International Action
Astroturf Fail? Join the real grassroots climate action movement
Published August 14, 2009 @ 12:52PM PT
It’s more important than ever that we keep the pressure up for strong climate policy. As Emily wrote earlier this week, a fake-grassroots campaign is being unleashed against energy and climate policy reform.
Big Oil is eager to evade regulation of their dirty energy supplies. It's taken a cue from the health care reform protesters, who have managed to seize the media spotlight with intimidation tactics like shouting down members of Congress at their in-district town hall meetings.
Kevin Grandia recently wrote on HuffPo about an email memo, written by American Petroleum Institute (API) president Jack Gerard, that was leaked to colleagues of mine here at Greenpeace. The memo details how API, a lobbying group for Big Oil, "plans to launch a nationwide Astroturf campaign attacking climate legislation at public events scheduled throughout the final weeks of recess before the Senate returns to debate the issue in September."
The best cures for astroturf are real grassroots. So here are ways that you can get involved right now, to help keep the record straight and demand solutions on climate and energy policy:
Green the Block's national day of service on September 11:
This campaign builds off President Obama's call for citizen's to join in national recovery and renewal efforts on September 11th, 2009. Enter your event into Green the Block's online system, so that anyone looking for something to do on 9/11 will be able to find it.
This campaign is organized by green jobs group Green for All and the Hip Hop Caucus “to educate and mobilize communities of color to ensure a voice and stake in the clean-energy economy.”
Above: Green for All has put together a really great video, called "The New Sound," to help get the word out about "Green the Block" day of service on Sept. 11, 2009.
The International Day of Climate Action on October 24th:
Being co-ordinated by 350.org, which has tools online to help you plan and promote an event in your community.
The goal is to unite activists worldwide around getting the greenhouse gas pollution in the atmosphere down to 350 parts per million (right now we're at around 389 and climbing), and demand that world leaders take action to solve global warming.
As writer and 350.org activist Bill McKibben told us right here on this blog this week, there are over 1,500 or so events already scheduled around the world, from rallies in big cities to "climbers high in the Himalayas, and underwater demonstrations off the coral reefs of the Maldives, and teams of 350 bike riders, and churches ringing their bells 350 times, and an endless variety of other creative and impassioned ways to drive this most important number into the consciousness of the world!"
Maybe you don't want to wait until 9/11 or 10/24:
Well, Greenpeace has organizers around the country who’d be happy to help you plug in to your local activist community. Check out greenpeace.org/volunteer to find an organizer near you, or to sign up to get more information from one of our national organizers if you’re not near one of our field organizers.
I know I’m really stoked about the Mobilization for Climate Justice happening here in the Bay Area this weekend, to protest the expansion of a Chevron refinery in Richmond, CA.
[Other organizing / action efforts and events to consider: 1Sky's "Summer Recess Beach Party" campaign, the Alliance for Energy Education's climate assemblies, and the Energy Action Coalition youth movement. - Ed.]
The important thing is that we all get out there and make sure that corporate-backed astroturfers don’t hijack this debate. Don't let Big Oil drown our voices out! The time for real global warming solutions is now. Let’s make it happen.
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Image via Energy Action Coalition.
Bill McKibben: 'There finally is climate change activism' and anyone can join
Published August 13, 2009 @ 02:41PM PT
Above: "350 Graffiti," by Anonymous, Oakland, CA, USA. Part of 350 Art Gallery.
Five Questions for Author and Environmentalist Bill McKibben
Author Bill McKibben wrote the first mainstream book about global warming, "The End of Nature," in 1989. As well as writing plenty since (on redefining wealth, curbing Christmas consumer frenzy, and more), Bill has founded and co-directs 350.org -- a genuinely global, grassroots, international climate action campaign.
The project's mission is to support communities and organizers around the world, in demanding that world leaders set a goal of 350 parts per million of CO2. It's the level some scientists say is the safe upper limit for greenhouse gas concentrations in our atmosphere to avoid a catastrophic and unstoppable cascade of disruptions to the climate. (We're currently at around 389 ppm and rising.)
Bill has been traveling around the US and the world to inspire and help plan events for a united, planetary "International Day of Climate Action" on October 24, 2009.
Bill kindly agreed to trade questions and answers in e-mail about the state of global warming activism, what's lifting his spirits, and how any citizen can act now to create change for the better.
