tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64417263039087909732012-01-31T23:02:13.173+11:00Climate change and other stuff from the other side of the black stumpSouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.comBlogger1091100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-20087684046652477182012-01-31T23:02:00.000+11:002012-01-31T23:02:13.187+11:00

Victoria's high country is safe from cattle grazing in the national park.  The Victorian Government says it is not ruling out a High Court challenge, but lets hope they don't waste their money.  It's enough that they've reneged on other environmentally important issues, like restricting wind farms. After the cattle were kicked out last time around, the plants grew profusely.  I've been visiting

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-91487974001673387292012-01-18T23:33:00.000+11:002012-01-19T00:11:54.559+11:00

The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists have called for the Draft Murray Darling Basin Plan, released last month, to be scrapped They say the plan should be started afresh.  Not throwing out all the work they've done - but they need to completely  re-think what the plan is meant to be a plan of (water management, irrigation, environmental flows and so forth).  It's not a plan yet and it

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-15642020633925599902012-01-04T23:56:00.000+11:002012-01-05T00:15:30.478+11:00

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has released the Annual Australian Climate Statement 2011. It was a year of lots of weather! Lots of contrasts and extremes.  Including tropical cyclones Andrew, Carlos and remember that huge one, Yasi. Being a La Nina year (twice) there was a lot of rain, flash floods and record intense precipitation. Extreme rain and flood events all over,

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-35826154285700626862011-11-29T18:18:00.001+11:002011-11-29T19:51:49.488+11:00

I recently worked out for myself how long we have before we use up the 'emissions budget' that is aimed at keeping warming to 2 degrees. I was prompted to do so after reading this article on realclimate.org (see last paragraph). If emissions were to continue at the current 3% a year (approx) growth rate, and if climate sensitivity is 3 degrees, then we have about 22 years before we've spent the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-90310416795364427952011-09-11T01:52:00.000+10:002011-09-11T05:57:26.733+10:00

On the fires in Texas - like the 2009 fires in Victoria - more precautionary burning wouldn't have made much difference. And it would probably have been dangerous to attempt it any time in the past 12 months - too dry. From Jeff Masters: As I reported in yesterday's post, there has never been a Texas summer hotter than the summer of 2011. The summer of 2011 now holds every major heat record

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-85608845527580365852011-09-06T21:29:00.000+10:002011-09-06T21:30:23.311+10:00

Congratulations, John, on winning a Eureka prize. Well done and very well deserved. Send him your best wishes, everyone.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-79234780399214688042011-08-21T03:29:00.000+10:002011-08-21T03:29:18.932+10:00

Repost - This is a repost of an earlier blog to recognise the people willing to face charges for the sake of saving the world more pain.  The demonstrators at the White House have just been arrested, including Bill McKibben who organised the demonstration.  More will hopefully be there to take their place. Best wishes to them and good luck to America and the world - let's hope Obama listens and

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-56974834890197416932011-07-24T01:14:00.035+10:002011-07-24T02:54:55.789+10:00

Cadel Evans - a heart bigger than Pharlap! You are brilliant! First Australian Winner of le Tour de France. Congratulations!!!!! Building on the shoulders of Oppie and the great Phil Anderson, champions Robby McEwen and Stuart O'Grady, cyclists Brad McGee, brilliant Mark Renshaw and all the other great Australians - more here. And congrats as well to Richie Porte from Tasmania Australia =

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-11796563940461591102011-07-23T03:07:00.001+10:002011-07-23T03:09:00.713+10:00

The BBC is going to improve its reporting on science, following a "review of impartiality and accuracy of the BBC's coverage of science" - as reported in The Guardian: The BBC is to revamp its science coverage after an independent review highlighted weaknesses and concluded that journalists boosted the apparent controversy of scientific news stories such as climate change, GM crops and the MMR

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-19102289463373500642011-07-12T03:46:00.005+10:002011-07-16T11:44:57.304+10:00

The arctic ice and the antarctic ice extent are both tracking record lows at the moment.  Worth keeping an eye on this to see what happens over summer (arctic) and winter (antarctic).

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-92148396637778181812011-07-03T04:29:00.012+10:002011-07-17T15:44:39.178+10:00

The Sydney Morning Herald today printed another bit of fluff from the political denier and campaigner for devastation by climate, Bob Carter.  It was a response to an article by Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb.  Let's hope SMH will now provide 'balance' by making sure the next 99,999 articles it publishes on climate are from climate scientists.  (My comments are in dark blue and

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-22660657701238007872011-06-08T00:28:00.000+10:002011-08-21T03:31:35.489+10:00

James Hansen writes that exploitation of the Canadian tar sands could be catastrophic.  He writes: ...Although there are multiple objections to tar sands development and the pipeline, including destruction of the environment in Canada and the likelihood of spills along the pipeline's pathway, such objections, by themselves, are very unlikely to stop the project. An overwhelming objection is

