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The Environment Thread

Tue November 05, 2013 1:02 am

Might as well have a thread for this, it's only going to get worse.

This Is What Earth Will Look Like If All The Ice Melts

National Geographic shows how most coastal cities will be decimated and the population exodus will put a strain on midland resources. On the upside, Antarctica will make an great seaside resort.


posted on November 4, 2013 at 12:16pm EST

Even Mother Nature knows what’s up with Florida*.
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*Sorry Floridians.


Everyone laughed when the Incans built in the mountains. Who’s laughing now?
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Humanity’s need to build on coastlines is our downfall. Damn you life-giving water.
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How long would it take that inland sea to turn desert into sustainable* farmland?
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*Spoiler: Too long, Australia is doomed.

Look we’re not saying Japan is cheating at this global warming thing, but Tokyo is looking pretty high and dry.
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What is it about Alexandria that makes the sea want to swallow it whole?
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So it’s settled, we all move to the north coast of Antarctica via the tip of Argentina. Meet you there!
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Read all about how National Geographic used data to determine these graphics.

Re: The Environment Thread

Tue November 05, 2013 2:35 am

It's happening already quite dramatically. Watch Cornwall and southern England this winter. Floods are getting worse each year.

Re: The Environment Thread

Wed November 06, 2013 2:00 am

Effects on US east coast looks good to me. Shit, at 216ft of sea level rise I'd be sitting pretty an easy 10 miles from the beach.

Re: The Environment Thread

Sat November 30, 2013 10:23 pm

Japan’s crack plan to solve the world’s energy problems: Turn the moon into a giant solar panel

Re: The Environment Thread

Mon January 20, 2014 11:27 am

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/european-commission-move-away-from-climate-protection-goals-a-943664.html

Green Fade-Out: Europe to Ditch Climate Protection Goals
The EU's reputation as a model of environmental responsibility may soon be history. The European Commission wants to forgo ambitious climate protection goals and pave the way for fracking -- jeopardizing Germany's touted energy revolution in the process.

The climate between Brussels and Berlin is polluted, something European Commission officials attribute, among other things, to the "reckless" way German Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked stricter exhaust emissions during her re-election campaign to placate domestic automotive manufacturers like Daimler and BMW. This kind of blatant self-interest, officials complained at the time, is poisoning the climate.

But now it seems that the climate is no longer of much importance to the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, either. Commission sources have long been hinting that the body intends to move away from ambitious climate protection goals. On Tuesday, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported as much.

At the request of Commission President José Manuel Barroso, EU member states are no longer to receive specific guidelines for the development ofrenewable energy. The stated aim of increasing the share of green energy across the EU to up to 27 percent will hold. But how seriously countries tackle this project will no longer be regulated within the plan. As of 2020 at the latest -- when the current commitment to further increase the share of green energy expires -- climate protection in the EU will apparently be pursued on a voluntary basis.

Climate Leaders No More?

With such a policy, the European Union is seriously jeopardizing its global climate leadership role. Back in 2007, when Germany held the European Council presidency, the body decided on a climate and energy legislation package known as the "20-20-20" targets, to be fulfilled by the year 2020. They included:

a 20 percent reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions;

raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20 percent;

and a 20 percent improvement in the EU's energy efficiency.

All of the goals were formulated relative to 1990 levels. And the targets could very well be met. But in the future, European climate and energy policy may be limited to just a single project: reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Commission plans also set no new binding rules for energy efficiency.

Welcome, Frackers

In addition, the authority wants to pave the way in the EU for the controversial practice of fracking, according to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The report says the Commission does not intend to establish strict rules for the extraction of shale gas, but only minimum health and environmental standards.

The plans will be officially presented next Wednesday ahead of an EU summit meeting in March. Observers, however, believe that a decision is unlikely to come until the summer at the earliest. But action must be taken this year: At the beginning of 2015, a climate conference will take place in Paris at which a global climate agreement is to be hashed out.

The European Parliament is unlikely to be pleased with the Commission's plans. Just at the beginning of January, a strong parliamentary majority voted to reduce carbon emissions EU-wide by 40 percent by 2030 and to raise the portion of renewables to at least 30 percent of energy consumption.

