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Bishop Hill Apr 9, 2015 Climate: Schellnhuber Diary dates I shan't be going to this, will you?
How many more of these non-elected organisations are there beavering away demanding that the planet be saved - or else? I suspect the Greek debt could be paid off if in its entirety if these pressure groups were all deprived of the money they receive to operate.
TM
Bishop Hill Apr 7, 2015 Academia Diary dates Ethics I recently became aware of a seminar taking place in London at the end of the month. Run by the Central London branch of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association, it looks as if it absolutely should not be missed.
Central London BUIRA Seminar
Climate Change, Work, Labour and Trade Unions, with Professor Fred Steward (Policy Studies Institute, University of Westminster) on Labour and the Green Economy and Dr Paul Hampton (Fire Brigades Union) on Trade unions and climate change in the UK: prisoners of neoliberalism or swords of climate justice?
Followed by round table discussion on what trade unions can do with Sarah Pearce (Unison), Graham Petersen (UCU), Igor Diaz and Jairo Quiroz from the Columbian coal miners’ union SINTRACARBON, and Christine Haigh from Global Justice.
Bishop Hill Apr 2, 2015 Diary dates Energy: grid In May, the Glasgow Science Centre is holding a debate which might be summarised as "OMG where is the energy going to come from?".
Join us and a highly-qualified guest panel, chaired by writer and broadcaster Iain Macwhirter, on Tuesday 5th of May to discuss the challenges we all face as the energy sector moves into an uncertain future.
Challenges include:
•Tackling the impact of climate change and responding to carbon-cutting legislation
•Finding new sources of conventional energy including oil and gas
•Developing new renewable energy sources such as offshore wind and marine
•The future of nuclear.The guest panel includes:
Peter McGregor, International Public Policy Institute, University of Strathclyde
Gordon Ballard, Chairman, Schlumberger UK
Ken Cronin, Chief Executive, UK Offshore Oil & Gas
Niall Stuart, Chief Executive, Scottish Renewables
Tickets are free and available here.
Bishop Hill Mar 27, 2015 Climate: WG2 Diary dates The BBC's Costing the Earth show is going to look at the sea ice next week in show that will feature Mike Hulme, Helen Czerski and Mark Lynas. I'm not entirely sure that this is a group of people that will shed a lot of light on the matter. Expect lots of hypothesis dressed up as "fact" and speculation flouncing around the place pretending to be probability.
I'm sure it will be entertaining though.
With arctic sea ice shrinking and Antarctic sea ice growing, Tom Heap asks what is happening to the climate.
Bishop Hill Mar 10, 2015 Diary dates Just a reminder that Murry Salby's London talk is a week today. Details here.
Bishop Hill Mar 2, 2015 BBC Diary dates Readers are no doubt looking forward to tonight's Climate Change by Numbers on BBC4, which promises to be the talking point on the climate blogs for a couple of days at least. It turns out, however, that there is another BBC show on climate this week:
Today, the topic of climate change is a major part of daily life, yet 40 years ago it was virtually unheard of. Since then, Horizon and the BBC have followed scientists as they have tried to unpick how the climate works and whether it is changing. Dr Helen Czerski delves into this unique archive to chart the transformation of a little-known theory into one of the greatest scientific undertakings in history. It has been a constantly surprising journey of discovery that has revolutionised our understanding of climate, and seen scientists face unprecedented controversy and criticism.
Czerski, you may recall, won plaudits for her intelligent coverage of the Antarctic sea ice issue a few weeks ago.
There is a trailer for the show here.
Bishop Hill Feb 24, 2015 Diary dates Another date for your diaries...
Prof. Murry Salby presents
Control of Atmospheric CO2
His new research applies observed changes of climate and atmospheric tracers to resolve the budget of atmospheric carbon dioxide. It reveals the mechanisms behind the evolution of CO2, including its increase during the 20th century. Thereby, the analysis determines the respective roles of human and natural sources of CO2, with an upper bound on the contribution from fossil fuel emission.
Bishop Hill Feb 19, 2015 Diary dates Having eschewed climate change and greenery to a large extent in recent years, the Edinburgh Science Festival has clearly found the lure of Paris too much for them and this year devotes a whole strand to energy and climate issues. Here's what they have to say about it.
We are merely the caretakers of our extraordinary planet; it does not belong to us but its future health depends directly on our current actions. Since the industrial revolution our demands for energy, largely from fossil fuels, have increased continuously, however our ideas about what is plentiful are now altering and we have to deal with the concept of changing our approach to energy while simultaneously dealing with the consequences of our past actions.
Bishop Hill Feb 17, 2015 BBC Diary dates Tamsin Edwards points us to the BBC's latest efforts on the climate change front, to be broadcast on 2 March at 9pm. Details are remarkably thin on the ground, but here's what they are willing to tell us:
Presented by 3 mathematicians, this programme gives a unique perspective on climate change by taking 3 key numbers to tell the story of our climate's past, present and future.
