Qed » How the world cooks itself

The anti-intellectual brigade

david — Tue, 31 May 2011 10:01:09 +0000

This could be a post directed at the global warming denialist, you know the how it goes…carbon dioxide is just a gas, the science is questionable, humans have nothing to do with it and besides the planet isn’t warming anyway, yada yada.

Not that there’s anything wrong healthy skepticism as such, it encourages good solid [...]

In pictures: 100 places to remember before they disappear | Environment | guardian.co.uk

david — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:48:26 +0000

100 photographs from 100 different places around the world that are threatened by climate change.The pictures are taken by some of the world’s best photographers and all the places are based on reports from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC.

via In pictures: 100 places to remember before they disappear | Environment | guardian.co.uk.

Taxpayers help Holden motor on

david — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:33:52 +0000

”There isn’t a car industry anywhere in the world that doesn’t rely on some degree of private-public partnership,” according to Holden’s PR spinner, Ms Perry.

A private/public partnership eh? When Kev007 was the boss he committed the taxpayer to a $6.2 billion partnership. I remarked at the time that money could go a long way to [...]

Oops – Nuclear reactor and earthquakes

david — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:47:04 +0000

Of course the Fukushima plant was designed by experts with earthquakes in mind but the prospect of a nuclear plant out of control and with no water is hardly likely to be scenario they envisaged. Over at The Reg comforting reassurance is in abundant supply but the issue is nonetheless fairly critical (no pun intended) [...]

Twelve billion holes in plan to cut carbon

david — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:26:55 +0000

The government is doing the opposite, distorting energy markets and shielding decisions on use from rising prices. Given the doubts about government’s ability to manage an emissions scheme, here’s a simpler, more transparent solution. Scrap all the de facto subsidies for fossil fuels, slash the budget deficit by $12 billion a year and watch the [...]

Twitter valued at $10bn as Google and Facebook reportedly vie to buy it | Technology | The Guardian

david — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:40:02 +0000

A $10bn price tag is now hanging around the neck of Twitter, the loss-making five-year-old microblogging site that is being heralded as either a superstar of a new era of communication or the frothiest example yet of a new dotcom bubble.

But wait there’s more…

Facebook is worth $60bn! And Zuckerberg recently joined Warren Buffet and Bill [...]

WEF warns of US, UK insolvency

david — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:07:03 +0000

With environmental disasters flooding the news space warnings like these are unlikely to find many readers. However the headline of US/UK insolvency is ultimately less significant than the underlying messages about the trends of current developments.

One of the world’s most pressing concerns is income inequality, the forum said …”The benefits of globalisation seem disproportionately [...]

Fox News chief enforced climate change scepticism – leaked email | Media | guardian.co.uk

david — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 23:50:47 +0000

Part of the FUD rule book…

Fox News chief enforced climate change scepticism – leaked email | Media | guardian.co.uk.

China and food

david — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:27:58 +0000

Today the Age reported that

China has announced food subsidies for poor families as it tries to cool a double-digit surge in prices that communist leaders worry might stir unrest.

The Cabinet promised to ease shortages of vegetables and grain that helped push up food prices by more than 10 percent in October. It promised more [...]

Let’s hear it for word fatique…

david — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:05:35 +0000