exploit their domestic coal reserves.
These hard truths present society with significant challenges. Governments must urgently provide policies that encourage investment in new technologies and energy conservation.
These policies fall into three broad categories: regulations for energy efficiency; putting a price on CO2 emissions; and targeted incentives to speed up the development of promising new technologies.
So companies like Shell must work to make a diversified mix on energy sources fit for the world's purpose. That purpose is enough energy to support economies while avoiding the damage of climate change.
That is why Shell has such a broad range of technology developments, from clean coal, to making oil sands less carbon intensive, to later generation biofuels that make biofuel from crop waste, to wind, to thin film solar and to hydrogen.
No single company or industry can meet the challenge of satisfying the world's rising demand for energy while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An interesting peice by the Chairman of Shell. Is the capitalist market system, which has created and nurtured the crisis, capable of resolving it? Without gross social injustice and war?

Monday 15 October 2007

Plaudits for Gore

" Climate change campaigner Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have been jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The committee cited 'their efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change'.
Mr Gore, 59, said he was 'deeply honoured' while IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri said he was 'overwhelmed'.
Mr Gore was behind a blockbuster film on climate change while the IPCC is the top authority on global warming.
Announcing the award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised the recipients' efforts to 'lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract [climate] change'.
It said it wanted to bring the 'increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states' posed by climate change into sharper focus. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is excellent news, coming soon after the judge's ruling about showing An Inconvenient Truth in schools. Particularly the recognition of the work of the IPCC and linking it to Gore's efforts. Importantly, the potential link between peace and global climate change.

Friday 12 October 2007

It's Getting More Humid

"Humidity increases could affect weather around the world The atmosphere is becoming more humid in a pattern consistent with man-made climate change, researchers have found.
Their study, reported in the journal Nature, confirms the global increase in humidity found in previous studies.
They say that the pattern of humidity increases in various parts of the world resembles that projected by computer models of man-made global warming.
Water vapour is a greenhouse gas, and it is thought that having more of it in the air could amplify temperature rise.
The major report released earlier this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that this amplification was the largest 'positive feedback' mechanism they had identified."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Yet another bit of scientific research with valuable findings for understanding the global climate changes.

Thursday 11 October 2007

An Embarrassing Judgement?

"A High Court judge who ruled on whether climate change film, An Inconvenient Truth, could be shown in schools said it contains 'nine scientific errors'.
Mr Justice Burton said the government could still send the film to schools - if accompanied by guidance giving the other side of the argument.
He was ruling on an attempt by a Kent school governor to ban the film from secondary schools.
The Oscar-winning film was made by former US Vice-President Al Gore.
The nine errors alleged by the judge included:
Mr Gore's assertion that a sea-level rise of up to 20 feet would be caused by melting of ice in either West Antarctica or Greenland 'in the near future'. The judge said this was 'distinctly alarmist' and it was common ground that if Greenland's ice melted it would release this amount of water - 'but only after, and over, millennia'.
Mr Gore's assertion that the disappearance of snow on Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa was expressly attributable to global warming - the court heard the scientific consensus was that it cannot be established the snow recession is mainly attributable to human-induced climate change.
Mr Gore's reference to a new scientific study showing that, for the first time, polar bears had actually drowned 'swimming long distances - up to 60 miles - to find the ice'. The judge said: 'The only scientific study that either side before me can find is one which indicates that four polar bears have recently been found drowned because of a storm.'
Children's Minister Kevin Brennan had earlier said: 'It is important to be clear that the central arguments put forward in An Inconvenient Truth, that climate change is mainly caused by man-made emissions of greenhouse gases and will have serious adverse consequences, are supported by the vast weight of scientific opinion. Nothing in the judge's comments today detract from that.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It would be interesting to know the process by which the Judge assessed the validity or otherwise of the scientific evidence in the film. He was ruling on a legal educational point, but that ruling must have looked at the science in detail. Apart from the science, the film is also very much an Al Gore puff, which makes you cringe. Nevertheless, on balance, it has done a very important job of raising public awareness of the climate change issues.

Wednesday 10 October 2007

Taxing Half-Empty Planes

" Air taxes will be switched from individual passengers to airline flights to encourage more efficient use of planes. The new tax will take effect from November 2009. Chancellor Alistair Darling said the measure would help tackle climate change, one of the 'two great challenges for this generation'.
'I propose that aviation makes a greater contribution in respect of its environmental impact,' he said.
The government is also launching a consultation on how to link the tax to the distance the flight is travelling.
'A tax that penalises airlines for flying half-empty planes makes a lot of sense, but the Government's support for the unrestrained expansion of UK airports seriously undermines its credibility,' said John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace.
Easyjet warned the government not to increase the overall levels of tax from airline passengers but accepted the need for reform.
'A tax that penalises families but excludes private jets and charges passengers travelling to Marrakech the same as those travelling to Melbourne, is just plain wrong,' said Andy Harrison, chief executive of Easyjet.
However, Ryanair criticised the announcement. 'This is just another tax on ordinary passengers from Government ministers swanning around on private aircraft,' the company said in a statement. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A step in the right direction.

Wednesday 3 October 2007

More Melting Ice

" The giant Ayles Ice Island drifting off Canada's northern shores has broken in two - far earlier than expected.
In a season of record summer melting in the region, the two chunks have moved rapidly through the water - one of them covering 98km (61 miles) in a week.
Their progress has been tracked amid fears they could edge west towards oil and gas installations off Alaska.
The original Manhattan-sized berg (16km by five km; 10 miles by three miles) broke off the Ayles Ice Shelf in 2005.
I (David Shukman) joined a team that landed on the ice island in May to carry out the first scientific investigation into what many see as a key indicator of global warming.
It is an unsettling thought that the very ice we landed on - and filmed on - for several hours has since ripped apart.
One of the scientists on that mission was Luke Copland of the University of Ottawa, and he told BBC News that the fact that the island had headed south was significant.
Dr Copland said that the island had travelled so far south because of the small extent of Arctic ice this summer, influenced in turn by warmer conditions.
'The low sea-ice conditions this year have played a role. The sea-ice normally blocks ice inflow into the Queen Elizabeth Islands, but with less ice this year it has made it easier for the Ice Island to make its way in.'
And his conclusion is clear: unlike ice islands which in the past might have lasted in the Arctic Ocean for 50 years or more, this one is destined to be shorter-lived. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is remarkable and dramatic evidence of changing temperatures in the Arctic regions.

Thursday 13 September 2007

Better Driving Can Help

" Is it possible to save the planet by sticking to the speed limit? The government's transport advisors think so.
The Commission for Integrated Transport argues that emissions from cars and lorries still outweigh by some way those from air travel, though aviation is growing as a source of carbon dioxide.
The theory is that the way you drive can be as important as what you drive, and how much you drive it.
By way of an experiment, we went to the Ford test track at Dunton in Essex, to break the speed limit.
Drive at 80mph on a motorway and it is claimed your car will pump out significantly more carbon dioxide than at 70.
With a technician plugged into the car's engine via a laptop, I drove a series of laps, maintaining 70 and then 80 on the two straightest sections.
The result? The car produced a third more CO2 getting from one end of the track to the other at 80 than it did at 70.
But there's more. Research suggests turning on the air conditioning uses 10% more fuel, therefore producing CO2.
Unfortunately keeping cool by lowering your car windows also increases fuel consumption, as does keeping the roof rack on after that family holiday.
Most of all, driving smoothly is the key to an environmentally-friendly motoring life.
Gentle on the accelerator, thinking ahead, judging the distance to the lights, and stopping without a jolt. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Car driving is an interesting illustration of attitudes to saving energy. To a minority, driving is a macho thing, and energy savings and carbon use don't come into the equation at all. Reducing energy consumption, minimising the 'carbon footprint', and living in an environmentally-friendly way are part of an attitude towards life that implies responsibility towards others. Something we should accept irrespective of global warming? Just as road safety and the well-being of others should be a concern for drivers, as well as energy efficiency.

Wednesday 12 September 2007

Polar Bears Under Threat

" Two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be gone by the middle of the century, says a US government agency.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) says parts of the Arctic are losing summer ice so fast that no bears will be able to live there within several decades.
Scientists believe Arctic ice will hit a record low this year.
The USGS surveyed evidence on the decline of Arctic summer ice, which has accelerated in the last decade, and the projections of climate models.
Based on this, they concluded that some areas where polar bears now roam, such as the Barents Sea north of Norway and Russia, would be unable to support the animals at all by the middle of the century.
The bears might persist in other regions; but about 40% of the summer habitat will be gone by 2050, and with it, two-thirds of the current population, the USGS concludes.
Last month, scientists at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center said Arctic summer ice was almost 30% below the long-term average, and predicted 2007 would show the lowest ice cover on record. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The potential impact of human-induced climate change on biodiversity is a major threat. Urgent action is required to halt the current trend. It can't be turned round overnight, but the present efforts are insufficient.

Tuesday 11 September 2007

Symbolic Not Concrete

" Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in Sydney have agreed an 'aspirational" goal to restrain the rise of greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change.
China and the US - two of the world's biggest polluters - are among the 21 nations that have signed the statement, which contains no firm commitments.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard called it 'a very important milestone. towards an international deal.'
Environmentalists said the declaration was symbolic rather than concrete. 'The world needs to slow, stop and then reverse the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions,' said Saturday's statement by the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum.
The Apec statement included a non-binding goal of reducing 'energy intensity' - the amount of energy used to produce a dollar of gross domestic product - by at least 25% by 2030.
The leaders also called for increased forest cover in the Asia-Pacific region of at least 20m hectares (50m acres) by 2020.
And they agreed greenhouse gas reduction strategies should reflect 'differences in economic and social conditions' in each country.
But Greenpeace said the agreement was a 'distraction' rather than a 'declaration'.
A spokeswoman for the organisation, Catherine Fitzpatrick, said: 'Without supporting binding targets for developed countries, which is where the rubber really hits the road on climate action, it looks like a political stunt by John Howard.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

More fine words and hopes, but whether this outcome of the APEC meeting is significant remains to be seen. There is a haunting suspicion and fear that the enormity of the scale of the climate change threat is simply not being recognised and dealt with realistically.

Monday 10 September 2007

Pantomime Relief

" The BBC has scrapped plans for Planet Relief, a TV special on climate change. The decision comes after executives said it was not the BBC's job to lead opinion on climate change.
Celebrities such as Ricky Gervais were said to be interested in presenting the show, which would have involved viewers in a mass 'switch-off' to save energy.
The BBC says it cut the special because audiences prefer factual output on climate change. Environmentalists slammed the decision as 'cowardice'.
'This decision shows a real poverty of understanding among senior BBC executives about the gravity of the situation we face,' said activist and writer Mark Lynas.
'The only reason why this became an issue is that there is a small but vociferous group of climate 'sceptics' lobbying against taking action, so the BBC is behaving like a coward and refusing to take a more consistent stance.'
'It is absolutely not the BBC's job to save the planet,' warned Newsnight editor Peter Barron at the Edinburgh Festival last month.
Head of TV news Peter Horrocks, writing in the BBC News website's editors' blog, commented: 'It is not the BBC's job to lead opinion or proselytise on this or any other subject.'
However, executives associated with Planet Relief, developed under the aegis of BBC Comedy, said the aim was not to campaign but to 'raise consciousness' about the science of climate change, and to offer them the opportunity to take part in a mass temporary 'switch-off' of electrical equipment.
Negotiating this with the National Grid had taken over a year, as engineers feared the switch-off might overload parts of the network.
Many blogs run by climate sceptics groups regularly accuse the BBC of bias and of ignoring evidence which runs against the idea that elevated levels of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel burning and land clearance are raising temperatures around the world. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's interesting to learn that the dumped programme was being produced by BBC Comedy. There's no doubt that the 'climate change sceptics' have been attacking the BBC for alleged bias. And it is also clear that the BBC have backed-off and toned down their coverage of climate change topics. A pantomime indeed.

Friday 7 September 2007

A Tangled Web

"The government is raising billions of pounds more in green taxes than it needs to remove the UK's "carbon footprint", a report says.
The Taxpayers' Alliance said emissions in 2005 had done damage worth an estimated Ł11.7bn, but green taxes and charges in that year had made Ł21.9bn.
It claimed ministers were 'cynically' raising revenue rather than using the money to improve the environment.
But the Treasury said the pressure group's claims were 'ridiculous'. 'The government's definition of environmental taxes includes those taxes that are designed to primarily have an environmental impact - the climate change levy, aggregates levy and landfill tax. In arguing against these taxes, the Taxpayers' Alliance are being doubly dangerous - it would mean cuts to public services, schools and hospitals, as well as higher carbon emissions leading to accelerated climate change.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's a plague on both your houses.The Taxpayers' Alliance, in order to make a point, have used a very narrow definition of what constitute environmental taxes. Thus the TA would have us believe the Government are cynically raising revenue for non-environmental purposes. For their part, the Government claim they are doing all that is needed to safeguard the environment - another deception.

Thursday 6 September 2007

Pressures Within African National Parks

" National parks in Africa, originally set up to conserve endangered species, are failing to protect wildlife within their boundaries, a study claims.
Researchers say a decline in the number of large mammals, such as antelopes, was a result of increased pressures on the reserves'.
They said the parks faced an uncertain future as a greater number of people increased the demand for resources.
The study has been published in the African Journal of Ecology.
"For years, wildlife managers and biologists in Africa have known that large mammals were disappearing outside reserves," ecologists Tim Caro and Paul Scholte wrote. "But now a raft of studies are showing that we have moved beyond this to the next step - we are losing species from many of Africa's national parks. What the new data show is even relatively well-organised protected areas cannot be relied on as long-lasting conservation tools,' they added.
The pair, from the University of California, Davis, US, and Leiden University, Netherlands, examined a number of studies tracking the decline of antelopes.
They warned that there was 'no easy solution' to halt the decline in antelope numbers.
'We may have to get used to a relaxation in Africa's network of famous reserves, leaving a continent containing isolated pockets of large mammal diversity living at low population sizes - just like Europe.'"
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A worrying report. The problems for wildlife are now even encroaching on the reserves set up to support wildlife. The comment about Europe is also a concern. If we are not careful, wildlife will gradually become limited to small areas - providing a habitat almost as unnatural as zoos. Better, far better, than nothing, but not the same.

Wednesday 5 September 2007

Problems With Peatlands

" Severe erosion and climate change could result in a vast volume of carbon from the UK's peatlands being released into the atmosphere, scientists have warned.
Hotter summers and wetter winters could result in the habitat, described as the 'most severely eroded in the world', becoming even less stable, they said.
But if areas were conserved properly, they could actually help the UK reduce emissions, the paper's authors added.
The study was presented at the Royal Geographical Society's annual meeting.
The UK scientists, from the universities of Manchester and Durham, said the bogs and peatlands of northern Britain stored more than 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon.
'Peatlands are areas where there is a high water table, and because of this you get low oxygen conditions within the saturated area that prevents organic materials from breaking down,' explained Martin Evans, the paper's lead author.
'If you take the current rate of carbon loss as a result of badly eroded areas and apply this across the whole of the UK's peatlands then you lose about 1.5 million tonnes of carbon each year - that's the worst-case scenario.' Dr Evans said the shift in climatic conditions could lead to higher rates of erosion on the landscapes. 'Erosion is caused by things that stress the vegetation layer, which might be pollution or grazing, but it is also climate dryness in particular. On the other side of the climate coin is more intense rainfall, which also means that there is more erosive power.'
He said these factors could lead to a substantial volume of carbon dioxide being released from the bogs into the atmosphere.
To understand the impact of erosion on peatlands' ability to store carbon, the team selected two sites - one in the northern Pennines, and the other in the southern reaches of the uplands.
The northern location, Rough Sike, is in the Moorhouse Nature Reserve, one of the UK's most studied moorlands.
The southern Pennine site, Upper North Grain, was situated in an area that was among the nation's most degraded.
The National Trust has been installing a series of small dams in gullies. The dams create small pools that allow peat sediment to settle and grasses and mosses to recover. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The more familiar environmental problem with peat has been the ravaging of peatlands to supply horticultural peat. This misuse of peat has been recognised and curtailed. The present paper identifies another problem - the release of carbon from the peatlands. This report of the scientific study is not clear: it reads as though the carbon loss is due to both carbon dioxide release from the peat into the atmosphere, and to physical erosion of the peatlands by various agents including climate changes and direct effects. This account does not clearly explain the processes involved. Nevertheless, it is a valuable contribution to conservation studies.

