Climate change scientists call for food rationing to reduce carbon emissions

(NaturalNews)a climate change Leading scientists have called for World War II-style rationing in First World countries to avert catastrophic global warming, in a series of papers published by the United Kingdom's Royal Society.

"The Second World War and the concept of rationing is something we need to seriously consider if we are to address the scale of the problem we face," said Kevin Anderson, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

The recommendation came after Anderson concluded that no other method could secure the decrease in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions needed to prevent temperatures from rising to dangerous levels.climate chance is very dangers

Without drastic emission cuts, global temperatures are set to rise more than 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2060, producing more severe weather events such as floods and droughts. climate change will inevitably disrupt food production, leading to massive social unrest and large-scale migration, in addition to mass extinction at a rate surpassing even modern levels.

Anderson noted that the type of rationing needed would be relatively moderate, involving limiting electricity usage, setting a maximum level for home thermostats, and mandating replacement of older appliances with newer, energy efficient devices. Another suggestion was to place limits on food imported from great distances. Adjusting to these limitations would only entail simple lifestyle changes, such as wearing more warm clothing while indoors and taking public transportation more, Anderson noted.because climate change make bad for future

"I am not saying we have to go back to living in caves," he said. "Our emissions were a lot less ten years ago and we got by ok then its climate change."

In another paper, Myles Allen of Oxford University warned that international climate negotiations are off track by focusing on reducing emissions below a specific baseline (such as 1990 levels), rather than focusing on total emissions.

"Peak warming is determined by the total amount of carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere, not the rate we release it in any given year," he said.

Without a quick drop in emissions, he warned, global temperatures will change too fast for ecosystems to adapt, leading to ecological and agricultural collapse.

Sources for this story include: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/co....

Climate change legislation benefits the elite, not the people

(NaturalNews) The National Forestry Commission of Mexico in conjunction with the Swiss government recently held a conference to discuss the possibility of new, centralized climate change legislation. If enacted, the legislation will change the way Latin America governs its forests, and potentially set a precedent for how governments around the world manage their resources. But many at the conference expressed concerns that such legislation will end up benefiting a few wealthy elite while depriving local communities of their natural resources--all in the name of protecting the climate.

The REDD+ legislation--short for "reducing deforestation and forest degradation"--will require industrialized nations to pay developing nations to store carbon in their forests as well as manage them according to sustainable standards. Advocates say REDD+ will greatly benefit developing nations by helping to bring them out of poverty and end forest mismanagement.

Critics, however, say the legislation will do the exact opposite. By centralizing control of forest management, local communities and property owners in forest-rich nations like Brazil will be robbed of their resources, and a select few will have total control of these valuable resources.

The vast majority of Mexico's 64 million hectares of forest, for instance, are currently owned by rural communities and local landowners who manage them well. Climate change legislation that takes this control away and gives to centralized governments will only devastate these communities and open up the floodgates for corruption.

"Mexico's long tradition of community forest management provides a strong foundation for local action," explained Jose Carlos Fernandez Ugalde, head of Mexico's National Forestry Commission.

So rather than transfer control of Latin American forests and their resources to a select few in the name of protecting the climate, many experts are urging that such control remain in the hands of the people.

"If REDD+ is to succeed, it must not come from central government decrees that undermine rural communities," stressed Christian Kuchli from Switzerland's Federal Office for the Environment. "It must have local support and involve increased resource flows to rural areas, with adequate safeguards in a balanced regulatory framework."

Sources for this story include:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...