Monthly Archive for July, 2010

Climate Change Conference–Share Your Photos

Published on July 30, 2010 in Conference and Newsletter. 0 Comments

To those of you that joined us at the 2010 Climate Change Conference in Brisbane, or if you’ve participated in a previous conference, please share your photos of the conference with your friends and colleagues that you met while at the conference. Pictures of the conference sessions, dinner, tours and ‘down time’ are all welcome!

Join our Climate Change Conference Flickr group here, and upload your pictures to easily share. Once you’ve joined, simply click on ‘Add something?’, and upload your photos or videos of the conference.

For information on sharing photos with Flickr, please read more here.

A Bona Fide Dispute

Published on July 30, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

From Darrell Ince, Times Higher Education

The fragile state of climate research is such that a small piece of gravel tossed into the pool causes major ripples. At the end of June, a concrete block was thrown in.

The prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published “Expert Credibility in Climate Change”, a paper in which William R.L. Anderegg, James W. Prall, Jacob Harold and the late Stephen H. Schneider use citation and publication data to examine the academic credentials of those who agree that human activity is driving global warming and those who are sceptical and believe, for example, that the climate data offered in support of human influence on atmospheric temperature exhibits a natural cyclical variability. The article concludes by stating that those convinced of man’s role in global warming have better academic credentials than the sceptics when judged by the numerical metrics the authors adopt for citation analysis.

The reception to the paper has been predictable: proponents of anthropogenic global warming have hailed it as proof that critics do not know what they are talking about, while those who have been critical have accused the authors of creating a blacklist of opponents and employing a flawed methodological approach. However, even academics in the first camp have expressed some major worries.

To Read More…

The Sustainability Practitioner’s Guide to Input-Output Analysis

Published on July 30, 2010 in Journal and Newsletter. 0 Comments

The Sustainability Practitioner’s Guide to Input-Output Analysis edited by Joy Murray and Richard Wood is now available from the On Sustainability imprint.

…this time around success will need to be measured not by how much we can control nature but by how well we can live as part of it. Our e orts in the transition to a sustainable future require decisions that not only acknowledge the ecosphere, but embrace the complexity of our societies and the natural systems that support us.

A vital part of this transition is communication. We need to map and communicate as clearly as possible the impacts of our current trajectory and provide a clear and comprehensive system for tracking the world’s progress towards sustainability…

This book provides an introduction to input-output analysis for sustainability practitioners. It is designed for those with knowledge about the sustainability dilemma we face, but who are unsure about the how of measuring our impacts, tracking our progress and informing the decisions for a sustainable future.

Input-output analysis placed in a transdisciplinary setting is a method that captures the complexities and interdependencies of our social, economic and environmental support systems. Examples of the use of input-output analysis in life-cycle assessment, triple bottom line accounting and carbon and ecological footprints are provided along with an introduction to a range of software tools. In academic circles research has been gathering pace on these methods and issues over the last years. This book brings this state of the art to the decision makers and policy shapers of today.

Imminent Fusion Power

Published on July 24, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

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From The Long Now Foundation

All the light we see from the sky, Moses pointed out, comes from fusion power burning hydrogen, the commonest element in the universe—3/4 of all mass. A byproduct of the cosmic fusion is the star-stuff that we and the Earth are made of.

On Earth, 4 billion years of life accumulated geological hydrocarbons, which civilization is now burning at a rate of 10 million years’ worth per year. In 1900, 98% of the world’s energy came from burning carbon. By 1970, that was down to 90%, but it has not decreased since. It has to decrease some time, because there is only so much coal, oil, and gas. During this century every single existing power plant (except some hydro) will age and have to be replaced, and world energy demand is expected to triple by 2100.

To head off climate change, fossil fuel combustion has to end by about 2050. The crucial period for conversion to something better is between 2030 and 2050. The ideal new power source would be: affordable; clean; non-geopolitical; using inexhaustible fuel and existing infrastructure; capable of rapid development and evolution. Moses’ candidate is the “laser inertial fusion engine”—acronym LIFE—being developed at Lawrence Livermore.

To Read More…