Mark Lynas

The verdict on Durban – a major step forward, but not for ten years

by Guest December 14, 2011

In this guest post, Mark Lynas, author of Six Degrees, High Tide and The God Species, advisor to the president of the Maldives, analyses the outcome of the Durban conference and what it means for the future of international climate negotiations. It’s one the best and most detailed accounts I’ve come across, from someone at [...]

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The God Species

by Bryan Walker August 14, 2011

It’s an arresting title, The God Species: How the Planet Can Survive the Age of Humans. For author Mark Lynas the Holocene, the 10,000 year post-ice age era during which human civilisation evolved and flourished, has given way in industrial times to the Anthropocene, an age in which the human population has undergone extraordinary growth, [...]

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Days of future passed

by Bryan Walker October 6, 2010

The idea that a rise in global temperature of no more than two degrees above pre-industrial levels is a safe target for the world to aim for is widely accepted in political forums where the measures needed to stay within that range are considered. Not universally accepted though. The small island states and many others [...]

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After Copenhagen: new world disorder

by Gareth December 23, 2009

It’s a bit like reading the runes — trawling through reactions to the events of the last couple of weeks, trying to work out what the Copenhagen Accord means. I don’t mean a parsing of the words, though translating the language of diplomacy is never trivial, but what the various parties to the Accord, and [...]

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Spinning wheel…

by Gareth May 23, 2009

Feeling lucky? Spin these roulette wheels and see where the future lies: on the left, if the world takes decisive action to reduce emissions over the next 100 years, and on the right if we don’t. If we do: most likely an increase of 2 – 2.5ºC. If we don’t: most likely is 5 – [...]

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Take the money and run

by Gareth October 12, 2008

A little Sunday education: John Bird and John Fortune explain the background to the global financial crisis. While some in Europe argue that carbon targets should be relaxed, others point out that natural losses dwarf the financial, and Mark Lynas argues that any New Deal should be green. [Hat tip: Scoop Review of Books] [Title [...]

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Shop’n’save

by Gareth September 18, 2007

An excellent, thought-provoking article by Mark Lynas in yesterday’s Guardian [UK] examines the greening of the High Street that is transforming British shopping. Lynas points out many of the inconsistencies inherent in green consumerism, and then asks the big question: At the heart of green consumerism lies a single unanswered question: can ever-increasing resource consumption [...]

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