………………………………….
“So even the rain that falls isn’t actually going to fill our dams and our river systems, and that’s a real worry for the people in the bush. If that trend continues then I think we’re going to have serious problems, particularly for irrigation” – Interview with Professor Tim Flannery
ABC News (Australia) Landline, 11 Feb 2007
Month: January 2015
more rain
Climate change ”cannot be ruled out” as a factor in recent heavy rainfalls, such as the flash flooding in Sydney on March 8, the wettest March day for more than 25 years, a report by the federal government’s Climate Commission says. The chief commissioner, Tim Flannery, said NSW was highly vulnerable to climate change.
Sydney Morning Herald, Environment, 14 May 2012
………………………………….
thanks to Firey
2020
Climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters…A secret report, suppressed by US defence chiefs and obtained by The Observer, warns that major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas as Britain is plunged into a ‘Siberian’ climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world.
The Guardian 22 Feb 2004
thanks to GSW
disappearing toys
The effects of snow-free winter in Britain are already becoming apparent. This year, for the first time ever, Hamleys, Britain’s biggest toyshop, had no sledges on display in its Regent Street store. “It was a bit of a first,” a spokesperson said.
The Independent 20 Mar 2000, “Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past”
see also Say what?
thanks to RickA
2030
“We’re facing a mass extinction event,” claims Bob Geldof. ” We may not get to 2030. We need to address the problem of climate change urgently. What are you going to do about it? Get serious. Some of the nations that arrived here so proudly will not be there to meet us.”
The Telegraph (UK) 3 Oct 2013 – about the One Young World Summit in Johannesburg
thanks to Rick Bradford
less summer rain
………………………………….
A change in the North Atlantic current could lead to the end of the soggy British summers, researchers have claimed….. A decline in its speed, however, could cool the North Atlantic and put an end to the pattern, bringing colder but drier summer weather to Britain in future, experts explained.
The Telegraph (UK) 19 Jan 2014
more summer rain
Extreme summer rainfall may become more frequent in the UK due to climate change, according to new research led by the Met Office in collaboration with Newcastle University.
Met Office press release 2 Jun 2014
………………………………….
less coral reefs
………………………………….
Coral reefs will be the first global ecosystem to collapse in our lifetimes. More than 450 scientists from over 60 countries are participating in the “Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Oceans” symposium. When CO2 in the atmosphere reaches a concentration of 450 to 500 parts per million (ppm), the oceans will mostly be too acidic for corals to grow.
IPS News, May 2008
more coral reefs
Coral reefs could be growing 35 per cent faster by the next century because of global warming. A team from the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, modelled interactions between the atmosphere, oceans and ice and found that warmer water would increase the rate of coral calcification, outweighing the detrimental effect of lower calcium carbonate levels. By 2100, corals would be growing 35 per cent faster than they do today, they predicted.
The Scotsman, 8/12/04
………………………………….
The Earth is doomed!
………………………………….
“The climate centres around the world, which are the equivalent of the pathology lab of a hospital, have reported the Earth’s physical condition, and the climate specialists see it as seriously ill, and soon to pass into a morbid fever that may last as long as 100,000 years.”
James Lovelock, The Independent Thursday 16 January 2006
(—thanks to Mervyn)
The Earth is not doomed!
Environmental scientist James Lovelock, renowned for his terrifying predictions of climate change’s deadly impact on the planet, has gone back on his previous claims, admitting they were ‘alarmist’.
“The problem is we don’t know what the climate is doing.We thought we knew 20 years ago. That led to some alarmist books – mine included – because it looked clear cut, but it hasn’t happened”.
He added that other environmental commentators, such as former vice president Al Gore, are also guilty of exaggerating their arguments.
The Daily Mail (Australia) 24 April 2012
………………………………….
—thanks to Mervyn
Scottish ski industry decreases
………………………………….
With the pace of global warming increasing, some climate change experts predict that the Scottish ski industry will cease to exist within 20 years.“Unfortunately, it’s just getting too hot for the Scottish ski industry.” said David Viner, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia
The Guardian, 14 Feb 2004
Scottish ski industry increases
As snow conditions have improved in Scotland in recent years, so have the facilities in its ski centres. We round up what they offer, from the best pistes to where to stay and the best stop for a nice post-piste cake. (Note: pistes = a marked ski run)
The Guardian 2 Feb 2014
………………………………….
“We know who the active denialists are – not the people who buy the lies, mind you, but the people who create the lies. Let’s start keeping track of them now, and when the famines come, let’s make them pay.
Let’s let their houses burn until the innocent are rescued. Let’s swap their safe land for submerged islands. Let’s force them to bear the cost of rising food prices. They broke the climate. Why should the rest of us have to pay for it?”
Steve Zwick, Forbes.com, 19 Apr 2012
“The question is whether active denialists who intentionally distort information – not just people who are honestly wrong, but people who are actively spreading disinformation that ends up preventing us from taking preventive action – are essentially setting their own houses and all of our houses on fire. IF that is the case, then what happens when the fire spreads? Who do we rescue first? Note that in my analogy, the fire was already started, meaning that the scientists were right.”
