planted city

It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here | David Roberts: ‘Climate Change Is Simple’ (remixed by Ryan Cooper)

Via YouTube:

David Roberts is staff writer at Grist.org. In “Climate Change is Simple” he describes the causes and effects of climate change in blunt, plain terms.

On April 16, 2012, speakers and attendees gathered at TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege: Hello Climate Change to reflect on the ability — and responsibility — of formal and informal education to inspire and empower action in this era of climate change.

Related:

• David Roberts: ‘Climate change is simple: We do something or we’re screwed’ (Grist)
• ‘Why can’t we quit fossil fuels?’ (The Guardian)
• ‘Global warming’s new frightening deadline’ (Vancouver Sun)

Happy Earth Day!

It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here: Arctic Sea Ice Breaking Up, February-March 2013 (Video)

For those keeping score at home, February and March are winter months.

Video source: NOAA via YouTube

Related:

• ‘Ice Breaking News: This Is Your 2013 Arctic Freezing Season On Crack’ (Climate Progress)
• ‘‘Spectacular’ 1,000 kilometre-long crack rips across ice in Canada’s Beaufort Sea’ (The National Post)
• ‘Scientists link frozen spring to dramatic Arctic sea ice loss’ (The Guardian)

From Xinhaunet:

China will proactively introduce a set of new taxation policies designed to preserve the environment, including a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

…

China is among the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gas and has set goals for cutting emissions. The government has vowed to reduce carbon intensity, or the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic output, by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 in comparison to 2005 levels.

Check out the rest of the article here.

Related:

• ‘China is getting serious about taming coal’ (Grist)

From Business Insider:

Figures from China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) regarding the impact the 4-year plastic bag ban came out earlier this week, and frankly they’re incredible.

China Daily cites a government official who says the ban has saved 4.8 million tonnes of oil (the equivalent of 6.8 million tonnes of standard coal), not to mention 800,000 tonnes of plastic.

If these figures are true, it’s not only a remarkable success for China’s environmental policy, but also a strike for international effort to ban plastic bags.

Check out the rest of the article here.

Related:

• ‘The Plastic Bag Wars’ (Rolling Stone)
• ‘Phase-out of lightweight plastic bags’ (Wikipedia)
• ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch a bigger worry than tsunami debris’ (Los Angeles Times)
• ‘10 Things You Should Know About the Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ (Greenbang)

(Photo credit: Treehugger)

Bill McKibben: ‘Notes on the Climate Fight’ 

From The Terry Global Speaker Series @ UBC:

Though many have come to accept the scientific consensus around climate change, political realities still stifle the hope of real climate action. To help address this political impasse, Bill McKibben will share his invaluable experience mobilizing global grassroots activism. He will share stories from the front lines of the climate fight – from every corner of planet, including our own backyard. Of particular interest to Canadian university students, he will address the Keystone XL pipeline and Alberta Tar Sands development. Some stories are hopeful, some are not, but one thing is certain: we finally have a movement, and Bill would like you to be a part of it.

You can read about his UBC talk and visit to Vancouver here.

Climate Change: US Carbon Emissions Down 7% in 4 Years 

From Link TV:

With US carbon emissions down 7% in four years and bigger drops coming, the United States may emerge as a global leader in cutting carbon and stabilizing climate.

Lester Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, tells Earth Focus that new forces including life style and demographic changes are reducing the use of both coal and oil in the United States. He expects that carbon emissions could decline by as much as 20% in the United States by 2020.

Infographic: ‘The Human Cost of Energy’

“The lion’s share of human costs, however, comes not from accidents but from pollution, which makes fossil fuels the most dangerous form of energy generation.”

(Credit: Scientific American)

Cigarettes and booze have long carried warnings about the personal and second hand risks of their use. How about warning labels for coal plants and other climate destabilizers about the risks they pose to individuals and populations?  

(Source: The Washington Post via Climate Progress) 

Video | The Challenge of Solar Power: Spain’s Stunning Solar Towers Lead the Way

From GOOD:

Concentrated solar power—aka solar thermal, aka the “other solar“—will be a core element of the transition from dirty coal to clean energy. The advantage of coal plants is that they produce a steady, predictable amount of electricity for a relatively cheap cost. Concentrated solar has the potential to do that.

The video was originally posted on the Guardian UK.