Germany's Energy Goals at Risk

The Commission's move further isolates Germany. Merkel's government, a "grand coalition" of her conservatives and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), seeks to increase the share of renewables in the country's energy mix to 60 percent by 2036. As reported in the latest issue of SPIEGEL, Sigmar Gabriel, SPD chair and minister of energy and economics, recently urged Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger to put forth mandatory expansion targets for renewable energy in the EU by 2030. Europe "can't afford to pass up this opportunity," Gabriel wrote.

But within the Commission, the ambitious project has long been controversial. The same goes for EU member states, as Gabriel recently discovered. Prior to Christmas the minister, together with eight colleagues from throughout the EU, called for a "renewables target" in a letter to the Commission. But some countries, such as France, joined the appeal only hesitantly at the time. Paris might prefer instead to rely more heavily on nuclear power in order to meet stringent carbon emission requirements.

Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, a German from Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, has also shown reluctance. Rather than setting clear goals for the share of renewables, he wants fixed targets only for the reduction of carbon emissions -- and he is skeptical even of the 40 percent target proposed by Climate Commissioner Hedegaard.

The Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) writes in a recent study that more moderate EU climate goals and less support for renewable energies could have a real impact on Germany's so-called Energiewende, or energy revolution. "In such a context," writes the nonpartisan think tank, "it will be increasingly difficult for Germany to successfully carry out pioneering policies."


Does continental Europe have a lot of shale gas? I was under the impression Europe's green push was mostly because they were so dependent on Norway and Russia for energy and they wanted a way out.

Re: The Environment Thread

Mon January 20, 2014 7:40 pm

The only way to see sunrise in Beijing

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Re: The Environment Thread

Mon January 20, 2014 10:32 pm

That's like something out of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi film.

Re: The Environment Thread

Mon January 20, 2014 10:35 pm

At some point people there just have to start choking to death, right?

Re: The Environment Thread

Wed February 19, 2014 3:20 am

Re: The Environment Thread

Thu March 20, 2014 2:44 am

Nasa-funded study: industrial civilisation headed for 'irreversible collapse'?

Re: The Environment Thread

Thu March 20, 2014 4:40 am

broken iris wrote:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/european-commission-move-away-from-climate-protection-goals-a-943664.html

Green Fade-Out: Europe to Ditch Climate Protection Goals
The EU's reputation as a model of environmental responsibility may soon be history. The European Commission wants to forgo ambitious climate protection goals and pave the way for fracking -- jeopardizing Germany's touted energy revolution in the process.

The climate between Brussels and Berlin is polluted, something European Commission officials attribute, among other things, to the "reckless" way German Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked stricter exhaust emissions during her re-election campaign to placate domestic automotive manufacturers like Daimler and BMW. This kind of blatant self-interest, officials complained at the time, is poisoning the climate.

But now it seems that the climate is no longer of much importance to the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, either. Commission sources have long been hinting that the body intends to move away from ambitious climate protection goals. On Tuesday, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported as much.

At the request of Commission President José Manuel Barroso, EU member states are no longer to receive specific guidelines for the development ofrenewable energy. The stated aim of increasing the share of green energy across the EU to up to 27 percent will hold. But how seriously countries tackle this project will no longer be regulated within the plan. As of 2020 at the latest -- when the current commitment to further increase the share of green energy expires -- climate protection in the EU will apparently be pursued on a voluntary basis.

Climate Leaders No More?

With such a policy, the European Union is seriously jeopardizing its global climate leadership role. Back in 2007, when Germany held the European Council presidency, the body decided on a climate and energy legislation package known as the "20-20-20" targets, to be fulfilled by the year 2020. They included:

a 20 percent reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions;

raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20 percent;

and a 20 percent improvement in the EU's energy efficiency.

All of the goals were formulated relative to 1990 levels. And the targets could very well be met. But in the future, European climate and energy policy may be limited to just a single project: reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Commission plans also set no new binding rules for energy efficiency.

Welcome, Frackers

In addition, the authority wants to pave the way in the EU for the controversial practice of fracking, according to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The report says the Commission does not intend to establish strict rules for the extraction of shale gas, but only minimum health and environmental standards.

The plans will be officially presented next Wednesday ahead of an EU summit meeting in March. Observers, however, believe that a decision is unlikely to come until the summer at the earliest. But action must be taken this year: At the beginning of 2015, a climate conference will take place in Paris at which a global climate agreement is to be hashed out.