Steve Zwick, addendum and clarification of the original article
“I don’t think that mass murderers of the usual kind, such as Breivek, should face the death penalty. Nor do I think tobacco denialists are guilty enough to warrant the death penalty, in spite of the enormous number of deaths that resulted more or less directly from tobacco denialism.
GW is different. With high probability it will cause hundreds of millions of deaths. For this reason I propose that the death penalty is appropriate for influential GW deniers. More generally, I propose that we limit the death penalty to people whose actions will with a high probability cause millions of future deaths.”
Richard Parncutt, a Professor at the University of Graz, Austria. “Death Penalty for Global Warming Deniers?” 25 Oct 2012
“To protect future generations, our legal systems urgently need extension. They should measures to protect future generations. Exactly what penalties should be applied in what situation is a question beyond my expertise. I have no expertise in international law or criminal law.
But I can imagine that it might be legitimate to consider the question of the death penalty in such discussions – at least as an extreme with which other more moderate penalties can be compared.
It might also be interesting to consider the power of different kinds of penalties as deterrents. The primary aim should not be to punish a small number of individuals (in the sense of exacting revenge). The primary aim should be to prevent serious consequences for a very large number.”
Richard Parncutt, “Death Penalty for Global Warming Deniers?” revised version, 25 Dec 2012
“Man-made climate change happens. Man-made climate change kills a lot of people. It’s going to kill a lot more. We have laws on the books to punish anyone whose lies contribute to people’s deaths. It’s time to punish the climate-change liars. Those denialists should face jail. They should face fines. They should face lawsuits from the classes of people whose lives and livelihoods are most threatened by denialist tactics.”
Adam Weinstein, “Arrest climate change deniers” gawker.com, 28 Mar 2014
“Surely it’s time for climate-change deniers to have their opinions forcibly tattooed on their bodies. Not necessarily on the forehead; I’m a reasonable man. Just something along their arm or across their chest so their grandchildren could say,’Really? You were one of the ones who tried to stop the world doing something? And exactly why was that granddad?’ “
Richard Glover, The Age, 6 Jun 2011
“What are we to make of those behind the well documented corporate funding of global warming denial? Those who purposefully strive to make sure ‘inexact, incomplete and contradictory information’ is given to the public? I believe we understand them correctly when we know them to be not only corrupt and deceitful, but criminally negligent in their wilful disregard for human life. It is time for modern societies to interpret and update their legal systems accordingly.”
Lawrence Torcello, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology, The Conversation, 13 Mar 2014
“It’s way past time to stop politely coddling these deniers, stop treating their opinions as anything but scientifically illiterate nonsense and lies promoted by fossil fuel fools and mountebanks.”
Meteor Blades, Daily Kos, 19 Feb 2014
“CEOs of fossil energy companies know what they are doing and are aware of long-term consequences of continued business as usual. In my opinion, these CEOs should be tried for high crimes against humanity and nature…” James Hansen, “Global Warming Twenty Years Later: Tipping Points Near,” address to the National Press Club, June 232, 2008
“If the climate deniers were to succeed, and stopped the world responding to the mountain of evidence for human-induced global warming, then hundreds of millions of mostly impoverished people around the world would die from the effects of climate change….
If, like me, you adopt a virtue or duty ethic, but one tempered by consideration of the consequences of an act, climate deniers are less immoral that Holocaust deniers, although they are undoubtedly more dangerous.
However, as the casualties from a warming world mount over the next decades, the denialism of those who continue to reject the scientific evidence will come to be seen as more and more iniquitous.
So the answer to the question of whether climate denialism is morally worse than Holocaust denialism is no, at least, not yet.”
Clive Hamilton, “Denying the coming holocaust” Crikey.com, 16 November 2009
Beer today, gone tomorrow
Climatologist Martin Mozny of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute and colleagues say that the quality of Saaz hops – the delicate variety used to make pilsner lager – has been decreasing in recent years. They say the culprit is climate change in the form of increased air temperature.
New Scientist, 13/9/09
hardest hit – rural Australians
Rural Australians will be the hardest hit by climate change according to Professor Steve Vanderheiden from the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE).
Charles Sturt University, 14 Oct 2013
taxpayers beware
Scientists wanting to discourage people from making unnecessary trips to the airport to cut greenhouse gases were yesterday awarded £500,000 of taxpayers’ money.
Dr Tim Ryley, of Loughborough University, who will carry out the study alongside researchers at Cranfield and Leeds universities, said: ‘ Travelling to airports has a big impact on carbon emissions, but no one has yet identified how to reduce it. This study will address that gap in our understanding.’
Daily Mail, UK, 23 Jan 2010
see also – Say what?
hardest hit – Sydney’s urban areas
Sydney’s urban areas to be hit hardest by global warming
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Sytem Science 7 Aug 2013
hardest hit – Papua New Guineau
The effects of climate change will impact more severely on the economy of Papua New Guinea than on any other in the Pacific, according to a new report by the Asian Development Bank.
ABC News 27 Nov 2013
hardest hit – Bangladesh
Research reports that Bangladesh is one of the hardest hit nations by the impacts of climate change.
UK climate4classrooms.org website
hardest hit – Africa
There seems to be consensus in the developed world that Africa will be the hardest hit or most affected region, due to anthropogenic climate change.
YouLead Collective, A young generation of climate leaders. 20 Nov 2014
hardest hit – Pakistan and Guatemala
Pakistan and Guatemala were hardest hit by weather extremes in 2010. Sven Harmeling, Team Leader International Climate Policy at Germanwatch and the index’s author: “Both extraordinary weather extremes in 2010 left their footprint in this year’s Climate Risk Index.”
carbon-based-ghg.blogspot.com.au, 2 Dec 2011
hardest hit – Vietnam
Vietnam is likely to be among the countries hardest hit by climate change, mainly through rising sea levels and changes in rainfall and temperatures.
International Food Policy Research Institute 2010
hardest hit – small island states
Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim stated today that “The Small Island Developing States are among the hardest hit by climate change. We need to work with them and other partners to ensure that we have the best available information on climate change and share experience on adaptation.
grida.no/polar/news November 2011
hardest hit – Thailand
The environment organization Germanwatch compiled a climate risk index. At the top of the 2011 ranking is Thailand.
dw.de 27 Nov 2012
hardest hit – Maldives
Maldives economy hardest hit by climate change: Asian Development Bank. The Maldives is the most at-risk country in South Asia from climate change impacts, said the report titled ‘Assessing the costs of climate change and adaptation in South Asia.’
Minivan News 19 Aug 2014
hardest hit – Scandinavian countries
According to the latest data modelling, climate change is likely to have the strongest impact on Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden
Planet Earth Herald
hardest hit – Australia
Mr Dunlop, who’s now with the Association for the study of Peak Oil and Gas, says Australia will be one of the hardest hit by a rise in global temperatures.”We’re one of the driest continents on the earth and the effects on Australia will be more severe than elsewhere.”
ABC News 17 May 2013
hardest hit – south-east Asia
Australia’s top intelligence agency believes south-east Asia will be the region worst affected by climate change by 2030, with decreased water flows from the Himalayan glaciers triggering a ”cascade of economic, social and political consequences” The dire outlook was provided by the deputy director of the Office of National Assessments, Heather Smith, in a confidential discussion on the national security implications of climate change with US embassy officials.
Sydney Morning Herald 16 Dec 2010
hardest hit – Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece
Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece are the countries that would be worst affected by global warming, according to a European Union report. The EC Joint Research Commission (JRC) report, released on Wednesday, takes into account four significantly sensitive factors: agriculture, river flooding, coastal systems and tourism.
novinite.com/view_news 25 Nov 2009
hardest hit – southern Europe
The economies of southern Europe and the Mediterranean, including Malta, are forecast to suffer the most adverse effects of climate change, according to a new report drawn up by the European Environment Agency.
Primo-europe.eu 4 Jul 2010
hardest hit – Arctic
Climate change is faster and more severe in the Arctic than in most of the rest of the world. The Arctic is warming at a rate of almost twice the global average
WWF Global, How is the Arctic affected by climate change?
hardest hit – China’s farmers
China’s Poor Farmers Hit Hardest by Climate Change. Declan Conway, a University of East Anglia researcher who has studied climate change’s affect on China’s farmers, told Reuters that people in remote communities in China’s poorer regions are particularly exposed to climate hazards.
Circle Of Blue 16 Dec 2012
hardest hit – Middle East and African countries
Report: Middle East, African Countries to Be Hardest Hit by Climate Change
CommonDreams.org, 5 Dec 2012
oceans less salty
………………………………….
The salt content of the ocean is on the decline, a sign of potentially worrisome consequences that scientists can’t accurately predict. Since the late 1960s, much of the North Atlantic Ocean has become less salty, in part due to increases in fresh water runoff induced by global warming, scientists say.
Live Science, 29 Jun 2005
oceans more salty
Global warming is making the sea more salty, according to new research that demonstrates the massive shifts in natural systems triggered by climate change.
Experts at the UK Met Office and Reading University say warmer temperatures over the Atlantic Ocean have significantly increased evaporation and reduced rainfall across a giant stretch of water from Africa to the Carribean in recent years. The change concentrates salt in the water left behind.
The Guardian, 27 Oct 2008
………………………………….
global warming causes decline in trade winds
………………………………….
The vast looping system of air currents that fuels Pacific trade winds and climate from South America to South-East Asia may be another victim of climate change, according to scientists. The system has weakened by 3.5 per cent over the past 140 years and the culprit is probably human-induced climate change, scientists report in today’s issue of the journal Nature.
ABC (Australia) News 5 May 2006 “Global warming weakens air currents”
trade winds cause decline in global warming
Stronger than normal trade winds in the central Pacific are the main cause of a 13-year halt in global surface temperatures increases, an Australian study reveals.The authors reject the study gives impetus to climate change deniers and instead suggest that when the winds ease, global warming will accelerate rapidly.
ABC Science (Australia) 10 Feb 2014 “Warming slowdown caused by Pacific winds”
………………………………….