Upstream | November 10, 2012 | 53 comments

Are we just going to bitch about climate change or actually DO something about it?

source: http://www.youtube.com/v/tY2I-4dstII?version=3&

coolplanet
November 7th, Bill McKibben and 350.0rg hit the road to jumpstart the next phase of the climate movement.

It was protests by 350.0rg that stopped the Keystone XL pipeline last year. Rather than bash Obama how about we Greens support this Do The Math Tour?
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    350.org,  Do The Math Tour,  Climate Change. Bill McKibben
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53 comments // Are we just going to bitch about climate change or actually DO something about it? // Video

  • Argon18
    • +1
      Argon18  

    • http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/12/1160960/-2013-Car-of-the-Year-is-an-Ele...

      I've always said anything posted here has as much effect as a "fart in a hurricane" but presenting the facts is worth it even if they are ignored. Showing the evidence of those that DO "make a difference" increases the odds that they might find support.

      For example, who would ever guess, even a few years ago, that an electric car would ever win Motor Trends Car of the Year Award? Especially with tortured history that technology has had.

      http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/car/1301_2013_motor_trend_car_of_the_year_te...

      "By any measure, the Tesla Model S is a truly remarkable automobile, perhaps the most accomplished all-new luxury car since the original Lexus LS 400. That's why it's our 2013 Car of the Year.

      Wait. No mention of the astonishing inflection point the Model S represents -- that this is the first COTY winner in the 64-year history of the award not powered by an internal combustion engine? Sure, the Tesla's electric powertrain delivers the driving characteristics and packaging solutions that make the Model S stand out against many of its internal combustion engine peers. But it's only a part of the story. At its core, the Tesla Model S is simply a damned good car you happen to plug in to refuel.

      Tesla offers three lithium-ion battery packs for the Model S -- 40-kW-hr, 60-kW-hr, and 85-kW-hr -- that are claimed to provide ranges of 140, 200, and 265 miles, respectively. The base 85-kW-hr powertrain delivers a stout 362 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque, while the performance version makes 416 hp and 443 lb-ft.The battery packs are assembled at Tesla's plant in Fremont, California, using Panasonic cells with nickel-cobalt-aluminum cathodes. Situated under the floor, the battery pack is a stressed member that further improves torsional rigidity, and helps lower the car's center of gravity to just 17.5 inches, about the same as a Ford GT's."

    • 6 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • WisconsinNorm
    • 0
      WisconsinNorm  

    • In 60 years, the world's human population went from just under 4 billion to fast approaching 8 billion. What are you going to do about that? Talk about a global dynamic affecting every aspect of your life.

      There is nothing else to talk about.

    • 6 months ago
  • Saladin
    • +1
      Saladin  

    • I said this five years ago and it's even more relevant today.

      Global Warming, at this point in time, is unstoppable.

      It has so little political traction that it wasn't even mentioned at this year's Presidential Debates. Even after Sandy hit the shores, there was barely a mention of it.

      And that's just the bleakness of the political front.

      On the actual climate front, we would not only need to essentially stop carbon emissions dead in their tracks where they're at right now, we would need to significantly backpedal existing greenhouse gases somehow to prevent a runaway effect.

      None of that is going to happen.

      What people should start doing is preparing themselves, in whatever way they can, for what comes next. Whether that's shopping locally, preparing your family or community for possible changes, etc.

      Because in nearly 30 years of campaigning from scientists, activist groups and politicians, not much has gotten done.

    • 6 months ago
  • coolplanet
    • +1
      coolplanet  
    • Saladin:

      Fatalism is as futile as denialism.
      While warming is well under way we certainly can stop it from getting worse. We are only at 1 degree C warming right now. We may not be able to prevent a 2 degree rise but we can absolutely prevent a 6 degree rise which would render our planet a lifeless hell hole.

    • 6 months ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • coolplanet:

      It's not fatalism, it's the facts.

      Even if you stopped this warming, we've already initiated a partial feedback loop. Melting ice and changing ocean temperatures releases methane into the atmosphere, causing more warming.

      It's not enough to just stop emissions (which we won't do), you'd need to have some kind of mitigating climate modification as well.

      In fact, that's probably the only realistic solution that will be offered to global warming, massive projects to disperse aerosol in the atmosphere or grow tons of algae in the oceans, etc.

    • 6 months ago
  • unimatrix0
    • +1
      unimatrix0  

    • Hey, I know, lets vote for Jill Stein and circle jerk with endless posts on climate change here at Current!

      We can all be kewl slacktivists and never have to leave the comfort of our warm glowing screens.

