This post is part of Blog Action Day, 9,993 blogs and counting, all writing about climate change on the same day and together calling the US to take serious action on climate. Sign their petition here.
In 1986, the Swedish rock band Europe penned a song that would go down as one of the greatest in karaoke history, “The Final Countdown.” In truth, “The Final Countdown” has inspired thousands – nay, millions – to become amateur hair-metal superstars, belting out that most famous of lyrics, “It’s the final countdown/Duh nuh nuuuuuh nuh/ duh nuh nuh nuh nuh/ duh nuh nuuuuuh nuh/ duh nuh nuh nuh nuh.” It has become a timeless anthem that brings basketball crowds to their feet and brings back memories of hairspray and frayed leather vests to many a former groupie.
To me, however, “The Final Countdown” has a more serious connotation. It represents a soundtrack to the next two or three months, as world leaders, climate advocates, and global citizens prepare for a “final countdown” of their own. Clean energy legislation is moving through the US Senate, with more details emerging daily. The international climate negotiations are steadily plodding forward in anticipation of what some have called “the most important negotiations in the history of the world.” For me, the rest of 2009 is a final countdown of a different sort, dare I say, a “Climate Countdown”? And how does any good countdown start? Well, at “10″ of course!
10 weeks until Copenhagen high level meetings. That’s right – only ten weeks remain before the world’s most powerful men and women gather in the Danish capital to structure a binding global treaty aimed at solving climate change. That means, ten weeks to tell your senator that you want to see strong domestic climate legislation that will enable American negotiators to craft a real deal in Copenhagen. That means, ten weeks to tell President Obama to get in the game and ramp up the pressure on Senators to push for the emissions reductions that science is calling for and the financing that a global treaty needs to succeed. Ten weeks.
9 Regional PowerShifts. That means there are nine opportunities left for you to bond with youth climate leaders in your region and hold your Senators accountable as they take up clean energy legislation. From Michigan to Virginia, North Carolina to Oregon, these are nine conferences to reinforce a central tenet of the youth climate movement: “There is only one thing that can cut through the influence of these special interests and politics as usual; YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE US!!!”
8 thousand (plus) bloggers on Blog Action Day. (At least – that’s how many had posted when I started writing this post this morning, now the number is much higher!) That means eight thousand unique voices calling for change using the new media technology that makes this movement so successful, so unique, and so democratic. Our voices are pouring together from the smallest shack in Malaysia to the biggest skyscraper in Vancouver to rally around one simple statement: climate change is a problem that is too important to sit idly by. We may blog in our PJs, but we blog with a purpose!
7 continents hosting a 350.org Day of Action on October 24th. Our global push for climate action now will be heard literally all around the world on October 24th, as concerned citizens, divers, children, athlethes, clergy, painters, businesspeople, and more rally around one simple data point: we must restore global carbon levels to 350ppm. Even folks in Antarctica will be telling the world’s leaders, “350=Survival”.
6 major companies leaving the US Chamber of Commerce over climate legislation. The Chamber can’t recognize that the new energy economy of the future creates more jobs and more profits than the dirty fossil fuel status quo. So Apple, Exelon, PNM Resources, PG&E, PSEG, and Levi Strauss & Co. decided to ditch that party. Score one for iPods and trendy jeans!
5 Senate Committees with jurisdiction over climate legislation. The Senate Environment and Public Works, Agriculture, Finance, Commerce, and Foreign Relations Committees are all going to be looking over the Kerry-Boxer bill that was introduced into the Senate two weeks ago. They’ll offer their tweaks and alterations, and gear up for a floor fight that could prove ugly. Hopefully, it’ll be just as melodious as the House bill.
4 policy elements that could save the world. The Bali Action Plan, the main document that global climate negotiators have been working with to come up with an international climate treaty, specifies four major policy areas that must be the framework for any global deal: mitigation, adaptation, finance, and technology. If negotiators can agree to adopt strong emissions cuts, protect those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, help developing nations pay to reduce their emissions, and share clean energy tech, we can kiss Al Gore goodbye and come up with a new problem to solve!
3 hundred thousand residents of Maldives. The Maldives, a small island country in the Indian Ocean, is just above sea level – making it one of the most vulnerable countries on earth to the sea level rise that will come as glacial melt continues. But they are not standing around waiting for the water to cover their heads — they are taking action on Oct 24 by having an underwater Cabinet meeting!
2 million+ TckTckTck global citizens for climate action. That’s two million folks who are rallying their governments to step up to the plate on climate. Two million people working to wake up their leaders. Two million voices uniting. That’s pretty awesome.
1 climate. This is what it’s really all about. We only have 1 planet on which we can live. Only 1 chance to get this thing right. 1 future to save. When it comes down to it, we don’t really have a choice. It’s more of a decision of do we want to do this thing right the first time and save as many people as possible? Or, do we want to live in the same unsustainable manner that has plagued our world for decades. It’s our choice, but we only get 1 pick.
