Author Archives: Rolf Schuttenhelm

Take a look at this graph: Global air travel increased 8 fold in 4 decades – and it’s an accelerating trend. Yes we have a problem

Over the last 40 years global air travel has almost increased eight fold: In 1974 air planes carried 421 million people globally. In 2014 this number has increased to 3,21 billion passengers – that’s a billion more in just five … Continue reading →

Holiday plans – Plane or Train? Planes are about 20 times as bad for the climate – per kilometre

Yes. We don’t like to talk about it – but it’s high time we did: CO2 emissions of air travel are 20.5 times higher than train, per kilometer*, per passenger, according to the European Environmental Agency. Cars are somewhere in … Continue reading →

A quarter of all European bumblebee species threatened with extinction

Europe is still home to 68 different bumblebee species – of which according to IUCN 24 percent are now directly threatened with extinction and about half have clearly declining populations. The reasons: Habitat loss, agricultural pollution, climate change, and general … Continue reading →

Hurry up if you still want to see Aurora Borealis – current solar cycle declining, new maximum not until >2023

It’s been a while since we last paid attention to the forecasts of Sunspot Cycle 24. So here’s an update – based on NASA Marshall Space Flight Center observations and forecasts. Cause there is news!

Graph of the Day: World has warmest winter on record

[Not just the Arctic experiences the warmest winter on record – this goes for the entire globe, new NASA data show. We now have the hottest winter on record straight after the hottest summer on record.] Just when you thought positive global … Continue reading →

Graph of the day: Arctic has warmest winter on record

Usually winter climate news from the Arctic comes somewhere in March, at the turning point of seasons, when we can precisely compare the annual sea ice maximum to that of other years. But this year we know it’s gonna be … Continue reading →

Dear Media, there is just ONE THING World Leaders Need To Do this December: Unite On Climate

We – the one million silenced voices, the one million people who this December were planning to march on Paris to call for climate justice – have a request, to the world media. For once. Just for once. For this … Continue reading →

Graph of the day illustrates countries should sacrifice ‘growth’ during COP21, the Paris climate summit

This CO2 concentration graph was released today in a report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) – let’s say the folks that really know about the atmosphere – at the eve of ‘COP21’, the UN climate conference that will be … Continue reading →

Breaking Science Flash: Mexico’s Cyclone Patricia could become STRONGEST HURRICANE ever measured – ‘Category 6’

[Edit: Hurricane behaviour is notoriously hard to predict. After reaching extreme wind speeds above the Pacific, hurricane Patricia quickly disintegrated above land. The main damage might now be in extreme rainfall, flooding and possible mudslides – no longer direct wind … Continue reading →

Climate graph of the day shows both global temperature trend and dramatic extent of unfolding 2015 global heat record

Today’s Graph of the Day shows that all those climate deniers that spoke of ‘the global temperature plateau‘ (as some weird ‘evidence’ that climate change would not be real, busted on numerous occasions) should openly admit they were wrong – as … Continue reading →