The Independent reports onnew researchsuggesting human activity is
playing an increasing role in melting glaciers. The team of
Austrian and Canadian scientists found between 1851 and 2010, human
activity was responsible for a quarter of the global loss of
glacier mass, but the human contribution rose to 69 per cent in the
last 20 years of that period.Associated Press,Reuters,Climate CentralandRTCChave more on the story.

Harnessing the waves and tides for generating electricity is taking
longer than hoped and costing more money than expected, according
to Bloomberg New Energy Finance figures. Global installations of
wave power plants may reach 21 megawatts by the end of the decade,
72 percent less than originally forecast. Capacity for harnessing
tidal streams may reach about 21 percent less than previously
estimated, says the new report.

A shale gas site uses less land and ‘creates the least visual
intrusion’ compared with a wind or solar farm capable of producing
the equivalent amount of energy over 25 years, according to the
Government’s former chief scientific advisor. Rating each
technology’s “footprint” in terms of land use, height and visual
impact, professor David Mackay concluded shale gas was the
“winning” technology overall. Therecent analysishas been welcomed by the
shale gas industry, with a spokesperson for Cuadrilla saying
contrary to popular belief, it clearly showed the impact on the
countryside would be far less than for solar or wind.

Australian chief business advisor, Maurice Newman, has warned the
world is on course for a period of cooling, rather than warming. We
are collectively ill-prepared for the consequences and should
expect significant geopolitical unrest in the coming years and
decades, he warned in an article for The Australian. Newman accuses
the UN’s official climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, of “paying scant attention to any science … that
may relegate human causes to a lesser status.” Graham Readfearn
runs through Newman’s erroneous statements in a

While everyone will be affected by climate change, scientists’
projections of an increase in extreme weather will exacerbate
social and health inequities by disrupting agriculture and
livelihoods, and forcing mass displacements of citizens from the
worst hit areas. Professor Sharon Friel, expert in health and
equity and Australian National University, talks about her latest
research into the higher risks faced by poorer communities and
those in low-lying regions.

The signal of human influence on glacier melt has got much
stronger in the last few decades, according to new research.
Sitting at just 25 per cent in the 20th century, about 69 per cent
of ice lost from glaciers worldwide between 1991 and 2010 is
attributable to humans. Global glacier retreat affects human
society by causing sea-level rise, changing seasonal water
availability and increasing geohazards, warn the
authors.