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-23083769468798325532011-05-28T02:16:00.001+10:002011-05-28T02:25:10.368+10:00

Rapping climate scientists... Notice the Alan Jones impersonator at 2BS radio :D

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-27055330702018538322011-05-27T01:20:00.003+10:002011-05-27T01:42:29.902+10:00

In this Critical Decade, will we be able to stop more of this happening? A puffy white cloud.... ...quickly turned into this: And then this... And because all the firefighters were fighting fires two valley's away, it took till it became this before any help arrived ... And too late to stop it becoming a major fire, burning a vast area of precious native forest and farmland and threatening

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-36081167568405252472011-05-25T02:49:00.000+10:002011-05-25T02:49:51.955+10:00

Yesterday, Australia's Climate Commission released a new report with important messages: The following points highlight the key messages arising from the accompanying report The Critical Decade:1. There is no doubt that the climate is changing. The evidence is overwhelming and clear. The atmosphere is warming, the ocean is warming, ice is being lost from glaciers and ice caps and sea levels are

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-17875440363368326052011-05-22T01:24:00.000+10:002011-05-22T01:24:23.199+10:00

Late last year the then Chair of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Mr Mike Taylor, quit because the Government made demands that were not only in conflict with the Water Act but were impossible to achieve. Now the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists have left the process on the grounds that the plan is proposing to let the river die by not ensuring sufficient flow. (A paper on the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-72227618718752617212011-04-18T01:40:00.005+10:002011-04-18T15:20:44.924+10:00

Here is a summary of the points raised by Bob Carter, David Evans, Stewart Franks and Bill Kininmonth in an article published online in Quadrant yesterday (link below).  I've loosely grouped the points they made into topics for clarity.  The statements are not direct quotations.  They represent a summary of the main points made by these eminent men in their short article.  I've put my added

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-53784751013416767222011-04-09T00:54:00.000+10:002011-04-09T00:54:56.104+10:00

How about telling the Channel 10 advertisers what you think of them supporting Andrew Bolt. Glen Beck, infamous for spouting ultra-right wing views, has been effectively fired from Fox News.  It appears that a large number of high profile advertisers pulled out, not wanting their products to be associated with his unAmerican sentiments.  (You'd think the son of Lachlan Murdoch might have learnt

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-89114722270916752022011-03-17T21:24:00.005+11:002011-03-18T00:17:33.752+11:00

Julie Bishop, deputy leader of the opposition (Liberal Party, Australia, welcoming climate catastrophe), ran a survey on her website, checking support for a carbon tax. What's that? 80.2% support a carbon tax!   75.6% strongly support a carbon tax! I grabbed this screenshot of her website last night: Now this and all previous survey's on her website seem to have disappeared.  What went

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-86639967597129031432011-03-11T13:54:00.003+11:002011-03-11T14:30:32.677+11:00

The Republicans yesterday voted to increase pollution in the USA and to accelerate global warming and make weather disasters worse, more frequent and more widespread. This is what Rep Markey had to say about it: http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/03/10/markey-flat-earthers/

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-88709252847984017472011-03-02T20:07:00.002+11:002011-03-02T20:11:38.328+11:00

Down here in Australia we have Sophie Mirabella MP, shadow Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, dog-whistling the crazies to murder and mayhem.  In reference to PM Gillard's proposed introduction of a price on carbon, Mirabella said: "If Ms Gillard believes Australians want to pay higher electricity and higher petrol prices, she is as deluded as Colonel 'my people love me' Gaddafi."

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-10178293517066721412011-02-26T14:58:00.004+11:002011-02-27T04:56:06.101+11:00

As discussed in the Sydney Morning Herald and numerous other places, Cardinal George Pell has made a bit of a fool of himself on the record in the Australian Parliament's primary record, Hansard.  In line with his numerous pronouncements that global warming is not a threat (such as here), Pell wrote to the Senate to immortalise his lack of understanding of climate science and his faith in a book

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-12116046791666226382011-02-20T15:11:00.002+11:002011-02-21T03:24:18.103+11:00

I'm putting together a few links on ecology and biodiversity.  Most nature lovers will have observed changes in their local flora and fauna in recent years.  There will be many more changes over coming years as species are affected by the altered atmosphere and the warming earth, which will have multiple and cascading effects affecting food webs and local habitats.  Here is some further reading

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-48250443377100891932011-02-16T13:59:00.012+11:002011-02-17T02:23:24.547+11:00

Both 'ethics' and 'morality' have their roots in a word for 'customs', the former being a derivative of the Greek term from which we get 'ethos', and the latter from the Latin root that gives us 'mores', a word still used sometimes to describe the customs of a people. - Peter Singer. The recent behaviour of O'Donnell et al (referred to in my previous post) raises issues of morals and ethics.  

