We need SpaceX BFR not just get us to MARS but to save EARTH from Global Warming

Almost 10.000.000.000.000 kg of CO2 is every year released and mainly stays in the atmosphere. We increased the concentration from 300 ppm to more than 400 ppm during the last hundred year. And we will most likely double it before we move to CO2 neutral methods of energy production.

So, can we even avoid the negative consequences of the released CO2?

Despide all negative news on global warming, I see one viable option to save our civilization. But we need to change our thinking in two ways: Firstly, we need to start using tools of 21st century and secondly, we need to start looking for the solution out of Earth boundaries. The most effective way to counter the inevitable greenhouse effect is to build a sun-shade in space. If we block just 1% of the Sun’s light, we will compensate for the temperature increase of 1.5°C!

Read the Medium story by Pavel Konecny - “We need SpaceX BFR not just get us to MARS but to save EARTH from Global Warming.”

Drought aid: Where has the money been allocated and what difference is it making on-farm?

Billions of dollars in government aid, across all tiers, has gone to farmers during the drought this year.

Many farmers are struggling to find or buy feed to keep their stock alive.

Tens of millions more has been raised by corporations and individuals.

But has the money been well spent? Or is it a case of spending good money after bad?

ABC Rural has been tallying the figures and, while it is not at all a comprehensive list as the drought continues, it shines a light on who is putting in and where the funds are going.

Read the ABC News story by David Claughton - “Drought aid: Where has the money been allocated and what difference is it making on-farm?”

(Surely it would have made sense to be paying all adults, including farmers, a Universal Basic Income all along  and drought aid would have been unnecessary - Robert McLean)

Will Queensland embrace the future or stick with its shocking land clearing past?

If a tree falls in the Queensland outback during an election, does any voter care? If you happen to be a besieged koala, you’d definitely hope so.

Land clearing in Wombinoo in Queensland, Australia. The aftermath
of land clearing in 2016 triggered intervention from the federal government. 

With the Queensland election upon us, it has become clear that the rights and wrongs of clearing Queensland’s forests and woodlands have been a polarising issue with all major players releasing dramatically different policies.

The scene was set for this debate when, only weeks before the election, shocking new independent data was released that showed that 400,000 hectares of bush were cleared in Queensland during the year 2015–16.

This is the equivalent to a Gabba cricket pitch-sized area of forest cleared every three minutes every day, all year. Experts from WWF Australia have estimated that 45 million animals were killed as a result of the clearing in 2015through 2016 alone.

Read the opinion piece on The Guardian by Lyndon Schneiders - “Will Queensland embrace the future or stick with its shocking land clearing past?”