We have spent about 6 months in Derby talking about the Council taking a stand against fracking. To cut a long story short a heavily modified motion was passed at the Council meeting on the 11th of June; see this link to one of the bits that appeared in the local paper: ‘Fracking impact to be subject of probe’
Support Derby City Council in its stand against Fracking
We in Derby Climate Coalition are opposed to fracking for one reason above all: the impact on Greenhouse Gas emissions. To have any hopeof avoiding runaway climate change the world needs to wean itself off fossil fuels and invest in a renewable energy infrastructure.
There are many other reason to oppose fracking; some are shown on the attached leaflet. But we want to draw your attention to the fact that Derby City Council are debating this motion (on Wednesday 11 June 2014 at 11.00 am) at their Annual Meeting.
Warm, Wet and Windy event, Cromford, May 1st – 4th
There’s a great climate change and eco fest event taking place at Cromford Mills at Thursday, 1 May, 2014 to Sunday, 4 May. There is a question time panel evening on Thursday May 1st, chaired by award-winning environmental journalist, Fred Pearce. Two different internationally known climate experts giving talks on climate change issues on each of the next three nights, with a schools and family day, as well as a Transition Café on Saturday May 3rd.
Please note that because of limited space, tickets for Question Time and the talks will be on a ‘first come first served’ basis from Cromford Mills – See http://cromfordmills.org.uk/content/warm-wet-and-windy-2014 for further details and you can book there or phone: (01629 825995) .
Public Discussion: WHAT IS THE IPCC UP TO?
Please join in with us and come to our PUBLIC DISCUSSION
CLIMATE: WHAT IS THE IPCC UP TO?
Wednesday 16 April, 5.00 pm
The Council House, Derby
Room G
Introduced by Chris Crean
Organiser for Friends of the Earth
The Intergovernmental Panel (IPCC) on Climate Change officially released the “Fifth Assessment Report” from working group three on Sunday, 13/4/2014. [1] The report is on mitigation; which is described as “human intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases”.[2] The IPCC has told the world yet again that climate change is a huge risk we must tackle. What is new is the clarity and urgency of the message. This report warns that governments are set to crash through the global CO2 safety threshold by 2030. Humans have tripled CO2 emissions since 1970, it says – and emissions have been accelerating rather than slowing. The report finds “without additional efforts to reduce GHG emissions… likely temperature increases from 3°C to more than 5°C” are projected by the end of the 21st Century”. It would also push us beyond ‘tipping points’[3] which would mean run-away climate change, with drastic shifts in the Earth’s natural systems including the melting of the Arctic and the Greenland ice-sheet leading to huge sea-level rise; and the dying-off of the Amazon jungle, triggering mass extinctions.
We will be showing a five minute video from leading climate scientist Prof Kevin Anderson on the need for urgency and ambition. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7pwpjthh6E
We suggest you share this on your social media platforms and tweet etc.
This meeting, on Wednesday the 16th, will also discuss ongoing business. One of the items is FRACKING. We will hear reports from what is happening and what can be done.
[1] The IPCC was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1988,
[3] See http://www.campaigncc.org/blog/KCCCtippingpoints, which shows the Kirklees declaration
Fracking
Derby Campaign against Climate Change has produced, in conjunction with the Campaign against Climate Change, a leaflet on fracking. This was distributed at a very well attended meeting (more than 55 people) organised by Wirksworth Transition. Brain Davey gave a terrific presentation, which you can download as a PDF
Notes from the Waking the Giant talk
Bill McGuire, Emeritus Professor of Geophysical & Climate Hazards, Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, delivered an inspiring but depressing talk recently at Derby Universtity. More than 100 people came to hear him
His slides are attached. : Waking The Giant DERBY Continue reading Notes from the Waking the Giant talk
Is extreme weather becoming the norm?
Is Extreme Weather the Norm?
PUBLIC DISCUSSION
Wednesday 19 March, 5.30 pm,
the Council House, Derby, in the Sir Henry Royce Room
Introduced by Ed Sears,
Member of Exeter University Earth System Science group Continue reading Is extreme weather becoming the norm?
Fracking near Retford, north Notts
Unconventional gas exploration is going ahead in Bassetlaw; the northernmost district of Nottinghamshire, in the next few months.
Dart Energy have a planning permit to explore and take core samples from various coal seams under land adjacent to the Danes Hill Energy Park near Sutton cum Lound, north of Retford. It is alarmingly near to wetlands and an RSPB centre. Construction work on site has already commenced
The core will be analysed to determine gas flow rate. This will inform Dart of each seam’s flow rate across the entire coalfield. Coal Bed methane extraction will follow requiring, we assume, many many wells.
Frack Free Nottinghamshire and Frack Free South Yorkshire and are supporting on Saturday 8th March. Meeting at 10am on Carolgate in Retford, and there will be banners, a table, flyers, petitions, etc.
“Public meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 19th March at The Well, Hospital Road, Retford.”
Here is the leaflet: ffn-bassetlaw meeting flyer final
If you are interested in helping contact frackfreenotts@gmail.com
Websites are www.http://frackfreenotts.org.uk and www.frackfreesouthyorkshire.co.uk
What you can do against Fracking
Following a lively discussion about fracking at our last meeting, we would be pleased to hear from those of you interested in joining a fracking subgroup to focus on this urgent issue. Send your details to DerbyClimatecoalition@gmail.com .
Note we are working on a resolution to go to the council.
‘Waking the Giant’
Meeting at University of Derby, Kedleston Road Campus, Wednesday 12 March, 5pm.
Professor Bill McGuire will be talking about his book ‘Waking the Giant’ which looks at the influence of climate change on geological systems. Small changes in the Earth’s crust can potentially trigger large hazards such as earthquakes and volcanoes. Prof McGuire explores the link between episodes of major climate transition and geohazards.Bill McGuire was a member of the UK Government’s Natural Hazards Working Group, established in 2005 in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and in 2010 a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), addressing the Icelandic ash problem. He is a contributing author on the 2011 IPCC Report on climate change and extreme events.
This meeting is open to all members of the public, but places must be booked in advance. See link: http://www.derby.ac.uk/mcguire