A Random Man on Planet Earth

New Green Jobs ??.

Yes, psychologists are starting to go green here in Australia.

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Friday, October 09, 2009

Online Research Conference on Climate Change

Climate 2009 is the world´s second on-line research conference on climate change and a major tool on climate change communication, worldwide.

The event will be held on-line from 2 to 6 November 2009 and around 100 papers prepared by some of the world´s leading researchers, will discuss the economic, social and political aspects of climate change.

The Conference will be organized around four main categories of papers:

Social aspects of climate change
Economic aspects of climate change
Political aspects of climate change
Projects which focus on the social, economic and political aspects of climate change, as well as educational and awareness-raising initiatives

Moreover, the Conference "Climate 2009 / Klima 2009" will pay a special emphasis to research linking climate change with one or more of the Millennium Development Goals categories:
poverty and hunger;
universal primary education;
gender equality and women's empowerment;
child mortality;
maternal health;
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases;
as well as environmental sustainability.
Join Climate 2009, join the chats and inform yourself about the latest developments in the field of climate change.

Further details and registration (which is free of any charges) are available at:

http://www.climate2009.net

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Splitting: 'jobs' versus 'the environment'

Overcoming barriers to beat climate change

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!

So please, tell us what you think.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Clean Coal?

Four Corners this week looked at the issue of 'clean' coal - also called Geosequestration or Carbon Capture and Storage (or CCS) or even 'burying the carbon pollution under the ground' - and whether it was a possible major part of any climate change solution.

Against clean coal was Mark Diesendorf (from the Institute of Environmental Studies at UNSW), who argued that the technology was: unproven; expensive; risky; and the money would be much better spent on already available renewable energy such as wind and solar.

Dr Joseph Romm was also interviewed. He argued that clean coal faced a number of challenges:

Expensive
Unproven
Risky

There were also pro-clean coal viewpoints put forward by the coal industry. I

nterestingly the program also had a look at the failed US attempt to get CCS technology 'off the ground' and working 'safely' (it faced increasing levels of community concerns). Given that any new technology must cross the technology 'valley of death' to get to market, it will be both difficult and expensive for Australia to succeed where the US is currently failing.

It needs a lot of Government funding and regulatory help. It is getting this at the State and Federal level, but given that the funding available here is relatively very small in size compared to the US (and they found it too expensive to get a demonstration plant running), it is a difficult task indeed.

The main question is: Could the money be better spent on other solutions?

Renewable energy is already available and needs further policy help to play a major part. The clean coal technology plant would have only lowered the carbon pollution emitted by the coal fired power station by 1.5%. Not a great reduction. "its the idea" said the coal spokesman. It would also take many years (decades even) to roll out any retrofit program for existing coal power stations. Dr Romm suggested we would also need to bury as much carbon pollution as we dill oil out of the ground each year.

Anyway, well worth a look.

Video available here

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

EPA decides 'no new coal-fired power plants' (Well at least for now)

Greenpeace protests against coal carriers

Should coal-fired energy producers pay for greenhouse pollution permits???

Some interesting podcasts on climate change

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So please, tell us what you think.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Estimated cost of adapting to climate change

The UNFCCC had estimated annual global costs of adapting to climate change to be US$40-170 billion, but a new report released has suggested that this is a gross underestimate of the cost to adapt to climate change. The report was published by the International Institute for Environment and Development and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at the Imperial College London.

Professor Martin Perry (who co-chaired the IPCC working group on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation between 2002 and 2008) said:

"Just looking in depth at the sectors the UNFCCC did study, we estimate adaptation costs to be 2-3 higher, and when you include the sectors the UNFCCC left out the true cost is probably much greater,”

Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, (Director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change) said:

"The costs of adapting to live with a changing climate are very uncertain. However, this new report suggests that previous attempts to figure out the costs have drastically under-estimated how expensive this could be. With such large sums potentially involved, the pressure to act now to reduce the extent of climate change is greater than ever.”

