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Climate Red - News and Views on Climate Change Issues.

Climate Red - March 2008

new round of climate change talks

March 31st 2008 00:21
A new round of Climate Change talks kicks off in Bangkok this week.

Not sure why but Penny Wong is not attending, instead Australia will be represented by a delegation, the talks must be pretty low level, but any progress will be important.

Here is a quote from the Executive secretary of the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Yvo de Boer
“The challenge is to design a future agreement that will significantly step up action on adaptation, successfully halt the increase in global emissions within the next 10 to 15 years, dramatically cut back emissions by 2050, and do so in a way that is economically viable and politically equitable worldwide,” (UNFCCC).



Here is a link to the UN News centre if you want more details.

As has been discussed before, the key to these talks is participation from China and India, we need to give them enough to motivate them to agree to firm targets so that everone can be on the same page. Steering the talks in the direction of adaptation is a good start to achieving this goal. If we can focus on changing our behaviour and all working together the talks will be much more progressive. Here's hoping the US don't try to derail them this time, mind you it is pretty clear the next US President, whoever that will be, will have a much stronger mandate to be part of the Global solution.

cheers

Louie
bangkok climate talks
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is the world flat?

March 28th 2008 01:21
al gore
photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com thanks
An interesting interview with Al Gore is going to be aired in America on 60 minutes this weekend, CLICK HERE FOR LINK to full story and guess what people, if you don't believe in Climate Change you are in a minority as marginal as the people who thought the world is flat many moons ago according to Gore.


Confronted by Stahl with the fact some prominent people, including the nation’s vice president, are not convinced that global warming is man-made, Gore responds: "You're talking about Dick Cheney. I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they’re almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the world is flat,” says Gore.

Like a true poltician now Gore has the wind behind him his statements are getting bolder and bolder, in six months we have moved from the possbility of an economic shift to equal the industrial revolution, to being in the midst of the second industrial revolution. Love it!!!

Believer or not you have to love his passion and committment, the interview also highlights just how much of his own substantial fortune he is throwing into this campaign. I can almost forgive him for making money out of the whole endeavour now.

Cheers

Happy Friday

Louie
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maybe I am crazy

March 26th 2008 22:51
I attended the Garnaut Emissions Trading Scheme presentation yesterday. During questions something suddenly occurred to me.

Why is everyone so worried about the costs? Yes on face value the cost of paying to pollute is a direct cost to the bottom line; the auctioning of permts could net the Aussie govt circa $10bill a year on a rough calculation. Don't get me wrong, this is a lot of money BUT am I crazy or has the Australian economy absorbed much worse over the last 10 years with the rise in the Oil price and the likes? We have taken that in our stride, surely we could take the cost of polluting in our stride as well!!!!!

Realistically the numbers they have thrown around aren't as big as say, the electricity price spikes last year, the rise in input costs for the increase in Commodity prices (yes ok we export commodities but bear with me) I am no economist but if you take a figure that Australia used roughly 32 million barrells of oil last year and oil is say $100 per barrel whereas 10 years ago it was under $10, surely that proves we can withstand increased costs in this economy, given we spend roughly an extra $20bill a year on oil than we did in the past and we are ok.

We are resilent and creative, and I think most of us are prepared to bear a little extra cost for the sake of the environment. Not to mention if Australia can develop a world class renewable energy technology industry we could actually become net winners out of all this. Imagine an Australia with feed in tariffs so the solar panels on your roof can make you money while you sleep!!!!

I am sure my logic must fall down somewhere,and maybe i am crazy, no doubt someone will tell me.

cheers

P.S. Here is a link to a good story on the ETS written by none other than Malcolm Turnbull.

Louie
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the worlds worst

March 26th 2008 00:51
We all know Climate Change is endangering species and is going to have some impacts on the Environment, reading through the detail of the latest WWF report outlining the current species under threat: I discovered a statment that disturbed me, perhaps every other Australian knew this and I simply buried my head in the sand but here it is

WWF spokeswoman Tammie Matson said the country already has the worst rate of mammal extinction in the world, with close to 40 percent of global mammal extinctions in the last 200 years.

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get interested

March 20th 2008 05:58
Ross Garnaut has released his interim outline for the all important Australian Emissions Trading Scheme. The key takeaway from the presentation was: GET INTERESTED.

He stated that this trading scheme will affect all Australians in some way so we should all get involved


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putting your money where your mouth is

March 18th 2008 00:26
We all know the current government has their heart in the right place when it comes to the Environment. It seems however, the sum of the parts is not adding up. Government agencies, directly responsible for investing our money, are not backing the new policies. According to the ACF for every $1 invested in Cleantech and the environment; $47 is invested in Uranium and Fossil Fuels, quite a damning number.

It appears the grand daddy of all funds, the future fund, has NO SUSTAINABLE INVESTING POLICY. I can attest to this, as I know someone starting a sustainable fund who has been to see just about every major institutional investor in this country but the Future Fund is always too busy....correct me if I am wrong but these people are investing what was once our Tax dollars


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archimedian screw

March 12th 2008 04:51
What is an archmedian screw? Well it is a 4000 year old invention being used in todays times to generate Hydro power in small localised sites.

I know Hydro power is pretty much a dirty word in these drought stricken times, but, this system replaces all the water back into the source after the diversion, and lets face it, there are still places in Australia that are overflowing with water so we may as well make the most of it


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now thats worth worrying about

March 10th 2008 21:41
A new report by the EU has cited Climate Change will wipe a hefty 20 percent off the Global GDP PER ANUM and claims it is already a reality, playing havoc in Global conflicts such as Darfur.

This is by far the biggest number I have seen, as if we weren't all, already converted to the climate change page; this report contains some other doom and gloom facts and figures, perhaps I had seen them before and dismissed them to try to be optimistic but it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves just why we want to take action on Climate Change NOW


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solar thermal the key

March 9th 2008 22:09
solar thermal
Ausra have produced a report stating Solar Thermal power can ultimately provide 90 percent of US Grid power.

To all of us against Nuclear power this kind of comment from the leading holders of Solar Technology is music to our ears. We don't need nuclear, we need new technologies and to develop the ones we have such as Solar Thermal, but I know I am preaching to the converted so Ill leave it there


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there will be more of this

March 9th 2008 02:57
As peak oil theory becomes consensus and the world embraces everything to do with Global Warming as fact, we will see more and more crazy ideas get air time than we realy should. Everybody is going to dream up a plan to solve Global warming....in fact I might do a weekly crazy post or something.

Anyhows, i really shouldn't cloud (sic) your judgement


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why this is good

March 7th 2008 01:44
Rudd has signed a PNG-Australia Forest Carbon Partnership Agreement, this may seem like a small thing, the emissions concerned barely even make a dint in the global emissions problem, HOWEVER what it lacks in size it abounds in MEANING. It shows Australia is willing to partner with smaller nations and lead the way to be part of the Climate Change Solution.

We all know developing nations are watching the actions of developed nations, and are demanding action before they agree to the new version of Kyoto. The more small deals like this that get done globally the better, at some point the multiplier effect will kick in


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i just love this

March 6th 2008 07:17
Tired of Peak Oil theory now its pretty much fact, well now we have peak coal theory.


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5 percent off the bottom line

March 5th 2008 22:18
that is the answer by 2100 if we do nothing about Clmate Change.

It doesn't sound like a lot does it? 5 percent off economic output. Trust me in a world that ticks over in basis points 5 percent is a substantal amount to be wiped off the bottome line of australia's economy


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unintended consequences

March 4th 2008 23:02
Unfortunately, unintended consequences is going to be a term we hear more and more, especially when it comes to Global Warmng and Climate Change. The beast has been unleashed so to speak. We have accepted the science so now we have to live with the results, intended or not. We all know my bggest fear, intended or unintended is the rising argument for Nuclear Power to quell Climate Change, now we have a new one, the pricing of a human life.
george monbiot

George Monbiot has written an excelent article CLICK HERE or see below on just how our Climate Change number crunching hero came up with the numbers to sell the economic argument for halting Global Warming. As always the devil was in the detail, which very few people (myself included) have bothered to delve into; the sums he used to value the argument to halt Global Warming, effectively put a price on human life and the cost of a person dying versus the costs of actually doing something


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enjoy life while you can!!!

March 3rd 2008 23:46
For the lovers of doom and gloom, here is the latest piece by British maverick scientist James Lovelock, he has been talking Global Warming and Climate Change since before most of us were born and he thinks it is all too late, and we should enjoy life while we can before it goes to hell in a hand basket in about 20 years.

i didn't post this in a Monday for obvious reasons


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i am guilty of this

March 3rd 2008 01:41
We all know the Polar Bear, the Penguin and to a lesser degree the Shark are the favourite poster children to generate Climate Change empathy. Well they are not in fact the creatures most endangered by Clmate Change in the ocean according to an excellent National Geograhic Article.

In fact the Sea Urchin and the Shell are the most under threat and possibly the most overlooked victims ( I am guilty as charged) For those of you who don't know the Sea Urchin provides food and shelter for a plethora of ocean critters including our friend Nemo, and we all know how cool Shells are


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radiohead weighs in

March 1st 2008 00:04
Radiohead have long been my favourite band, and now I have even more reason to love them. Tom Yorke has joined the Climate Change campaign. He has leant a hand to the BIG ASK CAMPAIGN in Europe. The Big Ask is a group that is campaigning European Governments for stonger legislation preventing climate change. Nice one guys. CLICK HERE for the article or read below.

Now I am an EVEN beigger fan, if that's possible


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