Global warming a potent brew for coffee and tea drinkers

Okay, climate change is now getting serious with global warming set to impact on the enjoyment of a nice strong cup of Assam tea or a good brew of Columbian coffee. Already the subtle flavors of Assam tea are starting to change. For the tea and coffee connoisseurs in the developed world we might find the price increasing on that skinny latte or cup of tea.

While we might bemoan tea or coffee price rises from the comfort of our street cafes and comfortable dwellings, the real hardship will be felt by the thousands of small growers in the developing world who are dependent on tea or coffee as a major cash crop and boost to their local economies facing the problems of increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns.

Coffee and Conservation | Oxfam Fairtrade coffee campaign | FairTrade Tea | Youtube videos: Two degrees up - Part One: Columbia | Sri Lanka Tea and Drought

Perspectives on COP16 the Cancun Negotiations

The last day in Cancun campaigners feared the worst, especially relating to the REDD agreement which actvists labeled as flawed and potentially planet-wrecking scam. The early hours of the morning saw the Adoption of Copenhagen Accord II Without Consensus - Bolivia was the dissenting state. While some NGOs like the WWF and Centre for Biological Diversity said tentative groundwork for a global agreement to fight climate change was made, the agreement fell far short of progress toward science based emission reduction targets.

Friends of the Earth summarised the Cancun meeting and final agreement or listen to the Radio Ecoshock summary on whether the talks were a step forward or fraud.

The 16th Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or better known as COP16, was held in Cancun Mexico from November 29th to December 10th. A Last minute agreement based on the Copenhagen accord resulted over the objections of one country - Bolivia.

The grassroots global climate justice movement attended Gearing up for Cancun with official negotiations initially teetering at the edge of a "legitimation crisis." On December 7 Protest Erupted at UN Climate Negotiations with Youth Delegates Ejected, but there were several grassroots actions including shutting down the tar sands, respect for indigenous peoples rights, and actions organised by La Via Campesina.

Flickr Photos: FOE COP16 Cancun | Adopt a Negotiator | Tcktcktck | Oxfam: Demonstration in Cancun

2010 second hottest year on record - JMO

Caption: Long-term change in annual mean surface temperature anomalies over the globe. The bars indicate anomalies of surface temperature in each year. The blue line indicates five-year running mean, and the red line indicates a long-term linear trend. Anomalies are deviations from the normal (1971-2000 average).

2010 was hot. According to the Japan Meteorological Organisation (JMO) it was the second warmest year on record since 1891, when comprehensive data first started being kept.

Scientist warns against global warming complacency due to cold spells, floods

An Australian scientist has warned against misinterpreting the cold spells in Europe and North America and the heavy rains and flooding in Australia as climate change not occurring. Barrie Hunt, an Honorary Research Fellow with the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, said that seasonal cold spells will still be expected under enhanced greenhouse conditions and that the long term trend is that the global climate is warming.

“Despite 2010 being a very warm year globally, the severity of the 2009-2010 northern winter and a wetter and cooler Australia in 2010 relative to the past few years have been misinterpreted by some to imply that climate change is not occurring,” said Mr Hunt.

“Recent wet conditions in eastern Australia mainly reflect short-term climate variability and weather events, not longer-term climate change trends. Conclusions that climate is not changing are based on a misunderstanding of the roles of climatic change caused by increasing greenhouse gases and climatic variability due to natural processes in the climatic system."

Activists opposing coal seam gas appear in Brisbane court

Two activists who unfurled a banner off the roof of the Quennsland Parliament House opposing coal seam gas are to appear in Brisbane Magistrate's Court today (December 20). Dr Bradley Smith (27) and Dhruva Horsfall (21), from Friends of the Earth were able to access the roof and unfurl a banner from the Parliament House facade that said "Don't undermine our farms" to the cheers of Farmers and conservations protesting against new coal mines and Coal Seam Gas expansion.

Smith and Horsfall are both charged with engaging in an unregulated high-risk activity and failure to comply with the direction of the speaker of the house and face up to $6000 in fines or 1 year imprisonment.

Climate scientist Professor David Karoly calls for Hazelwood immediate closure

Emminent Melbourne climate scientist Professor David Karoly has called for the Hazelwood coal fired power station to be closed down completely, saying "Hazelwood is partly to blame for causing climate change."

Photos: Replace Hazelwood (Takver)

Speaking at a a Replace Hazelwood rally in a leadup to the Victorian state election on November 27, Professor Karoly told the crowd that "Hazelwood is only one of many power stations, but in fact the emissions are really, really important. Climate change causes warming; warming causes melting of ice and warming of the oceans; which cause sea level rise."

Brayton Cycle Solar Thermal power under development by CSIRO

Image: CSIRO

The CSIRO has begun installing 450 large heliostats (mirrors) for a Brayton Cycle solar thermal tower system, the largest of it type in the world, located at the CSIRO National Solar Energy Centre in Newcastle.

The mirrors are manufactured locally at Wyong on the Central Coast by Performance Engineering, a company specialising in automotive manufacturing. The panels are manufactured with a lightweight steel frame with a simple design highly suited for mass production for commercialisation of the technology.

September 2010 was Australia's wettest in 111 years

The USA based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center have stated that September 2010 was Australia's wettest month in 111 years of precipitation records being kept.

A moderate to strong La Niña event - known scientifically as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - in the tropical Pacific Ocean is bringing wetter conditions across much of eastern Australia, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. "La Niña is the flipside to the well known drought-producing El Niño. It usually brings wetter than average spring and summer conditions to much of eastern Australia" said the Manager of the NSW Climate Services Centre, Clinton Rakich.

Climate scepticism, anthropogenic global warming and drought in south east Australia

With the release of the CSIRO report on Climate variability and change in south-eastern Australia (CSIRO: South East Australia becoming drier, Global Warming implicated) CSIRO hydrologist and lead author Dr David Post has come under criticism for comments on whether anthropogenic global warming has contributed to drought conditions in south east Australia.

Dr David Post said in a CSIRO media release on October 22 that "The research indicates that these changes can be linked to global warming, making it a likely contributor to the recent drought."

In January 2010 David Post released a report on the potential climate impacts regarding Water Yield availability in Tasmania. He was interviewed in regard to this report in the Canberra Times and was attributed with saying there was "no evidence" linking drought to climate change in eastern Australia: "At this stage, we'd prefer to say we're talking about natural variability. The science is not sufficiently advanced to say it's climate change, one way or the other. The jury is still out on that," (Canberra Times, Jan 19, 2010 - Jury still out on climate change: CSIRO.

CSIRO: South East Australia becoming drier, Global Warming implicated

Caption: Figure 1. Rainfall deciles across Australia for 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2009; deciles based on climatology from 1900 to 2009 (Bureau of Meteorology) - from the report

A new report into the changing climate of South East Australia and particularly the Murray Darling Basin indicates an increasing risk of below average rainfall and runoff into streams and generally drier conditions. The change in the climate has, at least in part, been attributed to an increase in atmospheric anthropogenic greenhouse gases associated with global warming.

The South Eastern Australian Climate Initiative (SEACI) report: Climate variability and change in south-eastern Australia, highlights the effects of climate variability and change on the water resources of the south-east which should have major implications for water allocations planning currently under consideration by the Murray Darling Basin Authority and in community hearings. The research was undertaken by the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology.