Climate Leadership Means Better Change Management

Copenhagen was not a failure to manage climate, it was a failure to manage change. ‘Green’ politicians and the green movement had got ahead of themselves and their communities. Global leaders failed to anticipate or cope with the complexity of the international change required. In Australia the Government failed to manage the required community change. These messages could be reinforced by promoting real and practical solutions (like those featured in the abc carbon express!).Because change is all about people, the best illustrations will always be personal stories. This from Richard and Joan Cassels of Climate Leadership. Read More

After Copenhagen: the case for resolve.

By Richard and Joan Cassels, Climate Leadership. 11 March 2010.

The Copenhagen Climate Conference has been widely portrayed as a “failure”. Accordingly the political landscape of environmental politics in Australia changed overnight. Before the conference, leaders spoke of great challenges for humanity. After the conference, Kevin Rudd hardly mentioned climate change. China, although unequivocally accepting the reality of global warming and its human causes, undid possible consensus by refusing to accept limits to its growth. It seemed to be back to square one, with everyone looking after themselves.

An article in the Queensland Courier Mail claimed jubilantly that, “once again, coal is king”. Some climate change deniers claimed vindication. It was a sign of the times when a well-respected scientist could be labelled “un-objective” because he was an ‘environmentalist’. Climate-fatigue set in among the media and the public. The zeitgeist had changed.

All this was despite the reality of what actually happened in Copenhagen. The case for human induced global warming was actually strengthened by the latest studies and never seriously questioned by any of the players. International agreement was obtained on the need to limit warming to no more than 2oC, with an ideal target of 1.5oC. More countries were involved than ever before. Good progress was made on R.E.D.D. (avoided deforestation) and a real cash commitment was made to help poor countries adapt. This was all achieved despite the unrealistic expectations and the cumbersome consensus formula of the conference; and despite the history and depth of the problems underlying human induced climate change- international inequity, over-population and over-consumption.

Copenhagen was not a failure to manage climate, it was a failure to manage change. ‘Green’ politicians and the green movement had got ahead of themselves and their communities. Global leaders failed to anticipate or cope with the complexity of the international change required. In Australia the Government failed to manage the required community change.

A lot is known about change management. Key principles are that people must be listened to and their fears addressed..They must be given some choices and some opportunities to control the impact of the change on them. Communications must be continuous and open. Different people react differently to change. Obstruction of change is often due to factors completely unrelated to the issue at hand. Change often involves a loss and this loss must be addressed openly. Expectations must be realistic. And, perhaps most critically, the champion of change must be resolute, and change management must be treated as a project, thought through and resourced.

In Australia, much of this did not happen. The Rudd government negotiated with the Opposition but ignored the voters. There was no comprehensive communication and change management program. The change management team seems now to have been taken off the project and diverted to other issues like health. The change champion, the Prime Minister, appears to be hesitating. These are all well known classic mistakes of an unsuccessful change management.

Communication must be much better. The concept of an emissions trading scheme is quite straightforward. “Cap, trade and transition” mean to set a limit on emissions and slowly reduce it; use, rather than fight, the profit motive; and give transition help to those most affected. We do not need to know every detail. We drive cars everyday without understanding the workings of the internal combustion engine.

The Abbott “Great Big Tax” campaign could be countered by a “Very Good Investment” campaign, with messages such as: someone will inevitably pay for climate disruption and the huge (as yet unbudgeted!) costs of adaptation, and it will be the taxpayer unless we act proactively; acting now will cost much less than acting later; the choice is not “no tax”, it is a little tax now or a lot of tax later. These messages could be reinforced by promoting real and practical solutions (like those featured in the ABC Carbon Express!).Because change is all about people, the best illustrations will always be personal stories.

The rationale for the change is not just global warming. We need to move from fossil fuels to a low carbon economy for many other reasons, not least the short and finite life of oil, coal and gas reserves, the acidification of the oceans, air pollution and the diversion of human energies, resources and innovation away from creating the long-term energy sources of the future.

It is also clear that alarming people is unproductive. The “litany of disasters” has been too much to handle and people have reacted by psychological withdrawal. A 6- metre sea level rise or a 5oC temperature rise are realistic and serious risks, but are, right now, beyond people’s coping capacity. What they want is cool-headed and determined leaders, who show the way forward and solve practical problems.

The need for a practical approach is illustrated in a recent national survey by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities in the U.S.A. (see ABC of carbon newsletter 10-2-2010) which found that, despite a sharp drop in public concern over global warming, Americans—regardless of political affiliation—support the passage of practical federal climate and energy policies.
The survey found support for the following practical measures:
• Funding more research on renewable energy, such as solar and wind power (85 percent)
• Tax rebates for people buying fuel-efficient vehicles or solar panels (82 percent)
• Establishing programs to teach Americans how to save energy (72 percent)
• Regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant (71 percent)
• School curricula to teach children about the causes, consequences and potential solutions to global warming (70 percent)
• Signing an international treaty that requires the United States to cut emissions of carbon dioxide 90 percent by the year 2050 (61 percent)
• Establishing programs to teach Americans about global warming (60 percent).
It seems very likely that attitudes in Australia will be similar.
There is no going back on ‘clean and green’, let alone on climate. The green movement, including action on climate change, is now universal and unstoppable. Green buildings, green infrastructure, sustainable enterprise, sustainable development, carbon trading, wildlife conservation, marine conservation, sustainable cities, sustainable transport, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, low-carbon technologies and environmental lawyers are all guided by the principle that we can and must act now to prevent and then reduce environmental degradation and climate disruption.

