The NOAA have said that, so far, 2010 is the hottest year on record with June 2010 being recorded as the hottest June on record worldwide. But this is not a one off appearance as March, April and May 2010 were also the warmest months on record. These records have now been collated and it is the 304thconsecutive month that a global temperature has been above the 20th century average.
The last month that recorded a below average temperature was February 1985.
There are some non-believers of global warming and who have publicly said that it is a political game or a scape goat for other global issues. They have commented that the second half of 2010 will be cooler and that the evidence of global warming is still cloudy. But are these factually, recorded numbers not proof that there is something warming the earth, making these months warmer than we have previously experienced?
In among the high-rising temperatures registered there have been some regions, however, that did record cooler temperatures. Spain recorded its coolest June temperature since 1997 and a town in Southern China recording is coolest June since recordings started there in 1951.
The cooler temperatures do add to the fuel that there is no such thing as global warming but just that we are having a good ’summer’. But this pattern of heating is worldwide. Arctic ice is known for expanding over the winter months and reducing over the summer, but this June showed that the sea ice was declining faster than in previous June months.
It just goes to show that the planet, according to the numbers, on a whole is warmer.
It was been said in a recent set of talks, that Britain could be adding a further 2,500 wind turbines to those that are already planned for the UK.
Chris Huhne, Environment minister, has urged the EU to get tougher on the climate change targets that have been set. The newly appointed Liberal democrat minister, Mr.Huhne has called for a 30% cut in carbon emissions across Europe by the year 2020. This is an additional 10% on top of the already agreed target of 20% decrease in emission by the EU to tackle global warming.
Making the switch over from classic coal, oil and gas power stations would mean increased strain on the UK to change to ‘green’ power. The extra electricity needed to fulfil the new target would have to come primarily from offshore wind farms, adding to the already scheduled 7,000 turbines due to be placed in and around the UK in the next decade.
The extra 10% for Europe to achieve means considerably more for the UK. Britain has already committed to cutting carbon emissions by 34% over the next 10 years. Emissions in Britain are higher and so only 9% of electricity is currently coming from renewable. This means Britain has to do more to help Europe raise its target.
The 30% target would mean Britain cutting carbon emissions by up to 42%. These numbers may seems little and hardly effective but to achieve that new target would mean an extra 10 to 12 gigawatts of green energy or around 2,500 extra wind turbines.
This encouragement to increase targets to help in the battle against global warming is a step in the right direction with the promotion of the 30% increase. While the Friend’s of the Earth campaigners are looking for a bit more “a 40% target would show a real international leadership and fast track the creation of new green jobs and business opportunities” commented Mike Childs, Friend’s of the earth Head of Climate.
More efforts need to be made to look to renewable and sustainable sources of energy and it looks like there is someone speaking the right tunes. The new proposal for the increased carbon emissions target is being put into place; watch this space for further news.
A huge development has been made in the preservation and saving of huge areas of forest in Canadas northern wilderness.
Greenpeace Canada and 9 environmental groups that have been protesting 21 forestry companies for decades, have agreed to stand down and call a truce for a commitment to suspend logging.
This unique truce has been named the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) and was reached on 18th May, in Toronto by the environmental groups and forestry companies in a bid to halt logging and road building right away on over 71 million acres of forest.
This is the very first time that the forestry industry has agreed to put any form of limit on future logging and this is an immense stop in the right direction to prevent more roads from being made and trees being destroyed.
Scientists and Greenpeace Canada spokes people believe that the soil and trees in the Canadian coniferous forest can store up to 20 billion tonnes of carbon and are critical to the survival of the endangered woodland caribou. Protection of the inhabitant woodland Caribou is essential as the population has reduced to 36,000 and defending this important resource is a vital part of fighting climate change.
The three year agreement is due to begin imminently and under the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, FPAC members commit to the highest environmental standards of forest management and conservation, while environmental organizations commit to global recognition and support for FPAC members efforts.
Climate change has been said to be the cause for the extended allergy season.
Suffering from sneezing, congestion, runny noses, headaches being caused by allergic rhinitis otherwise known as hay fever could be lasting longer due to prolonged pollen seasons on account of climate change. Doctors in Italy from the European Pollen Information Service (EPIS) have done extended research for the last six years concentrating specifically on the environmental effects of climate change on the pollen season and the amount of pollen in the air. The studies have conclusively proved that the pollen season and pollen count have progressively increased year on year.
