Tuesday 24 July 2012

Carbon Clear Job Posting: Interim Communications Manager

We're recruiting!  Do you know a talented Communications Manager who's passionate about helping companies tackle climate change?

Due to an anticipated staff vacancy we are looking for an experienced Communications Manager to help us share our experience and successes with our customers.  The Interim Communications Manager has day to day responsibility for presenting Carbon Clear to the world via the internet, printed materials, and at relevant industry events.

Learn more on our Careers Page: http://carbon-clear.com/uk/about_us/careers.

(Update one year later: Thanks to those who responded. The role has been filled now and we're delighted to have a permanent Communications Manager on the team.)

Thursday 5 July 2012

Going Mainstream

This is interesting:

At Carbon Clear, we've been saying this for years, but nice to see this mantra make the cover of CFO Magazine.  (Hat tip: @greenmondaynews)

U.S. Heatwaves: "Weather" versus "Climate"


http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_404h/2010-2019/Wires/Online/2012-07-05/AP/Images/Western%20Wildfires.JPEG-094bc.jpgIt's summer, and that means it's time for another round of record-breaking heatwaves in the United States.

The heatwave of the past week has triggered forest fires across the western states. Washington, DC staggered under 104-degree (F) temperatures - the air conditioner load helped prolong a five-day blackout across the eastern states. Back in the 1990s aid agencies used photos of the earth at night to flag underdeveloped countries where people had to live without electricity.  I never thought I'd see those types of images for the suburbs of Baltimore and Washington DC:

Washington-Baltimore on June 28, 2012
A less brightly-lit Washington-Baltimore on June 30, 2012
This is not the first time large parts of the U.S. have faced a massive heat wave.  In fact, they are becoming so common that it might be safe to consider record-breaking temperatures the "new normal".  Which brings us once more to the topic of climate change.

We might define "weather" as the meteorological conditions when you look out the window.  Is it raining? Is it hot?  Weather varies day by day, and it's difficult to predict more than a week in advance.  "Climate" refers to the typical conditions we might expect at a given time of year.  San Francisco is normally foggy on summer afternoons, Montana is typically frigid in winter.  A freak storm or unexpected heat wave is bad weather.  Searing temperatures every summer, year in and year out - that sounds more like climate. If that's not the climate we used to have, then it would be fair to say that the climate is changing.

Climate scientists are generally careful not to attribute any particular weather event to climate change.  Their models of overall change are predictions of longer-term trends.  But the weather we're seeing is beginning to match those predictions.  How long before "longer term" becomes "now"?

Posting Resumes: Mandatory Carbon Reporting and More

It's been a busy few weeks and I have built up a backlog of stories about which to blog. I'll try to make up for it with a series of short posts about some of the more interesting stories of the past month, including air conditioners in the developing world, mandatory carbon reporting in the UK, ocean acidification, the Vauxhall Ampera, and yet another series of heat waves in the US.  Stay tuned!