Why it's time to think about human extinction: You Tube

"After listening to this video with Dr David Suzuki, you’ll never be the same again. 

The environmentalist, activist, professor of genetics and science broadcaster hits us with some home truths about what our future will look like if we continue to live the way we have been. What will life be like for our children and grandchildren? Can the damage we’ve done to the planet be reversed? Is extinction of the human race imminent? We talk about population control, the importance of renewable energy and discuss what we can do right now in our own lives that can actually make a difference."

This is for anyone who cares about the future of mankind.

Timestamps
20:06 Why humanity has only got 1 minute left to live
25:25  Humans are the only species that don't care about their own children
29:17  Educate yourself on politics or don't complain about the government
36:26  Can we be saved from our own extinction?
59:09  A final challenge for entrepreneurs

#human extinction  #science  #climate catastrophe  #Paris Agreement  # fossil fuels #renewables

'Terrifying': Scientists dig deep for missing piece of climate puzzle: SMH

"... The implications, though, of proof of a reduced ability to destroy methane - which now has a life in the atmosphere of about a decade - would be profound, depending on the scale of any decline.

Apart from raising the warming potential of methane - whether released from coal mines or natural gas fields - the potential for hydrogen to serve as a "clean fuel" could also be placed in doubt. (Labor this week floated a $1 billion plan to create hydrogen export zones in Queensland to be powered by a massive increase in renewable energy.)

"Hydrogen is a very leaky molecule and we’d have to expect that there’d be some leakage in its production," Etheridge says, adding that hydrogen itself has a greenhouse gas effect.

“It may not be of any significance, but we don’t know.”"

Read the SMH article 

#methane  #hydrogen  #coal mines  #greenhouse gases  #climate catastrophe  #natural gas

Big rise in atmospheric CO2 expected in 2019: BBC News

Old gum tree

"Met Office researchers expect to record one of the biggest rises in atmospheric concentrations of CO2 in 2019. 

Every year, the Earth's natural carbon sinks such as forests soak up large amounts of CO2 produced

Criminal Countries

by human activities.
But in years when the tropical Pacific region is warmer like this year, trees and plants grow less and absorb smaller amounts of the gas. 

As a result, scientists say 2019 will see a much bigger CO2 rise than 2018."

Read the BBC article 

See also: Gum Trees and tghe fight against global warming.

#forests  #carbon sinks  #trees  #carbon dioxide  #anthropocene   #greenhouse gas pollution

Gum trees and the fight against global warming: SMH

Old Gum Tree, Tarkeeth Forest, NSW

"Just as the world grapples with the effects of climate change – fiercer and more frequent bushfires, droughts, floods and freak storms – Australia is doing its darndest to cut down more trees. Forests are disappearing so fast in NSW and Queensland that WWF International has put Australia on its list of global deforestation hot spots – the only one in the developed world – while koala populations continue to be decimated through habitat loss.

Climatologists say one of the easiest and cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions is to preserve forests; deforestation accounts for 18 per cent of global emissions, far surpassing vehicles and aircraft combined, according to the Climate Council."

Read the SMH article

#Australia  #carbon emissions  #forests  #deforestation hotspot  #global emissions  #global heating

In Brussels, 70,000 Protesters Demand Action On Climate: BCNN1

At least 70,000 people braved cold and rain in Brussels to demand the Belgian government and the European Union increase their efforts to fight climate change Sunday, the Belgian capital’s fourth climate rally in two months to attract at least 10,000 participants.


The event was described as Belgium’s biggest climate march ever, with police estimating slightly bigger crowds than a similar demonstration last month. Trains from across the nation were so clogged thousands of people didn’t make the march in time.

Some 35,000 schoolchildren and students in Belgium skipped classes Thursday to take their demands for urgent action to prevent global warming to the streets.

Read the whole BCNN1 story

#protest  #European Union  #youth  #citizenactivism  #citizen activism  #climate action

How Climate Change Deniers Rise to the Top in Google Searches: NYT

Who are the climate criminals?

Type the words “climate change” into Google and you could get an unexpected result: advertisements that call global warming a hoax.

“Scientists blast climate alarm,” said one that appeared at the top of the search results page during a recent search, pointing to a website, DefyCCC, that asserted: “Nothing has been studied better and found more harmless than anthropogenic CO₂ release.”

Another ad proclaimed: “The Global Warming Hoax — Why the Science Isn’t Settled,” linking to a video containing unsupported assertions, including that there is no correlation between rising levels of greenhouse gases and higher global temperatures.

(In reality, the harmful effects of carbon dioxide emissions linked to human activity, like rising temperatures and melting sea ice, have been acknowledged by every major scientific organization in the world.)

Read the whole NYT story 

#climate criminals  #climate science  #science  #greenhousegases  #greenhouse gas

Climate Change: The Antidote To Democracy’s Mid-life Crisis: Medium

 

Opinion on climate change

"The manifesto for this new democratic movement will contain few, if any, new ideas. Rather, it will organise a familiar set of policies into a coherent programme:

A flat-rate, no-exceptions tax on emissions — possibly linked to a dividend for all citizens, or with revenues used to fund other climate protection measures.

1. Investment in renewables and low-emission transport infrastructure, which will also create jobs.
2.  
   Enhanced protections for natural carbon sinks in public hands, and incentives for private landowners to increase the quantity of carbon stored by the trees, plants and soils on their land.
3.  
   Funding for research into carbon capture and use, energy storage and next generation renewables.
4.  
   Higher mandatory energy efficiency standards for all new buildings, saving households and businesses money on their energy bills.
5.  
   Scrappage schemes for petrol and diesel vehicles and money for homeowners and landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of existing properties.
6.  
   Investment in climate adaptation and resilience to ensure those most exposed to the impacts of extreme weather — from hurricanes to forest fires — are as well protected as possible.
7.  
   Public awareness campaigns to promote dietary changes that both reduce emissions and improve health.
8.  
   Lowering the voting age to 16, as a way of giving greater democratic voice to those who will be most personally affected by the long-term consequences of global warming."

 

Read the Medium Article 

 

 #energy efficiency  #climate action now   #renewables  #transport  #energy storage  #meat