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The scientist who raised dangers of carbon dioxide in 1950s

Physicist Gilbert Plass predicted climate change, blaming fossil fuels for rising temperatures It’s often assumed that most people in the 1950s were blissfully unaware of climate change, but in fact there were already alarm bells ringing. In 1953, the Canadian physicist Gilbert Plass talked to a scientific meeting about the dangers of carbon dioxide pollution.

FASTER THAN EXPECTED …why most climate scientists can’t tell the truth (in public)

One of the clichés of climate change reporting is climate scientists claiming to be ‘surprised’, ‘shocked’ or ‘baffled’ by extreme events happening so much faster than predicted by their models and research studies. These consistent underestimations are often explained by their ‘cautious’ approach which sounds reasonable, until you realise this has led the Intergovernmental

Life after Extinction (Rebellion): From raising the alarm to starting a farm

In 2018, one study on climate change broke ranks by integrating a range of sources to conclude that the situation was far worse than the official consensus was letting on. It went so far as to warn about widespread societal collapse. A banker for almost 30 years, it troubled me enough to give up my

Climate risks have made California uninsurable. When will we wake up?

State Farm will almost entirely stop issuing new policies in California – with climate-exacerbated wildfires and bad public policy a large reason why State Farm, the country’s largest property insurer, announced this week that it will almost entirely stop issuing new policies in California, the country’s largest property insurance market. The reasons for forgoing all

UK average temperature rises as GHG emissions fall by only 2%

The Office for National Statistics’ latest Climate Change insights data has revealed that 2023 has been a “warmer than average” year as consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fall by only 2% from 2018. According to the paper, UK provisional mean temperatures for January and February 2023 were 1.7 degrees Celsius above the 2020 average. As

UK ‘strikingly unprepared’ for impacts of climate crisis

The UK is “strikingly unprepared” for the impacts of the climate crisis, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which said there had been a “lost decade” in efforts to adapt for the impacts of global heating. The CCC, the government’s official climate adviser, said climate damages will inevitably intensify for decades to come. It has warned repeatedly of poor preparation in

More death spirals begin to spin

An economic death spiral occurs when a system loses critical mass. For example, the UK’s energy death spiral – which is reaching its crisis phase – is the result of rising energy costs creating an involuntary loss of demand across the system. In part, businesses and households engage in energy-saving and conservation methods to lower their demand.

UK ‘chronically’ underspending on climate change adaptation, warns watchdog

More money needs to be spent on projects such as climate-proofing infrastructure like railways and roads, improving flood defences and increasing drainage, says the climate adaptation committee. The risks of heatwaves, droughts, flooding and failing critical infrastructure are increasing in the UK due to global warming, but the government has been too slow in acting

Solar panels and other renewables on people’s homes, better insulation and a ‘smart’ electricity grid provide solutions to climate and energy crises – Dylan Ryan

Recent events have highlighted the folly of over-reliance on imported oil and gas. However, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of this knowledge so that it disappears once priorities change, like a passing fad. A long-term commitment to a transition away from fossil fuels is necessary. More than half of the UK’s energy

World close to ‘irreversible’ climate breakdown, warn major studies

Key UN reports published in last two days warn urgent and collective action needed – as oil firms report astronomical profits The climate crisis has reached a “really bleak moment”, one of the world’s leading climate scientists has said, after a slew of major reports laid bare how close the planet is to catastrophe. Collective

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