Category Environment

Here’s what happens when you try to replicate climate contrarian papers

This is so important an article (and paper it is derived from) that I had to share it. The final few paragraphs are powerful. Climate skeptics who claim to be the “real scientists” are so very wrong. It’s about time climate scientists fought back! From the Guardian:

Those who reject the 97% expert consensus on human-caused global warming often invoke Galileo as an example of when the scientific minority overturned the majority view. In reality, climate contrarians have almost nothing in common with Galileo, whose conclusions were based on empirical scientific evidence, supported by many scientific contemporaries, and persecuted by the religious-political establishment. Nevertheless, there’s a slim chance that the 2–3% minority is correct and the 97% climate consensus is wrong.

It’s wrong to kill lions! (Or is it?)

Everyone knows about it. I needn’t really explain the story, but I will.

Dentist from Minnesota pays loads of money to go shoot a lion with a bow in Zimbabwe, after it is lured illegally outside of the national park with bait. Lion gets hit, wonders around in pain, life ebbing, for 40 hours until dentist finds it again, and shoots it in the head with a gun. Lion dies. Man thinks it’s all legal, apparently. The lion was left skinned and beheaded after the hunters trying to destroy the tagged collar Cecil the lion had. Man also faced prison in 2008 after lying to a federal agent about killing a bear.

Wildlife decline may lead to ’empty landscape’

This is worrying. From the BBC:

Populations of some of the world’s largest wild animals are dwindling, raising the threat of an “empty landscape”, say scientists.

About 60% of giant herbivores – plant-eaters – including rhinos, elephants and gorillas, are at risk of extinction, according to research.

Analysis of 74 herbivore species, published in Science Advances, blamed poaching and habitat loss.

A previous study of large carnivores showed similar declines.

In Florida, officials ban term climate change

The state of Florida is the region most susceptible to the effects of global warming in this country, according to scientists. Sea-level rise alone threatens 30 percent of the state’s beaches over the next 85 years.

But you would not know that by talking to officials at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the state agency on the front lines of studying and planning for these changes.

Australia bottom of the climate pile

Australia was the worst performing industrial country in terms of climate change in 2014, a new report has said.

The report by two non-government organisations said the poor ranking was due in part to policy changes made by the current coalition government.

African Union: We Cannot Ignore The Plight Of Berkshire Any Longer

Some of you the other side of the Atlantic may not know that the Gulf Stream which predominantly dictates weather as it pushes systems from North and Central America over to Europe, has been stuck. For months. This has meant the cold air from the North American weather issues has met warmer air from Southern Europe and Africa, swirling and causing muchos rain. A lot of rain. For two months. Britain has been in the throes of severe flooding, attacked from internal rain and mental seas and tides.

Global Documentary Project – a Force for Change

This is something that has been a long time in the making from local friends of mine whom I met through Transition Fareham, part of the Transition Network, which seeks to tackle the peak oil problem on a local level. Kate and Paul are visionaries who have gone out there and done things make the world a better place.

The threat to Turkey is SERIOUS

The shitstorm going down in Turkey deserves more attention. I mean that our governments should be coming out and decrying the Turkish conservative government’s attempts to drive out secularism in the historically secular country. I get enraged when I read about what is going on there. Here is an ostensibly Muslim country which has remained, against all odds, secular in nature. The tide is turning, though, and outrageous things are taking place. This argue makes me bristle with the injustice of the world. Over to the Guardian.

Political Libertarianism, Science Denialism, Philosophy and the likes of James Delingpole

I am going to look at political libertarianism in this post in the context of morality, ethics and philosophy. This has been brought on by the Any Questions live radio programme on BBC Radio 4 the other day from the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Wales which featured right-wing Conservative, Telegraph blogger, Climate Change (AGW) denier James Delingpole, Secretary of State for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Owen Paterson MP (Conservative), left wing Labour politician Peter Hain MP, Leader of Plaid Cymru (The Welsh national party), socialist and republican Leanne Wood.

My local MP, Mark Hoban, showing his true crappy colours

My local Conservative MP voted against including a clean energy target in an amendment to the Energy Bill. There’s a great action and pressure internet group called 28 degrees which famously succeeded in changing the governments mind on forestry called 38 degrees. They mobilise people virtually to pressure governments with petitions and the like. Here is the email they sent me:

Population, Peak Oil, and the Most Important Video You’ll see?

The video embedded below was sent to me by someone with whom I am in contact with in my work with the Transition Network which is a n organisation that seeks to mobilise local communities to move from oil dependence to a more sustainable future given the idea of Peak Oil. For those who don’t know, Peak Oil is the undeniable fact described as: