Tag Archives: Arctic

Polar heatwaves sound global climate alarm bells

Polar heatwaves are, as you would imagine, rare events, but in March, simultaneous heatwaves were recorded at both poles, an event without precedent in the instrumental record. I wrote the following Opinion piece for the Irish Examiner discussing the phenomenon and … Continue reading

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Epic Arctic meltdown portends radically altered future

I first wrote about the fate of the Arctic region in April 2008, in the wake of huge melt events in 2005 and September 2007. I returned to the topic in September 2012, a year in which an area of … Continue reading

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2029 – A letter from the future

We live in consequential times. “What we do over the next 10 years will determine the future of humanity for the next 10,000 years”, is how former UK chief scientific advisor Prof David King put it recently. There is no … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming, Psychology, Sceptics, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Nine years later, and deeper in debt

It’s nine years to the week since my first posting on ThinkorSwim went live – on the last day of November 2007. It was, in many ways, a different world. The mood was radically different too. For starters, the Greens … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

The Arctic ice cap is melting – and with it goes our future

Below, my article, as it appears in today’s Irish Times. The piece has ‘gone viral’ via social media, with over 2,500 ‘Recommends’ on Facebook alone, and it was No. 3 in the ‘Most Read’ category of Irishtimes.com last week. Not … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

A little something for the weekend…

While smoking out climate change deniers can offer a little light relief, it’s important not to lose sight of what exactly is on the line here. For this, I am grateful to Joe Romm over at ThinkProgress for the following … Continue reading

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Baby, it’s cold outside

News comes through this morning via John Gormley and Ciaran Cuffe that the Climate Change Response Bill has at last been published. A public consultation period on the Bill is to run until January 28th next, with a view to … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The not-so-strange paradox of global warming’s northern freeze

My article, below, as it appears in today’s Irish Times: OPINION: The thaw is on (apparently); can this year’s two extreme cold snaps be linked to wider climate change? AS 2010 draws to a close, globally it will enter the … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Is the chilling truth that we’re to blame for the big freeze?

The Irish Independent this morning has a useful full-page piece by Ed Power in its ‘Weekend Review’ section on the extreme cold spell. He canvassed three perspectives, and I find myself, not for the first time, somewhat at odds with … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Sunday Times shows its hand. Again.

Last April, I gave a lecture to the Met Society of Ireland in Glasnevin. A Sunday Times reporter was in the audience, though she did not make herself known to me, ask any questions or attempt to speak to me … Continue reading

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Reporting our changing world

I nearly missed the report below. In yesterday’s the Irish Times the near one-third rise in arctic methane emissions wasn’t reported in world news; rather it was on the bulletin page, a fine page – no quibbles here – but … Continue reading

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Challenging the infallible economist

Colm McCarthy chaired the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes, better known as An Bord Snip Nua. It issued its various prescription for what ails us in July, and much of the national discussion since then has … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Anthropocene draws to a close

The term Anthropocene was coined by Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen a decade ago to describe the new ‘Era of Man’, a distinct geological epoch shaped almost entirely by our actions and impacts. “The Anthropocence has yet to be accepted as … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Media, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Hot air, melting ice, ticking clock

Hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Declan Ganley of Libertas until yesterday. Well, Declan is of course a stickler for accuracy, so perhaps ‘encountering’ would be a more accurate term. The brief encounter occurred around noon yesterday, as I was … Continue reading

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North East Passage open for business

The fabled North West Passage, allowing shipping from Asia to Europe to navigate via the Arctic Ocean, is now routinely used. This passage cost the lives of many earlier expeditions. Times have changed, and a century of relentless global warming … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Sceptics, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments