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Kids For A Cool Climate Cool
Kids For A Cool Climate
| Climate Change News 2003 |
A New Wave of Flood Protection for London, but Countryside May Have to Pay the Price 1.2 million Londoners live up to 4 metres below sea level. By 2030 the Thames barrier will no longer be able to protect them. Instead proposals to flood large parts of Kent and Essex are being considered to take the strain off London. The Thames Gateway building project (with 120,000 houses planned below sea level) will be given priority for protection over Kent and Essex farmland.
Sixty Ways to Help Save the Planet Check here whether you are playing your part.
Global Warming Kills 150,000 a Year At least 150,000 people a year die from the effects of global warming say WHO. The recent heatwave caused deaths in Europe due to dehydration, but global warming also causes many bacteria to develop quicker, malarial mosquitoes to spread and of course droughts cause crop failures and lead to malnutrition.
Drowning Islands halt effort to postpone climate change talks The Alliance of Small Island States need £30 million relief fund to help them deal with the effects of the rising sea levels. Many have emigrated to New Zealand, but some refuse to go.
Climate Change Doubles Britain's Stormy Weather Britain has become twice as stormy in the last 50 years as climate change has forced the deep depressions, that used to hit Iceland, further South.
Landing us in it Cheap flights are fantastic, unbelievable - what's the catch! A person on £25,000 a year is paying £557 in income tax to make up for aviations tax exemptions. If aviation grows as expected its contribution to total UK greenhouse gas emissions will be 75% yet it is exempt from Kyoto and government fines. READ THIS ARTICLE IN FULL!
President stands firm on Kyoto: he will not ratify the present protocol Putin has made it clear he will not ratify Kyoto in its current form as he feels it will place "significant limitations on the economic growth of Russia".
Would planting more trees save us from global warming? John Grace, head of ecology and resource management at Edinburgh University said,"Rainforests absorb lots of carbon, and planting new trees and conserving forests can help fight global warming - at least in the short term. Eventually - and possibly within a few decades - the world's forests will become saturated with carbon dioxide and will start spewing it out. "What they do is give us some breathing space until we develop different ways of getting energy," Grace says.
On the rocks: the grim forecast for winter sports as global warming increases Global warming affects the developed world too. It is not just far away Pacific Islands that will suffer - you could lose you winter skiing holiday - no snow, no holiday.
EU nowhere near meeting Kyoto targets 13 of the EU's 15 member states are set to miss their emission reduction targets by a huge margin.
Hot topic by Cool Kids friend Mark Lynas. What are the alternatives to Kyoto - contraction and convergence.
Water boards on alert over supplies Get used to it - climate change will mean more water shortages.
When the wind blows The first UK offshore windfarm is up and in business ready to produce 60 MWatts of electricity.
Shrinking ice in Antarctic sea 'exposes gobal warming' Sea ice around Antarctica has shrunk 20% in the last 50 years, says an Australian study into chemicals found in ice cores.
Will global warming trigger a new ice age? What happens if the gulf stream is swiched off by changes in polar sea ice - we will have a climate similar to Nova Scotia - COLD. No hope for the British wine growers then!
US says no to CO2 cut for industry The US Senate rejected a bill to cut greenhouse gas emissions from industry to 2000 levels by 55 votes to 43.
The planet's polluters should be put in the dock Michael Meacher, the UK's former Environment Minister, says "Mans' ecological footprint is now outpacing many of the natural phenomena that govern our world" and calls for a World Environmental Court.
Green power is in the wind at BT The telecoms group, keen to meet its own greenhouse gas emissions targets, plans to build its own wind turbines because of difficulties in sourcing green energy in the marketplace. One possible site is the company's satellite station at Goonhilly, Cornwall.
Oceans linked to Sahel drought The 1970's and 1980's droughts in Sahel, Africa which were once thought to be due to human degradation of the land are now found to be linked to rising sea temperatures
Climate victims 'are refugees' The Geneva Convention should be changed to recognise environmental refugees. Wealthy countries which cause climate change should do more to help the victims of climate change.
EU alarmed as Putin backtracks on Kyoto Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol despite previous pledges.
The Sunny Side Newport in Wales introduces solar powered street lamps. Each lamp is connected to the national grid, but throughout the year each produces as much electricity as it uses.
Bush Covers Up Climate Research Apparently if you publish research into climate change in the USA proving the link between human activity and climate change you are likely to get sacked or sued. Read more.
Will Venice Really Disappear Within 100 Years Answer: Yes. Venice has sunk by 20 cms in the last 100 years and it is expected that it will sink another 60 cms in the next 100 years.
Plan To Bury CO2 Under North Sea The UK government is planning to pipe CO2 into empty gas reservoirs under the sea bed in a desperate attempt to meet its CO2 emissions targets. Ironically the cost of this scheme will be as much as building offshore windfarms and therefore SOLVING the problem. The environmental consequences of this scheme is not yet known and may cause the sea water to become more acidic and less able to support marine life and therefore CONTRIBUTE to the problem.
Warming Warning For Antarctica Antarctica where nine tenths of the world's fresh water is held is warming rapidly. Wildlife extinctions are expected and penguins could be amongst those theatened.
Europe's Harvest Crisis THe summer heatwave has devastated many of Europe's crops with the south's harvests particularly badly hit.