Tuesday 4 September 2007

The Environment is Global,Too

" The waters are extraordinarily clear, and you can stare down several feet to watch the fish dart around the river bottom. A swan hisses as we pass. It is a very peaceful experience canoeing down the Rospuda River in north-east Poland.
But environmental campaigners warn it could soon be desecrated by diggers and bulldozers, by the huge legs of a motorway bridge. Then its clear waters will be muddied with the pollution of thousands of vehicles a day thundering overhead.
The campaigners hope a European Court ruling in early September will follow the strong lead given by the European Commission and instruct the Polish government to officially stop work on a planned bypass around the town of Augustow.
A full judgement would then follow in perhaps a couple of years. The motorway either side of this area is still being built but work on the bypass, due to begin on 1 August, has been put on hold.
The area is not just beautiful and serene. It is covered by the Natura 2000 European directive, intended to protect wildlife and wild habitats.
The Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (OTOP) says the area is home to two types of rare eagles as well as buzzards, kingfishers and other rare species.
In the nearby Augustow Forest about 36 wolves roam wild, along with elk and lynx. There are rare plants including several types of orchid. Environmentalists also claim that the land itself is unique, perhaps the last pristine example of peat bog in Europe."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The strong reaction against the Eu 'interfering' in Poland's environmenal matters is hardly surprising. But threats to the environment are of concern to us all, the whole world, and not only the immediate locality. Globalisation works not only for business, commerce and market, but for the environment too.

Monday 3 September 2007

A Better Model?

" Climate change may carry a higher risk of flooding than was previously thought, the journal Nature reports.
Researchers say efforts to calculate flooding risk from climate change do not take into account the effect carbon dioxide (CO2) has on vegetation.
Higher atmospheric levels of this greenhouse gas reduce the ability of plants to suck water out of the ground and "breathe" out the excess.
Plants expel excess water through tiny pores, or stomata, in their leaves.
Their reduced ability to release water back into the atmosphere will result in the ground becoming saturated.
Areas with higher predicted rainfall have a greater risk of flooding. But this effect also reduces the severity of droughts.
The findings suggest computer models of future climate change may need to be revised in order to plan for coming decades.
A team led by Dr Richard Betts from the Met Office has modelled how this will affect climate change predictions.
'It's a double-edged sword,' said Dr Betts, 'it means that increases in drought due to climate change could be less severe as plants lose less water.
On the other hand, if the land is saturated more often, you might expect that intense rainfall events are more likely to cause flooding.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report is saying that computer models of climate change have not included such a basic bit of information as the way plants operate. This is Fifth Form science. Another worrying aspect of climate modelling, which should make us ever more wary of the accuracy of predictions.They are only as good as the models the use.

Friday 31 August 2007

Tidying Away The Hedgehogs

"Hedgehogs and house sparrows have been included on an updated list of species and habitats which need protection.
The new Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) has identified 1,149 species and 65 habitats in the UK as being in need of conservation and greater protection.
When the action plan was launched in 1997, it listed 577 species - half the number included in the updated version.
Wildlife experts said this was a result of wider research and not necessarily down to more habitat being destroyed.
Other animals added to the list for the first time include the grass snake and the garden tiger moth; while otters, bottlenose dolphins and red squirrels are deemed to remain in need of habitat protection.
A separate study, also published on Tuesday, also highlighted the decline in the UK's hedgehog population. The study by the University of London for the People's Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society listed tidier gardens and urbanisation as key factors affecting the fall in the number of the small mammals. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A reminder that global human-induced climate change is not the only factor which may affect the prevalence and survival of species.The rapid decline in numbers of some once-common species - house sparrows, starlings and now hedgehogs, is alarming. Not as earth-shattering as the effects of climate change, but a clear signal that something is going wrong. In the case of hedgehogs, the finger is pointed at tidier gardens, or perhaps more accurately 'low-maintenance' gardens.

Thursday 30 August 2007

Encouraging Individuals

" Households should receive council tax rebates to encourage them to install solar panels and wind turbines, an independent think tank claims.
The New Local Government Network says planning laws should be relaxed to increase the take-up of green energy.
It also suggests local authorities could offer interest-free loans towards the cost of installation.
But the Campaign to Protect Rural England says precious landscapes must be safeguarded.
Currently the government offers a grant of up to 30% towards the cost of installing wind turbines or solar panels.
It has also been consulting on whether they should be permitted without planning permission where the impact on neighbours is minimal.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England says it has no objection to using the planning system to encourage domestic renewable energy generation.
But it believes simple energy-efficient measures in existing buildings would be cheaper and more effective in reducing carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The proposals are positive and a welcome potential addition to the range of efforts being made to control global warming.These micro-energy generation options are akin to reduce - reuse - recycle activities in the fundamental matter of the individual / communal balance. Both sides of the equation are important, and they are closely related.

Wednesday 29 August 2007

Is This Enough?

" Delegates from more than 150 countries are meeting in Vienna to discuss ways to widen and extend the United Nations Kyoto protocol on climate change.
The senior UN official on the issue says the talks will show how committed countries are to making progress.
The United Nations' senior climate change official Yvo de Boer says the talks in Vienna will give an indication as to whether countries are willing to move forward towards launching real negotiating on taking forward the Kyoto protocol after it expires in 2012.
That decision is expected to take place in Bali at the end of the year.
This Vienna meeting is also due to discuss the new UN report looking at the financial aspects of climate change over the next 25 years.
The report says that by 2030 additional investments of around $200bn a year will be needed to hold greenhouse gas emissions to the current level. Meanwhile a number of developing countries are concerned at the slow pace of progress.
Lesotho's Minister of Natural Resources Monyane Moleleki said the number of droughts in his country had increased significantly since 1978 and that summers were getting progressively warmer. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The international debates and decision-making about climate change seem to take place at a leisurely pace. One wonders whether the talks even keep up with the rate of climate change. Perhaps this is all under control, things are going well, and human-induced global warming is being brought nicely and gently to a halt, no sweat. Or is it?

Tuesday 28 August 2007

Do As We Pay

" Rich nations should be absolved from the need to cut emissions if they pay developing countries to do it on their behalf, a senior UN official has said.
The controversial suggestion from Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has angered environmental groups.
They say climate change will not be solved unless rich and poor nations both cut emissions together.
But Mr de Boer said the challenge was so great that action was needed now. 'We have been reducing emissions and making energy use more efficient in industrialised countries for a long time,' he told BBC News.
'So it is quite expensive in these nations to reduce emissions any more. But in developing nations, less has been done to reduce emissions and less has been done to address energy efficiency," Mr de Boer observed.
So it actually becomes economically quite attractive for a company, for example in the UK, that has a target to achieve this goal by reducing emissions in China.'
He said rich nations should be able to buy their way out of 100% of their responsibilities - though he doubted that any country would want to do so.
Green groups said the proposal was against the spirit of the UN, which agreed that wealthy countries - who were responsible for climate change - should do most to cure it.
Mike Childs from Friends of the Earth said: 'This proposal simply won't deliver the cuts we need in time. The scientists are telling us that we need to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) by 50-80% by 2050.
Unless rich countries start to wean themselves off fossil fuels right away this won't happen.'
Doug Parr of Greenpeace was equally critical of Mr de Boer's suggestion.
'The current trading system is not delivering emissions reductions as it is,' he said. 'Expanding it like this to give rich countries a completely free hand will simply not work.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It seems that this proposal may be a recipe for action on global climate change at the expense of social justice. And the problem with this approach is that it may spark a reaction from the poorer countries which exacerbates global conflict.

Monday 27 August 2007

Set Aside Set Aside ?

" The UK government has to make a decision very soon on the future of an arcane farming subsidy called set-aside.
Although it sounds of little interest to the non-farming public, conservationists say it has, accidentally, become a powerful environmental tool - and stopping it could be devastating to some of our rarest wildlife.
On a blustery, misty Leicestershire day, Dr Alistair Leake, from the Game Conservancy Trust, shows me a strip of tussocky grass in a field, and explains this beetle bank is a natural insecticide system - and a benefit of set-aside.
Every winter, the beetles take cover; every summer they leave their home to go to eat greenfly in the fields. Dr Leake manages the Trust's 323-hectare (800 acre) estate in Loddington.
The farm is used to research new techniques that enhance food production and conservation. ave Turley, head of alternative crops at the Central Sceince Laboratory, says we need to think long-term about prioritising our needs - inevitably, wildlife could suffer to produce low-carbon crops that will help with the nation's energy goals.
'It's quite clear that in some cases we're going to have to accept there will be some environmental hits which we will have to accept because of the benefits,' he says.
But organisations like the RSPB say the set-aside system has been a boon for wildlife. Highly endangered birds such as the stone curlew have prospered on set-aside land, which has also provided food for skylarks and cirl buntings. They ask what happens to the birds when the set-aside goes? "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

How the wheel turns! This report makes an important point. Set aside has been a very positive concept environmentally, helping to repair some of the damage done decades earlier by farming techniques. It is essential to find ways of retaining the benefits.

Friday 24 August 2007

Mixed Messages

"Brazil's government has promised to investigate allegations that its policy of settling landless communities in the Amazon is encouraging deforestation.
Greenpeace has claimed that some of these areas are being exploited by logging companies, after what it says was an eight-month investigation.
Brazil's environment ministry says deforestation in those areas is falling but it will investigate the claims.
The government says land distribution to the poor is an important objective.
But Greenpeace says the implementation of the policy is encouraging uncontrolled logging and deforestation in some parts of the Amazon.
Greenpeace claims the government's land reform agency, Incra, is setting aside areas for land settlement that are of great value to the timber industry, instead of placing people on land that has already been cleared.
The allegation comes at a time when the government is celebrating news that deforestation in the Amazon in the 12 months to July 2006 fell by 25%.
Environment Minister Marina da Silva has promised the claims will be fully investigated, but the government says satellite images show deforestation in settlement areas has been falling, not rising."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

So who do we believe? The Brazilian government environment ministry, Greenpeace, or Incra ? It does rather seem that someone is trying to profit in a cunning way from the deforestation programme. Comments by the environment minister that the Greenpeace claims will be 'fully investigated' produce a wry smile.

Thursday 23 August 2007

More Recycling Bins

" Plans to boost the number of recycling bins placed next to public litter bins have been proposed by the government.
The voluntary initiative, covering England, would target locations such as streets, car parks, shopping centres and entertainment venues.
The scheme is aimed at increasing the amount of recycling people do when they are not at home.
Local authorities have backed the idea but question whether it would work without additional funding.
The government has highlighted some existing schemes, which it says work well, including:
The City of London which provides nine 'commuter bins' for newspapers near train stations
The Eden Project environmental centre in Cornwall which has placed banks of wheelie bins around its site, labelled for segregation of materials
Manchester airport which has recycling bins for paper to encourage passengers to recycle newspapers and magazines
Chester City Council which has installed 'green space' recycling bins at parks, riversides and villages
Eastgate Shopping Centre in Basildon, Essex, which has set up 'reverse vending machines' for plastic bottles and aluminium cans "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An excellent proposal to extend recycling. But additional government funding should be available at least to help start these schemes.

Wednesday 22 August 2007

Change - Good or Bad?

"Climate change is to blame for a drop in the number of some birds that visit Britain each winter, the RSPB says.
The charity said many wildfowl no longer needed to migrate as far as the UK from places like Greenland and Siberia because of warmer winters.
Numbers of seven regular visitors, including the shelduck, mallard and turnstone, are declining, it warned.
But the overall number of waterbirds wintering in the UK has doubled since the late 1970s, a report adds.
The State of the UK's Birds 2006 report, says in particular the number of wading birds including the black-tailed godwit and the avocet, had increased markedly, mainly due to action by conservationists.
Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director, said: 'The UK has had both the perfect climate and perfect habitats for these birds, but the evidence is growing that climate change impacts are starting to bite.
'Sea level rise and warmer winters are reducing their numbers, undermining our importance for birds.'
The report said climate change's affect on migration patterns had already been 'particularly noted' in Northern Ireland with declines of pochard and Bewick's swan.
It is feared the areas used for winter nesting and feeding instead do not have the same food availability and may affect bird populations in the long term. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report illustrates an important general point about climate change, human-induced or otherwise. It isn't necessarily a 'bad thing'. If these birds can find a living without travelling as far as Britain, good luck to them. Perhaps it means a diminution in birdwatching opportunities with these species in the UK,but that per se is not bad. However, the last sentence of the report contains a key warning. It reminds us that environmental changes of any kind are complex, and there may be longer-term problems arising which over-ride the initial neutral impact of the changes.

Tuesday 21 August 2007

Not a Trivial Matter

" Scientists have painted the first detailed picture of Atlantic ocean currents crucial to Europe's climate.
Using instruments strung out across the Atlantic, a UK-led team shows that its circulation varies significantly over the course of a year.
Writing in the journal Science, they say it may now be possible to detect changes related to global warming.
The Atlantic circulation brings warm water to Europe, keeping the continent 4-6C warmer than it would be otherwise.
As the water reaches the cold Arctic, it sinks, returning southwards deeper in the ocean.
Last year the same UK-led team published evidence that the circulation may have weakened by about 30% over half a century.
But that was based on historical records from just five sampling expeditions, raising concerns that the data was not robust enough to provide a clear-cut conclusion.
All five of the historical flow values documented in last year's paper, for example, fit within the range of variability measured here, making it very hard to argue that these observations found a long-term trend.
Making the measurements has not been a trivial matter.
Early in 2004, NOC researchers deployed 19 sets of instruments during a voyage across the Atlantic at 26.5 degrees North, from the north-western coast of Africa to the Bahamas.
US investigators subsequently installled further moorings on the western side of the ocean.
Each set of instruments is strung out along a cable which is tethered to the sea floor at the bottom end, and to a float at the top.
The exact instruments used vary between moorings, but typically they measure flow, salinity, temperature and water pressure.
The instruments were left in place for just over a year, then the team made a second cruise to recover data."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A good example of the painstaking patient work required in scientific research, especially research about the global climate. Getting accurate meaningful data is often difficult. Interpreting that data has to be done cautiously and carefully. Conclusions must be in accordance with the scientific significance of the data, and be qualified appropriately. This way we will gradually develop our understanding of the global climate. The process has to be balanced against the potential urgency of the problem. Sweeping generalisations and rash ill-considered conclusions are counter-productive.

Monday 20 August 2007

A Stick of Rock is Better

" Wildlife campaigners are asking British holidaymakers not to buy any souvenirs abroad which they think may have been made from a protected species.
The conservation charity WWF says purchasing items such as coral and elephant ivory carvings is catastrophic for wildlife, as well as illegal.
UK customs confiscated 163,000 illegal wildlife trade items - many made from endangered species - in the last year.
The WWF's warning comes at the height of the holiday season, as thousands of British tourists head for numerous countries.
It said tourists should consider carefully their choice of souvenir and whether it was likely to have been made out of endangered flora or fauna. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An important reminder. There are of course plently of alternative souvenirs other than those than endanger local wildlife. Items that support the indigenous culture - not manufactured specially for gullible tourists as part of the tourism 'industry'.

Friday 17 August 2007

Chernobyl - Paradise Regained ?

"The idea that the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has created a wildlife haven is not scientifically justified, a study says.
Recent studies said rare species had thrived despite raised radiation levels as a result of no human activity.
But scientists who assessed the 1986 disaster's impact on birds said the ecological effects were 'considerably greater than previously assumed'.
The findings appear in the Royal Society's journal, Biology Letters.
The paper's authors, Anders Moller of University Pierre and Marie Curie, France, and Tim Mousseau from the University of South Carolina, US, said their research did not support the idea that low-level radiation was not affecting animals.
A recent paper published in the American Scientist magazine suggested that plants and animals were better off in the exclusion zone than specimens outside the 30km radius surrounding the site of the destroyed nuclear reactor.
One of the paper's co-authors, Robert Baker from the Texas Tech University, said that the benefits for wildlife from the lack of human activity outweighed the risks of low-level radiation.
Professor Mousseau acknowledged Professor Baker's description: 'It is true that the Chernobyl region gives the appearance of a thriving ecosystem because of its protection from other human activities.
However, when you do controlled ecological studies, what we see is a very clear signature of negative effects of contamination on diversity and abundance of organisms.
We clearly need to be applying scientific method to ecological studies before we can conclude, based on anecdotal observations, that there are no consequences.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The sting is in the tail of this report. The impact of the Chernobyl disaster on wildlife in the region is manifestly complex. Here we have alternative, or differing, accounts of what is actually happening.The bottom line is that rigorous scientific methodology is paramount. Before reaching conclusions, the analysis must be based on accurate comprehensive data and take account of all aspects of the diverse ecosystem.

Thursday 16 August 2007

Caution Needed

" Arctic sea ice is expected to retreat to a record low by the end of this summer, scientists have predicted.
Measurements made by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) showed the extent of sea ice on 8 August was almost 30% below the long-term average.
Because the region's melting season runs until the middle of September, scientists believe this summer will end with the lowest ice cover on record.
The current record low was recorded in 2005, when Arctic sea ice covered just 5.32m sq km (2.09m sq miles).
'If you look at data for the first week in August, we are way below what we saw in 2005,' explained Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist at the NSIDC.
Dr Serreze added that it was very likely that sea ice cover in the polar region was starting to respond to human induced climate change, resulting from a greater concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Sea ice has a bright surface that reflects 80% of the sunlight that strikes it back into space. However, as the ice melts during the summer, more of the dark ocean surface becomes exposed. Rather than reflecting sunlight, the ocean absorbs 90% of it, causing the waters to warm and increase the rate of melting."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report does also point out quite clearly that this is not the end of the story. The ice will probably continue disappearing up until mid-September, so the comparison between 2007 and 2005 is provisional. However, we need to exercise caution and wait for the final figures. The danger of extrapolating from one set of data, for a single year, is also evident. One swallow doesn't indeed make a summer. A pattern seems to be emerging, but the significance of the pattern must be assessed scientifically and with great caution.