To retain credibility, the Government must see through what it started. If Kevin Rudd does not stick to his guns and become a serious change manager with a properly planned and resourced change management program for climate change, he will lose the voters’ respect and the next election. He will set back the movement for a safer, more sustainable and more equitable world by at least a decade- the decade when we actually still have time to make a real difference.

Source: www.climateleadership.org

Carbon’s The Name & The Message Remains The Same

As many of us ponder fresh ways to get the messages across, it’s good to keep the basics in mind, and those basics begin with carbon. There is no serious debate about the meticulous records kept at Mauna Loa and elsewhere showing the inexorable increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Even if geo-engineers come up with an appealing and diplomatically tractable way to shield and cool the planet, the oceans will continue to soak up more carbon dioxide, and the chain of marine life will be increasingly at risk. Bob Henson is a science communicator, who knows a lot about meteorology, psychology and journalism. He’s author of “The Rough Guide to Climate Change”. Read More

By Bob Henson

The name of this newsletter includes two critical syllables that often get omitted when discussing climate change. The carbon that lies beneath our feet is entering the atmosphere at a stunningly fast pace in geologic terms. Regardless of what twists and turns the weather may take, there is no denying the changing chemistry of the atmosphere.

In the United States, we’ve just endured a winter of discontent in many ways. The East Coast has been slammed with some of the worst winter weather ever seen, including the snowiest season on record in Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, Maryland; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In my hometown of Boulder, Colorado, this past February was the first month in at least 60 years in which the temperature failed to reach 10°C at least once. It hasn’t been a brutally cold winter—just a consistently cold one.

The chilly, snowy conditions across much of the nation coincided with the reverberations of the University of East Anglia e-mail hack and the emergence of several errors amid the vast amount of material in the 2007 assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These events appear to have teamed with a political climate of increased skepticism toward experts and elites of all stripes. The result: a significant turn in U.S. public opinion. A Gallup Poll released just last week shows that 48 percent of Americans now think the seriousness of global warming is exaggerated, versus 41 percent just last year and 35 percent the year before that. Almost as many people attribute the last century of warming to natural causes (46 percent) as to human activity (50 percent). The latter figure has dropped almost ten percentage points in the last two years.

For those of us who spend much of our time communicating about climate change, it’s been a difficult few months. Is it something we’re saying—or not saying? If we have a scorching summer, will the new skepticism remain? Is it simply asking too much of people to shrug off the natural variability of weather—the fact that some winters will still be rough—and recognize that small changes in an average can produce big impacts over time?

Many of us are pondering fresh ways to get the messages across. But perhaps it’s good to keep the basics in mind, and those basics begin with carbon.

There is no serious debate about the meticulous records kept at Mauna Loa and elsewhere showing the inexorable increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The gradual acidification of our oceans due to that increase is something that often falls by the wayside when climate change is discussed.

Even if geoengineers come up with an appealing and diplomatically tractable way to shield and cool the planet, the oceans will continue to soak up more carbon dioxide, and the chain of marine life will be increasingly at risk.

Carbon is at the center of life. The ways in which we think about and use carbon tell us much about how life will evolve in the coming decades and centuries.

Bob Henson edits the UCAR Magazine and Highlights, the magazine-style summary of UCAR/NCAR/UOP research and support activities. He writes news releases and assist with media inquiries, particularly those involving severe weather (tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.).

He was born in the Great Plains metropolis of Oklahoma City, his hometown through high school. Surrounded by wild weather, he grew up fascinated by it. His bachelor’s degree at Rice University featured an interdisciplinary major in meteorology and psychology. He went to graduate school in both meteorology and journalism at the University of Oklahoma. For his MA thesis in journalism, he studied the broadcasting of severe weather warnings on local television.

He’s been at UCAR since 1989, covering the wide range of research and related activities conducted by NCAR, UOP, and UCAR’s members and affiliates.

He enjoys freelance writing on a variety of topics. He’s contributing editor of Weatherwise magazine and was a frequent correspondent for the The Weather Notebook radio show. He’s written Television Weathercasting: A History (McFarland, 1990), The Rough Guide to Weather (Penguin, 2002), The Rough Guide to Climate Change (Penguin, 2006), and Weather on the Air: A History of Broadcast Meteorology (American Meteorological Society, summer 2010).

Other interests? Bicycling: He’s done several tours of 200-800 miles and spend a lot of transportation time on two wheels.

Storm photography: Over the past 25 years, while on research experiments and personal travel, he’s seen around 30 tornadoes and a vast array of severe thunderstorms.

Source: www.ucar.edu

Retrofit Urban Areas With Ecologically Positive Development

A system of development that does not pay its own way over its life cycle is no longer morally acceptable. We have already exceeded the Earth’s ecological, not to mention carbon, carrying capacity. Therefore, cities need to increase ecological carrying capacity just to support existing bioregions and populations equitably. Architecture professor Janis Birkeland has an answer or two up her sleeve and in her books “Design for Sustainabilty” and “Positive Development”. Read More

by Janis Birkeland

A system of development that does not pay its own way over its life cycle is no longer morally acceptable. We have already exceeded the Earth’s ecological, not to mention carbon, carrying capacity. Therefore, cities need to increase ecological carrying capacity just to support existing bioregions and populations equitably.

The good news is that we can retrofit urban areas to increase natural and social capital. Arguably, the design concepts and eco-technologies to do so already exist. Many fossil fuelled building and environmental services could be replaced by natural systems that provide surplus ecosystem goods and services in urban areas. They only need to be retrofitted into the urban environment. Eco-retrofitting pays for itself in resource savings and productivity gains, and can be performed profitably at no cost to the building owner.
Why aren’t we employing design solutions?
Current leading-edge ecological designers call for buildings that work like ecosystems (eg like a tree). However, this still replaces natural ecosystems with artificial replicas that are high in embodied energy and materials. Many green buildings, for example, increase the urban heat island effect, urban weather extremes and biodiversity loss.
Buildings can produce clean energy, water, soil, air, and food, as well as sequester carbon. This is called restorative or regenerative design. Even this is not enough. Buildings must also reverse the impacts of previous development and expand indigenous ecosystems in absolute terms – called net ‘Positive Development’. Given we are in ecological deficit, we must learn to design for nature, not just ‘with’ or ‘like’ nature – called ‘design for eco-services’.
So why the resistance to eco-positive retrofitting solutions?
The sustainability movement has always called for improving life quality for everyone within the limits of nature’s carrying capacity (too late… we now need to expand nature’s size and resilience). The problem is that the professions have tried to marry sustainability goals with preconceived ideas about development that were based upon negative premises and metrics.
Perhaps foremost among these premises is the idea that the built environment can only have negative ecological impacts, because nature and civilisation are in some sort of opposition. As a result, our decision making methods and tools are designed for making tradeoffs, or offsetting ecological losses with short term social gains.
Why? We excel at measuring problems but not simply fixing things. In our haste to substitute action with displacement activity, we often fail to ask what we should measure.
What do our metrics need to do?
Be relevant to life forms: ‘Resources’ have been represented by numbers, but living things have fallen through the reductionist sieve and are under-represented in current design and assessment tools. This means designers focus on energy and water, but forget about living things. Hence in some ‘green’ buildings, plants need to be taken back and forth to nurseries.
Be relevant to design: Life cycle assessments do not count many of the negative ecological and social impacts caused by design. For example, we seldom weigh in the opportunity cost of the ecological values of land, the demolition waste caused replacing old buildings, or the transfers of public space resources to private use and control. Once the basic decisions are made, design can only mitigate negative impacts.
Be relevant to ecological gains: Because we measure from 1 or -1 to 0, we do not measure net positive contributions (beyond pre-settlement conditions). For example, we only measure how much less carbon a building produces, not how much it could sequester. Since life cycle assessments do not yet count positive ecological impacts, we do not design for life support system.
What is required to fix this?
Positive Development is a new approach to built environment design. It aims to expand both the ecological base (life support system), and increase the public estate (equitable access to means of survival) relative to pre-settlement conditions. However, Positive Development is not just about eco-positive design.
Positive Development is also a new approach to environmental management. It means a system-wide paradigm shift from (negative) ‘managerialist’ approaches to a (positive) ‘design’ approach: a new framework, new methods, and new metrics. Work is proceeding at QUT in these areas.

Janis Birkeland is professor of architecture at QUT. She has a transdisciplinary background concerned with built environment design including artist, advocacy planner, architect (registered), urban designer, city planner and attorney (registered) in San Francisco. She has developed many tertiary and professional development units on built environment and sustainability. She has written over 100 papers and over 100 talks on the subject, and initiated the concept of net Positive Development. Her books include: Design for Sustainability: A Sourcebook of Integrated Eco-Logical Solutions, and the new book, Positive Development: From Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles Through Built Environment Design.

Source: www.qut.edu.au

Let’s Focus On The Small Things Which Carry a Big Load

By focussing only the big things like climate change and the Big 5 (wildlife), we tend to lose perspective and the understanding we need to really appreciate the interconnectedness that is essential to life like we know it on our planet. It is in looking at the small things that helps to see these connections and the implications on a wider more pervasive scale of the importance of modifying our behaviour so that our planet has a chance of sustaining itself. This from Tony Frost, a leadership consultant in South Africa , former WWF CEO and author of “After the Rain”. Read More

By Tony Frost

I had just come back from one of the leadership trails that I take into the wilderness areas late last year. I got to thinking: While most people are desperately keen to see the Big 5 up close and personal (until it actually happens, of course!) it is increasingly the small things that are making a big impression on me and the way I think about the world and our role in it.

This is a particularly apposite discussion at that time given the global 350 campaign that took place all over the world– a campaign to make us all aware of the more rapid than expected accumulation of C02 in the atmosphere. There are many reasons for this faster than expected accumulation of C02.

Amongst the most important is the rapid disappearance of the polar ice-caps as a result of global warming. It is understandably difficult for those of us that live a long way away from either of the two Poles (and that means pretty much all 6,5 billion of us) to even begin to imagine why this should be important.

But here is the rub. As the permafrost melts in the far north and deep south it releases C02, that has been buried for centuries, into the atmosphere adding to the already growing quantity of C02 caused by our current consumption patterns.

It is the aggregation of C02 and other toxic gases like methane that prevents hot air from escaping our atmosphere thus causing our planet to grow hotter and hotter.

So why are the small things important?

By focussing only the big things like climate change and the Big 5, we tend to lose perspective and the understanding we need to really appreciate the interconnectedness that is essential to life like we know it on our planet.

