The Guardian (September 17)
“Sometimes, the future arrives with alarming speed.” In 2000, scientists warned urgent action was needed; otherwise summer sea ice would disappear from the Arctic Ocean by 2050. The actual results have been “far more dramatic….The summer Arctic could be an open sea within a decade.”
Tags: Arctic Ocean, Climate change, Sea ice, Summer
Washington Post (August 27)
“The extent of Arctic sea ice has reached a record low, a historic retreat that scientists said is a stark signal of how climate change is transforming the global landscape.” Typically the summer low comes in mid-September so the ice cover may continue to shrink beyond its current size of 1.58 million square miles. This year, “the ice melted at an unprecedented 38,600 square miles per day during the first part of August.”
Tags: Arctic, Climate change, Record low, Sea ice
Washington Post (August 10)
The Earth is warming up as climate change creates increasingly extreme weather. “The average temperature last month was 77.6 degrees — a full 3.3 degrees warmer than the 20th-century norm for July. This follows the warmest 12-month period ever recorded in the United States, and it continues a long-term trend that is obvious to all except those who stubbornly close their eyes: Of the 10 hottest years on record, nine have occurred since 2000.”
The Earth is warming up as climate change creates increasingly extreme weather. “The average temperature last month was 77.6 degrees — a full 3.3 degrees warmer than the 20th-century norm for July. This follows the warmest 12-month period ever recorded in the United States, and it continues a long-term trend that is obvious to all except those who stubbornly close their eyes: Of the 10 hottest years on record, nine have occurred since 2000.”
Tags: Climate change, Earth, Global warming, Temperature, U.S.
New York Times (July 28)
Richard Muller had been one of the most outspoken climate-change skeptics. No longer. The “converted skeptic” writes, “three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global warming. Last year, following an intensive research effort involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct. I’m now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause.”
Richard Muller had been one of the most outspoken climate-change skeptics. No longer. The “converted skeptic” writes, “Three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global warming. Last year, following an intensive research effort involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct. I’m now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause.”
Tags: Climate change, Global warming, Humans, Muller, Skeptic
New York Times (July 22)
“Climate change is staring us in the face. The science is clear, and the need to reduce planet-warming emissions has grown urgent. So why, collectively, are we doing so little about it?” Aside from economic and political considerations, one major hurdle is our psychological wiring. We are designed to “navigate the local, practical demands of day-to-day life,” which makes “it difficult to engage with the more abstract, global dangers posed by climate change.”
“Climate change is staring us in the face. The science is clear, and the need to reduce planet-warming emissions has grown urgent. So why, collectively, are we doing so little about it?” Aside from economic and political considerations, one major hurdle is our psychological wiring. We are designed to “navigate the local, practical demands of day-to-day life,” which makes “it difficult to engage with the more abstract, global dangers posed by climate change.”
Tags: Abstract, Climate change, Emissions, Global danger, Psychology
Ethical Corporation (March Issue)
“For decades, many companies have typically responded to sustainability challenges by pursuing incremental operational improvements. But we are beginning to see an interesting new trend—businesses using sustainability as a tactic for long-term offense, rather than just short-term defence.” Who are these companies? Bosch, BMW Group, Daimler, DuPont, Ecolab, GE, Ikea, Kimberly Clark, Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Toyota and Volvo were among the cited companies. What’s driving the trend? “Leading companies are demonstrating a growing belief that their future profit and growth will be tied to how effectively they respond to looming global challenges including resource scarcity, population growth, and climate change.”
“For decades, many companies have typically responded to sustainability challenges by pursuing incremental operational improvements. But we are beginning to see an interesting new trend—businesses using sustainability as a tactic for long-term offense, rather than just short-term defence.” Who are these companies? Bosch, BMW Group, Daimler, DuPont, Ecolab, GE, Ikea, Kimberly Clark, Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Toyota and Volvo were among the cited companies. What’s driving the trend? “Leading companies are demonstrating a growing belief that their future profit and growth will be tied to how effectively they respond to looming global challenges including resource scarcity, population growth, and climate change.”
Tags: Climate change, Future profits, Leading companies, Population growth, Resource scarcity, Sustainability
Wall Street Journal (December 12)
Our obsession with cutting carbon emissions overlooks the “negligible impact” any deal would have on climate. “Even if we were to cut emissions by 50% below 1990-levels by 2050—an extremely unrealistic scenario—the difference in temperature would be less than 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit in 2050.” Our main focus should instead be on “adaptation and economic growth to improve resilience,” especially in developing countries which will get hit hardest by the impact of climate change.
Our obsession with cutting carbon emissions overlooks the “negligible impact” any deal would have on climate. “Even if we were to cut emissions by 50% below 1990-levels by 2050—an extremely unrealistic scenario—the difference in temperature would be less than 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit in 2050.” Our main focus should instead be on “adaptation and economic growth to improve resilience,” especially in developing countries which will get hit hardest by the impact of climate change.
Washington Post (December 5)
With world leaders gathered in South Africa, global attention is on climate change. However, the president of the World Wildlife Fund “argues that the leading environmental challenge of this century won’t be global warming. It will be feeding people.” Global population could hit 10 billion people by 2100 and 70% of arable land is already used for food production. The scale of the challenge is enormous.
The Independent (November 28)
“As some 200 leaders assemble today for the climate change conference in Durban, most eyes seem averted from the life-and-death issues up for debate.” Elections and economic volatility have stolen the focus. Climate change remains urgent. “The stakes in Durban are higher than ever as countries wrestle over ways to halt rising temperatures and, specifically, over renewal of the 1997 Kyoto protocol.” Time is running out. Failure to reach a new agreement would be “disastrous.”
Tags: Climate change, Durban, Economy, Elections, Kyoto protocol
Financial Times (November 25)
The news on climate change grows worse and worse, so too the odds of politicians doing something. They should. “Voters will support climate policy if they see it as an opportunity and not an end to their way of life. Achieving this matters as much for our planet’s future as what is agreed – or not – in Durban.”
The news on climate change grows worse and worse, so too the odds of politicians doing something. They should. “Voters will support climate policy if they see it as an opportunity and not an end to their way of life. Achieving this matters as much for our planet’s future as what is agreed – or not – in Durban.”
Tags: Climate change, Durban, Politicians, Voters
