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Alarming NASA Climate Report
NASA Climate Report. Ice could be gone by the end of Summer 2008 not 2012 now! Potential of unlimited methane gas release due to the rapid warming of the ocean!
It is high time we all radically change our lifestyles in order to stop and reverse this trend. NASA Climate Report. Ice could be gone by the end of Summer 2008 not 2012 now! Potential of unlimited methane gas release due to the r... more -
CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE
CLIMATE CHANGE.
We need to do something about this.
I'm glad that it is cool to be green,I feel we need to stay green as long as possible. Mother Nature is not to be played with!!!!
If we all do our part, we can help preserve this world for future generations.
CLIMATE CHANGE. We need to do something about this. ... more -
Plea For climate refugees of Tuvalu
TUVALUAN elder Fikau Teponga's island homeland is sinking and he wants Darebin Council to help save his people.
Now living in Fairfield, the leader of Victoria's tiny Tuvaluan community is calling on Darebin Council to lobby the Federal Government to set up a new climate-change refugee category.
He is backed by Darebin Ethnic Communities Council, which will discuss an action plan with Darebin Council this week.
Mr Teponga fears for the safety of his mother, five brothers, two sisters, two sons and eight grandchildren, among the 11,000 living on Tuvalu already experiencing dire climate change consequences.
"Water from the wells is contaminated with salt and undrinkable. People see their taro root and vegetable crops dying before their eyes and the waves are creeping further and further on to the coastline," he said.
Tuvalu was a tropical paradise, but at just a few metres above sea level. The rising tides of global warming would wipe out this group of nine islands north of Fiji.
Councils have lobbied the Federal Government on behalf of asylum-seekers before.
In 2003 Victorian local government lobbied on behalf of 800 East Timorese asylum-seekers who wanted to stay in Australia.
Darebin Ethnic Communities Council chairman Gaetano Greco said New Zealand had a category for refugees displaced by the environment and Australia should do likewise.
Minister for Immigration Senator Chris Evans said Australia could help resettle people displaced by climate change.
TUVALUAN elder Fikau Teponga's island homeland is sinking and he wants Darebin Council to help save his people. ... more -
A Solar Grand Plan - Scientific American Magazine
High prices for gasoline and home heating oil are here to stay. The U.S. is at war in the Middle East at least in part to protect its foreign oil interests. And as China, India and other nations rapidly increase their demand for fossil fuels, future fighting over energy looms large. In the meantime, power plants that burn coal, oil and natural gas, as well as vehicles everywhere, continue to pour millions of tons of pollutants and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere annually, threatening the planet. High prices for gasoline and home heating oil are here to stay. The U.S. is at war in the Middle East at least in part to protect its ... more
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Al Gore: A Generational Challenge to Repower America
Two major studies from military intelligence experts have warned our leaders about the dangerous national security implications of the climate crisis, including the possibility of hundreds of millions of climate refugees destabilizing nations around the world.
Just two days ago, 27 senior statesmen and retired military leaders warned of the national security threat from an "energy tsunami" that would be triggered by a loss of our access to foreign oil. Meanwhile, the war in Iraq continues, and now the war in Afghanistan appears to be getting worse. Two major studies from military intelligence experts have warned our leaders about the dangerous national security implications of the... more -
Olympics Suck Up China's Already Scarce Water
Three years ago, local government officials told farmers in this village of 7,000 residents to stop using water from a reservoir near their wheat and corn fields. If they needed water, the farmers were told, they would have to dig a well.
"They said there wasn't enough water," Jia Jianguo, 60, recalled.
At their own expense, the farmers dug a 90-foot well. But even though the new irrigation system worked fine, the locals have been forced to pool their meager resources each year that the water recedes to keep their crops alive. The well is now 135 feet deep, and the groundwater is seeping away as fast as the province's increasingly scarce water supplies are being channeled some 100 miles southwest to the thirsty capital of 15 million inhabitants, Beijing.
The Changgucheng farmers were never told that their reservoir is one of four in the province tapped to meet the capital's demand for water leading up to and during the Olympic Games, which begin in August. The Games are expected to increase Beijing's water consumption by at least 5 percent, or 162,000 acre-feet, according to a recent report by Probe International, a Canadian environmental group. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons.
From south to north
The channel is needed not only to make more water available for Beijing, but to clean Olympic venues and to flush out the city's polluted canals and lakes.
It is part of a mammoth $25 billion diversion scheme to bring water from southern rivers to the arid north to bolster Beijing's water supply.
