TalkClimateChange

As I walk home humming to my iPod, I can pretty much keep station with the cars crawling along next to me. Sometimes one of us inches ahead of the other, but rarely do either of us have a decisive advantage. Many a time I have reflected on the absurdity of this situation as […]

Following the discussion on the Stern report’s projections for the economic cost / benefit of tackling climate change, I’d like to introduce a new perspective: The cost of climate change avoidance is irrelevant, since most of today’s avoidance schemes are wholly ineffective anyway.
I make this assertion following UK treasury projections that the “green levy” on […]

This post was originally published on EcoWorldly. It is loosely connected with climate change in that it concerns the potential for the mass adoption of public transport, although I post it here purely for your interest and to spread the message.
Putting pen to paper for Bus Transportation Week I began to make a few notes […]

There is a popular body of thought within the climate change debate which says that we would be better off focusing on adaptation to climate change rather than trying to prevent it. Focusing on our current problems, they say, and on those that might be brought about in the future as a result of […]

Plans were approved this week to build what has been described as an “ultra mega power project” in the form of a $4.2 billion, 4,000 MW coal fired power station in Gujarat, India.
Environmentalists will be dismayed to hear of this decision, which will generate up to 23 million tons of Co2. However, many arguments against […]

We recently kicked off a debate on our discussion forums on the pro’s and con’s of nuclear power. Pitting Rod of Atomic Insights and Matt from TalkClimateChange against each other, we asked if nuclear power really is a safe and abundant source of pollution free power, or is it a dangerous and expensive fix to […]

 
My life was made easy today when Leo Hickman of The Guardian Climate Change blog wrote a great post expressing many of the sentiments that I frequently write about here.
So rather than trying to write one of those difficult Monday posts myself I’ll simply give you Leo’s opening and closing statements (which could have […]

Following our recent commentary on the somewhat creative approach to UK greenhouse gas emissions measurement, where we asked Is Sir Humphrey Appleby In Charge of Climate Change Policy?, we greeted the recent announcement by the British Government of a 2% reduction in UK emissions with some caution.
Following release of the figures, environment secretary Hilary […]

Much ado has been made about the UK’s latest budget presented by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling last week.
Green groups universally panned Darling for failing to take a hard line on environmental issues, and particularly for failing to implement a 2 pence tax increase on petrol.
“This was billed as the greenest budget ever. But […]

This week I have written a piece at EcoWorldy recounting my experiences of public transport in the UK from a stand point of viability as governments around the world try to slowly wean motorists off of their beloved cars.
An excerpt of these experiences follows:
At 10.42 my train had yet to arrive. Ok, 2 minutes […]

Travel, particularly by air and especially to far away lands is one of the big no-no’s in environmentalism.
Or at least it is when other people are doing it. Despite air-travel being popularly profiled as a climate change evil, online travel agency Expedia says it has seen no decline in the number of people […]

There is a bit of an ongoing tiff right now about the expansion of London’s Heathrow airport with an additional runway. Those of you who have experienced Heathrow will know that the airport in itself is one of the strongest arguments ever for not flying, however, UK aviation continues to grow at a substantial […]

Many nations have forecasted energy shortages for the coming decades as power utilities struggle to balance rising demand against aggressive targets for carbon reduction. In fact, the predicted shortages are so severe that the UK government is giving serious consideration to a war-time style energy rationing scheme.
An often suggested answer to energy shortages is […]

Considering things objectively, cars can be a proper nuisance. They are expensive, take up space, use fuel that isn’t cheap anymore, need cleaning, and need maintenance by some of the most customer un-friendly businesses in the world.
But, we love them. I love them. Cars are great, and I suffer from the typical male fascination […]

Another weird day in Climate Change, where I just cant quite get things to add up.
LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Britain’s goal of cutting emissions of climate warming carbon dioxide by 60 percent by 2050 will be reviewed by the end of the year and may be raised, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said on […]