The World Energy Outlook 2010: the 450 Scenario and other estimates

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

On Tuesday the International Energy Agency presented its World Energy Outlook 2010. Apart from many other facts and estimates concerning energy trends the report shows two interesting scenarios: the New Policies Scenario (where current G20 agreements are implemented) and the … Continue reading →

After Copenhagen: Cancún, Kyoto… or Montreal?

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

Chlorofluorocarbons are up to 11,000 times as potent as greenhouse gases as CO2. The Montreal Protocol locked away some 4 years of regular CO2 emissions. And if we try really hard – and look for every old fridge on the … Continue reading →

Dutch climate warms 0.42 C per decade

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

An analysis by Dutch weather service MeteoVista (Dutch report | English coverage), using tens of thousands of meteorological measurements (by KNMI, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) shows the climate in the Netherlands has warmed by 0.42 degrees Celsius over the … Continue reading →

Arctic ocean acidification faster than predictions

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

Cold water absorbs more CO2, so it is around the Poles that the consequences of ocean acidification are first felt. Pteropods – tiny swimming Arctic sea snails – have difficulty building their shells at CO2 levels very close to the … Continue reading →

‘No climate geoengineering affecting biodiversity’

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

The failure of Copenhagen brought the world on the geoengineering track. ‘Not so fast,’ says Nagoya, where 193 nations showed UN conferences can actually agree on environmental treaties.

‘Genes cannot be patented’

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

Human and other genes should not be eligible for patents because ‘they are part of nature’, says (PDF) the US Department of Justice on behalf of the government, revoking longstanding policy – and practice of government agencies like the Patent … Continue reading →

Nagoya results: nature gets 17 percent

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

After two weeks of negotiations, yesterday, on the final day of the big UN biodiversity conference in Nagoya, Japan, countries agreed on a new treaty for the protection of species and ecosystems. The percentage of Earth’s land surface under official … Continue reading →

Alaska test drills show (over) 90% less oil

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

An update by the US Geological Survey of the estimated fossil fuel reserves in Alaska’s 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve, situated on the wildlife harbouring North Slope, shows these dramatically reduced.

Royal Philosophy: biodiversity loss is bad

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

We may not know the exact sum figures of biodiversity, nor the precise percentages of species decline. It may also be irrelevant. Although ecology is in fact all about counting – we have to become aware that we are loosing … Continue reading →

IPBES to become IPCC on biodiversity?

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Rolf Schuttenhelm

This week the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity gathers in Japan. Under discussion is the formation of a scientific body to assess the threats to biodiversity, much like the IPCC assesses the science behind climate change.

Bits of Science

Author Archives: Rolf Schuttenhelm