Author Archives: John Gibbons
The Anthropocene – Age of the Sociopath
First off, this quite wonderful short animated piece by Steve Cutts. I showed it on a large screen by way of a little, ahem, light relief during a meeting earlier this week and it went down a storm, so here, … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Media, Psychology
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How climate change is destroying the Earth
A picture, they say, can be worth a thousand words. I was contacted recently by a group of volunteers who design and research material to help communicate climate change to the general public. They suggested the infographic below might be … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Media, Sustainability
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The psychology of bracing for very bad news
Below is my second article from Village magazine’s special issue on climate change: Once upon a time the people wearing the sandwich boards proclaiming that ‘The End is Nigh’ were a reassuringly small, fringe group of individuals, many clearly suffering from … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Psychology
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The human race is almost run
Below, one of my articles from the current edition of ‘Village’ magazine…. ‘Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule’ – Friedrich Nietzsche I like people; indeed, some of my best friends … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Psychology, Sustainability
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Safe bet that this year will be one of the hottest yet
Below, my article from today’s Irish Times, where I took a slightly different tack and asked the ‘real experts’ on risk, i.e. the bookies, to give the odds on 2013 being yet another year for the record books. The results … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sceptics
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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
“You must feel vindicated, what with Hurricane Sandy and the way the weather and climate change has gone this year”. That’s how a business acquaintance of mine put it the other day during a pre-Christmas lunch. Her point was that … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Psychology
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Steady as she goes: global climatic denial guarantees chaotic future
Below is the full, 800-word version of my article, a compressed version of same appears in this morning’s Irish Times, which runs to just 600 words, so a quarter of the original piece fell under the subs’ desk knife. This … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Irish Focus, Media
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Humanity’s killing spree about to come full circle
With apologies for an uncharacteristic outbreak of navel-gazing, below, my article as it appears in the current issue of ‘Village’ magazine… My interest in environmentalism is barely 10 years old. For the bulk of my adult life, far meatier concerns … Continue reading
Sandy has the last word in a bitter election
Ever wonder what, in a world where the media took its cues from peer-reviewed science rather than energy industry shills, the front covers of even our business magazines might look like? Well, wonder no more. Below, is the amazing cover … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Media
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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 Arctic, CO2, Greenland, ice, iceberg, sea-levels
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Mental blocks contribute to our inaction on climate change
My article, as it appeared in yesterday’s Irish Times. There’s a busy comments section attached, with the usual handful of hard chaws piling in to an otherwise productive discussion… IT’S REASSURING to imagine we are, by and large, rational beings … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Psychology
7 Comments
Myths and mischief-making in renewable energy reporting
I couldn’t have claimed to be Ireland’s greatest fan of wind energy. Not because I don’t think it’s a good idea – it is – but rather, my concern is whether it will ever be deployed on a scale sufficient … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Global Warming, Irish Focus, Sceptics, Sustainability
Tagged emissions, Energy, GWPA, Pat Rabbitte, RTE, wind farms
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Extraordinary, unprecedented – but still not newsworthy?
Earlier this month, something quite extraordinary and unprecedented occurred in Greenland. The satellite image on the left above shows (in red) the area of Greenland which was experiencing summer melt on July 8th. It amounts to around 40% of the … Continue reading
It’s a race to the bottom – we’re winning as the oceans die
To me, nothing says summer down-time quite like finding a shady spot on a warm day and settling in for a great read. This year, I had the good fortune of picking two exceptional books – ‘The Ocean of Life‘ … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiversity, Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Media, Sustainability
Tagged Callum Roberts, extinction, marine
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Life on Earth now under threat as never before
Below, my opinion article, as it appears in today’s Irish Times: WHEN WE put our mind to it, it’s amazing what we can learn to forget. Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 hosted one of the most important international conferences … Continue reading
Posted in Global Warming, Habitat/Species, Media, Sustainability
Tagged Earth Summit, Rio+20, Sustainability
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