“The metabolism of a human-dominated planet” by Prof Yadvinder Malhi

320 views

Streamed live on Jan 22, 2015

We live in a new epoch, the Anthropocene, the Age of Us, of which climate change is just one aspect. The defining feature of this age is that sum of human activity (how many we are and what we are doing) has become large compared to the natural processes of the biosphere. The atmospheric waste products of our activity being the main driver of climate change. How can we measure how “large” we are, and how has our impact on the planet varied throughout human history?

Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science, will examine this question through the concept of social metabolism, how much energy we use to support our lifestyles, compared to the metabolism of the biosphere. With this concept in hand, we will travel from a world full of hunter gatherers after the end of the last Ice Age, through the dawn of farming, the Roman Empire, the industrial revolution and finally look at prospects for the 21st century. On the way we’ll examine whether our cities behave like termite colonies, and whether people walk faster in London than in Oxford. And you’ll find out how you are like King Kong…

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We live in a new epoch, the Anthropocene, the Age of Us, of which climate change is just one aspect. The defining feature of this age is that sum of human activity (how many we are and what we are doing) has become large compared to the natural processes of the biosphere. The atmospheric waste products of our activity being the main driver of climate change. How can we measure how “large” we are, and how has our impact on the planet varied throughout human history?

Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science, will examine this question through the concept of social metabolism, how much energy we use to support our lifestyles, compared to the metabolism of the biosphere. With this concept in hand, we will travel from a world full of hunter gatherers after the end of the last Ice Age, through the dawn of farming, the Roman Empire, the industrial revolution and finally look at prospects for the 21st century. On the way we’ll examine whether our cities behave like termite colonies, and whether people walk faster in London than in Oxford. And you’ll find out how you are like King Kong…

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

“Climate change: dealing with uncertainty” by Prof Tim Palmer CBE

21school

Streamed live on Jan 29, 2015

In this talk Professor Tim Palmer CBE, Co-Director of the Programme on Modelling and Predicting Climate, will address three related questions.

Firstly, what are the physical reasons why predictions of climate change are necessarily uncertain?

Secondly, how can we communicate this uncertainty in a simple but rigorous way to those policy makers for whom uncertainty quantification may seem an unnecessary complication.

Finally, what is needed to reduce uncertainty about future climate change? For the latter, I will argue that the sort of inspiration and ambition that led to the Large Hadron Collider is now needed for the development of climate-change science.

Oxford Martin School,
University of Oxford
www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk

In this talk Professor Tim Palmer CBE, Co-Director of the Programme on Modelling and Predicting Climate, will address three related questions.

Firstly, what are the physical reasons why predictions of climate change are necessarily uncertain?

Secondly, how can we communicate this uncertainty in a simple but rigorous way to those policy makers for whom uncertainty quantification may seem an unnecessary complication.

Finally, what is needed to reduce uncertainty about future climate change? For the latter, I will argue that the sort of inspiration and ambition that led to the Large Hadron Collider is now needed for the development of climate-change science.

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

“Climate change: what science and the IPCC report have to say” by Prof Myles Allen and Dr Nick Eyre

21school

Streamed live on Feb 5, 2015

One of the key objectives of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), completed in 2014, was to provide a comprehensive description of the science of climate change and options for adaptation and mitigation for negotiators preparing for the Paris Conference in 2015.

IPCC authors Myles Allen and Nick Eyre will explain the IPCC process, and ask whether this model of a technical panel giving “policy relevant, not policy prescriptive” advice to governments is still working. They will highlight some key findings, such as the increased level of confidence that human influence is the dominant cause of the warming observed since the mid-20th-century, the importance of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions, the challenges of emission reductions, but also the multiple mitigation pathways still open for achieving the goal of limiting warming to 2oC.

They will also discuss some of the things the IPCC does not do, such as specifically attributing blame for observed climate change impacts, and ask what the options are for the IPCC going forward.

Oxford Martin School,
University of Oxford
www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk

“Climate change: what science and the IPCC report have to say” by Prof Myles Allen and Dr Nick Eyre

One of the key objectives of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), completed in 2014, was to provide a comprehensive description of the science of climate change and options for adaptation and mitigation for negotiators preparing for the Paris Conference in 2015.

