Technology, Science and the Environment.

[ozleicester]

9 hours ago, Tommo220 said:

Very worrying indeed - a real concern that those bloody Aussies will start coming back here!  We'll be awash with scooners of VB and Hats with Corks if we don't do something about this climate change lark.

 

In all seriousness though - pretty stark reading of whats kicking off in Australia at the minute - which makes it even more mind boggling with the amount of Coal you boys dig up and send to China. 

Particularly as we have enough sun to power EVERYTHING... my small solar roof system feeds back more than twice what i use into the grid (interestinly, they buy it from me for $0.07 per KWT.... but sell it to me at $0.54)

As it stands... our biggest revenue earners come from mining and particularly coal... so  $$$$$$$$$$  we aint gonna stop any time soon.

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50795294

 

Nero, anyone?

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50799905

 

Yes. Definitely Nero.

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50809586

 

Fascinating stuff.

[ozleicester]

The Horse racing industry just want to assure everyone that, they will be riding, racing and whipping horses in 40+ degree heat...only because they love  horses so much. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-17/sa-twilght-race-meet-to-go-ahead-despite-heatwave/11806516

[Tommo220]

5 hours ago, ozleicester said:

The Horse racing industry just want to assure everyone that, they will be riding, racing and whipping horses in 40+ degree heat...only because they love  horses so much. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-17/sa-twilght-race-meet-to-go-ahead-despite-heatwave/11806516

They should race them, but at a much reduced speed - maybe make it a horseback Egg and Spoon race - Now THAT would be worth watching.

[davieG]

$5bn fund unveiled for climate-friendly shipping
By Roger Harrabin
BBC environment analyst
35 minutes ago
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Related TopicsClimate change
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
A group of ship owners have announced plans for a $5bn (£3.8bn) fund to design zero-emissions vessels.

They says $2 (£1.50) should be levied on every tonne of ships' fuel - to support research into clean engines.

Shipping creates about 3% of the emissions that are over-heating the climate - equivalent to all of Germany's CO2.

Environmentalists welcomed the proposal but also described it as too little, too late.

They say it's outrageous that international shipping pays no fuel taxes, unlike lorry owners.

Green groups argue that if ships were taxed at the same level as lorries, 70 times more cash for developing clean engines would be raised in Europe alone.

Around 250m tonnes of fuel a year are burned by ships. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says that 90% of owners globally are behind the $2 levy on fuel.

Download the updated BBC Energy Briefing (10.4MB)
Speed limits for ships can have 'massive' benefits
Five things we've learned from Madrid climate talks
'Urgent' problem
Guy Platten, secretary-general of the ICS told BBC News: "I have seen a massive change in the opinion of ships' owners over the past few years.

"They've realised that we've got to do our bit by decarbonising shipping - and that means designing zero-carbon ships. That's why we need the levy.

"At the moment we can't yet see what the best clean fuel would be for ships. But there's a real urgency about solving the problem."

He defended the size of the levy, saying it was small enough to be agreed by ship owners in the developing world, but big enough to make a difference.

However, Faig Abbasov from the green group Transport and Environment responded: "The proposed levy is a tiny amount. It's outrageous that the shipping industry has avoided taking responsibility for its emissions for years - that's why it's facing difficulty now." Speed limits for ships can have 'massive' benefits

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Campaigners wanted to slow ships down, but the proposal was rejected
"What's needed is a huge programme to incentivise owners to buy zero-carbon vessels - as well as researching new technologies."

The ICS says its proposal is supported by the owners of 90% of the merchant fleet.

It defends its proposed 10-year research fund, which would need to be enforced through by the UN shipping body the International Maritime Organization.

The industry has reduced its emissions slightly over recent years, thanks mainly to ships slowing down after the 2008 financial crisis in order to absorb the oversupply in shipping capacity.

Campaigners wanted mandatory slow steaming to save emissions, but the IMO rejected that proposal.

The IMO does have a target of halving emissions from international shipping by 2050 compared to 2008.

But the ICS says ships are so long-lived that zero-carbon vessels must be available as soon as possible.

Fuel of the future?
The optimum shipping fuel has not yet been decided.

One option is biofuels, but their availability will be globally limited by the need to ensure they're sustainable.

Shipping experts assume that the supply will be gobbled up by the wealthy aviation industry, anyway.

Other options are "green" hydrogen (produced by renewables); ammonia; fuel cells; batteries and synthetic fuels produced from renewables.

The ICS says none of these yet exists in a form or scale that can be applied to large transoceanic ships.

Even when the industry settles on a technology, massive investment will be needed to ensure the chosen fuel is available in ports round the world.

Mr Platten from the ICS says the path ahead is not year clear.

And then there remains the obstacle of the IMO, which is bound by the UN's need for consensus. Environmentalists say some nations' delegates appeared intent on staving off action to protect the climate. The IMO said it would consider the levy plan.

A Europe solution
The EU meanwhile is under pressure to include shipping in the EU emissions trading scheme, in which polluting industries can buy and sell emissions permits. T&E says that would raise €24bn a year on current carbon prices.