The conclusion of the increased pollen season is said to be due to the average temperature increasing. Warmer winters and springs due to climate change has resulted in the tree pollen season beginning earlier and has effected plant distribution over Europe allowing some non inhabitant species of allergic plants to spread.
The start of the birch tree pollen season in the UK has turned out to be earlier by five days per decade for the last 30 years. The UK has a very large percentage of its population suffering from hay fever and the European results in lengthened pollen seasons have been seen also in the UK. 25% of the UK’s population suffer from allergic rhinitis and this could now increase numbers of those allergic or heighten symptoms, increasing the burden of health, cost and working life for these sufferers.
Well the results are in from the Plane Stupid subvertise event held 22nd/23rd April and the national response to the event, especially given the volcano crisis only days before, was surprisingly reassuring. People all over the country got behind the event, from Brighton, Turo, London, Reading, Bristol, to name but a few. You can view all the brilliant entries on the Plane Stupid flicker site.
The overall winner went to Team Kamikaze, who dressed as workmen, took on the giant Cathay Pacific billboard opposite Algate East station. They stuck up their addition of Huge Emmissions In front of the traffic at the A11 traffic lights in the early hours of the morning before cycling away with a ladder under their arms – brilliant!
Plane Stupid have been very active and interesting campaigners recently and I have to applaud their imagination, humour and impressive dedication. However, the seriousness behind their campaigning cannot be ignored, this is very serious stuff and their new YouTube clip is a powerful reminder of this.
I would have loved to have posted it here, but it’s a very hard hitting message and I wouldn’t want to upset users. If you’re interested, visit the Polar Bear film page on the Plane Stupid website. I highly recommend it; it’s surprisingly powerful.
We have a problem. We’re flying too much, and it’s changing the earth’s climate. – Plane Stupid
Is now really the right time for Plane Stupid to be continuing with their Subvertising Campaign planned for this weekend? Given the disruptive events of the last week to both the aviation industry and to ordinary people, my first instinct it is a resounding No. Far better to wait until the volcanic dust has settled so to speak, than risk attracting negative press to what would ordinarily be a very healthy expression of very strongly felt beliefs.
However, having taken a cursory look at the impact of the grounding of all European flights, I am now beginning to think that action is needed now more than ever and perhaps striking while the iron is hot is exactly the right thing to do – any press is good press, right?
Reasons for this include:
The grounding of 63,000 flights over four days saved 1.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. That’s more than the annual emissions of many developing countries.
The carbon dioxide released by the volcanic eruption itself is dwarfed by the carbon savings generated by the grounding of all European flights.
The Environmental Transport Association estimated that by April 20th the flight ban had prevented the emission of some 2.8m tonnes of carbon dioxide since the first flights were grounded.
The aviation industry is already asking for a bail out to compensate for lost revenue (around £100 million so far). Given that the industry that has never paid fuel tax, most environmental campaigners understandably think this is a bit rich!
There is the hope that good lessons have been learnt from Mother Nature’s outburst. Firstly and most obviously, that she cannot and will not be messed with. Secondly, the world did not stop revolving because we couldn’t fly and people can and did find alternatives to air travel.
And so, the Plane Stupid Subvertising Blitz continues as planned – kicking the aviation industry whilst it’s down, but not without good reason. I shall leave you with some words of Subvertising encouragement and strong sentiments from the artist Banksy;
“F**k that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.” Banksy
This month saw David Kidney MP, Under secretary for energy and climate change speak at the Renewable UK Conference in Westminster. The topic of the talk was on the growing productivity of wave and tidal energy in the UK. He commented “Harnessing electricity from our wave and tidal resources not only plays a crucial part in meeting our climate change target; but also presents a significant economic opportunity for the UK.”
Wind power is now the top renewable source, due to the expansion of offshore wind farms and this is an encouraging move towards harnessing weather elements. David Kidney has pledged to support the wave and tidal power projects and it is now said that the UK are seen as the leaders in marine energy technology.
In April 2008, the world’s first commercial tidal current power system with a capacity of 1.2MW was put into action in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. With the tide flowing at over 7.4 knots it was an ideal location to place this world’s first.
The SeaGen tidal turbine was installed by MCT (Marine Current Turbines Ltd) and is the largest grid-connected marine renewable system in the world. Similar to the wind turbines it is a modular technology and works on generating low carbon energy.
Strangford Lough’s turbine has recently reached the milestone marker of 1000 operational hours, being the first and only tidal turbine to have done so. This world’s largest ever tidal current device generates clean and sustainable electricity for 1000 homes and has so far delivered over 800MW into the Northern Ireland grid. With expectations being exceeded for this system it is leading the way in technology of this type and will shape the future of tidal current power. Martin Wright MCT’s MD reflected “We will build on the success ofSeaGen to develop a commercial tidal farm of up to 10MW in UK waters within three years.”