Ecologists say this is just another example of how the push to showcase a green Olympics is creating environmental problems in provinces outside Beijing. Major polluting factories have been shut down or moved out of the capital for the Olympics. Diverting Hebei's water is just one of many potentially problematic actions, experts say.
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Diverting scarce water from farmers just to put on a show for the world is sickening.
Another reason to boycott their sham along with their human rights abuses and their part in genocide. Three years ago, local government officials told farmers in this village of 7,000 residents to stop using water from a reservoir near ... more -
First City In Canada To Allow Electric Cars On The Streets
The City of Oak Bay, just a hop away from Victoria, is expected to become the first Canadian city to unleash slow-moving electric cars onto its streets.
For a town not exactly known for its land-speed records, this speedy push to go electric underscores the fact that conditions may finally be ripe for an electric-car comeback.
"We're trying to say let's not block new technology. Let's allow new technology to be encouraged. And we're not going to stand in its way,'" said Oak Bay Mayor Christopher Causton.
The draft bylaw, which is expected to pass before council tomorrow, will allow low-speed electric vehicles to be driven freely throughout the mostly residential Oak Bay.
While electric vehicles have been around since the 19th century, it's taken a "perfect storm" of high gas prices, the carbon tax and concerns about global warming to save them from the brink of extinction.
The Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association (VEVA) has seen membership double to 200 over the past three months, and hits to its website have tripled.
Meanwhile, B.C.'s best-known electric car converter, Randy Holmquist of Vancouver Island, says sales of electric-car conversion kits have shot up so fast he "can barely keep up."
The City of Oak Bay, just a hop away from Victoria, is expected to become the first Canadian city to unleash slow-moving electric cars... more -
Gasoline-powered vehicle owners switching to providing greener alternatives
Greg Murray has always loved his turbo-charged Subaru WRX. But carbon guilt got the better of him.
So now, not only has he stopped driving it, the electric convert's going into business selling battery-powered vehicles. "I've always loved gas cars. But it stopped being fun, because I knew what I was doing to the environment," says the Vancouverite. "You love it -- but there's so much evil attached."
As the demand for green cars rise, entrepreneurs throughout B.C. are seeing fresh opportunities to do business in an industry long dominated by major corporations.
While the big automakers rush to roll out affordable low-carbon cars by 2010, small startups are finding their own niche.
Jay Giraud is the founder of seven-month-old Envia Solarmotion Inc., which specializes in converting Ford vehicles to run on batteries. "Corporations are desperate to reduce fuel costs," said Giraud.
Murray, meanwhile, is now the marketing director of E-SUV Inc., the Canadian dealer for E-Ride Industries, a Minnesota company that manufactures low-speed electric utility vehicles.
The Vancouver dealership, just six months old, has five confirmed orders, said Murray.
But the business of selling low-speed electric cars is still a gamble in Canada, with federal and provincial regulations limiting wider use. To succeed, small companies both here and abroad are banking on a new breed of driver willing to go the distance to save on gas -- and the environment.
Greg Murray has always loved his turbo-charged Subaru WRX. But carbon guilt got the better of him. ... more -
Melting Himalayan glaciers set alarm bells ringing
Various studies suggest that the warming in the Himalayas has been greater than the global average due to which a number of ice packed glaciers are melting or getting displaced from their origin along with reports of glacier sliding due to which the unfamiliar changes are under spotlights in the areas including Northern Areas of Pakistan.
The situation is getting worst as couple of months ago it was reported that a number of glaciers are being melting not only disturbing the ecological balance but also posing the side effects on various sectors. Recent alarming change of this series was the burst of a glacier, 80 km north of Chitral, which was totally unusual and unexpected.
The glacier struck the Sonoghur village and devastated the houses and crops in the area.
Sonoghur village was also inundated last year in June when the same glacier burst away sweeping 140 homes in the area, while fortunately this year due to 150 families already evacuated their homes anticipating after the glacier lake outburst.
A recent summary of the conclusions of Working Group II of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change predicts, "If current warming rates are maintained, Himalayan glaciers could decay at very rapid rates, shrinking from the present 500,000 square kilometers to 100,000 square kilometers by 2030s."
The serious expected consequences includes flooding, more hot temperature in summers and very cold temperature in winters also effecting the timing of the seasons, landslides and mudflows, change in the direction of rivers, decrease in the productivity of biological systems, change in floral composition, spreading of diseases and increase in risk of hunger and famine in some locations, finally putting human security at a high risk.
