Yesterday in Australia, a politician I once believed in, Kevin Rudd, challenged our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, for the leadership of the Australian Labor Party. I responded by doing something I never thought I would do: I emailed every Labor MP and Senator urging them to oppose Rudd’s attempt to regain the Prime Ministership. Although …
Monthly Archive: February 2012
Feb 21 2012
US energy sources could be mostly renewable by 2030
A US government agency has found renewable energy could become the country’s major energy source in two decades. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) compared the geography of electricity demand with potential supply from solar and wind resources. They concluded 70% of US electricity demand in 2030 could be met by wind …
Feb 20 2012
Get ready for the carbon bubble
Remember the sub-prime mortgage bubble? The next economic bubble could be caused by investing in the unsustainable fossil fuel industry. The idea might sound incredible, but it results from our failure to seriously address the science of climate change. The science tells us we can’t burn all fossil fuels Fossil fuels formed over millions of …
Feb 14 2012
Real-world measurements confirm gas is no cleaner than coal
Figure 1: Methane emissions from natural gas fields are much larger than the industry claims. (Nature, 2012) I have written before about why natural gas is not, as is fashionably believed, a bridge fuel to a zero-carbon economy. Even if gas were cleaner than coal, it’s still a fossil fuel and switching to it would …
Feb 12 2012
Australia’s real climate policy
If you live in Australia you’ve no doubt heard of the Gillard Government’s climate and energy policy: a carbon price branded as the way to a “Clean Energy Future”. But just as a magician misdirects an audience’s attention, the Clean Energy Future diverts attention from Labor’s real energy policy. The Draft Energy White Paper (EWP), …
Feb 10 2012
Energy double standard: Australia subsidizes coal, but not solar
Energy and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson today announced the extension of the Government’s $100 million grant for the proposed new coal power station HRL in the Latrobe Valley, despite a petition signed by 12,667 people urging the Government to withdraw the $100 million and spend it on renewable energy instead. The grant was first awarded …
Feb 08 2012
Maldivian President Nasheed overthrown
The first democratically elected leader of the Maldives, President Mohamed Nasheed, has been overthrown in a dictatorial coup. Nasheed’s climate change advisor Mark Lynas writes in the Guardian: Using violence and then taking over the TV station, as well as recruiting converts among the police, the anti-democratic opposition faced Nasheed with a choice – to …
Feb 04 2012
Durban Part 4: Conclusion
Also see Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series about the significance of last month’s Durban climate talks (COP17). Grenada said in an opening statement: “AOSIS will not and cannot accept a deal here in Durban that does not provide a means to bring in more ambitious legally-binding commitments for Annex I …
Feb 03 2012
Durban Part 3: The outcome
Also see Part 1 and Part 2 of this series about the significance of last month’s Durban climate talks (COP17). After the conclusion of the Durban climate talks, EU negotiator Connie Hedegaard proclaimed that “the European Union’s strategy worked”. But did it? Durban Platform Legal form – binding or not? Let’s look at the text …
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