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Spoiler alerts: the five best climate-change films
Hollywood – loyal to its eco-sceptic audiences in middle America – has always been frosty towards environmental movies. Here are the most prescient exceptions to the rule
“We know that it was us that scorched the sky.”
And with that curt footnote, The Matrix sidesteps any further elaboration on the climate conditions that reign in the future outside the virtual world. Which seems to be Hollywood’s approach to climate change all over. It’s great for a bit of post-apocalyptic window-dressing, but any serious consideration of the topic is almost taboo. Perhaps the eco-scepticism of middle America – still Hollywood’s main market – is one reason; the lack of room for real-world settings and concerns amid the superhero-heavy cinematic universes that now dominate the franchise landscape is another. Not everyone has shied away from inconvenient truths, though: here are our top five climate-change feature films.
Continue reading...As Thatcher understood, Conservatives are not true climate change deniers | John Gummer
With climate sceptics moving to the White House, it’s crucial the US right recognises free markets are uncomfortable for incumbents but essential
Conservatives cannot properly be climate deniers. At the heart of their political stance is a desire to hand on something better to the future than they have received from the past. Now that climate science is so clear, a recognition of the duty to act to protect the next generation follows naturally. Of course, Conservatives have been somewhat cautious. Constitutionally, they don’t chase after novelty and it’s in their character to question fashionable theories.
So we shouldn’t be surprised at the genesis of Margaret Thatcher’s commitment to fighting climate change. As a Conservative she wasn’t a pushover, but as a scientist, she rigorously tested the science and was convinced. Once convinced she saw the imperative to act, and that made her the first leader of a major economy to commit to the Rio Earth Summit. In turn, it was her influence that brought George Bush to the table.
Continue reading...China builds world's biggest solar farm in journey to become green superpower #GlobalWarning
Vast plant in Qinghai province is part of China’s determination to transform itself from climate change villain to a green energy colossus
High on the Tibetan plateau, a giant poster of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, guards the entrance to one of the greatest monuments to Beijing’s quest to become a clean energy colossus.
To Xi’s right, on the road leading to what is reputedly the biggest solar farm on earth, a billboard greets visitors with the slogan: “Promote green development! Develop clean energy!”
Continue reading...Outgoing EPA chief reveals fears Trump administration will halt climate action
EPA staff are ‘nervous’ after the president-elect promised to reduce the environment agency to ‘tidbits’ and named climate skeptic Scott Pruitt to lead it
There is “nervousness” among Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff that Donald Trump’s incoming administration will sideline science and reverse action on climate change, according to the agency’s outgoing administrator, Gina McCarthy.
McCarthy told the Guardian that the Trump administration would face resistance from multiple fronts if it ran counter to a widespread shift to renewable energy, as well as scientific opinion, by rejecting climate science and attempting to bolster the fossil fuel industry.
Continue reading...How to reduce your carbon footprint #GlobalWarning
From cutting down on meat, to contacting your local representatives and investing in clean energy, here are 15 ways to help reduce global carbon emissions
1 Air travel is usually the largest component of the carbon footprint of frequent flyers. A single return flight from London to New York – including the complicated effects on the high atmosphere – contributes to almost a quarter of the average person’s annual emissions. The easiest way to make a big difference is to go by train or not take as many flights.
2 The second most important lifestyle change is to eat less meat, with particular emphasis on meals containing beef and lamb. Cow and sheep emit large quantities of methane, a powerful global warming gas. A vegan diet might make as much as a 20% difference to your overall carbon impact but simply cutting out beef will deliver a significant benefit on its own.
Continue reading...Can we afford to tackle climate change? – video
The science of climate change is settled. So now the story is all about politics and economics. Here, Guardian journalists and prominent authors, economists and campaigners including Larry Elliott and Naomi Klein explore the finance of keeping fossil fuels in the ground; some options; and a possible solution
- This is a re-edit of a video the Guardian published in 2015
Why are we running out of courgettes?
Global warning: live from the climate-change frontline as Trump becomes president
With climate sceptics moving into the White House, the Guardian will spend the next 24 hours focusing on climate change happening right now, and what we can all do to help protect the planet
9.18am GMT
Before we move on to Europe and the UK, this is a neat piece of work from my colleague Nick Evershed, the Guardian’s head of data and interactives in Australia. It shows how much carbon we are emitting right now – and how much we have “left to burn” if we want to keep global warming within the 2C band considered crucial by scientists to prevent serious damage to the planet.
Nick’s calculated that in just the 24 hour lifespan of this blog, the world will pump out more than 112m tons. Hard to visualise? Well let’s let the doomsday clock do the work:
9.08am GMT
So in summary, we’ve been focussed on Africa over the past hour:
Continue reading...BBC Breakfast presenters meet 'Orangu-cam'
Alexandria: locals adapt to floods as coastal waters inch closer
As cafe owners build defences against winter storms, the government has warned that 13% of Egypt’s coastline is at risk from rising Mediterranean sea levels
“Before we were flooded a couple of years ago, we didn’t imagine the water could reach this level,” said cafe manager Samir Gaber, gesturing at a cluster of tables overlooking the Mediterranean.
Gaber has managed the Latino cafe in Alexandria for six years, during which time the business has had to adapt to increasingly dramatic winter storms. With the storms come the floods, crashing waves engulfing large chunks of the many cafes nestled on the coastline.