Glacial runoff in the Himalayas is the largest source of freshwater for the Indus River in Pakistan, contributing much in providing the fresh drinking water along with facilitating the country with water for irrigation and agriculture system which is the backbone of our agro-based economy.
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Glaciers are melting worldwide which threatens freshwater supplies for millions of people. This is what has been set in motion by people not paying attention to important issues. Various studies suggest that the warming in the Himalayas has been greater than the global average due to which a number of ice packed... more -
Diary: Colorado River drought
The south-western US is suffering its eighth consecutive year of drought. There are concerns that the Colorado River, which has sustained life in the area for thousands of years, can no longer meet the needs of the tens of millions of people living in major cities such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
We cannot continue to waste water as we are doing. We are turning the Western US into a desert. The south-western US is suffering its eighth consecutive year of drought. There are concerns that the Colorado River, which has sustai... more -
Al Gore's Ten Year Energy Challenge
A momentous challenge calling upon us to have the same spirit that birthed this nation and make no mistake about it, this is just as much an issue of Democracy as it is an economic, environmental, or national security issue. However, as usual, all we see on blogs and in the media by the usuals is bickering about whether climate change is "natural" or not when we already know that most of the effects on our planet we are seeing are a result of human behavior.That has been debated ad nauseum, and is why this country will wind up at the back of the pack when other countries pass us up regarding coming into the 21st Century. We are stuck in first gear still while the rest of the world is in drive.
We have been getting our oil from the Middle East and now will we get our solar panels from there too because we in this country are so myopic and politically polarized to the point that we cannot even concede one damn point? The alternate energy market is just waiting for a boom in this country. Employment in this country would soar and with investment, we would get the economic shot in the arm we need to avoid economic collapse while saving ourselves. Many say (even people in his own party) that Mr. Gore made this proposal at the wrong time with gas prices being so high... to that I say, WHAT?
This was the absolute right time to come out and tell people the truth that they are being lied to and duped by big oil and coal. This was exactly the right time to come out and tell people that they have a CHOICE and that they have the power in this next decade to put those choices into motion. That they have other options for energy that can be cheaper than what they are using now. Of course the oil and coal companies and special interests and their minions are not too happy about that, but I say, screw them. They have done more harm to this planet and economy with their pollution and wars than any alternate energy being instituted could do. It is time for them to see that their way is not the best way for the continued sustainability of this planet and work to make amends for what they have done.
The Earth as it stands now is going through changes in climate that are too exacerbated to just be natural and the cost of ignoring it far exceeds the cost of implementing changes to avoid it. What price do you put on a human life? That has been confirmed by the IPCC, NASA, the National Academy of Sciences, The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, and thousands of other studies and scientists' reports from around the globe. It is a known fact also that for YEARS scientists in possession of these facts have been gagged by our government to keep quiet about it, because the very thing Mr. Gore stated must be done is something they don't want to do because they believe it will ground their gravy train.
More at the link. A momentous challenge calling upon us to have the same spirit that birthed this nation and make no mistake about it, this is just as m... more -
Yellow cabs go green faster in NYC
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's yellow taxi fleet now will go green at the rate of 300 new hybrid cars a month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, citing an agreement with car-makers to supply the fuel-light cabs.
There are already more than 1,300 hybrid taxis in the city, and each one saves its drivers about $6,500 a year, Taxi and Limousine Commission Chairman Matthew Daus said in a joint statement with the mayor.
Bloomberg aims to accomplish 127 green initiatives before his second and final four-year term ends in 2010. In December,
the Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to require all vehicles that join the taxi fleet to be hybrids by Oct. 1. The only exception is for cabs specially equipped for the handicapped.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's yellow taxi fleet now will go green at the rate of 300 new hybrid cars a month, Mayor Michael Blo... more -
Al Gore Gives a Groundbreaking Speech And?
Didn't notice any "breaking news" banners for this. How sad and outrageous. Al Gore, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and a statesman who has spent thirty years of his life working to bring the dangers of the climate crisis to the forefront, once again took a bold step today. He stepped out onto a stage to deliver a speech he knew would be lampooned by the usual suspects and dismissed by people even from his own political party. He ventured into territory that challenged not only the resolve of Americans but our vision and our sense of adventure as well as our moral duty to the planet that gives us all that sustains us and that is crying for our help.
And what do we see in response? Well, on Current.com we see nothing. No coverage. No updates. No discussion. Just the same insignifcant fluff stories climbing up the list as people go about their usual business paying no mind to the state of this world. Just the cut and paste to get the votes to get them on tv. And what do we see in this media? The usual condemnation and playing to the right in this country that has done nothing but sabotage any real environmental progress we could have regarding this issue.
