Simon

A survey released this week by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows that only 47% of people in the USA believes there is evidence of man-made climate change. Although a majority "believes" in climate change, over 20% doesn't think there is any evidence of the earth warming. And among white evangelical Protestants in USA only 34% believes the earth is warming due to human activity, while over 30% don’t believe in it at all. "The poll canvassed views on climate change among the "major religious traditions" in the US. Surprise, surprise, it shows that "white evangelical Protestants" were the group with the lowest level – 34% of those surveyed – of acceptance that there is solid evidence that global warming is real and that it is attributable to humans. This compares with 47% of the total US population (still startlingly low), and 58% of those surveyed who "had faith" but who were unaffiliated to any particular religious tradition." Maybe those 31% evangelical Protestants believes God decides when the earth will end? But I guess it makes more sense for these people to believe in a fairy-tale God that in his name promotes slavery, rape and murder instead of common sense and modern-day science? But sure. You must give credit where credit is due, I suppose. Some of these evangelical Christians have started highlighting environmental concerns and adopt a more environmentalistic approach. Something they call "creation care". Although it has already sparked controversy among evangelicals. Last year, there was even an attempt by some leaders to talk up the need for "creation care", but to dampen concern for global warming. The "We Get It!" campaign's declaration is something to behold: "God created everything. He made us in His own image, and commanded us to be fruitful and multiply and watch over His creation. Although separated from God by our sin, we are lovingly restored through Jesus Christ, and take responsibility for being good stewards. Our stewardship of creation must be based on Biblical principles and factual evidence. We face important environmental challenges, but must be cautious of claims that our planet is in peril from speculative dangers like man-made global warming. With billions suffering in poverty, environmental policies must not further oppress the world's poor by denying them basic needs. Instead, we must help people fulfill their God-given potential as producers and stewards. We will follow our Lord Jesus Christ and honor God as we use and share the principles of His Word to care for the poor and tend His creation." This would just be a silly side note if it weren’t for the fact that while the media in the USA ignores the latest warnings from climate scientists an increasing number of people in the US believe global warming is exaggerated. "Although a majority of Americans believe the seriousness of global warming is either correctly portrayed in the news or underestimated, a record-high 41% now say it is exaggerated. This represents the highest level of public skepticism about mainstream reporting on global warming seen in more than a decade of Gallup polling on the subject." So unfortunately it seems that these climate and science denying religious fundamentalists is, mainly due to their effective propaganda machine, playing a large part in spreading climate denialism and confusion in USA.

According to Climate Progress well-known companies such as Comcast, FedEx, GM, Honda, Microsoft, TimeWarner, Toyota, Visa, VW, and WalMart is helping to fuel global warming denialism by funding the Cato Institute. "Comcast, FedEx, GM, Honda, Microsoft, TimeWarner, Toyota (!), Visa, VW, and WalMart — these are among the brand name companies who support the global warming denial promoted by the Cato Institute (full list below). Many of you have probably now seen that absurd anti-scientific denier ad Cato is spending big bucks to put in major newspapers. “The New York Times ad alone would have cost over $150,000, based on the newspaper’s published ad rates,” notes one article. The ad attacks President Obama and the whole notion of strong climate action with studies that don’t even support its basic premise — see New study quoted by Cato deniers concludes “warming over the 21st century may well be larger than that predicted by the current generation of models” and RealClimate’s excellent post (here)." According to Cato’s most recent annual report (2007) these companies are sponsoring the "extreme" Cato Institute: Altria Corporate Services Inc. American Petroleum Institute. Amerisure Companies. Comcast Corp. Consumer Electronics Association. FedEx Corp. Freedom Communications Inc. General Motors Corp. Honda North America Inc. Mazda North America Operations. Microsoft Corporation. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. TimeWarner Inc. Toyota Motor Corp. UST Inc. Visa USA Inc. Volkswagen of America Inc. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Shame on them!

A recently published report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace shows that nuclear power cannot solve climate change due to time and safety limits. "After several decades of disappointing growth, nuclear energy seems poised for a comeback. Talk of a "nuclear renaissance" includes perhaps a doubling or tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050, spreading nuclear power to new markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and developing new kinds of reactors and fuel-reprocessing techniques. But the reality of nuclear energy's future is more complicated. Without major changes in government policies and aggressive financial support, nuclear power is actually likely to account for a declining percentage of global electricity generation." According to the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2008 nuclear power's share of worldwide electricity generation is expected to drop from 15% in 2006 to 10% in 2030. The report, titled "Nuclear Energy: Rebirth or Resuscitation?", comes to the conclusion that states interested in nuclear energy should be aware of the costs and risks involved in nuclear energy, as well as the time it takes to construct a nuclear plant. "The earliest the first new U.S. reactor could be finished is 2015, but the report notes that it takes about 10 years to put a new plant in service, from licensing to connection to the grid. In two dozen countries that are interested in obtaining civil nuclear energy but have not previously built a reactor, it will take even longer, the report says." The report also comes to the conclusion that nuclear energy will not help countries to reach energy security or independence and that it could risk world security. "In addition, uranium and nuclear fuel come from only a few countries – Canada, Australia, Russia, the United States and France – making nations without resources or technologies as dependent on foreign sources of energy as before, the report notes. Worse still, it says, the need for fuel may drive more nations to develop their own uranium enrichment facilities, raising the risk of the proliferation of nuclear weapons."