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-86814674372366351452011-02-10T16:40:00.009+11:002011-02-11T03:47:13.782+11:00

Deniers and denier chums seem to be doing their best to destroy any semblance of credibility they might have hoped for among gullible members of the public.  Hopefully their latest shonky tactics backfire and they sink into oblivion sooner rather than later. ClimateGATE: First denier shonkiness was shown up after their unfounded 'interpretations' of stolen emails, which were subject to several

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-3427003035930536952011-02-05T19:55:00.001+11:002011-02-05T19:57:43.106+11:00

Here is Yasi as it moves down south three days later, courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-75210036147264353342011-02-03T21:32:00.001+11:002011-02-03T21:34:11.756+11:00

Down here in north eastern Victoria we were warned to expect flash floods in the next couple of days.  The rain has already begun, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Here are some time lapse graphics from the Bureau of Meteorology and NOAA showing how Yasi is already extending its influence right down to the south east corner of Australia, more than 2,000 km south of where the eye of Yasi

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-23274904397013222992011-02-03T18:33:00.012+11:002011-02-03T22:03:39.434+11:00

UPDATE 8:30 pm Thurs 3 Feb: The rains that were supposed to hit us in north eastern Victoria are already arriving, accompanied by thunder and lightning as Yasi joins the air masses coming in from the south west. Yasi is expected to start to break up soon.  It is now a Category 1 cyclone, expected to form a tropical low over the next few hours. The TC Yasi system is continuing to bring rains to

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-173026084785278672011-02-03T01:35:00.009+11:002011-02-03T03:02:33.737+11:00

Listening to ABC radio, people are calling in to let everyone know what is happening in Far North Queensland.  Although many have lost power, have water everywhere, have broken windows, lost sheds, lost roofs, have had trees fall through their houses and had to put up with the screaming wind, they have kept their equanimity and even their sense of humour. One woman is crocheting by candlelight

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-80293693026714509802011-02-02T09:58:00.004+11:002011-02-02T10:06:31.593+11:00

We've had bad cyclones before but this is the monster of monsters.  With tropical cyclone Yasi, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has said in it's latest update that: SEVERE TC YASI IS A LARGE AND VERY POWERFUL TROPICAL CYCLONE AND POSES AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY WITHIN THE WARNING AREA, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN CAIRNS AND TOWNSVILLE. THIS IMPACT IS LIKELY TO BE MORE LIFE

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-35722606351542179522011-02-02T01:39:00.005+11:002011-02-02T02:56:52.641+11:00

Here are some shots of tropical cyclone Yasi as it approaches the coast of Queensland.  It looks as if the eye is starting to form.  The cyclone is expected to hit Cairns / Innisfail tomorrow night. It is currently Category 4, but may even get to Category 5 from what I've read.  It follows the supposedly one in 100 year Category 4 Cyclone Larry which devastated Innisfail in 2006 (and which was

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-8328560164603944822011-02-02T01:07:00.001+11:002011-02-02T01:09:37.944+11:00

Here is a better quality video of the BBC Horizon featuring Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society.    It is a single video on a fast server and much improved definition (click the full screen option for improved viewing).

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-31223324811660419372011-02-01T22:15:00.003+11:002011-02-01T22:23:12.705+11:00

The ABC website lists the current emergencies relating to weather events.  The entire eastern half of the huge state of Queensland in northern Australia, the western half of Victoria in the south east of Australia and important areas of Western Australia are badly affected by floods and cyclones.  Eastern Victoria and south western Western Australia have been affected by bushfires, which, while

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-78363411818124589232011-02-01T16:17:00.002+11:002011-02-02T01:11:05.891+11:00

A couple of days ago, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported record rainfall in Western Australia, with at least 1339.5 mm in Kuri Bay.  The actual amount is not known because the rainfall gauge overflowed during a particularly heavy downpour! New rainfall record set for WAKuri Bay in the Kimberley has recorded 1339.5 mm of rainfall so far this month (1 to 27 January 2011) which is the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-69360982514563017222011-01-26T16:00:00.005+11:002011-03-10T00:33:46.166+11:00

UPDATE:  Here is a link to the complete program, with improved definition: http://bundanga.blogspot.com/2011/02/bbc-horizon-scientists-under-attack.html Thanks to a post on ClimateProgress, I was able to watch this recent BBC Horizon program via six links on youtube: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Some messages: Humans are causing the climate to change at such a rapid rate that it

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-34278234200679736972011-01-18T22:41:00.002+11:002011-01-18T22:44:53.388+11:00

A quick post for anyone in Victoria who is able to volunteer to help those affected by floods. If you've time and energy, register here: http://www.volunteer.vic.gov.au/information-for-volunteers/volunteering-in-an-emergency/register-as-an-emergency-volunteer If you've the financial means, donate here: https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp Record floods are moving across

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-22406546026954279662011-01-17T17:12:00.006+11:002011-01-17T18:41:43.955+11:00

