Carbon Footprints

GreenAnswers is a new social question and answer site dedicated to environmental issues. I had a short chat with Jacob Lipman, the founder of the site, who explained:
The impetus for GreenAnswers was the realization that a lack of widespread knowledge about environmental issues is one of the greatest hurdles to positive action. We created GreenAnswers [...]

The US based media watchdog group Media Matters has posted a story “Reminder to media: Claims about CRU emails were debunked” that explains that not only were the so-called ‘Climategate’ emails utterly debunked, but that the media were complicit in inflating the scandal.
Media outlets have referenced the emails apparently stolen from University of East Anglia’s [...]

The United Nations Environment Programme has just released their landmark book, “Kick The Habit, A UN guide to climate neutrality”
“Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions. Our society is in the grip of a dangerous greenhouse gas habit.
The [...]

There’s a new book hitting the shelves now called “Opportunities Beyond Carbon“.
The book aims to recast the debate on climate change from one of fear and problems to one of hope and opportunity. It contains a collection of essays from key politicians, investors, business people, activists and academics on how to make the most of [...]

Over at gadget site Gizmodo they are discussing a blog post by Ken Musgrave called “Why We Need a Globally-Recognized Unit of “Green”“, responding that “We May Need A Global Unit Of ‘Green’, But It Won’t Be Easy Or Clear”
Musgrave argues:
The designer had chosen bamboo to provide a suitable look while enhancing sustainability compared to [...]

Policy and Analysis magazine China Dialogue has a feature by one of my favourite novelists, Ian McEwan, called “Let’s Talk About Climate Change.” More than anything it’s a beautiful piece of writing:
How can we ever begin to restrain ourselves? We appear, at this distance, like a successful lichen, a ravaging bloom of algae, a mould [...]

The UK’s The Guardian is drawing attention to the latest Worldwatch Institute’s ‘The State of the World 2009‘ report in an article Emission impossible.
The much-respected Washington DC-based Worldwatch Institute has just published The State of the World 2009, the 26th edition of its annual status report into the planet’s environmental health. You won’t be surprised [...]

The Australian Government has just released its White Paper on the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and has set what can only be described as an entirely unambitious target of a 5% reduction by 2020. This compares unfavourably to the EU’s stated 20% by 2020, a target to be matched by incoming US President [...]

The influential US paper the Christian Science Monitor has a review of anthropologist Brian Fagan’s new book; Climate change’s most deadly threat: drought.
While vineyards are being planned for northern England, millions of residents around desiccated Atlanta are praying for enough rain to flow through their taps.
Brian Fagan believes climate is not merely a backdrop to [...]

Garnaut’s review, launched today at The National Press Club in Canberra, is simply titled the “Garnaut Climate Change Review – Draft Report, although there was, according to Prof Garnaut, a suggestion to call it “No Pain, No Rain.”
It’s the conclusion of his investigation that some very real risks can be mitigated by some very short-term [...]