Climate Change Reading

Further to our Global Warming equation post recently we thought we'd point out that the forthcoming issue of New York Review of Books has a review by Bill McKibben of a slew of new Climate Change books, specifically:

• Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming by the controversial statistician Bjørn Lomborg


• Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility
  by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger


• What We Know About Climate Change by Kerry Emanuel


• Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren edited by Joseph F.C. DiMento and Pamela Doughman

Also:

"Bill McKibben will be answering questions from readers about his article "Can Anyone Stop It?" and the possibilities for action to stop global warming. Send your question by September 28, 2007" -- Learn how on the NYRB site

You may also be interested to read these recent articles by Bill McKibben, from the Review's archives:

• March 15, 2007: Warning on Warming
• November 16, 2006: How Close to Catastrophe?
• January 12, 2006: The Coming Meltdown.

Our role here at the Wilderness Foundation is to awaken the environmental leaders of the future - we do that primarily in the context of helping people experience Wilderness. We do believe a solid reading list (with a critical mind) goes with any leadership path - hence our gateway to the above.

Also, related items from our archives - Recent literature on Global Warming - New York Review of Books and An exchange on Global Warming.

The New Math Of Global Warming

A descriptive slideshow by Craig Damrauer showing the equations for the new math of global warming from the July/August 2007 Issue of Mother Jones:

More Craig Damrauer in 'New Math: Equations for Living'.

Campfire Questions with Graham Game

We grabbed Graham Game, friend of the foundation and a professional environmentalist, for a quickfire round of questions further to Wednesday night’s ‘Climate Change and Essex - Winner or Loser?’ debate:

• What are the most urgent issues facing Essex?

Essex is on the front line as far as the effects of climate change are concerned, and with our long and incredibly fragile coastline, it's sea level rise and then flooding that I'm probably most concerned about, but the face of agriculture is changing too.

We are facing a 2 - 6 degree celsius rise in temperatures, and an increase of up to 20% in winter rainfall. It's also predicted that water levels in the Thames Estuary could rise as much as 86 cm by the 2080's, while there could be a fall of up to 60% in soil moisture levels during summer.

Our rich biodiversity here in Essex is really taking a hammering as our seasons change their patterns due to climate change.

So what are we doing? Building thousands of new homes on flood plains in the Thames Estuary, turning thousands of acres of arable land over to growing non-food crops & looking to almost double our airport capacity.

• What can our local readers do to make a difference?

Here's where I take many people out of their comfort zones: I passionately believe that far too much emphasis is being placed on mitigation & nowhere near enough action is being taken to prepare & adapt for the inevitable effects of climate change here in Essex & the UK.

There simply isn't the time to play around with greenwash. With 1.32 billion Chinese, 1.12 billion Indians & 300 million Americans all hell-bent at achieving economic growth through polluting technologies, even if every one of us 60 million Brits reduced our carbon footprints it would be merely a drop in the ocean.

Set an example? To who? Yes, let's continue to push for sustainable lifestyles, but the real work to be done is adapt to survive. No more building new homes on flood plains. More coastal realignment schemes, more renewable power schemes, but most importantly we need some strong direction & leadership at the top. Finally, don't get sucked in by the Carbon Offset mindset - if you want to salve your conscience when you take your next cheap flight, give £20.00 to The Wilderness Foundation instead.

• Give us a couple of top autumn reads that’ll broaden our mind

Jay Griffiths' book 'Wild' will transport you up the Amazon for some amazing encounters with indigenous shamen, while my friend Jon Symes' superb little book 'Your Planet Needs You' is just inspirational - even for a seasoned old cynic like me!

Thanks Graham! - Graham's website can be found here: greenfuturesconsultancy.com/

Last but not least, here are a few further resources:

• RSA Ted Happold Memorial Lecture: Adapting to a changing coastline in East Anglia - Full lecture and Q&A session (21MB) / Lecture text (PDF)
• OU OpenLearn Module: Managing coastal environments (U216_1): "Coastal environments are by their nature ever-changing. This unit looks at the example of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England, describing how the current state of the estuary came to be."
• Notes from the 2006 Chelmsford Challenge: 'Environment vs. Development'

BBC Newsnight: Green Technology

We have written about Global Warming before on this blog (if you click on the label below this posting you'll find our previous postings on this subject). It is an issue that affects us all and we thought last night's Green Technology feature on BBC Newsnight might be of interest. If you're in the UK, you can watch it again online here.

Wilderness Foundation YouTube Channel Launches with Kili pictures and sounds

The Wilderness Foundation UK today launched a YouTube Channel with pictures and song from the 2006 Kili Trek which raised money for our continued work for wilderness, wildlife and people:



Thanks to all who supported!

Also, read our earlier articles about the Snows of Kilimanjaro, the fundraising efforts prior to the trip and last but about the disappering glaciers on Kilimanjaro.

Snows of Kilimanjaro

We will shortly be posting pictures from the successful bid to climb Kilimanjaro by our tireless volunteer fundraisers Sharon Oliver, Jill Golding, Sarah Alcock, Julieanne Cloete, Ann Butterworth, Chris Eppinger and Jo Roberts and Jackie Cheng from the office.

In the meantime, this story out on Reuters might be of interest - related to our earlier post about the disappering glaciers on Kilimanjaro:

"The snows are getting smaller year by year," Kinyaol Porboli, the chief of Esiteti village, told Reuters at the base of Africa's highest peak at 5,895 metres (19,340 feet). Many a travel brochure has shown the pastoralist Maasai, with their spears and bright red robes, standing before the towering peak which is a life-giver to their tribe and Kenya's crucial tourism economy. But now both may be threatened...
- Full story here...

Now, a small footnote on the above: Kilimanjaro is of course in Tanzania but when the colonial borders were drawn, not much attention was paid to tribal lines, but with Kili almost on the dividing line, it benefits both Kenya and Tanzanian communities.

The Wilderness Foundation is working actively in East Africa to secure Wilderness areas and make traditional communities more sustainable in the face of the changing environment.