Wednesday, November 07, 2012

"By leaves we live"

Ice sheets: A new study confirms with greater accuracy than ever before that world's major ice sheets are melting at an accelerating rate. This is why sea level rise is happening 60% faster than was expected in the most recent IPCC report.

Coal boom: 1200 new coal plants planned. Three quarters of the new plants are to be located in China and India. A breakdown of the countries is available here. Though India's expansion plans need to be taken with a grain or two of salt.

Extinction is forever: Tim Flannery reflects on the challenges facing Australian biodiversity and suggests that the current approach isn't working. With a reply from David Bowman. Perhaps how do we triage conservation priorities?

Coal seam gas: Recent measurements (yet to be peer reviewed) suggest coal seam gas production may have significant "fugitive emissions" of methane that render the claims of the gas industry to be somewhat less bad for the climate questionable. Some have suggested that natural gas is methadone to coal's heroin.

Fracking: Stories from the front line in the US. In the UK, academics have just advised the government that it is "categorically clear" that pursuing a shale gas dominated energy strategy is incompatible with legislated UK climate targets. But it looks like they are going to do it anyway.

Big cats, small space: Only 25% of the original African savannah remains undeveloped, leaving less and less room for the iconic megafauna that call it home. Lion numbers are plummeting and they may soon be listed as endangered.

IPCC: The IPCC has been repeatedly wrong on climate change, frequently underestimating the rate and impacts of change.
Note that the first link makes an embarrassingly obvious mistake in its opening claim, confusing carbon with carbon dioxide and so getting the numbers hopelessly muddled.

Trees: All around the world, ancient trees are dying at an alarming rate.

13 comments:

byron smith said...

Guardian: UK Energy Bill reveals attack on Climate Act, undermining the possibility of reaching legislated targets.

byron smith said...

CC has a better critique of the IPCC, making many of the same points without the distracting mistake.

byron smith said...

Guardian: UK fracking gets the green light. Sigh.

byron smith said...

NYT: The boom and bust of shale gas in the US.

byron smith said...

ABC: Podcast background briefing on the new CSG research from Southern Cross university.

byron smith said...

Fracking Ground Zero tour. Eyewitness accounts of how locals have been (mis)treated by gas companies and the effects on their health.
Part One
Part Two

byron smith said...

SMH: China announces peak coal.

This is fascinating. It may be an ambition that fails by a wide margin, but it is nonetheless a very interesting development

byron smith said...

Guardian: Over half of UK's ancient trees at risk.

byron smith said...

Yale360: Climate threats to ancient trees.

byron smith said...

PNAS: Dynamite. Title: Increased stray gas abundance in a subset of drinking water wells near Marcellus shale gas extraction.

byron smith said...

Guardian: UK oaks under threat from unidentified pathogen.

byron smith said...

Climate Crocks: Fracking and high fugitive emissions. More data.

byron smith said...

Conversation: Across the world, trees are dropping dead.