Melting Glaciers Spell Water Crisis Rising temperatures and reduced winter snowfall means that many glaciers are melting and disappearing altogether. This has diasterous consequences for communities that rely on summer meltwater. It also adds to the rising sea levels worldwide.
How To Use Your Cred To Beat Global Warming Scientists in the University of East Anglia have set up CRED for carbon reduction. They aim to meet the government's target for 60% reduction in CO2 emissions in half the time (2025) for the region of East Anglia. They are using practical solutions to achieve it. Check out www.cred-uk.org
Records Sound Red Alert Over Climate On 10th August the record for the highest temperature in the UK was broken at Gravesend in Kent with 38.1 C or 100.6 F.
Too Hot To Handle... But We Better Get Used To It Scientists are saying that Britons are going to have to get used to hot weather - "It is time we took a long hard look at what the climate has in store for us and learn the best ways to deal with it".
Global Warming May Be Speeding Up, Fears Scientist "There is small probability that man-made climate change is proceeding much faster and stronger than expected" says Prof John Schellnhuber of the Tyndall Centre.
The Climate Must Change - and reform must start with America Sir John Houghton, former Head of the Met Office, compared climate change to a weapon of mass destruction. "Like terrorism, this weapon knows no boundaries. It can strike anywhere, in any form - a heatwave in one place, a drought or a flood or a storm surge in another."
If US states were independent nations they would comprise 25 of the top 60 nations that emit greenhouse gases - Texas' emissions alone exceed France.
Climate Expert Accuses PM Of Cowardice The UK's most eminent climate scientist is accusing Tony Blair of failing to stand up to George Bush on the issue of climate change and putting mankind in jeopardy.
'Potato' Earth's deep secrets To study the climate you must have a detailed knowledge of the oceans and their currents. We are finding a lot more about the oceans and our climate now from the production of a world gravity map by the US-German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) mission.
Seaside beaches at risk Sandy beaches in the UK could disappear within 100 years as a result of rising sea levels unless we look again at our sea defences.
'This is a futile sticking plaster for a running sore' Sustainable transport flies out of the window as the government announces a massive road building campaign.
Homes at risk of flooding 'to double' The number of people in the UK whose homes are at a high risk of flooding is set to double over the next few decades. 3.5 million will be at high risk by the middle of this century
Entire rainforests set to disappear in next decade An area of rainforest the size of Scotland is being lost every year. Sumatran rainforest may disappear completely in ten years meaning the end of the orang-utan and many other species which live there.
Reaping the whirlwind The UN's World Meteorological Organisation puts out a weather warning - the weather is going mad and it is down to climate change.
The great rainforest tragedy The rate that Brazilian rainforest is being cut down has increased by 40% this year. Much of the land is being used to grow soya beans for European cattle food. Brazilian forest is disappearing at 28 square miles a DAY.
'Green' cars fail environment test LPG fuelled cars may not be as green as their painted because they produce more CO2 than diesel cars and more NOx and particulates than petrol.
Global Warming New research claims thatglobal warming wiped out 95% of the Earth's species 250 million years ago - and it could happen again over the next hundred years!
Swallows take flight Each spring over 1 million swallows leave South Africa to come to Britain, but due to the Sahara Desert expanding (another side effect of climate change) and other hazards, fewer than 250,000 have completed the journey this year.
Climate Change hits butterfly habitats Britain's butterflies are suffering because of climate change and habitat destruction. The rarest butterflies cannot move north to take advantage of the warmer wetter weather there because of a lack of suitable habitat and/or larval food plants.
A message no mail train would carry The Royal Mail has axed the mail trains put up to 160,000 extra lorry journeys a year onto Britain's roads. Well thanks a lot Royal Mail!
Wind Turbine Schemes Rejected East Lindsey Council has rejected a planning application for a wind farm at Mablethorpe because they would have "a negative visual impact on the area". The site was to be next to a stock car stadium!!! Flat Lincolnshire will be one the worst affected areas from flooding caused by rising sea levels. Well thought out East Lindsey!
Corus Woes Help CO2 Goals Britain may reach its Kyoto targets through a recession in manufacturing industry. Steel making giants Corus' problems have helped the government exceed their targets. Celebration? Or is this just exporting pollution to the USA where their subsidised steel industry still thrives. Climate change is a GLOBAL problem.
Minister claims greenhouse gain Britain may hit its Kyoto targets ahead of time after CO2 emissions fell 3.5% over the last 12 months.
| Bear Facts As one polar bear cub is rescued by Toronto Zoo, climate change means that the extinction of the species could happen within 100 years. |  |
Canute’s Tidal Warning Britain’s building of sea defences reconsidered. Salt marshes may be the answer to manage rising sea levels.
Grow trees to drive cars Power your car with hydrogen or alcohol fuels from fast-growing trees like willows.
Thaw in Greenland threatens new ice age The amount of ice melting from the surface of the Greenland ice sheet broke all known records last year, threatening a rapid rise in sea levels and a return of very cold winters to Britain because of a slowing down in the Gulf Stream.
One generation to save world CO2 in the atmosphere has reached 370.9 ppm the highest for 420,000 years. Forests are being cut down at 50,000 sq miles per year.
