Bob Rau in Australia has posted a comment expressing his amazement that amongst all the scientific data, one figure can be extracted and blown up out of all proportion.
I agree with you to some extent Bob, but I think there’s method in it. Of course we have a right to expect something like the IPCC report to be extremely well checked and checked again, but I also think there are people who seek out things like this, not necessarily in the interests of scientific accuracy, but because they want to encourage climate scepticism. It’s certainly a mistake that shouldn’t happen and has done a lot of damage in terms of the climate scientists’s credibility, but I agree it should not be allowed to throw a question mark over all the data.
My colleague Nathan Witkop recorded an interview with the IPCC lead author Adil Najam, as mentioned in a previous entry, for this week’s edition of Living Planet. By tonight (Thursday) or Friday morning, both European time, it should be available to listen or download. Highly recommendable.
Living Planet Environment Magazine (weekly)

I took this photo in the Black Forest just under two weeks ago. There has been a fair bit of snow on higher ground in some areas of Germany.
But right now, Christmas is right around the corner and it’s grey and very mild here in Bonn on the banks of the Rhine. Yesterday, the days started to get longer again. But I can’t say it’s noticeable in this kind of weather. I have a Danish colleague, and her joke this morning was that climate change was making Germany feel like it was north of the polar circle – as far as the lack of light in winter is concerned! Temperature-wise, it seems to be doing the opposite. There’s far too much fresh green in the garden for December in this part of the world.
Meanwhile, my friend in Seattle enjoyed an unusual fall of snow.I wonder if all the people in those parts of the US struggling against extreme cold and heavy snowfall still play “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”? Somehow I doubt it. If any of you are reading this, drop me a mail or put in a comment with your views. Somehow people are reluctant to enter public comments on weblogs, but I’m glad you still send mails.
Helen in Perth, Australia, has asked when the Ice Blogger will be out on the trail again. Still working on the travel plans, Helen, but as our IPY project is still running, there will be more blog entries from icy areas in the course of 2009.
There will be an important Arctic conference in Tromsö, Norway in January: Arctic Frontiers. The organisation has an interesting website:
Website for the Arctic Frontiers network
All eyes will be turned to the USA in the New Year with Barack Obama taking office. It looks as if there’s reason to hope for a major turnaround in US climate policy.
IPS Earth Alert on Scientists in new US administration
If you have time to listen to a half-hour of radio feature over the festive period, you can hear the long version of this year’s original Ice Blog trip to Arctic Alaska with the Climate Change College.
Unbaking Alaska on Deutsche Welle’s Living Planet
Happy Christmas when it comes!

Apologies for a couple of weeks of silence from your Ice Blogger. Amongst other things, I’ve been finding out about the effects of climate change in areas known for their warmth and sunshine, rather than ice and snow.
You might expect the blogger to be at Poznan. But, believe me, there are plenty of other journalists there to keep the world up to date on the hours… and hours… and hours… of negotiations – and the problems of reaching an international concensus.
During a trip to Australia, I found myself in one of the world’s 34 “biodiversity hotspots” – South-West Australia. WWF, Conservation International and other groups have come up with a list of the places on earth worthy of special protection, because they have the highest concentrations of biodiversity. SW Australia is one of them.
In its capital, Perth, I paid a visit to “Panda Cottage” on Herdsman Lake.

It’s the headquarters of WWF for SW Australia. It’s a beautiful setting, with herons, spoonbills and a wide variety of birds amongst
paperbarks and other trees, reflecting on the water in bright sunshine. There is also a large population of tiger snakes. “Watch out, there’s one living just outside the door”, says Paul Gamblin, WWF Programme chief for WA.

There is an amazing variety of wildlife and plant life, for an area on the outskirts of a sprawling city.But I found out from Paul that this little idyll is subject to tremendous pressure – typical of the whole of this region of Australia. The water is actually quite badly polluted. The whole area of SW Australia has suffered from clearance for agriculture and settlment . In fact a dramatic 93% has already been lost. Now, climate change poses the next challenge. Nobody knows exactly which scenario will actually become reality. But rainfall patterns have already been changing. And wetland areas like this one are under pressure.
You can hear the interview with Paul Gamblin on the Living Planet website:
Climate Change and SW Australia on Living Planet
More info also at:
WWF Australia

Your Ice Blogger has been in Antalya in Turkey for a few days. Turkish Radio TRT organised an international radio contest for programmes on climate change. The 10 finalists were invited to take part in the radio festival, listening to each other’s work and adding their views to those of the “Grand Jury”. I am honoured to have been awarded the 2nd prize for the 2nd part of my “Climate College in Alaska” series: “Meeting the Inupiat”.

Interviewing a young Inupiat eskimo Kajan, featured in the programme. The photo was taken by Marc Cornelissen of the Climate Change College.
All about the Climate Change College

This was the series which led to the Ice Blog.
The Alaskan Arctic Series – audio features and photos

Thank you TRT, firstly for putting climate change in the limelight by making it the subject of the competition. And thank you for giving international radio broadcasters the chance to discuss the issue with one another and learn from each other. Congratulations to our Greek colleagues, who won 1st prize, Dutch colleagues who got the 3rd and Korean colleagues who won the innovation prize. And thanks for honouring DW with the 2nd prize.
All about the TRT Turquoise 2008 Climate Change Radio Contest and the Finalists

It’s World Youth Day today. I know, it’s always the World Day of Something. But this is one of the ones I find potentially influential – especially since the motto is “Youth and Climate – Time for Action”. Couldn’t agree more.

(“Young ambassadors” from the Climate Change College finding out about climate change and its effect on the Inupiat in Arctic Alaska.)

UN Secretary-General put out a message (how many of you young visitors to this blog have actually seen it?) calling on young people to come up with brilliant ideas and put a major effort into securing the future of the planet. Of course you don’t need to be the head of the UN to see that the younger generation are going to have a tough job on their hands dealing with the effect of climate change caused by human behaviour.
I’d like to use World Youth Day as an opportunity to draw your attention once again to some of the young folk who are concerned about the climate and running their own projects to do something about it.
Here’s a link to the Climate Change College.
Youth in Action to Save the Climate
There’s some great new stuff on the website. Some of these dedicated young professionals will also be making an (audio-) appearance on our environment programme this week, talking about their projects.Young Climate Activists on Living Planet
And another effect of these “World Something”-Days is that our current affairs colleagues are also running a story about all this.
Youth for Climate Campaign on Newslink