I was the 5,767th person to sign (click) the petition "Press Senate on Climate Legislation". They are at the time that this post is ready at 5,881. So they are beyond their modest goal of 5,000 signatures and should probably raise it to 10,000. My added two cents was taken liberally, in true slacktivist fashion, in large part from Millennium Development Goal No. 7. Environmental Sustainability,
We need to recognize that environmental sustainability is part of global economic and social well-being of our entire planet. We must stop the exploitation of natural resources such as forests, land, water, and fisheries-often by the powerful. Reducing poverty and achieving sustained development must be done in conjunction with a healthy planet in our natural world rather than continuing to harm the most vulnerable people in the world who depend on natural resources for their livelihood.
Though in my defense, I still believe that these issues need to be made main stream, which means getting the slacktivists and Internet onlookers on board. It also means linking up the worldwide concerns of the Millennium Development Goals and locally focused programs and actions. So, please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/588190272
They say that it takes just 30 seconds, but that it can truly make a difference, which is no doubt true. However, there appears to be two parallel paths that this process is taking. One is by governmental bodies which does not seem to be doing that well, despite the Obama administration's repenting of past practices by the United States. Still as they say petitions only succeed by word of mouth, and every signature makes a difference! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/588190272
Two stories from Global Warming by GinaMarie Cheeseman help explain the difficulty of making the "do as we say, not as we do" argument by the First World Nations. The first is U.S. Ranked Seven of Eight on Climate Change.
The U.S. is ranked seven in the G8 Climate Scorecard, in a recently released study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and global insurance company Allianz SE.
So we are not leading by example. The second was G8 Summit Talks on Climate Change a Bust.
Developing nations refused to agree to a global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of 50 percent by 2050. The the G5 (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa) and Egypt met with G8 countries during the summit in L’Aquila, Italy. G8 nations agreed to an 80 percent reduction by 2050, but did not have specific plans for reducing GHG emissions.
Here is the Los Angeles Times story by Christi Parsons and Jim Tankersley July 9 2009cited in the post.
Climate impasse at G-8 summit leaves nations mired Developing countries refuse to back targets set by the Group of 8, which balk at any swift moves of their own.
Reporting from Washington and L'Aquila, Italy — Developing nations led by China and India refused Wednesday to back lofty but long-term targets proposed by the Group of 8 industrial nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions, balking at reluctance by leaders of the world's biggest economies to move more quickly on their own.
The other path is a more emergent path illuminated by Kosmos Journal Personal to Planetary Transformation and the work of Paul Hawken, who was cited in the post One of the Morally Urgent Questions of Our Moment.
Our World
We are living in a time of whole system transition on a personal and planetary scale that affects every aspect of life as we know it. Patterns of possibility are emerging that have never before been available to all the earth’s people and to the whole planet. Two million organisations are working toward ecological sustainability and social justice, according to Paul Hawken. Millions of individuals are self-organising to make a better world in spite of the negative factors that threaten to destroy us. Technological innovations and collective wisdom have created unprecedented opportunities for change. The revolution in communication technologies and the Internet have made it possible to connect all people in the world for the first time in human history. The new science of consciousness is revolutionizing our attitudes and worldviews, and the interdependence of all life is now an established scientific fact.
Finally, a third path laid out by Al Gore. I do agree with the concept that sustainability, including environmental sustainability, is good for the bottom line of business.
Al Gore lays out 15 ways to avert climate crisis through our personal and professional lives. He plays a brief slide show and provides examples of many of the ways that these steps are being used in action. Speaking to a business audience at the TED conference he also points out important steps that businesses can take to influence climate change. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from the TED.com website.
Turns out that I have about 20 past posts, provided here, having something to do with MDG7.