A study by Dr Ailie Gallant and Prof David Karoly, which analyses the changes in Australia's climate since 1911, has been published in the Journal of Climate.  An article today by Adam Morton in the Melbourne daily, The Age, states: THE proportion of Australia experiencing hot and wet extremes has increased in line with predictions of the impact of rising greenhouse gas emissions.A Melbourne

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-5024365237756622612011-01-16T14:26:00.008+11:002011-01-16T17:56:43.098+11:00

VicRoads lists 388 road closures plus 'too numerous to list' across the state on its flood alert website.  The actual number of road closures is not known because some shires are virtually closed to all traffic.  UPDATE: So far, about 13,000 homes in northern and western Victoria have been flooded and the rivers are still rising.  This will mean a massive clean up effort. A number of the road

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-85118434676725676792011-01-16T13:48:00.000+11:002011-01-16T13:48:15.056+11:00

I have already posted on the dreadful floods in Queensland.  Unfortunately, with all the focus on Queensland, those who are flooded out in other parts of Australia are not getting the attention they might otherwise get. A disaster has to affect a capital city before it hits the news.  Queensland floods were the exception because of the vast area affected.  Despite the vast areas affected in

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-72223266711500783552011-01-12T13:09:00.010+11:002011-01-14T02:32:22.571+11:00

GOMMs = grumpy old maids and men. There have been hundreds of thousands of people affected and thousands of people showing strength and courage beyond bravery.  This post is primarily inspired by two such people,  Linda Weston and Robert Wilkin from Grantham who were interviewed on the ABC. Click here to watch the video.  (Has anyone got a link to the clip itself?)   As Linda Weston said -

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-70482698901199647272011-01-12T11:46:00.002+11:002011-01-12T11:48:00.472+11:00

Professor David Karoly, a world-renowned climate change expert from The University of Melbourne, is on ABC News 24 at the moment.  He is describing the effect of the very strong La Nina on Queensland, combined with the record high sea surface temperatures.  According to Prof Karoly, conditions now are similar to the conditions in 1974, except the oceans are warmer because of global warming.  That

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-29497339104691269142011-01-12T00:40:00.002+11:002011-01-12T14:59:51.824+11:00

For the third night in a row a frog has jumped on me in bed.  To get here they had to either climb on the verandah and jump through the window or come in the back door and find their way through several other rooms. The first time it was a middle sized frog that jumped on my head, the past two nights the frogs have been tiny little things.  The one tonight really seemed like it wanted to stay -

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-3622787554588566392010-12-07T12:05:00.004+11:002012-01-18T22:59:32.190+11:00

Now that Mike Taylor AO has resigned, what will happen to the Murray Darling? Mike Taylor has spent much of his life working for the interests of farmers and the agricultural sector.  He is smart, savvy and a workaholic who generates enthusiasm whatever the task at hand.  His resignation shows that he is also a realist. Under the Water Act 2007, the MDBA was charged with preparing a plan for

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-30187198197032325462010-12-06T02:54:00.000+11:002010-12-06T02:54:53.998+11:00

Mike Rann, South Australia's Premier, has tweeted that currently in South Australia 18% of it's energy is from renewables. The plan is for 33% from renewables by 2020 - and he says that their targets effectively mean no new coal-fired power stations. Now what about the rest of Australia.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-41190984140448992792010-12-04T15:36:00.001+11:002010-12-04T15:37:18.015+11:00

Giles Parkinson is providing daily updates from Cancun in ClimateSpectator, for those who want to keep up with what's going on. Unforturnately (or otherwise in the case of some media outlets), the mainstream media isn't paying much attention to this meeting. It's obvious from the reports to date, that Australia is doing no more than paying lip service to climate change.  It appears to have no

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-64846100342864387292010-12-04T02:51:00.000+11:002010-12-04T02:51:57.485+11:00

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-49869805027900028702010-12-03T17:18:00.001+11:002010-12-03T17:19:45.817+11:00

Watching the Deniers has a series of posts on climate change references from the recent Wikileaks documents.  This includes exchanges relating to France, the USA, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.  It makes for interesting reading and is worth popping over there.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-78217386955682826842010-12-01T03:44:00.000+11:002010-12-01T03:44:36.238+11:00

Utilities in the USA could double their spending on solar each year to 2015 according to an article in Bloomberg. What is wrong with Australia? Utilities are planning more wind power here, but why not solar? This is the sunny country. It doesn't make sense! What is wrong with us? We are being left behind. I'm in a rush, but will look more into this in a later post.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-32742566156133589402010-11-23T15:46:00.002+11:002010-11-23T15:48:38.519+11:00

I don't hold much stock with ABC online polls, or any online polls for that matter. Too often the questions and/or response choices are leading, the response options are limited, and the polls get taken over and spammed by political ideologues of one side or another. Nevertheless, this poll is interesting in that it doesn't appear yet to have come to the attention of too many deniers. The

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-52986241968036152562010-11-16T09:04:00.000+11:002010-11-16T09:04:53.359+11:00

Dr Romm has provided a round-up of the latest stark reminders of what we are doing to our earth and where it will lead if we don't rein in our carbon emissions very soon.  The comments add to the picture. It could be much worse much sooner than many people think.  It is already bad enough.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-63250019384283387202010-11-15T18:42:00.001+11:002010-11-15T18:43:15.649+11:00

Fran Kelly had a short interview with Naomi Oreskes on Radio National breakfast program this morning.  It's well worth listening to.  Dr Oreskes is world-renowned academic and Professor of History and Science Studies at the University of California.  She is an articulate and measured speaker and tells it like it is without drama.  She discusses her recent book about how a tiny group of scientists

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-645053197834366792010-11-14T07:35:00.003+11:002010-11-14T11:28:57.980+11:00

After a years of drought, south eastern Australia is being pelted by one torrential downpour after another - not just spring rain, more like the sky opens and pours out giant bathtubs full of water. At the same time, Nigel Pitman is writing about "the worst drought ever recorded in the Amazon basin", as reported in the New York Times. Two of the three worst Amazon droughts in history have now

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-71738645888269322072010-10-27T15:02:00.002+11:002010-10-27T15:17:47.818+11:00

In a new twist, the NSW Government has announced that from tomorrow, those generating solar power to the grid will be paid less for each kWh than what they pay for coal power from the grid. Everyone knows that NSW hasn't had a competent government for many decades (regardless of the political party in power).  It introduced an extremely generous solar incentive scheme whereby households could

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-925154234348808752010-08-06T11:48:00.001+10:002010-08-06T11:52:50.262+10:00

The Australian Labor Party was proposing to censor the internet.  At last that proposal seems dead and buried with the Liberal Party saying they will oppose it if in opposition, and ditch it if they are elected to govern. Not sure yet what will happen to the proposal to spy on the browsing history and emails of all Australians.  Let's hope that never sees the light of day either. Conroy still

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-30638547080989565662010-07-28T18:01:00.000+10:002010-07-28T18:01:19.617+10:00

I don't often write on politics, but there's an election of the federal government representatives in Australia in a short while.  It's sad and almost farcical.  Or totally mind-numbingly boring.  Or completely inept. Whatever happens this time around will have almost no bearing on how Australia responds to climate change.  One party is going to put a handful of non-elected 'citizens' in a room

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-31851382985940851252010-07-07T23:15:00.000+10:002010-07-07T23:15:47.695+10:00

The Sir Muir Russell enquiry into the stolen emails etc is out now and can be seen here. An excerpt from the findings: 13. Climate science is a matter of such global importance, that the highest standards of honesty, rigour and openness are needed in its conduct. On the specific allegations made against the behaviour of CRU scientists, we find that their rigour and honesty as scientists are not

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-41711027443322046802010-06-10T12:16:00.000+10:002010-06-10T12:16:45.487+10:00

The Queen's Birthday is this weekend and is the opening of the ski season here.  The weather has been kind to skiiers with the first snow for 2010 falling just in time.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-73862866383054695942010-06-10T00:38:00.000+10:002010-06-10T00:38:27.853+10:00

Professor Michael Grätzel has been awarded the Millennium Technology Grand Prize for his third generation, low cost, dye-sensitized solar cells.  The Prize is awarded once every two years and is the largest technology award in the world.  Previous winners are Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Prof Shuji Nakamura and Prof Robert Langer. From the accompanying article from the Millennium Prize website: The

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-91170599071880403722010-05-21T06:46:00.001+10:002010-05-21T06:48:00.135+10:00

This CNN video hints at the damage to come from the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil well disaster.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-82227777494634946512010-05-21T00:14:00.002+10:002010-05-21T00:18:04.859+10:00

The sea ice in the arctic is melting very quickly.  In late March and April it was close to the average for 1979-2000.  Now the sea ice extent has just dropped below that of the same date in 2007 and is more than two standard deviations below the 1979-2000 average. If it keeps melting at this rate, this year the ice extent will be the lowest on record. Chart is from the National Snow and Ice

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-32260232360253835132010-05-18T20:22:00.006+10:002010-05-18T20:39:14.148+10:00

The world keeps getting hotter. Here are the headlines from the April 2010 NOAA State of the Climate Report: The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for April 2010 was the warmest on record at 14.5°C (58.1°F), which is 0.76°C (1.37°F) above the 20th century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F). This was also the 34th consecutive April with global land and ocean temperatures above

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-42272675935972117492010-05-14T23:16:00.003+10:002010-05-14T23:23:01.424+10:00

This is a video of the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico.  It is tragic.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-86496996845349270152010-05-01T05:06:00.006+10:002010-05-21T00:26:17.642+10:00

UPDATE 4 May 2010: False alarm.  Centrelink got it wrong.  The feed-in tariff will not be counted towards assessable income for pensioners after all.  I can't find a reference online to confirm this.  However it was confirmed in an article in a Seniors newspaper. What a weird mob we are! For all those people on a pension, if you're considering investing in solar PV for the good of the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-65556230171679660502010-04-28T17:46:00.001+10:002010-04-28T17:55:43.668+10:00

I've just been surfing and came across this, offering food for thought...

