Our ongoing “have your say on climate change” program continues to provide insight into the desire for Sydney people to see dramatic action from the policy makers heading to Copenhagen.

Comments: from the last two days

Agriculture should be exempt from emissions reductions (we all have to EAT)
But it will not do any harm if we all made reductions to our emissions by a minimum 15%

Kevin Rudd should stop acting like a know it all!!
He’s doing so much bad Eegilish that he carnt do proper things for climate change. We need George Bush and Johnny Howard back so he can restart our economy, AND THEN help our fragile environment.
In the meantime PRAY!!
We all need some loving in the world!

Sceptics should conduct their own experiments.

A good starting point will require a car (with keys), masking tape and a 3m slice of garden hose.

Dinosaurs emitted more than we ever have. In the past we had the Great flood which was more than the rising sea level now. We had the Ice Age which was dramatic climate change. Now perhaps it’s the opposite the Warming Age. Plant more trees. Instead of mowing down Amazon Rainforests how about replacing it. Other than that don’t worry about it. The most dramatic climate changes happened before the industrial revolution. Let us conserve, recycle etc but other that that you can’t control nature.

PS Bombing the moon was a bad idea.

Sydney has voted: with the overwhelming response suggesting people want significant and hard line action from the government, 77% of votes being for a greater than 25% reduction.

Some of the comments people wrote on our wall;

Global warming and climate change is becoming an increasingly important issue Australia and the world must face. I believe the govt. is the only, rather the most influential group able to assist.

The politicians need to get off their backsides and commit to a > 25% reduction in emissions. Unfortunately, we as a group do not feel that we are empowered to change them as by nature, politicians are short term thinkers.

However, the bipartisan approach may be effective if there is enough will in us to vote them out, if they are passive.

Something quick.
Solar panels on all roofs
Walk more
More water tanks
Community gardens

A large target is called for not only by society, but science. Without a strong target for the planet to strive for an fair equitable policies to match, we cannot hope to be under 350 ppm of carbon ever again, the melting of polar ice will be inevitable and sea levels will rise further than our most drastic predictions, The Australian Government has to can its 5% b@#$%t and go for 40% under the Greens ETS model for a safe climate future.

Australia needs to be seen as doing something but it is important for other nations to become involved as well at which point Australia should improve its quota.

We should just get on with it — or maybe have a referendum?

What do you think?

Started out at 1000×600x280mm @ 11:30am

At 1pm

At 2pm

At 3pm

At 4pm

And finally 5pm

At 5pm the block had reduced in size to roughly 800×500x160mm, losing about 62% of its volume in a 5.75hour period. In 42 degree heat not many guessed it would last this long, some guessing it would only last around an hour.

The ice was left overnight in Museum courtyard outside and at 07:30 this morning was completely gone.

Questions to address from the public are why can’t the water run off be caught and used and doesn’t it take a lot of energy (and hence add to the global warming issue) to make a block of ice of this size?

Karl Rafferty
Acting Operations Manager
Powerhouse Museum

Interesting note: when people weren’t around the ice block, clever pigeons were standing under the trolley soaking up the cooling effects of the ice.

IPCC predictions of the impact of temperature changes on humanity

Climate change is a hotly debated issue in Australia and around the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes regular reports that review the scientific evidence for climate change.
According to the IPCC:
• The Earth has warmed by more than 0.7°C over the last century
• It is more than 90% certain that this warming is due to human emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane
• These emissions come from burning fossil fuels for energy and transport, from clearing forests, from agriculture and from industrial processes
• If we keep emitting greenhouse gases, the Earth will continue to warm and Australia is likely to experience more heatwaves, bushfires and intense storms, rising sea levels, water supply problems and loss of iconic species and ecosystems like the Great Barrier Reef

From 7-18 December 2009, representatives from almost every country will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark to decide what to do about climate change at an international level. One of the main issues they will discuss is what targets the world should set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

What would you do?

Option 1: Do nothing
The IPCC says that if we do nothing to change our ways, temperatures could increase by more than 6°C this century, hundreds of millions of people will run out of water, more than 40% of species will become extinct and coastal flooding due to sea level rise will affect millions of people. The Garnaut Climate Change Review in Australia found that the impacts on human civilisation and ecosystems would be catastrophic and that the cost would exceed 8% of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of the century. In rough terms, this is equivalent to every Australian losing $85 per week. Climate change would continue to accelerate beyond our ability to control it.
But some people disagree and don’t believe that climate change is really happening, or that it is really caused by humans. They argue that we don’t need to do anything about climate change and can continue business as usual. Is this what you believe?

Option 2: Reduce emissions by up to 15%
The Australian Government has committed to reduce emissions by 5% by 2020. It would increase this target to 15% if countries like the United States and European countries take on similar targets and other major economies (like China) agree to limit their emissions. Households would need to pay an extra $7 per week on energy bills to help achieve this target, but low and middle-income households will receive direct cash assistance from the government to cope with higher bills.
If other countries take similar action, the Earth would probably be on track for a temperature increase of 3 to 4°C by the end of the century. This level of warming would create major economic and environmental damage, with up to 30% of species becoming extinct, the likely loss of the Great Barrier Reef and destruction of about 30% of coastal wetlands. At these temperatures, there is a risk of triggering feedback mechanisms that would lead to unstoppable climate change.