    • 6 months ago
  • tverdell
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • unimatrix0:

      What, and be just like you who thinks Obama walks on water and is made of teflon so all is well? When was the last time you left your house to protest or do anything other than complain about everyone else? Let's hope a storm doesn't come to destoy your city in one fell swoop and leave you with nothing as many are going though now. Talking about this is essential and is way overdue... at least thirty years overdue. And posting here about climate change which gives important information is a hell of a lot more necessary now than endless redundant threads about republican blowhards that only serve to assauge the political obsession here. And many of us do more than talking. We do the walking beyond just being here. Good to see how these posts really bring out the caring people.

    • 6 months ago
  • coolplanet
    • +1
      coolplanet  
    • tverdell:

      I've run out of room to plant any more trees (60) in my half acre yard. So I plant seedlings in big pots and find places to transplant them when they're large enough to survive on their own. Whenever I see an oak, birch or pine seedling where it will not survive the lawnmowers I dig it up and pot it. It's free, easy and very rewarding.
      One fast growing young tree can remove 50 pounds of CO2 from the air every year. Do the math.....

    • 6 months ago
  • unimatrix0
  • unimatrix0
  • coolplanet
  • unimatrix0
    • -1
      unimatrix0  
    • coolplanet:

      Please, let's be honest.

      I am not here because I think my posts or comments are going to change the world or make a difference, I am here for fun. I come here to amuse myself.

      Anyone who believes that by posting or commenting on Current they are "making a difference" is only kidding themselves.

    • 6 months ago
  • Varex_Sythe
    • +2
      Varex_Sythe  

    • My smartassish response is, "can't we do both?"

      My actual answer is that it is complicated. To an extent we can influence certain kinds of energy development in the private sector through public pressure; however, applying such public pressure is difficult, time consuming, and not always successful because private sector energy suppliers know that no matter how much we complain, at the end of the day we still end up using their product... unless you happen to be Amish, but if you are then the odds that you are actually reading this are practically zero.

      Anyhow, established energy providers, specifically those who are dependent upon fossil fuels, tend to have a monopoly on supplying energy, and as a result they tend to keep new and competing methods for providing energy in the crapper. We've made really weak baby steps with our overall energy technology advancement in regards of what technologies we use in mass to actually produce electricity, and the gross majority of those used advancements came into play because of government aid to help start alternative energy companies.

      But back to the problem of why you have a lot of people who bitch about climate change but don't do anything about it. A lot of people do not have the money, time, or resources to do more than bitch about it. Two parents working a minimum of two jobs between the two of them to support themselves and their kids usually can't afford to take time off to actually do something about climate change other than vote on policy about it. Single parents sure as hell can't, and our college students are being loaded down with debt that they cannot get rid of and are forced to take low paying jobs with long hours in order to pay off insanely large student loans. In short, most people that just bitch about it and don't actually do something about climate change do just that because the current social infrastructure doesn't really allow them to do much else.

    • 6 months ago
  • WagonMaster
  • Argon18
  • artemis6
    • +2
      artemis6  
    • WagonMaster:

      We do have a choice . We can do it while we still have our infrastructure and some resources to work with OR , we can do it AFTER our civilization (or what passes for one ) is reduced to rubble in repeated natural disasters ... Which one sounds more fun ?

    • 6 months ago
  • Argon18
    • +1
      Argon18  
    • Image

    • http://www.zazzle.com/do_the_math_tshirt-235497508088533811

      As Bill McKibben is pointing out the consequences of "just bitching" are severe so "Do the Math because SNAFU + BOHICA = FUBAR" which a dramatic example of was shown on the East Coast.

      http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/31/1153214/-Discussing-The-Meteorological-...

      "Out of all the major severe weather that impacts the United States, hurricanes are likely going to be the most visibly impacted by our changing climate. Warmer sea surface temperatures will directly translate to more energy for hurricanes to strengthen. The entire area over which Sandy traversed was above average.

      As climate change triggers more swings in air temperatures, the odds of hurricanes strengthening due to baroclinic force would go up. Rising sea levels would have made the devastating surge in New Jersey and New York (among other areas) even more devastating.

      In short, a changing climate will create more opportunities for a “superstorm” to develop. It might be a while before conditions align just perfectly for this type of scenario to happen again, but it’s something to seriously consider as we move forward. We no longer have to use simulations to see how devastating a 13 foot storm surge would be for New York City."

      The alternative is to "actually DO something" productive like expand the use of more efficient wind turbines that can be effective in more places.

      http://www.windspireenergy.com/applications/residential/

      "Homes across the country are using wind power generated by Windspire wind turbines to generate clean renewable energy and offset their energy use. Only 30 feet tall and silent, the Windspires are designed to fit in well in urban and suburban areas. U.S. homeowners are eligible for a 30% federal tax credit off the total cost of the turbines including installation and available local rebates as much as $4,800 in some states."

