Tag Archives: EU

15 Reasons to be (Mildly) Optimistic about COP15

As the Copenhagen conference progresses, I thought it might be worthwhile to take a brief look what’s the various different countries have offered, and reasons why there is some room for optimism about a decent deal being done… 1. The … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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

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Sustainability crisis no less critical than climate change

If self-immolation were somehow our collective goal, there is no surer way of expediting this outcome than to allow the rampant clearing of the world’s remaining forests. A critical place to start is in cracking down on imports of illegally … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sleepwalking across the climate ‘Red Line’

As of three years ago the Earth was already committed to rise of global mean temperatures by 2.4°C. This is the shocking conclusion of a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). This is … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Taking the Mick on aviation and climate change

A week ago my column in the Irish Times dared to suggest that maybe, just maybe, dirt cheap aviation á la the Ryanair model (now aped by our former national carrier as well) is perhaps not the world’s best idea … Continue reading

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

If you care about climate, Lisbon matters

What is it about us Irish and referenda? One minute the national discourse is rattling along as usual, and the next, there are swarms of (previously unheard of) groups popping up out of the woodwork to warn us of the … Continue reading

Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments