News: Archive for September, 2015
‘The Paris climate talks are a little more than two months away and most of the world’s big carbon emitters have submitted their climate pledges. That’s the good news. The bad news is that despite many countries pledging to cut carbon emissions in the coming decades, the current commitments may not be enough to limit warming to the world’s agreed upon goal of 2°C (3.6°F).’
via Climate Model Shows Limits of Global Pollution Pledges – Scientific American.
“This Changes Everything†brings the viewer to the front lines of the climate struggle: where communities are fighting the ongoing development of fossil fuels. Klein narrates, as the film examines how the fight is being played out around the world, from Canada’s tar stands to Beijing’s smog.
‘Six years ago in Copenhagen, Hillary Clinton, then secretary of state, brought the moribund negotiations on a deal to slow climate change back from the dead with a single promise of $100 billion a year to help the world’s poor nations.’
via Getting to $100 Billion in Climate Change Aid – The New York Times.
‘President Xi Jinping announced his country’s commitment to cutting emissions from the White House on September 24, the same day Pope Francis lectured Congress on how climate change is affecting the world’s poor. None of this is accidental. These two superpowers likely hope their combined barking will herd the rest of the world into a global emissions agreement at the upcoming United Nations climate talks, to be held in Paris starting at the end of November.’
via Climate Change Is So Bad That the US and China Agree on It | WIRED.
‘…Land-use change and agriculture are by far the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil, as forests and savannas are cut down for cattle pastures and cropland. From 2004 to 2014, deforestation in the Amazon declined by 82%, giving the government a good head start on its new targets. Rousseff said it’s important to remain vigilant, though, as it only takes “one blink†for the chainsaws to start buzzing again.’
via Brazil’s climate targets draw lukewarm reviews | Science/AAAS | News.
‘President Barack Obama’s appearance at the United Nations this week is essentially his last opportunity to use the high-profile global platform to press his foreign-policy agenda, which is facing new challenges as he enters his final year in office.’
‘…Before he chose to pursue the priesthood, the future pope trained as a chemical technician.’
via On Climate Change, Listen to Pope Francis, Not Jeb Bush | The Nation.
‘Current national commitments to cut greenhouse gases would likely allow average global temperatures to rise by 3.5°C by 2100, suggest new modeling results released today. That is well above the 2°C rise deemed safe by many policymakers and researchers.’
via Climate pledges so far would allow extensive global warming by 2100 | Science/AAAS | News.
‘The pledges that countries are making to battle climate change would still allow the world to heat up by more than 6 degrees Fahrenheit, a new analysis shows, a level that scientists say is likely to produce catastrophes ranging from food shortages to widespread extinctions of plant and animal life.’
via Limited Progress Seen Even as More Nations Step Up on Climate – The New York Times.
‘About a week ago, Denmark made the absolute most out of a particularly windy 24 hours by harnessing its power and producing not only all of its own electricity needs for the day, but enough extra to spread between three neighboring countries. To be exact, the sustainable wind-power technologies harnessed and collected 144% of one days electricity needs.’
via Denmark Just Produced 140% of its Electricity Needs with Renewable Wind Power | Earth. We are one.