Emily Gertz: What are the major currents in climate change activism, based on what you've been seeing on your travels and work for 350.org?
Bill McKibben: The most basic answer is that there finally is climate change activism. For so many years we left this mainly in the hands of the experts, and they weren't able to accomplish anything because they had no movement behind them to match the power of the special interests.
But that's changing everywhere--- a real citizens movement, often outside the established environmental organizations.
Gertz: How does the activist scene in the US compare to the scene in other nations?
McKibben: The commonalities are most striking--especially the heavy involvement of youth. The EnergyAction network in the US has been widely emulated--there have been variations of its Powershift conference (which drew 12,000 young people to DC in February) all over the world. I just came from the Indian version: Badlaav, which means Change, in Delhi.
Some places are just getting started--at 350.org we've helped run training camps for climate activists in Africa, Central Asia, and the Caribbean this year, with lots and lots and lots of new young leaders. Good fun!
Gertz: Who has particularly impressed you -- given you optimism for the future?
McKibben: Those youth are impressive--check out the videos from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, for instance.
And check out IndyAct, the Arab world leaders in climate work, headquartered in Beirut. They're doing amazing work in a tough corner of the world.
Gertz: What are the most important, effective things people should be doing right now to have the most positive impact on US climate legislation, as well as the December climate treaty talks in Copenhagen?
McKibben: We need to reboot this debate some, so that our politicians aren't looking for agreements, but for solutions. We have precious little time to actually deal with climate -- we need to pay more attention to physical reality than political reality, and that's what 350.org is all about.
I think it's pretty clear that October 24, 350.org's global day of climate action, is emerging as the most exciting day on the fall calendar. It's going to be enormous and it's going to be creative, and it's going to matter.
EG: How can people get involved in the October 24 Day of Action?
BM: Getting involved is easy--go to the website, and start planning an action for your area.
When you do, you'll be joining the 1,500 or so already scheduled in most of the countries of the world.
There will be big city rallies -- but also climbers high in the Himalayas, and underwater demonstrations off the coral reefs of the Maldives, and teams of 350 bike riders, and churches ringing their bells 350 times, and an endless variety of other creative and impassioned ways to drive this most important number into the consciousness of the world!
Five Videos to Watch This Week: From Climate Denial to Keen Electric Sportscar
Published August 11, 2009 @ 07:41PM PT
Okay, I know it's summer. But look away for just a few minutes from Darth Vader dancing to Hammer and Mean Kitty vs FlippyCat and check out this week's haul of nifty and informative videos about global warming:
1. Climate Denial Crock of the Week
Peter Sinclair's "Climate Denial Crock of the Week" is an ongoing and very enjoyable video series that debunks global warming myths. This installment, which mentions Anthony Watts of the prominent global warming denial blog wattsupwiththat.com, was temporarily taken down by YouTube after Mr. Watts complained it had violated some copyright rules.
Across the Change-i-verse
Published August 09, 2009 @ 07:12PM PT
Just a small sampling of what's been going on this past week on Change.org's blogs:
Friday Futures: Food: How might the combination of population growth, monocrop agriculture, and overfishing affect the future of food. Sustainable Food blog editor Alanna Shaikh isn't optimistic: "We'll continue to grow enough food in aggregate to support the weight of the world's population. In terms of the variety of our food, however, we're on the verge of a major contraction. Variety will shrink, and prices of food will go up enough that the even the middle class will see their food options substantially limited by price."
Also at Sustainable Food, editor Natasha Chart covers one of the major underreported natural resource stories, the growing shortage of phosphorous for fertilizer.
Twitter, Facebook Shut Down in Attempt to Silence Activist: "On Thursday and Friday millions of social media users found themselves frustrated and without access to services like Twitter and Facebook," writes Social Entrepreneurship editor Nathaniel Whittemore. "News reports soon came in that the outages were being caused by an ongoing and coordinated hacker attack. Just today, the story got even more interesting, with the New York Times reporting that the target of the attack appears to have been a single person, a 34 year old economics professor and refugee activist from the Republic of Georgia."
Fear, Sex, and Pandemic - Horrible Outcomes Don't Change Behavior: Global health equivalent of global warming's To Scare or Not To Scare? "Only a small percentage of the public will respond to the ‘useful parts' of the message and change habits," says Global Health guest blogger Carol Dunn, "All ‘call to action' messages that trigger our fear response-are not sustainable, healthy, or useful..." and several more interesting points.