IPCC authors Myles Allen and Nick Eyre will explain the IPCC process, and ask whether this model of a technical panel giving “policy relevant, not policy prescriptive” advice to governments is still working. They will highlight some key findings, such as the increased level of confidence that human influence is the dominant cause of the warming observed since the mid-20th-century, the importance of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions, the challenges of emission reductions, but also the multiple mitigation pathways still open for achieving the goal of limiting warming to 2oC.

They will also discuss some of the things the IPCC does not do, such as specifically attributing blame for observed climate change impacts, and ask what the options are for the IPCC going forward.

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

“Hopes and fears: why people disagree about how to tackle climate change” by Dr Rob Bellamy

21school

Streamed live on Feb 12, 2015

In this seminar Dr Rob Bellamy, James Martin Fellow at the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, will explore how and why people disagree about how to tackle climate change. What hope then is there for a global political agreement in Paris 2015?

Oxford Martin School,
University of Oxford
www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk

In this seminar Dr Rob Bellamy, James Martin Fellow at the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, will explore how and why people disagree about how to tackle climate change. What hope then is there for a global political agreement in Paris 2015?

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

Reaganomics and the Scam to Hide the Scam…

thomhartmann

Published on Feb 13, 2015

Thom Hartmann shares how Reagan Administration officials had to find a new way to sell trickle down economics as Republicans began to figure out it was a scam.

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

South Sudan Food Crisis: Aid Agencies Call For Urgent Measures to Avert Situation

CCTV Africa

Published on Feb 13, 2015

In South Sudan, aid organisations say the food crisis there has reached critical levels. It comes as fighting between rebels and government forces continues barely a week after signing a ceasefire. Aid agencies are now calling for urgent measures to mitigate the situation.

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

Downstream: How YouTube changed the world

Al Jazeera English

Published on Feb 13, 2015

This week, as YouTube turns ten we look at how the video streaming site has changed the world, Europe’s reusable space plane, protests in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the government’s blocking of text messages, the wholesale theft of health insurance data in the US, and a remarkable collection of lost classic cars goes up for sale in France.

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

‘Ballet of Solar’: NASA releases spectacular 5yrs time lapse of Sun

RT

Published on Feb 13, 2015

Watch the original here: http://youtu.be/GSVv40M2aks

February 11, 2015 marks five years in space for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which provides incredibly detailed images of the whole sun 24 hours a day. Capturing an image more than once per second, SDO has provided an unprecedentedly clear picture of how massive explosions on the sun grow and erupt ever since its launch on Feb. 11, 2010. The imagery is also captivating, allowing one to watch the constant ballet of solar material through the sun’s atmosphere, the corona.

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

World Weather, from the Outside Looking In (On Assignment)

VOAvideo

Published on Feb 13, 2015

NASA, the U-S space agency, has sent up a number of new weather data satellites to collect information that may help scientists better understand global climate change. VOA environment reporter Rosanne Skirble talks with On Assignment’s Imran Siddiqui about what may be learned from the new orbiters.

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice

Keystone of Corruption: The Money Pipeline Flowing from Big Oil to Congress | Informed Comment

By contributors | Feb. 12, 2015

By Kitty Stapp

NEW YORK (IPS) – With battle lines sharpening over the stalled Keystone XL pipeline, a new analysis details the intense industry lobbying of both houses of the U.S. Congress since 2013 – to the tune of 58.8 million dollars by five refinery companies alone.

According to MapLight, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organisation that reveals money’s influence on politics, the oil and gas industry gave, on average, 13 times more money to members of the House of Representatives who voted “yes” (43,375 dollars) on the bill called H.R. 3 than those who voted against it (3,610 dollars).

“Another climate denier-controlled House vote in favour of oil isn’t a surprise, and the Democrats who voted with them of course are oil-funded politicians too.” — Kyle Ash of Greenpeace

The bill would allow TransCanada to build the highly controversial Keystone XL pipeline without a presidential permit or additional environmental review. It passed the House on Wednesday with a vote of 270-152.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice