Obama pleads for Paris climate change deal

US President Barack Obama has called on world leaders to agree to cut carbon emissions at crucial talks in Paris later this year.

Barack Obama: "Any so-called leader who does not take this issue seriously is not fit to lead"

Speaking in Alaska, he said countries including his own were not doing enough to stop global warming.

World powers meet in Paris in December with the aim of agreeing to curb global temperature rises.

Mr Obama said now was the time "to protect the one planet we've got while we still can".

"On this issue - of all issues - there is such a thing as being too late,'' he told a meeting of foreign ministers from

countries with Arctic interests soon after arriving in Alaska. "That moment is almost upon us."

While the Paris meeting will seek a deal to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2°C, there have been warnings that the goal is unlikely to be achieved.

President Obama will hike on the Exit Glacier, that has melted significantly, during his three-day tour of Alaska

During his three-day tour of Alaska, Mr Obama will become the first sitting US president to visit the area above the Arctic Circle.He will also hike on the Exit Glacier, that has suffered significant melts in recent years, and will appear in a television show with adventurer Bear Grylls.

President Obama has made the fight against climate change one of the cornerstones of his second term. Last month, he unveiled plans to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by almost a third over the next 15 years.

Some state governors said they would ignore the plan, while parts of the energy industry said they would fight it.

From BBC News - Science /Environment

Pope Francis blames 'human selfishness' for global warming

Pope Francis has blamed human selfishness for global warming in his long-awaited encyclical calling for action on climate change.

The Pope calls for a radical change in behaviour to save the planet for future generations

In the letter, he urges the rich to change their lifestyles to avert the destruction of the ecosystem.

Environmentalists hope the message will spur on nations ahead of the UN climate conference in Paris in December.

But parts of the document, leaked earlier this week, have already been criticised by some US conservatives.

It has been dismissed by two Republican presidential candidates.

Humans to blame

The encyclical, named "Laudato Si (Be Praised), On the Care of Our Common Home", aims to inspire everyone - not just Roman Catholics - to protect the Earth.

The 192-page letter, which is the highest level teaching document a pope can issue, lays much of the blame for global warming on human activities.

Pope Francis writes that: "We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.

"The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life."

The letter highlights the loss of biodiversity in Amazonian rainforests and the melting of polar glaciers

He criticises what he calls a "collective selfishness", but says that there is still time to stop the damage, calling for an end to consumerism and greed.

'Moral approach'

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi launched the pontiff's second encyclical at a news conference on Thursday.

The teaching is more evidence of a pontiff determined to act as a catalyst for change, and a powerful diplomatic player on the world stage, says the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt.

The release comes six months before international leaders gather in Paris to try to seal a deal to reduce carbon emissions.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the document, saying climate change was a "moral issue requiring respectful dialogue with all parts of society".

READ MORE

Party leaders make joint climate commitment

The UK's political leaders have pledged to work together to combat climate change, whatever the election result.

The pledge includes an undertaking "to end the use of unabated coal power"

In a joint statement, David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg said climate change was one of the most serious threats facing the world.

They said climate change threatens not just the environment but also security, prosperity and poverty eradication.

They have promised to end coal burning for power generation in the UK - unless it uses new clean-up technology.

Environmentalists say the pledge is significant because it quells some of their fears that the Conservatives might adopt a more climate-sceptic line, to mirror UKIP's position.

'Moment of unity'

The move will be noticed by the UK's European partners working towards a global agreement on climate change at the UN conference in Paris in December. Some of them had been nervous that the UK might soften its leadership position in the talks, given the level of climate scepticism expressed by some newspapers and Conservative backbenchers.

The statement will also please investors who have been deterred from sinking money into renewable energy systems because they feared a withdrawal from climate policies.

It has been brokered by Matthew Spencer of the think tank Green Alliance, who He told BBC News: "The purpose is to create space for the current and future PM to ensure that the UK can play a full role in securing a good outcome in Paris.

He added that another aim was "to reassure investors that agreement remains strong across current leaders on emissions reduction, and that we're unlikely to see a major change in direction whichever party forms the next government".

"It's very unusual to get a moment of unity in the midst of a general election, and it is generating lots of excitement. A non-partisan approach is the holy grail in the US. It is in our national interest to act and to ensure that others act with us."

'Unusual' joint commitment: Cameron, Clegg and Miliband

The leaders have gone so far as to promise to ban "unabated" coal-fired power generation - meaning that, if it is to continue, the emissions will need to be captured and stored in rock formations. This decision has been long debated and will send a strong signal of intent to the power industry.

The leaders state: "Acting on climate change is an opportunity for the UK to grow a stronger economy more efficient, and more resilient to risks ahead."

They pledge:

• to seek a fair, strong, legally binding, global climate deal which limits temperature rises to below 2C
• to work together, across party lines, to agree carbon budgets in accordance with the Climate Change Act
• to accelerate the transition to a competitive, energy efficient low carbon economy and to end the use of unabated coal for power generation

Critics fear that combating climate change will make energy unaffordable. UKIP says climate change fears are inflated and the party's UKIP's energy spokesman recently said his party wanted to repeal the Climate Change Act, which commits the UK to step-by-step reductions in CO2 until 2050. He said the relationship between CO2 levels and global temperatures is "hugely open to question".

Labour leader Ed Miliband recently restated that tackling climate change "goes to the heart of" his beliefs. A Liberal Democrat source said tackling climate change was in the party's DNA.

The Green Party says the UK should be making much more urgent progress towards getting the country powered by renewables.

The leaders say action on climate change is an opportunity to grow a stronger economy

Greenpeace welcomed the new statement. Its director John Sauven said:

"This pledge marks a turning point in the collective effort to take Britain's energy system out of the Victorian age and into the 21st century. Party leaders now need to set a clear expiry date on coal pollution, stop subsidies to coal plants, and start investing in the clean energy infrastructure this country really needs."

Industry leaders will need reassuring about how this can be done without pushing up energy prices and making the UK uncompetitive.

From BBC news

First Porsche revealed to be an electric car from 1898

Luxury automaker Porsche has revealed the first car designed by its founder was electric, in a show at its museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany.

Ferdinand Porsche's design was dubbed the Egger-Lohner electric vehicle C.2 Phaeton model, or the P1 for short.

The car, made in 1898, was recently unearthed in an Austrian garage, where it had been stored since 1902.

The 22-year-old Ferdinand Porsche, who would start Porsche in 1931, designed the P1 for carmaker Jacob Lohner.

After a trip to the US, Ludwig Lohner, the owner of that firm, became convinced that the age of the horse and carriage was ending, and he asked Ferdinand Porsche to come up with an electric drive train.

The first Porsche featured a rear-mounted electrical engine which could reach speeds of 21 miles per hour

Ferdinand Porsche designed an "octagonal electric motor" that was powered by electric batteries and suspended amidst shock absorbers in the rear of the vehicle.

Using a complicated series of gears, the car was driven using a 12-speed controller, which had six forward gears, two reverse gears and four gears with which to brake the car.

The P1 took to the streets of Vienna, Austria, on 26 June 1898.

The P1 could reach speeds of up to 21mph (34km/h) and travel up to 49 miles on a single charge.

The car could be styled as an open-air chassis or a coupe.

The first Porsche was the most energy-efficient car in an 1899 Berlin road race

The young Mr Porsche eventually entered the P1 in a Berlin road race, which took place on 28 September 1899.

Competitors had to travel a total of 24 miles with four passengers (including the driver).

The P1 beat out the other competitors handily, crossing the finish line a full 18 minutes before the next car.

In a detail that seems almost too good to be true, the P1 won another accolade: least amount of energy consumed.

The car is on display as part of an exhibition at the Porsche museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany.

Mr Porsche was working for car builder Jacob Lohner, who asked him to design an electric drive train

At the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany, the plastic placeholders show the original design

Ferdinand Porsche stamped each part of the vehicle with P1, to differentiate it from other models

From BBC News

David Attenborough receives '32nd' honorary degree

Wildlife expert Sir David Attenborough has been given an honorary degree from Queen's University in Belfast, adding to the huge list he already has.

You don't study for honorary degrees, but they're awarded by universities to recognise the work people have done.

Sir David, 87, was given this one for his services to science and broadcasting.

It's reported that it's actually the natural history film-maker's 32nd honorary degree!

But he's staying modest and when asked about how many he had he cleverly avoided answering.

He just smiled and said "it was rude to count."

The TV legend, 87, who had emergency heart surgery last month, received the tribute at Queen’s University, Belfast, for his services to science and broadcasting.

Sir David, famous for programmes such as A Life On Earth and The Living Planet, said: “My work has been devoted to documenting the natural world, and to explaining its importance to humanity and its vulnerability. I am greatly honoured that Queen’s University should have endorsed that message.”

From CBBC News / Expresshttp://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/411780/Sir-David-Attenborough-awarded-his-32nd-Degree-at-Queens-University

Awards

• 1970: BAFTA Desmond Davis Award
• 1974: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
• 1980: BAFTA Fellowship
• 1983: Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
• 1985: Knighthood
• 1991: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) for producing Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas broadcast for a number of years from 1986
• 1991: Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 1996: Companion of Honour (CH) for services to nature broadcasting
• 1998: International Cosmos Prize
• 2003: Michael Faraday Prize awarded by the Royal Society
• 2004: Descartes Prize for Outstanding Science Communication Actions
• 2004: Caird Medal of the National Maritime Museum
• 2005: Order of Merit (OM)
• 2005: Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest
• 2006: National Television Awards Special Recognition Award
• 2006: Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management - Institute Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the public perception and understanding of ecology
• 2006: The Culture Show British Icon Award
• 2007: British Naturalists' Association Peter Scott Memorial Award
• 2009: Prince of Asturias Award
• 2010: Fonseca Prize
• 2010: Queensland Museum Medal
• 2011: Society for the History of Natural History Founders' Medal
• 2011 Association for International Broadcasting AIB International TV Personality of the year
• 2012: IUCN Phillips Memorial Medal for outstanding service in international conservation
• Date unknown: RSPB Medal

From Wikipedia