Climate Change/Sustainable Living Resources

There is a huge amount of material on climate change. This is just a sample of the most recent. Much of it is in our library at 102 Bathurst St.

Australian Greenhouse Office http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/

This site has a great deal of material on agriculture, energy, householder actions, carbon accounting, transport etc.
It includes downloadable versions of
* ‘Climate Change: an Australian Guide to the Science and Potential Impacts’ Ed. Barrie Pittock
* Climate Change Science Q&A

CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 2003 *’Climate change impacts on biodiversity in Australia’
Summaries of papers from a workshop in Oct 2002
Download from http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/greenhouse/

Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting

www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/ (including eCarbon.news)
Also hosts Climate Change, Carbon and Plants, a series of briefings on the latest science and policy issues affecting plants and plant-based industries, from a recent conference. (This CRC is closing down soon.)

International Panel on Climate Change

The full story on the science and the modelling of future impacts, depending on our response. The text of the Third Asseessment Report, *‘Climate Change 2001’ (3 vols), can be downloaded from www.ipcc.ch/ where you will also find information on the Fourth Assessment Report being released now.
The Summary for Policy Makers at http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM6avr07.pdf contains a powerful collection of diagrams summarising the state of the science.

Read a critique of government intervention in the wording of the IPCC Sumnmary for Policy Makers here

Tasmania Specific

Chris Sharples 2006 *‘Indicative Mapping of Tasmanian Coastal Vulnerability to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise: Explanatory Report

Melanie Fitzpatrick 2006 **’The Impacts of a Changing Climate on Industry Sectors in Tasmania’

The Tasmanian State Government Draft Strategy on Climate Change http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/PMAS-6UF323?open

Other Sites and Resources

Griffith Review 12 *‘Hot Air - how nigh’s the end?’
Wide ranging accessible essays from a variety of authors including Ian Lowe, Robyn Williams, Geoffrey Blainey

Tim Flannery *’The Weather Makers – The History and Future Impact of Climate Change’ A good, racy read inspiring individual action

A. Barrie Pittock ‘Climate Change: Turning up the Heat’
A very clear expanlation of the scientific basis, adaptation and mitigation, politics and international context by a world recognised Australian atmospheric scientist

Al Gore ‘An Inconvenient Truth – the planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it’
The book of the film, persuasive and heart-felt - the evidence of global warming right now; stunning images and diagrams.

‘Meeting the Climate Challenge – Recommendations of the International Climate Change Taskforce’ Jan. 2005
A cross-party, cross- sector international collaboration from the public service, business, science and civil society.

Lowy Institute **‘Heating up the Planet: Climate Change and Security”
http://www.lowyinstitute.org/

* Greenhouse 2005 –Action on Climate Change. Abstracts of papers presented at this conference. – science, carbon cycle and sequestration, , impacts and adaptation,, mitigation emissions, water, climate modelling, communication climate change.

http://www.realclimate.org/
This is a site on which climate scientists tackle climate science and debunk the sceptics. Recommended by scientists.

www.greenfleet.com.au
This site and its e-newsletter provide information on sustainable transport technology – alternative fuels, hybrid vehicles etc- and also promotes carbon offsetting (through tree planting) for your vehicle use. It does not provide a full rationale for that offset however.

http://www.stcwa.org.au/ The Sustainable Transport Coalition in WA , leading the way in promoting changes in technology, planning and behaviour
The Sustainable Transport Coalition in WA , leading the way in promoting changes in technology, planning and behaviour.

** ‘Can We Still Avoid Dangerous Human-Made Climate Change?’ James E. Hansen. February 10, 2006.

www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/newschool_text_and_slides.pdf
The best discussion of the imminent ‘tipping points’ and the urgency of action.

Sir Nicholas Stern
‘Review on the Economics of Climate Change’
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/
stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm
A report for the UK government that shook the world – arguing that it will be economically more costly to delay action on climate change than to act strongly now. ** Look at the Executive Summary

Clive Hamilton, Director of the Australia Institute
* ‘Running from the Storm – the development of climate change policy in Australia’
** ‘The Political Economy of Climate Change’ (The Milthorpe Lecture, June 2006)

Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountian Institute www.rmi.org
** “Nuclear power: economics and climate-protection potential’ Sept 2005
A rigorous critique of the dodgy economics of nuclear energy.

CSIRO Sustainability Network Updates
www.bml.csiro.au/SNnewsletters.htm
This is a really accessible resource of sustainability information.

Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World – World Bank Development Report 2003
http://econ.worldbank.org/wdr/wdr2003/
The next 50 years could see a fourfold increase in the size of the global economy and significant reductions in poverty but only if governments act now to avert a growing risk of severe damage to the environment and profound social unrest.

United Nations Millenium Ecosystems Assessment Report, in particular ‘Living Beyond Our Means’, a broad summary of the state of the planet with especial reference to human well-being, downloadable from
http://www.maweb.org/en/products.aspx

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/ Australian Bureau of Meteorology

http://www.cana.net.au/ Climate Action Network Australia.
An activist site that provides briefing information about Kyoto, nuclear power and developments in Australia – energy, health and biodiversity issues.

Australia New Zealand Solar Energy Society
http://www.anzses.org/Why/Myths/Solar.html

George Monbiot ‘Heat’
Monbiot cuts through the smoke and mirrors and shows how we can make very deep cuts in emissions.

People who say either the world is not heating up or say that it is but it’s not due to human influence.
http://www.climatechangeissues.com/cci-about-us.php
http://www.co2science.org/scripts/CO2ScienceB2C/Index.jsp
http://www.climatechangeissues.com/cci-about-us.php
(Cross reference with the Real Climate site)

Personal action:

AGO * ’Global Warming Cool it! A home guide to reducing energy costs and greenhouse gases’

Sustainable Living Tasmania www.sustainablelivingtasmania.org.au
Information on the website and in the Resource Library
Website includes links to the DIY Home Energy Audit Manual and Sustainable Living Guides
Check for the Carbon Offsetting Guide in the Sustainable Living Guides.

Sign on to the Environment Challenge at www.up2me.com.au and click on the
‘How can I do this’ links for lots of ideas for household action.

Find your own ecological footprint – here is one of the many sites. http://www.myfootprint.org/

* in the Sustainable Living Tasmania library ** in the SLT Global Warming file, for your reference on our Centre