Floods, fracking and Antarctic exhibitions
News
Wind farm test case ‘could seen hundreds of
turbines near historic sites’
Climate and energy news:
With a bit of luck, the U.S. could actually hit
its 2020 climate change goals
US emissions have fallen in recent years, but are expected
to rise again soon, according to a government report. With
additional policies, the United States could get back down “in the
range” of its 2020 climate goals, the report says.
Scourge of banks tackles
frackers
Energy company Celtique Energie has plans to prospect for
shale oil and gas near the village of Fernhurst in the South Downs.
Local MP Andrew Tyrie, who also heads up Parliament’s Treasury
select committee, has written to the energy minister expressing
concerns.
Climate and energy comment:
Flood-hit UK must prepare for more extreme
weather, says climate adviser
Extreme weather events are likely to become more frequent as
a result of climate change and the UK must do more to manage the
problem, potentially doubling spending to £1bn a year by 2020,
according to Sir David King, the government’s special envoy on
climate change.
Owen Paterson’s climate change scepticism ‘has
blinded him to future flooding risks’, claims Labour as winter
storm continues to batter Britain
The Labour shadow environment secretary has questioned
whether environment minister Owen Paterson’s view that Britain
would benefit from climate change has blinded him to the risk of
more flooding in the future, after he allowed job cuts in the
Environment Agency. Followed up by the Times.
Rueing the waves
The Economist is critical of the UK government’s enthusiasm
for offshore wind, saying “Britain is a world leader in something
rather dubious” – and expensive.
Shale set to cut energy
bills
A poll of 200 City fund managers reveals confidence in the
potential of UK shale gas. 59 per cent of respondents believe shale
will lower the cost of energy, compared with 36 per cent who say it
is unlikely to make any impact.
Antarctic leader defends expedition against
critics of its scientific value
The leader of an expedition to the Antarctic whose ship got
stuck in the ice has accusedthe media of
misrepresenting the expedition. Some climate skeptics have argued
the ship getting stuck shows global warming isn’t happening.
The New York Timessays the rescue
effort has distracted effort away from serious science in the
Antarctic.
The PM’s green pledges ebb away even as floods
rise
Climate skeptics are becoming more powerful in the
Conservative party, argues Adam Boulton. But he says that turning
away from green policies is unlikely to help David Cameron at the
ballot box.
Has the media stopped linking floods to climate
change?
According to a simple analysis, 12-18 per cent of news
articles about flooding also mentioned climate change from 2005 to
2008. This rose to 25 per cent in 2009 – but since then has fallen
to 7-11 per cent.
New climate
science:
Abundance changes and habitat availability drive
species’ responses to climate change
Some species populations have extended their geographical
range northward to cooler areas in response to rising temperatures.
But new research on butterflies suggests that only works if the
populations are healthy and growing in number, otherwise they won’t
survive such a transition.