Will global warming be good for us?

One argument made by some climate contrarians is that we shouldn't worry too much about global warming because a warmer world with high C02 will be good for us. John Cook over at Skeptical Science shows that this view is not supported by the evidence and realistically it's hard to put a positive spin on melting glaciers, rising sea levels, ocean acidification and species extinction.

But what about the predictions that rising temperatures will be good for countries like Russia and increase their agricultural output? Unfortunately global warming doesn't just mean more winter bbq's it also means more extreme heat with more frequent and more severe heat waves and in some places more drought. This isn't a future prediction, it's already being observed, as the IPCC found:

"Since 1950, the number of heat waves has increased........The extent of regions affected by droughts has also increased as precipitation over land has marginally decreased while evaporation has increased due to warmer conditions".

So what about Russia? Large parts of western Russia are currently in the grips of an unprecedented two month long heat wave that has shattered temperature records. The death rate in Moscow has soared. The record heat combined with drought has lead to thousands of wildfires breaking out with loss of life, villages and air thick with smog. Heat and drought has also lead to the loss of millions of acres of wheat (leading a ban on wheat exports for the rest of the year and spike in world prices).

So yes, while in some years Russia may benefit from longer growing seasons it will also have more years like 2010 (currently the hottest year on record worldwide) with extreme heat and heatwaves, which if anything like this year, won't be good at all. And of course it's worth mentioning that global warming has only really just begun, currently temperatures are up ~0.65 dC and our most optimistic proposals are generally to attempt to hold warming below 2 dC, better get to work.

Green Ideas and Drinks - August 5th at The Apple Tree

A reminder this Thursday (the 5th) is our monthly Green Ideas and Drinks get-together.
It is a great opportunity to get to know new people, hear what others are doing, and be inspired!
See you there for a Sip and Chatter about all things Green.

When: Thursday 5th August....from 6:30pm
Where: The Apple Tree
The Courtyard: 2060 Moggill Rd Kenmore

Green Ideas and Drinks is a relaxed way to introduce your friends and neighbours to the ideas of transitioning to a lower carbon lifestyle.
Green Ideas and Drinks occurs on the first Thursday of each month. So come down, say Hi and share you Green Ideas.

The Symposium - Awakening the dreamer - Sunday the 8th of Aug

This coming Sunday 8th of August Transition Kenmore will be hosting The Awakening the Dreamer symposium at the Brookfield Centre, 139 Brookfield Rd.

If you are like me and find the idea of "awakening in the dreamer" a little hard to define, then it might be easier to think of the event as more "the future of our community" both locally and worldwide.
The symposium will trace how "we" have got ourselves into a number of environmental and social predicaments, but also encourage us to look for and work towards solutions. If we want to transition to a more sustainable community and a more sustainable world we'll need to be working towards solutions right here in Kenmore/ South West Brisbane, hence my thinking along the lines of "the future of our community".

Over time these symposium's, which are held worldwide, aim to redefine the way we look at the world, or as the website puts it:

Our mission is bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on Planet Earth

You can watch the trailer for the symposium here.

Sunday 8th August
The Brookfield Centre,
139 Brookfield Rd
Kenmore Hills
Cost: $20 maximum, $50 per family

RSVP to our email: transitionkenmore(at)gmail.com
Hope to see you there

Support our Farmers and Protect our Climate. This Wednesday Lunchtime

Our Water, Our Land, Our Future. Only 3 days to go!

Support our farmers and protect our climate at this parliamentary protest.
When: this Wednesday 4th of Aug, lunchtime 12-1pm.
Where: State Parliament House, George St, Brisbane

Fossil fuel extraction is exploding in Queensland to the detriment of our climate, our farmers, rural communities and groundwater. At lunchtime this Wednesday over 100 farmers will descend on Parliament House to call for protection of our cropping land from coal and coal seam gas extraction and they need your support.

A list of excellent speakers from across the Darling Downs and from conservation and climate groups will take the message to our politicians that real climate action begins in our own backyard.

Both the Liberal-National Party and the Greens have confirmed that they will respond to our demands on the day, with the Government as yet unconfirmed.


Come along and hear from:
----------------------------------------
Ruth Armstrong from Cecil Plains on behalf of Save our Darling Downs
Rob McCreath from Felton on behalf of Friends of Felton
Scott Collins from Tara on behalf of the Western Downs Alliance
Toby Hutcheon from Queensland Conservation
Drew Hutton and Hannah Elvery from Six Degrees, Friends of the Earth, Brisbane
Jo-Anne Bragg from the Environmental Defenders Office

Politicians speaking on the day include:
The Queensland LNP (speaker to be advised)
Larissa Waters - The Greens lead senate candidate


RSVP on facebook.