Australia (unconditional), the United States is currently considering legislation for a target in this range but it has not yet passed the Senate, South Korea, New Zealand

Option 3: Reduce emissions by 16-25%
In May, the Australian Government announced that it would increase Australia’s 2020 emission reduction target to 25% if the world agrees to an ambitious global deal to stabilise greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at 450 parts per million or less. Households would need to pay an extra $11 per week on energy bills to help achieve this target, but low and middle-income households would receive direct cash assistance from the government to cope with higher bills.
A global deal along these lines could limit temperature rise to 2 to 2.5°C by the end of the century. There would still be significant economic and environmental impacts from this amount of warming but some of the catastrophic impacts would probably be avoided and the risk of unstoppable climate change would be reduced. However, many climate change experts think that a global deal like this one is unlikely unless rich countries like Australia commit to even stronger targets.

Australia (with conditions), European Union (unconditional)

Option 4: Reduce emissions by more than 25%
If Australia committed to reduce its emissions by more than 25% by 2020 it would be one of the strongest targets of any country, alongside the commitments made by the European Union, Japan and Brazil. If rich countries like Australia commit to reduce emissions by more than 25% then an ambitious global deal to limit temperature rise to less than 2°C becomes feasible. Many scientists believe that a 2°C temperature rise is the safe limit that should not be exceeded, allowing us to avoid most of the worst impacts of climate change.
To achieve a reduction in emissions of more than 25%, households would need to pay more than an extra $11 per week on energy bills, but low and middle-income households would most likely still receive direct cash assistance from the government to cope with higher bills.

European Union (with conditions), Norway, Japan, United Kingdom, Brazil, Indonesia

We look forward to your comments.

Sources
Commonwealth Treasury 2008, Australia’s low pollution future: The economics of climate change mitigation.
Garnaut, R 2008, The Garnaut Climate Change Review, Cambridge University Press.
Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change 2008, Fourth Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press.

Prepared by: Dr Chris Riedy, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney

Links:
CSIRO breifing at the Australian science Media Centre Nov 19 2009
And the same as reported by the ABC
Australian Government “Climate Change Science” information book
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Professor Robert P. Kirshner, Harvard University
Sunday 22 November 2009
2pm – 3pm, Target Theatre, level 2

Tycho’s supernova. Distance 7500 light years.
Credit: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/J.Warren & J.Hughes et al.

Talks After Noon is a series of lectures, held twice a week, with Museum curators, experts and special guests
Talks are free with Museum admission ($10 adults/$6 concession/Powerhouse Members free)
Powerhouse Museum 500 Harris Street, Ultimo
Tel (02) 9217 0509 Email adultlearning@phm.gov.au
Full program online powerhousemuseum.com/whatson

Take a look and tell us what you think.

One of those symbols is Capital Gamma, the relationship between acceleration and gravity, also called the Brazil Nut effect. When a mixture of things is accelerated vertically relative to gravity the larger things in the mix will ALWAYS rise to the top (Brazil nuts in muesli). So shaking your muesli to mix it evenly just wont work.
[display_podcast]

This is an experiment you can try at home.

As part of the Ultimo Science Festival this year the Powerhouse Museum will be hosting two nights of adults only Dark Science, or the science of dark things at least. With the help of experts and practitioners from around Sydney we are going to investigate the science of tattoos, skin suspension, skin cancer, piercing, fetish, fear, pain, pleasure, scarring, psychology, physiology, sociopathology, control, lieing…its a long list.

The first night will concentrate on matters of the flesh: skin and how it works, muscles and their control. While the second night will be all about the psyche: What’s on(in) your mind?

The fun part about each night is that the audience will get to experiment, with the topics, with each other and with themselves. How much do you know about the strength of your skin, about the way tattoos work, or what’s in the head of people who pursue seemingly painful practices. The topics are dangerous the talk is safe.

Natasha Mitchell from ABC radio national’s all in the mind program has agreed to come along and MC.

Well the In stitches Collective will be in the museum this Sunday March 29 from 3-5pm running a workshop. Wether you are an experienced crocheter who wants to be part of this global phenomena or an inexperienced crocheter, the workshop will cater for you.

To take part simply turn up at the Powerhouse on Sunday, normal Museum entry applies but this will also let you come back to workshops each month and into the exhibition in August.

All workshop participants will have the opportunity to submit completed coral pieces for possible inclusion in the exhibition.

Future workshops
April 26, May 31, June 29, July 30
3-5pm
Powerhouse Museum
Free with Museum entry

August 8th
Exhibition 10-2pm
Workshop 12-2pm
Powerhouse Discovery Centre
Cost: TBC

Darwin’s original notebooks used on the Beagle and a reconstruction of his study share the stage with living plants and animals in the Darwin exhibition at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra. The exhibition, which is organised by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, will be closing on Sunday 29 March.

The accompanying NMA exhibition, Darwin and Australia, showing Darwin’s experiences and encounters during his visit to Australia, closes on the same day.

Maritime exhibition on Darwin at sea opens in Sydney

Join Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle in Charles Darwin – voyages and ideas that shook the world, at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, opening Friday 20 March. See how Darwin lived aboard the Beagle and examine some of the specimens he collected on the voyage which set him on the path to his theory of evolution.

Coinciding with the opening of the exhibition, a symposium In the wake of the Beagle: Science in the Southern Oceans from the Age of Darwin is being held at the National Maritime Museum on 20-21 March. Internationally acclaimed speakers will explore the work of Darwin and his contemporaries, Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Alfred Wallace, and their influence on current scientific research.

And also at the ANMM, Happy Birthday Mr Darwin on Thursday 26 March. What were the contributions of artist Conrad Martens, who spent a year on the Beagle, and Joseph Hooker, who classified Darwin’s Galapagos plants and became his greatest friend.