Comments inel has made

  • The view from the top

    It is possible to stage media events successfully and, at the same time, discuss real world options rationally.  The latest update from Greenpeace explains what they did yesterday at Heathrow airport and why.  Their timing was perfect.  (Just like Branson's, of course.)  Tomorrow is the end of DfT Consultation on 'Adding Capacity at Heathrow airport'.

    Search on Grist for Heathrow and you will find the airport has not been mentioned since August 2007, when the Climate Camp was in progress.  The current consultation on expansion was initiated in November 2007, yet not a peep was heard here, nor many peeps elsewhere outside Britain.  Airport expansion is a major story, especially when the government sanctioning it purports to be the world leader on action to combat climate change, with the world's first Climate Change Bill.

    Greenpeace are effective in bringing stories to a wider public, such as here at Gristmill, and for that, I thank them.On Greenpeace takes Heathrow posted 1 year, 9 months ago 9 Responses

  • P.S. on extra emissions enabled by expansion

    The estimated 3 million tonnes of additional CO2 emissions enabled by addition of a third runway is per annum.

    While I'm here, there's another annual figure to bear in mind ...

    The UK aviation industry currently benefits from Government subsidies in the form of tax breaks on fuel and VAT to the tune of around 9 billion GBP per annum.On Greenpeace takes Heathrow posted 1 year, 9 months ago 9 Responses

  • Stop Heathrow Expansion / No Third Runway

    Many thanks for raising awareness of local efforts to prevent the British Government and BAA airport operator from `Adding capacity at Heathrow airport`.

    The video of children captures just how we feel, living here in the Heathrow area.

    A wider audience might like to bear these points in mind:


         
    • The Public Consultation on Department for Transport (DfT) proposals for `Adding capacity at Heathrow airport` ends tomorrow, Wednesday February 27, 2008, in London.

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    • Heathrow is on the front line in the battle against climate change.  We have to draw a line in the sand now.  Unsustainable expansion with rapidly increasing emissions will continue relentlessly if we do not put a stop to this now!

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    • The deadline for responses to the Public Consultation is tomorrow, but this is not the end.  Rather, it marks the beginning of a long struggle, and local groups with all-party support from local MPs, borough councils, all four candidates for Mayor of London, and MEPs are committed to working with residents to challenge these proposals every step of the way, taking this issue of expansion to the highest levels necessary to prevent it coming to fruition.

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    • The consultation has been designed to prevent objections on issues of global concern, such as climate change.  Heathrow expansion will enable an estimated additional 3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.  The British Government intends to address the extra climate change impacts of these extra aviation emissions through international trading schemes, such as the EU ETS.

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    • To respond to the Public Consultation, email your concerns to: heathrowconsultation@dft.gsi.gov.uk


    At a wider level, Transport Strategy for Britian, laid out by the Department for Transport headed by Ruth Kelly, pays lipservice to sustainability.

    More details on the approach are on the DfT Transport Strategy and Planning webpage, which leads with a document titled 'Towards a Sustainable Transport System: Supporting Economic Growth in a Low Carbon World'.  You only need to search on 'aviation emissions' and read the surrounding paragraph on each search result to see what they are up to.

    This Transport Strategy is incompatible with Britain's Climate Change Bill.  The policies cannot coexist.  At every step, one policy framework will override the other.  Recognising the weakness (and silence) of DEFRA on Heathrow expansion versus the strength of DfT combined with lobbies for the aviation and construction industries, it is not hard to see which government department will win the policy conflict in practice.

    Opposition to Heathrow expansion is a test case seeking to challenge and change the underlying assumptions, implications and consequences of continuing with business-as-usual.On Greenpeace takes Heathrow posted 1 year, 9 months ago 9 Responses

  • Six years ago ...

    ... the Guardian ran another story that provides more background to this sordid tale.  Before I give you that link, here are a couple of more recent links that SpinWatch picked up too:
    BBC Messes Up Again on Gore Story
    Revealed: The Hidden Agenda Behind Al Gore Attack

    Now, going way back in time--six whole years--when this was just a twinkle in the eye of Durward, here's an article on the genesis of that anti-environmental corporate front group known as the Scientific Alliance:

    Hard rockers: Challenging the green lobby


    The views of the green lobby should be challenged, according to a new alliance


    Andy Rowell
    Wednesday July 11, 2001
    The Guardian
    On More on the nine 'errors' in Gore's movie posted 2 years, 1 month ago 2 Responses

  • Official IPCC flyer

    Is this 4-page PDF from the IPCC on AR4 the kind of brochure that would help you?

    P.S.  I also have a simple page I made myself for kids to help them appreciate the significance of the IPCC and key points from WG1 SPM.  You can see it on my blog here and tell me if you would like a PDF.  (I can change it from A4 to US format for you.)On Delayers are replacing deniers posted 2 years, 1 month ago 9 Responses

  • Avaaz, icount and Nielsen

    Avaaz has a worldwide petition calling on the G8 to act on climate change now.

    icount in the UK helps to build pressure on the British government to act, but I have not found an equivalent in the US.  Any suggestions, before Bali G8 in December?!

    The British seem the most concerned about climate change

    British people are way behind our continental colleagues and cousins.  Perhaps Britain suffers from the drag of US special interests to some extent?  (TGGWS and all that.)

