MetaFilter posts tagged with Kyoto

Canadian beer responsible for global warming

Coop — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:29:44 -0800

No wonder why Canada won't meet their Kyoto targets A University of Alberta researcher is calling on Canadian beer drinkers to go green and toss their energy-guzzling beer fridges, found in one of three households across the country.

Quicktime panoramas of Kyoto

carter — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:05:35 -0800

Quicktime panoramas of Kyoto

Philosophy is Not Philosophy

Alex404 — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:25:58 -0800

The familiar story of 20th century philosophy is one of analytic versus continental philosophies. In spite of this, behind the exaggerated differences is the common history that these two traditions often forget. In failing to remember this common history, it's easy to forget that for all its supposed universality, philosophy is so distinctly western. It's naive to think that this narrow-mindedness is due to western intellectuals being unable to hear the wisdoms of the world over the din of their own arguments. Rather, it is only that these wordly traditions don’t have that flavour – that hardness of crystal. [more inside]

“People are asking questions of the science that science can't answer.”

loquax — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:55:55 -0800

Climate change a 'questionable truth'. Margaret Wente looks beyond the hysteria surrounding the climate change debate. Hysteria her own newspaper has been contributing to.

Global warming skeptic changes his mind

russilwvong — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 10:41:35 -0800

Global warming skeptic Ronald Bailey--Reason's science correspondent, adjunct scholar at CATO and CEI, and editor of the 2002 book Global Warming and Other Myths: How the Environmental Movement Uses False Science to Scare Us to Death--has changed his mind.

exquisite living works of art

madamjujujive — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:33:27 -0800

Geiko of Kyoto is a stunning photo gallery of Kyotos's Geisha - both the mature Geiko and the apprentice Maiko. Melissa Chasse annotates many photos with fascinating details and offers an account of her tea party with Mamechika, a lovely Maiko. For more, this lovely Geisha site offers a brief history from the era of the floating world, more photos, Ukiyo-e art, and links. Also see y2karls' prior definitive post on ukiyo-e.

Climate change denial in Canada

russilwvong — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 07:52:33 -0800

The Toronto Globe and Mail on climate-change denial in Canada. Includes a description of how donations from oil companies to anti-Kyoto groups like Friends of Science are laundered through the Calgary Foundation and the University of Calgary's Science Education Fund. Previously.

Plants Exhale Methane, Contribute to Warming

F Mackenzie — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 10:25:10 -0800

Grasses and other green growth may produce 10 to 30 percent of Earth's annual methane output. German researcher Frank Keppler reports in Nature [reg req] that living plants give off between 60 and 240 million tonnes of methane per year, which may mean that the use of carbon sinks to offset CO2 emissions may need to be rethought. [Also: audio on NPR ]

Dumping the SUV guilt!

Duug — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 05:33:25 -0800

The jolly green Hummer? The growing band of environmental offset companies which give you the chance to offload your SUV driving, energy squandering guilt onto an annual subscription and a fancy bumper sticker looks like one way that we'll be able to live with ourselves in the power hungry 21st century. Is this the placebo we've all been waiting for?

It's getting hot in here...

Effigy2000 — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 16:34:42 -0800

It's official. 2005 was the hottest year on record. Despite this new alarming evidence that the world is heating up, countries like Australia and the United States are still refusing to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol. But with many (mostly on the conservative side of politics) claiming that the Kyoto Protocol is a failure, what else can be done to stop the now clearly visible effects of climate change to our world?

Apocalypse, Schmapocalypse

digaman — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:24:47 -0800

Global warming -- the upside: the entrepreneurs poised to make millions from new ports and shipping lanes in the formerly ice-bound Arctic circle. A fascinating New York Times article on the international land-grab following the news (reported here, discussed here, whitewashed here, et. al.) that the polar ice caps and Siberian permafrost are melting. Goodbye Gulf Stream, hello Club Med Santa-style -- first SUV to the North Pole wins!

Creative environmental bookeeping

trey — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 04:15:44 -0800

A White House aide with no scientific training edited government reports to weaken the language linking greenhouse gases with climate change. Example of editing here. This comes on the heels of news that ExxonMobil was instrumental in the Bush administration's decision to reject the Kyoto Treaty.

Whirled peas

nyterrant — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:14:37 -0800

“We bit off more than we could chew." When thirty-five Greenpeace protestors raided London's International Petroleum Exchange to mark the first day of the Kyoto protocol coming into effect, the last thing they expected was a lesson in the finer points of beatdown administration at the hands of drunken oil traders.

"[One protestor] said: 'I took on a Texan Swat team at Esso last year and they were angels compared with this lot.” Behind him, on the balcony of the pub opposite the IPE, a bleary-eyed trader, pint in hand, yelled: 'Sod off, Swampy.'"

doooooomed, we're all doooooomed!

christy — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 16:33:25 -0800

climateprediction.net is the largest experiment ever to try and produce a forecast of the climate in the 21st century. it's a collaborative project a la seti@home, and they have come up with some interesting results. we've heard about climate change before, but this study indicates that things might be significantly worse than initially thought (double the temperature increase as previously predicted). maybe this is all okay though, even good for you. if you'd like to see that idea nicely debunked, i suggest you check out trust us, we're experts. a lovely little book about how much we can trust all of these studies. makes you wonder if we should have signed this.

The world's weather is going haywire

jonvaughan — Thu, 03 Jul 2003 04:38:39 -0800

The world's weather is going haywire. So says the World Meteorological Organisation. "The unstable world of climate change has long been a prediction. Now, the WMO says, it is a reality." Where is the Kyoto Protocol when you need it?

Kyoto

plep — Tue, 01 Jul 2003 23:54:08 -0800

A Year in the Life of a Kyoto Neighbourhood. Actually, more like about six months, but still a worthwhile project.
Related :- the Play of Light, Kyoto and Nepal at night.
Also :- seasons in the Natural History Museum garden, London.

Kyoto National Museum

hama7 — Wed, 26 Feb 2003 03:54:21 -0800

"It is with pleasure that I welcome you to the Website of the Kyoto National Museum. We hope this site will open up the fascinating world of East Asian art to a broader audience than ever before possible." [1]

Canada Ratifies Kyoto

stevengarrity — Tue, 10 Dec 2002 15:00:01 -0800

Canadian Paliament ratifies the Kyoto Accord. Someone on this continent had to do it.

Postroad — Tue, 01 Oct 2002 10:37:16 -0800

Quitting Kyoto Though I too was angry when Bush end gang refused to get involved with Kyoto (environmental treaty), I might have let my ant-Bush feelings take over my "better self." Here an expert argues that all the world but the EU knows that the Kyoto treaty is worthless.

stevengarrity — Mon, 02 Sep 2002 10:02:21 -0800

Canadian Prime Minister surprises with pledge to put Kyoto accord to Parliament. Until now, with resistance from the oil-rich western provinces, Canada has been luke-warm on Kyoto. PM Jean Chretien surprised all of us (a pleasant surprise, for many) by making the announcement today at the Summit in South Africa. The PM recently announced that he'll be leaving office in 18 months - leaving him with a lot of power and little accountability - possibly working on his own legacy rather than for the good of his country. So far so good.

planetkyoto — Sat, 01 Jun 2002 08:58:50 -0800

Entire EU signs on to Kyoto Enviro Pact All 15 European Union nations ratified the Kyoto Protocol against global warming yesterday and goaded Washington, which has turned its back on the treaty, to do its part. The pact would have required the United States, which accounted for 36 percent of the industrialized world's greenhouse gas emissions in 1990, to trim emissions by 7 percent from 1990 levels.

rschram — Fri, 29 Mar 2002 17:11:28 -0800

Pacific Island States To Sue Western Countries Over Rising Sea Levels
At the meeting of Pacific Conference of Leaders' Standing Committee at the East West Center in Honolulu, members discussed the use of lawsuits to draw attention to the risks which climate change pose their countries, and to pressure the US and Australia to sign Kyoto. (1)
The conference nearly coincided with a report by the AU National Tidal facility which reported sinking sea levels in Tuvalu. (1, 2, 3) This story is particularly interesting (1) on human impact on Tuvalu.
Heading into another major El Nino year, there is no doubt that Pacific states are vulnerable, but how should they argue for recognition of climatic inequalities?

nprigoda — Tue, 24 Jul 2001 08:22:32 -0800

Alberta will face a disastrous competitive and economic disadvantage if Canada signs the Kyoto accord. Meanwhile, this year has been one of the worst for smog in Toronto. Some municipalities in Ontario are voluntarily looking towards alternate energy sources because they feel, in the long run the costs will be lower (lower health costs, avoiding higher fossil fuel costs, etc. - sorry, no link) What do you think? Is it possible to have economically viable alternative energy, and is the US setting a bad example for countries that feel they need to compete?

Mocata — Mon, 23 Jul 2001 08:56:48 -0800

The world has agreed on a watered-down version of Kyoto. One populous country has declined to have anything to do with it, though. Can you guess which it is?

dong_resin — Sat, 16 Jun 2001 13:37:41 -0800

China pops back a collective Beano. (NY Times link. Free registration required.) One of Bush's main objections to the Kyoto protocol is China's exemption from regulation, but it seems they're doing their collective best to cut down on CO2 emissions, with success. Even with China's rapid rate of expansion, this weakens our administration's argument a bit by setting forward the number of years it will take China to match our own emissions. At what point do we start to play nice with the other kids?