Rahaf Mohammed Al-Qunun had applied to come to Australia.
But she told SBS News the process was taking too long and she feared for her life because her father and brother were in Thailand.
“Yes, toooooo long,” she responded to SBS News, when asked about the length of time. Continue reading Weekly salon 13/1
In 1999 NASA lost its $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter because spacecraft engineers failed to convert from Imperial to metric measurements when exchanging vital data before the craft was launched. Numbers are important!
When Michael Le Page attempts to sort out the numbers in climate science (probably pay-walled) it’s not as straight forward as you might think. For starters we are given this image:
Sorry, when floating ice melts the sea level does not rise. The caption is misleading. Continue reading Climate change by the numbers
Stephan Lewandowsky and others undertook a study which found the people in Australia cared if politicians told the truth, and were likely to take notice of fact checks. When they did the same study in the US they found the effect was 10 times less.
They speculate that this is because politics is much more polarised in the US. Continue reading Weekly salon 6/1
As I noted back in 2014, Immanuel Wallerstein, the great sociologist of capitalism in the late 20th century, has been writing about the instability of the ‘world system’ (a term he coined) for over 40 years. He believes that the ‘world system’ of capitalism has been in decline since about 1968, so that we are now in a transition phase. The new system will not necessarily be better for ordinary people. In an intriguing piece from May 2014 – “The center isn’t holding very well” – he says:
Google the above phrase and you will find plenty. It is about an English man Paul Barton who plays classical music on the piano to elephants in Northern Thailand. See:
Climate stories continue to float across my viewing zone, especially lately in the New Scientist, which for us is loo reading. NS articles are usually pay-walled, so I’ll try catch up a bit.
There are lots of tipping points in ecosystems and the climate, and many are interconnected. That means the massive changes we are wreaking will have many unexpected consequences. Continue reading Climate clippings 229
I didn’t do more than a very few Christmas cards this year. This post is a somewhat enhanced version of a belated newsletter.
For general readers, this is written initially for friends and family, who are apt to say, “That’s a great blog you have there, Brian. I sometimes read it when I’ve got nothing better to do!” (Actual quote.) However, general readers may find it of interest. Continue reading Christmas newsletter 2018
Climate Plus again wishes you a pleasant Christmas/New Year and health and happiness for 2019.
Last year I went into the history and meaning of Christmas in some detail. I won’t repeat that here.
However, I do have important news. Santa Claus has been detained by Australian Border Force. Fair dinkum! Here’s the story: Continue reading Seasons greetings 2018
If you don’t think Adani is serious about starting work on the Carmichael Mine in the Galilee basin, take a look at this:
Serious heavy equipment is being move to the site: Continue reading Weekly salon 23/12
As PM Scott Morrison reels from the latest crisis, and polls show that he’s in trouble, two big events signal the election race is up and running.
In brief, we had the ALP National Conference, which ScoMo attempted to disrupt by announcing the next Governor General. Then the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2018‑19 showed the economy producing unexpected riches. However, the media were diverted by NP member and Assistant Finance Minister Andrew Broad’s ‘Sugar Daddy’ scandal, which, according to the Betoota Advocate, his leader Michael McCormack explained was a private family matter and hence none of our business. Meanwhile two opinion polls came out, which were not to ScoMo’s liking. Continue reading Federal election campaigning has started
Shaun Crowe has written an excellent review article on Can democracy survive?, based on the following books: Continue reading Weekly salon 15/12