It is in looking at the small things that helps to see these connections and the implications on a wider more pervasive scale of the importance of modifying our behaviour so that our planet has a chance of sustaining itself.

On our most recent trail it was the beauty of some of the tiny, exquisitely beautiful flowers, and the industry of a group of tiny ants that made these connections for me.

Many of the flowers, like many of the fynbos plants in the Boland, are found only in very specific spots. They depend on that eco-system for their continued survival, for their sustainability. For that to happen the eco-system needs to remain intact.

This is not a simple matter and we need to be very thankful for the many wonderful scientists that beaver away every day in and outside our national and provincial parks and academic institutions to help us understand what is required to conserve the eco-systems upon which we are totally dependent.

The amazing industry and determination of five small ants reminded me that although the task is big, by collective action and a single-minded determination almost anything can be achieved.

These ants came reconnoitring in the area where we had sat and eaten our simple lunch of bread, cheese, some meats, tomato and beetroot. They found a small piece of cheese which for them was huge – I estimate about 5 times their collective bodyweight.

They decided that they would take this back to their queen and proceeded to manoeuvre, push, pull, tug, carry, lift and transport their prize all of 15 metres across rough terrain!

A simple calculation suggest that this would be roughly equivalent to five of us carrying 5 times our bodyweight a distance of about 10 kilometres of hilly and tough terrain without rest, drink, or rest stops! There are some assumptions which can be questioned in here, I know, but I am sure you get the point.
If we consider the challenges that face us; if we can consider the exciting opportunity of massive collective action, then let us also consider the importance of working together for the generations to come that are depending upon us to do just this!

Tony Frost

Tony Frost, a fifth generation South African, is the founder of Sirocco Strategic Management, specializing in the design and implementation of leadership strategies with an emphasis on sustainability. Until 2007, Tony served as chief executive of the WWF in South Africa. His recent book entitled After the Rain, along with his columns and radio broadcasts in regional media, reflects his lifelong commitment to teaching people about conservation. He has just completed a period as Acting Chair of the South African National Biodiversity Institute, South Africa’s state agency tasked with the job of conserving our biodiversity and is the lead agency in respect of the country’s climate change initiatives.

Source: www.siroccostrategy.com

Go Beyond Earth Hour to Commit to Something Bigger

Greg Bourne, the man responsible for starting Earth Hour in 2007 in Australia, has seen it grow into a global phenomenon. This year on 27 March, 100 iconic landmarks in 1000 cities and towns around the world will switch off their lights, joining hundreds of millions of people showing their
commitment to the environment. Greg would like people to go beyond turning off lights and make a resolution to start something bigger. Read More

Greg Bourne, WWF-Australia CEO:

“Since the first Earth Hour in 2007, millions of Australians have taken part in this incredible event, and for good reason – it is a great way to show that you care about the planet,” said Greg Bourne.

“WWF is thrilled that Earth Hour continues to grow. Personally, I am very proud that this little event has become a global phenomenon, and this year we’re hoping that communities large and small will join us on March 27, and make a strong statement that they are both concerned about the state of our environment and committed to taking action.

“WWF knows that Earth Hour must continue to grow. This year, we’re asking people to go beyond turning off lights and make an Earth Hour resolution to start something bigger,” said Mr Bourne.

“Switching off your lights is a great first step, but your true environmental impact is much bigger than just your energy bill. Each individual’s environmental impact – or environmental footprint – is made up of things such as the food you eat, the transport and housing you choose, and the goods and services you buy.”

With just over two weeks to go before the people of the planet switch off for Earth Hour, the number of countries and regions participating in the global event has surpassed last year’s record.

People in cities and towns across Australia will join those in 91 other countries and regions around the world for Earth Hour, with Honduras the latest nation to have official Earth Hour recognition. Last year 88 countries got involved in the lights out event.

With confirmation that the Tokyo Tower in Tokyo and Brandenburg Gate in Berlin will both turn off their lights for Earth Hour, all members of the G20 are now taking part in the event.

Countries and regions involved for the first time include Madagascar, Kosovo, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Paraguay, Ecuador and the US Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

WWF is thrilled that more people, businesses and organisations around the world are recognising the need and taking a lead on the issue of climate change.

Greg Bourne,CEO, WWF-Australia said, “Earth Hour demonstrates the determination of
the world’s citizens and brings together cities, communities, businesses and individuals in taking positive action on climate change.”

WWF has confirmed that there are currently over 1,100 cities and towns signed up to switch their lights off at 8.30pm on 27 March – 100 more than at the same time last year.

“Typically we see a big jump in the number of cities and towns taking part in the last few
days before the lights go out, but to see such strong support already is fantastic,” said Bourne.

“Earth Hour is an opportunity for people around the world to speak in one voice on the issue of climate change, while at the same time coming together in celebration of the one thing every single person on the planet has in common – the planet,” he said.

At 8.30pm on Saturday, March 27 nearly 100 iconic landmarks in 1,000 cities and towns around the world will switch off their lights for Earth Hour 2010, joining hundreds of millions of people showing their commitment to the environment.

Earth Hour will reach new heights this year, with the world’s three tallest buildings – the new Burj Khalifa in Dubai, CN Tower in Toronto and Taipei 101 in Taiwan – going dark for the global event.