Continue reading...Flood disasters more than double across Europe in 35 years
Insurance firm research reveals steep increase in flash floods and says rise is in line with climate change
The number of devastating floods that trigger insurance payouts has more than doubled in Europe since 1980, according to new research by Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance company.
The firm’s latest data shows there were 30 flood events requiring insurance payouts in Europe last year – up from just 12 in 1980 – and the trend is set to accelerate as warming temperatures drive up atmospheric moisture levels.
Continue reading...Global warning - 24 hours of live climate change coverage
The Guardian is spending the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration talking to people whose lives have been changed by the climate change he questions
Tomorrow, America will inaugurate a president who is openly sceptical of the almost unanimous scientific view that human activity is contributing to global warming.
So today the Guardian is conducting a major digital event to concentrate minds at this pivotal moment: 24 hours of live, uninterrupted coverage of the issue from around the world. Films, data, experts, writing, graphics, the lot.
Continue reading...The 10 species most at risk from climate change
From penguins in Antarctica, to butterflies in Spain, and rodents and coral in the Great Barrier Reef, as the world warms these species are disappearing
Small island species, confined to limited terrain, are always vulnerable, particularly to invasive species, burgeoning human populations, and new diseases. On Hawaii, climate change intersects with these three factors to imperil its unique birds, including six species of honeycreeper.
Continue reading...Carbon countdown clock: how much of the world's carbon budget have we spent?
One way of looking at emissions targets is as a fixed budget amount, or quota. This countdown shows one estimate of how long it will take to reach an amount of greenhouse gas emissions beyond which 2C of warming will be likely
To have a good chance of keeping global warming under 2C, there is only a finite amount of carbon pollution the world can emit – this amount can be thought of as a fixed budget amount, or quota.
Our countdown clock shows one estimate of how long it will take to reach an amount of greenhouse gas emissions beyond which 2C of warming will be likely.
How hot are you on global warming? Try our climate change quiz
What is the impact of livestock on greenhouse gas emissions? And how much does Arctic sea ice loss affect the rise in ocean levels?
Continue reading...Reasons to be cheerful: a full switch to low-carbon energy is in sight
Climate change optimism is justified – a complete transition from carbon to solar and wind power looks practical and affordable within a generation
My first book on climate change was published 10 years ago. I looked at how responsible individuals could choose to run their lives to cut their carbon footprint.
Inevitably minimising your carbon footprint meant making some uncomfortable choices – stopping eating meat, for example, or giving up flying. Hair-shirtism, in short. In 2009, I advised individuals on how they could cut their carbon emissions by 10%.
Continue reading...‘A cat in hell’s chance’ – why we’re losing the battle to keep global warming below 2C
It all seemed so simple in 2008. All we had was financial collapse, a cripplingly high oil price and global crop failures due to extreme weather events. In addition, my climate scientist colleague Dr Viki Johnson and I worked out that we had about 100 months before it would no longer be “likely” that global average surface temperatures could be held below a 2C rise, compared with pre-industrial times.
What’s so special about 2C? The simple answer is that it is a target that could be politically agreed on the international stage. It was first suggested in 1975 by the environmental economist William Nordhaus as an upper threshold beyond which we would arrive at a climate unrecognisable to humans. In 1990, the Stockholm Environment Institute recommended 2C as the maximum that should be tolerated, but noted: “Temperature increases beyond 1C may elicit rapid, unpredictable and non-linear responses that could lead to extensive ecosystem damage.”
Continue reading...Goldcrest combs the gorse for slim pickings
Wolsingham, Weardale This tiny tweezer-billed bundle of feathers probed each nook and cranny in a forest of green skewers
This patch of hawthorn scrub had been laden with scarlet berries until well into December. Then redwing flocks passed through and today its twigs were bare. Apart from a few rosehips, some already shredded by greenfinches, which use their powerful beaks to extract the flinty seeds, the dangling bunches of guelder-rose fruits were the only remaining flecks of scarlet in the landscape.
It is a mystery why birds always leave until last these shiny, succulent, berries. In mild winters some remain untouched until they wither in spring. That’s unlikely this year. The first real test of winter for many birds, especially those that are not seed eaters, may be about to begin.
Continue reading...If you were an elephant …
… the world would be a brighter, smellier, noisier place – and you would be a better, wiser, kinder person. The author of Being a Beast explains all
If you were an elephant living wild in a western city, you’d be confused and disgusted.
You’d have one two-fingered hand swinging from your face – a hand as sensitive as tumescent genitals, but which could smash a wall or pick a cherry. With that hand you’d explore your best friends’ mouths, just for the sake of friendship. With that hand you’d smell water miles away and the flowers at your feet. You’d sift it all, triaging. Category 1: immediate danger. Category 2: potential threat. Category 3: food and water. Category 4: weather forecasts – short and long range. Category 5: pleasure.
Continue reading...China's Xi Jinping says Paris climate deal must not be allowed to fail
President says ‘we only have one homeland’ in a coded warning to Donald Trump not to dismantle the agreement
The world must not allow the Paris climate deal to be “derailed” or continue to inflict irreparable damage on the environment, Chinese president Xi Jinping has said, amid fears the rise of Donald Trump could strike a body blow to the fight against global warming.
Trump, who will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on Friday, has threatened to pull out of the historic Paris agreement and dismissed climate change as a Chinese “hoax” and “expensive… bullshit”.
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