    FYI, today's eve-of-G8 release of research by Nielsen and OU Environmental Change Institute gives country-by-country breakdown of a leap in consumer perceptions and alarm at the potential impacts of climate change.  Take a look at the US and UK numbers in the PDF's chart and you may be surprised.

    (I am still trying to figure out how anyone older than a six-year-old could believe that "a bathtub filled faster than it drains will never overflow" as the analogy in that Sterman-Sweeney document goes.  Middle school kids can work that one out.  What has happened to people's ability to think?)On Reality checking the polls posted 2 years, 5 months ago 43 Responses

  • B4 G8 ~ visit Avaaz again!

    Avaaz are heading for 1/3 million signatures on their petition calling on G8+5 to act now on climate change.  They have already handed most signatures over to Angela Merkel, but are still collecting worldwide.On Global warming ads taking over the world posted 2 years, 5 months ago 1 Response

  • Track Merkel, not Blair

    Hot air it is not from Merkel and the rest of the EU.

    Merkel is the person to watch now.  (Blair's influence is pretty much over, just like Bush's, though Blair can be a great cheer leader for any glimmer of hope of positive immediate action to combat climate change.)On Watch at your own risk posted 2 years, 6 months ago 6 Responses

  • smokescreen and vaporware

    Shields has the answer at the end of that piece:

    "The political downside is if it's exposed as a fraud ... whatever you said about Bush, at least you believed him: now you don't believe him ... that's why I think it's authentic."
    which is a convoluted way of saying we should believe Bush because otherwise all our previous beliefs in him come crashing down around us.

    Anyway, Bush is sitting pretty because he did not commit to anything in his speech the other day, and has proposed a process that will prevent any commitments being made for the foreseeable future.  Yes, they do think we are stupid.On Watch at your own risk posted 2 years, 6 months ago 6 Responses

  • Good for Andy Revkin!

    The point worth addressing is why this Joint Science Academies' Statement (JSAS) did not warrant a story in the NYT on its own.  (There were two statements by these national academies on the  same day as well as a statement on Africa, so three separate articles could have been triggered by these releases: almost a mini-series!)

    I read about the JSAS on the Royal Societies' website and via Reuters: they included specific quotes from Martin Rees, the President of The Royal Society, and links to PDFs so people could read all the documents as published in their entirety.

    Other countries' academies translated the JSAS into local languages and made them available as HTML for readers, provided press releases, press contacts and named experts (photos too).  The statements were even covered in their entirety by Yahoo! in French, and mentioned on TV and radio news updates on the day.

    It is great that Andy Revkin mentioned the NAS, but the NYT infrastructure around his story means anyone interested in the statement he referred to has to go looking for it themselves on the NAS site.  (The NYT link to its own articles on NAS gives pretty slim pickings.)

    In summary, I do not think it is entirely the press at fault, as I think the National Academy of Sciences did not do its bit to draw attention to these JSAS.  Even in countries where the academies were well-prepared to meet the press, the JSAS points were not exactly the talk of the town!

    For the record, here is the final section verbatim from the Joint science academies' statement on growth and responsibility: sustainability, energy efficiency and climate protection:

    Conclusions

    We call on all countries of the world to cooperate in identifying common strategic objectives for sustainable, efficient and climate friendly energy systems, and in implementing actions toward them.

    G8 countries bear a special responsibility for the current high level of energy consumption and the associated climate change. Newly industrialized countries will share this responsibility in the future.

    We call on world leaders, especially those meeting at the G8 Summit in June 2007, to:


         
    • Set standards and promote economic instruments for efficiency, and commit to promoting energy efficiency for buildings, devices, motors, transportation systems and in the energy sector itself.

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    • Promote understanding of climate and energy issues and encourage necessary behavioural changes within our societies.

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    • Define and implement measures to reduce global deforestation.

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    • Strengthen economic and technological exchange with developing countries, in order to leapfrog to cleaner and more efficient modern technologies.

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    • Invest strongly in science and technology related to energy efficiency, zero-carbon energy resources and carbon-removing technologies.

    and if anyone wants the entire text of the Joint science academies' statement on growth and responsibility: sustainability, energy efficiency and climate protection in HTML for reposting, I took it directly from the PDF and posted it in a blue speech bubble on my blog post here.On The press ignores science posted 2 years, 6 months ago 8 Responses

  • US, UK levels of conversation

    The conversation is more advanced in the UK because it is allowed to be.   (Britain can still learn from the EU and Japan on this topic.)

    The threat of climate change generally (and information provided by scientists' research, specifically) is taken seriously by governments, businesses and the public.  That means informed responses can be formulated at the highest levels and more easily implemented from the top down, from grassroots up, and also can spread outwards from all the layers of responsibility in between.

    Similar conversations could happen in America--there are two opportunities for us to catch up at CCC conferences this fall (Chicago September, NYC October).On A conference for green money types posted 2 years, 6 months ago 4 Responses

  • British newspapers too?

    Hi gracewoo,

    Are you limited to US newspapers?  If you are also looking at transatlantic coverage and want an easy way to track British quality papers for comparison, the Royal Society provide an excellent weekday 'Science in the news' feed with a subsection on environment and you can access it via this page.On A proclamation posted 2 years, 6 months ago 7 Responses