Wednesday 15 August 2007

Airport Action

" More climate change campaigners are set to join protesters who have already set up a camp outside Heathrow airport.
Up to 3,000 people were expected to pitch their tents on Tuesday for a week-long protest against plans to expand the airport.
But about 150 campaigners began building the so-called Camp for Climate Action on Sunday.
In response, airport operator BAA warned it would not allow passengers to be "harassed or obstructed".
Protesters from the UK and abroad are expected to highlight their claims that the growth in air travel is a major factor in greenhouse gas emissions.
Organisers say the first few days will be taken up with 100 workshops on issues ranging from campaigning skills to practical training on how to take direct action.
A day of 'mass direct action' is scheduled for Sunday and a website supporting the camp has promised acts of 'civil disobedience'.
Gemma Davis, a spokeswoman for the Camp for Climate Change, told the BBC that the intention was not to delay holidaymakers.
'We're not here to try to disrupt passengers, we're here to try to disrupt BAA,' she said."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This direct action is inevitable given the concern over human-induced climate change, and the major impact of air travel. How effective the action will prove to be in reaching the general public consciousness, and the subsequent reaction, if any, remains to be seen.

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Beware - A Model!

" Scientists say they have developed a model to predict how ocean currents, as well as human activities, will affect temperatures over the next decade.
By including short-term natural events, such as El Nino, a UK team says it is able to offer 10-year projections.
Models have previously focused on how the globe will warm over a century.
Writing in Science, Met Office researchers project that at least half of the years between 2009 and 2014 are likely to exceed existing records.
However, the Hadley Centre researchers said that the influence of natural climatic
variations were likely to dampen the effects of emissions from human activities between now and 2009.
But over the decade as a whole, they project the global average temperature in 2014 to be 0.3C warmer than 2004."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Whilst this report is based on available data, and a scientific methodology, it is nevertheless discussing a model of climate change. So the boundary is crossed from proven facts established after scientific research, to a form of speculation or hypothesis. There is a danger in crossing this boundary, and beginning to forget we have moved from fact to speculation.

Monday 13 August 2007

Coral Reefs Disappearing

" Coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans are disappearing faster than had previously been thought, a scientific study has shown.
Nearly 1,554 sq km (600 sq miles) of reef have disappeared each year since the 1960s - twice the speed at which rainforest is being lost.
The corals are vanishing at a rate of 1% per year, a decline that has begun decades earlier than expected.
Details of the survey appear in the journal Plos One.
John Bruno and Elizabeth Selig from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, US, and colleagues, looked at reefs in a large area of ocean stretching from western Indonesia, in the Indian Ocean, to French Polynesia, in the Pacific.
The Indo-Pacific region, comprising the Indian and Pacific oceans, contains 75% of the world's coral reefs.
The researchers analysed the results of some 6,000 surveys carried out on more than 2,600 reefs.
The findings show that average coral cover declined from 40% in the early 1980s to about 20% by 2003.
Dr Bruno and Ms Selig argue that the consistent pattern of decline across the study region adds to mounting evidence that coral loss is a global phenomenon.
This is probably due to large-scale processes such as climate change, they say.
This is likely to have a major impact on many island communities, which rely on the reefs for fisheries and tourism."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A valuable research report which adds to the steadily growing mass of scientific monitoring of all aspects of the world's environment, especially the most vulnerable areas.

Friday 10 August 2007

It's Not Only Global Warming ....

"A freshwater dolphin found only in China is now 'likely to be extinct', a team of scientists has concluded.
The researchers failed to spot any Yangtze river dolphins, also known as baijis, during an extensive six-week survey of the mammals' habitat.
The team, writing in Biology Letters journal, blamed unregulated fishing as the main reason behind their demise.
If confirmed, it would be the first extinction of a large vertebrate for over 50 years.
The World Conservation Union's Red List of Threaten Species currently classifies the creature as 'critically endangered'.
Sam Turvey of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), one of the paper's co-authors, described the findings as a 'shocking tragedy'.
'The Yangtze river dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20 million years ago,' Dr Turvey explained.
'This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life and emphasises that we have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet.'
The scientists added that there were a number of human activities that caused baiji numbers to decline, including construction of dams and boat collisions.
However, the primary factor was probably unsustainable by-catch in local fisheries, which used rolling hooks, nets and electrofishing," they suggested.
'Unlike most historical-era extinctions of large bodied animals, the baiji was the victim not of active persecution but incidental mortality resulting from massive-scale human environmental impacts - primarily uncontrolled and unselective fishing," the researchers concluded. ' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report is a reminder that it's not just through warming the environment that human activity diminishes life on earth. If this extinction is a fact, it is regrettable. Why was nothing adequate done to preserve the species? What lessons and modified future behaviour will result?

Thursday 9 August 2007

Scottish Wildlife Changes

" Puffin chicks on a group of remote Scottish islands are starving to death, according to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).
Adults are not finding enough food in the sea around St Kilda, which has left their young "severely malnourished'.
The trust, which owns the archipelago, said the numbers of eggs hatching were also down.
Last month, RSPB Scotland said Scotland's seabirds were having a 'disastrous' breeding season.
Sarah Money, the NTS seabird ranger on the islands, said puffins were struggling to find their normal food of nutritious and oil rich sand eels, young herring or sprats.
'Since July, the parents have been bringing back mainly pipefish, which the chicks can't swallow. Many of the burrows contain piles of uneaten, rotting pipefish.'
She added: 'Before 2001, snake pipefish were rarely seen in Scottish waters but have been becoming increasingly common in recent years.
It is feared that this is another symptom of climate change as they are a southern species that have been extending their range northwards.
However, guillemots have done 'reasonably well' on St Kilda."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's a mistake to read too much about climate change in this set of observations. There is simply not enough evidence yet, and there are clearly conflicting indications given by the guillemots. But the patient careful science is gradually adding up.

Wednesday 8 August 2007

More Hot Weather ?

" The duration of heatwaves in Western Europe has doubled since 1880, a study has shown.
The authors of the research also discovered that the frequency of extremely hot days has nearly tripled in the past century.
The study shows that many previous assessments of daily summer temperature change underestimated heatwaves in Western Europe by about 30%.
The research appears in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres.
In the past, however, thermometers were not kept in modern Stevenson screens.
These wooden shelters protect thermometers from direct sunlight and indirect radiation coming from the ground, both of which distort temperature readings.
Once the researchers had corrected for these effects, they found a 'warm bias' in observations made prior to the introduction of these screens. In other words, temperatures were recorded as being hotter than they really were.
This in turn meant the increase in temperature over time appeared to be smaller than it actually was.
The results support the idea that the western European climate in summer is becoming more variable - that the range of temperatures had increased. 'That means we're getting stronger heatwaves or perhaps summers that are not so strong in terms of heat,' Dr Della-Marta explained, 'this is a major cause for concern.'
The heatwave experienced by Europe in 2003 had major adverse socio-economic and environmental effects.
Thousands of elderly people died. Forests were devastated by fire, water ecosystems were strained, and the total mass of Alpine glaciers shrank by 10%.
The authors say we can expect extreme weather events like this to occur more frequently in future. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

There is one aspect of this research that causes some concern. It's a re-evaluation of data from many years ago, and large correction factors have had to be applied to eliminate problems with the early data. The degree of uncertainty that this process introduces into the findings in not clear from this report.

Tuesday 7 August 2007

Are Birds Affected ?

" A rare mountain bird is to be radio tracked following concerns that its numbers are declining because of climate change.
Ring ouzels could be struggling because warmer weather is drying out soil making it harder for them to catch earthworms, according to RSPB Scotland.
Fledglings in the Cairngorms National Park are to be monitored in a project backed by other organisations.
Also known as mountain blackbirds, they winter in Spain and Morocco.
Innes Sim, RSPB research biologist and the project leader, said the decline was not thought to be linked to poor breeding.
This year the project will focus on nests in Braemar and is co-funded by Scottish Natural Heritage and supported by the Cairngorms National Park Authority. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Birds could possibly give an early indication of the impact of climate change. Many other factors could be involved, so this peice of scientific research may give valuable results.

Monday 6 August 2007

Aerosols Are Back

" Clouds of pollution over the Indian Ocean appear to cause as much warming as greenhouse gases released by human activity, a study has suggested.
US researchers used unmanned aircraft to measure the effects of the "brown clouds" on the surrounding area.
Writing in Nature, they said the tiny particles increased the solar heating of the lower atmosphere by about 50%.
The warming could be enough to explain the retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas, the scientists proposed.
The clouds contain a mixture of light absorbing aerosols and light scattering aerosols, which cause the atmosphere to warm and the surface of the Earth to cool.
The main sources of the pollutants came from wood burning and fossil fuels, the team added.
Aerosols, also known as particulates, cool the land or sea below because they filter out light from the Sun.
While this process, known as "global dimming", is fairly well understood, the effect aerosols have on the surrounding atmosphere is still unclear.
The scientists, from the University of California San Diego and the Nasa Langley Research Center, said there remained a degree of uncertainty because, until now, estimates had largely been derived from computer models. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This seems to be a confused, or garbled, account. It talks of these particulates causing as much global warming as human activity releasing greenhouse gases, but then says that the particulates originate with wood and fossil fuel burning. Nevertheless, another peice of published scientific research, which will add to our understanding of climate change.

Friday 3 August 2007

Measuring Sea level ... Accurately

" Meteorologists and climate modellers are eagerly awaiting the launch of a satellite that will be able to measure sea level rise to an unprecedented degree of precision.
Jason-2, scientists hope, will help shed light on the oceans' dynamics by measuring the topography - the "hills" and "valleys" - of the world's seas every 10 days.
The satellite's radar altimeter, Poseidon-3, is designed to measure the sea level height to within a few centimetres. It will do this from its orbit more than 1,300km above the Earth.
Data collected by Jason-2's instruments will help researchers develop more precise forecasts, improve hurricane path projections and reveal how climate change is affecting ocean currents.
But it is not only the thermal energy stored deep within the oceans that causes the variation in sea level, gravity also has an influence.
The subterranean geology is not uniform, some regions are more dense than others. This causes a subtle but significant shift in the Earth's gravitational force.
To measure the influence of gravity and its impact on ocean topography and currents, the European Space Agency (Esa) plans to launch an arrow-like satellite called the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (Goce). "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Sea level data on a global scale is clearly very important. It is another bit of the jigsaw that will help to pin down the science of human-induced global warming.

Thursday 2 August 2007

Changing Your Lifestyle .....

" The focus on reducing carbon emissions has blinded us to the real problem - unsustainable lifestyles, says Eamon O'Hara. He argues that bigger problems await us unless we shift our efforts. Eamon O'Hara is a Brussels-based policy adviser for the Irish Regions Office, which represents Irish interests in the European Union
Is it not time to recognise that climate change is yet another symptom of our unsustainable lifestyles, which must now become the focus our efforts?
Yet governments, and those organisations who have now assumed the role of combating climate change, subscribe to the notion that climate change is our central problem and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is the cause of this problem.
Undeniably, climate change is a serious problem but it is only one of a growing list of problems that arise from a fundamental global issue.
For many decades, the symptoms of unsustainable human exploitation of the natural environment have been mounting: species extinction, the loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution, soil erosion, acid rain, destruction of rainforests, ozone depletion - the list goes on.
However, by focusing on the need to reduce CO2 emissions has reduced the problem to one of carbon dioxide rather than on the unsustainable ways we live our lives.
This oversight has led to the assumption that if we reduce emissions then our problems are solved, hence the focus on carbon sequestration, renewable energies and environmental technologies.
The modern Western lifestyle also has an inbuilt dependency on the cheap resources and the low carbon footprint of developing countries, which has compounded global injustice.
Worse still, maintaining our relatively wealthy, comfortable and unsustainable lifestyles is now dependant on maintaining this imbalance.
Seventy-five percent of the world's population - more than 4.5bn people - live on just 15% of the world's resources, while we in the West gorge on the remaining 85%.
The world simply does not have the resources, renewable or otherwise, to sustain Western lifestyles across the globe.
In my view, we need to embrace this as an opportunity and not see it as a responsibility. Living a more sustainable lifestyle does not have to be a burden, as some people fear.
It could be a liberating and rewarding experience to participate in creating a better world. After all, how good do we really have it at the moment?
How many people are tired and weary of modern living? The endless cycle of earning and consumption can be exhausting and does not necessarily bring happiness and fulfillment. Can we do things differently, and better? "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is an important point. The issue is not only global warming, it's the social injustice that goes with it. But, and it's a big but, asking people to change their lifestyles is difficult for political parties and governments. It can work, for short periods to meet an overwhelming crisis eg the Second World War. But asking people to change their lifestyle, permanently, .......

Wednesday 1 August 2007

Is It or Isn't It ?

" A new analysis of Atlantic hurricanes says their numbers have doubled over the last century.
The study says that warmer sea surface temperatures and changes in wind patterns caused by climate change are fuelling much of the increase.
Some researchers say hurricanes are cyclical and the increase is just a reflection of a natural pattern.
But the authors of this study say it is not just nature - they say the frequency has risen across the century.
Scientific analyses in recent years suggest hurricane numbers have increased since the mid-1980s.
This new study, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in London, looks at the frequency of these storms from 1900 to the present and it says about twice as many form each year now compared to 100 years ago.
The authors say that man-made climate change, which has increased the temperature of the sea surface, is the major factor behind the increase in numbers.
'Over the period we've had natural variability in the frequency of storms, which has contributed less than 50% of the actual increase in our view,' said Dr Greg Holland from the United States National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, who authored the report.
'Approximately 60%, and possibly even 70% of what we are seeing in the last decade can be attributed directly to greenhouse warming,' he said.
Experts say that 2007 will be a very active season with nine hurricanes forecast, of which five are expected to be intense."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Is it, or isn't it, due at least in part to human-induced global warming? Whichever view is taken, here is more scientific evidence on which to base a considered view. The more the better.

Tuesday 31 July 2007

Probabilities not Certainties ?

"Weather forecasters will soon be able to zoom in on regions that are the size of a town, UK meteorologists have said.
Currently, accurate forecasts are limited to county-sized areas; but a supercomputer to be introduced at the Met Office will give much finer detail.
Experts said this would help planning for extreme weather events, like the UK's recent downpours, as they could pinpoint areas most likely to be hit.
The Met Office said the forecasts would be fully available by 2011.
Speaking at a press briefing in London, Dr Brian Golding, head of forecasting research at the Met Office, said: 'There are areas in which the forecasts we produce at the moment fall short of the ideal.'
He said that the forecasts issued in the hours before last week's deluge were accurate on a large scale, but, when examined in more detail, could not pinpoint the towns and rivers that would be most effected.
He said: 'We are focusing in on how to get that information better.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

No doubt there is scope for more accurate and meaningful weather forecasts. However, it is doubtful whether absolute certainty can ever be achieved, and it may be a case of improving the accuracy of the probability. And clearly, the impact of the weather depends on more than just the weather itself. For cost-effectiveness, tapping the barometer and popping outside for a quick look around may be hard to beat.

Monday 30 July 2007

It's Another Ill Wind

" Russian naval expedition on its way to explore the ocean floor below the North Pole has come to a sudden halt.
The Akademik Fyodorov research ship suffered engine failure a day after setting off from Murmansk port and is reportedly drifting in the Barents Sea.
A nuclear powered ice-breaker leading the expedition has turned back to help.
Russian experts were planning to send a mini-submarine to a depth of 4,200m (14,000 ft) to find evidence to support claims to the resource-rich territory.
Melting ice in the Arctic has raised hopes of accessing energy reserves.
Russia's claim to a vast swathe of territory in the Arctic, thought to contain oil, gas and mineral reserves, has been challenged by other powers, including the US. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Human-assisted global warming, helping to melt the arctic ice, now opens up the possibility of accessing natural carbon-based energy sources .... that can be used to fuel human-assisted global warming .....

Friday 27 July 2007

Ozone Again

" Ozone could be a much more important driver of climate change than scientists had previously predicted, according to a study in Nature journal.
The authors say the effects of this greenhouse gas - known by the formula O3 - have been largely overlooked.
Ozone near the ground damages plants, reducing their ability to mop up carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
As a consequence, more CO2 will build up in the atmosphere instead of being taken up by plants.
This in turn will speed up climate change, say the Nature authors.
This study is described as significant because it shows that O3 also has a large, indirect effect in the lower part of the atmosphere.
Research into ground-level ozone has tended to concentrate on its harmful effects on human lungs.
But the gas also damages plants, reducing their effectiveness as a 'carbon sink' to soak up excess CO2 from the atmosphere. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

So ozone is again in the scientists' sights. This time at ground level, and itself the culprit, illustrating nicely the value of continuing research and the importance of assuming nothing is completely understood.

Thursday 26 July 2007

Woolly Jumpers to the Rescue

" People are being told to wear jumpers instead of relying on patio heaters, in an attempt to cut carbon emissions.
The Energy Saving Trust has urged retailers to stop selling the heaters after a report suggesting their use will almost double over the next year.
It says the number of privately owned units in the UK will rise from 1.2 million to 2.3 million.
Each heater uses the same amount of energy in six months as a kitchen gas hob does in a year, the Trust said.
Chief executive Philip Sellwood said: 'Why don't people just wear a jumper?' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is quite a difficult area. In as much as it is a lifestyle thing, which people feel they should be allowed, as individuals, to choose without criticism or being made to feel 'guilty'. And if governments legislate, it's the 'nanny state'. The interface between human-induced climate change and individual free choice is an awkward one. It's also the hydra-head syndrome; stop one negative ( eg smoking in pubs) and another appears (heated patios).

Wednesday 25 July 2007

More Scientific Research ....

" Human-induced climate change has affected global rainfall patterns over the 20th Century, a study suggests.
Researchers said changes to the climate had led to an increase in annual average rainfall in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
But while countries such as Canada, Russia and northern Europe had become wetter, areas including India and parts of Africa had become drier, they added.
The findings will be published in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday.
The team of scientists from Canada, Japan, the UK and US used the patterns of the changes in different latitude bands instead of the global average.
They compared monthly precipitation observations from 1925-1999 to those generated by complex computer models to see if they could identify if human activity was affecting rainfall patterns.
'We show that anthropogenic forcing has had a detectable influence on observed changes in average precipitation within latitudinal bands,' the researchers wrote in the paper. 'These changes cannot be explained by internal climate variability or natural forcing.'
They added that natural factors, such as volcanic eruptions, had contributed to shifts in the global rainfall patterns but to a much lesser extent.
One of the paper's co-authors, Nathan Gillett of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, UK, said the team's findings helped clear up any uncertainty.
'This study shows that there has been a significant human effect on global rainfall patterns, with human influence causing a decrease in rainfall in some regions, and an increase in rainfall in others.'
However, Dr Gillett said it was not possible to make a direct link between the recent floods in the UK and human-induced climate change.
'Climate models generally predict that the UK will become wetter in winter and drier in summer,' he explained.
'In the UK we have seen a trend towards more extreme rainfall in the winter but no clear trend in summer extreme rainfall.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This sounds like another important peice of scientific research, reaching careful qualified conclusions.

Tuesday 24 July 2007

Gardens for Busy Bees

" Gardens are key habitats for the UK's nesting bumblebees, a survey suggests. Scientists have found that the bees' nests are more likely to be located in gardens than in habitats such as woodlands or grasslands.
The study, reported in the Journal of Applied Ecology, could aid bumblebee conservation work.
The brightly coloured insects have suffered a dramatic drop in numbers. In recent years, three species have become extinct in Britain.
And for at least five of the UK's 25 species, special measures are being taken to stop their numbers falling further.
Scientists believe that finding out more about the animals' habitats could help them to better understand and address some of the factors responsible for the decline. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Gardens, in the sense of 'ordinary' back and front house gardens, have gradually become an increasingly important local wildlife habit. So now the bees have need of this refuge,

Monday 23 July 2007

Green Farming for Birds

" Farmers who provide 'bed and breakfast' for wild birds could help reverse the decline in farmland species, according to results from a five-year study.
The report showed bird numbers could increase four-fold if new measures were implemented in 'green' farming schemes.
Six techniques were identified that would help reverse declines of species such as skylarks and yellow wagtails.
The report was carried out by Sustainable Arable Farming For an Improved Environment (Saffie). Research for the Ł3.5m Saffie project was carried out on 36 farms in England and Scotland.
It found that 'skylark plots' - small, bare patches in arable fields - together with strips of grasses and wild flowers on field edges, increased the numbers of some birds three or four-fold.
Plant diversity and open spaces in these strips were important because they encouraged beetles, which are sought by birds as food for their young, and allowed birds access to them.
The most recent State of the UK's Birds report painted an alarming picture of decline in farmland birds.
It said the skylark, the tree sparrow, the corn bunting and the yellowhammer were either in decline or had only stable numbers. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An excellent idea, supplementing the positive impact of 'set-aside' farm land. The decline of many bird species has been alarming, and sad. Skylarks especially, but also the house sparrow. Sparrows were regarded as almost a pest, and hardly worth mentioning as wild birds, until their numbers collapsed. Now the appearance of a sparrow is greeted with delight. Of course, this will require 'greener gardens' alongside 'greener farms' as part of a reversal strategy to help the sparrows.

Friday 20 July 2007

More Dead Seas

" This year could see the biggest 'dead zone' since records began form in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists say conditions are right for the zone to exceed last summer's 6,662 sq miles (17,255 sq km).
The dead zone is an area of water virtually devoid of oxygen which cannot support marine life.
It is caused by nutrients such as fertilisers flowing into the Gulf, stimulating the growth of algae which absorbs the available oxygen.
The volume of nutrients flowing down rivers such as the Mississippi into the Gulf has tripled over the last 50 years.
The United Nations warns that dead zones are becoming more common globally as intensive agriculture spreads.
Its 2003 Global Environment Outlook said that the number of seasonal hypoxic areas has doubled each decade since the 1960s.
The UN believes the algal blooms are having a significant impact on commercially valuable fish stocks. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is very interesting. We tend to forget it isn't just human-induced global warming that is having an impact on the environment, it's also other dodgy human activities as well.

Thursday 19 July 2007

Cooking the Books

" Ryanair has been ordered not to repeat an advertisement that played down the impact of aviation on the environment.
In a press campaign the airline claimed the airline industry 'accounts for just 2% of carbon dioxide emissions'.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ruled it breached rules on truthfulness by not explaining the figure was based on global rather than UK emissions.
Ryanair claimed the ASA was attempting to suppress an accurate statement, which it would continue to use.
Ryanair's claim that aviation made up 2% of CO2 emissions was based on global carbon dioxide emissions, the ASA said.
The UK government figures for domestic and international flights leaving the UK, put the figure at 5.5%."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Companies will of course be inclined to try to put the best face on their activities, at best by being economical with the truth. This is what advertising is about.

Wednesday 18 July 2007

The Role of the UN

" The international climate debate needs to embrace a 'new way of thinking' to tackle the problem, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged.
Too much time was being wasted arguing over 'historical responsibilities' for past emissions, Mr Ban said.
He called for both industrialised and developing nations to focus on limiting future global greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr Ban added that he would convene a climate summit to help reach consensus on a global climate action plan.
'It is time for new thinking,' he told an audience at Chatham House, the international think-tank based in London, UK. "This is an agenda that really affects the whole of human kind.
'I promise that this challenge and what we do about it will define us,' he said. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will hold its next meeting in Bali towards the end of the year.
'Business as usual is no longer an option - we must reach complete agreement,' he told the audience in central London."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The UN does much valuable work on climate change. However, it ought to have much greater clout and authority. Not only arranging conferences and providing a platform for the dissemination of scientific studies, important though that is. But a much more powerful monitoring, enforcing and strategic role.

Tuesday 17 July 2007

The Poor Shall Also Pay ....

" India has taken the first steps towards developing a national plan on tackling the effects of climate change.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired a meeting of top government officials and environmental experts which agreed to draft a national policy by October.
But the body has not set any targets to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.
India and China are among the world's largest polluters and are coming under international pressure to agree to mandatory emission cuts.
Other countries want them to make the cuts ahead of a key meeting in December.
India has long resisted signing up to any mandatory cuts, saying the impact on its growing economy will be too severe.
Under the existing Kyoto agreement, India is exempted from emission cuts. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This seems a positive and responsible step by the Indian Government. But it comes up against the problem of how much the poorer regions of the world should contribute to carbon emission reduction, when they are striving to achieve a better standard of living for millions of poor people.

Monday 16 July 2007

Sour Grapes?

" Creating wine is all about getting the balance right.
You have to find the best location, with good soil, the right range of temperature, and rain at certain times of year. You must plant the right grapes.
And then you must get lucky with the weather.
Napa Valley's temperature range makes it ideal for wine grapes So it is no wonder that winemakers are especially aware of the issue of climate change.
Some studies have suggested that the wine map could be changed completely if global warming proceeds apace over the coming decades.
In North America's most renowned wine-growing region, Napa Valley in California, current conditions are near-perfect.
'You have the climate, you have ideal soils and a history of winemaking that goes back to the turn of last century. It's a combination of those things that makes Napa Valley unique,' says Jeff Virnig, winemaker at Robert Sinskey Vineyards.
A subtle variation of temperatures and conditions in different places means 'you can pretty much grow any grape variety here in this valley'.
Some scientists say global warming could turn that all on its head.
The US study suggested that climate change could make viticulture much more successful in northern parts of Europe, at the expense of Spain, Italy and the south of France. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

In terms of the practical impact of global warming, this is probably quite a good example, with some gainers and some losers. Though overall, in the worse scenario, we will all be losers.

Friday 13 July 2007

Green Shoots in the US

" California's generous endowment of sunshine gives it a golden opportunity to exploit solar power, but the town of Sebastopol, north of San Francisco, has been particularly energised.
Its goal is to install one megawatt of solar power production across the town - equivalent to decking the roofs of 500 average-sized homes with solar panels.
It is over a third of the way there, with 380kW-worth of panels fitted so far on local government buildings, businesses and homes. One of the most eye-catching adorns the roof of the town's open-air swimming pool.
Sebastopol's Mayor Sam Pierce describes it as a 'very aggressive effort, by both the city and the community', to tackle global warming.
His city council has also set itself a target of reducing its own emissions by 42% over a 10-year period - the most ambitious target in the US and far ahead of those demanded by the Kyoto Protocol.
Mr Pierce - whose Green Party has held a majority in Sebastopol for six years - says the pressure for action is definitely bottom-up. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's reassuring to know that some US communities are well ahead of the US Government in response to global climate change.

Thursday 12 July 2007

More Science

" A new scientific study concludes that changes in the Sun's output cannot be causing modern-day climate change.
It shows that for the last 20 years, the Sun's output has declined, yet temperatures on Earth have risen.
It also shows that modern temperatures are not determined by the Sun's effect on cosmic rays, as has been claimed.
Writing in the Royal Society's journal Proceedings A, the researchers say cosmic rays may have affected climate in the past, but not the present.
'This should settle the debate,' said Mike Lockwood, from the UK's Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, who carried out the new analysis together with Claus Froehlich from the World Radiation Center in Switzerland.
Dr Lockwood initiated the study partially in response to the TV documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle, broadcast on Britain's Channel Four earlier this year, which featured the cosmic ray hypothesis."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

These research findings are a powerful antidote to the denial syndrome. What appears to be an increased output of published scientific research on climate change is a very encouraging and welcome sign.

Wednesday 11 July 2007

Spag Bol Price Hike

" Italian pasta manufacturers have warned that the price of pasta, one of Italy's staple foods, will go up by about 20% this autumn.
Global warming and the growing use of durum wheat as a bio-fuel are blamed.
Italian pasta tastes good because it is made from durum wheat, of which Italy is one of the world's main producers.
But with strong demand at home and a growing export market, Italians are increasingly forced to import high quality durum wheat from abroad.
Much comes from Canada and Syria but, according to Mario Rummo, president of the Italian pasta manufacturers association, the Canadians have said they have no more durum wheat for sale until November.
Syria, meanwhile, has just banned the export of grain. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An interesting spin-off from biofuel production: the price of spaghetti is rising.

Tuesday 10 July 2007

A Chip Off the Old Block

" Scientists in the Arctic have just carried out the first research on a huge iceberg the size of Manhattan.
Some 16km long and 5km wide (10x3 miles), Ayles Ice Island broke away from the Canadian Arctic coast in 2005, but has only recently been identified.
Researchers have now landed on the giant berg with a BBC team and planted a tracking beacon on its surface.
This will allow the island's progress to be monitored as currents push it around the Arctic Ocean.
For 3,000 years, this colossal block of ice was securely fixed to the coast as part of the Ayles Ice Shelf - but now it is drifting free.
Its current location is about 600km (400 miles) from the North Pole, in what is one of the fastest warming regions on Earth. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A dramatic story of this huge 'iceberg', and it's good news that careful scientific monitoring is in progress. It will be the accumulation and analysis of scientific data that will tell the tale ever more clearly on man-made global warming.

Monday 9 July 2007

Pop Stars Cashing-in on Climate Change? ...

" Can Madonna save the planet?
What exactly is the relationship between her and Al Gore?
Can you calculate the CO2 emissions from a pop concert? "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

On balance, the Live Earth events around the world have been useful publicity for the message of global warming. It was the rich asking the poorer to tighten their belts, while they continue their jetting-around lifestyle. But indirectly the music may help.

Friday 6 July 2007

More Evidence ...

" Scientists in Chile have blamed climate change for the sudden disappearance of a lake in the south of the country.
Park rangers who patrolled the area in the Magallanes region in March reported that the two-hectare (five-acre) glacial lake was its normal size.
But two months later they found a huge dry crater and stranded chunks of ice that previously floated on the water.
Experts now say melting glaciers put pressure on an ice wall that acted as a dam, causing it to give way.
Water in the lake flowed out of the breach into a nearby fjord and then out to the sea, said Andres Rivera, a glaciologist with Chile's Centre of Scientific Studies. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Just another little bit of scientific evidence.

Thursday 5 July 2007

More Waste ...

"The growing popularity of hi-tech devices, such as flat-screen TVs and digital radios, threaten to undermine efforts to save energy, a report says.
UK consumers spend Ł12bn a year on electronics, much of which is less efficient than older technology, a study by the Energy Saving Trust found."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The message is clear: waste reduction. It's not a hardship or a hair-shirt, it's sensible saving of money.

Monday 25 June 2007

A Small Step ...

" Leaders of the G8 nations have agreed to seek "substantial" cuts in emissions in an effort to tackle climate change.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the G8 would negotiate within a UN framework to seek a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol by the end of 2009.
No mandatory target was set for the cuts, but Mrs Merkel's preference for a 50% emissions cut by the year 2050 was included in the agreed statement.
According to an extract from the agreed text published on the G8 website, the leaders agreed to take "strong and early" action.
'Taking into account the scientific knowledge as represented in the recent IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] reports, global greenhouse gas emissions must stop rising, followed by substantial global emission reductions,' the text says.
Yvo de Boer, head of the UN's climate change division, quickly welcomed the agreement.
He told the Reuters news agency the deal augured well for a meeting to discuss a post-Kyoto consensus scheduled for Bali in December."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The agreement seems to bring the USA slowly, painfully and reluctantly towards a form of cooperation with other nations on a post-Kyoto plan.

Saturday 23 June 2007

Shock Horror Scoop

" Alarmist messages about global warming are counter-productive, the head of a leading climate research centre says.
Professor Mike Hulme, of the UK's Tyndall Centre, has been conducting research on people's attitudes to media portrayals of a catastrophic future.
He says strong messages designed to prompt people to change behaviour only seem to generate apathy.
His initial findings will be shown to a meeting run by the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
His concern is that these exaggerations have given the green light to the media to use the language of fear, terror and disaster when covering scientific reports - even when those reports are much more constrained in their description of the course of likely future events.
'My argument is about the dangers of science over-claiming its knowledge about the future and in particular presenting tentative predictions about climate change using words of 'disaster', 'apocalypse' and 'catastrophe',' he said."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The issue of the misrepresentation of scientific research findings is important and serious. It occurs in many fields, not only climate change studies. For example, medical research. It is fuelled by a generally low level of understanding of basic science by many media people, and their inability to place science findings in a proper context.

Monday 4 June 2007

Let's Do It My Way

" US President George W Bush has urged countries to agree on long-term goals for greenhouse gas emissions.
He said he would hold meetings bringing together the US and 14 other major emitters, including developing nations, to set targets by the end of 2008.
Mr Bush was speaking ahead of next week's G8 summit, where Germany is expected to call for cuts in emissions.
The US seems to be trying to set up a separate framework on climate change talks outside the G8, our correspondent says.The US has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, which sets out targets on lowering emissions until 2012.
Mr Bush also repeated that solutions to the problem of global warming would be found through the development of new technologies. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

President Bush appears to be trying to upstage the G8 talks, with a proposal which aims to postpone and avoid serious decisions. However, may be it is a negotiating ploy.

Friday 1 June 2007

Biofuel Threat to Apes

" Great apes are facing an 'inevitable crisis' arising from climate change, a leading conservationist has warned. Dr Richard Leakey said that growing pressure to switch from fossil fuels to biofuels could result in further destruction of the animals' habitats.
The great apes - gorillas, chimps, bonobos and orangutans - are already under threat from habitat destruction, poaching, logging and disease.
The Great Apes Survival Project (Grasp), a United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) initiative, has warned that great apes are at risk of imminent extinction unless drastic action is taken.
Dr Leakey said the growing pressure to turn to biofuels such as palm oil could place the great apes' habitat in further peril.
He added: 'People shrug their shoulders and say what are poor countries to do if they cannot exploit their natural resources, and I can understand this, but it is not sustainable the way it is going. ' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is another potential example of the deleterious impact of the increasing use of biofuels, which needs to be addressed.