Download the full report here

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Adaption of People and Forests to Climate Change

New Green Jobs ??.

Australia's Biodiversity and Climate Change

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So please, tell us what you think.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

AFL goes green

In its efforts to help fight climate change the AFL (Australian Football League) has made Round 20 a GREEN round.

Now you may be wondering if this is helpful or just green wash? (After all, a green ball on green grass does seem a bit silly. Also on view were green umpires and green goal umpire flags and even a recycling symbol in the centre of the ground.)

Still, it did seem to be a positive start, in that, it did help to raise the issue of climate change and there were also some resources available if people wanted to find out more (and hopefully act). In did seem a bit 'light green' in its approach and suggestions, but it is a good starting point given AFL has such a wide following in Australia. It is a 'step by step' approach rather than a 'radical change' approach.

I will just have to wait and see what 'grows' out of the project. Hopefully a lot more to come as the AFL heads towards becoming 'carbon neutral'. Anyway, I like the photo below.

Photo: Judd and Rudd (and in the background Andrew Demetriou, Penny Wong and Kate Ellis) in Canberra on Tuesday to launch AFL Green Round.

More on the AFL green round here.

If you have never seen AFL check out:

video (3 minutes) or this video (1 minute).

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Great Barrier Reef - loss of value due to climate change

Can Sydney adapt to climate change?

New Green Jobs ??.

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!

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So please, tell us what you think.

Australia's Biodiversity and Climate Change

Here is a great new report on the increasing risks to Australia's biodiversity due to climate change.

Some info on the report follows (from the NSW Government Climate Change website):

An assessment of the vulnerability of Australia’s biodiversity to climate change was commissioned by the Australian Government to help increase our understanding of how to help Australia’s rich biodiversity adapt to climate change.

The assessment finds that Australia’s biodiversity is at risk from even moderate climate change and already under stress, for example from habitat degradation, changed fire regimes and invasive species.

Climate change is likely to exacerbate these existing stressors and add additional stresses such as through declining water availability.

Rates of extinction of species are likely to increase as the global average temperature rises by just 1.0 or 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and likely to accelerate sharply as temperature rises beyond 2°C.

The Assessment was undertaken by an independent group of experts, led by Professor Will Steffen, for the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council.

To view the full report click here.

Also worth a quick look:

Kakadu – a climate change hotspot (fact sheet)

The Great Barrier Reef and Climate Change (fact sheet)

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Poor Turtle

Don't forget me . . .

United Nations Year of the Gorilla 2009

Blue tongue lizard

Polar Bear Begs

Penguin Protest

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So please, tell us what you think.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Great Barrier Reef - loss of value due to climate change

Here is a new report on the possible loss of value (due to climate change) for the Great Barrier Reef.

The analysis has been conducted using a Total Economic Value (TEV) approach, consistent with the concepts set out in the Queensland Government’s Environmental Economic Valuation: An introductory guide for policy-makes and practitioners (2003). The approach also draws on concepts developed in the recent Garnaut Report and environmental economics literature, including use of a 100 year timeframe and a social discount rate of 2.65%.

As a first step, the total value of the GBR and of the GBR in the Cairns area were derived. From this, estimates of the total cost of bleaching of the GBR and of the GBR in the Cairns area were then calculated.

Where there are uncertainties over data, a conservative approach has generally been adopted.

At a preferred discount rate of 2.65%, streamed over 100 years, holding present day values onstant, it is estimated that the present value (PV) of the GBR as a whole 9excluding indigenous values) is $51.4 billion, with a value of $17.9 billion estimated for the Cairns area.

From this, an estimate of the cost of bleaching for the Cairns area and the GBR can be derived. If a total and permanent bleaching of the GBR were to occur today, then (holding present day values constant over 100 years, at a discount rate of 2.65% the costs (in PV terms) are estimated at $37.7 billion with an estimate of $16.3 billion for the Cairns area.

