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Review of Campfire Pro Writing Software

By mythicscribes.com
Published On :: Sun, 23 Feb 2020 21:01:52 +0000

This article is by L. James Rice.

Campfire Pro is a program that aims to be a comprehensive tool for worldbuilders, ranging from authors to game designers to TTRPG Gamemasters, which means it’s got many features to explore. With that in mind, it’s probably best to give a little overview of the product before delving into its details.

First off, between gaming, screenwriting, and writing in general, I’ve seen a lot of these sorts of programs over the years and been disappointed by them more often than not. Campfire’s user interface harkens back to many older programs, keeping things relatively simple, and if you’re looking flashy bells and whistles, they aren’t here. You can, however, beautify the background with a variety of themes as well as create your own. Where this program excels is in its most important aspect, functionality, while for me at least, the biggest downfall is a less than intuitive interface. This could just be my brain, results will vary, but don’t be surprised by a tiny learning curve and the occasional “good grief, did I really just do that?” This is more about little irritants than deal breakers, however, and a little tinkering tends to find answers.

Continue reading Review of Campfire Pro Writing Software at Mythic Scribes.


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The American Dream vs America First

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Wed, 26 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0100


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Undercurrents: Episode 18 - The American Dream vs America First, and Uganda's Illegal Ivory Trade

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Thu, 04 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0100


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Will a Devastating Bushfire Season Change Australia’s Climate Stance?

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Thu, 23 Jan 2020 09:20:27 +0000

23 January 2020

Madeleine Forster

Richard and Susan Hayden Academy Fellow, International Law Programme

Professor Tim Benton

Research Director, Emerging Risks; Director, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme
With Australians experiencing first-hand the risks of climate change, Madeleine Forster and Tim Benton examine the influencers, at home or abroad, that could push the government towards more action.

2020-01-23-FireNSW.jpg

Residents look on as flames burn through bush on 4 January 2020 in Lake Tabourie, NSW. Photo: Getty Images.

The 2019–20 fire season in Australia has been unprecedented. To date, an estimated 18 million hectares of fire has cut swathes through the bush – an area greater than that of the average European country and over five times the size of blazes in the Amazon.

This reflects previous predictions of Australian science. Since 2008 and as recently as 2018, scientific bodies have warned that climate change will exacerbate existing conditions for fires and other climatic disasters in Australia. What used to be once-in-a-generation fires now re-appear within 10–15 years with increased ferocity, over longer seasons.

In a country known for climate denial and division, debate has erupted around bushfire management and climate change. One of these is whether controlled burns are the answer to Australia’s climate-affected fire conditions.

There is no single risk reduction strategy. Controlled burning remains key, if adapted to the environment and climate. 

But when three out of four seasons in a year can support destructive bushfires, there are clear limits to what controlled burning and other fire management techniques can achieve. Other ‘adaptation’ measures are also likely to provoke intense debate – including bush clearance. As one Australian expert offered to highlight where Australia has got to, families should probably not go on holiday to bush and beach during the height of summer when temperatures and fire risk peaks. 

So, unless Australia is prepared to debate radical changes to where people live and how land is used, the limits to adaptation imply the need for mitigation. This means supporting ambitious global greenhouse emissions reductions targets. As research from Victoria, one fire-prone state in Australia, highlights, ‘the emissions pathway we follow is the largest determinant of change to many variables [such as temperature] beyond the next few decades.’

Can Australia become a more active global partner on emissions?

Australia accounts for just over one per cent of global emissions, so reducing domestic emissions – even though on a per capita basis they are the highest in the world – will not reduce Australia’s climate risk. Showing international leadership and supporting a powerful coalition of the willing to tackle climate change is the only way ahead. By showing a willingness to adopt climate ambition, Australia can help more constructive worldwide action, and thereby reduce its own risk exposure. 

Leading by example is a politically difficult issue for Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was re-elected in May 2019 on an economic stability platform, and a promise not to imperil employment growth through climate action. Australia has contested UN estimates that it will not meet its existing modest goals for domestic emissions, by seeking to rely on carryover credits from action under the Kyoto Protocol as proof of progress.

It has also distanced itself from concerns over global supply and demand in fossil fuels. Australia remains a global supplier for fossil fuels, including coal – the nation’s coal exports accounted for $67 billion in revenues in 2019 in an expanding but changing Asian market, supplying ‘some of the cheapest electricity in the world’.

