Innovating to zero...

Bill Gates, owner of Microsoft and one of the world’s largest charity organisations, has come out on the side of the greenies. He’s realised the importance of fixing climate change, and he’s come to that realisation via his interest in relieving extreme poverty around the world. Last week, he gave a fascinating TED talk. You might have heard me mention TED talks before, they feature speakers who are...

Blog Action Day: What are you doing about climate ...

Today is Blog Action Day, when bloggers all around the world write on the same topic to raise awareness about how an issue affects our world. This year’s theme is: climate change! Because climate change is a subject I write about regularly, I hope my regular readers will forgive me if I don’t go into detail explaining what it is! If you’re a new visitor, definitely check out the Australian Conservation...

Have your say on the Garnaut Climate Change Review...

The Garnaut Climate Change Review is releasing it’s draft report on 30th June. If you live in a capital city on the mainland, you can attend a public forum to have your say about it. Professor Garnaut will be travelling around the country from the 7th to the 11th of July to host community discussions about the report. Individuals and organisations are encouraged to attend, but if you can’t, you can email or...

Rapid decline in Arctic ice...

On Tuesday, Brian from Larvatus Prodeo posted 7 graphs showing the incredibly rapid decline in Arctic ice last year. It beats all other extremes that have been recorded already, and shows how close we are to the point of no return. Scientists previously predicted that the Arctic ice-cap would be no longer there during summertime by 2040, but have now revised that date to 2012. When it’s gone, we’re looking...

UN climate change conference in Bali...

I’m back! And it was lovely to come home to the news that Australia has (finally) ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and that the US was unsuccessful in trying to derail the negotiations in Bali. So what exactly was agreed to in Bali? to halve emissions by 2050 to negotiate a binding set of short-term targets in 2009 to help developing nations with reducing their emissions and adapting to changes The US was being difficult...

Walk Against Warming...

Yesterday we went to the Perth Walk Against Warming protest march, which was held in Fremantle. We took advantage of the free public transport to get there from the city.We got there a bit early, and picked up a sign to carry. They had 4 or 5 different climate change signs for the people who hadn’t brought their own. We wandered around the Esplanade park doing some people-watching. There were also stalls for various...

What is the Kyoto Protocol?...

With the federal election coming up, there’s been some talk about the Kyoto Protocol, and whether or not we should sign it. You can see who’s for and against Kyoto at the ACF’s election score-card, and read all about the disagreements between leaders and their environment ministers in the news. But what is the Kyoto Protocol, and why is it such an issue for Australia? The Kyoto Protocol is an international...

4 ways the next Australian government can help fix...

Today is Blog Action Day, with the topic of the environment. I blog about the environment anyway - about what I do to live a greener lifestyle, and the places in Australia facing environmental problems. But today I want to look at the big picture… Sydney Opera House mark 2 Originally uploaded by Elfike Prime Minister John Howard called the federal election yesterday - this means we’ve got 6 weeks to decide...

The Weather Makers...

If you’ve been wondering how Earth’s climate works, what global warming is, and how it creates climate change, then Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers is the book for you. Flannery starts by explaining how our climate works and what we’re currently doing to change it. His enthusiastic approach to explaining the science makes this book far more entertaining to read than a dry recital of statistics....

Scorcher: The Dirty Politics of Climate Change...

Clive Hamilton’s book Scorcher is a history of climate change politics in Australia since the mid-90s. Hamilton shows that the Howard government has had a clear agenda for climate change during this time, but not one that many Aussies would approve of. Hamilton starts with details of the power-brokers in Australia who try to prevent government action on climate change. It’s a lot like the Four Corners expose...