Thursday 31 May 2007

A Test Case for Flying

"A public inquiry has begun into the British Airport Authority's (BAA) plans to expand the capacity of Stansted Airport in Essex.
BAA wants to increase passenger numbers from 25 million to 35 million a year.
Plans were rejected by Uttlesford District Council so a final decision will now be made at the inquiry.
BAA also wants permission to increase the number of air traffic movements permitted from the airport from 241,000 to 264,000 a year.
Carol Barbone, from the campaign group, said the expansion would not help the economy because it was encouraging people to go on holiday abroad.
The group said BAA's proposal of an extra 10 million passengers annually would create the same amount of additional carbon dioxide as would be saved if everybody in the UK switched from conventional to low energy light bulbs.
Gary Pearce, from the GMB Union, which represents thousands of Stansted workers, said the union welcomed the inquiry. He added: 'If Stansted doesn't keep up with recent growth, the large airlines, whose passenger numbers will increase, will go elsewhere, and that will mean job losses and damage to the local economy. Expansion means an additional 5,000 jobs at the airport, which will provide work for local families for years to come.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The public enquiry starting today is most likely a rubber stamping. The expansion will go ahead. But the trade union view is interesting. And at some point a radical change in policy on flying will emerge.

Wednesday 30 May 2007

Fair Shares of the Cost

" The UK must donate more money to poorer countries to help them cope with climate change, according to a charity.
Oxfam said Britain had pledged Ł20m in 'adaptation funds' - but needed to pay a further Ł1.2bn.
In the run-up to next month's G8 summit in Germany, Oxfam warned that Ł25bin was needed to fund projects in poor countries.
But the world's richest nations have so far pledged only Ł90m in total, the charity said.
Its report concluded developed countries should foot 80% of the bill for poorer countries to adapt."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This Oxfam report highlights a fundamental principle. In a 'global' world, which is so much to the advantage of the rich countries, those rich countries should be paying their fair share towards reducing carbon emissions and correcting the negative impact of global warming.

Tuesday 29 May 2007

The Flying Organic Strawberry

" Food flown into the UK may be stripped of organic status in a move being considered by the Soil Association. The organisation, which certifies which foods are organic, says it is looking at a number of proposals because of concern about greenhouse gas emissions.
It will outline a series of options, including an outright ban, in a consultation document next week.
Other proposals include labels showing a product's country of origin as well as carbon offsetting schemes.
Flying produce into Britain from abroad is the fastest growing form of food transport. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

There seems to be a basic confusion. Growing organic food is one thing; transporting food round the world is another. Both are issues that ought to be addressed, but in different ways.

Friday 25 May 2007

How to Fix a 'Consultation'

" Hinkley Point, in Somerset, is the best place to build a new nuclear power station, according to a confidential report commissioned by ministers.
It lists 14 suitable sites around the UK but says existing nuclear plants in Southern England are the best choice.
Independent consultants drew up a list of the most suitable sites for new nuclear plants, based on the criteria that existing nuclear power stations were the most suitable for development.
The report sets out the 'major business, economic, safety, environmental and technical factors that could influence the selection of a site'.
If the government decides to back nuclear power, it will carry out a Strategic Siting Assessment (SSA) to identify the best sites in the UK for new nuclear plants.
The government says the SSA will speed up the planning process as it will 'deal with siting matters that are sufficiently generic for them to be sensibly addressed nationally'.
Local people will still be able to object to the building of new nuclear power plants - but only on strictly local grounds, such as noise and traffic problems.
They will not be able to object on wider environmental grounds - such as the potential effects of radiation and nuclear waste.
European legislation protecting wildlife habitats must also be met.
But the issue of whether a particular location is the most suitable place to build a nuclear reactor will be off limits as it will already have been decided by the SSA. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It appears that the decision about building another generation of nuclear power stations will be a classic fix. The procedure outlined is designed to railroad through the pro-nuclear decision, with a farcical 'consultation'.

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Ice Island

" Scientists in the Arctic have just carried out the first research on a huge iceberg the size of Manhattan.
Some 16km long and 5km wide (10x3 miles), Ayles Ice Island broke away from the Canadian Arctic coast in 2005, but has only recently been identified.
Researchers have now landed on the giant berg with a BBC team and planted a tracking beacon on its surface.
This will allow the island's progress to be monitored as currents push it around the Arctic Ocean.
The team wants to know why this Ice Island formed.
For 3,000 years, this colossal block of ice was securely fixed to the coast as part of the Ayles Ice Shelf - but now it is drifting free.
Its current location is about 600km (400 miles) from the North Pole, in what is one of the fastest warming regions on Earth. Climate scientists predict that the Arctic will continue to warm - so the expectation is that the five remaining ice shelves here could also break away. The effect already is that the map of the Arctic will have to be redrawn. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It seems fortunate that this ice island has not broken away from the arctic and set sail for the Atlantic as a monster iceberg. The careful intensive monitoring of geo-physical activity all over the planet is so important in developing understanding of climate changes.

Tuesday 22 May 2007

Playing Games

"UN-hosted talks on climate change have ended in deadlock.
They were aimed at paving the way for the climate summit taking place in Bali in December which will focus on how to take forward the Kyoto Protocol.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, said: 'We have come closer to broadening negotiations on a post-2012 regime by resolving some of the outstanding issues and clarifying which building blocks of a future agreement need to be put in place.'
Experts say it is crucial that the talks go ahead as it will take several years to agree a deal to follow on from Kyoto.
Conservation group WWF criticised the meeting, saying that the 'glacial speed' at which negotiations were taking place would not slow climate change.
'Two weeks of business-as-usual talks leave us wondering what it will take for governments to respond to the alarm bells,' says Hans Verolme, director of the WWF Climate Change Programme.
The talks raise the spectre for more clashes at next month's G8 summit taking place in Germany."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Hopefully this impasse is a negotiating ploy. Or maybe it will take a monumental disaster to bang heads together.

Monday 21 May 2007

Refining the Model

" One of Earth's most important absorbers of carbon dioxide (CO2) is failing to soak up as much of the greenhouse gas as it was expected to, scientists say.
The decline of Antarctica's Southern Ocean carbon 'sink' - or reservoir - means that atmospheric CO2 levels may be higher in future than predicted.
These carbon sinks are vital as they mop up excess CO2 from the atmosphere, slowing down global warming.
The study, by an international team, is published in the journal Science.
This effect had been predicted by climate scientists, and is taken into account - to some extent - by climate models. But it appears to be happening 40 years ahead of schedule.
The data will help refine models of the Earth's climate, including those upon which the predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are based. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This scientific research report is one more important peice of evidence which will add to our accurate understanding of the ecosystem.

Friday 18 May 2007

Still Something New

" An extraordinarily diverse array of marine life has been discovered in the deep, dark waters around Antarctica.
Scientists have found more than 700 new species of marine creatures in seas once thought too hostile to sustain such rich biodiversity.
Groups of carnivorous sponges, free-swimming worms, crustaceans and molluscs were collected. The research formed part of the Andeep (Antarctic benthic deep-sea biodiversity) project, which is the first comprehensive study of Antarctic marine life.
It is designed to fill the "knowledge vacuum" that surrounds the fauna that inhabit the deeper parts of the Southern Ocean.
By comparing the species that are found in the deep-sea and those found in the shallower waters surrounding Antarctica, scientists will be able to better understand how climate and the environment these animals live in drove past evolutionary changes. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Clearly, we still don't know everything there is to know about the earth and its species. How climate change - human-induced - may affect these species, and others yet to be discovered, is therefore another uncertain factor. Even more reason to exercise care in the way we manage the global environment.

Thursday 17 May 2007

What about the rest?

" The UK is failing to protect many of its most vulnerable habitats and species, a government advisory group has warned.
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee said 90% of key habitats and 50% of species at risk were affected.
The group is carrying out an audit of habitats and species identified by the EU as vulnerable, rare or endangered.
Under the EU's habitats directive, 500 sites in the UK have been identified as important for rare, endangered or vulnerable plants or wildlife. But there are now 170 in the UK considered so vulnerable they have been given priority status.
They include the coastal lagoons of the Fleet in Dorset, the north Norfolk coast and the Caledonian forests of the Cairngorms. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This study seems to be looking at the top 'prestige' sites. But so many tiny local wildlife habitats are being threatened by road and building developments. In total, these add up to a significant loss.

Wednesday 16 May 2007

Consumer Durables Take Note

" Governments should tax plasma screen televisions because of the large amount of energy they consume, according to a leading expert on climate change.
Professor Paul Ekins, who studies the economics of climate change, said taxing plasma screens would reflect their 'greater climate change burden'.
A cathode-ray tube TV costs about Ł25 per year to run and accounts for 100kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, whereas a plasma TV costs about Ł100 per year and accounts for 400kg of CO2.
He also singled out patio heaters as especially energy-intensive. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A nice example of a practical step that could be taken. Action might also stimulate an increased move away from the new carbon-intensive products. It doesn't have to stifle research and development; it could shift it in a more eco-friendly direction.

Tuesday 15 May 2007

Stop Crying Wolf

" Alarmist messages about global warming are counter-productive, the head of a leading climate research centre says.
Professor Mike Hulme, of the UK's Tyndall Centre, has been conducting research on people's attitudes to media portrayals of a catastrophic future.
He says strong messages designed to prompt people to change behaviour only seem to generate apathy.
His initial findings will be shown to a meeting run by the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
'My argument is about the dangers of science over-claiming its knowledge about the future and in particular presenting tentative predictions about climate change using words of 'disaster', 'apocalypse' and 'catastrophe',' he said. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is an important point, though hardly a new one except for the context of climate change. The media are mostly at fault, though there is also a tendency among a minority of scientists to overstate their findings, which the media inevitably are glad to pick up and amplify. The same considerations apply of course to the green movement.

Monday 14 May 2007

Deja Vu

" The US is trying to block sections of a draft agreement on climate change prepared for next month's G8 summit, according to documents seen by the BBC.
Washington objects to the draft's targets to keep the global temperature rise below 2C this century and halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The draft, prepared by the German G8 presidency, said action was imperative.
With UN talks struggling to extend the current Kyoto targets, the G8 summit is seen as a vital way to regain momentum.
Preparations for the 2005 G8 summit in the Scottish resort of Gleneagles also began with a climate change draft which grew weaker as discussions continued.
Leaders decided then to agree a weak document rather than leave with no agreement at all."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The words 'dragged along kicking and screaming' spring to mind.

Thursday 10 May 2007

Running on Coconuts

" People on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have found their own solution to high energy prices - the humble coconut.
They are developing mini-refineries that produce a coconut oil that can replace diesel.
From police officers to priests, the locals are powering up their vehicles and generators with coco-fuel.
Inquiries for the coconut power have come in from overseas, including Iran and Europe.
For years, the people of Bougainville have been dependent on expensive fuel imported onto the island."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

A careful analysis of this use of coconut oil would be valuable. Are there any negative aspects at all?

Wednesday 9 May 2007

Holistic Biofuels

" A UN report warns that a hasty switch to biofuels could have major impacts on livelihoods and the environment.
Produced by a cross-agency body, UN Energy, the report says that biofuels can bring real benefits.
But there can be serious consequences if forests are razed for plantations, if food prices rise and if communities are excluded from ownership, it says.
And it concludes that biofuels are more effective when used for heat and power rather than in transport.
The UN report, Sustainable Bioenergy: A Framework for Decision Makers, suggests that biofuels can be a force for good if they are planned well, but can bring adverse consequences if not.
The report warns too of the impacts on nature: 'Use of large-scale mono-cropping could lead to significant biodiversity loss, soil erosion and nutrient leaching.'
This has been avoided, the report says, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo where sugar cane farmers are obliged to leave a percentage of their land as natural reserves.
In conclusion, UN Energy suggests policymakers should take a holistic look before embarking on drives to boost biofuel use. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This seems a wise conclusion. Experience demonstrates that environmental changes should be undertaken very cautiously. There can be unexpected, unpredicted and detrimental effects.

Thursday 3 May 2007

The Dry Tomato

" A variety of drought resistant tomato has been created by Italian scientists. The fruit has been crossbred so it can grow in a quarter of the water that is normally required, the Italian news agency Ansa reports.
The lead researcher said a large-scale trial of the plants had recently been carried out in the Mexican desert with 'excellent' results.
'You can grow a kilo of tomatoes with 15 litres of water instead of 70 litres,' Massimo Iannetta said.
The research was carried out by the Organisation for New Technology, Energy and the Environment (ENEA) in Italy."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Climate change is inspiring novel research in many different areas.

Wednesday 2 May 2007

The Prince of Carbon

" Prince Charles has issued a 'mayday' alert to curb greenhouse gas emissions. 'This is an emergency we face', he told a climate summit of more than 1,000 business leaders, and added that the time for discussions was over.
Delegates attending the event, hosted by the prince, pledged to take action on their companies' carbon emissions.
Organisers hope the commitments will kickstart a concerted effort among the UK business community that will deliver a low-carbon economy.
'The crisis of climate change is far too urgent and discussion simply isn't enough,' the Prince of Wales told the May Day Business Summit on Climate Change at St James's Palace. More than 1,000 companies agreed to pledge to work with employees, suppliers and customers to reduce their carbon footprints.
Among the most popular promises was identifying a board-level representative to champion carbon reductions, and working alongside suppliers to cut emissions. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Of course this is fine as far as it goes. But on whom will the burden fall to achieve the reductions in carbon emissions?. Will the wealthy - nations and individuals - find ways to pass the cost on to the poor?

Tuesday 1 May 2007

Models too Cautious

" Arctic ice is melting faster than computer models of climate calculate, according to a group of US researchers.
Since 1979, the Arctic has been losing summer ice at about 9% per decade, but models on average produce a melting rate less than half that figure.
The scientists suggest forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may be too cautious.
The latest observations indicate that Arctic summers could be ice-free by the middle of the century."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report is bad news for the climate change sceptics.

Monday 30 April 2007

Canada Revises Kyoto Targets

" The Canadian government has published its strategy on climate change, which acknowledges that the country will not meet its Kyoto Protocol commitment.
Its new target is to cut emissions by 20% between now and 2020.
Environment groups have labelled the strategy a sham, and say that when combined with industrial policies, the country's emissions could rise. Canada is the first nation to publicly abandon its Kyoto target without leaving the protocol.
The US and Australia are the only two countries with Kyoto targets to have left the 1997 treaty. The Kyoto treaty committed Canada to reducing emissions by 6% from 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012, but emissions are currently about 30% above the 1990 figure.
Many other nations inside the protocol, such as Spain and Ireland, are a long way from their own targets; and the Canadian decision opens up the possibility that others will follow suit and choose not to meet their commitments."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is bad news.

Sunday 29 April 2007

No April Showers

"The UK Met Office has released figures showing that this month is likely to be the warmest April since records began.
The provisional mean temperature for the UK is 10.0C (50.0F), beating the previous historical high of 9.2C (48.6), recorded in 1943.
The average temperature for the UK over the past 12 months is also shaping up to record a new high of 10.4C (50.7F) Meteorologists also expect this month to be the warmest April in central England for more than 300 years.
The provisional mean figure in the region for April 2007 is 11.1C (52.0F) - that is 3.2C (5.8F) above the long-term average.
Ecologists say the unseasonable weather could leave wildlife vulnerable if the dry spell continues into the summer. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's necessary to exercise caution, and certainly unwise to blame one month's temperatures on man-made global warming. The April figures need to be accompanied by an assessment of the statistical significance of the data. Following every twist and turn of climate variation is not the best way to convince people.

Thursday 26 April 2007

Robins Protest at Noise Pollution

"Robins in urban areas are singing at night because it is too noisy during the day, researchers suggest.
Scientists from the University of Sheffield say there is a link between an area's daytime noise levels and the number of birds singing at night.
Until now, light pollution had been blamed because it was thought that street lights tricked the birds into thinking it was still daytime.
The findings are published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Noise and light pollution tend to be taken for granted as unavoidable. This research appears to establish that there is a measurable impact on wildlife.

Wednesday 25 April 2007

Changing the Throwaway Mindset

"Councils that have switched from weekly to fortnightly rubbish collections achieve higher recycling rates, a study has suggested. It shows an average recycling rate of 30% for these councils, compared with 23% for those that had not switched.
But fortnightly collections have been criticised, with complaints about bad smells, maggots and vermin.
LGA chairman Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said: 'For decades people have been used to being able to throw their rubbish away without worrying about environmental consequences or rising costs. Those days are now over.'"
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Provided there are minimal associated health and hygiene risks, this further push towards more recycling is a step forward. The old culture of no re-use, no re-cyling, no repair needs to change.

