As the climate crisis accelerates, politicians are leading us in the wrong direction. What can we do about it?

So much has happened on the climate front since my last column. Disasters related to the climate crisis are increasing at an alarming rate. In Libya for example, the Red Crescent estimates that 11,300 people were killed directly by the cataclysmic flooding, and the UN say 9000 are still missing. Survivors face multiple problems, with disease, homelessness andContinueContinue reading “As the climate crisis accelerates, politicians are leading us in the wrong direction. What can we do about it?”

Bringing back Beavers to our area will reduce flooding risk.

I am delighted to hear that the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee has granted Sheffield Council £96,000 to examine the prospect of reintroducing beavers within the city boundary. So much so, I booked myself on a Beaver Enclosure Tour at a wildlife centre near Retford. The Idle Valley Nature Reserve is the home ofContinueContinue reading “Bringing back Beavers to our area will reduce flooding risk.”

The looming reality of Doncaster-on-Sea

A guest blog by Bryan Hopkins. A few weeks ago I picked up my grandson from school and on the way home he asked me if I knew the names of the rivers that flowed through Sheffield. “Well,” I said, “there is the Sheaf, the Porter, the Rivelin, the Loxley and they all flow intoContinueContinue reading “The looming reality of Doncaster-on-Sea”

Ocean Temperatures heading off the scale

Usually, graphs of data like Ocean temperatures are very predictable. They follow a similar pattern most years but due to climate change, the temperatures have been increasing gradually since the industrial revolution. This month though something very unusual has happened which has got climate scientists very worried. Look how the temperature today is way higherContinueContinue reading “Ocean Temperatures heading off the scale”

Community Climate Talks in Sheffield hear scientist claim that business as usual will cause 3 billion people to move over the next 50 years.

Fergus, Dr John Grant. Hazel Bober and Steph Howlett. Photo by Peter Gilbert A guest blog by Finn Davison On October 11th, Dr John Grant and the Sheffield branch of Extinction Rebellion held a free, open-to-all, community climate talk at Hallam University. He urged attendees to take action and get involved with activism groups suchContinueContinue reading “Community Climate Talks in Sheffield hear scientist claim that business as usual will cause 3 billion people to move over the next 50 years.”

 Righting Climate Wrongs

A guest blog by Oliver Blensdorf Photo: Heinrich Böll Stiftung Washington, DC (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0) As of last week, in Pakistan, one-third of districts have had to declare flood emergencies, leaving at least 10% of Pakistan’s land area actually under water.  That’s equivalent to one-third of all the land in the whole United Kingdom.  And PakistanContinueContinue reading ” Righting Climate Wrongs”

Frozen Planet 2

Did you see the first part of Frozen Planet 2? Adorable scenes of penguin chicks making their way to the sea for the first time and amazing drama as killer whales show their intelligence and guile by creating waves to topple a seal from its iceberg. But the scenes of enormous skyscrapers of ice calvingContinueContinue reading “Frozen Planet 2”

The Impossible Rebellion

I spent three days with Extinction Rebellion in London. In the light of the IPCC report that issued a “code red” warning for humanity, the recent horrific weather events, some of which have been widely reported like the New York flooding, and others which have been largely ignored like the drought in Madagascar, the overwhelmingContinueContinue reading “The Impossible Rebellion”

IPCC launch 6th Assessment Report

Today the IPCC launched their report. The IPCC press release is a good summary of the findings and here is an excellent report in the Guardian. “For the tipping points, it’s clear that every extra tonne of CO2 emitted today is pushing us into a minefield of feedback effects tomorrow,” says Prof Dave Reay, atContinueContinue reading “IPCC launch 6th Assessment Report”

Extreme weather continues but the media are still not telling the truth.

This week we have seen further extreme flooding in Belgium, China, India, Panama and Russia. London is flooding as I write. https://twitter.com/Inspecteurdusud/status/1419226096554348545 Watch how a peaceful road in Belgium turns into a raging a torrent in less than a minute. The famine in Madagascar has been recognised as the first to be caused solely byContinueContinue reading “Extreme weather continues but the media are still not telling the truth.”