Faig Abbasov complained: "The shipping industry is totally subsidised. It pays no tax on fuel, no VAT, no corporate tax.

"The EU tax directive specifically bans any member state from taxing ships' fuel. If you travel to the south of France by coach, the firm pays fuel tax. If you go by luxury cruise you don't pay.

"It's time for a major change."

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, made extending the EU emissions trading scheme to maritime transport one of the top political priorities of her tenure.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-50827604

 

[davieG]

 

[ozleicester]

Watching my aussie hometown (left 13 years ago) burning is heartbreaking, so many friends have suffered and many dont know if they have a home to go back to.

Just awful 

Edit, pics from someone flying in night before last

 

Edited 22 December 2019 by ozleicester

[WigstonWanderer]

On 22/12/2019 at 21:48, ozleicester said:

Watching my aussie hometown (left 13 years ago) burning is heartbreaking, so many friends have suffered and many dont know if they have a home to go back to.

Just awful 

Edit, pics from someone flying in night before last

 

And yet the government still wants to dig coal out the ground like there’s no tomorrow. Madness.

[leicsmac]

Related to the above, climate change isn't the only threat to biodiversity that humans have a hand in:

 

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-climate-threat-vulnerable-species-habitat.html

[leicsmac]

A couple of interesting space stories:

 

https://www.sciencealert.com/betelgeuse-looks-fainter-than-usual-and-we-re-all-hoping-this-star-is-about-to-pop

 

Seeing a supernova at this (relatively) close range would certainly be something - can't say I'm overly sure about the reading of how far away one needs to be to cause problems, though!

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50870117

 

There may well be better ways to connect folks to the Internet than this and it's clearly going to take really careful management. Good to see my old university tutor Prof Barstow giving his take.

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-50901789

 

His concerns are entirely valid and this is an interesting take.

 

By rights, Miss Thunberg shouldn't be having to do any of the activism she does - if the powers that be around the world (those who were elected) actually were doing their job of serving the public in the long term on this matter, anyway.

[Shane]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190620100005.htm
 

Research shows the US military is one of the largest climate polluters in history, consuming more liquid fuels and emitting more CO2e (carbon-dioxide equivalent) than most countries.

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51049746

 

Honestly don't know which side of the divide I come down on here. Getting internet access and therefore information and communication resources to everyone is a massively important thing...but then so is being able to see out into space from the Earths surface without three dozen satellites spoiling the view.

 

Hopefully a compromise can be reached that suits everyone.

[urban.spaceman]

Watched the first episode of this earlier and it was brilliant. 
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d8xb/episodes/guide

 

I wish it was affordable to be able to volunteer doing something like this. 

[leicsmac]

 

This is fine.

[Tommo220]

12 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

 

This is fine.

But. But. But. 1917 was really hot - So climate change MUST be fake news....... 

 

in all seriousness, some of the footage coming out of Aus at the minute is horrendous.  Hope they start getting the rub of the green soon with the weather, as realistically rain has to be the only way some of these fires are going to get put out...

[UniFox21]

5 hours ago, leicsmac said:

 

This is fine.

What's interesting is you see 'waves' of high temperature years and lower temperatures. But as the years go by, the level of temperature just keeps increasing 

[leicsmac]

7 hours ago, UniFox21 said:

What's interesting is you see 'waves' of high temperature years and lower temperatures. But as the years go by, the level of temperature just keeps increasing 

Yeah, that's pretty much the entire story, really - it's not about the statistical outliers, it's about the overall trend. And there is no denying that is anything but upward.

[leicsmac]

Amazing.

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51094919

 

Welcome to the new normal.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51099609

 

Fascinating!

[ozleicester]

Im not sure i believe this... simply because it is SO ludicrous... but...

 

 

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2019/11/ohio-law-would-allow-students-to-give-wrong-answers-because-of-religious-belief/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=share_bar&utm_campaign=share_bar_facebook&fbclid=IwAR2tosK_SgFUbL6EEYUMG67S6UM45s5QLhVUJ_pP3sKa2D_ZYkyHi2VK3xk

 

 

 

[ozleicester]

I am concerned that we are missing the point in these  (and all scientific) discussions... this is not about climate change denial etc. It is much MUCH bigger....

There appears to be a concerted effort to destroy belief/trust in SCIENCE....

 

Climate change denialists... the continued use of disputing the facts and ignoring evidence
Flat earth believers... beyond absurd, but this gets coverage and again, it doesnt have to be true, its just used to create a doubt in science.

The Moon landings

Chemtrails
Antivaxxers

everything Trump

etc etc

I am honestly concerned that there is a deliberate and orchestrated take down of science and belief in it.
 

(well, thats my biggest ever "conspiracy theory") 


I hereby name this the...... "Age of Benightedness"

 

 

 

 

Edited 16 January 2020 by ozleicester

[leicsmac]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51123638

 

As if it and the above wasn't obvious enough already.