I see this as a challenge along the lines of Thomas Paine's Common Sense where he challenged the colonists to stand up to an empire to build a country that was free of the ties that bound it to the same ignorance and treachery we see in this country today. I see a challenge that can awaken the imagination and soul, and make a cleaner safer world for our children. A place where dollars go for sustainability and peace, as opposed to pollution and perpetual war.
This isn't about Conservative or Liberal. This isn't about anyone's ego. This is about the future sustainability of the only planet that can sustain us. And yet, nothing. Just the same political partisan rancor we see in our Congress, and the same nonchalant we'll get to it tomorrow attitude that has gotten us to where we are today.
So as a longtime member of this site, but more importantly as someone who has read the data, the scientific reports, and seen for myself the current state of this world and how our actions are affecting it, I am deeply disappointed with Current.com today and actually with Americans in general. I surely hope the message Mr. Gore gave today can and will reach those who can look beyond the political and even the economic to see our place in history and the tremendous responsibility we have to make amends to this Earth. And yes, I know some detractors who may read this will not be able to keep themselves from spouting the usual invectives, and that's OK. I am more than capable of ignoring it. Like Al Gore, a man I love and respect who stepped out on a stage to tell the truth of it and all else be damned because this planet is that important, I figured I would do the same and frankly, I don't give a damn what anyone thinks of it.
This speech gave me hope that we are capable of a better future because it is possible. Shame that isn't considered real news here. Didn't notice any "breaking news" banners for this. How sad and outrageous. Al Gore, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and a statesman who... more -
The post-oil energy economies of the future - by Gordon Brown
Great speech although all the major UK TV networks ignored it...
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Do More Than Change Your Lighbulb to Stop Global Warming!
The Sierra Club, in partnership with green blogs EarthFirst and Ecorazzi are hosting hundreds of house parties across America on Thursday, July 17 2008 to help send the message that to really solve global warming, we need to change more than lightbulbs -- we need to change direction.
Host a L2L House Party!
Sign up to host a house party and we'll provide you with a step-by-step House Party Guide (it's easy!) and other materials that will help you plan a successful, enjoyable event.
http://www.lightbulbstoleadership.org/ The Sierra Club, in partnership with green blogs EarthFirst and Ecorazzi are hosting hundreds of house parties across America on Thurs... more -
Eight new nuclear plants for Britain
Britain must build "at least" eight new nuclear power stations during the next 15 years to replace its ageing plants and contribute to a "post-oil economy" that is cleaner and much more efficient than in the era of "cheap energy and careless pollution", Gordon Brown signalled last night. The first new reactors could feed electricity into the national grid by 2017.
Ministers want the private sector to make the running, but fear that the parallel contraction of the UK's coal and oil-fired generating capacity, on environmental grounds, will trigger a serious energy gap unless the government moves decisively.
The prime minister called for "a renaissance of nuclear power" more than 20 years after major power station crises at Three Mile Island in the US and the Soviet plant at Chernobyl put a brake on nuclear stations as a growing energy source. In doing so, he pushed the government's explicit commitment to a nuclear agenda further than he has previously done - amid growing concern about global oil prices and the need to find alternatives.
Brown said: "Britain is moving quickly to replace its ageing fleet of nuclear power stations. All around the world I see renewed interest in this technology, as countries contemplate the alternative - continued oil dependence and unchecked climate change."
Critics of nuclear power will be dismayed, but the industry may welcome an end to what some have regarded as foot-dragging since the 2003 energy white paper. Prominent figures in the climate change debate, including the government's former chief scientist, Sir David King, have endorsed the nuclear path. Britain must build "at least" eight new nuclear power stations during the next 15 years to replace its ageing plants and contribute to... more -
Is Big Business Buying Out The Environmental Movement?
In the business world these days, it appears that just about everything is for sale. Multi-billion-dollar deals are commonplace, and even venerable institutions such as the Wall Street Journal find themselves put into play. Yet companies are not the only things being acquired. This may turn out to be the year that big business bought a substantial part of the environmental movement.
That’s one way of interpreting the remarkable level of cooperation that is emerging between some prominent environmental groups and some of the world’s largest corporations. What was once an arena of fierce antagonism has become a veritable love fest as companies profess to be going green and get lavishly honored for doing so. Earlier this year, for instance, the World Resources Institute gave one of its “Courage to Lead” awards to the chief executive of General Electric.
