Australia

Australia faces floods of “biblical proportions”

2010 saw horrific climate events with floods in Pakistan, wild fires in Russia and the Xynthia storm in France. It was also the hottest year ever recorded. Will 2011 be the same ? It seems it could be the case as Australia is already facing floods of “biblical proportions” as 1.8 million square kilometers (more …

Australia faces floods of “biblical proportions” Read More »

For many, the sky isn’t dark anymore

I already wrote a few articles on dark skies and light pollution. It seems the phenomenon is even worse as one can see with the image on left (courtesy of Stellarium, a great astronomy freeware) This also has an important impact on greenhouse gases emissions. In Australia alone, public lightning is responsible for 1.15 million …

For many, the sky isn’t dark anymore Read More »

The top 10 coal-burning countries

We all know it : coal is by far the most greenhouse gases emitting energy source. It is also a major air pollutant. For these two reasons it is the environmental enemy #1. (cf The Economist’s cover, back to 2002) However, many countries like China, India, Germany or the United States are still relying importantly …

The top 10 coal-burning countries Read More »

Can Australia become carbon neutral by 2020 ?

While having a look at the RSS feed of TreeHugger I found something that made me smile : How Australia Could Be Carbon Neutral in 10 Years. Let’s be honest : it really can’t be done. Let’s see why here. The plan outlined by Beyond Zero Emissions states that all the energy consumed in the country …

Can Australia become carbon neutral by 2020 ? Read More »

An interesting geoengineering idea

I was previously noting that  the Sahara desert is slowly turning green. To a new study hurrying the process and extending it to the Australian outback by planting eucalyptus trees (left) could absorb our global CO2 emissions. Indeed this geoengineering idea would absorb eight billion tons of carbon a year. But we shouldn’t forget that …

An interesting geoengineering idea Read More »

Australian per capita emissions larger than US

It is a well known fact : American per capita greenhouse gases emissions are among the world’s highest because of massive consumption of both oil and coal. But to a new study Australian per capita emissions are exceeding the US. One of the main reason is the country’s electricity production which mostly comes from the …

Australian per capita emissions larger than US Read More »

Is Australia doing enough on climate change ?

To Ecogeek, Australia plans to soon install a 1 gigawatt wind farm and this kind of project is due to be followed by more as the country plans to have 20 percent of its electricity coming from renewables by 2020. This seems to be great but the current discussions at the local Senate are being …

Is Australia doing enough on climate change ? Read More »

Home insulation gets the attention it deserves

I have been advocating for three years now the thermal insulation of buildings as one of the best ways to decrease our global fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gases emissions. This week, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States plan to insulate millions of buildings. These operations will be financed by the local governments …

Home insulation gets the attention it deserves Read More »

Australia to ratify Kyoto, will partake in Bali talks

I don’t talk about politics as opinions are personal, but when politics include climate change mitigation, I have to do so. The victory yesterday of the Labour Party in Australia is very good news. The country will ratify the Kyoto Protocol and will also be present at the Bali talks in December to prepare the …

Australia to ratify Kyoto, will partake in Bali talks Read More »

%d bloggers like this: