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Tim Flannery: Words of warming
Tim Flannery, Guardian
As the world hots up, so does the market for books about climate change. Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers, looks at the latest works on the crisis, and sizes up their solutions, from nuclear energy to genetically engineered trees
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In this summer of 2008, it feels as if our future is crystallising before our eyes. Food shortages, the credit crisis, escalating oil prices, a melting Arctic ice cap and the failure of the Doha trade negotiations: one or all of these issues could be the harbingers of profound change for our global civilisation. And just 16 months from now, in December 2009 in Denmark, humanity will face what many argue is its toughest challenge ever: to agree the fundamentals of a climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto protocol.
It all seems to have happened so quickly.
(9 August 2008)
Global warming threatens indigenous peoples: FAO
AFP via Yahoo News
Global warming and limited access to land and other resources threaten many indigenous peoples, the UN food agency warned Friday.
(9 August 2008)
World Bank: Climate Resilient Cities
World Bank
A Primer on Reducing Vulnerabilities to Climate Change Impacts and Strengthening Disaster Risk Management in East Asian Cities
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July 2008 – Climate change is no longer a distant possibility but a current reality. Loss from flooding and hurricanes is an all too frequent occurrence in many countries in the Region, particularly in cities where people and assets are concentrated. Urban centers must be prepared with specialized tools to deal with climate change impacts and early warning systems.
Moreover, given the potential devastation associated with future climate change-related disasters, it is vital to change the way we build and manage our cities, which account for 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions today.
Now is the time for policymakers to take an integrated look at reducing vulnerabilities to climate change and other natural disasters in a comprehensive disaster management system.
This Primer is a tool for city governments in the East Asia Region to better understand how to plan for climate change impacts and impending natural disasters through sound urban planning to reduce vulnerabilities.
It gives local governments information to actively engage in training, capacity building, and capital investment programs that are identified as priorities for building sustainable, resilient communities.
(July 2008)
