Blog: Climate

We're in ecological debt once again, and we haven't got long to repay the loan

Posted by jamie — 23 September 2008 at 2:07pm - Comments

A projection at the Labour conference shows how long we have to avert catastrophic climate change

One down, 99 to go: the clock is ticking at the Labour conference © Will Rose

Today might be your run-of-the-mill Tuesday with nothing more remarkable than the news that a rover on Mars will take two years to travel 11km, plus a slight smattering of rain. But according to the New Economics Foundation (NEF), today is more significant than you might expect because it's the point in the year when we've used up all of the resources the Earth can produce and we start going into ecological debt.

Article tagged as: 100 months, climate change, labour, party conferences

The truth about the energy gap: a response to John Hutton

Posted by bex — 22 September 2008 at 10:21am - Comments

John Hutton at the Labour Party Conference 2007

John Hutton committing to take action on climate change at the 2007 Labour Party Conference © Rose / Greenpeace

"No coal plus no nuclear equals no lights," said Business Secretary John Hutton (pictured above, proving he really has heard of climate change, honest) today.

Bearing in mind the findings of leading energy consultants Pöyry (pdf) that we don't need new nuclear or new coal to keep the lights on - we just need the government to meet its own, existing targets for energy efficiency and renewables - he might better have said "no vision plus no guts equals no chance of averting catastrophic climate change". Which at least has some basis in fact.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, energy, nuclear power, solutions

Wake Up, Freak Out

Posted by jossc — 16 September 2008 at 1:55pm - Comments

Wake Up, Freak Out, Then Get a Grip is a short animated film about the feedback loops likely to lead to catastrophic climate change, by Leo Murray.

It turns out that the way we have been calculating the future impacts of climate change up to now has been missing a really important piece of the picture. It seems we are now dangerously close to the tipping point in the world's climate system; this is the point of no return, after which truly catastrophic changes become inevitable.

The script, with extensive peer-reviewed references and additional information and links, is available at wakeupfreakout.org.

Article tagged as: animations, climate change

It's flashmob time again: stop expansion at Manchester Airport

Posted by jossc — 16 September 2008 at 12:10pm - Comments

Flashmob detail
The battle to win hearts and minds on the critical airport expansion issue continues apace. The latest group to take the field is in Manchester, where a flashmob is being organised to protest against the expansion of Heathrow, Manchester and all UK airports.

It's being called to coincide with the Labour Party Conference in Manchester and, in true flashmob fashion, will mysteriously manifest in Albert Square outside Manchester Town Hall on Tuesday 23rd September at 12.45pm sharp!

Article tagged as: airport expansion, aviation, climate change, co2 emissions, flash mobs, manchester

New anti-coal campaign launches in Yorkshire

Posted by jossc — 15 September 2008 at 4:27pm - Comments

YANC launch their campaign on the steps of Leeds City Hall

YANC launch their campaign on the steps of Leeds City Hall

Hot on the heels of the successful Kingsnorth trial outcome in Kent comes more good news for those of us committed to preventing new coal projects gaining a foothold across Britain. Yorkshire Against New Coal announced itself on the national stage at the end of last week with a launch event at Leeds Civic Hall.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, leeds, mining, open-cast, yorkshire

Kingsnorth trial: witness statements in full

Posted by bex — 12 September 2008 at 2:17pm - Comments

Zak Goldsmith outside Maidstone Crown Court

Zak Goldsmith outside Maidstone Crown Court © Greenpeace/Jiri Rezak

As promised, here are the full written statements from the defence witnesses at the Kingsnorth trial:

Obviously, these don't include verbal answers the witnesses gave while they were on the stand - check out the daily blogs from the trial for some of those.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, kingsnorth, kingsnorth six, legal, trials

Kingsnorth trial: Jim Hansen's full statement

Posted by bex — 12 September 2008 at 10:49am - Comments

James Hansen

James Hansen in conversation outside Maidstone Crown Court © Rezac/Greenpeace

I blogged bits of Hansen's spoken testimony on the day he gave it, but here's his written witness statement in full (pdf).

If you don't want to read through the whole thing, here are the summary facts (known, as Hansen writes, "by the UK government, by the utility EON, by the fossil fuel industry, and by the defendants at the time of their actions in 2007"):

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, james hansen, kingsnorth, kingsnorth six
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