Environmental activists, some dressed as “Trillionaires for Bad Math” today delivered a “climate bill” to Copenhagen, ahead of schedule. The mock “bill” was delivered at a 3 pm lecture at Columbia University’s School of International Public Affairs hosted by Danish Climate and Energy minister Connie Hedegaard. Hedegaard is the chairperson of the UN climate summit to be held in Copenhagen this December, where many hope that a strong global climate agreement will be signed.
Representatives of groups including Climate SOS and Rising Tide North America presented a 14-foot banner representing the climate bill currently being debated in the US Congress, which many consider essential for strong US participation in Copenhagen. The banner depicts a two trillion dollar note, representing the size of the new market in carbon dioxide emissions allowances that would be established by the Waxman-Markey climate bill that passed the House of Representatives in late June.
The centerpiece of the banner is an image of a bewildered Al Gore, who introduced the concept of tradable emissions allowances into the UN process in Kyoto in 1997. Hundreds of environmental groups are critical of the current US climate bill. Many view the bill’s cap and trade provisions as a dangerous false solution, that is inherently unstable and ultimately incapable of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Leading Trillionaire, Cap’n Trade, dressed in pirate regalia, told the assembled crowd, “‘Tis a bloody shame for the climate that Congress has chosen me to clean up this mess for ‘em. But I don’t mind a bit,” he continued, “’cause rising seas and booty and plunder are just my thing and soon the land, air and water will be all mine.”
The “trillionaires for bad math” argue that the House bill “just doesn’t add up”, pointing out that it falls far short of scientifically valid targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions; removes the EPA’s authority to regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act; and incorporates massive corporate giveaways into its cap-and-trade program. Corporations would be able to defer needed emissions reductions for decades under the bill’s offset provisions. International groups widely condemn the lack of US leadership on climate issues and demand that wealthy countries pay their share of the accumulated “climate debt.”
“If these lily-livered politicians aren’t ready to do something about the climate, those scurvy activists on the streets of Copenhagen are going to make ‘em walk the plank,” said Cap’n Trade. “We’re all going to end up in Davy Jones’ Locker.”
As the Climate SOS crosscountry tour culminates, activists from Climate SOS, Rising Tide, and other groups of environmental activists in New York launched a series of direct action interventions to signal the widespread opposition to the Waxman-Markey climate bill and its inadequate targets and use of dubious financial mechanisms for greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
For press materials, photos and video: contact mutualaid@earthlink.net
More info at: climatesos.org, risingtidenorthamerica.org
Contacts (Mobile phones):
Rachel Smolker, Ph.D.802 482 2848
Brian Tokar, 802-595-9677
Is this about right?:
-They say that the majority of the scientists all agree that climate change is real.
That many scientists can’t all be wrong, so don’t try and tell me it’s a conspiracy.
-If everybody’s talking about it so much there must something to it.
-We may as well deal with climate change just in case because it’s better to be safe than sorry later on.
-Stopping climate change is a win win because doing so will not hurt the planet and it will curb pollution levels too.
-Why wouldn’t you want to help the planet?
-We have to leave something for our children and their children.
-We can’t let these giant oil corporations keep polluting our planet.
-And you know who’s in bed with EXXON don’t you, yes, the neocons and Bush’s republican right winger friends.
-Lets show these evil right winger Bush lovers how much suffering we the people can endure to save the planet by living with and consuming less.
-That will sure show them!
-And besides, if climate change isn’t true, it aught to be.
-It aught to be because this could be the wake up call for all of the people on our planet.
-This could be just the starting point that we need: a timely crisis that can bring the people of the planet together and make the world right again. A world of love and peace.
ARRRRGGHHHH way to go Cap’n Trade… guerilla actions like this are a great way to go. now we just need a resurgence of the Biotic Baking Brigade.
The UN has allowed Carbon Trading to trump 3rd World Education, clean water and starvation rescue. Nice job UN. Nice job you oh so daring guerilla rebels.
So what do you propose as an alternative? The points made by these so called “environmental activists” sound just like many of the comments the Republicans in the U.S. Senate have been making. Without a price on greenhouse gas emissions, how do you propose to transform the U.S. economy to an economy with far less greenhouse gas pollution?