Photo credit: jesse.millan Sweden might be the host for Europe’s largest wind farm if the Swedish government approves the proposed plans. The wind farm will be located in Markbygden near Piteå in northern Sweden and will have a total of 1,101 wind turbines. "This would be Europe's, if not the world's, biggest wind farm," Caj Noren, a spokesman for the board, told AFP. Construction could begin in two-and-a-half years and would be completed after about a decade, Noren said. Once constructed the wind farm will produce between 8 to 12 terawatt hours per year and would alone meet Sweden’s national wind power target to reach 10 terawatt hours by 2015. The wind farm is expected to cost about 55 billion Swedish Kronor (around $6.9 billion or €4.5 billion) to construct. The Swedish right-wing government recently announced that they will reverse a nearly 30-year-old ban on building nuclear power plants. Its madness when we can get cheap, clean renewable energy and at the same time create thousands of new jobs from wind farms like this one.

The stupidity coming from the religious right in USA never ceases to amaze me. This time it's Congressman John Shimkus’s (R-Ill) who said that God will decide when the earth will end during introductory remarks at a House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing last week: ">" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"> "And in this clip, the congressman concludes his inane questioning of British climate change denier Christopher Monckton (and past advocate of forcibly quarantining all people with AIDS for life), by implying that climate change is not a threat because God has already said in the bible that "the Earth will not be destroyed by a flood."" ">" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"> Via ForceChange

Twenty four years after the deadly attack by the French secret services against Greenpeace's flagship the Rainbow Warrior it seems France and its nuclear industry is once again caught up in a major scandal involving Greenpeace. A week ago the French media reported that the largely state-owned French electricity company EDF has been caught spying on Greenpeace France. Two senior EDF officials have been indicted in a French court. Now investigators are looking into "fraudulent intrusion" into the computers of nuclear campaigners in the Greenpeace office in Paris. “Greenpeace is a non-violent environmental organization,” said Pascal Husting, director of Greenpeace France. “The fact that we are being treated like terrorists because we dare to question nuclear energy shows just how frightened the nuclear industry is of transparency and a democratic debate.” “Forged in the furnace of the cold war the nuclear power is inextricably part of the military nuclear industry, the two are inseparable. Governments and electricity companies around the world should reject EDF and Sarkozy’s pro-nuclear overtures and offers of this dangerous and anti-democratic technology. Instead they should embrace an energy revolution based on renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency. Technologies that will genuinely enhance our energy security and help to avert catastrophic climate change,” concluded Husting. Pierre François, one of the indicted men, was according to Mediapart the man who led the spying cell and the one responsible for developing EDF’s intelligence activities to undermine campaigns of anti-nuclear activism. François and his spies have apparently infiltrated several anti-nuclear groups in France and reportedly sometimes with the blessing of the French secret services.

Just recently an ice bridge which linked a shelf of ice the size of Jamaica to two islands in Antarctica has snapped and melted away. Scientists say this is a result of man-made climate change and warns that this collapse could mean the end for Wilkins Ice Shelf, a much larger ice shelf. "The rapid retreat of glaciers there demonstrates once again the profound effects our planet is already experiencing -- more rapidly than previously known -- as a consequence of climate change," U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. "This continued and often significant glacier retreat is a wakeup call that change is happening ... and we need to be prepared," USGS glaciologist Jane Ferrigno, who led the Antarctica study, said in a statement. "Antarctica is of special interest because it holds an estimated 91 percent of the Earth's glacier volume, and change anywhere in the ice sheet poses significant hazards to society," she said. Read more: - Ice bridge ruptures in Antarctic (BBC) - Watch: Antarctic ice bridge splits (BBC) - Wordie Ice Shelf has disappeared: scientists (Reuters) Also read: - First commercial ship sails through Northwest Passage: “I didn’t see one cube of ice” - NASA: Arctic sea ice reaches second-lowest level on record - As the Arctic melts polar bears are resorting to cannibalism