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-23285713340608705292010-04-28T00:21:00.006+10:002010-04-28T00:36:13.295+10:00

Yesterday Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the ETS legislation is being postponed to 2013.  In the USA, Republican Senator Lindsay Graham has pulled out of the climate bill, or has he?  The fate of this legislation is up in the air. None of this is good, but nor is it cast in stone.  Australia's federal government will be holding elections this year.  If by some miracle the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-67370638844108686702010-04-15T06:46:00.001+10:002010-04-15T06:52:02.730+10:00

Another article on the criminals who are intent on destroying the world. Clive Hamilton starts off: Is it strange that Sarah Palin, who once thought Africa was a country, now quotes verbatim from emails stolen from Britain's Climatic Research Unit or that Lord Monckton, a leading English climate denier, addresses a Tea Party rally in America? The Tea Party movement doesn't seem to appreciate the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-81593892539351935472010-04-15T02:22:00.018+10:002010-04-15T06:06:28.092+10:00

CRU scientists have just been praised for their efforts in a report which once again showed any claims of scientific impropriety and dishonesty are completely false and unwarranted.  The review was led by Lord Oxburgh and comprised an international panel of leading experts of impeccable character and credentials.  It assessed the integrity of the research published by the Climatic Research Unit

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-51259025320890904952010-04-12T18:21:00.004+10:002010-04-12T18:32:14.761+10:00

Six weeks into autumn and Melbourne's record run has ended.  The 123-day run of temperatures of 20C or more had it's last day on 10 April, just over four months from when it first began.  Yesterday (11 April) the temperature reached a maximum of 18.2C at midnight.  Today's maximum was 17.6C at 1:00 pm. The previous record run in 2000-01 lasted just over two and a half months (78 days), so this

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-1427142553187305682010-04-09T03:18:00.004+10:002010-04-09T03:29:16.856+10:00

I referred to this article by Paul Krugman in a post yesterday.  It's worth highlighting, rather than leaving it as an update to my earlier post.  Prof Krugman starts with some basic economic theory, using those poor overused widgets as an example  to illustrate the concept of the 'efficiency of free markets'.  He then moves on to after-market interventions as a means of ensuring fairness,

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-56669432045934699942010-04-09T01:03:00.008+10:002010-04-09T01:32:06.928+10:00

George Monbiot is reluctantly letting go of the email affair with one last article.  Surely he has some real science to write about? I suppose for Monbiot, this is a sort of apology for being too quick to judge, which he might have realised after he read Steve Easterbrooks excellent post.  But it's not enough in my opinion.  Monbiot should be grovelling in apology to Professor Jones and his

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-59211330080013430422010-04-08T19:19:00.002+10:002010-04-08T19:23:27.570+10:00

Some people have observed the blind faith of some deniers that rising atmospheric CO2 is not a problem, despite all the evidence to the contrary.  Perhaps they are suffering the effects of too much CO2 in the blood.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-41628235384107566982010-04-08T18:09:00.007+10:002010-04-09T02:55:11.181+10:00

The ABC once again has succumbed to the 'balance' argument on Unleashed.  It could be worse.  Alan Moran from the right wing IPA is not very good at framing an argument.  He seems to think that Sarkozy no longer being prepared to go it alone with a carbon tax, demonstrates that it isn't necessary for the world to reduce CO2 emissions.  He suggests that the adverse consequences of climate change

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-52807289497637324322010-04-08T13:51:00.001+10:002010-04-08T13:59:57.279+10:00

In the past month I've declined two invitations to be interviewed by national/state daily newspapers about my work (most of which is unrelated to the main topic of my blog).  It didn't take long to make the decision.  The decision was not a protest.  Neither I nor my clients seek publicity.   My work is not normally of interest to the general public. I don't get approached often and have agreed

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-24178429179563837822010-04-08T00:28:00.002+10:002010-04-08T00:33:43.964+10:00

I hadn't heard of this before, but it looks to be very innovative and maybe holds the key to many future technologies, not just aeroplanes. Today Markus piloted the SolarImpulse prototype in its first full test flight. The SolarImpulse weighs only 1,600 kg and has a wide wingspan of 63.4 m. The eventual aim is to fly around the world powered purely by solar energy in what has been named the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-62335262496363310152010-04-07T22:27:00.010+10:002010-04-08T00:34:41.768+10:00

The National Snow and Ice Data Centre has just released it's latest monthly report.  It said that the maximum ice extent in the Arctic was reached on 31 March this year, which was the latest maximum since satellite records began in 1979.  The previous latest date was on March 29, 1999 (two days earlier than the maximum this year). The Bering and Baltic seas were where ice extent increased,

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-86590766026828636132010-04-07T21:09:00.007+10:002010-04-08T00:36:05.666+10:00

