2014 Year End Review: People Powered Environmental Movement

In 2014 collaborative relationships were formed that helped grow the environmental movement. More than any other single factor, growing calls for climate action from people around the world give us reason to hope that we will manifest the change we need to see. People are capable of driving change and forcing businesses and political leaderships to act. In addition to protesting, environmentalists are flexing their financial muscles. In 2014 this point was driven home by environmental groups who spent $85 million in support of climate-conscious politicians. While we still have a long way to go before we have responsive political leaderships and widespread adoption of truly sustainable business models, people powered movements are growing and they have the capacity to change both politics and business.

2014 Year End Review: Reasons for Hope

Here are some of the most inspiring and transformative climate stories of 2014. Although global temperatures continue to increase and levels of atmospheric carbon are around 400 ppm, we have seen some reasons to buoy our hope over the course of the last year. People, companies, cities, states, countries, and regions are beginning to wake up and face the challenge of climate change.

There are some technological innovations (like graphene) that may help us to transition to a low carbon. However, even without such game changing disruptive innovations, in 2014 it became apparent that we can still make the transition with existing technologies and at reasonable costs. In 2014, both the Risky Business report and a White House report, illustrated the cost of delaying action.

Anti-Science Journalism Helped to End Progressive Climate Governance in Australia

The popular media's campaign of climate change subterfuge helped to bring down Julia Gillard's government in Australia. Anti-science propaganda has been rampant in the Australian press. A number of extreme weather events (droughts and floods) succeeded in drowning out the voices of those that oppose action on climate change and helped Gillard to get elected in 2010.  Subsequently a determined anti-science media campaign eroded Gillard's popularity and ultimately led to her downfall.

Popular media has flouted their journalistic responsibilities on climate change. A widespread campaign against Australia's carbon policy was adopted by the company that controls most Australian metropolitan newspapers. According to a 2013 study of climate science in newspapers,  the coverage of the Gillard government’s carbon policy was mostly negative (73 per cent to 27 per cent). Negative coverage (82 per cent) across News Ltd newspapers far outweighed positive (18 per cent) articles. The Daily Telegraph was the most negative (89 per cent). The Daily Telegraph has since continued its campaign against Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and bike riders.

Webinar - Extreme Weather and the Insurance Industry

The odds are pretty high that you know someone who has personally been impacted by Superstorm Sandy, record droughts in the American Midwest, or forest fires in the West. These extreme weather events, exacerbated by climate change, have literally cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Now, imagine what would happen if there was no insurance to offset the damage and set businesses and homeowners whole again.