It's a bit warm/ wet/ cold outside

[JayzusB.Christ]

Cheers for that Funt. Totally appeals to the nihilistic side of my sense of humour.

I've decided to put (at least a bit) of my money where my mouth is, and start a weekly donation to a charity that tackles green issues. I have no idea which one though. Has anyone got a suggestion? Thanks

That depends. What are you interested in supporting? Planting trees? Reducing plastic waste? Protecting bees? Radical transformation of the ability of a few to manipulate the political landscape, thus ending the stranglehold the fossil fuel industry has on the health of the world?

Give us your thoughts on what you'd like to support and I'll throw you some links.

Something to help fight global warming, really, and I know it can only ever be a Canute-like anti-sea gesture but I'd prefer to be doing something.

Sharky's Hot Air Co Ltd, obvs...

  Well played, sir.

[shaolin_monkey]

Ok, well, you can go straight to something that will remove CO2 from the air - trees:

Rainforest Coalition

The Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN or the 'Coalition) assists tropical governments, communities and peoples responsibly manage their rainforests. Healthy rainforests protect against a changing climate, generate needed biodiversity and provide safe habitats.

Launched by Coalition members in 2005,  the United Nation's REDD+ Mechanism, designed to incentivize conservation and contribute to the battle against climate change, now includes around 90% of the world's remaining rainforests. A first in human history!

https://www.rainforestcoalition.org/donations/



And/or a group that promotes education, activism, and support for the many and varied organisations out there backing up the alarm call of the scientists:

Climate Emergency Fund

The Climate Emergency Fund recognizes that there are activists committing their lives to addressing the climate emergency. These individuals and groups need our support as they carry out legal, nonviolent activities to demand that our leaders take action to ban ecologically destructive practices and save as much life as possible. These activists are demanding our protection from the existential threat facing our species. We have a collective responsibility to support them and join them.

https://climateemergencyfund.org/


Do either of those appeal?

[JayzusB.Christ]

Definitely! I'll think about it then choose one, or possibly both.  Thanks a million

[Funt Solo]

Another from the Perry Bible Fellowship:

[shaolin_monkey]

Ouch. Another cutting series of panels. 😬


This is a surprisingly good article from BBC Future re earning hope about climate change via positive action.

It includes commentary from such visionaries and communicators as Prof. Katharine Hayhoe, Greta Thunberg,  essayist Mary Heglar and Dr Kate Marvel - a recommended read!

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200109-is-it-wrong-to-be-hopeful-about-climate-change

[TordelBack]

Extracting the positives from the ongoing destruction of our world, I had somehow missed the fact that PBF was up and running again!  As a result I've just spent a fantastic half-hour back in Gurewitch's peerless company.

[Tiplodocus]

Me too.

[shaolin_monkey]

Yep, good shout! 👍

I've always loved PBF - have one of the original GNs kicking about somewhere.

On a less positive note, here's a heads up re not-so-oft noted side-effect of climate change - pests.

Africa is being hit hard by climate change. Here's the latest it has to contend with - locusts.

Pests like this are on the increase around the world, as changes to climate often provide better breeding conditions.

China is also dealing with a pest called Armyworm - Google it. It hasn't been widely reported, but it has caused crop failure and food stress in many areas, and is another example of an increase driven by changing climate.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2020/jan/24/billions-of-locusts-swarm-through-kenya-in-pictures

[shaolin_monkey]

Great news from my home country 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Scotland🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿!

100% renewable energy by the end of the year!! 😃

It makes me want to break out in song!

🥁🎼🎵🎵🎶
Land o' the high endeavour
Land o' the shining river
land o' my heart forever
Scotland the brave🎶🎵

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/scotland-wind-energy-new-record-putting-country-on-track-for-100-renewable-electricity-in-2020/

[shaolin_monkey]

Correction: 100% renewable ELECTRICITY by end of year. Still about a decade away from replacing gas heating and cooking with renewable electricity.

Scotland's energy policy laid out here if anyone is interested:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/vision-scotlands-electricity-gas-networks-2030/pages/5/

[JayzusB.Christ]

Fair play.  Hopefully this will spread to other countries. Obviously the orange cretin is too stupid to care but it's a start.

[shaolin_monkey]

Fair play.  Hopefully this will spread to other countries. Obviously the orange cretin is too stupid to care but it's a start.

One of the positives about the US is that the states can largely control themselves, and some (almost all Democrat) are fighting back against, for example, the federal emissions laws being rolled back pre-Obama. As such, it's not all under the control of the Curious Orange.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/climate/states-climate-change.html

[Funt Solo]

I've heard the theory that a vegan diet is necessary for humanity to save the planet!

But this story on the Beeb suggests that if that were to work, humanity would be a bit stupider afterwards.

So, which do you want: smart but no planet, or a few bricks short of a load but a planet to live on? Think about it...

[shaolin_monkey]

Death, or life but slightly less intelligent? I'll take death!

Just kidding. There's an argument that eating far less meat is best, but not eliminating it altogether, as livestock is good for soil health. Rewilding plus free roaming (but less) livestock could be the best way forward.

Incidentally, increased levels of CO2 have been linked with a drop in intelligence also. Offices that have poor ventilation accumulate CO2 very quickly, see drops in productivity etc. Plus then there's the CO2 we constantly flood the atmosphere with...

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-carbon-dioxide-intelligence-greenhouse-gas-more-stupid-ucl-study-a8674706.html

[Tiplodocus]

I'm too stupid to respond to this.

But to cherry pick further, the whole article bangs on about vitamin b12 as naturally occurring but if I recall, in reality about 80% of livestock feed is supplemented with b12 because modern farming methods leave animals deficient. So I'm happy to take the supplements myself and cit out the slaughter of the innocent middle-animals.