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The GMO Issue Reaches Boiling Point in India: Interview with Aruna Rodrigues
The GMO Issue Reaches Boiling Point in India: Interview with Aruna Rodrigues In a recent article published on the India-based News18 site (CNN), prominent US biologist Nina Federoff was reported as saying it is time for India to grant farmers access to genetically modified (GM) crops. In an interview with the site, she says there is no evidence that GM crops are dangerous […]
Rising Sea Levels – by How Much, and Why? A Current Commentary.
Rising Sea Levels – by How Much, and Why? A Current Commentary. The following was published in the journal Science Progress recently, of which I am an editor. Since this blog typically covers issues of environment and energy, I am including the present topic, which I hope will be of interest to its regular readers, […]
Carbon Crossroads: Can Germany Revive Its Stalled Energy Transition?
A wind turbine operating next to the Niederaussem coal-fired power plant near Bergheim, Germany. LUKAS SCHULZE/GETTY IMAGES Carbon Crossroads: Can Germany Revive Its Stalled Energy Transition? Although Germany has been a global leader in moving to decarbonize its massive economy, the country’s ambitious clean-energy transformation is faltering. Now, a broad spectrum of energy experts are […]
We Don’t Mine Enough Rare Earth Metals to Replace Fossil Fuels With Renewable Energy
We Don’t Mine Enough Rare Earth Metals to Replace Fossil Fuels With Renewable Energy Rare earth metals are used in solar panels and wind turbines—as well as electric cars and consumer electronics. We don’t recycle them, and there’s not enough to meet growing demand. Image: Shutterstock A new scientific study supported by the Dutch Ministry of […]
The Next Big Solar Storm Could Cripple Britain’s Infrastructure With £16 Billion Worth Of Damage
The Next Big Solar Storm Could Cripple Britain’s Infrastructure With £16 Billion Worth Of Damage Scientists at Oxford University, have produced the first economic risk model that details the next big solar storm could leave Britain with £16 billion ($20.3 billion) worth of damage. A geomagnetic storm triggered by a burst of solar energy from the […]
Fossil Fuels and Climate Denial Still Reign in Louisiana Despite Scientists’ Dire Warnings for the State
Fossil Fuels and Climate Denial Still Reign in Louisiana Despite Scientists’ Dire Warnings for the State Louisiana is ground zero for the devastating impacts of climate change. Even though the state is already feeling the costly impacts to life and property due to extreme weather and an eroding coastline linked to a warming planet, its […]
Sierra Nevada Snowpack On Track To Collapse 79%, New Study Warns
Sierra Nevada Snowpack On Track To Collapse 79%, New Study Warns A new report by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) examined the headwater regions of California’s ten major reservoirs, representing half of the state’s surface storage, discovered each could experience a 79% decline in peak snowpack water volume by 2100. Berkeley Lab used supercomputers to investigate current warming […]
Five (More) Things You Can do Now to Address Climate Change
Five (More) Things You Can do Now to Address Climate Change Recycle. Eat less meat. Buy electric cars. Have fewer kids. Reduce consumption. Install solar panels on your home. These are just a few of the (primarily middle-class oriented) ideas that the media have offered over the last year to help you figure out “what […]
Ecocide as Creative Destruction
Ecocide as Creative Destruction According to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), since 1970 60% of the mammals, birds, fish and reptiles on the planet have been driven to extinction. To the extent that the WWF has it right, climate change accounts for less than 10% of these losses (graph below). As important and logistically complex […]
Groomed to Consume
Groomed to Consume With Christmas coming up, household consumption will soon hit its yearly peak in many countries. Despite homely pictures of tranquility on mass-produced greeting cards, Christmas is more about frenzied shopping and overspending than peace on earth or quality time with family and friends. As with so much of our lives, the holidays […]
The Flight from Nature
The Flight from Nature A couple of weeks ago one of my readers pointed me to an op-ed piece on climate change by Canadian journalist David Moscrop, titled “It’s time for climate change defeatists to get out of the way.” If you’ve watched the slow-motion train wreck of climate change activism for more than a […]
The end of the Little Ice Age
The end of the Little Ice Age The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a recent and significant climate perturbation that may still be affecting the Earth’s climate, but nobody knows what caused it. In this post I look into the question of why it ended when it did, concentrating on the European Alps, without greatly […]
California’s Next Calamity: Storms Compounded By High Tides
California’s Next Calamity: Storms Compounded By High Tides The wildfires that have taken their toll on California could be just the beginning of the state’s calamities. Now, the high tides of winter are coming and if those tides are worsened by an incoming storm, they could devastate entire cities on the coasts. On December 10, […]
