99.9999 percent chance we're the cause of global warming, study says

There's a 99.9999 per cent chance that humans are the cause of global warming, a new study reported Monday.

 There's a 99.9999 per cent chance that humans are the cause of global warming.

This means we've reached the "gold standard" for certainty, a statistical measure typically used in particle physics. 

Humanity burns fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, which release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. CO2 is the greenhouse gas that's most responsible for warming.

Study lead author Benjamin Santer of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory told Reuters that “the narrative out there that scientists don’t know the cause of climate change is wrong." 

Read the USA Today story by Doyle Rice - “99.9999 percent chance we're the cause of global warming, study says.”

Climate scientists are struggling to find the right words for very bad news

In Incheon, South Korea, this week, representatives of over 130 countries and about 50 scientists have packed into a large conference center going over every line of an all-important report: What chance does the planet have of keeping climate change to a moderate, controllable level?

Delegates and experts attend the opening ceremony of the 48th
 session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in
Incheon, South Korea, on Oct. 1, 2018.

When they can’t agree, they form “contact groups” outside the hall, trying to strike an agreement and move the process along. They are trying to reach consensus on what it would mean — and what it would take — to limit the warming of the planet to just 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, when 1 degree Celsius has already occurred and greenhouse gas emissions remain at record highs.

“It’s the biggest peer-review exercise there is,” said Jonathan Lynn, head of communications for the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “It involves hundreds or even thousands of people looking at it.”

Read the story from The Washington Post by Chris Mooney and Brady Dennis -  “Climate scientists are struggling to find the right words for very bad news.”

Qld One Nation 'not going anywhere' says Dickson

Pauline Hanson has been caught on the hop by the announcement of the Queensland election on November 25.

Fran Kelly - talking with morning
with One Nation's Steve Dickson.

She's currently in India with a parliamentary delegation and will miss the first week of campaigning.

But her presence still looms large — with One Nation set to field candidates in 60 of the state's 93 seats meaning the minor party is in with a chance of holding the balance of power.

LNP Opposition leader Tim Nichols has ruled out any deals — but former premier Campbell Newman predicts the Liberal National Party won't be able to form government without One Nation's support.

Listen to the RN Breakfast interview - “Qld One Nation 'not going anywhere' says Dickson.”

(Obviously, a few brumbies are loose in the top paddock - One Nation’s Steve Dickson said this morning on radio that is his party’s intention to build a new coal-fired power plant in northern Queensland. Such an idea contradicts overwhelming evidence that coal, being a prime fossil fuel, is the cornerstone of human behaviour that is worsening climate change and putting at risk most everything that is good about life. Dickson and his One Nation counterparts should be avoided and not allowed, under any circumstances, anywhere near the levers of power - Robert McLean)

Your chance to be a part of climate discussions in Paris

B

eneath the Wisteria supporters have the chance of being a part of climate discussions in Paris later this year.

Visit Paris and talk about the climate.

The Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute based at the University of Melbourne and the Climate Tracker program last year assembled young people from 70 countries and together, they published nearly 400 articles in mainstream media around the world, all calling for stronger action on climate change.

The program Fellowships to some of the most influential participants, and sent them to Lima to track the COP20 climate negotiations.

“We’re planning to do the same this year. Could you be one of our Fellows to track COP21 in Paris?

“To help you sharpen your skills and realize your potential, we’re building on last year’s Climate Tracker program, hoping to bring its impact to the next level," COPClimate Tracker says.

The story – “The Climate Tracker program – On the path to Paris” – explains the opportunity.

Walking your dog, mitigating climate change




Minnehaha Falls.

Rich Broderick writes about taking his dog “Chance” for a walk, and swim, off-leash park at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis in the U.S. - he could have just as easily been writing about something similar, somewhere in Australia.

Broderick, of the Daily Planet, writing on LA Progressive, in a story headed: “Me the People: Public Good, Private Greed” said that if many present political practices had prevailed in the late-19^th and mid-20^th centuries then such things as Minnehaha Falls would not have existed.

Consider for a moment the grandeur of inner-Melbourne with its wide and
spacious streets and the calming and generously laid-out parks and gardens and the political foresight and courage it took to allow for and set aside those public spaces.

Mitigating the causes of climate change and building a society that can cope with those evolving changes, demands a similar foresight and courage from our present politicians, whatever political creed or philosophy they adhere to.

Yes, we are guilty!

Yes, we are guilty!

“A comprehensive assessment of climate change research has found an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is human-induced,” according to a story published by the ABC.

Anna Rose.

The story, headed: “'Overwhelming' consensus for man made warming: review” contravenes public perception that science, and the scientists, is still divided in their views.

Goulburn Valley people will have the chance to hear more about how they should respond to the unfolding challenges of climate change at a free public forum in Shepparton on Thursday, June 6.

The June 6 forum, “Slap Tomorrow – A Wake-Up Call” will discuss our changing climate, initiating a discussion that will encourage people to identify the opportunities and incorporate them with their lifestyle.

The forum will feature Climate Commissioner, Prof Veena Sahajwalla; the chair of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Anna Rose; and environmental consultant, Rob Gell; with Victoria’s Sustainability Commissioner, Prof Kate Auty, as the moderator.

Rose, who has travelled the world exploring climate change, has a grasp of how younger people can be involved and subsequently act; Sahajwalla, as an engineer, understands how we can take what exists and reapply it to our advantage; and Gell has long been immersed in many aspects of the climate and will encourage community engagement.

The forum will be held at Shepparton’s Eastbank auditorium with the doors opening at 6:30pm allowing people to see a display of projects and products applicable to a different future before the forum starts at 7:30pm.

Further information is available at 0400 502 199 or at the Slap Tomorrow Facebook page.