    • 6 months ago
  • FreeSpiritMuse
  • Dara_Stone
    • +1
      Dara_Stone  

    • They Just about have to figure out something.Because they all have admited That Climate Change is more then Likely the Cause of Kitrina and Sandy.

    • 6 months ago
  • tverdell
  • Argon18
    • +1
      Argon18  

    • http://youtu.be/CurJGL_aqYA

      Isn't the main problem that the USA is using an outdated infrastructure decades old with energy sources more than a century old? If the point is to " actually DO something about it" then the biggest step would be to upgrade the infrastructure to be more efficient to use advance technologies with a "smart infrastructure" and alternative energy sources.

      http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/business/energy-environment/30smart.html?pagew...

      "A similar pattern is emerging today, experts say, for what is being called smart infrastructure — more efficient and environmentally friendlier systems for managing, among other things, commuter traffic, food distribution, electric grids and waterways. This time, the crucial technological ingredients include low-cost sensors and clever software for analytics and visualization, as well as computing firepower.

      The company used its computer chip factory in Burlington, Vt., as a test bed for improving the efficiency of industrial water use. Using sensors to calibrate water flows and temperatures, analytics software and optimizing models, I.B.M. reduced its water consumption at the plant by 27 percent, or 20 million gallons a year, even as manufacturing output increased 30 percent.

      The plant saves $3 million a year, partly from reduced costs for water and treatment, I.B.M. said, and energy savings — less pumping, cooling and heating the water — account for 60 percent of the cost reduction.

      “It started out as a water-saving program and then we really saw the energy savings,” Ms. Nunes said. “And that’s true in industrial, agricultural and household use, this incredible interplay between energy and water.”

      http://www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid

      "The Smart Grid represents an unprecedented opportunity to move the energy industry into a new era of reliability, availability, and efficiency that will contribute to our economic and environmental health. During the transition period, it will be critical to carry out testing, technology improvements, consumer education, development of standards and regulations, and information sharing between projects to ensure that the benefits we envision from the Smart Grid become a reality. The benefits associated with the Smart Grid include:

      More efficient transmission of electricity
      Quicker restoration of electricity after power disturbances
      Reduced operations and management costs for utilities, and ultimately lower power costs for consumers
      Reduced peak demand, which will also help lower electricity rates
      Increased integration of large-scale renewable energy systems
      Better integration of customer-owner power generation systems, including renewable energy systems
      Improved security"

    • 6 months ago
  • coolplanet
    • 0
      coolplanet  
    • Argon18:

      We seriously need more Tedx in our endangered world.
      Everyone seems to want the politicians to fix it.
      Whatever happened to personal responsibility???
      We can no longer blame the greedy oil whores.
      We have the technology right now to solve this emergency.
      So what is our problem?

    • 6 months ago
  • Argon18
    • +3
      Argon18  
    • coolplanet:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep4L18zOEYI

      And more importantly we need more serious investment in the crumbling infrastructure like putting solar panels in the roads. That kind of tech would pay off on many different levels of the society.

      http://www.solarroadways.com/vision.shtml

      "Our long range goal is to cover all concrete and asphalt surfaces that are exposed to the sun with Solar Road Panels. This will lead to the end of our dependency on fossil fuels of any kind.

      Imagine one major fast-food chain retrofitting their parking lots across the nation: an all-electric vehicle (EV) could now recharge in those parking lots when needed. This removes the range limitation for EVs (eliminating their need to be recharged at home every night) and makes them far more practical. People would be more likely to trade in their internal-combustion engine vehicles for all-electric vehicles.

      Other businesses would see the advantage of retrofitting their parking lots: they could either go off-grid or put a huge dent in their monthly electric bill. They would also attract more customers, who would eat or shop in their stores as their EVs recharged in their parking lots. As more businesses jump on board, the EVs become more and more practical."

    • 6 months ago
  • SFirman
  • coolplanet
  • JanforGore
  • SFirman
    • 0
      SFirman  
    • JanforGore:

      I wish in my younger day I had heard or thought about climate change. Now age and more then that health keeps me at home. I have sent my senator e-mails. Not sure what else to do Jan. Suggestions?

    • 6 months ago
  • artemis6
  • coolplanet
    • 0
      coolplanet  
    • artemis6:

      Yes this was my idea 30 years ago.
      But I didn't get around to writing a book or organizing a movement.
      I was too busy in La La Land with the rest of my generation.
      Thank Earth for people like Bill McKibben!
      He is turning our indifference into a difference.

