I am tempted to depression and despair when faced with the reality of global warming, and I fear that I am not alone. Global warming Carbon dioxide levels continue to increase, followed by rising temperatures around the world. Sea levels are rising as ice melts, droughts are spreading and storms are getting stronger, leading to Read more
The world’s vegetation has a remarkable ability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and store it as biomass. In doing so, plants slow down climate change since the CO₂ they take up does not contribute to global warming. But what will happen under more advanced climate change? How will vegetation respond to projected Read more
After reading last week’s column, “Global warming is here and getting worse,” my brother, who is president of a Jesuit high school, responded, “Great article, but you just describe the problems. I’d never let you out of my office until you gave me a solution.” The good news is there are ways to reduce and Read more
Anyone who does not believe in global warming after what we endured during July is so deep in denial they would not flee a burning house if their clothes were on fire. And yet millions of Americans still do not accept the facts revealed by science. Rather, they continue to believe the lies propagated by Read more
A bizarre situation unfolded on both sides of Molesworth Street in Wellington, when James Shaw hailed a High Court victory that overrode a central intention of his own Zero Carbon Act. High Court Justice Jillian Mallon dismissed the judicial review of the Government’s climate policies by the activist group Lawyers for Climate Action. The lawyers Read more
According to a world-first international study led by Australia’s Monash University, more than five million deaths a year can be attributed to climate change. Scientists at Monash analysed temperature and mortality data from dozens of countries across the world over the first 20 years of this century. While fewer people are dying from cold weather, Read more
Twenty companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world, fuelling the climate crisis and creating an environmental catastrophe, new research reveals. Among the global businesses responsible for 55% of the world’s plastic packaging waste are both state-owned and multinational corporations, including oil and gas giants and Read more
It’s a measure of where we’ve come to in public debate that I have thought more than twice about writing this piece. The days of civilised debate, of accepting different opinions seem to be disappearing. None of us likes being yelled at or chastised for our views. The pleasure of exchanging opinions, exploring them and Read more
Responding to the release of the latest Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), leaders of Catholic development agencies around the world have launched an urgent call for action, as there isn’t much time available to tackle the crisis without running into terrible consequences. Clearly, there is Read more
As warnings about the threat of rapid sea level-rise become increasingly urgent, one far-seeing, if dissenting, scientist has suggested it is likely the Biblical great flood did happen. “I don’t think the biblical deluge is just a fairy tale,” Terence J Hughes, a retired University of Maine glaciologist living in South Dakota, told the New York Read more