Atmoz is taking taking bets on when atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide will first reach 400 ppm, going by data from NOAA.  Pop on over to register your bet.  I took a punt on April 2014, given that industry is gearing up again after the financial crisis.  Hopefully I'm wrong and all the renewable alternatives will start to kick in soon.  Most other people are betting sometime in 2015 or 2016.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-66792386604149385812010-04-07T17:48:00.000+10:002010-04-07T17:48:58.835+10:00

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-47828123543010370742010-04-05T02:58:00.007+10:002010-04-08T00:37:01.952+10:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted here about Melbourne's record 100 consecutive days of 20C or more.  The previous record was in 2000-01 when it had 78 consecutive days at 20C or warmer.  That's just over two and a half months of consistently warm weather. Today will make it 118 days (nearly four months), which beats the previous record by 51%, which is almost one and a half months more.  And the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-58186041840188218182010-03-31T14:07:00.002+11:002010-03-31T22:05:59.818+11:00

The UK Parliamentary Committee has exonerated Dr Jones and CRU, found that they have no case to answer and concluded that the science is sound (thanks to Mike who's Watchingthedeniers and Eli Rabbett for the news). The Science and Technology Committee today publishes its report on the disclosure of climate data from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia. The Committee

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-48129299980418133832010-03-29T16:04:00.002+11:002010-04-08T00:37:55.248+10:00

The arctic is warming, a lot!  Antarctica as a whole is not warming like the arctic.  Why the difference? The arctic is mostly ocean covered in floating ice. It is warming faster than most other places on earth and the sea ice is rapidly melting. Antarctica is the driest continent on earth. The climate there has been significantly modified by the ozone hole. It's not warming as fast as the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-72415207429690535822010-03-29T14:58:00.004+11:002010-03-29T15:29:05.409+11:00

What will this new Anthropocene Epoch bring? In an article in 2000, Nobel prizewinner Paul J. Crutzen of the Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie and Eugene F. Stoermer (Emeritus Professor, Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan) proposed that the Anthropocene Epoch began in the mid-1800s. (Crutzen, P. J. and E. F. Stoermer, 2000: The "Anthropocene". IGBP Newsletter, 41, 17-18) An

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-40924428143543395882010-03-27T20:11:00.000+11:002010-03-27T20:11:57.097+11:00

Earth hour starts in nineteen minutes, so I'm writing a short piece to mark the occasion.  Lights out at 8:30 pm.  It's dark here, but a nice evening for a walk or just to sit outside and look at the stars, which are beautiful and brilliant in this part of the world. Enjoy an hour of peace and quiet :) 

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-5381889846588885742010-03-27T03:25:00.005+11:002010-03-27T03:35:02.838+11:00

The other day I posted about Melbourne having a record 100 days where the maximum temperature was over 20C.  Now it's 108 days and still counting, that's 30 days more than the previous stretch. Down in Hobart they've had a record spell of warmer than normal weather as well.  Here is some of what the Bureau has to say: Come Saturday, Hobart should have had 100 consecutive days where the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-38941977034417132732010-03-26T23:52:00.002+11:002010-03-27T00:08:05.581+11:00

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-13198657535665657952010-03-26T23:00:00.005+11:002010-03-26T23:30:44.553+11:00

During a discussion at realclimate.org, I was prompted to investigate some of the ways of determining the radiation flux.  I came across an interesting NASA website, which shows an animation of the monthly radiation flux on earth from July 2006 to now.  It also shows changes in cloud cover and snow together with the radiation flux.  It's fascinating to look at the radiation changes through the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-61468974250189944392010-03-24T15:11:00.008+11:002010-03-24T18:22:35.986+11:00

Today is Ada Lovelace Day and the person I am choosing to write about is my lecturer in microbiology, Dr Nancy Millis. Dr Millis was born in 1922, the same year as my father was born.  Despite all the barriers she faced, particularly early on in her studies and career, she made a huge contribution to science and education in Australia.  Dr Millis was refused entry to the Science Degree solely

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-36505971643356095792010-03-22T21:22:00.001+11:002010-03-22T21:47:44.995+11:00

In this week's Science, John Bohannon discusses the dilemma faced by Egypt as the Nile delta sinks. With the strong likelihood of the Mediterranean rising as the climate changes, the options available to Egypt are few and costly. Egypt constructed the massive Aswan High Dam in 1960, with the help of the Soviet Union. The article says: Today, 30% of the land is less than a meter above sea level,

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-71974502410722760372010-03-22T19:14:00.001+11:002010-03-22T19:18:18.043+11:00

Today the followers of WUWT were happy.  They were shown a photo purporting to be a weather station of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's RCS network and it didn't look great.  Only a couple of responders managed to figure out that the station hasn't recorded any temperatures since February 2007, but that didn't dissuade most people from their delight at this new proof that it's no longer

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-5101968479011749842010-03-20T13:18:00.001+11:002010-03-20T13:19:09.182+11:00

Some people are still quoting the Sheahan's false tale about chopping down 250 eucalypts.  What they did and what they were fined for was clearing land without a permit.  This article, written by the President of the Upper Yarra and Dandenongs Environment Council, describes what actually took place as well as I could.  It also points out that in the rush to get items to press, not one journalist

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-54406985922394129422010-03-20T01:01:00.000+11:002010-03-20T01:01:48.824+11:00

Melbourne has broken yet another climate record. Last November (2009), the extended heatwave meant that the average temperature for the month was 5.3C above the 1961-1990 average (that's 9.5F for those still on the old scale). The average minimum was 3.9C above the 1961-1990 average minimum. That's for a whole month. Pretty incredible. Now Melbourne has just had 100 straight days of temperatures

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-2361121185132693802010-03-18T23:34:00.001+11:002010-03-18T23:35:40.249+11:00

I'm a bit crook at the moment so probably won't be posting much for the next couple of weeks. The break will give me a bit of time to think about the blog.

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-15762271776332378042010-03-15T20:52:00.009+11:002010-03-17T23:42:49.670+11:00

As published by the ABC Australia: 15 March 2010 Based on the State of the Climate report from CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology, March 2010 Two of the nation's top research bodies - the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO - have come out strongly in defence of the science behind global warming.The leading research bodies say the evidence is irrefutable: climate change is real and the link with

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-15652309091455139712010-03-15T18:58:00.004+11:002010-03-15T19:02:20.415+11:00

The conservative lobby group SPPI recently published a long article by Nicola Scafetta.  The poor man has no friends, it seems.  His papers have previously been debunked by the climate scientists on realclimate.org and this recent tome has now been trashed on the un-science site WUWT, even by young Anthony himself! In only the second paragraph of the introduction, Scafetta chose to refer to the

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-88237644647631631972010-03-14T01:55:00.003+11:002010-03-14T02:37:47.661+11:00

I've just looked at a site that promotes itself as "Commentary on puzzling things in life, nature, science, weather, climate change, technology, and recent news".  Although most of its articles are pseudo-science or political, every so often it posts an article from a top quality scientific journal.  Today it posted an article from Science on NO2 emitted to the atmosphere from the oceans.  For

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-21896771617060792002010-03-09T19:38:00.002+11:002010-03-09T19:43:58.779+11:00

This article in Nature discusses the length of time it's likely that CO2 stays up in the air.  It's a very long time.  Some of it stays around for thousands and thousands of years.  Some people find it hard to understand why CO2 makes a difference to warming.  (I've already outlined a simple description of why the earth is warming.)  CO2 warms the earth because of its greenhouse properties. 

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-18109485119360747982010-03-08T23:12:00.002+11:002010-03-09T02:25:48.344+11:00

Robyn Williams is the presenter of the ABC National Radio's science show - a radio broadcast that has been run since pussy was a pup (ie for just about ever). This is an abridged version of the 2010 Commonwealth Day address he gave today to a lunch organised by the Commonwealth Day Council,  as reported in The Drum on the ABC website. His strong words are warranted in my view, and scientists

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-53256421659280424512010-03-06T03:26:00.002+11:002010-03-06T03:58:47.229+11:00

Pilkington North America to Collaborate with Dyesol on BIPV Mar 4th, 2010 By admin Category: Industry News Pilkington North America in Toledo, Ohio, has announced a collaboration with Dyesol Inc., the California-based division of Australia’s Dyesol Ltd., to develop opportunities in the building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) marketplace utilizing Pilkington’s TEC series of transparent

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-31194853414910566712010-03-05T22:28:00.008+11:002010-03-06T03:57:37.972+11:00

To change the climate of the entire earth requires a change in the balance of radiation. Energy in = energy out - stable climate Energy in less than energy out - earth gets cooler (ice ages) Energy in more than energy out - earth gets warmer (interglacials) Temperature is one way of measuring energy. The same object measured at a higher temperature has more energy than that object when it's

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-56919272522523134132010-03-05T17:22:00.002+11:002010-03-05T22:36:53.936+11:00

As reported today in various media, including Climate Progress, an NSF article  and the Wall Street Journal, there is a paper in the current edition of Science that points to an urgent need for further research into methane venting from sub-sea deposits in the arctic. If the measured CH4 escaping from the shallow seas is a new phenomenon, then it has serious implications for the climate. 

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6441726303908790973.post-73454993912472109942010-03-04T23:37:00.001+11:002010-03-04T23:38:50.807+11:00

Right now in Queensland, Australia, an area the size of the state of Victoria is under flood water.  At Cunnamulla, the flood waters are expected to peak at 10 metres next week.  This year so far almost eighty per cent of local councils in Queensland have become eligible for natural disaster relief.  BOM flood report for Queensland Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology Queensland

Souhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08818999735123752034noreply@blogger.com0