    • 6 months ago
  • coolplanet
    • +2
      coolplanet  

    • I just hate it when I get a story to #3 and I'm the only one commenting.
      Thank you V for recommending it!
      May I say that I find this a really sad commentary?
      I notice that Al Gore's call to action at #2 has suffered the same fate.
      Political differences in both cases it what's preventing us from taking action.
      This is not about Al Gore or Bill McKibben or Barack Obama or Jill Stein.

    • 6 months ago
  • SFirman
  • tverdell
  • coolplanet
    • +1
      coolplanet  
    • tverdell:

      We can change that.
      Democrats outnumber Republicans.
      Our problem is we are too diverse and shoot ourselves in the collective foot.
      We need to get behind our President instead on whining endlessly about our special interests. This is why the minority Republicans win elections. They vote in lockstep.
      The far left is as big a problem to progress as the far right.
      I am 100% Green but I acknowledge this reality.
      We need to support and protest Obama.
      That's how politics works.

    • 6 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • coolplanet:

      "We need to get behind our President instead on whining endlessly about our special interests"

      So do you think I'm whining? Say that should Keystone XL be approved. Why do you think Bill McKibben is out here now in the first place? Why do you think 4000 people in this country plus thousands worldwide including myself are now giving presentations to our communities to empower them as well? Why do you think people are sitting in trees in Texas being assaulted and arrested? Many of us ARE doing something. And I will hold Obama accountable as I would every other president regarding this because we do need laws as well. Those who can't handle that I think need to reflect as to where their loyalties really lie. And to add, criticizing any president hired by the American people based on policy is not bashing and I don't have to support him blindly in order to support initiatives to bring this crisis to the frontlines where it belongs. He has the bully pulpit, maybe it's about time he used it to support US.

    • 6 months ago
  • csmonut
    • +2
      csmonut  
    • JanforGore:

      I for one thank you for the effort.
      And I did vote for Obama again, I really hate the fact the man has done so little in the environmental field. There seems to be too much compromise...but then again, politics is a serious game played by greedy little children.
      I subscribe to and read quite a few science and environmental articles. While I can agree certain lands need to be set aside for wildlife, I cannot agree that wind generators or solar panels blanketing areas is absolutely bad for wildlife.
      There are groups out there that fight tooth and nail to keep solar and wind from being built because of a bird, reptile, etc. What I don't think they understand is that if we do not build these, the animals they are so worried about will be gone because of the pollution generated from fossil fuels, or natural gas fracking, etc.
      There has to be a balance, and that balance has to include humans as part of the equation, not seperate from it.

    • 6 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +2
      JanforGore  
    • coolplanet:

      Making this a partisan political issue has been its death knell. There are many republicans out here who want climate change addressed as well as democrats. Framing this not as a human and moral issue but a political one has only served to divide and alienate us more.

    • 6 months ago
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • csmonut:

      With true vision those obstacles can be overcome. And I agree, I think those dead set against any kind of change will find any reason to stay with the status quo. You see it across the political spectrum.

    • 6 months ago
  • tverdell
  • coolplanet
    • +1
      coolplanet  
    • tverdell:

      Thank you so much for cheering me up!
      I can't make it to the nearest city 200 miles away.
      Somehow I knew you'd come through tverdell.
      Please keep us posted. This is post-historic.

    • 6 months ago
  • tverdell
  • coolplanet
  • coolplanet
  • coolplanet
    • +5
      coolplanet  
    • Image

    • http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/29/bill_mckibben_on_hurricane_sandy_and

      Bill McKibben on Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change: "If There Was Ever a Wake-up Call, This Is It"

      Much of the East Coast is shut down today as residents prepare for Hurricane Sandy, a massive storm that could impact up to 50 million people from the Carolinas to Boston. The storm has already killed 66 people in the Caribbean, where it battered Haiti and Cuba. "This thing is stitched together from elements natural and unnatural, and it seems poised to cause real havoc," says Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org. New York and other cities have shut down schools and transit systems. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been evacuated. Millions could lose power over the next day. Meteorologists say Sandy could be the largest storm ever to hit the U.S. mainland. The megastorm comes at a time when President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have refused to make climate change an issue on the campaign trail. For the first time since 1984, climate change was never addressed during a presidential debate. "It’s really important that everybody, even those who aren’t in the kind of path of this storm, reflect about what it means that in the warmest year in U.S. history, ... in a year when we saw, essentially, summer sea ice in the Arctic just vanish before our eyes, what it means that we’re now seeing storms of this unprecedented magnitude," McKibben says. "If there was ever a wake-up call, this is it." We’re also joined by climate scientist Greg Jones from Southern Oregon University.