Melbourne’s Luna Park, Rialto Tower, Arts Centre and Crown Casino; Brisbane’s Story Bridge; Adelaide’s Town Hall and Rundle Mall Lantern; The National Library and Australian War Memorial in Canberra and the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Tower, Harbour Bridge and Luna Park will join this growing list.

World-famous sites across the US, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Mount
Rushmore and even the lights of Las Vegas, will switch off in a decisive display of climate action from one of the most significant nations on the climate landscape.

Some of the world’s great metropolises will ‘flick the switch’ on their signature landmarks, marking their dedication to sustainable development and joining their citizens in adopting low-carbon practices.

Hiroshima will become the first Japanese city to show its commitment to global climate action when the lights go out on its iconic Peace Memorial. In London, lights will dim on the world-famous London Eye as the Coca-Cola sign in Piccadilly Circus switches off.

The actions shown by cities of the world and their inhabitants are crucial to leading a low-carbon resolution to climate change, says Earth Hour Co-Founder and Executive Director, Andy Ridley.

“The C40 suggests that cities are responsible for up to 75% of the world’s carbon emissions, so their role in addressing what is unequivocally the greatest threat to the planet today is absolutely vital,” Andy said.

“By turning the lights off for Earth Hour, cities are reflecting the aspirations of their citizens as a community that has resolved to take action on global warming,” he said.

As Earth Hour has grown from a one-city initiative in 2007 to a global phenomenon in 2009, renowned
icons, including the Great Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, Christ the Redeemer statue, Buckingham Palace, Beijing’s Olympic Stadium and many more world-famous landmarks have joined the global community in showing leadership on a resolution to climate change.

The recently released Earth Hour 2010 video provides a powerful and inspiring montage of the world’s most recognised landmarks contributing to the greatest display of civil action the world has ever witnessed.

About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with
almost five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s
mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which
humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the
use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and
wasteful consumption.

About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and
communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 27, 2010 at 8:30
PM to show their support for action on climate change. The event began in Sydney in 2007, when
2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe
participated. In 2009, Earth Hour reached 1 billion people in 4,088 cities and towns in 88
countries making it the largest public demonstration for action on climate change ever.

Source: www.earthhour.org.au

New Media Message: Global Warming For All Minds Young and Old

Independent newsletters and publications, like abc carbon express, are so crucial because they fill the vacuum left by the established media. These critical sources of information reach millions of individuals across the globe, reminding everyone about the simple truth that global warming and climate change have not gone away. This from rural Hampshire, England, where Flemming Bermann, runs Carbon-info.org – Europe’s largest global warming and climate change website – and is about to publish the book “Global warming for young minds”. Read More

By Flemming Bermann

Reaching the 100th issue of ABC Carbon Express is quite a milestone, and an important one too for many reasons.

At the end of 2008, news reports about the world financial crises started to increase in frequency, and the journalistic language spelled doom at every opportunity. The constant, daily flow of news reports reminding the Government and public about global warming and climate change, and which we here in the UK had grown familiar with during the previous 18 months, ceased to exist almost overnight.

The media had found its new scare story. A financial crisis simply sells more papers because it affects everyone here and now and because it is far simpler concept to explain to the public. “Your job is in danger” is far more headline grabbing than “Sea levels could rise by 75 cm by 2100″.

In fact, one could suggest that the media in recent months has found more success reporting perceived failures of the scientific community. The new low in climate reporting came last year just before COP15, when the media were more interested in making a major story out selective bits of information contained in a few emails, which had been obtained illegally than focusing on the conference itself.

This is in my opinion why the 100th issue (of abc carbon express) is such an important milestone. The continuing work done by countless individuals working for NGOs or non-profit organisations across the world has never been more important.

Independent newsletters and publications are so crucial because they fill the vacuum left by the established media. Each week these critical sources of information reach millions of individuals across the globe, reminding everyone about the simple truth that global warming and climate change have not gone away.

The truth is, however, that dealing with global warming, in particular if we as a species continue to delay an effectively solution to the problem of rising CO2 emissions, will inevitably involve some sacrifice on everyone’s part. And let’s be honest personal sacrifice has never been particular high on anyone’s list.

The average adult is locked into a short-term system of work and wealth creation, which often leaves little time for more long-term, global problems. However, the one area where modern day adults do feel a great responsibility is towards their family and in particular their children.

I have spoken to many mums and dads, who clearly are very concerned about what kind of world their offspring will inherit. I am convinced that many a parent has been motivated to do-their-bit because it indirectly would benefit their children or simply to avoid the difficult question: “Why did you not do more to help protect the planet?”.

Here at Carbon-info.org we firmly believe that the success of how well we are able to deal with global warming depends on how well we educate our children about this significant threat and involve them from an early age.

Unfortunately the UK Government only believes that children needs to receive what amounts to about two lessons of 45 minutes per year on the subject – though I know many teachers, who do much more because they understand how important a topic it is. Unfortunately a typical example of how the UK Government is failing in its educational duties. And yet another example of how individuals, in this case the parents, needs to take the matter into their own hands and provide the information their children would otherwise be excluded from.

The teaching of young children will soon become a lot easier. Carbon-info.org is publishing a children’s book “Global warming for young minds”, which is aimed at parents, who are looking to teach their children about global warming, climate change and sustainable living. The book will be available towards the middle of 2010 and be aimed at children from six to 10+ years old.

Flemming Bermann – Director

Founded in December 2004 by Flemming Bermann and a group of enthusiastic volunteers (The management committee), Carbon-info.org remain an independent, non-government, non-profit environment organisation.

