Taking the necessary action to avoid a crisis

People only accept change when they are faced with necessity, and only recognise necessity when a crisis is upon them. Jean Monnet French political economist and diplomat who was one of the founding fathers of the European Union The recent special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that the impact … Continue reading Taking the necessary action to avoid a crisis →

Staying calm in interesting times

We live in interesting times with respect to energy and climate concerns. There is no simple theme to where we are and where we are going. Well, we know where we are supposed to be going but the road isn’t obvious. It is as if we are flailing all over the place trying to make … Continue reading Staying calm in interesting times →

What can we do to help meet our target of 1.5C?

Since the IPCC published its special report showing that our current actions are not enough for us to meet our target of 1.5C of warming, there have been many articles written on what we need to do. These have ranged all of us switching to be vegetarians to, well, you say. Diego Arguedas Ortiz gives … Continue reading What can we do to help meet our target of 1.5C? →

How First Nations in Canada are addressing climate change – “This is power to the people — literally and metaphorically”

Sandeep Pai, an award-winning investigative journalist and researcher and Savannah Carr-Wilson who works in the field of environmental and Aboriginal law in British Columbia, have written an article on TheTyee.ca about the low-carbon actions of T’Sou-ke First Nation. Hopefully this is an inspiration to many others. Towards ‘Total Transition’: How One First Nation ‘Took … Continue reading How First Nations in Canada are addressing climate change – “This is power to the people — literally and metaphorically” →

Climate change: how to collect enough revenue to respond to major catastrophes, while at the same time trying to lift billions of people out of poverty?

Wayne Swan, the former treasurer and deputy prime minister of Australia and a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT), raises an important question in an article in The Guardian. Less fiscal revenue means less money for vital infrastructure and less money to prepare for the effects of natural … Continue reading Climate change: how to collect enough revenue to respond to major catastrophes, while at the same time trying to lift billions of people out of poverty? →

Novel approach to store carbon

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has not been too successful to date for all its promises. Many are sceptical it will ever be a viable approach. Marianne Holmer, Professor of Biology and the University of Southern Denmark discusses in an article on The Conversation website about using seagrass in storage. This is definitely the first … Continue reading Novel approach to store carbon →

A new low-cost system that could provide efficient cooling for homes while using very little electricity

Our low-carbon energy transition needs many innovations, as well as the scaled-up deployment of existing technologies. Matt McGrath writes on the BBC website about a new low-cost system to provide cooling in homes. The approach could also be scaled up to cool power stations and data centres. Climate change: Low cost, low energy cooling … Continue reading A new low-cost system that could provide efficient cooling for homes while using very little electricity →

An estimated 150 million to 300 million climate refugees set to be displaced worldwide by 2050

While violence and poverty have been cited as the reasons for the exodus, experts say the big picture is that changing climate is forcing farmers off their land – and it’s likely to get worse. This article by Oliver Milman, Emily Holden, and David Agren in The Guardian focuses on the migrants leaving central America … Continue reading An estimated 150 million to 300 million climate refugees set to be displaced worldwide by 2050 →

People can now learn about climate change through simulated experience and become motivated to address it

Motivating people to take action can take many twists and turns to find effective approaches. Juliette N. Rooney-Varga, Associate Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell explains in an article on The Conversation website about a simulation game that has participants play delegates at international climate change negotiations. It has proven to … Continue reading People can now learn about climate change through simulated experience and become motivated to address it →

The overriding message located between the lines of the IPCC report is that we must lead our lives within the planet’s means

Mayer Hillman, senior fellow emeritus at the Policy Studies Institute, writes an important article in The Guardian that we have only one option to address climate change. We’re now at a fork in the road: either we cut out fossil fuels completely, or we pass on a dying planet to our children. As the late, … Continue reading The overriding message located between the lines of the IPCC report is that we must lead our lives within the planet’s means →