In my role as a radio show host and simply meeting so many people through my climate activism, I keep encountering young women who are very concerned about having children – and countless parents who are worried about the world their children are inheriting. It is, frankly, very sad. I have children myself, and I know that it is very unlikely I will be leaving them a better world than I enjoyed.

This short survey seeks to estimate how many people are worried enough about climate change, peak oil, the economy, or other factors that they are considering not having children – or regret having the ones they already have because the world will turn into a disaster in their lifetime. Please complete it and add any comments to this post about your feelings on your children’s future. Continue reading →

A lot of terms are being thrown around by people talking about climate change, and it can be confusing. Is it global warming or is it climate change? Should we be thinking of it as a crisis or emergency? And why does there seem to be so much hyperbole?

First, global warming is accurate. The Earth gets warmer or colder based on many factors, including our distance from the sun (which varies because the Earth’s orbit is an ellipse), fluctuations in the sun’s heat output, and the gases in Earth’s atmosphere. In the case of the current warming, the main cause is an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – of which we are the main cause.

Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide (NO2). CO2 is a direct result of burning fossil fuels; methane comes from various sources, but feedlot cattle are huge; and NO2 comes from various sources. All can be thought of as adding insulation to the Earth, thus trapping more of the sun’s energy and causing the Earth to warm.

If you are truly sceptical about whether global warming is happening or whether humans are the main cause, you should not be reading blogs by non-climate-scientists like me about it. You should be going back to the science. That’s what I had to do to convince myself. RealClimate is a great place to start, as it is run by real climate scientists. Otherwise, you’re going to have to read the actual scientific reports. I read enough of those to realise that RealClimate and the books mentioned in the next paragraph accurately reflect the science, but it’s heavy slogging. Continue reading →

Most of the ‘climate realists’ I have spoken with, whether in an interview on our radio show or in casual conversation, went through some sort of journey to get the point where they accept climate reality; it often wasn’t easy. My case is no different; I did not always accept reality, but now understand why Gandhi once said “Truth is God.”

During my journey from climate sceptic/denier to climate warrior, some sources of knowledge were reliably honest, others were simply regurgitated opinions, and still others were outright wrong by design or denial. I have listed the books, movies, courses, and other actions that helped me face the truth, then accept it. I will warn you that the journey is highly personal, so may not apply to you. It also strays from strictly climate change into issues that were, for me, related. YMMV. Continue reading →

Ever since I woke up to the danger of climate change, I have been trying to bring people together to do something about it. I thought it would be relatively easy; approach various groups and show them how ‘their’ issue would be mooted by climate change, and they would make fighting climate change the lead plank in their battle.

It didn’t work out that way. While many of them admit intellectually that climate change is a big problem, nobody wants to give up their piece of the pie. I slagged these groups elsewhere for this reason; egos and fear of losing their donations are making them insular. However, divided we are falling. Continue reading →