Located in rural Hampshire, England, Carbon-info.org’s values and social objectives remain the same as in December 2004:

“To educate and raise public awareness about global warming, climate change and sustainable living.”

The management committee provide all their time and services to the organisation at no cost.
Income is generated through Carbon-info.org’s website as well as providing ‘green’ consultancy to small and medium sized business.
All profit is reinvested into the organisation to help it achieve its social objectives.

Source: www.Carbon-info.org

Cleaning Up Olympic-Sized Challenges On Track For Envirofriendly

With the solution to liquid waste management issues, Envirofriendly has clients throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands and currently has trial projects running in Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States and Brazil. One of the trials involves investigating the clean-up of a major water feature that will be used for the Olympics and World Cup to be held in Brazil. Neil Christie (pictured) is the developer of the Envirofriendly process and owner of the business. Read More

Envirofriendly was one of 40 organisations participating in Queensland’s first Sustainability Showcase for the Minister of Climate Change and Sustainability Kate Jones at Parliament House, Brisbane last week. Don Norton, consultant to Envirofriendly, contributed this article:

Business owners in South East Queensland with grease traps that feed into the council sewer systems should be aware that between now and 2013 all councils will be moving towards charging businesses according to the strength of the effluent that flows into the sewer.

Those businesses with high effluent levels will find their council charges increasing while those that take steps to reduce and manage their effluent discharge levels will benefit.

For those businesses wishing to save money and manage their effluent problems there is a solution to the issue, which is approved for use by the Brisbane City Council and other councils in South east Queensland.

Neil Christie started Envirofriendly more than 15 years ago. The Brisbane based company provides an effective microbial waste management solution.

“It is proven to reduce effluent discharge, reduce grease trap evacuations by more than 50% and is already saving businesses substantial amounts of money”, says Mr Christie, Managing Director of Envirofriendly and business owner, who developed the process using microbes.

Retail clients use the company’s product Drainsolv in commercial kitchens in restaurants and food courts, shopping centres, hotels convention centres and even hospitals. It is proven to eliminate unpleasant odours, extend grease trap evacuations to once every 12 weeks – or in some cases even more – rather than every three of four weeks, reduce blockages and reduce effluent discharge into council systems.

The company services one Brisbane commercial building where Drainsolv is applied to four 2300 litre grease traps that service five restaurants in the complex, giving an annual cost saving of more than $14 000.

In the Redlands Shire near Brisbane two shopping centres that use Drainsolv are gaining substantial cost savings by evacuating grease traps every 12 weeks, while the remaining centres in the area evacuate every four weeks.

Apart from Drainsolv, Envirofriendly has a product range of five other key products designed to deal with a broad range of liquid management issues.

“All Envirofriendly products contain 14 different types of microbes that have been specifically developed to break down various types of waste,” says Mr Christie. “All the microbes are naturally occurring, are non-toxic and will not harm humans or animals”.

He explains that all products are produced in liquid form in a ready-to-use state and are simply applied during the daily cleaning process. Where this is not suitable Envirofriendly can provide dosing machines to ensure regular and controlled amounts are introduced into waste systems.

The product L200 eliminates smells and improves effective operation of sewage treatment plants. It can also be used to eliminate odours and speed up the breakdown of waste in large commercial waste dumps. A trial in the main dump in Shanghai produced substantial results with both liquid and solid waste in 48 hours, many days quicker than 23 other international products trialed at the same time.

UrinalKleen ensures effective operation of both waterless and flushing urinals in men’s toilets. In one case in a 40 level commercial building in Brisbane use of the product has reduced flushing cycles from once every two minutes in a ten hour day to just two janitorial flushes per day, saving many hundreds of thousand of litres of water per year. It is estimated that the water saving cost in this building alone is more than $48 000 per year.

The product is being used in a number of toilets in shopping centres and is being introduced to further multi story buildings to reduce odours, clear blocked pipe work and ensure efficient operation of the toilets.

FriendlyKleen breaks down dangerous and slippery grease and waste on tiled kitchen and bathroom floors and will also break down mould.

KontainerKleen will eliminate waste build up and odours in large industrial waste bins and skips and can be used just as effectively in “wheely bins”.

Envirofriendly also has a product, Aquabac, that can be used in water features, prawn and fish farms that will control the build up of algae and other damaging bacteria in the water thus promoting healthier fish and marine life.

Today Envirofriendly has more than 500 satisfied commercial clients and more than 4000 retail clients using various microbial products in a wide range of uses. The clients include shopping centres, commercial office buildings, convention centres, hospitals, fast food outlets, hotels, holiday resorts, government departments and local councils.

If your business has a liquid waste management issue or is paying too much in council effluent charges, visit the Envirofriendly website or call on 1800 626 334.

Source: www.envirofriendly.com.au

A 24 Hour Ride for Sustainability

This might sound like a day-in-the-life-of sort of story, and it is, because it covers a sustainably significant 24 hours (from 12noon on Thursday 11 March until just after brunch the following day).

It involved spending time in Parliament House with a selection of the most sustainable, innovative and enterprising people in Queensland.

It included announcing the launch of a new business advisory service – Carinya Corporate & Commercialisation – to enable Small to Medium-sized Enterprises capitalise on market opportunities in the Sustainability Sector. More on Carinya in future issues, as this new venture involves ABC Carbon, along with three other experienced professionals, Simon Stodart, David Hunt and Jeremy Martineau.