I gather from the comments at WUWT that the mathematicians involved are Hannah Fry of UCL, Norman Fenton of QMUL and David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge. Tamsin says she was involved as a consultant and I gather that Doug McNeall was on board too.
Not the usual suspects then.
Bishop Hill
Here's a (somewhat rough and ready) rip of the TV trailer.
Bishop Hill Feb 12, 2015 Climate: Parliament Diary dates The Energy and Climate Change Committee are holding an end of session public event to chew the fat over the policy quagmire into which Westminster has driven energy policy. Although that's not exactly how they put it themselves.
To launch its final report of this Parliament, Fuelling the debate: ECC Committee successes and future challenges, the Energy and Climate Change Committee is to host a morning conference in the City of London on 12 March for energy investors, specialists and campaigners to discuss future challenges and opportunities in energy and climate change policy.
Energy and Climate Change Committee Chair, Tim Yeo MP, said:
Bishop Hill Feb 4, 2015 Academia Diary dates Greens The Royal Society of the Arts is going to do one of those interminably dull events in which a bunch of pseudo-academics and green activists preach to the converted. The flyer is reproduced below, but note that the first sentence is completely untrue.
In a bid to generate a new dialogue that sparks enduring change, the RSA is embarking on a series of climate change events with a difference.
The 2015 Paris climate conference is looming, and there’s widespread consensus that it is our final chance for a truly international, multilateral resolution to the planet’s most pressing challenge. But why is it so hard to find a way forward?
For the second event in our brand-new series, we are adopting a 'Question Time' format, gathering expert representatives in each of what we feel are the seven main dimensions of the climate problem: science, behaviour, democracy, law, technology, economy and culture.
Our panel will provide expert insights into the competing priorities, responsibility voids and overlapping areas of jurisdiction that make climate change such a difficult issue to resolve. But above all, we are keen to hear what you, our audience, consider the key barriers to progress.
Panellists to include: Economist, LSE, Lord Nicholas Stern; climate scientist, UCL, Chris Rapley CBE; Green Party member of the London Assembly, Baroness Jenny Jones; Co-founder, Futerra, Solitaire Townsend; green-energy entrepreneur and founder of Solarcentury, Jeremy Leggett; psychoanalytic psychotherapist, Rosemary Randall
Details here.
Bishop Hill Jan 29, 2015 Diary dates Education Energy: gas The University of Nottingham is running a free online course on unconventional oil and gas starting next week.
Shale gas is seen by many as a cheap, clean and plentiful source of energy; a low-carbon ‘game changer’ helping us meet the world’s rapidly growing demands for energy and offering greater energy security. Its rapid rise has not been without controversy, however. Earth tremors, surface and groundwater contamination, and the effects of fracking on human and animal health are all high profile concerns.
During this four-week course, we’ll study the politics, economics, and science of shale gas. We’ll examine how shale gas was formed, and how we extract it through hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’. We will look at the impact of shale gas on energy markets and energy security.
We then move on to the environmental politics of shale. What are the local effects in terms of water contamination, seismic activity, and air pollution? What are the global effects? Does shale gas offer a ‘bridge’ to a low-carbon future, or would we be walking the plank?
Finally we look at the question of what the public thinks, an area where the University of Nottingham has particular expertise, having run a public opinion survey on shale gas since 2012. Why are the US and UK experiences so different? What do the public think of allowing unconventional gas to be developed?
At the end of the course you will have improved you understanding of the costs and benefits of shale gas, and you will have made your contribution to the public debate on this important topic.
And you can get a certificate! Details here.
Bishop Hill Jan 14, 2015 Diary dates Energy: gas The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee are currently hearing from the usual suspects on the subject of unconventional oil and gas. No doubt they will hear that it will be an unmitigated disaster, is wanted by nobody and will never happen anyway. Meanwhile, Alex Salmond's exit as the leader of the SNP has brought a new leader who is apparently not quite so in thrall to the greens and within weeks of taking over the announcement of a task force to support the oil and gas industry.
It's all nicely poised. And with consummate timing, the Scotsman has organised a conference on the very subject of unconventional hydrocarbons. This move will no doubt infuriate the green fraternity, but it has to be said it's high time the industry started to try to make things happen.
Here are the details.
;)
Bishop Hill Nov 27, 2014 Climate: Parliament Diary dates GWPF On Tuesday, Benny Peiser will be appearing before the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to talk about European climate policy.
Details here.
Bishop Hill Nov 24, 2014 Climate: Parliament Diary dates Economics On Wednesday, the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee is to hold a one-day inquiry into a report published by Lord Stern's New Climate Economy project (NCE) and will take evidence from Stern himself, as well as Jeremy Oppenheim, an economist from McKinsey and Co who is involved in the project.
According to its website, NCE is a joint initiative of the governments of seven countries, including the UK - no doubt this is Mr Davey's work then. A glance at the people involved suggests that it is one of those charades in which a panel of green activists selected from universities around the world pretends that they have taken an objective look at the subject at hand before faithfully delivering up the required message.