Tuesday 24 April 2007

The Cost of Rapid Growth

"More than 10% of China's farm land is polluted, posing a "severe threat" to the nation's food production, state media reports.
Arable land shrank by nearly 307,000 hectares (760,000 acres) in the first 10 months of 2006, government officials were quoted as saying.
Excessive fertiliser use, polluted water, heavy metals and solid wastes are to blame, the reports said.
Rapid economic growth has had a damaging impact on China's environment.
China's government has promised to spend heavily to clean up the country's heavily polluted environment. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This evidence is a stark reminder of the cost of rapid economic growth. It happened in the Industrial Revolution in the UK, on a much smaller scale, over a longer period of time, and during a historical era when man-made global warming was not an issue.

Monday 23 April 2007

Is 'do something' Enough?

"The UK must show 'leadership' on the environment if countries such as China, India and Brazil are to reduce their carbon emissions, Tony Blair has said. The prime minister said businesses, government and the public had to 'step up to the mark and do something'.
Mr Blair's comments came as he met the bosses of eight of Britain's biggest firms, and ahead of a meeting of 13 of the world's biggest countries in June.
Mr Blair said a meeting of the G8 group of major economies - plus Brazil, South Africa, India, China and Mexico - in June would be vital. These countries accounted for 70% of global carbon dioxide emissions, he added.
Mr Blair and Mr Miliband were attending the launch of the Climate Group's We're In This Together campaign to bring businesses, government and communities together to provides ideas for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Eight major businesses, including Marks and Spencer, Tesco, BSkyB and B&Q, set out steps they are taking. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The answer is, no, it's not enough. Everyone is green now, of course; reductions in carbon emissions are achievable, but will they be adequate and not at the expense of social justice?

Friday 20 April 2007

No water only Foster's

"Australian PM John Howard has warned that irrigation of much of the nation's farmland will be banned unless there is heavy rainfall in the next month. Mr Howard said there would only be enough water in the huge Murray-Darling river system for drinking purposes.
Australia is suffering from its worst drought on record, and the lack of rainfall has already severely reduced the production of major irrigated crops in the Murray-Darling river basin.
The basin, which covers an area the size of France and Spain combined, accounts for 41% of Australian agriculture and usually provides about 85% of the nation's irrigation supply."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It is ironic that this prolonged drought is having such an impact in Australia, given Australia's reservations about Kyoto.

Tuesday 17 April 2007

Kilimanjaro on Ice

"A fresh assessment suggests the famous ice fields on Africa's tallest mountain will be around for decades yet.
Recent concerns that climate warming would rob Mount Kilimanjaro of all its glaciers within 20 years are overly pessimistic, say Austrian scientists.
Their weather station data and modelling work indicate the tropical ice should last well beyond 2040. The research team has been using three automated instrument stations on the top of the mountain to collect continuous data on temperature, pressure, solar radiation, humidity and wind.
Today, the total ice extent - on the slopes and on the plateau - is about 2.5 sq km, down from more than eight sq km in the early 1900s. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An excellent report of a helpful peice of scientific research. It is important to get a balanced view based on accurate observation. The more that the global climate change debate is informed by accurate data, the greater the chance of governments, corporations and individuals listening and taking action,

Friday 13 April 2007

Some Trees are Greener

"Planting trees in snowy areas may worsen global warming as their canopies absorb sunlight which would otherwise be reflected by the snow, a study says.
The report in US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says the pine forests of Europe, Siberia and Canada may contribute to warming.
Only tropical forests effectively cool the earth by absorbing carbon dioxide and creating clouds, the report says.
But the report's authors stress they are not advocating chopping down trees. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This seems an obvious point, but it is an important one, and it's good to see it discussed scientifically. It adds to the arguments for protecting and replacing the rain forests.

Thursday 12 April 2007

Green is Groovy?

"The environmental movement must become 'hip and sexy' if it is to succeed, California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said.
Speaking at a conference in Washington, he urged campaigners to focus on the positives of cutting carbon emissions rather than making people feel guilty. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Well, yes! The image of green as hair-shirt, 'self-denial' and making yourself miserable to save the planet will not help. There is no reason why green should not be fun. In fact, a society that is sustainable - and just - is by definition a happier and better place in which to live.

Wednesday 11 April 2007

Unintended Consequences

" As the sun rises above the Aral Sea, Alek, a local fisherman, steers the boat, leans forward and pulls the net out of the glittering water.
It is full of carp, sturgeon and flounder - just two years ago he could not have even dreamt of this catch.
'All thanks to the dam,' Alek grins as he throws the fish into a growing pile on the bottom of his rowing boat.
The dam is part of a $68m project, initiated by the Kazakh government and financed by loans from the World Bank.
It is an ambitious undertaking that aims to reverse one of the world's worst man-made environmental disasters and bring back the sea which many predicted could never return.
'The Aral Sea did not die, the Aral Sea was murdered,' said Nazhbagin Musabaev, the governor of the Aralsk region.
As the water-starved sea shrank, the desert spread, changing the climate, destroying the eco-system, eradicating entire species and forcing thousands of people to flee.
Every year fishermen would have to travel further and further to get to the water, and every year there would be less and less fish left to catch.
Desertification and rising salt levels in the shrinking sea brought salt storms. Diseases, like anaemia and cancer, swept through communities.
By the 1990s the world's fourth largest inland body of water had shrunk to a quarter of its size."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The consequence of diverting the feeder rivers of the Aral Sea in the late 1960's may have been foreseen - the sea would dry up - but the full impact was neither understood nor cared about. The moral of this story is that you mess about with the natural environment at your peril.

Tuesday 10 April 2007

Let the Poor Carry the Burden!

"Considering the fact they had been working intensively all through the night, the leaders of the UN panel on climate change were extraordinarily debonair and alert as they presented their conclusions to ranks of impatient journalists in the bright Brussels morning.
The chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II, Rajendra Pachauri, apologised for not having shaved - a light touch from the unflappable Indian, who sports a fine beard.
'There is observational evidence of regional impacts on every continent on physical and biological systems,' said Cynthia Rosenzweig, a climate impacts specialist with the US space agency Nasa.
'There are multiple lines of evidence that human-induced climate change is happening now, and the impacts are being seen now.'
The IPCC is an unusual organisation in that the evidence is supplied by scientists, but the summaries of its reports are agreed between scientists and representatives of governments.
And the arguments can be quite hard to win in rich northern countries which, as the IPCC report acknowledged, may actually benefit from a modest amount of warming, and where resources are enough to defend against rising sea levels and shrinking rainfall.
It is in the poorest countries that the climate axe will fall. Every delegate here I spoke to was convinced of that.
It is a call we have heard many times before. And there is little evidence to believe that a report painting severe consequences ahead for the poor of the world, however detailed and bought into by governments, will be enough to bring unprecedented change from all the well-off members of the community of nations."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report of the ICCP meeting concludes with another instance of what is becoming an oft-repeated refrain: scepticism that governments of the rich nations will be capable of introducing effective changes to control man-made global warming.

Tuesday 3 April 2007

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul?

" Oil firms have warned that European Union plans on biofuels could damage the world's rainforests. Some oil representatives have told the government that they cannot meet the UK target of 5% biofuel on the forecourt by 2010 while also protecting wildlife.
The EU recently announced plans to double the biofuel total by 2020.
The problem is the scale of the enterprise. Many biologists warn there is simply not enough land on the planet to feed a growing number of people who are hungry for more protein, but also want to run cars on fuel from plants.
Already President Bush's highly-subsidised drive to get fuel from the Prairies has triggered food riots in Mexico because it has pushed up the price of corn.
The biofuels issue is particularly acute in Indonesia where the natural forests are being razed to make way for palm plantations to produce vegetable oil, soaps, shampoos, industrial substances - and now motor vehicle fuel too. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This issue illustrates the importance of very careful analysis - but not paralysis - before adopting specific solutions for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Monday 2 April 2007

Gesture Politics?

" Lights have been turned off across Australia's largest city, Sydney, in a hour-long event aimed at raising awareness of global warming.
At 1930 (0930 GMT) the city's skyline dimmed and normally bright landmarks like the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge went dark.
The so-called Earth Hour is supported by the New South Wales government, environmental groups and businesses.
Sydney hopes the event will make a very big statement on climate change.
Every day millions of lights and computers are left on in deserted office blocks as well as in apartments and houses.
Campaigners have said that simply switching them off could reduce Sydney's greenhouse gas emissions by 5% over the next year.
Australia is one of the world's largest per capita producers of carbon dioxide and other gases that many scientists believe are helping to warm the earth's atmosphere. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The Earth Hour was a gesture, but gestures are not necessarily futile and self-indulgent. An important point was made in a dramatic way. Perhaps there should be more Earth Hours, all over the earth, joined up. That would be a start.

Friday 30 March 2007

Peak Oil - No Simple Solution

David Strahan is an investigative journalist and documentary film-maker.
The Last Oil Shock: A Survival Guide to the Imminent Extinction of Petroleum Man is published by John Murray.
Many people think that running out of oil, or 'peak oil', would be good for the climate. In his new book The Last Oil Shock, David Strahan begs to differ; he suggests it may bring catastrophe.
"It is mathematically impossible that peak oil will solve climate change.
Although oil is the biggest single source of energy-related greenhouse gases, coal and gas combined are bigger still, and the expected growth in their emissions would overwhelm any reduction from oil.
As I demonstrate in The Last Oil Shock using the International Energy Agency's 'business-as-usual' forecast, even if oil production peaks in 2010 and immediately starts to fall at 3% a year, total emissions would still rise by 25%, reaching 32 billion tonnes in 2030.
Yet by that time, we need to be well on the way to at least a 60% cut in emissions.
Oil depletion has the capacity to worsen emissions and destroy the wealth needed to fight global warming.
So it is quite possible to run out of oil and pollute the planet to destruction simultaneously.
In fact peak oil could even make emissions worse if it drives us to exploit the wrong kinds of fuel.
Biofuels can be produced sustainably and with real CO2 reductions, but in the industrialised world there simply isn't the land.
In the developing world, however, there are vast swathes of land which could be put to sugar cane in a sustainable fashion; but the scale of the task of replacing crude oil would still be monumental.
I calculate that to substitute the fuel lost through a post-peak oil production annual decline of 3% would mean planting about 200,000 sq km - equivalent to the land area of Cuba, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea - every year'. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

David Strahan's argues that the impact of 'peak oil' alone will not resolve the global climate change scenario; it can actually make it worse - and biofuels may also not offer a feasible solution. There is clearly a need for more studies, more scientific investigation and analysis.

Thursday 29 March 2007

Portugal's Contribution

"Portugal has inaugurated what it says is the world's most powerful solar power plant. The array of electricity-generating solar panels covers about 60 hectares (150 acres) in one of Europe's sunniest areas in southern Portugal.
Officials say the plant should produce enough energy to supply 8,000 homes. The plant is part of Portugal's efforts to cut its reliance on imported fuel and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that add to global warming.
The 11-megawatt plant has 52,000 photovoltaic modules, which will produce 20 gigawatt hours of power each year.
Burning fossil fuels to generate the same amount of energy would result in 30,000 tons of greenhouse gases being emitted over the course of a year.
Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said he wants 45% of Portugal's power consumption to come from renewable energy by 2010. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Portugal is setting an excellent example, taking advantage of the sunny climate.

Wednesday 28 March 2007

Emissions Still Rising

"Carbon dioxide emissions from Britain's power stations have grown markedly in recent years, a report has concluded.
Commissioned by the environmental group WWF from consultants IPA, it found that UK power sector emissions rose by nearly 30% between 1999 and 2006.
As gas prices have risen faster than coal, generating companies have used more of the higher carbon fuel.
WWF says that the 'dash for gas' of the early 1990s has been replaced by a de facto 'roll to coal'.
UK power sector emissions were 6% higher in 2006 than in the preceding year, it said.
The government admitted that emissions have risen in recent years, but said that could be tackled with new initiatives."
BBC News Website
Miller's Bridge says:

Yet another example of the facts challenging the rhetoric.

Tuesday 27 March 2007

A Pizza a Day .... ...

"Scientists say they have come up with a way of making pizzas more healthy. US researchers have developed a way of baking and fermenting dough which can increase levels of antioxidants, which protect against cell and tissue damage.
The team from the University of Maryland told the American Chemical Society longer baking and higher temperatures are the key.
But Jacqui Lowdon of the British Dietetic Association said: 'I would rather people ate their five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, than ate more pizza. They will be getting a high fat intake, and it may make them more likely to choose extra cheese and salami. This isn't teaching people about healthy eating.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is a nice example of how the media confuses people about recent research. The result is a distrust and undermining of the credibility of science. This can't be deliberate, can it? Surely not.

Monday 26 March 2007

Must Do Better ...

"The European Union has been a force for good on environmental issues, argues EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. By acting together, he says, Europe has achieved far more on climate change, water quality and pollution than individual countries could have managed acting alone. 'Since 1972 when the first European environmental policy was launched, the EU has proved a highly effective framework for co-operation on the environment. For more than 30 years, it has tackled the problems of acid rain, the thinning of the ozone layer, air quality, noise pollution and waste. It has banned pollutants such as lead in petrol....... When the EU speaks with one voice, the rest of the world listens. ...... However, Europe is still not on the path of sustainable development. If current consumption and production patterns continue, we will need two planet Earths in 50 years' time.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The sting is in the tail. Whilst there are positive achievements, there is a lot to change.

The next entry in MBlog will be on Monday 26 March.

Wednesday 21 March 2007

Shrinking Sheep and Global Warming

"Climate change could have an impact on animal evolution and ecology, scientists believe. A 20-year study of Scottish sheep found weather patterns were driving changes in body shape and population size.
Harsh winters led to larger sheep, which brought about changes in population size, yet in milder winters this effect was not seen.
The team says the study, published in the journal Science, is the first to connect these different factors.
'Until now, it has proven really quite difficult to show how ecology and evolutionary change are linked, but we have developed a way to tie them together,' said Tim Coulson, an author of the paper and a scientist at Imperial College London.
Dr Coulson and colleagues did this by examining a population of Soay sheep on the island of Hirta in the Outer Hebrides.
He said the study revealed how environmental factors were driving evolutionary and ecological change, and predicted that as the climate changed, and winters became less frequently harsh, the sheep would get smaller and the population size would be more stable. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This looks like a carefuly controlled scientific study. A surprising aspect is that observable changes appear to have occured over what is a relatively short period of time, in evolutionary terms. But it is the kind of report that will generate ridicule from the human-generated global warming denial groups.

Tuesday 20 March 2007

It's Not Only Climate Change

"Some of the world's major rivers are reaching crisis point because of dams, shipping, pollution and climate change, according to the environment group WWF.
Its report, World's Top 10 Rivers at Risk, says the river 'crisis' rivals climate change in importance.
Five of its 'top 10' are in Asia, such as the Yangtse, Mekong, and Ganges, though Europe's Danube and North America's Rio Grande are also included."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is an vital issue. Rivers are a very important natural feature, in need of protection from environmental pollution and destruction, not least from the wildlife habitat aspect. Attention should not be diverted by the great concern over climate change from the other damage being perpetrated on our environment.

Monday 19 March 2007

Strawberries All Year Round

Andrew Simms is policy director of the New Economics Foundation (Nef) and author of Tescopoly: How One Shop Came Out on Top and Why it Matters, published on 29 March by Constable & Robinson.

"Fruit fashions may come and go; but there are real consequences to the way that supermarkets have extended the reach of our consumption across geographical and seasonal boundaries.
As the UK's most successful supermarket, Tesco is both an architect and reflection of the way we live in modern Britain.
It has brought within our grasp vast possibilities for consumption, beyond the imagination of previous generations.
Supermarkets have trained us to believe that nothing but affordability should constrain what, when or how much we consume.
Unfortunately this means that we have forgotten that we live on an island planet.
We are driving further to buy our food, and supermarket lorries are driving further to keep the shelves stocked. According to the last publicly available estimate, Tesco's fleet travels 68 million miles (109 million km) per year - the equivalent of 142 round trips to the moon - a sort of galactic commuting.
here are problems at the heart of how retailers like Tesco operate that no amount of green or ethical polish can solve.
Like its international competitors Wal-Mart, the French chain Carrefour, the Dutch Ahold, and Germany's Metro Group, Tesco is growing at a massive rate, in the UK and globally.
What with climate change, rising fuel prices, the need for hungry people to be able to feed themselves, and not to mention a backlash against "clone towns", impersonal big business and a new popular desire for real, local food; suddenly supermarkets look very out of place in the modern world."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The supermarket shopping culture is so deeply embedded in Britain, it is difficult to see what could make it change, except around the edges. Competition between the major chains? Consumer pressure? Government intervention? Just reining in our appetites to seasonal fruits and vegetables? Even hot cross buns are sold all the year round! br />

Friday 16 March 2007

It's Still Not Man-Made

"Winter in the northern hemisphere this year has been the warmest since records began more than 125 years ago, a US government agency says.
The combined land and ocean surface temperature from December to February was 0.72C (1.3F) above average.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said El Nino, a seasonal warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean, had also contributed to the warmth.
But it did not see the high temperature as evidence of man-made global warming.
The NOAA said that temperatures are continuing to rise by a fifth of a degree every decade. The 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1995.
Weather experts predict that 2007 could be the hottest year on record. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The conflicting messages are a cause for concern. Is it the prudent caution of scientists, or a serious case of 'in denial'?

