It’s Getting Hot In Here

When it comes to curbing climate change, some things are easier to do than others. As activists, much of what we work towards involves large-scale, industrial change and tough decisions from consumers, legislators, and industry. But sometimes solutions are really simple. Reducing junk mail is one of those no-brainer policy changes that helps get us closer to the planet we want to see.

Just two weeks ago, the Seattle City Council took an important stand against deforestation by adopting a resolution calling on the state of Washington to create a Do Not Mail registry. The registry would create an enforceable system to allow residents to choose to keep their mailboxes junk mail free. Currently, there are various ways to reduce your junk mail, but unlike the popular national Do Not Call Registry to stop unwanted phone calls, none of these options are enforceable–and some are even industry sponsored.
Continue reading ‘Seattle Takes on the Junk Mail Industry’

By Ishan Nath
Cross-posted from LeadEnergy.org

A special three-part series in last week’s San Jose Mercury News, entitled “The Cleantech Revolution,” highlighted the enormous economic opportunity in the clean-tech sector and warned that the U.S. is quickly falling behind while Asia seeks to gain global market dominance.

In its analysis of the clean technology market, the Mercury‘s rhetoric is grand and its data convincing. The first part of the series begins:

“Cleantech is poised to be the valley’s third great wave of innovation — not just the next big thing, but perhaps the biggest thing ever. Confronting the peril of greenhouse gases and climate change happens to be a multi-trillion-dollar business opportunity.”

The numbers provided support this claim: U.S. yearly utility bills exceed $1 trillion annually and the global energy and transportation market is estimated at $7 trillion. The wind and solar industries — valued at $80 billion in 2008 — are projected to triple in 10 years and employ 2.6 million people. Smart-grid technology, according to Morgan Stanley, will grow to $100 billion by 2030 and Cisco Systems believes smart-grid communications infrastructure could be worth $20 billion in the next 5 years.

Continue reading ‘The Cleantech Revolution: “Largest Market Opportunity in the History of the Planet”?’

photo: MoveOn Flickr

You’ve probably heard about the Toyota vehicle recall, related to sticking accelerators.  But did you know that despite selling the Prius as the eco-conscious vehicle of choice, Toyota is still a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the most backwards trade group on climate?

Well, we have an opportunity to ask why.

On Monday, Digg is sponsoring a live dialog with Toyota’s US President and Chief Operating Officer, Jim Lentz.  Just like  CitizenTube, our question will be asked if enough people vote for it – so digg it now! Continue reading ‘Tell Toyota COO to Put the Brakes on Climate Change & the US Chamber’

 Oregon has a reputation for being “greener” than your typical US state, and in some ways this reputation’s quite appropriate.  Back around the ’70s, Oregon pioneered a variety of environmental initiatives which since then have been adopted by many other states.  Then there’s the sophisticated public transportation system lacing through the city of Portland, which connects our largest urban hub to many of its suburbs (and which I rely on to do most of my getting around!).  Finally, the last couple of years have seen the state government and numerous local governments around Oregon begin to seriously pursue a list of ambitious environmental and climate-saving initiatives.

But talk to one of the many dedicated climate activists in this state, and they’ll tell you Oregon still has a ways to go.  Perhaps most glaringly obvious, there’s that tiny little coal plant in the city of Boardman, which spews out a hulking five million tons of carbon each year.  Then there are the three liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals which energy giants are trying to build on the Oregon coast, and which would serve as import sites for a new foreign, high-carbon fuel into the western United States.  Meanwhile, poorly planned transportation projects intended to accomodate Oregon’s fast-growing population are threatening to negate many of the emissions reductions made so far with new emissions from increased driving. 

Oregon is now in a position to continue building on its climate achievements, and truly become a national (perhaps world) leader in providing high living standards on a low-carbon budget.  But we’ve got a lot of challenges in front of us, and earlier this week several Oregonian climate activists had the chance to discuss Oregon’s bright green future with one of the state’s foremost political advocates of clean energy: 2010 gubernatorial candidate Bill Bradbury. Continue reading ‘Oregon’s Bright Green Future’

Last week, Eric Blevins came down from a nine day tree-sit on Coal River Mountain. He then spent a couple of days in jail. While in jail, he wrote this letter to the Register-Herald in Beckley, WV and then dictated it over the phone to a support person at Climate Ground Zero.

This week, we commemorated the 50 year anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins that were an integral part of the civil disobedience phase of the civil rights movement.  Many of the students that participated in those sit-ins were trained at the Highlander School in Tennessee near Coal River Mountain tree-sitter Eric Blevin’s home.

As we ponder our next steps in the climate action and climate justice movements, we need to remember that this sort of large scale change requires sacrifice.  With sacrifice, we need support. The civil rights activists risked their lives fighting segregation in the south.  Many spent long periods of time in jail. During the Greensboro sit-ins, violence and harassment of protesters often escalated.