Put another way, the bleaching cost for the whole of the GBR is roughly equivalent to a constant $1.08 billion per annum over the course of a century.

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

UNFCCC: Why technology is so important

Earthrace

Yes, psychologists are starting to go green here in Australia.

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!

So please, tell us what you think!

Friday, August 07, 2009

Don't forget me . . .

"Don't forget biodiversity"

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Australia's Biodiversity and Climate Change

Experts warn species in peril from climate change

Saving the Superb Parrot

Orange Bellied Parrot

Use 'synthetic trees' to capture carbon?

Save Blinky from Extinction

United Nations Year of the Gorilla 2009

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So please, tell us what you think.

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Thursday, August 06, 2009

Psychology and Climate Change - a new report by the American Psychology Association

The APA (American Psychology Association) has just released a 'pre-print' copy of a new report on psychology and global climate change. It is well worth a read if you are interested in what psychology has to offer in the fight against climate change (i.e. overcoming barriers, etc). I have been waiting for several months for a chance to see this report. [Update: I have just read the section on population (as suggested)].

I should highlight that this is not the final report (think of it as a 'pre-print' or 'almost final copy') as graphics still need to be added. The final report should be ready for release in about a month.
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The report includes:

Section 1: How do people understand the risks imposed by climate change?

Section 2: What are the human behavioural contributions to climate change and the psychological and contextual drivers of these contributions?

Section 3: What are the psychological impacts of climate change?

Section 4: How do people adapt to and cope with the perceived threat and unfolding impacts of climate change?

Section 5: Which psychological barriers limit climate action?

Section 6: How can psychologists assist in limiting climate change?

The 'pre-print' report is available at:

http://www.apa.org/releases/climate-change.pdf

Here is the blurb on the report:

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS HELP EXPLAIN SLOW REACTION TO GLOBAL WARMING, SAYS APA TASK FORCE

Report Urges Psychologists to Play Larger Role in Limiting Climate Change Effects

While most Americans think climate change is an important issue, they don’t see it as an immediate threat, so getting people to “go green” requires policymakers, scientists and marketers to look at psychological barriers to change and what leads people to action, according to a task force of the American Psychological Association.

Scientific evidence shows the main influences of climate change are behavioral – population growth and energy consumption. “What is unique about current global climate change is the role of human behavior,” said task force chair Janet Swim, PhD, of Pennsylvania State University. “We must look at the reasons people are not acting in order to understand how to get people to act.”

APA’s Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change examined decades of psychological research and practice that have been specifically applied and tested in the arena of climate change, such as environmental and conservation psychology and research on natural and technological disasters. The task force presented its findings at APA’s 117th Annual Convention in Toronto in a report that was accepted by the association’s governing Council of Representatives.

The task force’s report offers a detailed look at the connection between psychology and global climate change and makes policy commendations for psychological science. It cites a national Pew Research Center poll in which 75 percent to 80 percent of respondents said that climate change is an important issue. But respondents ranked it last in a list of 20 compelling issues, such as the economy or terrorism. Despite warnings from scientists and environmental experts that limiting the effects of climate change means humans need to make some severe changes now, people don’t feel a sense of urgency. The task force said numerous psychological barriers are to blame, including:

Uncertainty – Research has shown that uncertainty over climate change reduces the frequency of “green” behavior. Mistrust – Evidence shows that most people don’t believe the risk messages of scientists or government officials.
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Denial – A substantial minority of people believe climate change is not occurring or that human activity has little or nothing to do with it, according to various polls.

Undervaluing Risks – A study of more than 3,000 people in 18 countries showed that many people believe environmental conditions will worsen in 25 years. While this may be true, this thinking could lead people to believe that changes can be made later.

Lack of Control – People believe their actions would be too small to make a difference and choose to do nothing. Habit – Ingrained behaviors are extremely resistant to permanent change while others change slowly. Habit is the most important obstacle to pro-environment behavior, according to the report.