It extended to talking and listening to some of the same and more over a wine or two in a couple of Brisbane bars. Always entertaining and inspiring hearing from Philip Surch of eNerwise about the Ultra energy saving device he’s distributing around Australia.

The Business Eco Forum featured Don Norton of Envirofriendly, who gave added insight into the origins and activities of the microbe waste management process, while Phil Little presented a comprehensive survey of his sustainable housing innovations and the proposed solar decathlon.

And to top it off, there was a barbecue brunch on a windy South Bank whipped up by celebrity chef Ben O’Donoghue (of “Surfing the Menu” and “The Best” fame), sharing the occasion with Minister Kate Jones to mark the launch of WWF’s 2010 Earth Hour.

The Sustainability Showcase was all about giving Queensland’s Minister of Climate Change and Sustainability some renewed insight into what’s going on the smart state with enterprising businesses engaged in renewable energy, biofuels, energy efficiency, waste and water management.

Not only did Minister Jones welcome the opportunity to meet and hear of the challenges and the opportunities for the Sustainability Sector players, but all the participants, including those Eco Biz partners present, gained from the chance to engage in business-to-business talk which many know will lead to action.

As Nigel Grier, the principal of Zingspace (Townsville), put it the next day:

“The networking opportunity has provided us with some great new connections and potential relationships and the bringing together of so many catalytic thinkers was a great experience! Looking forward to being on board the ABC Carbon Road Train in 2010 and beyond!”

Here is a full list of the 40 organisations, in addition to ABC Carbon, which included businesses, not for profits and industry groups, participating in the Sustainability Challenge:

All Safe, Australian Green Infrastructure Council, Biofuels Association of Australia, Calthorpe Consulting, Carinya Corporate & Commercialisation, Climate First, Dynamic Eco Solutions, EC3 Global, Ecokinetics, Eco System Homes, Ecospecifier, Enerwise, Envirofriendly, EXlites, Fumunda Marine, Funnel, FWR Group, Green Roofs Australia, Ingenero, IQ Agribusines, My Clean Sky/SEA 02, NAC Consulting, Natures Paper, Norton Associates, OFB Corporation, Phil Little Sustainable Design Foundation, Prime Carbon, RBL Management Consulting, Soil Carbon, Start Innovation Centre, Strategic Directions, SuperGreenMe, Sustain Asia, Sustainability Challenge, Sustainable Jamboree, Sustainable Insight, VRM Biologic, Waterwise International, Wind Power Queensland and Zingspace.

For the WWF and Earth Hour brunch, it was good to not only sample some of Ben’s very appetising food, but also hear of his pledge to recycle all of the bio-waste generated at his new restaurant, The Surf Club, when it opens at South Bank in May.

Minister Kate Jones used the occasion to stress that simple lifestyle changes could make a huge difference to reducing each household’s carbon emissions.

“I’ve already pledged to reduce my carbon footprint through a number of easy practical steps and there are a number of government programs to help Queenslanders do the same,” she said.

Understandably, there was considerable work involved behind the scenes (by us and others) to make this period of sustainable events such a productive and satisfying 24 hours. The pleasure of dealing with such enterprising people with their hearts and their energies in the greenest of places was only matched by the enthusiasm generated for the business and friendship opportunities expected to be forthcoming in the near future.