Does "Cash for Clunkers" Hurt the Homeless? "In addition to stimulating the economy and promoting fuel efficiency, the "Cash for Clunkers" program may be having another unintentional effect: hurting the poor and homeless," suggests End Homelessness editor Shannon Moriarty. Vehicle donation programs, such as Mission Solano in Fairfield, California, rely on vehicle donations (in return for a tax write-off) to raise funds to serve the area's homeless."
Friday Food: Fresh and Light Pastas, Zucchini Love, Filled Pancakes, and More: Another great roundup of vegan recipes from Animal Rights editor Stephanie Ernst. And Because Sometimes We All Need a Little Bit of Adorable, she posted this cheering video as well.
Find My Happy Place (Or, Music for a Bad Day): We certainly don't have the corner on bad news here at Stop Global Warming. But it's important to re-energize. Genocide blog editor, Michelle shares a selection of music to cheer up by from her personal "Find My Happy Place" i-Pod playlist.
Fatalistic Friday: Glaciers shrink, coal lobby spends, more
Published August 07, 2009 @ 06:03PM PT
Retreat of South Cascade Glacier, Washington, during the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st Century. Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Scientists See Alaska, Washington Glaciers Shrinking Fast: Three major glaciers in Alaska and Washington state have thinned and shrunk dramatically, clear signs of a warming climate and signaling lower stream flows in summer months, according to a study released Thursday by the U.S. Geological Survey. (Associated Press)
Coal's biggest lobbying group is launching a $1 million campaign to win support from Senate Democrats, an effort that employs the same public relations firm ensnared by a scandal over forged letters to Congress. (Greenwire)
Climate Action May Stall in Fall: With the fight over health care reform absorbing all attention on Capitol Hill, Democrats fear climate change legislation may lose momentum. (Politico)
Realtors Get Labels Cut From Climate Bill for Older Houses: Real estate industry gets older homes exempted from energy labeling provision of energy and climate legislation, saying it threatened a lucrative corner of their industry. (Climatewire)
The Trouble With Nuclear Fuel: Nukes represent a promising bridge from fossil fuels to truly clean energy technologies. But it's really hard to prevent it from being used to make bombs. (The Economist)
Some California Amphibians May Need a Lift to Survive Climate Change:
As amphibian habitat shifts with global warming, some species will be trapped in shrinking territories, and need human interventions to survive. (Scientific American)
"Serious" Climate Talks Hinge On U.S. Bill: The success or failure of international climate treaty talks depends upon the U.S. passing a strong bill to slash carbon pollution, says American Clean Energy and Security Act co-sponsor Edward Markey (D-Mass.) (Reuters)
Tiny Prairie Grouse Native To Wind-Rich Swath Of America: If the lesser prairie chicken is listed as threatened or endangered – the species' numbers have dropped 80 percent nationally since 1963 – significant restrictions would be placed on companies hoping to plant towering turbines across a five-state region believed to have some of the nation's best wind energy potential. (The Dallas Morning News)
Climate Bill Demands Pile Up for Boxer, Kerry Headed Into Summer Break: "Liberal Democrats, for example, want stronger emission targets compared with the House-passed bill. Coal-state senators are pressing for changes to a delicately crafted House deal that would send their electric utilities a larger share of free allocations. And expanded energy production sits atop the wish list for oil patch Democrats." (Climatewire)
Nobel Halo Fades Fast for Climate Change Panel: As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gears up for its next climate review, many specialists in climate science and policy, both inside and out of the network, are warning that it could quickly lose relevance unless it adjusts its methods and focus. (The New York Times)
China, U.S. Pledge Cooperation on Climate, Energy Initiatives
Published July 28, 2009 @ 05:25PM PT
"Is it possible that the long performance of the “You first, sir,” vaudeville routine by the Alphonse and Gaston of the global greenhouse is drawing toward a close?" asks New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin.
Could be: In a public ceremony today at the State Department, China and the U.S. -- the world's two greatest greenhouse gas polluters -- signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on climate and energy projects. [Here's a PDF of the original signed document, in Chinese and English.]
In the memo the two nations pledge to:
...strengthen and coordinate our respective efforts to combat global climate change, promote clean and efficient energy, protect the environment and natural resources, and support environmentally sustainable and low-carbon economic growth.
