Fines for 73 climate change activists protesting proposed coal power station

The Muswellbrook Local Court today was crammed with activists. In the largest single court appearance for an Australian climate protest 73 people faced trespass charges for a mass civil disobedience protest on December 5, 2010. They were each fined $250 by the court.

Forests are not commodities - REDD under fire for narrow focus on carbon storage

A new report from some of the world's top experts on forest governance has criticised various international climate change accords including REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) and REDD+ for their narrow focus on carbon storage which has failed to stop rampant destruction of the world's most vulnerable forests and often acted to further marginalise indigenous peoples.

Green groups criticize Federal Government for slashing climate programs

Environment, climate change and green groups have criticized the Federal Government for budget cuts to solar development and carbon reduction programs, as part of its reconstruction program for rebuilding Queensland after the devastating floods.

Deferring expenditure in the solar flagship program is of major concern for the development of industry scale solar power stations in Australia, necessary for converting our reliance on carbon intensive coal fired power to renewable technologies. A US study has shown the feasibility of converting global power to 100 per cent carbon emission neutral alternative energy technologies in 20 to 40 years, similar to the Australian study by Beyond Zero Emissions with the Zero Carbon Australia 2020 report, launched in July 2010.

A carbon neutral solar and wind powered world in 20 to 40 years?

Is it achievable? You bet! All it takes is the political and social will to make it happen says two US researchers who have just published a study of the material resources and technology required to power the world 100 per cent by carbon emission neutral alternative energy technologies. It would also save 2.5 million to 3 million lives a year through slashing water and air pollution and simultaneously slow global warming and the problems of climate change, and develop secure, reliable energy sources and at costs comparable with what we spend on energy today.

It sounds like a no-brainer. Why don't we do it?

US Banks greenwashing with carbon principles says RAN report

Banks have still got a long way to go to meet their own carbon principles says a new report from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) in the US. Three leading banks put forward these carbon principles in February 2008 to make it tougher to finance conventional coal-fired plants in the US as a way to mitigate carbon emissions and climate change.

Six banks have now signed on to the Carbon principles, but the RAN report indicates adherence to the principles has been hollow and is just a greenwashing exercise by the banks.

Albedo Feedback: Climate Models under estimate loss of reflectivity in the Arctic

Loss of reflectivity in the Arctic is double the estimate used in current state-of-art climate models according to new analysis of the Northern Hemisphere's "albedo feedback" over a 30-year period.

The albedo feedback is the change in the reflectivity of surfaces in a constant reinforcing feedback loop. In the Arctic snow and ice is highly reflective. Global warming has reduced sea ice exposing darker ocean and increased the size of dark melt pools on the Greenland ice sheet, which then increases the warming effect on ice in a positive feedback.

"The cryosphere isn't cooling the Earth as much as it did 30 years ago, and climate model simulations do not reproduce this recent effect," said Karen Shell, an Oregon State University atmospheric scientist and one of the authors of the study. "Though we don't necessarily attribute this to global warming, it is interesting to note that none of the climate models used for the 2007 International Panel on Climate Change report showed a decrease of this magnitude."

Greenland sets a new melt record in 2010 - sea levels to rise

The chilly fact is that the Greenland ice cap is melting at an accelerated rate. The big melt achieved a new record in 2010 according to new research.

"This past melt season was exceptional, with melting in some areas stretching up to 50 days longer than average," said Dr. Marco Tedesco, Director of the Cryosphere Processes Laboratory at the City College of New York (CCNY - CUNY), who is leading a project studying variables that affect ice sheet melting. "Melting in 2010 started exceptionally early at the end of April and ended quite late in mid- September."

Atmospheric nuclear testing stagnated mid 20th century global warming

New scientific research from Japan puts forward that the stagnation in global warming in the mid twentieth century was caused by the atmospheric nuclear testing carried out between 1945 and 1980. It seems that nuclear winter actually occurred, although on just a small scale.

2010 equal warmest year on record globally, say NASA and NOAA

2010 Global surface temperatures matched 2005 as the equal warmest year on record according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Global precipitation was also the wettest on record since 1900 according to NOAA.

Several oraganisations track global average temperatures using slightly different methodologies including the UK Met office, NASA, NOAA and the Japan Meteorological Organisation (JMO). In late December the JMO released it's data on global average surface temperatures finding that 2010 was the second hottest year on record behind 1998.

2010 wettest year on record globally, and the wettest for Queensland

2010 was the wettest year on record globally according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with Australia experiencing it's wettest September on record, and the wettest year for Queensland with annual rainfall double the average.

La Nina is associated with flooding rains in South Asia, Australia, Brazil and central America. Not only Queensland and Brisbane has felt the force of La Nina, one of the strongest on record. Heavy rain and record flooding has also occurred in Victoria. Overseas, La Nina has brought torrential rains, flooding and mudslides to Brazil killing over 600 people, to Sri Lanka killing 38 and displacing over a million people, and in the Philippines killing 42 people.