Crikey » Environment

Copenhagen the Libs’ MacGuffin for total immolation

Bernard Keane — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:35:44 +0000

Copenhagen is the reason the government insists that the CPRS issue must be resolved now. Copenhagen is the reason many in the coalition think the CPRS issue shouldn't be resolved now. Both are wrong.

CRU emails reveal a worrying pattern of bad behaviour

Crikey — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:28:59 +0000

Last week, the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia was hacked, with materials stolen off its server and posted on the internet causing a weekend of frantic blogging and a rather juicy scandal, writes Sinclair Davidson.

Bargaining over CPRS comes down to one thing: compensation

Crikey — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:27:25 +0000

So after months of negotiations the CPRS comes down to one thing: how much should the government give to big polluters to compensate them for, or shield them from the effects of the scheme, writes Andrew Macintosh.

Smiling assassins: how Rudd is killing renewable energy

Crikey — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:27:24 +0000

Despite strong and consistent public support, renewable energy has been held back for decades by Australian governments, writes Dr Mark Diesendorf.

Who’s eating Madagascar’s lemurs?

Crikey — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:29:26 +0000

Madagascar's lemurs are one of the area's biggest tourist drawcards, but illegal loggers and starving locals are hunting the endangered primates for their meat, whilst corrupt police and politicians turn a blind eye.

The hacked emails causing climate sceptic chaos

Ruth Brown — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:05:49 +0000

Hundreds of private emails and documents from climate scientists have been unleashed into the wilds of the internet, and climate sceptics are calling their contents “the greatest scandal in modern science“. Ruth Brown investigates.

Could giant snails end starvation in Africa?

Crikey — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:52:13 +0000

It may sound gross, but the giant snail is more nutritious than beef, rich in protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and essential vitamins, and is widely available in Africa. Could giant snail pies be the starving continent's saviour?

International wetlands body investigates PNG pollution

Crikey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

An international body is investigating acute toxic pollution and a PNG government-approved plan for a $15.6 billion mining project at Lake Kutubu -– a world listed site, reports Calliste Weitenberg.

CEDA still thinks climate science is up for debate

Crikey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Why is one of Australia’s premier economic policy bodies, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, giving a platform to climate denialist William Kininmonth?

You can’t moralise on climate change unless you’re a monk

Crikey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Hamilton and the rest of the Australian Greens are political opportunists of the first order, but pretend to be above all that by cloaking themselves in the Colors of Giaa, writes Simon Mansfield.

The nuclear option: too slow, too costly

Bernard Keane — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

It’s not radioactivity or scare campaigns that are the nuclear industry's biggest problem, it's the maths: the numbers show that for decades to come, it will offer less and less of a solution to climate change, and simply takes too long and costs too much to develop.

How will the CPRS Carnival end?

Crikey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

In the next week or so, the carnival of climate carpetbaggers is about to fold its tents on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. How it will all end up is still anyone's guess, writes John Connor.

How Obama’s China trip killed Copenhagen

Crikey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:26:20 +0000

Despite all the fanfare around Obama's trip to China, he failed to make any headway with the country in securing support for serious emissions targets, says Steve Clemons. As a result, Copenhagen is now dead.

Sinodinos: The environment is too important to be left to The Greens

Crikey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:02:25 +0000

The environment is no longer a niche issue that should remain solely in the hands of socialist Greens, says Arthur Sinodinos. Major parties can advocate for the environment without giving up on capitalism.

Aussie sheep set sail for ritual slaughter — if they’re lucky

Crikey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:21:51 +0000

Millions of sheep are headed off to the Middle East to be slaughtered for the Eid al-Adha festival. But tens of thousands will die before they even reach the shore as the cruel practice of live exports continues, says the RSPCA's Heather Neil.

Small wind could become a big deal

Crikey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:11:49 +0000

GE has just pumped millions into a small company in Arizona that has created backyard wind turbines which allow households to generate their own clean, cheap energy. Could the future of energy be DIY?

Apocalypse fatigue: is the public tired of climate change?

Crikey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:11:26 +0000

Recent polls have found both Americans and Australians are growing less concerned about the threat of global warming. Are people losing faith, or just interest? Is the relentless press coverage of climate change actually damaging the movement?

Rumors of Copenhagen’s death have been greatly exaggerated

Crikey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:35:32 +0000

The Copenhagen climate summit hasn't even started, yet the mainstream media are already writing its obituary. But the pundits are wrong, says David Turnbull: a climate treaty can still be reached at the conference.

The coal industry wants your cash to save them

Crikey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

The coal industry realises that without massive public funding, carbon capture is dead. Without it, the coal industry and power companies locked into coal-fired power stations will, at best, be on life support, writes Bob Burton.

Australia grows sceptical about global warming

Possum Comitatus — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:56:24 +0000

A new Morgan poll has found a growing level of scepticism towards global warming by Australians over the past 12 months, says Possum Comitatus -- especially amongst regional and rural voters.

Schools left off bushfire Code Red register

Andrew Crook — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Victorian schools in the potential path of a new wave of bushfires have been left off an emergency register designed to shut them down in the event of another Black Saturday.

The science of climate change is only a small part of the discussion

Crikey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Equating climate change doubters and dissenters with mass-murdering war criminals is the mark of a moral dwarf, writes Sinclair Davidson.

Scientists create landmine-detecting bugs

Crikey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:07:40 +0000

Scientists have used DNA manipulation to create a new type of bacteria that glows green in the presence of explosives, and may be the future of landmine detection

Are we doing enough to save the bluefin tuna?

Crikey — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:17:31 +0000

Fishing nations have agreed to cut the fishing of Bluefin tuna in the Atlantic by nearly 40% in 2010 -- but is it enough to save the species from extinction? Not even close, according to some conservationists.

A long way from “Yes We Can”

Sophie Black — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:10:25 +0000

Yes We Can't -- that's the new message on climate change from Barack Obama and other world leaders, who have now made a "realistic assessment" on Copenhagen: a climate treaty is "unrealistic".