TalkClimateChange

World War II can certainly be marked as one the biggest catastrophes ever to befall mankind. Whilst it might not be appropriate to compare this tragedy directly with the potential impacts of climate change in terms of human and financial costs, there is another potential similarly between these two events: They were both predictable and […]

Fans of the British Television Series “Yes Minister” will be familiar with the trials of Government Minister Jim Hacker at the hands of dastardly civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby, frequently demonstrating the futility of promoting progress in a government bureaucracy. A typical exchange between the confounded Hacker and slippery Sir Humphrey plays out as […]

Taking up a precarious perch on the fence between the two sides of the debate, I have decided to select the best and worse from each side in regards to the science, mitigation and lifestyle ideas.
First though I want to just make a quick assessment of the landscape and the ‘climate’ of climate change […]

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone has recently introduced a significant increase to London’s congestion charge for drivers of gas guzzling cars. Presently drivers must pay £8 per day to enter the ‘congestion change zone’ in the centre of the city. Drivers of hybrids and low emissions vehicles are exempt from the charge, whilst under the […]

“How can you be interested in Formula 1 Motor Racing?” a colleague recently said to me. Surely such a sport is increasingly irrelevant into today’s world of carbon footprints and sky high energy costs? Shouldn’t governments ban such sports all together?
Like most climate change related topics, there is more to the environmental considerations of […]

 
British motorists are in focus again as Green Britain considers additional taxes on gas guzzlers alongside incentives to encourage more eco-friendly vehicles.
A recent report from the department of transport has shown that the middle market – vehicles emitting between 141 grams and 225 grams of CO 2 per kilometre – is likely to be the […]

A paper recently published in the British Medical Journal claims that climate change is putting human health at risk, and that this demands an “urgent response”.
Climate change will exacerbate issues such as changes in infectious disease patterns, the effect of worsening food yields and loss of livelihoods, according to the paper entitled “Global Environmental […]

Yesterday the European Union announced a new energy emissions plan in its latest bid to fight climate change. As usual, nobody is happy, with businesses warning of higher prices and environmental groups claiming that the measures fall short of the actions needed.
In typical EU style, the plan aims to please everybody and is a […]

Recent research my British retailer Marks & Spencer on consumer attitudes to green shopping describe a particularly apathetic public with little interest in buying green.

Only a small percentage (11%) of consumers actively make green purchases, with 27% of consumers inclined towards green shopping habits – but only if it’s easy. A surprisingly high 24% claim […]

A mostly sentimental post, with possible lessons for climate changers.

I’ve just spent the morning making arrangements for my wedding later this year. As I do this, I realise that there are some lessons in the experience for the climate change debate, which can perhaps be forged in to some kind of discussion framework to find […]

Call them extremists, alarmists or fanatics, the climate change debate suffers from its fair share of those who are counterproductive and prevent progress and understanding by the propagation of extreme views.
This is a serious issue in current times as our elected leaders begin to make important decisions which may have profound impacts on our future. The […]

 
Two letters were written by two sets of credible scientists last week and addressed to the UN. One letter urged action to combat global warming by reducing Co2 emissions, and the other urged leaders to ignore the previous letter and focus on more pressing priorities instead. (see below for links and highlights)
It is clearly a […]

 
Yesterday we gave some reasons for giving up on the idea of emissions reductions due to the seeming impossibility of the task.
However, today we read in interesting article by Michael Gelobter at the Daily Grist who points out that too many of us dismiss the idea of change too readily just because it is hard […]

The continued emission of large quantities of Co2 into our Earth’s atmosphere is contributing to the greenhouse effect and threatens to destroy life on this planet. Or does it?

Co2 is plant food, and carbon is the basis of all life on this planet. Having more Co2 in the atmosphere can only be a good thing which will encourage plant growth and therefore food production and everybody will live happily ever after. There is absolutely no credible scientific evidence for the greenhouse theory.

Which of the above are true?

We are all under pressure to live green lifestyles. Our politicians tell us we should be greener, Hollywood actors tell us we should be greener, the tax man tells us, and often our conscious tells us too. Common sense suggests that with increasing population and improving lifestyles across the world we need to consider how […]