Every day seems to bring another announcement from a large corporation that it is taking steps to protect the planet. IBM, informally known as Big Blue, launched its Project Big Green to help customers slash their data center energy usage. Newmont Mining Co., the world’s largest gold digger, endorsed a shareholder resolution calling for a review of its environmental impact. Home Depot introduced an Eco Options label for thousands of green products. General Motors and oil major ConocoPhillips joined the list of corporate giants that have come out in support of a mandatory ceiling on greenhouse gas emissions. Bank of America said it would invest $20 billion in sustainable projects over the next decade.
Many of the new initiatives are being pursued in direct collaboration with environmental groups. Wal-Mart is working closely with Conservation International on its efforts to cut energy usage and switch to renewable sources of power. McDonald’s has teamed up with Greenpeace to discourage deforestation caused by the growth of soybean farming in Brazil. When buyout firms Texas Pacific Group and KKR were negotiating the takeover of utility company TXU earlier this year, they asked Environmental Defense to join the talks so that the deal, which ended up including a rollback of plans for 11 new coal-fired plants, could be assured a green seal of approval.
Observing this trend, Business Week detects “a remarkable evolution in the dynamic between corporate executives and activists. Once fractious and antagonistic, it has moved toward accommodation and even mutual dependence.” The question is: who is accommodating whom? Are these developments a sign that environmental campaigns have prevailed and are setting the corporate agenda? Or have enviros been duped into endorsing what my be little more than a new wave of corporate greenwash?
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Interesting question. I think some are actually using the environmental movement/climate crisis to cover up their other crimes, as in the case of Walmart, and Bank of America that claims to be putting funds towards sustainable projects while also supporting the blowing up of our mountains in Appalachia to also make profits. I am skeptical at the moment. I mean, if businesses and large corporations really cared about the environment why wait until now to show it? I will say this: the day big business runs the environmental movement in this country is the day I bow out of it.
In the business world these days, it appears that just about everything is for sale. Multi-billion-dollar deals are commonplace, and e... more -
Schwarzenegger blasts Bush on global warming
"Governor Arnold Schwarzeneger spoke out against President Bush this morning attacking his administration for its failure to counter global warming emissions.
"This administration did not believe in global warming," Schwarzenegger told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview that will air Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
"They just didn't believe in it or they didn't believe that they should do anything about it, since China is not doing anything about it and since India is not willing to do the same thing, so why should we do the same thing?" Schwarzenegger said.
"We don't wait for other countries to do the same thing. That's what makes America number one... And I think we have a good opportunity to do the same thing, also, with fighting global warming," he said.
Schwarzenegger's comments came in reaction to the Environmental Protection Agency's recent decision not to take further action against global warming during the remainder of Bush's presidency. "Well, to be honest with you, if they would have done something this year, I would have thought it was bogus anyway," he said. When asked why, the California Governor said, "because you don't change global warming and you don't really have an effect by doing something six months before you leave office."
Schwarzenegger argued that any action taken by the administration at this point would not have been sincere.
"I think that the way they have done it is much better...This administration did not believe that [carbon dioxide] and greenhouse gases is a pollutant. They fought this in court and then finally the Supreme Court had to tell them, 'Yes, it is a pollutant,'" he said.
He also highlighted the strides taken by California to counter global warming.
"I'm very happy that California is in the forefront," he said. "We are very aggressive. We have made a commitment to roll back our greenhouse gas emissions to the 1990 level ... We didn't wait for Washington. I just felt that the administration and the federal government have been terrific partners in a lot of things for us and we have worked together very well, but environmental issues was not one of them."
From ABC News Mary Bruce "Governor Arnold Schwarzeneger spoke out against President Bush this morning attacking his administration for its failure to counter g... more -
Pope sorry for sex scandal
"Pope Benedict XVI has said he will apologise for decades of sexual abuse of children by Australian priests.
As he headed to Australia on the longest foreign trip of his papacy, he said that paedophilia was "incompatible" with being a priest. Abuse victims have said they will hold protest rallies during his visit.
The Pope is also expected to use the trip to discuss climate change, telling reporters that people must find an ethical way to change their lifestyles.
Climate change will be a theme of a major Catholic youth festival, World Youth Day, which the Pope is heading.
The event is expected to draw some 200,000 young Catholics to Sydney.
But the six-day event has been overshadowed by the launch of an investigation into sexual abuse allegations.
The leader of Australia's Catholics, Cardinal George Pell, has come under criticism for his handling of a 1982 case allegedly involving the sexual abuse of minors by a priest." "Pope Benedict XVI has said he will apologise for decades of sexual abuse of children by Australian priests. ... more
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