The task force highlighted some ways that psychology is already working to limit these barriers. For example, people are more likely to use energy-efficient appliances if they are provided with immediate energy-use feedback. Devices that show people how much energy and money they’re conserving can yield energy savings of 5 percent to 12 percent, according to research.

“Behavioral feedback links the cost of energy use more closely to behavior by showing the costs immediately or daily rather than in an electric bill that comes a month later,” said Swim.

Also, some studies have looked at whether financial incentives can spur people to weatherize their houses. The research has shown that combined strong financial incentives, attention to customer convenience and quality assurance and strong social marketing led to weatherization of 20 percent or more of eligible homes in a community in the first year of a program. The results were far more powerful than achieved by another program that offered just financial incentives.
The task force identified other areas where psychology can help limit the effects of climate change, such as developing environmental regulations, economic incentives, better energy-efficient technology and communication methods.

“Many of the shortcomings of policies based on only a single intervention type, such as technology, economic incentives or regulation, may be overcome if policy implementers make better use of psychological knowledge,” the task force wrote in the report.

The task force also urged psychologists to continue to expand that knowledge. Environmental psychology emerged as a sub-discipline in the early 20th century but didn’t really gain momentum until the 1980s, according to the report. But the task force said studying and influencing climate change should not be left to a sub-discipline; many different types of psychologists can provide an understanding of how people of different ages respond to climate change. “The expertise found in a variety of fields of psychology can help find solutions to many climate change problems right now,” Swim said. “For example, experts in community and business psychology can address the behavioral changes necessary as businesses and nonprofits adapt to a changing environment.”

Members of the APA Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change:

Chair: Janet K. Swim, PhD, Pennsylvania State University

Susan Clayton, PhD, College of Wooster Thomas Doherty, PsyD, Lewis and Clark College

Robert Gifford, PhD, University of Victoria George Howard, PhD, University of Notre Dame

Joseph Reser, PhD, Griffith University Paul Stern, PhD, National Academies of Science Elke Weber, PhD, Columbia University

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Splitting: 'jobs' versus 'the environment'

Overcoming barriers to beat climate change

New Green Jobs ??

Top 10 Environmental Posts

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!

So please, tell us what you think.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Overcoming barriers to beat climate change

A new report by McKinsey & Company suggests that if "a significant set of barriers" can be overcome, the US economy could reduce its energy consumption by 23% by 2020. The report:

"offers a detailed analysis of the magnitude of the efficiency potential in non-transportation uses of energy, a thorough assessment of the barriers that impede the capture of greater efficiency, and an outline of the practical solutions available to unlock the potential."

"The research shows that the U.S. economy has the potential to reduce annual on-transportation energy consumption by roughly 23 percent by 2020, eliminating more than $1.2 trillion in waste – well beyond the $520 billion upfront investment (not including program costs) that would be required. The reduction in energy use would also result in the abatement of 1.1 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually – the equivalent of taking the entire U.S. fleet of passenger vehicles and light trucks off the roads."

"Such energy savings will be possible, however, only if the United States can overcome significant sets of barriers. These barriers are widespread and persistent, and will require an integrated set of solutions to overcome them – including information and education, incentives and financing, codes and standards, and deployment resources well beyond current levels."

"In addition to the above central conclusion, five observations will be relevant to a national debate about how best to pursue energy efficiency opportunities of the magnitude identified and within the timeframe considered in this report."

Specifically, an overarching strategy would need to:

Recognize energy efficiency as an important energy resource that can help meet future energy needs while the nation concurrently develops new no- and low-carbon energy source
Formulate and launch at both national and regional levels an integrated portfolio of proven, piloted, and emerging approaches to unlock the full potential of energy efficiency
Identify methods to provide the significant upfront funding required by any plan to capture energy efficiency
Forge greater alignment between utilities, regulators, government agencies, manufacturers, and energy consumers
Foster innovation in the development and deployment of next-generation energy efficiency technologies to ensure ongoing productivity gains.