    • 6 months ago
  • coolplanet
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • coolplanet:

      And again unless I'm misinformed he is travelling across country on a bus that runs on oil ( more than likely made from tarsands.) (?) This is also the problem. I think we should do an innovation/investment bus tour that actually has a bus that runs on alternate/solar and show people it can be done. You might make a bigger impression that way. I thintk this tour is necessary and Bill Mc Kibben's article in Rolling Stone was right on the mark. But we need a way to show people these alternate sources do exist and can be integrated into daily life without altering their quality of life once we divest and wean off and actually show them how they save money doing it. Showing up to talk about divesting from fossil fuels in a huge bus that runs on fossil fuels, well... I wish he could have run it with two huge solar panels on the roof of the bus and biodiesel. Maybe Willie Nelson could give some tips on that.

    • 6 months ago
  • coolplanet
    • +5
      coolplanet  

    • http://www.youtube.com/v/lbdJRb7yaWY?version=3&amp

      Author Bill McKibben, cofounder of 350.0rg, a global grassroots climate activist movement, kicked off the Do The Math tour with an event before a packed house of 2000+ at Seattle's Benaroya Hall on Wednesday, 11/7/12. Before taking the stage, he gave this exclusive interview to The UpTake's Leif Utne. The 21-day, 21-city tour will highlight the magnitude of the threat fossil fuels pose to a livable planet, the opportunity Tuesday's election results pose, and a bold new strategy to hit the fossil fuel industries where it hurts -- including boycotts, blockades, marches on oil companies' shareholder meetings, and a new Fossil Free Campus divestiture movement modeled after the anti-Apartheid movement of the 1980s. McKibben will be joined at stops along the tour by celebrities and activists including author Naomi Klein and Gasland director Josh Fox. Next stops on the tour: Portland, SF, LA.

    • 6 months ago
  • coolplanet
  • coolplanet
  • coolplanet
    • +4
      coolplanet  
    • Image
    • coolplanet:

      http://350.org

      Letter from Bill McKibben

      Dear friends,

      The election is over, so now it’s time to really get to work.

      Right now I’m in Seattle, where tonight I’ll be getting up in front of a sold-out crowd to kick off the Do the Math tour. We're not going to sit back this time and wait for politicians, even the ones we like, to get things done -- if we want change it comes from us. And it’s coming! I’ve been doing this work for a long time, but tonight feels like something new.

      We’re still up against the most powerful industry in the history of the world, but we’re playing to win. After over a year of fighting big oil to a near standstill over Keystone XL and seeing the fossil fuel industry pour hundreds of millions of dollars into this election, we know what we have to do to win -- we have to get more creative, braver, and bolder than ever before.

      So let’s get started. Here’s what’s happening right away:

      Do the Math:

      Starting tonight, the 350.org crew and I are on the road for the Do the Math tour. It’s going to be something special, and we hope you can join us. We’ve already sold out 6 shows, and over 15,000 people have bought tickets from coast-to-coast, so get your tickets now if you haven’t already. I recorded a little preview of the tour so you can get a taste of what's in store: math.350.org

      Divestment:

      At the same time, on campuses all across the country, students are calling for their colleges and universities to divest from the industry that’s endangering our future. Dozens of campuses already have campaigns underway, and two - Unity College and Hampshire College - have already convinced their schools to divest.

      This kind of principled stand by students played a key role in taking down the Apartheid regime in South Africa, and with your help students will once again be a crucial part of ending a great injustice. We’ve launched a special site for students to start divestment campaigns, where you can launch petitions to University presidents, download campaign toolkits, and connect with other students. Click here to get started: gofossilfree.org

      Keystone XL:

      It’s time to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline once and for all.

      Our newly re-elected President has the opportunity to deny the permit for Keystone XL, and should do so right away. We’re not waiting to put the pressure on either -- on Nov. 18th, just as we wrap our Do the Math event, we’re hitting the streets of Washington DC with thousands of our friends to show Obama that we expect him to stop the pipeline. We know it’s short notice, but the sooner we make an impression on the President, the sooner we’ll wrap this fight -- if you’re nearby, can you join us? 350.org/Nov18

      So here goes something. We’re all going to have to dig deep into our reserves of energy and optimism, but we have the power to turn this thing around. Sandy showed us one vision of the future, but not the only one, and it’s on all of us to work for that other future that is still open to us, even when the odds of reaching it feel small.

      Let’s get to work.

      Thank you,

      Bill & the 350.org team

    • 6 months ago
  • coolplanet
  • csmonut
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