Source: www.abccarbon.com

Profile: Steven Chu
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu calls for sweeping action across both public and private sectors to revolutionise, diversify, and propagate green technology – at a pace commensurate with the severity of the impact that human energy consumption has already made on the global ecosystem.
Waving the banner of energy revolution: U.S. Secretary of Energy speaks on green technology and climate change
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate and professor emeritus of Physics at Stanford, returned to campus Monday to speak about the role of clean energy in combating global climate change. A sustainable energy revolution, he said, is not only vital in mitigating climate change, but is a critical step in ensuring U.S. economic competitiveness.
BY AIMEE MILES for Stanford Report (8 March 2010):
Addressing an audience of students and faculty on Monday, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu cited a few words of wisdom from legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
To that versatile epigram added Chu: “We have to get people in the United States to skate where the world is going to be.” He was referring to the challenges facing the United States in mobilizing large-scale clean-energy initiatives in the face of not one, but two behemoths – profound and potentially irreversible climate change, and an increasingly competitive global economy.
Central to Chu’s discussion was the need for sweeping action across both public and private sectors to revolutionize, diversify, and propagate green technology – at a pace commensurate with the severity of the impact that human energy consumption has already made on the global ecosystem.
The United States has the opportunity to lead the world in a clean-energy industrial revolution, Steven Chu told the Stanford audience.
There are great uncertainties as to the outcome awaiting us if we continue business as usual by relying on a fossil-fuel-guzzling energy infrastructure to meet everyday needs, said Chu.
Much of the outcome will depend on the Earth’s response to an anticipated temperature increase of five or six degrees centigrade, an effect that won’t take hold for another 100 to 150 years, he said. That’s when the oceans, a vast storage sink for carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, are expected to reach capacity and begin expelling gases back into the air.
Chu tempered his prediction with a message that veered from the apocalyptic implications of the data looming on the projection screen behind him: There is reason for hope.
“America has the opportunity to lead the world in a new industrial revolution,” he said. “It’s a new industrial revolution that is to give us the energy we like and desire but in a much cleaner form.”
This new legacy of sustainable energy will include generating clean energy through solar and wind power, as China has done, said Chu. No less important is the need to reduce energy consumption through regulation of the commercial sector — by improving the efficiency of electric appliances, raising mileage standards for vehicles, and improving the efficiency of both residential and commercial buildings.
The implications of this energy overhaul are vast, and not just for mitigating climate change, Chu emphasized. He identified clean-energy development as an essential step in decreasing U.S. dependency on foreign oil, jump-starting job growth, and ensuring American economic competitiveness in the future.
Chu cited the Recovery Act, signed into law in February 2009, as a step in the right direction. The measure provides for an $80 billion down payment on developing a clean-energy economy, with $8 billion earmarked for energy-innovation research.
But with China investing $8 billion a month on renewable energy, said Chu, there is more to be done in both the public and private sectors. “If we hold off for another 10 years, we’ll fall behind the other countries,” he warned.
One thing is certain: “We have to get moving.”
Paving the way to a clean-energy future
If the path to a clean-energy future is paved with good intentions, where does the rubber hit the road?
Chu believes the idea will find its bayonets in the commercial sector, where sustainable energy development will prove to be a lucrative and fast-growing industry.
“The U.S. innovation machine is the greatest in the world,” said Chu. “When given the right incentives, [it] will respond.”
A large part of this response is resting on the legislative velocity of a divided Congress. Chu spoke of the need to pass a comprehensive energy bill that will require the energy sector to revamp its old infrastructure in order to meet more stringent regulations. Such a bill would “liberate financial markets” to loan the money required to make those expensive adjustments, setting a complex process of energy revolution into motion.
Chu highlighted Stanford’s role in pioneering research and commercial innovation that led to revolutionary new technologies in the second half of the 20th century. “Stanford University was … highly instrumental in the silicon semiconductor revolution, it was a major player in the biotech revolution, and I think it’s poised to be a major player in this green-energy revolution,” he said.
To an audience comprised mostly of Stanford students, Chu emphasized the importance of civic engagement and social action in mobilizing the clean-energy revolution.
“Humans are altering the destiny of the planet,” he concluded. “It’s not too late; we can minimize the alteration, or we can just plow on as usual … and if we plow on as usual … it could be very, very bad.”
Chu was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics in 1997 for cooling and trapping atoms with laser light. He is the Theodore and Frances Geballe professor of physics and applied physics, emeritus, at Stanford and directed the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before being appointed by President Obama as the 12th Secretary of Energy.
His lecture was hosted by Stanford’s Green Alliance for Innovative Action, a student organization, and co-sponsored by the Woods Institute for the Environment.
Source: www.news.stanford.edu

Scientists Say The Situation Is Getting Worse

As scepticism about climate change seems to be gaining traction around the world, a group of international scientists is hitting back. A new study shores up the facts and figures behind global warming. It not only updates the information of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but shows the situation is much worse. David Karoly speaks for the scientists.

Presenter: Di Bain for Radio Australia (8 March 2010):

Speaker: Professor David Karoly, Melbourne University

DAVID KAROLY: We started the analysis about 12 months ago but it’s, it’s a review of a range of different lines of evidence. So, all of the authors have been involved in research on understanding the causes of climate change, not just due to human activity but other factors, including land use change and the effects of changes in sunlight from the sun or volcanoes, and looking at all those possible influence in causes at global and regional climate change.

So, in some ways it’s an attempt to review the different lines of evidence and update the understanding of the causes of climate change from the IPCC assessment which concluded its, if you like, evaluation in 2007.

DI BAIN: What does this report do to debunk the growing scepticism about climate change?

DAVID KAROLY: Well, what this paper does is show that the evidence of human caused climate change is even stronger than it was in the IPCC assessment and it was already very strong in the IPCC assessment because the IPCC concluded that most of the warming in global average temperatures over the last 50 years, essentially the 50 years leading up to 2007 was very likely more than 90 per cent certain due to human activity.

And what our study has found is it is even more confident in terms of a human influence on global mean temperatures and we can also see a significant human influence from increases in greenhouse gases in warming in temperatures in all continents, at a regional scale in many different regions, in warming in the oceans, in reductions in arctic sea ice and in changes in rainfall patterns.

DI BAIN: How does the person who isn’t adept in the science know what figures to trust, especially after the recent IPCC errors and the climate change email scandal last year?

DAVID KAROLY: As far as I’m aware, there is only one error of substance in the IPCC assessments which was a mistake and has been admitted to in terms of the timing for the Asian glaciers, or Himalayan glaciers to disappear.

That’s been acknowledged as a mistake but that was not a key conclusion of the IPCC and there is still conclusive evidence that glaciers are retreating and have retreated over the last 100 years all around the world and there is clear evidence that human caused increases in temperatures regionally have contributed to that decline in glacier extent, or retreat of glaciers, all around the world.

So, I think there is still, well, no, I think, I know there is still convincing evidence that human activity is causing both global and regional warming in most parts of the world over the last 100 years.

DI BAIN: The climate change debate doesn’t appear to be the number one priority for Kevin Rudd anymore, are the sceptics winning the public debate in Australia?

DAVID KAROLY: Well, I think that there has been a range of misinformation being spread by media outlets because the climate change sceptics are spreading that misinformation.

I think that a range of scientific studies, such as this one, on the relationship between observed climate change and its causes, reaffirm the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Source: www.radioaustralia.net.au