Source and full report and executive summary here

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Yes, psychologists are starting to go green here in Australia.

The New Green Economy

Six Americas - which one are you?

Americans and climate change

Speaking to Americans about Climate Change

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So please, tell us what you think.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Environmental Nanotechnology: Predicting the Interaction of Artificial Nanoparticles with Natural Environments

CSIRO scientist Dr Amanda Barnard has been awarded the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Environmental Research Award at the 21st annual Banksia Foundation Awards, held on Friday evening, 24 July 2009. Below is some information on her work on nanotechnology.

Dr. Amanda Barnard, CSIRO

Environmental Nanotechnology: Predicting the Interaction of Artificial Nanoparticles with Natural Environments

As we search for solutions to our future energy needs, carbon emissions, global warming, industrial toxins, and disease, it is clear that keeping the balance between technological development and environmental protection has never been harder.

Nanoscale materials, only millionths of a millimetre in size, may offer solutions to our biggest problems. However, care is needed as these new ‘nanoparticles’ are largely untested, are (literally) unique on an atomic scale, and we have little or no historical data to guide assumptions regarding the possible risks.

Using highly accurate supercomputer simulations, Dr Amanda Barnard's research focuses on predicting the environmental stability of nanoparticles, to understand how these tiny artificial pieces of matter interact with natural ecosystems.

Dr Amanda Barnard is an internationally renowned scientist, with many years experience in predicting the properties of dozens of different nanoparticles. Her ground-breaking theoretical models can see a path through the complexity of this problem, and investigate situations that experiments cannot.

As more and more nanoparticles are produced in laboratories, and introduced into everyday products, Dr Barnard’s predictive model will be in great demand, but priority number one is to understand what happens when nanoparticles are exposed to our most precious resources, air and water.

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Yes, psychologists are starting to go green here in Australia.

Six Americas - which one are you?

Americans and climate change

Speaking to Americans about Climate Change

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!

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So please, tell us what you think.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Clive Hamilton lecture "The Rebirth of Nature and the Climate Crisis"

Here is the blurb on a fantastic lecture called "The Rebirth of Nature and the Climate Crisis" given by Clive Hamilton recently as part of the Sydney Ideas lecture series being hosted by Sydney University.

In recent times a new theory of a living Earth has captured imaginations. According to James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis, the Earth is a living system in which the biosphere interacts with other physical components of the Earth to maintain conditions suitable for life.

The prevention of climate catastrophe, some argue, requires a shift to a new consciousness, one based on a rediscovery of the idea of a living Earth. To understand how such a philosophical transition might occur, it helps to consider the last great historical transformation of consciousness, the one that gave us the modern view of the Earth.

The emergence of the mechanical philosophy in the second half of the 17th century changed our deepest conception of the world. Previously the Earth was seen as alive and intentioned; the new science saw it as dead. Although Renée Descartes is usually regarded as the seminal thinker of the mechanical philosophy, in fact its roots can be traced to the thirteenth century Scottish theologian Duns Scotus.

Isaac Newton’s work saw the triumph of the conception of a dead Earth, yet Newton himself did not reject the old ‘Hermetic’ philosophy for the new one but held to versions of both. While writing his great mathematical work, the Principia, he also devoted himself to esoteric studies. If Newton could simultaneously be the father of modern science and conceive of the world as alive, could his insights provide the seeds for a new ecological consciousness? And does Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis solve Newton’s conundrum of how to marry a conception of a living Earth with the methods of modern science?

Clive Hamilton is Charles Sturt Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics based at the Australian National University. Until early 2008 he was the Executive Director of The Australia Institute, Australia’s leading progressive think tank, which he founded in 1993.

He has held a number of visiting academic positions, including ones at the University of Cambridge, the University of Sydney and the Australian National University. He has just returned from a period as a Senior Visiting Fellow in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University.