Both countries commit to respond vigorously to the challenges of energy security, climate change and environmental protection through ambitious domestic action and international cooperation.
Toward this end, both countries intend to transition to a low-carbon economy, carry out policy dialogue and cooperate on capacity building and research, development and deployment of climate-friendly technology.
Both countries resolve to pursue areas of cooperation where joint expertise, resources, research capacity and combined market size can accelerate progress towards mutual goals. These include, but are not limited to:
1) Energy conservation and energy efficiency
2) Renewable energy
3) Cleaner uses of coal, and carbon capture and storage
4) Sustainable transportation, including electric vehicles
5) Modernization of the electrical grid
6) Joint research and development of clean energy technologies
7) Clean air
8) Clean water
9) Natural resource conservation, e.g. protection of wetlands and nature reserves
10) Combating climate change and promoting low-carbon economic growth
It's a framework document, lacking specifics on funding, as well as trade issues dear to both nations, such as protection of intellectual property, and loosening up technology transfer.
But for all that, it's a significant move that's likely to have an impact in the hallways during international climate meetings in advance of December's "Son of Kyoto" talks in Copenhagen. Are the U.S. and China moving out of the way of a stronger international global warming accord? Are they getting on board? Or are they breaking away from the UN treaty process, to forge their own agreement? Hard to tell at this point.
Closer to home, the joint understanding may finally suck the air out of a classic justification of Congressional climate foot-draggers: that the U.S. dare not take action on greenhouse gas emissions while China, our major global economic rival, holds back.
Today the two nations took one small step, side by side.
Drowning Nations: Tuvulu vows to kick fossil energy by 2020
Published July 23, 2009 @ 08:16PM PT
Above: The first major solar system in Tuvalu, atop the stadium roof in the capital, Funafuti, is the first step towards a national goal of being powered entirely by renewable energy sources by 2020. Credit: e8
Tiny archipelago nation Tuvalu, the fourth smallest nation in the world, sits in the middle of the South Pacific. Composed of four coral reef islands and five atolls, most of Tuvalu is less than one meter (three feet) above sea level. Periodic high tides (called king tides) have gotten notably worse in the past decade, causing increasingly destructive flooding. It's confronting the government and its 12,000 citizens with the reality of global warming.
Tuvalu was settled around 3,000 years ago. If global business as usual continues, Tuvaluans might have to abandon their 10 square miles of home well before the end of this century.
So as China, India, the United States and other major emitters of greenhouse gas pollution jockey for position on the road to Copenhagen, Tuvalu has vowed to totally break with fossil energy by 2020.
Well okay: with no heavy industry and almost no natural resources, Tuvalu's carbon footprint is extremely small, both per capita and in absolute terms. But the point is to make a point. "We look forward to the day when our nation offers an example to all," Public Utilities Minister Kausea Natano told the BBC this week, "powered entirely by natural resources such as the sun and the wind."
The government believes it will take around $20 million to convert the entire archipelago to renewable energy.
So far, with the logistical assistance of e8 (a non-profit consortium of utilities from G8 nations) and funding from two Japanese utilities, it's installed a $410,000, 40 kilowatt solar power system on the roof of the country's largest soccer stadium in the capital, Funafuti. In operation for around 14 months, the array is estimated to have cut Tuvalu's consumption of fuel oil (which is shipped in from New Zealand) by about 17,000 litres, and its CO2 emissions by about 50 tons.
The government now aims to bring solar power to Tuvalu's outer islands. Later this year, it's planning to erect an $800,000, 46 kilowatt solar power system for a secondary school on Vaitupu.
"There may be other larger solar power installations in the world, but none could be more meaningful to customers than this one," Takao Shiraishi, general manager of Japan's Kansai Electric Power Company, told reporters.
Said Nick Nuttall, spokesman for the United Nations Environment Programme: "In a sense, they are paving the way for medium and larger economies which have to move if we are going combat climate change."
Related articles:
Tuvalu plots world's first zero carbon output by 2020 (The Telegraph)
At risk from rising seas, Tuvalu seeks clean power (Reuters)
Tuvalu vows to go carbon neutral (BBC News)
Drowning island pins hopes on clean energy (CNN)
Tiny Tuvalu: If we can do it, so can you (Carbon News)
