Burn Baby Burn...Carbon Inferno

"One thing must surely be obvious though: The problem is largely a Western one. It is the Western countries who are leading the way in CO2 emissions, and when non-Western countries have high CO2 emission rates themselves, it's usually because they are adopting Western habits. Since we, the West, have been a leading cause of the CO2 emissions problem, surely it is we who must step up and be the leaders in the solution." ~ David Bleja

There is an amazing page online called Breathingearth that uses reputable sources to show real-time data via an interactive world map that displays country by country population stats and CO2 emissions.  A bird's-eye view that allows the viewer to drill down into each country to see their individual and per capita CO2 contributions.  One can take as little or as much as they like from this piece, from simply checking what their own country's status is to comparing their output with other countries and discovering who the real greenies and carbon monsters are.  

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SRES. Something You Might Want To Know About

As I journey up the steep learning curve of Climate Change, using the tools of rationality, logic and scientific fact to guide me, I become more and more uncomfortable with my findings.  Yesterday was a long day of research, hence the lack of posts online.  I managed to get a few Tweets posted but mainly I was learning, sorting my thoughts and contemplating where I was going to go next with my upcoming blogs. 

 

Before we start, allow me to review the modus operandi of Paradigm's Bend.  As I research I wish to share what I learn with others, so long as it falls under the header of being useful, relevant and enlightening information, whether I do so by posting other people's articles or by writing my own posts which I have researched and tested with critical questioning.  My constant view is that while the Internet and Media are both wonderful resources in and of themselves, they tend to come at a price. They grant vast knowledge and awareness, while at the same time with one or two misclicks, the promising path followed can rapidly confuse the seeker with poorly researched information that should be labelled as deceptive, misleading or even downright nonsense.  This blog focusses on distilling balanced, straight forward information and posting the best and clearest information gleaned from the Internet, science journals and government papers. 

 

Today's blog is a little like taking a step back.  I want to have a post on PB that benchmarks Climate Change in a realistic and measurable way.  In a way that impacts on humans personally.  Something that can be referred back to in future posts.  That is where SRES comes in.  Until recently I hadn't heard about SRES, it's not discussed much in the media but it should be.  In my humble opinion, this shouldn't be the fodder of only the policy makers, little kids should be taught this in school.  It should be ingrained into our lives and made part of our cultural consciousness.  Soon you will see why.

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