Effects of climate change on wildlife

Two stories from the Scotsman this week. On Tuesday it reported that global warming was threatening whales and dolphins, by disrupting food supplies. The North Atlantic Right Whale has disappeared from Scotland's West Coast this summer. Read the full story here. Meanwhile today it reports that the Nuthatch, a bird previously restricted to England and Wales, has started to breed in southern Scotland for the first time, as the temperature rises. Read about that here.

There's also a very good review article in the New York Review of Books by radical environmentalist Bill McKibben, concerned with the impacts of climate change. It's entitled The Coming Meltdown. Read it here.

Bad news: carbon offsets and global dimming

If, like me, you want to be able to fly and still feel like you're saving the world, then you might be tempted to purchase "carbon offsets" (paying to reduce carbon emissions in other parts of the world to match those you're making in your hedonistic activity). But these might have environmental impacts of their own. See Guardian article here. Meanwhile the Chelsea of the carbon emissions premier league just keeps zooming away with the title. The US of A keeps telling us that, despite not signing up to Kyoto, it's reducing emissions faster than those hypocritical, po-faced losers who did. Turns out that's a lie.

The worst news of the day turns out to be that one of our environmental success stories is still bad news. Visible pollutants have both caused respiratory diseases and blocked off radiation from the sun (global dimming). Our success in tackling these (partly regulation, partly changes in productive techniques) results in us letting in more solar radiation, which is being trapped by the greenhouse effect. Global warming might be happening faster than we thought! Read it here.

Articles from today's press

Today's Science page in the good old Grauniad has all 3 stories related to climate change. Firstly, there's the melting permafrost, as reported yesterday. Secondly, if you thought you were greener on a motorbike, tough! You actually are less efficient than those four-wheeled foulers. Thirdly, Christmas is the pits, when it comes to emissions anyway! The most problematic things are those winking Santas and reindeer, but cooking a turkey for about a day and a half ain't good for the planet either. And think of all the heat you lose when you open the door to the Carol singers! Bah, humbug! I was going to wish you all a happy Christmas, too!

Also, there's an article available for downloading on the RUSI (Royal United Services Institute) website which takes climate change as an established fact and, as is its raisson d'etre, goes on to analyse its possible contribution to major conflicts (a bit like the Pentagon did a year or two ago). It's here.

Permafrost may disappear by 2100 say scientists

Well, the title says it all! Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, USA have warned that there will be at least a 90% reduction in the Arctic permafrost. This has massive implications for ecosystems in the Arctic, and may have the side-effect of releasing much methane from frozen peat bogs. Methane is over twenty times as powerful a green house gas as CO2, and thus another positive feedback mechanism is set in motion. Read the full story in Science Daily, and on Mongabay.com.

More signs of global warming

Hi all

The pictures of the 'Bradford Posse' are on the CaCC's national website. Check the link here.

The Godard Institute for Space Studies (part of NASA) have released their temperature results for 2005. They show it as slightly warmer than the previous record holder 1998, which was given an artificial boost by a tropical El Nino event of record warmth. There was no El Nino event this year, and so it's even more significant. Read the full story here.

Climate change is threatening indiginous wildlife. Puffins, and other seabirds, face being wiped out by alien shrubs invading and choking the offshore islands they live upon. Read the full story in the Observer here.

According to the Sunday Times today, there is evidence that polar bears are drowning, as the iceshelf melts under them. Read that story here.

Victory in Montreal (Well, for now anyway)

Well, it looks like we just about won in Montreal. The US wanted to wreck the entire thing. Their delegate arrogantly walked out on the last evening, but was shamed into going back in when the rest of the world (and American public opinion) expressed disgust. The Canadian government even bussed in Clinton to do his "World Statesman" routine and lecture the Bushoes about their responsibilities. Bush is damaged, largely due to the Iraq debacle, and is therefore more vulnerable than ever before. The Republicans will get cleaned out in the House mid-term elections and that leaves more space for US movement. The demonstrations, especially the large one in Montreal but also all the others around the world, undoubtedly played their part. So, it was certainly worth getting up at some unearthly hour and getting to London for one of the most fun demos I've been on. Bradford and Calderdale people, well done!

The full story of Montreal is in today's Observer here, and here. There's some food for thought from South Africa here.

And if you want to find out how climate change will affect our region, check out the Yorkshire Post, here.

P.S. There's definitely a chocolate cake in it now for my students!

150,000 deaths blamed on global warming

According to a WHO report, a conservative estimate of those who died in the year 2000 as a direct result of global warming, either through droughts, heat waves, flooding or the increase in communicable disease due to warmer climates, totalled 150,000. Read the full story in yesterday's Toronto Star here. This year is also the hottest, driest and stormiest year ever, read the full story here.

More news on thermohaline circulation stopping

A study presented at the Montreal talks suggests that there is a 70% chance that in the next 200 years the thermohaline circulation, which powers the Gulf Stream and keeps the West of Europe (including us!) warmer that we should be at our latitude, will stop. The effects will still be collossal even if it doesn't stop, but just weakens, and they will be felt much earlier than that. Read the story here.

Locally. It is still not clear what Bradford Council is doing about its obligations to cut emissions under the Nottingham Declaration, to which it is a signatory. Watch this space.

More pictures of the Bradford posse!

Almost without comment. Don't forget to fill in a standing order, even if it's only for a quid (this is for national funds), so we can have an even bigger demonstration next year.

Yesterday in London....

Above are some pictures from the 'Bradford posse's' (copyright some impressed unknown woman demonstrator) day in London protesting about the Climate Crisis. The papers are saying that 10,000 people spent the day in 'a party mood' in London yesterday, at the Campaign against Climate Change's Climate march. We in Bradford took down about forty activists, including large contingents of students from the College and the University, had a great time and got back (after about sixteen hours away) at around 11 pm. The Bradford College contingent wrote our own chants on the way down, many of which were adopted by large sections of the march. These included:

Toxic Texan...
Boil him in oil!

and (to be done in a call and response repeat like the drill-instructor thing from Full Metal Jacket!):

Melting ice and hurricanes!
Bush and Blair have got no brains!
No gulf stream, a new ice age!
Bush and Blair must leave the stage!

very popular also was (Queen-style):

You got oil on your face, a big disgrace,
We're going to stop you frying this place!
We will, we will stop you!
We will, we will stop you!

and:

One solution...
Less pollution!
Right decision...
Cut emissions!

There were more, but space does not allow. Thank you in particular to Anneesa, Fozia, Muniba, Ruby, Shamila, Caroline and Umit for their contributions, and to Maike for providing (and decorating) the balloons! Rizwan, Sean and Farhan also helped. There were also some fantastic people from Calderdale and a large contingent of mainly Peace Studies students from Bradford University. Graham's megaphone work was second to none. The coach wouldn't have even been there without Lois and Andy's rather damp climb with us up Pen-y-ghent!!

One of the young women was threatened with arrest under the Terrorism Act for using a megaphone near Number 10!!!!

It is noticable that while the Independent, including its Sunday variant gave great prominence to the world-wide protest, the Guardian and Observer ignored it. Write letters, threatening to, or even actually saying you will, cancel the paper if it refuses to take this vital issue seriously.

We more or less paid for the coach and previous public meeting, but are still £55 light. This will be rectified when I collect at my next union meeting (NATFHE), in the meantime a hole has been burned in my pocket! If your union isn't involved please try to pass a motion at your next meeting. There's a model one here (scroll to the bottom).

We need standing orders. I've sent forms out to all the people on the list. But you can also get them from here.

The next lot of protests/activities are probably going to be local. Watch this space!

still coach tickets left

These are £12 for waged and £8 for students/unwaged. Don't miss out on a chance to shout at 10 Downing Street and the US embassy! Coach leaves from outside The Old Building, Bradford College, Great Horton Road, Bradford BD7 1AY. If you already have a ticket, tell your friends! Tickets available from me or Bradford University Students' Union office. If you've been reading the papers this week, you know you really should...

The day after the day after tomorrow

Well, the Times this morning has an article on the weakening of the thermohaline circulation, which may well pitch Europe into an ice age. Read the full story here. Also in New Scientist here. I showed the film to my students last month and told them, "well, it can't really happen like that!"