MMC media team reaches global audience with Arctic Meltdown story

A press conference highlighting the results of science work following the Catlin Arctic Survey revealed the Arctic Ocean's floating sea ice will be all but gone each summer within 10 years and will have completely disappeared with 20 years. MMC has been providing all the communication and media support to Pen Hadow's Catlin Arctic Survey project since it was launched in October 2007.

In that time it has generated up to 3.3 billion opportunities to see worldwide. The expedition lasted for 73 days trekking across the sea ice and measuring its thickness. The results, analysed by the University of Cambridge's Polar Ocean Physics Group under Professor Peter Wadhams concluded that the area of the northern Beaufort Sea had ice thinner than expected at just 1.8 metres thick. As first year ice this would be unlikely to survive a summer melt.

Photo: Martin Hartley

MMC is continuing to work with Hadow's team including the presentation of the results to negotiating teams and policy-makers at Copenhagen where the UN's Climate change talks take place in December 2009.

www.catlinarcticsurvey.com

Geo-Engineering may be the 'Air bag' technology we need to prevent catastrophic climate change

The Oxford Geoengineering Institute launched in October 2009 to encourage research and debate into geoengineering technologies which may be needed if the Copenhagen Climate Change talks fail to address the scale of global warming.

It aims to be a forum for discussion and debate around the technonlogies. As it's founding Director Tim Kruger ponts out, “There are huge issues surrounding the kind of deliberate, large-scale, intervention in the Earth’s natural systems which geoengineering approaches require.

"Scientists have a responsibility to assess the potential and possible pitfalls of suggested geoengineering schemes. The Institute will be encouraging research and acting as a forum for debating the issues.  It is far better to have thoroughly considered the potential techniques in advance in case we have to use them – the time to design an airbag is before you are skidding on ice.”

Find out more www.oxfordgeoengineering.com

Skanska sponsors Sustainability Exchange

The Constuction company Skanska were sponsors of a Sustainability Exchange at The Pines Calyx near Dover in Kent in October 2009.

The event, at the eco conference centre at St. Margaret's at Cliff, brought together people from a range of backgrounds and interests to share ideas and perspectives on what needs to be done to create a low carbon, sustainable ways of living and working.

Contributors to the event included Jae Mather, Head of Sustainability at the Carbon Free Group and Nadeem Aziz, Chief Executive of Dover District Council. Rod Macrae from MMC facilitated the event.

The event coincided with the launch of Skanska's GREEN THINKING Report which highlights the important role consruction can play in creating a sustainable economy by applying Deep Green building techniques and practises.

Cool Tools for learning about climate change

The Arctic and our changing climate has been brought alive in stunning FREE home & classroom learning materials for all ages from ARCTIC SURVEY EDUCATION.

The project is based on the Catlin Arctic Survey and the remarkable adventures of an intrepid team - Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley – on a journey across the ice.

The learning materials raise awareness of the climate change phenomenon using video interviews, animated presentations and survey data.

For younger children there’s even an illustrated story and song.

It is a platform linking Mathematics, Geography, Science, Citizenship and Nature with Guidance Notes for parents and teachers.

www.arcticsurveyeducation.com

For more information about MMC and our work on these projects email us at

buzz@macraecommunication.com