Well usually when something is deemed bad in this society a law is passed against it, with legal penalties, ranging from fines to jail time. If you break into a house you go to jail for breaking and entering. Would it not be logical that if you were to commit the crime of emitting greenhouse gases that you would go to jail, instead of being able to buy your way out of it. The EPA currently has the authority to regulate ghg’s and create penalties. Instead doing straightforward regulation for ghg’s like any other type of pollution, or crime, they want to create complex markets so that people can buy there ways out of actually reducing emissions. This is utterly insane. Carbon markets have proven totally ineffective in regulating emissions.
Is it really that crazy to ask for straight forward laws that ban emissions rather than trying to solve the problem through free market mechanisms? Can you imagine if this same logic was applied to other laws in this country like murder, theft, poisons in our food?
PETER WOOD:
An “alternative” to what? Climate change is a solution itself looking for a problem. You fear mongering warmies are not welcome in the realms of responsibel environmentalism and I promise history will judge you as all political brain washed Greenzis.
Stop scaring my kids and get ahead of the curve so we can work together to respect our world, preserve our world and protect our environment.
Why do you warm mongers work so hard at having such faith in this failed CO2 theory (not pollution) and why do you warmies wish for this misery? It’s sick!
Just stop it and don’t expect the next generation to like having this death threat of climate change for another 23 years hanging over their heads. There is serious talk of organizing common people (not your evil republicans) and responsible environmentalists to have Al Gore charged with treason for leading us to war against a non existent enemy of climate change. Playing the fear game is not sustainable and history will unfortunatly curse us all, believer adn denier alike.
Real rebels and activists don’t motivate with fear and prey on our children with fear by telling them that we have to SAVE the world for THEM. How dare you!
Correlation and precaution are the pillars of climate policy and you global dooming sheeples can’t see the wide spread debate among real scientists, not just your spineless paid consultants posing in lab coats and calling themselves scientists. And please it’s getting a little tired so spare us the “OH sanctified scientist” dogma because these “scientists” are the same scientists that polluted your poor little helpless 5 billion year old planet with all of their evil CHEMICALS in the first place according to the Greenzis.
Carl Sagon predicted a nuclear winter from the first Gulf War oil fires…….oops?
The UN has allowed Carbon Trading to trump 3rd World Education, clean water and starvation rescue. Nice job UN. Nice job CO2 believers. Is this Greenzi 1939 all over again?
God help us from this new WMD scam called globull warm mongering.
OPINION:
This is about setting a price on emissions (pollutants) accurately, in order to stimulate investment in Clean / Green / Eco-friendly products. As it stands, without these types of policies (i.e., ACESA), it unduly satisfies continued investments in technologies which add to the GHG causing pollutant industries.
As a small fish in the sea of investors / developers, I see this as a great opportunity to achieve entry into a scalable market (market without high barriers caused by artificially low price of GHG pollutants). In short, I support ACESA, as it makes our lives more predictable, or in simpler terms, it is LEGALLY supported.
The problems which arise from voluntary markets, what currently exists in the US, is that the meat of the bone is so thin, and the price of carbon remains low in real terms, making it more difficult to compete against the BIG MONEY (BIG FISH).
Peace, Captain Frank
Peter Wood,
The alternative you asked about in place of cap-and-trade, is revenue-neutral carbon tax-dividend (or fee-bate). Most of the revenue from a simple, straightforward carbon tax, charged upstream at the source of fuel production or importation, not downstream at the messy emission end (such as in the US climate bill Waxman-Markey), must be returned to consumers in equal shares, not coupled to individual’s carbon consumption. This compensates for the rising costs of living due to carbon tax, while encouraging consumer choice of less carbon intensive goods and services. Low income households will generally come out ahead, as income is positively correlated with carbon footprint. This also ensures public support of the measure. A revenue-neutral carbon tax-swap will also work, by charging carbon tax, but reducing income tax. Al Gore once called it “tax what you burn, not what you earn”. He has lost his mind when he threw his support over this counter-productive cap-and-trade bill. Read more here: securegreenfuture.org