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Al Gore likes to quote Winston Churchill that we “are entering a time of consequences” as a rallying call to action.  Well, Gore probably agrees, we are not entering … we are in.  And, well, global weather patterns are providing a reminder as are lead scientists.

Jim Hansen has a new article out which concludes:

The global community must aim to restrict any further global warming to less than 1 °C above the temperature in 2000. This implies a CO2 limit of about 450 parts per million or less. Such scenarios require almost immediate changes to get energy and greenhouse gas emissions onto a fundamentally different path.

We don’t have time. Action must begin. And begin seriously if we are to avoid crossing this threshhold.

In Collapse Is Latest Fight for Coal’s Best Friend, the Washington Post gave front-page prominence to Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy which co-owns the Crandall Canyon mine where rescue workers desperately seek to rescue the trapped miners.

Murray has coal in his blood and has worked his way up the ladder to be CEO (and owner) of a $260+ million/year corporation.  And, he is a battler, sadly for the wrong causes. [Read more →]

Last night, writing about the Bizaare Weather … around the Globe, I emphasized a line from Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, that there is Just No Normal Weather Anymore, Anywhere.

Well, perhaps I should have opened the Washington Post yesterday, which had the story Across Globe, Extremes of Heat and Rain.  This points to a World Meteorological Organization (a UN organization) Monday Press Release

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Grist is running a series on the 2008 Presidential candidates and the environment.  They are taking a look at their positions on environmental issues, with a special focus on climate and energy. How Green is Your Candidate?

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There is Just No Normal Weather Anymore, Anywhere. Global Warming is changing the Earth around us, almost in real time.  It is not the difference between the weather when I was a child (snow to my chest and all that), but between when I bought my home a decade ago and today. And, this is true for so many around the world.

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Canary in a coal mine is an oft-used metaphor when it comes to Global Warming and there are (sadly) many canaries out there.  Dying reefs are a prominent canary — not just for for GW, but also CO2 pollution causing increasing acidification of the oceans.

We’ve tried many remediation techniques around the globe, from dumping concrete blocks and construction waste, old tires, and sinking retired Navy ships.  Some with success, some less triumphantly.    [Read more →]

Global Warming is a massive challenge. It requires serious commitment for change toward a better tomorrow, change from government and from individuals.  Government action can help drive (and facilitate) individual action.  And, well, individual action — individuals acting in concert — can help drive government action.

That second, individuals combining to drive a government response, is the core to Step-It-Up.  And, after a massive set of actions earlier this year (1400 rallies across the nation), Bill McKibben is organizing another day of citizen engagement for 3 November 2007.   This is something that everyone (EVERYONE) should engage with …

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With each warmer day, with the growing clarity of the impact of Global Warming, Evangelicals are turning to environmentalism. 

As one considers the mandate to be stewards of the Earth, it seems logical that an E2 alliance would be a natural relationship — evangelicals and environmentalists. For too long, in the United States, too many in the two communities have been ‘at odds’, seeking — it seems — differences rather than commonalities. 

Truth be told, there have always been highly ecologically conscious religious people. Could we mention St Francis of Assisi?  And, there have been highly religious environmentalists. Again, this is two ‘communities’ that have core shared sensibilities, values, and concerns.

In core Evangelical America, environmentalism and environmentalists have been viewed as enemies by too many.  This has been changing.  See, for example, this short discussion of religious movements and environmentalism, “A Global Warming Turning Point?”, from last December.

 Today’s Washington Post provides another indication of the move toward an E2 partnership in trying to create a better future for all: Warming Draws Evangelicals Into the Environmental Fold.

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COEJL, the Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life, focused itself this fall on asking the question: “How many Jews does it take to change a light bulb?” and

helped tens of thousands of members of the Jewish community in nearly every state purchase and install energy efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs–Hanukkah “chai-lights”–during the holiday in their synagogues, Jewish institutions, and homes. Response to the campaign has been tremendous–initiating conversations about energy use and inspiring creativity in communities including the building of customized CFL chanukiyot (Hanukkah menorahs). We estimate that approximately 50,000 bulbs will be sold throughout the campaign, keeping more than 18,000 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

That 18,000 tons sounds great, at least on the surface, but it really is just a small wedge, which really is COEFL’s point … to spark broader change through this symbolic (al beit it real) act of change.  And, COEJL is not isolated … this is a multi-denominational effort to reach out to religious communities. [Read more →]

Make the Right Choice the Easy Choice is one of Energize America‘s core principles.  When it comes to energy, all too often, there are bureaucratic, financial, and other factors that inhibit the right choice being the easy choice for government, businesses, and individuals.

Sadly, this is not limited to energy issues.

Just today, listening to NPR, I learned that there is a twist to agricultural insurance that serves as a barrier to good, sustainable, organic agricultural practices.

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