12.1 Global Warming
12.2 Warming Pacific Ocean may release millions of tons of Methane
12.3 Talks in gridlock, meet head says let's not leave Lima empty handed
12.4 World's future climate will depend on people in 2015, not governments
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12.1 Global Warming (2/12/2014)
Diplomats from more than 190 nations opened talks Monday at a United Nations global warming conference in Lima, Peru, to pave the way for an international treaty they hope to forge next year.
... Worldwide, the 10-year average for weather-related losses adjusted for inflation was $30 billion a year from 1983-92, according to insurance giant Swiss Re. From 2004 to 2013, the cost was more than three times that on average, or $131 billion a year.
Sapir and others say it would be wrong to pin all, or even most, of these increases on climate change alone. Population and poverty are major factors, too. But they note a trend of growing extremes and more disasters, and that fits with what scientists have long said about global warming.
It's this increase that's "far scarier" than the simple rise in temperatures, University of Illinois climate scientist Donald Wuebbles says.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/
12.2 Warming Pacific Ocean may release millions of tons of Methane (10/12/2014)
A warmer Pacific Ocean may have the potential to spark a runaway release of millions of tons of methane. Scientists have found that water at intermediate depths is warming enough to cause carbon deposits in the deep sea to melt, releasing methane into the sediments and surrounding water.
Off of the west coast of the United States, methane gas remains trapped in frozen layers beneath the sea floor. Methane itself is the main component of natural gas and at cold temperatures and high ocean pressure, it combines with water into a crystal called methane hydrate. The Pacific Northwest in particular has unusually large deposits of methane hydrates. Yet if these water were to warm, it could spell disaster.
Read more: http://www.scienceworldreport.
12.3 Talks in gridlock, meet head says let's not leave Lima empty handed (15/12/2014)
We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future:
George Bernard Shaw
http://www.brainyquote.com/
http://www.brainyquote.com/
On 12 December 2014 at 10:53, sraj <sraj99@gmail.com> wrote:
With the climate talks remaining deadlocked at
the end of Thursday, the head of the Lima round of negotiations, Manuel
Pulgar Vidal, lashed out at the delegations saying they had not come
only to enjoy the city and must ensure that they do not go back empty
handed from Peru.
Vidal, Peru’s Minister of State for Environment who is acting as the President of the conference, or COP (Conference of Parties) as it is called, gave the dressing down during the ‘informal stock-taking’ session after he was told that no progress had been made throughout the day on the negotiating text. There is just one day left before the negotiations end on Friday evening.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/
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Vidal, Peru’s Minister of State for Environment who is acting as the President of the conference, or COP (Conference of Parties) as it is called, gave the dressing down during the ‘informal stock-taking’ session after he was told that no progress had been made throughout the day on the negotiating text. There is just one day left before the negotiations end on Friday evening.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/
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My
fear is that all this effort is wrongly directed. The man on the
street hardly knows what global warming is. Even educated people who
ought to know better could not care less, with their senses assaulted by
TV commercials.
I would suggest that a 2 billion $ /
year fund be created to educate people about Global Warming, and to take
away some steam from the TV commercials. Without active participation
by everyone, there is no way we can solve this problem. Using less
fossil energy to power our lives can also help to improve our health and
create more tightly knit social groups.
- Redesign Cities, Towns and Villages in 1 Km x 0.5 Km grids, with automobiles kept at the periphery.
- Work half your time in a formal organisation and the other half in a social organisation.
12.4 World's future climate will depend on people in 2015, not governments (26/12/2014)
As the world looks ahead to the signing of a global climate treaty in Paris next year — a year predicted to be the hottest on record after 2014 — a lack of significant pledges to cut carbon emissions by world leaders signals a lack of political will that could be catastrophic for the entire globe.
... But it seems public concern over climate change is outpacing that of world leaders if the outcome of this month's 20th Conference of the Parties in Lima, Peru (COP20) is any indication. Though the United States and China announced major emissions reduction targets for 2030 — after scientists said the world can burn fossil fuels at current rates only until 2033 if it wants to avoid catastrophic consequences — the negotiations largely stalled over questions of responsibility for global warming.
... Meanwhile, investors have divested trillions of dollars from fossil fuels and investment in renewable energy technology is predicted to explode, President Barack Obama announced earlier this year after solar panels were installed on the White House. His prediction was based on the fact that the cost of green technology is becoming increasingly competitive compared to fossil fuels. Every four minutes, Obama said, a home or business is going solar.
As action outside of international climate conferences outpaces that of world leaders, it is becoming increasingly clear that in 2015 saving the world will depend on the people.
http://america.aljazeera.com/
12.1 The end of shop class (9/2/2012)
12.1 The end of shop class (9/2/2012)
12.1 The end of shop class (9/2/2012)
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