Cohabit Eaarth: We are the 99.999%
Staggering as it may be to imagine that so much wealth is concentrated in the hands of a mere 1% of the population, remember that it refers to 1% of the human population in the United States and/or the Industrialized world. When we recognize that those deserving a fair share must include the entire human population, and that this “wealth” comes at the expense of the natural world on which we all depend, then the inequity and absurdity (insanity?) becomes all the more glaring.
A New Magazine From 350.org: The Solutions Journal
“The Solutions Journal” from 350.org is one the best resources for climate change and energy problem solving. Period. No matter how much you know now, you can learn from this magazine.
Is the Climate Emergency Boring You? It Shouldn’t
In facing the climate emergency, thanks to our long evolutionary past, we humans are first visceral, then emotional, and only finally are we rational.
The climate emergency is getting closer every day, whether or not people have registered, and the only rational response is to persist with public education, persist with political lobbying, persist with the warnings, and persist with the vision of a world that can flourish without fossil fuels, air pollution, tar-sands, and oil-fueled terrorism.
Policy Shift from Mitigation to Adaptation for Climate Change Taking Place
UK committee on Climate Change finds a degree of adaptation to global warming vital because even most drastic cuts in emissions cannot prevent some impacts
Gwynne Dyer Speaks About Climate Wars on Democracy Now
A new book by geopolitical analyst and columnist Gwynne Dyer imagines what the politics and demographics of the world might look like if temperatures continue to rise. Dyer writes ‘In this world our worries are not just hotter summers, bigger hurricanes, rising sea levels, and polar bears swimming for their lives. We’re trying to avoid megadeaths from mass starvation and quite possibly from nuclear wars and the odds aren’t good,” he writes.The June 1, 2010 edition of his book is called “Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats.”
Video: UBC Professor William Rees on Humanity’s Need to Reduce Consumption
An eight part video of Dr. William Rees, professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning, talking of humanity’s survival depending on an 80% reduction in energy use.
Limits to Growth for Big Oil, Big Coal, Big Fish Farms and Our Big Economy Crucial
Our individual and collective human effort seems to have a momentum, a predictable trajectory that tracks a compulsive course from less to more and from little to bigger. In the progression from deep to deeper and from some to many, our technology increases in sophistication, our problems rise in complexity and our risks multiply in tandem. So far we have been able to race just ahead of catastrophe. But this basic strategy is an invitation to eventual calamity, as the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico attests, as our mining pollution proves and as our fish farm problems confirm.
In the great scheme of things – should anyone feel confused about all that’s happening these days – we are presently engaged in the search for a fundamental sense of proportion and balance. This arduous process begins with global awareness. But it’s really about our inner growth and maturation, about our discovery of limits.
World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth
The Summit on Climate Change currently underway in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba is a ray of light and hope for those concerned with the environmental situation on the planet. It is also an alternative to the meeting that took place in Copenhagen, where rich countries conspired to come up with an agreement that exempts them of any responsibility regarding the climate world situation.
This meeting showed the world the true face of industrialized countries when it comes to issues related to the environment. In Cochabamba, civil society sectors are meeting to design a strategy to fight for the survival of mother Earth.
Iceland Volcano’s Eruption Sends Quick Wake-up Call on “Peak Oil”
What does an erupting volcano in Iceland have to do with our future oil supply running out?
A lot, if you consider only the effect the recent grounding of planes all over the world has had on food supply. When oil runs out, as it will, food delivery will be drastically curtailed, and the disruption caused by the April 15 eruption of the Iceland volcano demonstrates just what this might mean. Airline won’t be back to normal until volcanic activity subsides, and in the meantime vegetables grown in Kenya are rotting; undelivered roses are being ground up for compost. Kenyan flower growers are losing $2 million a day. Food producers have in Southern Spain have also been effected, as well as the electronics and pharmaceutical industries, who rely on overnight delivery for many of their products.
Bill Gates Sees Climate Change as Important Global Problem
Here are two opposing articles on the Bill Gates TED Talk on “Innovating to Zero.” Our opinion, if Gates thinks climate change is important, we should all feel a little more hopeful. His take on this issue may not be all we could wish for, but as he learns more about how very serious is the global treat we face and how extraordinarily complex an adequate solution must necessarily be, he may stop thinking in terms of simplistic formulas and quick technological fixes. He’ll see that like with climatic systems, many positive feedback loops are inherent in the development of economic, technological and social solutions, and these must not be ignored. The big industry in bio-fuels that has sprung up in response to the need for energy efficiency is a case in point.
