Will Climate Refugees Be Allowed Safe Haven on James Lovelock’s “Lifeboats?”
Can we create for ourselves in enough time societies governed by a new set of “rules,” a new way of organizing ourselves, a new way of living with the earth and with one another? Can we create a new way that we live as individuals, day-to-day, that builds upon the life examples and teachings of history’s great spiritual leaders, or the life examples of the tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, who have come before us who gave their lives struggling and sacrificing for a better world for their descendants?
There are many of us all around the world who believe, unlike Lovelock, that we have it in us not just to try but to have a chance of succeeding. But it’s a race against time.
Australian Scientist Says, “Cut Carbon Dioxide Emissions 80% by 2020 to Avoid Catastrophe”
The world must cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2020 to avert catastrophe, according to paleoclimate scientist Dr Dr Andrew Glikson (Australian National University) in an interview broadcast by ABC Radio Australia
World Public Opinion Urges Action on Climate Change
A survey by WorldPublicOpinion.org of 18,578 people in 19 countries found that 60% of people think their governments should be doing more to reduce carbon emissions. Only 18% felt their governments were doing enough and 12 % thought they were doing too much.
The Real Cost of Our High CO2 Emissions Lifestyle
Germanwatch has produced a short film about Carbon Debt–whereby developing countries pay, through climate change impacts, for the Carbon-intensive lifestyles of developed countries. It’s one of the greatest challenges of our time, and one of the reasons that a truly global deal in Copenhagen is so important.
Climate Change: The Hard Numerical Reality, and What We Can Do About It
In this FORA.tv presentation given earlier this year at the Long Now Foundation, Griffith examines the numerical reality of the fight against climate change. Drawing from a personal assessment of his own energy needs, Griffith argues that we not only need to switch to alternative energies, we also need to drastically reduce their consumption in order to prevent a global catastrophe. In this clip, Griffith lays out in hard numbers the need for a massive increase in “green” energy, and proposes how it can be achieved.
One Canadian Mother Calls for Action on Climate Bill
Even though many Canadians lobbied the Environment Committee on the urgency of addressing Bill C-311, it was not expedited on the Committee’s schedule and was only first addressed on June 18th, at the final meeting before Parliament recessed for the summer – almost three months after it passed second reading. It will not be discussed in Committee again until Parliament resumes in the latter part of September. And some Committee members have indicated a preference for drawing out the bill’s process even longer, by debating the Climate Change Accountability Act over numerous sessions, something that was already done last year in the Environment Committee. It does not appear that our government officials have grasped the urgency of the climate crisis.
Jim Hansen Blames Waxman-Markey Climate Bill for US Failure to Get Necessary Emissions Targets at G-8 Summit
With a workable climate bill in his pocket, President Obama might have been able to begin building that global consensus in Italy, but it didn’t take long for the counterfeit climate bill known as Waxman-Markey to push back against President Obama’s agenda to achieve meaninful greenhouse gas targets
Rapid, Sustained and Effective Mitigation Needed to Avoid “Dangerous Climate Change”
With unabated greenhouse gas emissions, the world faces a growing risk of ”abrupt and irreversible climatic shifts”. This is one of the conclusions in a scientific synthesis report released Thursday, June 18. Weak targets for CO2 reduction 2020 increase the risk of serious impacts, such as tipping points, and make the task of meeting 2050 targets more difficult and costly.
The Future of Carbon Pricing
George Heyman of the Sierra Club of BC says while the Campbell Government should be acknowledged for its leadership on the carbon tax, it must also do away with contradictory policies. “This Government also continues to promote oil and gas development, the transportation of dirty fuels across the north and down the coast that comes from Alberta and encourages the building of roads which encourages people to take more vehicles on the roads and emit more carbon.” Heyman adds the revenue from the carbon tax should go toward public transit and other green initiatives, instead of cuts to other taxes that make the policy revenue-neutral.
Young People DO Care About Climate Change
After Bonn, a Safe Future For Youth Still in Doubt Posted on ClimateProgress.org June 12, 2009 http://climateprogress.org/2009/06/12/after-bonn-a-safe-future-for-youth-still-in-doubt/ Today’s guest blogger is Kyle Gracey, Chair for SustainUS and a graduate student in public policy and geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago. In 2050, I’ll be 77, and given the pace of the climate talks in [...]