Possible influencers of change

With Australians experiencing first-hand the risks of climate change, there is already pressure to do more. Many are sceptical this will translate into domestic targets or export policies that give Australia the moral authority to ask for more action on the global stage.

Here, diverse groups who share a common interest in seeing Australia recover from the bushfires and address future climate risks could be key.

Importantly this includes rural and urban-fringe communities affected by the bushfires. They were part of Morrison’s traditional supporter-base but are angry at the government’s handling of the crisis and increasingly see how tiptoeing around emissions (including exports) has also ‘buried’ open discussion at home on climate-readiness.

Australian states could also find themselves taking a lead role. Virtually all jurisdictions have now committed to their own goals, most based on zero-carbon goals by 2050 (as has New Zealand). These can support modelling for Australia’s energy transition from coal, through gas, to market competitive renewables, while also help to ensure this reflects community expectations on jobs, electricity prices and other costs. 

Other emerging voices include the insurance and banking sectors (the Reserve Bank of Australia warned of the long-term financial stability risks of climate change before the fires) and indigenous Australians (one group of Torres Strait Islanders have filed a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee which, if heard, will place Australia’s emissions record under the spotlight again). Their challenge now is finding a common language on what a cohesive approach to addressing climate change risk looks like. 

The international picture is mixed. The United States’ poor federal climate policy is a buffer for Australia. French President Emmanuel Macron has tried to raise the cost of inaction for Australia in current EU–Australia trade negotiations, but many large emitters in the Indo-Pacific region remain key Australian trading partners, investors and buyers of Australian coal. 

In the meantime, the United Kingdom is preparing for the meeting of parties to the Paris Agreement in Glasgow in November. A key global event following Brexit, the UK will no doubt be hoping to encourage a leadership circle with national commitments that meet global need to make the Glasgow meeting a success.

The UK public has expressed enormous sympathy for Australia in the bushfires and outrage over ‘climate denialism.’ Australia’s experience will be a cautionary tale of the effects of climate change at the meeting. Could the UK also support Australia to become a less reluctant partner in global climate action?


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Firefox 76.0 released with critical security patches – update now

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 14:58:01 +0000

Firefox's latest version is out, with new password management features and a raft of security fixes.


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Will a Devastating Bushfire Season Change Australia’s Climate Stance?

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: Thu, 23 Jan 2020 09:20:27 +0000

23 January 2020

Madeleine Forster

Richard and Susan Hayden Academy Fellow, International Law Programme

Professor Tim Benton

Research Director, Emerging Risks; Director, Energy, Environment and Resources Programme
With Australians experiencing first-hand the risks of climate change, Madeleine Forster and Tim Benton examine the influencers, at home or abroad, that could push the government towards more action.

2020-01-23-FireNSW.jpg

Residents look on as flames burn through bush on 4 January 2020 in Lake Tabourie, NSW. Photo: Getty Images.

The 2019–20 fire season in Australia has been unprecedented. To date, an estimated 18 million hectares of fire has cut swathes through the bush – an area greater than that of the average European country and over five times the size of blazes in the Amazon.

This reflects previous predictions of Australian science. Since 2008 and as recently as 2018, scientific bodies have warned that climate change will exacerbate existing conditions for fires and other climatic disasters in Australia. What used to be once-in-a-generation fires now re-appear within 10–15 years with increased ferocity, over longer seasons.

In a country known for climate denial and division, debate has erupted around bushfire management and climate change. One of these is whether controlled burns are the answer to Australia’s climate-affected fire conditions.

There is no single risk reduction strategy. Controlled burning remains key, if adapted to the environment and climate. 

But when three out of four seasons in a year can support destructive bushfires, there are clear limits to what controlled burning and other fire management techniques can achieve. Other ‘adaptation’ measures are also likely to provoke intense debate – including bush clearance. As one Australian expert offered to highlight where Australia has got to, families should probably not go on holiday to bush and beach during the height of summer when temperatures and fire risk peaks. 

So, unless Australia is prepared to debate radical changes to where people live and how land is used, the limits to adaptation imply the need for mitigation. This means supporting ambitious global greenhouse emissions reductions targets. As research from Victoria, one fire-prone state in Australia, highlights, ‘the emissions pathway we follow is the largest determinant of change to many variables [such as temperature] beyond the next few decades.’

Can Australia become a more active global partner on emissions?

Australia accounts for just over one per cent of global emissions, so reducing domestic emissions – even though on a per capita basis they are the highest in the world – will not reduce Australia’s climate risk. Showing international leadership and supporting a powerful coalition of the willing to tackle climate change is the only way ahead. By showing a willingness to adopt climate ambition, Australia can help more constructive worldwide action, and thereby reduce its own risk exposure. 

Leading by example is a politically difficult issue for Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was re-elected in May 2019 on an economic stability platform, and a promise not to imperil employment growth through climate action. Australia has contested UN estimates that it will not meet its existing modest goals for domestic emissions, by seeking to rely on carryover credits from action under the Kyoto Protocol as proof of progress.

It has also distanced itself from concerns over global supply and demand in fossil fuels. Australia remains a global supplier for fossil fuels, including coal – the nation’s coal exports accounted for $67 billion in revenues in 2019 in an expanding but changing Asian market, supplying ‘some of the cheapest electricity in the world’.

Possible influencers of change

With Australians experiencing first-hand the risks of climate change, there is already pressure to do more. Many are sceptical this will translate into domestic targets or export policies that give Australia the moral authority to ask for more action on the global stage.

Here, diverse groups who share a common interest in seeing Australia recover from the bushfires and address future climate risks could be key.

Importantly this includes rural and urban-fringe communities affected by the bushfires. They were part of Morrison’s traditional supporter-base but are angry at the government’s handling of the crisis and increasingly see how tiptoeing around emissions (including exports) has also ‘buried’ open discussion at home on climate-readiness.

Australian states could also find themselves taking a lead role. Virtually all jurisdictions have now committed to their own goals, most based on zero-carbon goals by 2050 (as has New Zealand). These can support modelling for Australia’s energy transition from coal, through gas, to market competitive renewables, while also help to ensure this reflects community expectations on jobs, electricity prices and other costs. 

Other emerging voices include the insurance and banking sectors (the Reserve Bank of Australia warned of the long-term financial stability risks of climate change before the fires) and indigenous Australians (one group of Torres Strait Islanders have filed a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee which, if heard, will place Australia’s emissions record under the spotlight again). Their challenge now is finding a common language on what a cohesive approach to addressing climate change risk looks like. 

The international picture is mixed. The United States’ poor federal climate policy is a buffer for Australia. French President Emmanuel Macron has tried to raise the cost of inaction for Australia in current EU–Australia trade negotiations, but many large emitters in the Indo-Pacific region remain key Australian trading partners, investors and buyers of Australian coal. 

In the meantime, the United Kingdom is preparing for the meeting of parties to the Paris Agreement in Glasgow in November. A key global event following Brexit, the UK will no doubt be hoping to encourage a leadership circle with national commitments that meet global need to make the Glasgow meeting a success.

The UK public has expressed enormous sympathy for Australia in the bushfires and outrage over ‘climate denialism.’ Australia’s experience will be a cautionary tale of the effects of climate change at the meeting. Could the UK also support Australia to become a less reluctant partner in global climate action?


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euromicron AG improves earnings in first half of 2019

By www.euromicron.de
Published On :: Thu, 01 Aug 2019 07:00:00 +0200

Consolidated sales of EUR 146.7 million EBITDA (before IFRS 16) increased strongly by EUR 3.8 million to EUR 2.1 million Forecast for 2019 as a whole confirmed Working capital ratio declines by 2 percentage points to 10.6% euromicron AG, a medium-sized technology group and specialist for the digital networking of business and production processes, published its preliminary figures for the first half of 2019 today.


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Report of the Group of the Friends of the Co-Chairs on Liability and Redress in the Context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on the Work of its First Meeting.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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Report of the First Meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Risk Assessment and Risk Management under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Statement by the Executive Secretary at the first national meeting of the Satoyama Satoumi Sub-Global Assessment Inter-Cluster Meeting, Ishikawa, 16 September 2008.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Statement by the Executive Secretary, Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, on the occasion of the First Meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change, London, United Kingdom , 17 - 21 November 2008.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: On Monday, 1 December 2008, Robert Watson, Co-Chair of the first meeting of the Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Biodiversity and Climate Change convened under the Convention on Biological Diversity and former Chair of the Intergo