The European Parliament is unlikely to be pleased with the Commission's plans. Just at the beginning of January, a strong parliamentary majority voted to reduce carbon emissions EU-wide by 40 percent by 2030 and to raise the portion of renewables to at least 30 percent of energy consumption.

Germany's Energy Goals at Risk

The Commission's move further isolates Germany. Merkel's government, a "grand coalition" of her conservatives and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), seeks to increase the share of renewables in the country's energy mix to 60 percent by 2036. As reported in the latest issue of SPIEGEL, Sigmar Gabriel, SPD chair and minister of energy and economics, recently urged Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger to put forth mandatory expansion targets for renewable energy in the EU by 2030. Europe "can't afford to pass up this opportunity," Gabriel wrote.

But within the Commission, the ambitious project has long been controversial. The same goes for EU member states, as Gabriel recently discovered. Prior to Christmas the minister, together with eight colleagues from throughout the EU, called for a "renewables target" in a letter to the Commission. But some countries, such as France, joined the appeal only hesitantly at the time. Paris might prefer instead to rely more heavily on nuclear power in order to meet stringent carbon emission requirements.

Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, a German from Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, has also shown reluctance. Rather than setting clear goals for the share of renewables, he wants fixed targets only for the reduction of carbon emissions -- and he is skeptical even of the 40 percent target proposed by Climate Commissioner Hedegaard.

The Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) writes in a recent study that more moderate EU climate goals and less support for renewable energies could have a real impact on Germany's so-called Energiewende, or energy revolution. "In such a context," writes the nonpartisan think tank, "it will be increasingly difficult for Germany to successfully carry out pioneering policies."


Does continental Europe have a lot of shale gas? I was under the impression Europe's green push was mostly because they were so dependent on Norway and Russia for energy and they wanted a way out.


They have shale gas, but they'd rather be dependent on others than producing it themselves. Apprarently exporting the carbon footprint of producing fossil fuels that you are going to burn domestically anyhow is a virtue, or something.

Re: The Environment Thread

Tue May 13, 2014 4:01 am

Re: The Environment Thread

Thu May 15, 2014 10:07 pm

I do enjoy all the doom and gloom when the much vaunted models don't match up to reality very well at all. Since they drew a line in the sand at some point, maybe it would be perceived as weakness for them to admit that carbon sensitivity is on the lower end of their models. I guess moderation doesn't bring in the grant money.

Re: The Environment Thread

Fri May 16, 2014 2:41 am

simple schoolboy wrote:I do enjoy all the doom and gloom when the much vaunted models don't match up to reality very well at all. Since they drew a line in the sand at some point, maybe it would be perceived as weakness for them to admit that carbon sensitivity is on the lower end of their models. I guess moderation doesn't bring in the grant money.



I think the issue is that we are already past the tipping point on climate change, but the models make the results knowable (yeah right) and the idea that we can do something about it (like we have power over nature to undo what was done) is very comforting to us.

Re: The Environment Thread

Fri May 16, 2014 2:54 am

I don't have too much of a problem with my hometown becoming a new Atlantis.

Re: The Environment Thread

Fri May 16, 2014 4:44 am

I'll see you down in Arizona bay

Re: The Environment Thread

Wed May 21, 2014 9:33 am

broken iris wrote:
simple schoolboy wrote:I do enjoy all the doom and gloom when the much vaunted models don't match up to reality very well at all. Since they drew a line in the sand at some point, maybe it would be perceived as weakness for them to admit that carbon sensitivity is on the lower end of their models. I guess moderation doesn't bring in the grant money.



I think the issue is that we are already past the tipping point on climate change, but the models make the results knowable (yeah right) and the idea that we can do something about it (like we have power over nature to undo what was done) is very comforting to us.


I blame our brothers from 15,000 years ago. The lazy bums couldn't figure it out.

Re: The Environment Thread

Fri May 30, 2014 12:08 am

How do you feel about this?



Personally, though there's obviously a lot of questions to answer and holes to poke, I think this is totally awesome.
Last edited by ABNorman on Fri May 30, 2014 12:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

Re: The Environment Thread

Fri May 30, 2014 12:08 am

Personally, I think we never should have changed the way the youtube bbc worked.

Re: The Environment Thread

Fri May 30, 2014 12:09 am

cutuphalfdead wrote:Personally, I think we never should have changed the way the youtube bbc worked.


I got there in the end. Curse you for noticing, sir.
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