Clive is the author of a number of best-selling books, including Growth Fetish, Scorcher: The dirty politics of climate change, Affluenza (with Richard Denniss) and Silencing Dissent (with Sarah Maddison). His most recent book, The Freedom Paradox: Towards a post-secular ethics, was published last year.

Watch the video here

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

Yes, psychologists are starting to go green here in Australia.

Six Americas - which one are you?

Americans and climate change

Speaking to Americans about Climate Change

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!

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So please, tell us what you think.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Climate simulator (C-Learn)

This also came through the listserve today. C-Learn is quick and easy to use software that shows the outcomes of various climate change scenarios (above shows "Business as Usual"). Worth checking out!

Anyway, here is the message:

We are thrilled to announce the launching of C-Learn, an online freeware interactive climate simulator.
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Check it out at: http://www.climateinteractive.org/
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C-Learn is the 3-region version of the scientifically-reviewed policy-maker-oriented 15-20 region simulator "C-ROADS" built by Sustainability Institute, Ventana Systems, and MIT. You may have seen C-ROADS output in Jonathan Pershing's plenary presentation in April at Bonn. The simulator is being used by the Climate Action Initiative to support the UNFCCC negotiations with analysis and interactive policy exercises.

C-Learn allows users to test changes in fossil fuel emissions (in 3 global regions), deforestation, and afforestation and observe graphical and numerical results for CO2 concentrations, temperature, sea level rise, cumulative emissions, and emissions per capita.

C-Learn software, equations and interface will be shared using open source approaches via Climate Interactive, a partnership of organizations out of Sustainability Institute working to address climate change.

More information:

C-ROADS Overview:

http://www.climateinteractive.org/simulations/C-ROADS

Scientific Review Results:

http://www.climateinteractive.org/simulations/C-ROADS/technical

Project blog: http://climateinteractive.wordpress.com/

The slides Pershing presented:

http://climateinteractive.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/c-roads-and-pershing/

Direct link to C-Learn:

http://forio.com/simulation/climate-development/

Sustainability Institute:

http://www.blogger.com/www.sustainer.org and http://au.mc571.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=climateinteractive@sustainer.org

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

UNFCCC: Why technology is so important

Earthrace

COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOME !!

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So please, tell us what you think.

Positions of the major GHG emitting countries

I was looking around for some information on the GHG emission reduction policy positions of different countries (leading up to Copenhagen). Anyway, this information came through on the climate-l listserve (today).

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs' (UPI-FIIA) research programme on the International Politics of Natural Resources and the Environment has recently published the following publications that discuss the positions of major greenhouse gas emitting countries:

Climate sudoku: Japan's bumpy ride towars a post-2012 target
by Alex Luta
24 June 2009 -- UPI Briefing Paper 36

The Russian debate on climate doctrine: Emerging issues on the road to Copenhagen
by Anna Korppoo
5 June 2009 -- UPI Briefing Paper 33

Towards a new climate regime? Views of China, India, Japan, Russia and the United States in the road to Copenhagen
by Anna Korppoo, Linda Jakobson, Johannes Urpelainen, Antto Vihma, Alex Luta
4 May 2009 -- UPI Report 19

Also see the blog articles related to the Major Emitters:

Medvedev promised to cut emissions - or did he?
by Anna Korppoo, 23 June 2009

Is the new 'climate doctrine' marking a turning point in Russian policy?
by Anna Korppoo, 24 April 2009

Japanese Opinion Poll Supports 7% Emission Cuts
by Alex Luta, 26 May 2009

Additional complexities for Japanese mid-term target
by Alex Luta, 18 May 2009
http://www.upi-fiia.fi/en/blog/161/

Economy versus the Environment on Japan's Road to Copenhagen
by Alex Luta, 22 April 2009

For more information on the research programme on the International Politics of Natural Resources of the UPI-FIIA, please visit their hompage:

** If you enjoyed this post please also check out:

UNFCCC: Why technology is so important

Earthrace