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Statement by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the First Global Private Donor Forum on Biodiversity, Berlin, 3 June 2009.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Berlin Declaration on Private Donorship for Biodiversity, First Global Private Donor Forum on Biodiversity, Berlin, 3 June 2009.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Statement by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the First Meeting of the Steering Committee for South-South Cooperation on Biodiversity, Montreal, 29 October 2009.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Message by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the First International Conference of ATUTAX, the Association Tunisienne de Taxonomie, Cité des Sciences de Tunis, 23-25 April

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Communiqué: Iraq Submits First National Report to SCBD

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Press Release: Ministerial forum calls for leadership for a new biodiversity vision for the twenty first century

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Press Release: The Aichi Nagoya Summit on Biodiversity: a new Biodiversity Strategy for the twenty-first century.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Communiqué: First Regional Response to the Nagoya Outcomes Will Be Elaborated in the Arab Region.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Message from Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the First Latin American Congress (4th of Argentina) for the Conservation of Biodiversity, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, 22 - 26 November 2010.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Statement by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the First Indian Biodiversity Congress, 27 December 2010, Thiruvananthapuram, India.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 27 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Press Release: The South African National Biodiversity Institute the first African partner to join the Convention's Consortium of Scientific Partners on Biodiversity

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Statement by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive, on the occasion of the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising from their util

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Communiqué: Antigua and Barbuda becomes the first Caribbean island country to sign the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from Their Utilization

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Press Release: Gabon becomes the first country to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on genetic resources

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Press Release: Latvia becomes the first country to ratify the Nagoya - Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: On 29 December 2011, Lithuania, became the seventy-first signatory of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Press Release: Jordan becomes first country in the Arab region to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on genetic resources

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Press Release: Atlantic seamount becomes the first case added to international repository of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Press release from Missouri Botanical Garden: The New York Botanical Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh announcing the development of World Flora, the first online catalog of the world's plants.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Press Release: 20 years after their birth, three sister Rio Conventions reaffirm their collective responsibility for sustainable development

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: First meeting of newly established IPBES

By www.unep.org
Published On :: Tue, 29 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Increasing urbanization over the next decades presents not only unprecedented challenges for humanity, but also opportunities to curb climate change, reduce water scarcity and improve food security, according to the world's first global asse

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Governments and indigenous and local communities at the Eighth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, held in Montreal, Canada, have reaffirmed the need to recognize and integrate traditional knowl

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Sat, 12 Oct 2013 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Governments meet in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea this week for discussions which will finalise preparations for the first meeting of the governing body of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: Governments have established firm foundations for the operation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing of Genetic Resources, contributing to the momentum towards entry into force and setting the agenda for the first meeting of its

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD Communiqué: Meeting on the Safe Use of Living Modified Organisms - First of three major United Nations meetings opens Monday

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: The Government of Peru has announced that they have achieved the highest level of implementation and management of Protected Natural Areas, according to the first performance audit by the Comptroller General of the Republic to the National Servi

By www.minam.gob.pe
Published On :: Tue, 14 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: The first internationally recognized certificate of compliance was issued on 1 October 2015, following a permit made available to the Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) Clearing-House by India.

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Wed, 07 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: First, I would like to extend my deep appreciation to Mr. Kenneth Deer and Mr. Charles Patton, Elders of the Mohawk Community from Kahnawake, Canada, for providing a traditional blessing and for sharing with us their rich cultural heritage, whic

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Wed, 04 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: The wetlands of today are essential for human health and prosperity, and the benefits they provide have enormous economic and social value. As confirmed by the 2013 report, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Water and Wetlands, which

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Thu, 28 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: First, I would like to congratulate the Arab Society for Fungal Conservation for declaring 20 February as Egyptian Fungus Day. This initiative truly demonstrates commitment towards conservation of biodiversity and promoting the objectives of the

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Sat, 20 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: It is a pleasure to join you here in Kuala Lumpur for the fourth session of the IPBES Plenary. We come together for a very exciting moment in the history of IPBES, when the Plenary will be presented with the first two assessments for its accepta

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 22 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: This is a historic day in the life of our Convention on Biological Diversity for two reasons. First, we open the first meeting of this body, the Subsidiary Body on Implementation. Second, the Secretariat celebrates 20 years in this beautiful and

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 02 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: The first meeting of the new Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-1) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will open today, focusing on increasing efforts related to strengthening the review process and enhance on-the-ground implemen

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Mon, 02 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT


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CBD News: The first meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI 1) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) came to a close on 6 May 2016 in Montreal, Canada. Delegates from around the world advanced attention on national action by recom

By www.cbd.int
Published On :: Sun, 08 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT


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