After recently being granted the lease, MCT are going to deploy the award-winning SeaGenturbines off Brough Ness, on the southernmost tip of the Orkney Islands and north east of John O’Groats. By 2017, 66 SeaGen tidal turbines are going to be placed in three phases with a total generating capacity of 99MW. That’s enough power for almost 100,000 homes.
A great article posted in The Independent recently debated the best way to make progress on environmental issues and it seems that times are changing. The 1970’s saw a surge in the success of the Environmental Protests and Rallies; however there is an argument that ever since these successes, the achievement of protests and mass demonstrations has been in steady decline.
Given last December’s COP 15 debacle, there has never been more proof that our glorious leaders are not listening to us; that they cannot be trusted to act in our best environmental interests when they keep getting distracted by pretty shinning things like money and popularity and that they are no longer taking much notice of physical protests.
There is of course always the lobbying aspect, where campaign groups converge in the paperwork, littering MP’s desks with letters of concern, petitions for action and cluttering up their hard drives with online petitions and e-mails threatening not to vote…
The 1990’s saw a raise in more dramatic feats to get heard, with handfuls of the more adventurers, steadfast protestors scaling huge buildings, tying themselves to things often in fancy dress or taking up residency in trees or on sites of environmental interest.
Although I am being flippant in my descriptions, all of the above represent large swaths of people, action groups and protesters who feel incredibly strongly and are desperately trying to make a difference.
It seems that in 2010, with the rapidly gaining prevalence of groups such as Transition Towns, Transition Heathrow and 10:10, a new form of action is being put in motion. Not surprisingly given the disillusionment of environmentalists following Copenhagen, this new style of making change happen operates on an individual, grassroots level, cutting out government and attempts to change legislation and instead focusing on the reality of modern day living and the price we will all have to pay for it.
The Transition Towns movement is a superb example of this; having lost all hope that local government will lead the way, and acknowledging the fact that fossil fuels are a limited resource, the movement prepares communities for a low carbon future, gradually yet effectively weaning towns off of fossil fuel dependency through a united and conscientious approach.
So are the days of protest marches well and truly over? Certainly not, any positive action will always have its place, however since we can’t trust the government to make the difficult decisions for us, we will simply have to start making changes to our own lives, doing what little we can to make a difference and leading by example – who knows one day they might just catch on.
A-list US celebrities gathered together by proactive environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, initiated a serious Green campaign on January 29th geared towards mobilizing Americans to get involved with forcing the hand of US environmental policy. A selection of the USA’s best-known celebrities including, Edward Norton, Jason Bateman, Felicity Huffman and Forest Whitaker, along with rising stars Chace Crawford, Emmy Rossum and Justin Long, are leading the This is Our Moment campaign to bring the need for clean energy to the fore in Washington.
Whereas here in the UK, following what some see and the complete failure of the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, there is a sense that our leaders are not prepared to listen to us or act upon important green issues. People who feel strongly about green issues in the UK are starting to turn away from politicians for help and look to take positive action on a grassroots, local community level.
However in the US political system, mass lobbying has always had significant sway over US policy. Supported by mainstreaming celebrities, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the very latest viral and public forum technologies, the This is our Moment movement is designed to help Americans contact their senators, flood their email boxes, make videos and generally get interactive in pushing for an American clean energy bill. Given the negative global press generated by the Bush administrations restrictive environmental attitudes, this new campaign breathes fresh air into the environmental struggle not just in America, but the world at large.
The 2010 Winter Olympics kick off today, in Vancouver, Canada and unfortunately during the mildest Canadian January on record since 1937.
Whilst organisers resort to desperate measures, trucking in tonnes of snow and straw to pack-out the slopes, there are already whispers as to whether the freak change in the weather is pointing to something more serious that a disruption to the ski season.
The very real jeopardy of a favoured recreational activity it seems is enough to bring Climate Change to the forefront of people’s minds. It is frustrating, that after all the dire warnings and devastating climatic events already taking place around the world; raising sea levels, tidal waves, flooding etc… it takes a treat to our right to strap flat objects to our feet and slide downhill in cold weather, to really put the frighteners on us. But if it works and prompts any kind of positive action, then who are we to question to motives behind it?
A huge development has been made in the preservation and saving of huge areas of forest in Canadas northern wilderness.
