by Friends of the Earth -- December 2009 -- The report finds that carbon trading is not delivering the urgent cuts in emissions needed to prevent catastrophic climate change, is failing to realise promised incentives for investment in new low-carbon technology, and is a dangerously nstrategic approach to making the transition to a low-carbon economy. Carbon trading schemes rely on offsetting, a controversial, ineffective and increasingly discredited mechanism. (Executive Summary)
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350.org -- Accelerating arctic warming and other early climate impacts have led scientists to conclude that we are already above the safe zone at our current 390ppm, and that unless we are able to rapidly return to 350 ppm this century, we risk reaching tipping points and irreversible impacts such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and major methane releases from increased permafrost melt. (Full Article) |
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Interactive Global Emissions |
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washingtonpost.com -- Explore changes in carbon emissions from fossil fuels for G-20 countries, selected developing nations and others critical to the climate debate. This interactive chart covers the period between 1950 and 2006. (Full Article) |
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Sealing the Deal to Save the Climate |
by Robert Engelman -- WorldWatch Institute -- Saving the global climate and protecting ecosystems in a warming world must become a national interest for each of nearly 200 sovereign states. Negotiating a successful treaty that achieves this will be a diplomatic feat unlike any in history, given the stark inequalities in per capita emissions levels and income—and all the harder given that solving the climate problem will likely require some real sacrifice. Chapter Six of 2009 State of the World, published by the WorldWatch Institute. (PDF file)
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How to Survive the Coming Century |
by Gaia Vince -- Feb. 25, 2009 -- Fearing that the best efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions may fail, or that planetary climate feedback mechanisms will accelerate warming, some scientists and economists are considering not only what this world of the future might be like, but how it could sustain a growing human population. (Full Article)
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Cap-and-Trade vs. Carbon Tax: Formulating an Effective Carbon Accounting System |
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by Ryan Hottle -- Sept 8, 2008 -- The most critical thing that we get right is putting a price on carbon that reflects its current and future costs for human society. But how exactly do we do this? The two most popular methods being proposed are Cap-and-Trade and a Carbon Tax. Many contrasts have been drawn between the two approaches, but, in many respects, the systems are not altogether dissimilar. (Full Article) |
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The Greatest Failure of Thought in Human History |
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by Bob Doppelt -- August 27, 2008 -- To solve climate change, we must overcome "systems blindness." Overcoming systems blindness requires a shift to what can be called "sustainable thinking." A growing number of private and public organizations and everyday citizens have shown that it is possible to think sustainably. They use a four-step process: discover, dream, design, and act. (Full Article) |
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Time for Plan B: Cutting Carbon Emissions 80 Percent by 2020 |
Earth Policy Institute -- July 2, 2008 -- When political leaders look at the need to cut carbon dioxide emissions to curb global warming, they ask the question: How much of a cut is politically feasible? At the Earth Policy Institute we ask a different question: How much of a cut is necessary to avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change? (Full Report)
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The Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability -- May 2008 -- Cap and Share works by placing a cap on the use of a scarce resource and charging the users whatever price is necessary to balance their demand with the capped supply. The receipts from the resource users are then shared on an equitable basis amongst all those with an interest in the resource involved. (Full Report)
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How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic |
Grist website -- A complete listing of the articles in "How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic," a series by Coby Beck containing responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming. (Full Article)
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Climate Change -- The Encyclopedia of Earth Collection |
The Encyclopedia of Earth -- 2008 -- At the beginning of the 21st century, climate change has become a defining issue of our time. This collection brings together some of the world’s leading scientists and organizations and presents the essential knowledge underlying the issue of climate change. (Full Article)
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Zoe Chafe and Hilary French -- Worldwatch Institute: State of the World 2008 -- A world choking on carbon increasingly understands that measures for reducing national and personal carbon footprints are critical. But which ones, and how should they be implemented? This chapter sorts fact from fiction for policymakers and consumers. (Chapter Seven of the book)
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Preserve the Planet 