The Week That Was - August 28 2013

This week, air conditioning is making our world hotter, oh yes. And more on the Federal election campaign in Australia. At the same time marine life is heading to the Poles as waters warm, and the US targets coal. Read on for all of this and more in the week that was.

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“Right now, the US uses more energy to keep cool than all the other countries in the world combined. But this distinction might not remain true for long …”
Dr Michael Sivak, University of Michigan

It is time to start with some good news… the Victorian Government will allocate several million dollars to make its buildings more efficient. And in Queensland, St Vincent de Paul has helped Queenslanders cut down on their energy bills. And we are told renewable energy is a viable reality for Australia. And in general, climate change rates high as an issue for Australians.

This week Connie Hedegaard will be in the Marshall Islands to listen to the small island states speak about climate change. New Zealand is a member state, and might have a job to explain their most recent retrograde step…

While NZ cuts back its ambition, sunny (not) Germany had a record breaking July, producing 5.1 terawatt hours of solar power. India sets a new tone on providing solar options, and China says it will double its renewable energy capacity by 2030. And the World Future Council tells us that Africa is in a unique position to concentrate on producing renewable energy, leap frog conventional energy production and make solid gains in terms of solving climate change.

So let’s get it over with and talk about the election campaign - on climate change, the Budget, the possible outcome, the ETS vs Direct Action, and who is really rating in terms of emission reduction. In a remarkable story, high profile members of the IPA have walked away as result of the think tanks climate scepticism.

Australian’s living in the southeast and the Top End are told to expect a wetter Spring and our man in Tassie Peter Boyer writes, keep carbon locked up in the ground in order to avoid global warming. His counterparts on the land – agree.

New findings shows marine life is heading to the to the Poles in order to enjoy cooler temperatures,  and a thousand people tell PM Rudd that they want to keep the Great Barrier Reef.

Yet more research tells is that air conditioning is making the earth hotter, and that climate change may have been what undid the rulers in the Bronze Age.

In the US, Obama and his energy secretary declares war on coal. This, at the same time that the  Obama administration’s climate change policy stance is being challenged.

And get ready to hear more and more about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as we get closer to the release of the Fifth Assessment Report, some of its content we have already seen …

Have a look at this beautiful sustainable design which calls Bentleigh Secondary School home. It’s a structure where teenagers can stop and think about the big issues and that is important because some people say, solving climate change is all in the way we think. I think I like this.

So in amongst all of the good, bad and the ugly, take some time to have a look and listen to the image and title score for the much acclaimed documentary Chasing Ice.  Bye for now …