So far, the coal industry and their political allies, inside and out of Appalachia, are fighting the anti-mountaintop removal legally (both criminal and civil), often resulting in jail time and fines.  There have also been threats and acts of violence directed at community members, organizers and activists in the coalfields.  Eric and his fellow tree-sitters sat in 60 ft. trees for over a week while coal company employees harassed and abused them with constant noise, bright lights, tree shaking and threats of spraying them down with fire hoses.  At the end of their tree-sit, Massey Energy has sued them for $75,000 and filed for a temporary restraining order in federal court. Continue reading ‘Letter from a West Virginia Jail’

Update! In just a few days we are now at over a quarter of a million signatories!

Thanks to a big push from Avaaz yesterday, there are now over 250,000 people (updated 2/10/10) who have signed a petition telling Chevron’s new CEO John Watson to clean up the oil giant’s toxic legacy in Ecuador, and around the globe.

It is undeniable that the world wants to change Chevron. People from all over the globe are signing this petition, people young and old, from so many backgrounds. We’ve had celebrities, musicians, investors, and Chevron employees standing up and demanding change from one of the largest corporations on the planet.

As the new leader of the 3rd largest oil company in the world, CEO John Watson can right the wrongs of his predecessors, transform his company, and one of the most dangerous industries on the planet.

150,000+ are saying “Enough is enough. Energy shouldn’t cost lives.”

From Ecuador to Richmond,CA to Burma and everywhere the oil giant operates in-between they leave a trail of environmental devastation, human rights abuses, and a legacy of health problems.

150,000+ say ENOUGH to Big Oil destroying our environment and the health of our communities.

Chevron, and their Big Oil cohorts, spend hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbyists and political contributions to buy off politicians and destroy policies that would be good for our climate and our future.

150,000+ people say ENOUGH to Chevron’s control of our government and our democracy.

To truly change Chevron and the oil industry, we are going to need to be 150,000 x stronger and louder and more powerful than we ever have been before. Our communities, our climate, our planet, and our future depend on it.

You in?

By Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. and Rev. Jesse Jackson

Cross-posted from Hip Hop Caucus. Find out more about the Clean Energy Now! Bus Tour.

Our country, and the world, faces the duel crisis of a failed American economy and climate change that threatens life on this planet as we know it.

Poor people and people of color are feeling the adverse impacts of climate change first and worst, from rising energy prices, to increases in heat-related illnesses. Ultimately, however, the destruction resulting from our planet’s rising temperature will not be discerning of national borders, a family’s yearly income, or the hue of one’s skin. Continue reading ‘Selma, Montgomery, Birmingham…Earth’

Today the Yale Project on Climate Change is releasing the second wave of results from their recent national survey. This report finds that, despite the recent drops in public beliefs and concern about global warming, a large majority of Americans—regardless of political affiliation—support the passage of federal climate and energy policies. These include support for:

• Funding more research on renewable energy, such as solar and wind power (85 percent)
• Tax rebates for people buying fuel-efficient vehicles or solar panels (82 percent)
• Establishing programs to teach Americans how to save energy (72 percent)
• Regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant (71 percent)
• School curricula to teach children about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global warming (70 percent)
• Signing an international treaty that requires the U.S. to cut emissions of carbon dioxide 90% by the year 2050 (61 percent)
• Establishing programs to teach Americans about global warming (60 percent).

Surprisingly, majorities of Republicans and Democrats support many of these policies, including renewable energy research, tax rebates, regulating carbon dioxide, and expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Further, majorities in both parties support returning revenues from a cap-and-trade system to American households to offset higher energy costs, perhaps opening a pathway for Congressional action.

Sixty percent of Americans, however, said that they have heard “nothing at all” about the cap and trade legislation currently being considered by Congress. Only twelve percent had heard “a lot.” Continue reading ‘Americans Support Strong Climate & Energy Policies’

2010 is the year for clean energy.

Student leaders across the country have come together to make clean energy and comprehensive climate change legislation a reality. Join them and take action HERE!

Right now, the Show Me Democracy campaign is forming local coalitions to show the United States Senate that our generation is SERIOUS about clean energy and global warming. It is critical that Senators hear about our local work and how we are working with the community to build the clean energy economy.

We need your help to make our vision a reality. Join a Show Me Democracy Team!

The Senate needs to hear YOUR voice – if we don’t stand up and fight, the only voice they will hear is that of dirty energy lobbyists.  This is are democracy – let’s show the Senate that the PEOPLE have the POWER.

Cross-posted from the 1Sky Skywriter blog

Have you ever heard that the best way to reach someone is through their personal network? This is the principle behind sharing blog posts and videos via email, Facebook, and other social networks. Clicking a button is an easy way to share with your friends, but a more effective way is directly face-to-face; of course, face-to-face doesn’t have to mean “in their face.”

On Tuesday night, I joined much of America in watching the final season premiere of Lost. Thankfully I chose my roommates well last year, as evidenced by them wanting to watch with me. As we sat together in the living room, we were distracted during each commercial break by the steady snowfall outside our window.

A discussion began about how Washington, D.C. has been getting an unusual amount of snow this winter. Without really thinking, I uttered emphatically, “global warming.” Continue reading ‘Finding little moments for climate ed’