A Debate on Climate Change, the Most Important Topic of our Time
Be sure to watch Elizabeth May and George Monbiot debate Bjørn Lomborg and Lord Nigel Lawson today beginning at 6:30 PM EST in Toronto.
The Copenhagen Diagnosis: Updating the World on the Latest Climate Science
On the eve of the Copenhagen conference, a group of scientists has issued an update on the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Their conclusions? Ice at both poles is melting faster than predicted, the claims of recent global cooling are wrong, and world leaders must act fast if steep temperature rises are to be avoided.
“Hot Cities” from BBC World News – Entire Eight-Part Series
We highly recommend these powerful and informative videos of the documentary, Hot Cities, aired this fall on BBC World News TV. This is an excellent eight-part series about the present effects of global warming in cities around the world. If you haven’t caught these segments on television, you can watch them on your computer. Each runs about 45 minutes.
The effects of dangerous climate change are already happening, and people everywhere are finding ways of dealing with the changes this is causing in their lives. Witness the courage, tenacity and ingenuity of people suffering from disease, heat and lack of water, as well as high winds. You are certain to be amazed and inspired.
Tipping Point, After Tipping Point…
Another disturbing milestone was passed on November 6. The graph below shows that although extent of the Arctic sea ice this past summer was greater than that of 2007, it is now less, a record low for its date. Ice covered the Arctic Ocean in a smaller area on November 6, 2009 than in any other year on November 6 since observations began in 1979.
Time to Take Our Foot Off the Pedal and Reduce CO2 Emissions to 350 ppm
The World Clock created by Peter Russell, British author and futurist is a stunning look at what’s happening literally minute by minute on our earth. One look at this clock is all it takes, and it’s worth a million words.
New Warnings of Catastrophic Global Warming in Our Lifetimes
“We’ve always talked about these very severe impacts only affecting future generations, but people alive today could live to see a 4C rise,” said Richard Betts, the head of climate impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre, who will announce the findings today at a conference at Oxford University. “People will say it’s an extreme scenario, and it is an extreme scenario, but it’s also a plausible scenario.”
US Military Budget Only Partially Corrected For Dangerous Climate Change
It is highly doubtful that Pentagon planning will take the crucial step of resizing its overall portfolio of security dollars to fit the enlarged importance they are assigning to this new threat of dangerous climate change.
The Urgency to Address Global Climate Change: Possible Implications for New Directions of Climate Change Ethics
Dr. John Lemons writes “I wish to be clear that I am not faulting those involved in the ethics of global climate change in their traditional focus of studies or influence with policy makers and decision¬–makers. Indeed, the work of such ethicists is never finished because each time a new climate change issue arises it introduces new questions for analyses. And, make no mistake that I believe ethicists have contributed greatly to a deeper understanding of the problems and prospects of global climate change. Simply put, my recommendation is that global climate change ethicists continue looking at proposed climate change policies and arguments through an ethical “lens” while, because of the urgency of taking action to combat global climate change, at the same time devoting new serious attention to examining when nonviolent civil disobedience is ethically justified.”
Will Dangerous Climate Change Be Mitigated In Copenhagen This December?
Even though the science concerning climate mitigation is clear, “political and ethical complexities remain as contested as ever,” and a December deal in Copenhagen “is not guaranteed,” a new report, “Tripping Points,” warns.
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.
