Archive for December, 2006
Friday, December 29th, 2006
Australia’s John Howard Forging Ahead with Nuclear
Prime Minister John Howard looks dead set on a nuclear future for Australia - apparently “after the release of a report which found that 25 nuclear reactors could significantly cut greenhouse gases”. The reports we have at hand indicate that the statement “significantly cut greenhouse gases” is perhaps overstating the case a little. It’s interesting […]
4 Comments » - Posted in Nuclear Fission by Craig Mackintosh
Friday, December 29th, 2006
Ice Shelf Goes Walkabout
This is getting to be a habit. Recently we had icebergs being sighted off the coast of New Zealand, and now, on a far larger scale, we have a 66 square kilometre ice shelf breaking free in northern Canada.
“It really is incredible,” says Warwick Vincent of Laval University, one of the few people to have […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Global Warming Science, Environment & Wildlife by Craig Mackintosh
Friday, December 29th, 2006
Carbon Economy Set to “Explode”
The business world is gearing up to ‘go green’. Although still being beaten into shape, California’s September ruling to engage in a mandatory carbon cap, amongst other U.S. movements, is causing many businesses to rethink their environmental position and get ready to join the expected new carbon economy.
For now, trading in the United States is […]
No Comments » - Posted in Carbon Market by Craig Mackintosh
Friday, December 29th, 2006
Biofuels - from the Frying Pan into the Fire?
Worldwide biofuels are seriously getting in vogue - in fact over the last ten years we’ve seen a veritable ski-ramp of development in ‘clean’ fuels and of late we have high-profile types like Bill Clinton and Richard Branson, Prime Minister Tony Blair, and even Prince Charles getting in on the act. As an industry it’s […]
8 Comments » - Posted in Bio-fuels by Craig Mackintosh
Thursday, December 28th, 2006
Polar Bears Save the World?
Polar bears are very hard to ignore. They are, to flagrantly misapply the famous words of Yogi, “not just your average bear”. They’re self-contradictory - the ultimate in … um… polarity. For example, they live in one of the coldest places on earth, and yet they’re the biggest land carnivore on the planet (albeit if […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Global Warming Science, Environment & Wildlife, Politics by Craig Mackintosh
Wednesday, December 27th, 2006
Tasmanian Forests, and Wildlife, Breathe a Little Easier
Tasmania’s Endangered Wedgetail Eagle
Bob Brown fought for the courts to uphold a previous Regional Forestry Agreement (RFA), which mandated logging could not proceed in forests containing endangered species unless such logging could be proven to improve their chances of survival.
“The Court has formed the view that the relevant forestry operations will be, and have been, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Environment & Wildlife by Craig Mackintosh
Wednesday, December 27th, 2006
Climate Scientist Goes into Battle
Watching the destructive progress of global warming can be pretty depressing - especially when you consider that even if we stop releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere today (i.e. if we, right this minute, put the giant pause button on many of our activities) it will take many years yet before the process will slow, […]
No Comments » - Posted in Global Warming Science by Craig Mackintosh
Wednesday, December 27th, 2006
Alaskan Villages Under Siege
Alaskan Permafrost
Although Alaska (’The Great Land’ in Aleut) is America’s self-styled ‘Last Frontier’ - it’s becoming one of the first states to feel the ecological and economic bite of global warming. It’s changing, and rapidly, and villagers that were traditionally pick-up-and-move type people, are now having to count the cost of relocating with the modern […]
No Comments » - Posted in Global Warming Science, Environment & Wildlife by Craig Mackintosh
Tuesday, December 26th, 2006
Stop the Earth, I want to Get Off!
Imagine the advert:
“Looking for oxygenated planet, preferably temps between 5′C and 30′C, but anything considered. Have own planet for sale (genuine reason), consider trade. No need to deliver, we’ll come to you.”
We’re on the hunt for another planet. Once we find it, I hope they send a few organic farmers and environmentalists among the pioneering […]
No Comments » - Posted in General by Craig Mackintosh
Tuesday, December 26th, 2006
Developed?
Okay class - hands up all who live in a developing nation. Hmm… not so many. Now, hands up those that live in a developed nation. Aah… quite a few.
Developing. Developed. International media of every kind use these words constantly. They seem to be globally understood, at least if the frequency of their usage is […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Agriculture & Food, Green Philosophy by Craig Mackintosh
Monday, December 25th, 2006
Christmas Musings
If you’re reading this type, it’s either mid-January and you’re catching up on older posts, or the kids are all outside learning to play with their new toys and you’re taking a quiet moment to yourself, here on Christmas day.
Before you take that inevitable nap on the sofa, to the buzzing sounds of new remote-control […]
No Comments » - Posted in Green Philosophy by Craig Mackintosh
Monday, December 25th, 2006
Global Warming Swallows Island
Scientists examining satellite images have done a double-take at shots of northeast India - as an island that was previously called home by approximately 10,000 people has now completely vanished from sight. The perpetrator of this horrific crime? Actually, you and I…
Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited […]
6 Comments » - Posted in Global Warming Science by Craig Mackintosh
Monday, December 25th, 2006
Event Alert: Climate Change and Vulnerability Conference
You are invited to participate in the Climate Change and Vulnerability Conference to be held 13-14 February 2007 at the Peace Palace in The Hague. This conference addresses the need to build capacities for proactive local leadership to address the risks of climate warming, particularly in vulnerable island and coastal states.
The goals of the conference […]
No Comments » - Posted in Alerts - Events by Craig Mackintosh
Monday, December 25th, 2006
Conference, Amsterdam - Make Markets Work for Climate
It’s worth taking a look at the presentations and conclusions from the recent international conference held in Amsterdam. Some of the presentations have been released as downloadable movies, so you can effectively ‘attend’ yourself.
Through this material you can get a better perspective on what Kyoto has accomplished to date, and where it needs to head […]
