6 Glimmers of Climate Optimism for the End of a Dark Year: Medium

It was a year of frightening reports on the future of our planet. But sustainability experts are still feeling optimistic about some of the strides we’ve made this year.

The consensus among scientists, researchers, and sustainability experts following this years’ reports is that while stopping climate change will require an undoubtedly Herculean effort, the biggest hurdle is political, not technical. In other words, if all the innovations in sustainable technology and science were harnessed and directed at reducing emissions and environmental collapse, we might stand a chance at meeting the goals laid out in the reports.

Don’t get us wrong: It will take a heroic, global effort if we’re even going to come close to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius–the point after which, according to the reports, large swaths of the planet will become uninhabitable, and issues like mass starvation will become widespread. And the lack of leadership from the United States, under climate change denier Donald Trump, is making cohesive political action difficult.

But underneath all this, activists, scientists, and business leaders are

working to advance progressive climate action, and despite everything, have hung onto a sense of optimism as we move into 2019. Here are some reasons why:"

Read the complete article 

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Restoring forests may be one of our most powerful weapons in fighting climate change: Vox

 

Fossil fuel exports make Australia one of the worst contributors to climate crisis : The Guardian

Australia looking to become an emissions superpower, the Australian Conservation Foundation says

Australia is responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and could be contributing as much as 17% by 2030 if the pollution from its fossil fuel exports is factored in, research says.

Under climate accounting rules that record carbon dioxide released within a country, Australia is responsible for about 1.4% of global emissions. The analysis by science and policy institute Climate Analytics found more than twice that, another 3.6%, are a result of Australia’s coal, oil and gas exports.

Restoring forests may be one of our most powerful weapons in fighting climate change: Vox

Preserve Forests

One of the technologies for tackling climate change I’m most excited about is direct air capture: using huge electric-powered scrubbing machines to filter carbon dioxide directly out of the air and either stashing it deep underground, or using it for industrial purposes.

 

Adding 2.2 billion acres of tree cover would capture two-thirds of man-made carbon emissions, a new study found.

Allowing the earth’s forests to recover could soak up a significant amount of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research. 

The worldwide assessment of current and potential forestation using satellite imagery appeared Thursday in the journal Science. It estimates that letting saplings regrow on land where forests have been cleared would increase global forested area by one-third and remove 205 billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere. That’s two-thirds of the roughly 300 billion metric tons of carbon humans have put up there since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. 

“The point is that [reforestation is] so much more vastly powerful than anyone ever expected,” said Thomas Crowther, a professor of environmental systems science at ETH Zurich and a co-author of the paper. “By far, it’s the top climate change solution in terms of carbon storage potential.”

Some climate scientists who were not involved with the study disagree with its calculations and are warning against its “silver bullet” message. Still, supporting natural systems that can soak up carbon is widely accepted as a major component of any climate change mitigation strategy — in addition to deploying clean energy, switching to electric vehicles, and curbing consumption overall.

Read the complete Vox article

See also:

Three Surprising Solutions To Climate Change: Forbes

Climate change: what to expect and are there really two sides? | Ask Bob: Video

Published on Nov 4, 2017

Many view climate change as the most pressing issue of our time. But how, specifically, is it going to affect us and our planet? Is there still time to make a difference? And what does it mean to believe "both sides" of climate change science? CBC's Bob McDonald weighs-in.

Related:

How high will sea levels rise- ABC Science

How high will sea levels rise- ABC Science

This video was made in 2014. We now have evidence the Greenland ice shelf and Antarctic ice shelf is melting more quickly than first thought.


ABC Science

Published on Jul 18, 2014

The rising sea is the sleeping giant of climate change. Although we now know it's happening, how high will it go? In an attempt to predict what impact the rising waters will have on our world, scientists are turning to the distant past.

 

Three Surprising Solutions To Climate Change: Forbes

Educating girls and empowering women has multiple positive impacts on climate

'When the analysts at Project Drawdown quantified the impact of 100 solutions to climate change, they were surprised by some of their results, the organization's executive director said in a recent appearance at Carnegie-Mellon University.

"Some solutions were a total surprise," said Jonathan Foley, an atmospheric scientist who took the helm of Project Drawdown late last year, after the list was made. "Some surprised me, and I've been working at this for a long time." .........

'"Women who have more access to education and more opportunity tend to have fewer children, and a little bit later in life," Foley said. It's the only effective way, short of coercion, to reduce human population growth, which lies at the foundation of all of the earth's environmental woes."'

Read the complete Forbes article  by

• Jeff McMahon
June 24, 2019 

 

Read also:

Climate Cuts, Cover-ups and Censorship \\ Climate Council: Video

 

Climate Cuts, Cover-ups and Censorship \\ Climate Council: Video

Since 2013, the Australian Federal Government has covered up poor performance with misleading claims, dubious accounting and censorship - and the Climate Council has held them to account at every turn, busting myths, call out misinformation, and sorting fact from fiction. 

Subscribe here: http://goo.gl/JUPEL3 -- 

After thousands of Australians chipped in to Australia's biggest crowd-funding campaign, the abolished Climate Commission has relaunched as the new, independent Climate Council. We exist to provide independent, authoritative climate change information to the Australian public. Why? Because our response to climate change should be based on the best science available. 

We're a fast growing group of people made up of expert Councillors, staff, volunteers and supporters. 

Together we are doing everything we can to spread independent and accurate information on climate change. 

Connect with us here:
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The Climate Council

Uploaded on Apr 29, 2019

 

 

Related:

June was hottest ever recorded on Earth, European satellite agency announces: Independent