For more information, or to join the farmers for morning tea or lunch, please contact Brad on 0413280006 or at bradley.smith@foe.org.au or go to sixdegrees.org.au

This is a cross post from the CCNQ

Want global economic growth? Put a price on carbon.

Aka The Wisdom of Stiglitz

It’s not everyday you get to hear a lecture from a Nobel prize winning economist, but I got the chance to see Joseph Stiglitz at the University of Queensland yesterday and I'm glad I did.

Stiglitz's talk covered the reasons behind the GFC, the good and the bad things governments have done since then (summary: stimulus good, austerity bad and risks a return to recession) and some thoughts on how to get the global economy moving again. This presents a problem because we don't want another bubble, debt driven consumer consumption is out and monetary policy has little room to move (ie: you can't reduce interest rates below zero).
So, how to stimulate global aggregate demand and do so in a way that reduces the impact we have on the planet? What we want are policies that provide stimulus in the short term and sustainable growth in the long term.

One answer is a price on carbon.

Why?

Because, Stiglitz explained, a price on carbon will drive massive business investment in low carbon technology and products; and business investment is what we need to stimulate global demand (and I would imagine, to create jobs). Except this time we will be growing the economy by retooling for a low carbon future.

Whenever you hear that businesses are waiting for "certainty" on a carbon price before investing, this is what they are talking about. A carbon price makes investments in low carbon tech both necessary and profitable. The earth's atmosphere, as Stiglitz said, is a scarce resource, there is only so much pollution it can handle, but right now that pollution costs nothing so markets are "free" to pollute and damn the long term consequences.

To give an example of this business investment what we are all missing out on, here's an excerpt from Thomas Friedman's column in the New York Times from the weekend.

Lew Hay, the C.E.O. of NextEra Energy, which owns Florida Power & Light, one of the nation’s biggest utilities, e-mailed to say that if the Senate would set a price on carbon and requirements for renewal energy, utilities like his would have the price certainty they need to make the big next-generation investments, including nuclear. “If we invest an additional $3 billion a year or so on clean energy, that’s roughly 50,000 jobs over the next five years,” said Hay.

This is from the US, but I imagine something similar would apply here and it's just one company, imagine if it was the whole economy.

Walk against warming 2010 - Sunday the 15th of Aug

This years Walk Against Warming will be on Sunday the 15th of August at 11am, at King George Square in the CBD.

At one week before the election this is a chance for people of all political persuasions to come together and tell our politicians that we want action on climate change, instead of constant delay and buck passing.

The Walk will be calling for

• A price on carbon pollution,
  
• Investment in clean energy for a healthy future,
  
• A commitment to reduce emissions in the life of the next parliament
  
• Support for poor and vulnerable countries to tackle the impacts of climate change and invest in sustainable development

There is a famous quote from FDR, regarded as one of the greatest American presidents. Addressing reformers he said "I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it." I remain optimistic that many of our politicians do want to leave a liveable climate for future generations, it's just that we have to make them.

See you there.

National Agenda for a Sustainable Australia

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has released it's 2010 National Agenda for a Sustainable Australia which you can download from their website.

"It spells out a series of specific and measurable actions a federal government would take if it was serious about reducing pollution and leading the transition from energy wasting cities to cleaner, more liveable cities."

With 23 steps arranged around 5 themes:

1. Lead the transition to a clean economy and sustainable Australia
2. Take effective climate change action now
3. Transform our cities to be world leaders in efficiency and liveability
4. Rescue our life support systems and restore our ecosystems to health
5. Secure an environmentally sustainable future for Northern Australia

With an election coming up, now would be a good time to have a read of the plan and then consider which political parties are committed to creating a Sustainable Australia.

The ACF also recommends some steps you can take to make a sustainable agenda part of the national agenda.

1. Talk about the plan of action with your family, friends and work colleagues. Share the hope you have for a sustainable future by talking about the practical steps toward achieving it.

2. Help lift the ACF plan of action into your local community conversation. Send an email or letter to your local paper.

3. Help broaden community and business support for the plan of action. Phone, email or mail relevant parts of the plan of action to local businesses, chambers of commerce and community organisations asking them to publicly support the plan of action.