Blooming flowers – a harbinger of doom.

According to textbooks there should be between 20  and 30 species in flower on new years day. This year there were 368 in bloom raising further questions about the effects of climate change during the UK’s warmest year on record.  Many of the flowers, like daisy and dandelion shouldn’t bloom for at least a couple …
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“The Facts” about sustainability, the environment and your future.

Below are the facts stated in the film Cowspiracy and their references.  Which ever side you’re on it’s good to know them.   For example, one takeaway from the ideas presented is that we can resolve environmental problems, reform economic systems and still keep our cars, if we change our diet.  If you take that with …
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5 feet of snow and zero degrees in every US state. “I’m not a scientist”, but that’s not normal.

Freezing temperatures were recorded across all 50 US states, including Florida and Hawaii, and a massive snowstorm dumped 5 feet of snow in the Buffalo area (North East US). It’s pretty.  But deadly.  So far 7 people are dead.  Three had heart attacks while shovelling snow – which is a sad commentary on health, diets …
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More rain in a few days than normally expected in a year. That’s climate change.

The report on deadly mudslides in Switzerland and Italy squeezed that little tidbit of information between a couple of great photos of flooding in the region. I can be quite sanguine about death because individually we are so insignificant.  But clearly as a species we have wrought awesome changes on this planet, including upsetting the …
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Why Naomi Klein Must Not Blame Capitalism

“I haven’t finished reading the book; I don’t want to know who wins, capitalism or the climate, but I assume it’s capitalism because the book costs $30 and it’s printed on dead trees.”
–Stephen Colbert, interviewing Naomi Klein (23 Sept 2014)

It’s just melting.

The planet that is. But it’s doesn’t even warrant an exclamation mark because it’s been going on for years now.   Sad. Maybe that’s where everyone’s been getting the water for the ice bucket challenge – haha. Arctic sea ice continued its long-term decline in 2014. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), …
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Demand for action on climate change is getting loud.

Today’s UN climate change summit has provoked peaceful demonstrations around the world and drew significant media attention. The number of people changing their own behaviour and demanding change from leaders is growing.  This is what is required to change the culture of permissiveness that pervades the worlds of money and politics. Some leaders appear committed …
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The end of fossil fuels.

The Rockerfeller Foundation plans to divest fossil fuel assets in its portfolio. The Fund will first focus on limiting its exposure to coal and tar sands, with a goal to reduce these investments to less than one percent of the total portfolio by the end of 2014. It is planning for further divestment as quickly …
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To save nature, just say NO, thank you.

The Economist offers analysis and a guide to curbing greenhouse gases, as the UN conference on climate change approaches.  Here’s their summary table. Notice that the Montreal Protocol achieved the most by a wide margin.   The next most effective policy has been China’s one-child policy.  The effectiveness of both is supported by the simple discipline …
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We’re 20 years away from catastrophe, says PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“Low Carbon Economy Index,” a report released by the accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers, has numerous stark warnings.  Sadly they are unlikely to be heeded by those that matter – big companies, governments and people like you and me – because those are the culprits identified in the report. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, “the gap between …
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