Agence France-Presse: ENVIRONMENTAL groups condemned today an Australian company’s plan to dump hundreds of tonnes of fertiliser into Philippine waters as part of an experiment to combat climate change. The groups, including Greenpeace and civil society organisations, called on the Philippine Government to stop the experiment, known as "ocean fertilisation". "This is not a solution and is a dangerous diversion to the real solutions to address climate change," said Jasper …

Telegraph (UK): The Red Cross has just dropped off an emergency supply of drinking water. Now Tony Reames hands it out - one case per household - to the grateful townsfolk who come to his office. By dusk it has all gone and Mr Reames, the local mayor, drives up a dusty road to begin his daily ritual of turning on Orme’s water supply at 6pm. The sleepy community is suddenly a hive of activity as residents scramble to wash clothes, flush lavatories, take showers and store water for cooking and …

Having recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [search] is meeting in Spain Monday to finalize the landmark Fourth Synthesis Report on global warming. Scrutiny and criticism of the IPCC’s processes is growing [ark] despite their new found fame, and we share these concerns. The synthesis report may be badly out of date before it is even printed, past IPCC reports have been shown to be too conservative in their assessment of the climate threat, some current trends are already at the upper range of current IPCC projections, and even these conservative outdated finding will not be updated in 5 years.

The IPCC scientific process, like international and national government’s policy making processes, is falling dangerously behind with what’s happening to Earth’s climate systems and what must be done in response. Consider that:

The new report notably fails to take into account a batch of dramatic recent evidence, including the shrinkage of the Arctic ice cap, glacier loss in Greenland, a surge in levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and an apparent slowing of Earth’s ability to absorb greenhouse gases… Taken together… these phenomena suggest climate change is be occurring faster than expected — and may even unleash “tipping points” that could uncontrollably accelerate the damage.

The IPCC must get more involved in policy than generally concluding “to get ready for a warmer world and reduce emissions”. They must stop shying away from controversy, and resist relentless political pressure to water down drafts as they are finalized. Policy-makers need the best science truthfully and powerfully presented them, in order to set mid-term sizable emission reductions.

I concur that while the panel’s caution and rigor has built awareness and given credibility to climate change, it is now “time for the IPCC to move to a faster and more assertive track.. The issue now is what to do and how fast it needs to be done.” And first and foremost is to build the case for immediate and mid-term emissions reductions, rather than putting off the pain. It is rather nonsensical to speak boldly of far-off 80% GHG reduction targets for 2050, when in fact we need ambitious yet achievable carbon and other GHG emission reductions of 25% by 2015 and/or 35% by 2020. The longer we wait, the more change and possibility of a truly catastrophic outcome.

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A new poll finds mllions of people around the world are willing to make personal sacrifices [ark] to help address climate change. Ecological Internet has long noted there is little chance of addressing climate change and related global ecological crises without some degree of personal and societal sacrifice [search]. For this we have often been ridiculed and called naive — as many asserted there is no way the public would support this. A new BBC poll suggests otherwise [ark]. They found that substantial majorities in all countries (83% overall) are ready to make personal sacrifices in their lifestyle and behavior, including paying more for their energy, to help address climate change. And some 50% supported taxes on energy such as oil and coal — 77% if the revenues was used to promote energy efficiency or developing cleaner fuels. Approximately 22,000 people were polled across 21 countries.

Why are our leaders including Mr. Gore [search] not picking up on this sentiment and leading by example while asking for shared sacrifice to address climate change and achieve global ecological sustainability? Important personal sacrifices that need to be encouraged immediately are a willingness to pay more for renewable energy, to consume less and more equitably, and to have smaller families. Societally it is clear that clearing and burning — that is first-time logging of ancient forests and the burning of fossil fuels that emit into the atmosphere (particularly coal) — must end as soon as possible. Anyone that suggests that much of the world can continue to live wasteful excessive lifestyles (while the others aspire to do so) is either dangerously misinformed or a charlatan, and regardless, doing great harm to the Earth and humanity’s prospects.

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Ecological Internet is THE leading global, hard-hitting activist network providing information retrieval tools and action opportunities that achieve environmental protection outcomes. Together our network, of which you are a vital part, has achieved stunning success in 2007 — from Uganda to Guyana, Brazil to the Congo — the world’s rainforests are a bit safer because we exist. Few have done more to raise awareness regarding global heating. These efforts have depended for years upon the reliable generosity of network recipients for funding. It is time to once again ask Earth lovers to help us out.

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TAKE ACTION! New York City’s (NYC) Department of Parks and Recreation is one of America’s largest destroyers of rainforests, reports New York based Rainforest Relief. Parks and other NYC and state agencies including the Department of Transportation (DOT) and NYC Transit use hundreds of thousands of board feet of tropical hardwoods per year. New York City’s use of ancient forest timbers comes at great expense to the Earth’s biodiversity, ecosystems, climate and prospects for achieving global ecological sustainability…

Please support Rainforest Relief’s and NY Climate Action Group’s campaign demanding that Mayor Bloomberg end NYC’s use of tropical hardwoods. In order to protect ancient forests, the people who live there, and global climate; NYC purchases of timbers derived from ancient forests must be stopped and an important precedent set that all industrial scaled ancient forest logging must end forever. TAKE ACTION!

Professor James Lovelock is making similar warnings as those found in this blog lately, that the rate of observable global heating appears to far exceed even the most pessimistic predictions [ark] made by the cautious, conservative and at times political IPCC climate science process. He expresses concern that the speed with which climate change [search] is progressing will lead to ecological and social crises as “6 to 8 billion people face diminishing food and water supplies in an increasingly intolerable climate”. Earlier this year the IPCC concluded that average global temperatures could rise by as much as 6.4C by the end of the century, with a rise of 4C most likely.

Yet Professor Lovelock believes even this quite substantial and dramatic rate of global warming understates the speed with which climate is changing now. IPCC predictions made earlier this year appear to be dramatically outdated already, as global heating impacts have revealed themselves in actuality rather than models. Troublingly Lovelock suggests this means that staggered, slow efforts to reduce emissions and promote sustainable development will fail due to sheer inertia and lack of time. He states “we are at war with the Earth and as in a blitzkrieg, events proceed faster than we can respond … For this reason alone, it is probably too late for sustainable development… implementing Kyoto or some super-Kyoto is most unlikely to succeed” largely because of climatic feedbacks.

Canberra Times: ENVIRONMENT Minister Malcolm Turnbull has torpedoed the Government’s credibility on climate change, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said yesterday. Neither Mr Turnbull nor Prime Minister John Howard would comment on yesterday’s reports Mr Turnbull had recommended the Government ratify the Kyoto protocol last month. The Australian Financial Review reported yesterday that Mr Turnbull had told his cabinet colleagues the Government ought to ratify Kyoto, saying it would not hurt the …

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Prime Minister John Howard has thrown his support behind federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull, but has refused to say whether he believes Mr Turnbull leaked a story about urging federal Cabinet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Both Mr Howard and Mr Turnbull have refused to deny the reports that the Environment Minister put the case for ratification to Cabinet earlier this year. Newspaper reports today suggest that Mr Turnbull leaked the story to try and improve his …