writeaboutwarming

December 12, 2019 It's important to remember that the European Union (EU) has the world's largest economy. It ranks third, behind China and the United States, in contributions to climate change. What the EU decides to do in order to combat climate change will affect every one of us, existentially and economically. Unveiled yesterday, the EU's Green Deal proposes a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Regulators will create standards for the manufacturing of goods that force recycling and the phasing out of plastic and other kinds of non-recyclable waste. Beginning in 2021, 40 percent of the agricultural budget will, assuming adoption of the plan, be devoted to mitigating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, 30 percent of fisheries subsidies would be used in a similar manner. Air quality standards will be more stringent, an essential element of the plan, given that 400,000 premature deaths a year can be attributed to air pollution in...

October 4, 2010 – I’d like to begin by saying that September wasn’t supposed to gang up on me like that, but before I knew it, my husband and I were on our way to Paris to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. My apologies for failing to explain this PRIOR to it actually happening. Be sure to check out a new online publication that launches today: Transition Voice. You will find it - naturally - at www.transitionvoice.com . I cannot claim to be a strictly disinterested party; TV is running an article about permaculture, and a book review, by yours truly. I’ve had an opportunity to peruse TV’s initial issue, and I like what I see. Take a look. Awhile back I wrote about degrowth, touted at the time as the opposite of growth. I notice that the Post Carbon Institute is currently featuring an excerpt from Richard Heinberg’s work-in-progress, tentatively titled The End of Growth, on their website. We’re talking about economic growth, of course, and the fact that, having reached peak e...

May 17, 2010 – I have to say I’m amazed the oil spill is still getting as much media coverage as it is. It began to slink off in the direction of No News is Good News, but has come back strong. The most worrisome part of the continuing coverage is the insistence, on the part of analysts outside the oil industry, that far more than 5,000 barrels of oil a day is leaking from the exploded well. See the New York Times of May 14 for further information. That, and Anita Burke’s contention that there is only a 40% chance that the well will ever be shut down. Listen to the Radio Ecoshock program of May 6 (“From the Deepwater Horizon”) to learn more. Speaking of which, Alex Smith’s latest program featured a discussion of the idea of Degrowth, i.e., negative economic and population growth. Be sure to catch this latest edition of the Radio Ecoshock Show. For a stellar introduction to the subject, read Wikipedia’s article. Being a librarian, I’m not always a Wikipedia fan, because students use ...

February 1, 2010 – It’s been a cold January this time around. Cincinnati never gets all that much snow, and that’s holding true this year, too. Cincy is, however, a terribly gloomy place during the winter – I really don’t think Seattle has got us beat by much – and it’s easy to see there are lots of us who are badly in need of increased sunshine! When yours truly goes out for a walk in 25-degree weather just to inhale a little fresh air and get an occasional peak at the sun, it’s bad. So what’s the topic du jour? I was thinking we’d take a close look at natural gas, with the help of the Worldwatch Institute and the American Clean Skies Foundation (ACSF). On December 12, Worldwatch, the ACSF, and the UN Foundation sponsored a forum at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. Entitled “Natural Gas, Renewables and Efficiency: Pathways to a Low-Carbon Economy,” the audience attending the forum listened to a distinguished panel of speakers. Aubrey McClendon, Board Chairman of Chesapeake Ener...