It’s Getting Hot In Here

Last year my grandfather told me that you get a revolution when people are pushed to the extreme.

Photo credit: Benka Morvan

This means that climate change one of the hardest issues to act upon, because although climate change is one of the biggest threats to humanity, by the time we are pushed to an extreme it will be too late. Especially in the countries that need to take the largest steps.

Does that mean we can’t create a revolution?

No it doesn’t.

I believe that humans are not only motivated by fear and despair; but are also motivated by love. And it is love for their children, love for animals and love humanity that is driving the change today. Continue reading ‘A Revolution of Love’

A Guest Post By Ted Glick, June 12, 2009

On June 10th a national conference call involving hundreds of people listening was held. It was moderated by Gillian Caldwell, director of 1Sky, and featured Henry Waxman and Ed Markey. After they got off the call staff of the Energy and Commerce Committee continued answering questions. These were what I considered to be the most notable of the comments made by this overall group.

Continue reading ‘National Conference Call with Waxman and Markey: A Constructive Critique’

Canada has committed to emission reductions at home of 2.7% below 1990 levels by the year 2020. (Or 20% below 2006 levels by 2020 as the government phrases it). ember that we committed years ago to 6% below 1990 level target by the year 2012 via the Kyoto Protocol.

I am confident that the government recognizes the scientific advice of achieving 25 to 40% emission reductions globally below 1990 levels by 2020. Yet our target doesn’t seem to match up.

Continue reading “Number Crunch: Where Canada’s Emission Targets Stand” here…

In a meeting Wednesday night with Canada’s lead climate negotiator, Mr. Michael Martin said this to me as he explained the position of the Canadian government. Background information: Negotiating domestic and international targets is precisely why these United Nations conferences exist.

When I asked our lead negotiator, Mr. Michael Martin, to explain Canada’s position further, this was what he said:

Continue reading “Canada is not here to negotiate our domestic targets” here…

Released yesterday, the Pew Charitable Trusts released a report titled “The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America” defines and quantifies all the jobs in the every state in country and the District of Columbia that are involved in developing the clean energy economy.

To do this, they defined what a clean energy economy is and created criteria to determine which jobs can actually be included in that definition. This report provides a baseline of existing jobs, rates of job growth and analysis of the state and federal policies that encouraged this job development from 1998-2007. Finally, someone is defining criteria for measuring the development of a clean energy economy!

The report states,

A clean energy economy generates jobs, businesses and investments while expanding clean energy production, increasing energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution, and conserving water and other natural resources.

and defines and provides examples of the types of jobs involved in a clean energy economy:

• Clean Energy – Building sustainable energy for the future
• Energy Efficiency – Reducing and managing our energy demand
• Environmentally Friendly Production – Improving our products and processes
• Conservation and Pollution Mitigation – Recycling and remediating waste
• Training and Support – helping develop our clean energy economy Continue reading ‘Pew Report Counts Clean Energy Jobs’

Today, Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency, Council on Environmental Quality, Army Corp. of Engineers and Dept. of Interior announced today “unprecedented steps to reduce environmental impacts of mountaintop coal mining.”

Although mountaintop removal in general seems to still be ok.

Blogger Jeff Biggers has termed this a “Kinder, Gentler Blasting, Leveling of Mountains, Filling of Streams” in his latest blog.  He has great interviews with some of the strong Appalachian women fighting mountaintop removal.

The Obama administration has gone for the compromise on this issue AGAIN.  In March, they reversed themselves overnight after the coal industry brought intense pressure to not hold 200 pending permits for serious review.   Last month they approved 42 of 48 existing permits as “environmentally responsible.”  And today, they announced it will continue and they will only regulate it.  (The Washington Post in a less than perceptive editorial played the role of apologist for the Administration.)

This comes down to a moral issue about the ethics of destroying Appalachian (and American) heritage, streams, rivers, forests, wildlife, communities and mountains.  The people in the coalfields not only live with the inherit danger, but recognize that Appalachia is a national sacrifice zone environmentally and ethically. In order for people to flip on their light switches, power their IPhones and every other modern convenience that comes from coal powered electricity we are sacrificing our own ethics and morals by continuing with mountaintop removal. Continue reading ‘Obama’s EPA:More Compromise on Mountaintop Removal’

By Emily Adler, cross posted at the ACE (Alliance for Climate Education) blog

The SF Youth Unity EcoFest was the first-ever youth environmental summit in the City of San Francisco, for high school students, and planned by a group of 10 high school students. The event was co-sponsored by the Mayor’s Office and was a day-long event with music, speakers, performers, workshops, a 25-organization resource fair, an interactive earth pledge and art installation, a bio diesel bus and a skate park.

The stage was pedal powered by Rock the Bike so the sound was made from pure youth energy

Check out this video from the Fest:

What was most compelling, for me, as the staff supervisor and organizer, was that the 10 youth who planned the event were, for the most part, individuals who are just beginning to identify as part of the youth climate movement.

After a few weeks of trainings and workshops — from workshops on the basics of climate science to the history of environmental imperialism to event planning trainings — they pulled together a day long event that they knew would appeal to their peers who were not yet aware of this growing movement around them.

You can catch more photos of the event here: ACE Flickr Continue reading ‘Highlights from the SF Youth Unity EcoFest’

Negotiators, delegates and observers have been wandering these halls in sleep deprived, coffee induced states for the last 9 days. I wish that I could say that this enthusiasm and work effort is safely guaranteeing an agreement based on science and capable of saving our future in Copenhagen, but I can’t. Continue reading ‘Your Story – A Photography Exhibit at the UN in Bonn’

Cross-posted on the CCAN Blog.

Last night 1Sky and the Energy Action Coalition hosted a conference call with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairs Henry Waxman and Ed Markey to discuss the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Let me begin by thanking Gillian Caldwell at 1Sky for moderating, and the congressman and their staff for attending the call. The hour long conference call, attended by more than 600 listeners, answered about 15 specific policy questions about the bill.  Annette Welch from WV asked about the provisions for coal and CCS in the bill, and what the legislation would do about the practice of mountain top removal coal mining and and pollutants from coal burning power plants…the answer from the chairmen was less than disappointing.

Continue reading ‘No coal, no compromise’

Cross-posted from Adopt a Negotiator.

Rumor in the halls is that Canada is waiting in the wings to see what emission reduction targets the United States puts on the table. The following table suggests that perhaps the US is not influencing Canada as rumor suggests – unfortunately. In summary, the United States is far ahead of Canada on targets and policies.

Have a look. The table speaks for itself.

Provided by Matthew Bramley of The Pembina Institute.

Continue reading ‘Canada vs. United States: How do they Compare?’