Europe’s flagship emissions trading scheme is suffering from a credibility crisis after it has emerged that many of the pollution limits have been far too lax. Critics argue that the limits need to be drastically improved or the scheme will do nothing to tackle climate change. They say governments have given industry “permission to pollute”.
Climate Change
UK’s “Dirty Five” Polluters
An investigation by The Guardian newspaper has found that just five giant energy companies in the UK produce more carbon dioxide pollution than all the motorists on UK roads combined.
Coral Reefs Listed as Endangered Due to Climate Change
The Bush Administration has admitted that climate change is killing coral reefs and therefore, under US law, it is obliged to take action to reduce pollution killing the reefs. This month, the US National Marine Fisheries Service ruled that two species of coral – elkhorn and staghorn – must officially be registered as threatened under … Read More
Arctic Melt-Down
Record amounts of the Arctic ocean failed to freeze during the recent winter, new satellite figures show. This spells disaster for wildlife and strengthens concerns that the region is locked into a destructive cycle of irreversible climate change. Satellite measurements show the area covered by Arctic winter sea ice reached an all-time low in March, … Read More
182 Million Could Die in Africa Due to Climate Change
A staggering 182 million people in sub-Saharan Africa could die of disease directly attributable to climate change by the end of the century, argues development group, Christian Aid in a new report. Efforts to to secure meaningful and sustainable development in poor countries will be “nullified” by global warming, Christian Aid argues. So all those … Read More
More Shell Greenwash
More greenwashing from Shell. The company has just released it Sustainability report for 2005. Shell and sustainability you might reason is a contradiction in terms. Not so, argues the company. The report is part of is “continuing dialogue with stakeholders,” and its commitment to meet the world’s energy challenge in “in environmentally and socially responsible … Read More
China’s Glaciers Disappearing
Glaciers on China’s Qinghai-Tibet plateau are shrinking by seven per cent a year because of global warming, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This is triggering a vicious cycle: As the glaciers retreat the plateau is turning into desert – this in turn will cause more droughts and sandstorms. Welcome to our warming world.
Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth
Later this month, Al Gore’s new movie on climate change will be released. Called “An Inconvenient Truth”, it follows the former Presidential candidate during his “traveling global warming show”. We have, argues the film “just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving … Read More
Mass Extinctions “Faster Than the Dinosaurs”
Polar bears face extinction 1000 times the natural rate, according to the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) annual survey, called the Red List. The IUCN found that nearly 40% of all species in its survey faced extinction. The polar bear makes the list for the first time. Because of climate change, it is unlikely that bears … Read More
GOP Tries to Avert Crisis Over Fuel with $20 Billion Sweetner
The Republicans are trying to get the upper hand in the escalating political battle over high gasoline prices by proposing a $100 rebate for taxpayers, by suggesting that they might increase taxes on oil-industry profits, and by proposing the old chestnut that ANWR should be opened. The price tag for the Republican package has been … Read More