Tag Archives: CO2
Spirit of Ireland – Divine wind or hot air?
Last week, something pretty unusual showed up in a number of national newspapers. This was a full-page advert under the title ‘Spirit of Ireland‘. This tied in with the launch of a website and a big PR push through the … Continue reading
A grandfather’s appeal to Obama
Politicians worry about the next election; business people worry about the next quarter. Who does that leave to worry about the longer term future? One top scientific expert believes the people who really do think ahead are parents, more specifically … Continue reading
Half-baked Alaskan science bears closer scutiny
They say the first casualty in war is the truth. The same surely applies to elections, and none more so than the crucial US election on November 4th next. Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin has shown a startling contempt for … Continue reading
Not watching the road
Today FM’s The Last Word yesterday evening featured two items with a climate twist, I was involved in one (a discusssion as to why, according to a UK survey, people who profess green credentials still engage in lots of long-haul … Continue reading
Labouring under some misconceptions
What has meat go to do with climate change? At first glance, not a lot. But dig a little deeper and you’ll soon find that the sharp increases in meat consumption in the last decade or two is a major … Continue reading
Soaring oil price sinks iconic Hummer
Nothing says vulgarity or hubris quite like a Hummer. Clocking in at an average of 13 miles per gallon (21.7 litres per 100km), they are no longer the biggest monstrosity on the roads these days, if you really want to … Continue reading
Water shortages add to list of critical pressures
With oil prices steaming towards $130 a barrel, CO2 emissions climbing relentlessly, food shortages and major commodity price hikes hitting the world’s poor, “the last thing anyone needs is another crisis”, according to the current issue of Business Week. But … Continue reading
On a wing and a prayer
Airlines are forever telling us that aviation is just a teeny weeny contributor to greenhouse gases, nothing to be bothered about really. The figure of 2% of total emissions being attributable to flying is frequently quoted in defence of our … Continue reading
ESB finally sees the light
Ireland, it appears, is at last starting to get serious about tackling our huge energy requirements, and the dagger that our massive dependence on imports of oil and gas in particular holds to our collective throat. We are reckoned in … Continue reading
The most dangerous man in Europe?
Gordon Brown gets it. Kevin Rudd gets it. John McCain gets it. Bertie Ahern (sort of) gets it. For goodness sake, even George W Bush is beginning to get it. It, of course, is the realisation sweeping the world that … Continue reading
There Will Be Oil!
The prolific American author Upton Sinclair died 40 years ago, but his novel Oil, published in 1927, has recently had a second coming, being the book upon which the Oscar-winning film There Will Be Blood is based. Another of Sinclair’s … Continue reading
A time bomb in the wilderness
CO2, we’re told, is the knife at the throat of world climate. Methane has so far got much less press, mostly because there’s a lot less of it in the atmosphere. And just as well; methane is 23 times more … Continue reading