marklynas.org - home

Say no to biofuels

2008-08-19T10:48:00Z

Biofuels can never be used sustainably on a large scale to power transport. The only solution is to shift rapidly to electricity.

How nuclear power can save the planet

2008-08-18T19:36:00Z

Increased use of nuclear (an outright competitor to coal as a deliverer of baseload power) is essential to combat climate change

Climate change catastrophe by degrees

2008-08-07T11:38:00Z

Bob Watson rightly warns us to prepare for 4C global warming. To avoid that, we must make drastic CO2 cuts now

The climate change clock is ticking

2008-08-01T11:56:00Z

The exact timescale of global warming is unknown, but the 100 months campaign provides a much-needed sense of urgency

Coming to a screen near you - me!

2008-07-31T19:37:00Z

How things have changed. Today, bookshops have entire shelves devoted to climate change. Television, too, has belatedly begun to catch up

A Green New Deal

2008-07-18T09:58:00Z

A "war economy" social mobilisation harnessed, this time not towards fighting fascism, but towards heading off ecological crisis

The global warming deniers

2008-07-04T11:50:00Z

The arguments of climate sceptics have largely been moulded by a far more sinister force - the US-based conservative think tanks

High oil prices are good news

2008-07-03T10:28:00Z

In a seven-minute 'authored piece' for Radio 4's The World Tonight, I speak to car buyers, a climate scientist and an oil industry expert to explore whether high oil prices are actually a good thing for the climate. Listen again here (3min 50 secs in).

Climate change is no longer just a middle-class issue

2008-07-02T14:59:00Z

Today's poll shows that public concern about climate change has reached a critical mass and now includes the less well-off

GM won't yield a harvest for the world

2008-06-21T10:42:00Z

The government is keen to reassess GM crops in light of the food crisis - but running to profit-seeking companies is not the answer

Six Degrees but no PhD

2008-06-18T15:50:00Z

Not being a scientist is a help rather than a hindrance when it comes to communicating - with the necessary passion - the findings of scientific research

Six Degrees wins prestigious Royal Society prize

2008-06-18T11:54:00Z

Much to the surprise of its author, Six Degrees has scooped the prestigious Royal Society Science Books Prize, triumphing over such strong contenders as Steve Jones's 'Coral: A pessimist in paradise', and J. Craig Venter's 'A Life Decoded'.

After the oil crunch?

2008-06-13T10:15:00Z

The end of cheap oil helps renewables, but makes far dirtier alternatives viable. A low-carbon future will demand brave leadership

Climate chaos is inevitable. We can only avert oblivion

2008-06-13T09:45:00Z

At best we will limit the extent of global warming, but Kyoto barely helps. Does humanity have the foresight to save itself?

Six Degrees shortlisted for Royal Society science books prize

2008-05-30T10:29:00Z

Six Degrees has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2008 Royal Society Prize for Science Books - along with J. Craig Venter's 'A Life Decoded', Steve Jones for his book 'Coral', and 'The Sun Kings' by Stuart Clark.

Why I was wrong about rationing

2008-05-30T10:19:00Z

A far simpler way to constrain carbon is to deal "upstream" with the few dozen companies that produce or import fossil fuels, rather than hitting tens of millions of consumers

Political will is a renewable resource

2008-05-27T13:50:00Z

Germany has 200 times more solar power installed than the UK - and this is not because Germany gets any more sun.

Green v green

2008-04-24T10:58:00Z

The rejection of the Lewis wind farm this week highlights how environmentalists are lining up against each other in countryside battles. Mark Lynas reports

Starving the world with biofuels

2008-04-24T09:44:00Z

World cereal stocks are at an all-time low, food-aid programmes have run out of money and millions face starvation. Yet wealthy countries persist with plans to use grain for petrol.

Why Greens should vote for Ken

2008-04-16T15:04:00Z

Livingstone is by far the best-qualified candidate to run London - and from an environmental perspective, this is even more the case, argues Mark Lynas

Darling ducked the difficult decisions

2008-03-31T15:16:00Z

The Chancellor can no longer afford to ignore the contribution of international aviation and shipping to our carbon footprint

Can Blair be our champion?

2008-03-17T16:00:00Z

The former prime minister may have a mixed legacy, but we should welcome his efforts on climate change

Britain is stealing the US crown of No 1 climate villain

2008-03-17T15:57:00Z

If it fails to stand up to BAA on Heathrow, Labour will be cast as the enemy in the environmental battle of the decade

Stop the biofuels bandwagon

2008-03-10T11:06:00Z

Enthusiasm for biofuels is misplaced. It's not too late for Gordon Brown to change his mind about them - and he must.

