Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Musk's Starship: If it sounds too good to be true...
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 06/12/2025
» Elon Musk promised to build a spaceship that would put people and cargo into Earth orbit at one-hundredth of the current cost per kilo and even enable human beings to create a colony on Mars. A great many people were seduced by the idea, including me.
The world is headed towards uncharted waters
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/09/2024
» No sirens are blaring, nobody even looks frightened, but they should be. Last week, the world moved into uncharted territory. The "aspirational" goal of never allowing the average global temperature to rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial norm (+1.5C) has been breached for a whole year -- and probably forever.
Heat waves and tipping points as world warms
Gwynne Dyer, Published on 23/07/2023
» 'What we're seeing is climate impacts that scientists thought would accompany certain temperatures happening far more rapidly, with far more devastating effects than had been forecast," said Dr Simon Nicholson of the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment at American University.
US startup's climate gig stirs up controversy
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 06/01/2023
» It was the moral equivalent of a fart in a hurricane. The "hurricane" was the explosion of the Mount Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines in 1991, which boosted 17 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere.
Will we soon have unlimited clean energy?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/12/2022
» Nuclear fusion, the "holy grail" that would finally end all the world's energy problems, has been receding into the future at the rate of about one year per year all my adult life -- it was always "about 30 years away" -- but suddenly we're catching up. Unfortunately, the change of pace comes too late to save us from an acute global climate emergency.
Climate change hits southern part of Africa
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 27/04/2022
» Tropical Storm Ana in January, Tropical Cyclone Batsirai in February, then Dumako, Emnati and Gombe in quick succession: three cyclones and two "tropical storms" in six weeks hitting the coasts of southeast Africa.
Aviation must innovate to stop ‘f lygskam’ fate
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 26/10/2019
» Qantas, the Australian airline, has just test-flown the world’s longest commercial air-route: 16,500km from New York to Sydney non-stop. There were only 60 passengers aboard the Boeing 787, all in business class, because the plane needed to conserve the rest of its weight for fuel. And, we are told, they danced the Macarena in the empty economy class to stay limber during the 19-hour flight.
How to solve two converging crises
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 27/08/2019
» Maybe we can get through the climate crisis without a global catastrophe, although that door is closing fast. And maybe we can cope with the huge loss of jobs caused by the revolution in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) without a social and political calamity.
On climate change, take risks or pay the price
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 20/12/2018
» Global warming is physics and chemistry, and you can't negotiate with science for more time to solve the problem: more emissions mean a hotter planet. Dealing with the problem, however, requires an international negotiation involving almost 200 countries. In big gatherings of that sort, the convoy always moves at the speed of the slowest ships.
The changing of Syria's demography
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/07/2018
» With the fall of Daraa last Friday, the end of Syria's civil war is within sight. What will Bashar al-Assad and his ruling Ba'ath Party do with their victory?