Archive for July, 2008One of Britain’s best beaches has been left coated in a thick black sludge from thousands of tonnes of rotting seaweed after council officials were told they could be breaking EU rules if they remove it. The deputy chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ogunlade Davidson, said Monday in Luanda that the problem of climate changes in Africa essentially results from people’s lack of resources. FEDERAL Environment Minister Peter Garrett is under fire for preventing government officials appearing at an inquiry into means testing of the solar panel rebate.
This summer’s Camp for Climate Action takes place next week at Kingsnorth in Kent, where German utility company E.On aims to build the UK’s first coal-fired power station for decades. If the government gives the go-ahead, which could happen in October, the CO2 emissions from this one new plant would equal that of the 30 lowest emitting countries in the world combined.
One group set off on Sunday from Heathrow Airport, scene of last year’s camp, to march across London to Kingsnorth as a reminder that both aviation expansion and power generation are key battles in the fight to limit the damage caused by climate change. If these plans become reality then we’ll have no realistic chance of meeting the government’s own target to reduce emissions by 60 per cent by 2050. Long-term climate security versus short-term profits for the power and aviation companies should be a no-brainer, and yet at every turn Gordon Brown seems to unerringly choose the wrong option. The week long camp, which runs from 3-11 August, is one of eight targeting coal around the world this summer. It will bring together hundreds of activists for several days of workshops and discussions about the best ways to oppose new coal plants. Come for a visit Pitching up at the camp for Climate Action is an important step towards changing the UK’s energy policy. Last year’s camp at Heathrow raised the profile of aviation as one of the biggest perpetrators of climate change - this year it will do the same for coal. But it is about much more than just protesting; the camp is a 100 per cent renewably powered experiment in sustainable living, run by its participants using concensus decision making processes. People camp to network, exchange practical solutions, skills and experience. It offers a space to learn more about the root causes of climate change and ways in which they can be tackled both at a public-policy and grass-roots levels. Sound interesting? Why not come and find out for yourself? Details of how to get there, what to bring and what to expect are all available on the Climate Camp website. The “muscles” are being used to turn the ocean’s waves into electricity in a novel pilot project which could eventually provide cheap, clean power With almost as many on the road as cars and trucks, is it time to clean up China’s rural three-wheeled vehicles? The drive for “green energy” in the developed world is having the perverse effect of encouraging the destruction of tropical rainforests WASHINGTON (July 17, 2008) — In a major effort to move America to a clean energy future, former Vice President Al Gore will today call on our nation to produce electricity from sources free of global warming pollution, a move that would put us on a path to a stronger U.S. economy, protect jobs and dramatically reduce dangerous air pollution . Gore, winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, is calling on the nation to do this within ten years. A rare shark has been stolen from a garden shed aquarium. The 2ft long marble shark is one half of the only active breeding pair in the UK and police believe it may have been stolen to order. Carbon emissions from state schools will be included in local authority totals from April 2010 in a pioneering scheme aimed at boosting energy efficiency. |