The power to save Britain

2008-03-07T10:50:00Z

Our island could be supplying Europe with green electricity. Instead we're lagging behind in the renewables revolution.

Six Degrees longlisted for Orwell Prize

2008-03-05T10:52:00Z

Six Degrees has made the longlist for the prestigious Orwell Prize. Here's the full press release:

Six Degrees film wins 6.7 million US viewers

2008-02-15T16:46:00Z

National Geographic Channel's premiere of Six Degrees could change the world reached an audience of 6.7 million people in the US when transmitted on Sunday night, 10 February.

The good news from America

2008-02-15T16:41:00Z

Most environmentalists are indeed leftists who support the redistribution of wealth and believe in a simpler lifestyle

Admit it: Environmentalists were right about biofuels

2008-02-15T16:36:00Z

Environmentalists have been voicing their concerns about biofuels for ages - it's about time the EU and other governments started to listen

Six Degrees videos - Six degrees

2008-02-03T17:41:00Z

Six Degrees videos - Five degrees

2008-02-03T17:40:00Z

Six Degrees videos - Three degrees

2008-02-03T17:39:00Z

Six Degrees videos - Four degrees

2008-02-03T17:39:00Z

Six Degrees videos - Two degrees

2008-02-03T11:30:00Z

Six Degrees videos - One degree

2008-02-03T10:23:00Z

National Geographic launches Six Degrees: book and film

2008-02-02T23:36:00Z

National Geographic has made a superb film adaptation of my book Six Degrees, which is premiering on NG Channel in the US on February 10 at 8pm ET/9pm PT, and around the world on later dates. Check out the special website, which allows you to explore the warming world interactively, and also to watch video trailers for the world at each degree.

If the cap fits, share it

2008-02-02T16:39:00Z

Instead of setting up a new currency in carbon, cap and share utilises the oldest rationing system in the book: the price mechanism

Why Britain doesn't need nuclear power

2008-01-21T12:26:00Z

Nuclear power is fine in principle, but here in the UK we should be making better use of our massive renewable energy resources.

Has global warming stopped? (Clue: no)

2008-01-15T16:24:00Z

In late December the New Statesman caused some ripples by publishing online an article claiming that global warming has stopped, that the planet's temperatures have stabilised, and that therefore greenhouse gases cannot be causing warming. Etc, etc. You know the story. This time the author was someone called David Whitehouse, who I'd not heard of, but who seemed to have some credentials as a science writer.

From Bali to Copenhagen

2008-01-07T10:08:00Z

Bali convinced me that agreeing a new phase of Kyoto is by far the most important objective for climate-change stabilisation

Vote for your favourite climate framework

2007-12-14T01:38:00Z

Should the incremental approach of Kyoto be extended, or ditched for something more ambitious? Read the arguments for and against and vote in the New Statesman's climate choice poll

Six Degrees reviewed on RealClimate

2007-11-26T10:51:00Z

Well, it was worth the wait - Six Degrees has been very positively reviewed on the website RealClimate, a hugely successful blog and comments site run by climate scientists.

The price of a living forest

2007-11-26T10:49:00Z

The blunt economic truth is clear: deforestation can never be stopped as long as trees are worth more dead than alive

The easy way to stop climate change

2007-11-13T17:11:00Z

Changing your light bulbs may not be enough to save a single polar bear, but there are things we can do collectively - and easily - that will really make a measurable difference in the battle against global warming. Mark Lynas has a three-part plan.

Science and politics collide

2007-10-16T14:37:00Z

The presence of a few errors in Al Gore's film should not undermine the thrust of his message

The environmental utopia - up to a point

2007-10-14T14:50:00Z

We downtrodden Brits often look enviously at Scandinavian countries as models of genteel social democracy...

Can shopping save the planet?

2007-10-04T16:07:00Z

The big high-street chains are falling over themselves to 'go green'. But will any of it make any difference? Mark Lynas is far from convinced.

Green papers, white lies, hot air

2007-10-04T16:01:00Z

Britain's policy on global warming remains mired in confusion, with too much debate and too little action. But there is a solution ...

On climate change, neutrality is cowardice

2007-09-05T10:20:00Z

Journalists who provide a platform for climate change sceptics should summon up the courage needed to help defend the planet

Heathrow: the most important protest of our time

2007-08-28T14:51:00Z

Aviation is the incendiary issue in environmental politics today. The campaigners at Heathrow are just the vanguard of a powerful new people's movement, writes Mark Lynas