Thursday 15 March 2007

Bats in the Wind Farm

"Bats at risk of being killed by the growing number of wind farms could be saved with the use of radars.

Bat deaths at wind farms are thought to exceed those of birds and it is feared some species could eventually become endangered if action is not taken.

Now researchers at Aberdeen University believe radar may be key.

They studied the behaviour of bats at radar installations and found they did not forage where electromagnetic radiation could be measured.

Prof Racey said: 'We think the bats either feel the heat of the radiation or can actually hear it. Either way, they appear not to like it, and forage elsewhere. What is needed now are further studies to determine the characteristics of radar which best deters the bats.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is evidence of a negative aspect of renewable energy, and how a way of dealing with it can be found using the scientific approach.

Wednesday 14 March 2007

Not Only Global Warming

"A growing number of people are unable to see the night sky because of glare from poorly-designed outdoor lights in built up areas, a survey suggests.
Some 1,829 members of the UK public counted the stars for the study by the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the British Astronomical Association.
They were asked to focus on the constellation of Orion, one of the most easily-identified.
About 50 of Orion's stars could be seen with the naked eye in a truly dark sky.
But just 2% of respondents said they could see more than 30 stars, with 54% saying they saw fewer than 10 stars in Orion - a level which indicates severe light pollution.
CfDS UK co-ordinator Bob Mizon said: 'In an era when energy considerations loom every larger, it makes a lot of sense to direct lights carefully and use sensible wattages, not just to reclaim our view of the stars, but also to cut pollution and help ensure our energy stocks for the future.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The impact of atmospheric pollution, and increasing carbon emissions, is not related just to climate change. The degradation of the night sky is not a new phenomenon, it has been commented on for many decades, but the scale of the problem is increasing. It provides a sort of barometer for atmospheric emisssions.

Tuesday 13 March 2007

Scientific Evidence of Pollution Affecting Rainfall

"Pollution from China's factories and vehicles is significantly reducing rainfall in hilly areas of the country.
Writing in the journal Science, researchers report that rainfall is reduced by about 50% in some cases.
Clouds form more easily when pollutant particles are abundant, but rain droplets and snowflakes are less likely to grow large enough to fall.
Last week, other researchers reported that Asian pollution is creating stronger storms in the Pacific Ocean.
In the latest work, a team of Israeli and Chinese scientists used more than 50 years worth of records to show a clear correlation between air pollution and decreased precipitation over hills in central China."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Here we have another peice of hard evidence which demonstrates the impact of pollution from industrial processes on the climate in a precise way.

Monday 12 March 2007

I'm Greener Than You

"Chancellor Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron are battling for leadership of the green agenda as they outline rival visions. Mr Brown will say 'Euroscepticism' makes it harder for the Tories to achieve global agreements on cutting carbon emissions.
Mr Cameron is urging ministers to set annual, not just long-term, targets. 'Without annual rate of change targets, it's too easy for the timetable to slip,' Mr Cameron said. 'And once it has slipped, it's much harder to make up the difference later.'
But the Green Alliance, the group hosting Mr Brown's speech, criticised the government's green credentials. It said the Conservatives' plans for new aviation taxes showed that they were more radical than the government"
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

It's interesting how global climate change and green issues have moved rapidly up the agenda for the Labour and Tory parties. Is there any really significant difference between them?

Friday 9 March 2007

But We're a Special Case

"European Union leaders are resuming talks to try to reach a deal on a binding target for the use of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power.
Poorer Eastern European countries, which are more dependent on heavy industry and carbon-heavy coal, have argued they will struggle to make the investment in wind farms and solar power necessary to meet binding targets.
The concerns of countries, like France, which want nuclear energy to be taken into account must also be addressed.
Mrs Merkel has said nuclear energy is not renewable energy but has conceded that it may be considered as part of the overall carbon reduction plan."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Whilst the difficulties of securing concensus EU-wide are formidable, special pleading must be viewed with suspicion. Facing a crisis of this magnitude will require commitment across the board.The nuclear issue is complex: global warming and also global security need to be factored in.

Thursday 8 March 2007

You Go First

"BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell looks at the challenge facing Europe as the pressure to tackle global warming confronts the needs of heavy energy users - and the difficulties of sorting climate truth from climate myth.
It's late at night and we have just arrived in southern Poland. Although the car windows are shut tight against the cold, there is an all-pervading smell. Slightly acrid and medicinal, its inherent unpleasantness is at odds with the memories it evokes of childhood and cosy warmth. It is the smell of coal.
Many diplomats regard the twins who run the Polish government as mavericks with a strange and unpredictable negotiating style, but their attitude to CO2 emissions is understandable. Here are a couple of statistics: a tenth of the world's coal is under the ground here, and more than 95% of Poland's electricity is generated by burning it.
It's little wonder that the Brothers Kaczynski are making the argument that if Europe should cut back on its CO2 emissions, Poland shouldn't have to meet as tough a target. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The positive side of this is that Poland is now in the EU and subject to persuasion regarding climate change. The worrying aspect is the reluctance to lead the way. On a global scale, this will be serious.

Wednesday 7 March 2007

About Eyes and Beams

"Government departments failed to meet targets on cutting carbon emissions, waste and water use last year, a watchdog's annual report says.
The assessment of 19 departments by the Sustainable Development Commission found 'patchy data and poor performance across most areas' - as it did in 2005.
'Overall, government performance is simply not good enough,' said Jonathon Porritt, chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC).
Against a backdrop of non-stop messages on climate change and corporate social responsibility, the government has failed to get its own house in order.
It is absolutely inexcusable that the government is lagging so far behind the private sector, when it should be leading the way.'
Environment Secretary David Miliband accepted it was not enough just to set targets, but said they had to be met too.
'Government is committed to playing its role in tackling climate change and reducing emissions, alongside the actions already being taken by business and individuals,' he said."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is an area where the government simply has no excuse. The targets are within the government's capacity to achieve. If our elected governemnt is unable to get the beam out of its own eye, there is little hope of action elsewhere.

Tuesday 6 March 2007

Something in the Asian Air

"Industrial pollution coming from Asia is having a wider effect on global weather and climate than previously realised, research suggests.
The 'Asian haze' of soot is boosting storms in the Pacific, scientists find.
It is also enhancing the growth of large clouds, which play a key role in regulating climate globally.
Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers say impacts may be felt as far away as the Arctic.
'It's a complex picture,' observed study leader Renyi Zhang from Texas A&M University in College Station, US.
While clean air legislation has reduced production of industrial aerosols - fine particles of dust, soot and sulphur - in Europe and North America, the opposite trend is seen in Asia.
Here, rapid industrialisation has led to the formation of a pollution haze which is especially marked in winter as coal burning increases."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This report gets straight to the heart of the issue. As the Chinese economy develops rapidly, it will be difficult for China to minimise or avoid these pollution effects, and even more difficult for the West to persuade the Chinese that they should take action, given the track record of the West over hundreds of years.

Monday 5 March 2007

What Right Have You to Change our Climate?

"A delegation of Inuit has travelled to Washington to argue that the US government's climate change policies violate human rights.
The group has filed a legal petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, demanding that the US limits its emission of greenhouse gases.
The Inuit say pollution is contributing to melting ice and thawing permafrost, affecting their way of life.
Temperatures in the Arctic are rising at about twice the global average.
The delegation is being led by Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a former chairwoman of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, a representative body for Inuit in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia.
Mrs Watt-Cloutier, who has been nominated alongside former US Vice President Al Gore for a Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change, was responsible for submitting the petition. "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

May be this move by the Inuit could serve as a role model for other peoples, groups and individuals who are specifically threatened by the irresponsible and dangerous behaviour of governments, and corporate organisations.

Friday 2 March 2007

Make the Poor Pay!

"UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that climate change poses as much of a danger to the world as war.
In his first address on the issue, Mr Ban said changes in the environment were likely to become a major driver of future war and conflicts.
He urged the US - the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases - to take the lead in fighting global warming.
Mr Ban said he would focus on the issue in talks with leaders of the G8 group of industrialised nations in June.
The UN is also due to hold a conference on climate change in Bali in December.
Mr Ban warned that poor people living in Africa and small island states would suffer most from the effects of global warming, even though they were least responsible.
He said the world needed a more coherent system of international environmental governance in order to tackle global warming beyond the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Mr Ban's words are a hopeful sign. The UN ought to be at the forefront of tackling climate change. The fear is that it will be no more successful in the environmental sphere than it has been in preventing wars over the past sixty years. He says the poor will suffer most, even though they were least responsible. Just so! That's the name of the game!
br />

Thursday 1 March 2007

More Evidence

"The UK has experienced its second warmest winter on record, with a mean temperature of 5.47C (41.8F),provisional Met Office figures show.
The warmest winter on record was in 1988-89, when the mean temperature was 5.82C (42.5F).
One of the data series used to compile the UK temperature figures is the Central England Temperature Record (CET) record, which is the world's oldest continuous dataset for temperature, stretching back to January 1659.
The CET had recorded a mean temperature of 11.22C (52.20F) for the 12-month period from March 2006 to the end of February 2007, which was the warmest year-long period on record.
'It is very carefully monitored and statistically handled so you can compare yesterday with 348 years ago,' said Met Office meteorologist Wayne Elliott. 'Therefore it is a good measure of changes to the climate.'
The Met Office's figures for the UK from the beginning of December to the end of February showed that the winter had not only been warmer, but also wetter than average."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The CET data is very impressive, even taking account of the caution with which all the data must be treated. Looking at the graph, the steep rise in the last five years is dramatic. It needs to flatten out, soon.

Wednesday 28 February 2007

Another Inconvenient Truth

"Former US Vice-President Al Gore has been accused of hypocrisy for apparently guzzling energy while he lectures the world on climate change.
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research said utility bills obtained from public records indicated that Mr Gore's 20-room house and swimming pool in Nashville used nearly 221,000 kWh in 2006, compared with a yearly average of 10,656.
The centre's president Drew Johnson said the Gores had a heated swimming pool, natural gas lanterns and an electric gate.
Mr Gore's climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth won an Oscar.
A spokeswoman for Mr Gore said he was trying to reduce his carbon emissions by using sustainableenergy sources."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

We need to know where the Tennessee Centre is coming from, before passing judgement. But it looks like an own goal. It may be another illustration of the inability of the system - of which Al Gore is part - to change its spots on climate change.

27 February 2007

You Can Still Do All Of That

"Some of the UK's leading property and construction firms are joining forces to limit the environmental impact of the nation's homes and offices.
They have formed the UK Green Building Council, with the aim of transforming the Ł90bn sector into a "sustainable industry with the next 10 years".
Buildings account for about 50% of the UK's annual greenhouse gas emissions.
The government recently announced proposals to make all new homes in England carbon neutral by 2016.
Peter Rogers, the council's chairman, said that the initiative hoped to change attitudes towards energy consumption. 'We are still living in a horsepower economy. People like big cars, powerful things, lots of lights and devices in the house,' he said.
'You can still do all of that, but everyone needs to recognise that we have to do it in an energy efficient way.'"
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The Green Building Council sounds a good idea. Of course we should be adopting a new approach to all building design. But the usual line of 'You can still do all of that' is an interesting point. Frankly, no, you can't still do all of that! It's an important point as well. The question is, in so many different areas, will we be able not to do all of that?

26 February 2007

The More Science the Better

"The largest polar research programme for 50 years gets under way this week.
International Polar Year (IPY) will see thousands of scientists, from more than 60 nations, working together on 220 projects at high latitudes.
IPY actually runs for two years in order to allow equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic. It is organised by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
There have been three previous IPYs - held in 1882-83, 1932-33 and 1957-58 - each of which led to scientists gaining a much better knowledge of the remote regions."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is an excellent programme aimed at serious scientific studies covering many aspects of the earth's polar regions. The last comparable event, the International Geophysical Year in 1957, was a landmark study. The IPY should contribute to our understanding of climate change.

23 February 2007

Business As Usual

"If we want to curb climate change, carbon trading won't do, argues Kevin Smith in the Green Room this week. Kevin Smith is a researcher with Carbon Trade Watch, a project of the Transnational Institute which studies the impacts of carbon trading on society and the environment.

From the Stern Review to Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme, he argues, the aim of reducing emissions has been perverted by neo-liberal dogma and corporate self-interest.

The Durban Declaration of Climate Justice, signed by civil society organisations from all over the world, asserts that making carbon a commodity represents a large-scale privatisation of the Earth's carbon cycling capacity, with the atmospheric pie having been carved-up and handed over to the biggest polluters.
Market-based mechanisms such as carbon trading are an elaborate shell-game of global creative accountancy that distracts us from the fact that there is no viable 'business as usual' scenario.
Climate policy needs to be made of sterner stuff."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This peice makes the crucial point that "there is no viable 'business as usual' scenario". The crucial issue is how far will the world have to move away from business as usual. Evidence is accumulating that it will have to be a quantum shift to be effective. A tipping point for the present system.

22 February 2007

Flying into the Wind

"Space company Virgin Galactic has urged the government to allow it to launch passenger flights from the UK.
Virgin Galactic, part of entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's empire, plans to start commercial flights as early as 2008 after testing this year.
Initial flights are due to takeoff from the Mojave desert, US.
Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn told MPs on the Commons Science and Technology Committee that RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, would be the 'ideal location' or St Mawgan in Cornwall.
He said the environmental effect of getting six people into space would be less than the cost of a business class ticket from London to New York.
However, the environmental impact was questioned by Aviation Environment Federation.
The federation's Jeff Gazzard said the project was 'a play thing' of multi-millionaires - a claim dismissed by Mr Whitehorn who said most of the early passengers were scientists."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

This is a straw in the wind. Just when the environmental impact of low cost airtravel is beginning to be questioned, up starts a project for very expensive flights available to a rich few - with any environmental damage talked down. It supports the hypothesis that the burden of reducing carbon emissions will be borne by the less well-off, while the rich not only carry on as before, but find new ways to emit more carbon.

21 February 2007

Did Climate Change cause the demise of the Neanderthals?

"A sharp freeze could have dealt the killer blow that finished off our evolutionary cousins the Neanderthals, according to a new study.

The ancient humans are thought to have died out in most parts of Europe by about 35,000 years ago.

And now new data from their last known refuge in southern Iberia indicates the final population was probably beaten by a cold spell some 24,000 years ago.

The research is reported by experts from the Gibraltar Museum and Spain.
The cause of this chill may have been cyclical changes in the Earth's position relative to the Sun - so-called Milankovitch cycles.
But a rare combination of freezing polar air blowing down the Rhone valley and Saharan air blowing north seems to have helped cool this part of the Mediterranean Sea, contributing to the severe conditions."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Scientific research of this nature may provide valuable guidance in understanding climate today.

20 February 2007

Harnessing Wave Motion

" Scottish ministers are set to announce funding for what has been described as the world's biggest wave farm. Leith-based company Ocean Power Delivery has been testing the Pelamis device at the European Marine Energy Centre on Orkney.

Scottish Power wants to commission four more at the same site.
Friends of the Earth Scotland's chief executive, Duncan McLaren, said: 'Wave and tidal power could supply a fifth of UK's electricity needs and Scotland is ideally placed to generate significant amounts of this pollution-free energy'."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The technology needed to use wave energy to produce electricity has been long overdue. This energy derives from the wind. It is therefore related to direct wind power, and can also be used alongside tidal energy to extract clean energy from the sea. The government is not doing enough to support these innovations, given the urgency of the situation.

19 February 2007

Expect the Unexpected

" The delicate interplay between the oceans and atmosphere is changing with catastrophic consequences. Entire marine ecosystems have been wiped out, devastating populations of sea birds and larger marine mammals.

These 'dead zones' occur where there are disturbances to the nutrient-rich ocean currents, which are driven by coastal winds.
Extreme marine suffocations have occurred off the west coast of the US every year for the last five years.
The most intense event, which left the ocean floor littered with the carcasses of crabs, happened in 2006.
Other coastal countries including Chile, Namibia and South Africa have also been affected.

The common factor between all of the areas is that marine currents off the coast rise from the deep ocean.
These upwelling zones bring nutrient-rich water up from the deep, triggering plankton blooms that underpin the coastal food chain. Nearly 50% of the world's fisheries are in these areas.
The currents are driven by winds that move surface water away from the coast, drawing more up from the deep.
But now, observations along the west coast of the US suggest that the upwelling is being disrupted, changing its timing and intensity.
The researchers believe the cause of these events was changes in the intensity of the coastal winds, perhaps brought about by global warming."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

These research findings have been reported to the current meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The findings sound a sombre warning, far beyond this specific issue, serious though that is. Now we have messed around with the climate, some consequences are predictable, but others are not. Expect the unexpected, because it may be catastrophic.

