Royal Institution - Geographers website

A fantastic website by the RI covering great geographic themes - plenty of videos to watch and discussion to to contirbute to - excellent - also on my links page!


http://richannel.org/themes/environment

Check out the link on the anthropocene...

Rio 2012: 20years on from sustainable development

How has our attitude to the environment moved on from Rio 1992 when the paradigm of sustainable development was first publicy showcased.

Have we become a more globally and environmentally aware society?
Are we looking after the environment better and has our attitude to it changed from consumption to protection?

We will move towards a green economy in the next 50years? and more possibly are we on track to achieve the MDGs?

CHECK OUT THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.earthsummit2012.org/

Another interesting video -looking at whether development is compatible with the environment...
or not in the case of the tar sands

To Infinity and beyond...

To Infinity and beyond so said Buzz to Woody...but it looks like a new form of extreme adventure tourism and science is about to begin 70years after Don Walsh made his monumental dive!

The BBC, as ever, has created a very informative link with good video links and excellent summaries:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17013285

But does the race to the bottom also herald a new form of extreme and elite adventure tourism?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17013029

Transition to a world without oil

Bill Gates developing nuclear reactor with China

TerraPower aims to develop a sustainable and economic nuclear energy system while greatly reducing proliferation risks and creating new options for converting low-level waste into vast energy resources.The nuclear-power firm that he and Bill Gates are promoting, which would use depleted uranium (castoff waste from traditional nuclear plants) as fuel. TerraPower has impressive plans but has yet to build its first plant.


For more info click on the links below:
http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/12/07/u-s-nuclear-power-to-china/
http://news.yahoo.com/bill-gates-developing-nuclear-reactor-china-104529282.html
http://www.terrapower.com/home.aspx

Are Bio fuels the best way to keep cars on the road

Rising petrol prices and concerns about global warming are forcing the demand for alternatives like bio fuels.
However, critics argue that is it ethical to grow crops for fuel when crops could be grown for food?

With millions invested in the growth of green fuel by large TNCs is it too big an unknown gamble?

Further links:

http://www.nh3fuelassociation.org/

The Tipping Point: an overview

Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip is a short, animated film about climate change by Leo Murray.

It is a very useful introduction to the often complex topic of climate change and the much debated tipping point. The video does represent one viewpoint but it is still useful and the following questions should be discussed after watching:

 - Do what extent has the tipping point been reached?
 - What evidence is there for human induced climate change (global warming)?
 - Is the tipping point a doomsday scenario or has it's potential impacts been sensationalised?

Click here

Tar sands, Obama, geoengineering and population growth

Bill McKibben on tar sands, Obama, geoengineering and population growth

The US environmentalist explains why he is now in a 'fight' with the oil industry over climate change

An interesting interview hosted by the Guardian newspaper

Please post you thoughts and comments below.

Welcome to the Anthropocene

Humans have changed the way the world works. Now they have to change the way they think about it, to...

To read this great article click here

Also below a quick link to the New Scientist's article in October 16th issue:

New geological epoch made by humans

• Magazine issue 2834. Subscribe and save
• For similar stories, visit the Climate Change Topic Guide

WELCOME to the warm Anthropocene. The growing volume of global temperature data adds to the evidence that we have left the Holocene and entered a new geological epoch dominated by human activities.

"We're now a few tenths of a degree above the prior maximum of the Holocene," says James Hansen of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. The Anthropocene is also characterised by sediments bearing human traces, such as plastics and other refuse.

Hansen, speaking at a Royal Society meeting in London, was also critical of a widely adopted target to limit global warming to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Feedbacks that take millennia to run their course mean 2 °C could ultimately lead to the melting of polar ice and several metres of sea-level rise, he says.

He adds that the interglacial period 130,000 years ago was just 1 °C warmer than today yet sea levels were 5 metres higher.

Geoengineering - the way forward for climate change...?

Of late, I appear to be leaning towards the argument for geo engineering as a possible solution to help us mitigate the effects of global warming (or the enhanced greenhouse effect or simply climate change if you are the ill-informed media!) - it must be the penultimate chapter of Superfreakonomics!

Anyway, here is the article in the Guardian which touches upon ideas expressed in the aforementioned book - yes, British scientists are really considering a giant pipe and balloon to pump water into the sky - refer to article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/31/pipe-balloon-water-sky-climate-experiment

My questions are:

Is geo-engineering the way forward? and if not; What  are the other alternatives?

Further reading:

• http://blog.ted.com/2007/11/13/david_keith/
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/08/geoengineering-research-royal-society?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/14/geoengineering-more-evidence