16 February 2007

Research Connects with Policy

"Giant 'blisters' containing water that rapidly expand and contract have been mapped beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.
Fed by a complex network of rivers, the subglacial reservoirs force the overlying ice to rise and fall.

By tracking these changes with Nasa's Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) scientists were able to map the extent of the subglacial plumbing.
The results, published in the journal Science, show that some areas fell by up to 9m (30ft) over just two years.
'We didn't realise that the water under these ice streams was moving in such large quantities, and on such short time scales,' said Dr Helen Fricker of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, and one of the authors of the paper.
'We thought these changes took place over years and decades, but we are seeing large changes over months.'
The results are important for understanding how the Antarctic Ice sheet, which contains nearly 90% of the world's ice, may respond to global warming and how much it may contribute to sea level rise."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

An encouraging feature of the climate change debate is the increasing significance of new scientific research, and the way it is gradually being assimilated into policy discussion and decisions. This has not always been the case. It is connecting science with public perceptions of science in a much more positive way. It's an interesting development. The science may help to focus and highlight the gap between political and corporate rhetoric, and the reality of human-generated climate change.

15 February 2007

Can Globe save the Globe?

"Leading US politicians are meeting legislators from the EU, China, Japan and India to seek a breakthrough in the international climate deadlock.
The meeting, organised by British-run parliamentarians' group Globe, is strongly supported by the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
US climate-watchers say it is an indication that since the mid-term elections the US is shifting towards re-joining the international fold on climate.
It is highly likely, they believe, that even if President Bush continues to refuse mandatory emissions cuts the next president will want to return to the fray.
Many Republicans still demand that the competitor economies of China and India accept emissions cuts to prevent industry being re-located without any benefit to the global atmosphere.
This question will need somehow to be addressed, but China and, particularly, India are outraged that the US refuses to take the lead in emissions cuts when it has much higher pollution per person and has signed the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which obliges rich nations to reduce emissions first.
Mr Blair hopes the Globe (Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment) forum will clear the way for a historic agreement between the G8 and five biggest developing nations on a stabilisation goal for greenhouse gases - a limit beyond which the world should not pass.
He also wants to see a global price for carbon and a big increase in the funds available for developing countries to expand their economies more cleanly."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

There is undoubtedly a new sense of urgency in the international politics of climate change. The science has been firmed up to the point where it is difficult, but by no means impossible, for politicians to question the facts. The position remains, however: is the world capable of taking appropriate, effective and timely decisions?

14 February 2007

"The prime minister has said there is a 'tremendous opportunity' for action on climate change, following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Tony Blair said G8 leaders had a chance to create a new framework, for when the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2012.

Ms Merkel, whose country is hosting the G8 presidency, said climate change was one of humanity's biggest challenges.
Mr Blair said there was widespread agreement on the threat posed by climate change, and demand from people across the world for their governments to do something about it.
'This is the right moment to look at how we protect our environment and grow sustainably, but also make sure we have got secure supplies of energy in the years go to come,' he said. But he said it was vital that any post-2012 process was supported by the US, China and India - as well as those who had signed up to Kyoto.

Ms Merkel said details of a climate change deal would be worked out during a conference in May - to be put to the leaders of the G8 countries in the summer.
It would include a CO2 reduction goal, an international system of carbon pricing to boost the development of greener technology, and ways of giving emerging economies like China and India access to such developments.
She also said the aim was for Europe to reduce greenhouse gases by 30% and increase the share of energy from renewable sources by 20%, by 2020.
'We think this is one of the great challenges that mankind faces in our time and one of the great challenges that mankind can do most on if it acts together and in concert.' "
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

Fine sentiments, with which few would disagree. But the point is are the major polluting countries capable of taking effective and timely action?

13 February 2007

"The Suffolk farm at the centre of the bird flu outbreak is resuming the slaughtering and processing of turkeys.
Some 159,000 turkeys were culled after the H5N1 strain was found at Bernard Matthews plant in Holton on 3 February.
The government has now given it the go-ahead to restart operations and poultry have begun to arrive there.
They are being taken in under a special licence which allows them to cross into the exclusion zone which remains in place around the site.
The first consignment arrived at the plant early on Tuesday, just hours after the government had given the go-ahead to restart operations.
Officials are still trying to work out where the H5N1 virus found in the farm came from - there have been suggestions that it could have come from a wild bird or from infected poultry from Hungary.

Bernard Matthews has a processing plant in Sarvar in Hungary, about 160 miles away from the goose farm."
BBC News Website

Miller's Bridge says:

The haste with which 'production 'has been resumed at the infected 'plant' is surprising. And the revelation during the investigation that turkey meat was being imported from Hungary was also a surprise.It seems nothing must get in the way of commercial considerations ie keep the production line rolling whatever.

12 February 2007

"People are failing to wake up to the fact that if the planet suffers, we all suffer, argues Fazlun Khalid. In this week's Green Room, he says we must respect the delicate nature of the Earth or risk leaving a toxic legacy for future generations.
Fazlun Khalid is the founder of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
In our eagerness to 'progress' and 'develop', we have lost sight of the finite and delicate nature of Earth and humanity's place in it.
Pursuit of progress and prosperity, it seems, are based on creating discontent; consumers seduced to vie with each other in the ownership of the latest gadgetry; television and advertising hoardings constantly making one feel inadequate; the media exploited as an instrument of manipulation."
BBC News Website

Khalid's peice is an interesting Islamic perspective. His emphasis on the fragility of our earth's biosphere is a timely reminder. His view adds weight to the possibility that the capitalist system, whilst recognising the threat to the environment, and willing to attempt, using market forces, to find a solution, may be incapable, intrinsically, of achieving that.

9 February 2007

"Millions of pounds are on offer for the person who comes up with the best way of removing significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson launched the competition today in London alongside former US vice-president Al Gore.
A panel of judges will oversee the prize, including James Lovelock and Nasa scientist James Hansen.
Sir Richard said humankind must realise the scale of the crisis it faced.

They are looking for a method that will remove at least one billion tonnes of carbon per year from the atmosphere.
Al Gore, the former presidential candidate turned environmental campaigner, is also on the judging panel.
He said: 'It's a challenge to the moral imagination of humankind to actually accept the reality of the situation we are now facing.'
Stuart Haszeldine, professor of geology at the University of Edinburgh, commented: 'Richard Branson is ahead of the pack in getting to grips with CO2 in the atmosphere.
His decisive action places shame on the dithering of the UK Treasury, who will not let British power companies build CO2 capture plants, in case they are too expensive.
I hope all other businesses, large and small, follow his lead. Yes, it's true Branson's company may benefit eventually, but we will all benefit, by a cleaner, greener planet. We all share the same atmosphere.'"
BBC News Website

This is a welcome move by Richard Branson. However, the major concern is that business, and governments, will be unequal to the scale of the enormous challenge global warming poses, without transferring the real burden of the problem, and any solution, to the poorer countries and people of the world. A cynical view is that Branson is attempting to get research done on the cheap, for him to exploit and make a killing - out of the crisis.

8 February 2007

"Scientists in Dundee are to investigate how to retain the healthy nutrients in crops in a Ł2.5m study, it has emerged.
The Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) will analyse why natural nutrients are lost from fruit, vegetables and grains after harvest.

The European Union-funded study will focus on plant metabolites - small, natural compounds which play a key role in human health and well-being.
Dr Derek Stewart, who is leading the research, said: 'For many foods the journey from the farm gate to the dinner plate is often accompanied by large reductions in the level of the natural compounds that we know are beneficial to health.
This can lead to chemicals having to be added back into the food to supplement these losses.'"
BBC News Website

Perhaps eating more locally-grown produce can be more healthy, as well as more environmentally friendly.

7 February 2007

"The European Commission is proposing to force carmakers to make an 18% cut in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2012.
A spokesman said the commission was aiming for a 25% cut in car emissions overall, with the 'bulk of the effort' coming from better motor technology.
The rest of the cut is expected to be achieved by measures such as greater use of biofuels and better tyres.
Reports from Brussels say the commission will propose a package of measures designed to bring emissions from the average new car down to 120g of CO2 per kilometre by 2012 - 25% below the 2005 level of 162g/km.

The car industry has made huge improvements in engine efficiency, but the power, size and weight have cars have also increased rapidly.
As a result, CO2 emissions have only fallen by 23g/km from the 1995 level of 185g/km."
BBC News Website

Car use is likely to prove a major sticking point in achieving a reduction in CO2 emissions. From both the governmental and personal-use sides, there is likely to be serious reluctance to change. The self-indulgence element in car use will be hard to shift, and fear of losing votes will make the government wary of changes that hurt. Improved technology can only go so far.

6 February 2007

"The Stern report into climate change is based on "implausible" economic and scientific assumptions, former Chancellor Lord Lawson has told MPs.
Lord Lawson said the report was a 'biased' attempt to please ministers rather than an 'objective' study.
And money would be better spent on dealing with the effects of climate change rather than trying to halt it.
Some climate scientists were predicting 'another ice age' in the next 100 years, Lord Lawson added, but even if temperatures were going up there was little mankind could do about it.
Lord Lawson said Britain would see 'great benefits' from climate change over the next 100 years.
And investing in new technology - and building better flood defences - would be a 'quicker and easier' way to deal with rising temperatures than cutting emissions."
BBC News Website

Lord Lawson's scepticism about the science underlying the Stern Report has been effectively dismissed already by the UN scientists' report last week. His complacency in the face of the facts is breathtaking.

"Cleaning has begun at the Suffolk farm where 159,000 turkeys were culled after a bird flu outbreak.
All the empty sheds that housed the birds at the Bernard Matthews plant in Holton will be disinfected.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said more than 320 farm workers had taken the antiviral drug Tamiflu and so far no-one had reported being ill.
Strict controls are in place around the site near Lowestoft, but officials say the risk to humans is 'negligible'."
BBC News Website

Again we have mass slaughter of animals being reared for food. It surely adds further weight to the arguments against factory farming methods, and in support of the vegetarian movement.

5 February 2007

"Rules for labelling food's genetically modified (GM) content do not go far enough, say organic producers.

The government wants labels to show all produce with more than a 0.9% GM element, but green groups say the threshold should be nearer 0.1%.
The Conservatives back that call, saying customers need to have "clear information" to ensure trust in food.
The government says the guidelines, based on European Commission ones, are 'adequate' and 'appropriate'".
BBC News Website

What has happened to 'consumer choice'? If a customer wants a product with no GM content, it means just that. 1% is a significant amount, if you want 0%. For example, 1% arsenic would be important.We used to be told, when governments were trying to sell the GM concept, that non-GM crops would not be contaminated at all by nearby GM varieties. Now they are saying this cross-contamination is unavoidable.They hope no-one will notice, or not be bothered to pick the issue up.

2 February 2007

"Global climate change is "very likely" to have a human cause, an influential group of scientists has concluded.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said temperatures were probably going to increase by 1.8-4C (3.2-7.2F) by the end of the century.
It also projected that sea levels were most likely to rise by 28-43cm, and global warming was likely to influence the intensity of tropical storms.

The findings are the first of four IPCC reports to be published this year.

"We can be very confident that the net effect of human activity since 1750 has been one of warming," co-lead author Dr Susan Soloman told delegates in Paris.
The panel concluded that it was at least 90% certain that human emissions of greenhouse gases rather than natural variations are warming the planet's surface.
"It is an unequivocal series of evidence [showing that] fossil fuel burning and land use change are affecting the climate on our planet."

The IPCC's full climate science report will be released later in the year, as will other chapters looking at the probable impacts of climate change, options for adapting to those impacts, and possible routes to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. "
BBC News Website

This report looks very impressive, and important. It surely answers the sceptics about the reality of human-generated global climate change. This report should be studied alongside the Stern document.
Will this report change the attitude of policy makers at governmental level? Then, can any such change have a timely, realistic and effective impact in terms of action?

1 February 2007

"Current UK green tax plans are unlikely to curb the growth in greenhouse gas emissions from travel, a study says.
Researchers from Oxford University said the data revealed how socio-economic factors shaped how people travelled. They said targeted measures, such as personal carbon credits, were more likely to influence people's behaviour.
Looking at all modes of transport, the study showed that air travel accounted for 70% of the sector's climate change impact, while cars were responsible for 25%, and public transport for 3.5%.
The transport sector contributes 26% of UK carbon emissions and is the only major sector in which emissions are predicted to rise until 2020. Transport is thus a priority area for government policy."
BBC News Website

This research confirms the view that more well-off people will simply pay their way out of contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions.This escape route may also apply to the so-called 'carbon credits'. The wealthy may simply buy credits from poorer people.

31 January 2007

" A pod of killer whales has been spotted in the Firth of Forth, killing and eating seals.
Pc Mark Maylin, a Fife Constabulary wildlife officer, understands the Orcas have been in the area for about a fortnight. The man I spoke to was out in his boat and came within five metres of one, he said. He said there was no question it was a killer whale.
Natalie Smart, spokeswoman for the Scottish SPCA, said: It is very unusual for them to be spotted this far south in January which could be due to the warm winter."
BBC News Website

There are no reports yet that PC Maylin has arrested the whale.

30 January 2007

"Mountain glaciers are shrinking three times faster than they were in the 1980s, scientists have announced.
The World Glacier Monitoring Service, which continuously studies a sample of 30 glaciers around the world, says the acceleration is down to climate change.
With the scenarios predicted, we will enter conditions which we have not seen in the past 10,000 years, and perhaps conditions which mankind has never experienced."
BBC News Website

The glaciers are a valuable scientific touchstone for global climate change.

29 January 2007

"The Prince of Wales has picked up an environmental award on the latest stage of his three-day tour of the US.
He received the prize from last year's winner, former Vice-President Al Gore.
The prince said mankind was unlikely to stop damaging the planet until there was a change of outlook.
The taxpayer-funded Ł116,000 trip, for a 20-strong entourage, was criticised by Environment Secretary David Miliband, who called for the award to be accepted by video link."
BBC News Website

There's hypocrisy on two counts here, at least. One, Prince Charles getting the award in the first place; and secondly, the Environment Secretary, on behalf of the British government, only objecting to the taxpayer-funding.

26 January 2007

"The US military revealed a heat-ray gun, the Active Denial System (ADS), to reporters this week.
'What happens when people are in the first rows of a dense crowd and cannot flee?' asks Dr Steve Wright, associate director of Leeds Metropolitan University's Praxis Centre.
Alan Fischer, media relations manager of Raytheon, which built the ADS as well as making its own commercial version Silent Guardian, is concerned that some people have been likening the technology to a microwave oven.
Some of the confusion may have arisen from the fact that Raytheon built the first microwave oven back in 1947."
BBC News Website

Well ... yes ...that might be a source of some confusion.
And of course the ADS will add its share to global warming.

25 January 2007

"A multi-million-pound project is under way in Aberdeenshire to turn dead cows into a clean energy source. The Oran Group is aimimg to create Scotland's first renewable energy plant using biomass materials as fuel. It is using the site of a former rendering plant that caused complaints about smells before it closed in 2004."
BBC News Website

There is something vaguely worrying about this project, around the notion of using animals as fuel fodder. No doubt they will be using abbatoir left-overs. How long before someone proposes using crematoria for a similar purpose?

24 January 2007

"A new slick has been formed from oil leaked from the stricken MSC Napoli as concerns grow for local wildlife. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reported that they had had reports of 1,000 birds affected by oil, mostly guillemots, and estimated 600 would die."
BBC News Website

The inadequate early response to this event, overshadowed by the police failure to stop the antics of public scavengers, has shown yet again that the authorities seem incapable of taking timely and serious action when these environmental disasters occur.

23 January 2007

"Chancellor Gordon Brown's air passenger tax has been attacked by three of the UK's leading airlines as the wrong way to fight climate change.
.... all three backed carbon trading as the best way to reduce emissions.'
BBC News Website.

Convincing evidence that carbon trading is more about making quick profits for the airlines out of global climate change than taking effective action.

22 January 2007
"Police are patrolling beaches in Devon where members of the public have been taking goods washed ashore from stricken container ship MSC Napoli. Around 50 BMW motorbikes were carried off the beach last night. Other goods washed up from the Napoli, which is grounded about a mile out at sea, include a 4 x 4 vehicle, car parts and nappies."
BBC News Website.

Passing over the potential damage done by oil leakage to this 'World Heritage Site', and the fact that MSC Napoli had a cargo of nappies, it is interesting to note that people flocked to the beach, not to attempt to help with the oil spillage or to alleviate injury to wildlife and out of concern for the environmental damage, but to get something for nothing.

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MBlog ... MBlog ... MBlog ... mblog ... mblog ... commentary on environmental news reports

the quotes in italics below are selected extracts from reports appearing on BBC News Website below each quote is Miller's Bridge comment if you would like to add your own views, you are welcome to email them to: mblog@millersbridge.com

MBlog ... MBlog ... MBlog ... mblog ... mblog ...

commentary on environmental news reports

the quotes in italics below are selected extracts from reports appearing on BBC News Website

below each quote is Miller's Bridge comment

if you would like to add your own views, you are welcome to email them to:

mblog@millersbridge.com