Different Paths to Saving the Climate - All Up Hill

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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.

• Diigo tags: environmental, collaboration, innovation

  • 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: 15 Ways to Avert a Climate Crisis

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.

2 Steps Forward, 2 Degrees Back

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This is a cut-and-paste post from a variety of sources dealing with Millennium Development Goal 7. Environmental Sustainability, offering a number of useful links and opportunities for participation. Trouble is that time is now short. A moment of good news along the pathway, but then the realization that the pathway still continues uphill. The good news, tempered with a call for more needed action on the horizon, came from both the Union of Concerned Scientists and Care2. Last month in June:

House of Representatives took a historic vote to pass comprehensive climate legislation legislation that would put in place a nationwide plan to rein in global warming pollution and create an entirely new, cleaner approach to our nation's energy system.

But we will need your help to put a strong bill over the finish line. Specifically, you can help turn up the heat on the Senate to act quickly and ensure that we enact a final bill that helps build a revitalized clean energy economy, while reducing the threat of global warming.

Learn more about the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the Climate 2030 Blueprint, key elements of comprehensive climate legislation, why the time to act is now, and how UCS is working to ensure passage of a strong climate

The vote for the American Clean Energy Security Act on the House floor came to an ultimate margin of a mere seven votes, 219-212. Let's pause for a moment to celebrate our success -- and then gear up for what is sure to be a similarly tight vote in the Senate.

Read more about today's victory at Care2's Cause Channels, and leave a comment with your reactions to this sweeping climate bill.

The path get even steeper when we move from the national stage to the international stage of the G8 talks in Italy and later the global summit in Copenhagen. I am personally disappointed that Canada is among this group.

Avaaz has let us know that the the world has just months left to agree on a binding global climate treaty, this is the leaders' last in-person negotiation before the make-or-break Copenhagen summit, but that at the upcoming G8 summit, Canada, Japan, and Russia are trying to veto the 2-degree limit.

Avaaz has put together a worldwide petition, which-- an Avaaz team in Italy will deliver it directly to world leaders and through spectacular stunts on Thursday, (tomorrow) bringing global media attention to shame the climate-wreckers and press them to back down.

We urgently need at least 100,000 signatures -- click to sign:

The G8 leaders -- joined by eleven other heads of government at a parallel "Major Economies" meeting next door -- represent more than 80% of climate emissions.

We know last-moment pressure can change their policies: Canada's Harper, Japan's Aso, and other leaders could face elections, they can't afford global embarrassment. Sign the petition, send it to friends, and help rescue the climate target now:

They were at 93,757 when I signed. Found at the Global News Sources of this blog more news from IRIN GLOBAL: Twelve countries on climate change hit-list.

SOURCES FROM AVAAZ:

• G8 summit key to global efforts on climate change
• Background on 2 degrees threshold: "'Too late to avoid global warming,' say scientists"
• Canada, Russia Considered Climate 'Bad Boys' Among G8 Nations
• Make-or-break summit as G8 gamble on climate and economy
• EU's Barroso seeks two degrees Celsius pact at G8

Finally, some inspiration for the long journey along the path.

Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming introduces a new generation of writers and photographers with a personal connection to global warming. The 67 essays and images in this anthology are drawn from nearly 1,000 submissions about beloved places, people, plants, animals, and activities at risk from a changing climate—and the efforts that individuals are making to save what they love. A foreword by author Barbara Kingsolver serves as a powerful call to action.

The essays we selected represent a variety of perspectives, voices, and experiences. The authors follow in the long tradition of great American environmental writers, like Henry David Thoreau, who have broadened our awareness and sharpened our perspective about the world we share. And they are inspiring action to protect our planet from global warming.

From the Millennium Campaign: ECONOMIC CRISIS IMMINENTLY THREATENS ECONOMIC SURVIVAL OF POOR COUNTRIES

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This is basically a complete re-blog of a post emailed to me by the UN Millennium Campaign Newsletter. I have inserted some additional links.

UN Millennium Campaign Newsletter

ECONOMIC CRISIS IMMINENTLY THREATENS ECONOMIC SURVIVAL OF POOR COUNTRIES

Ahead of G-8 summit, United Nations Millennium Campaign warns that developing countries will be forced to slash desperately-needed expenditures for the poor; Campaign calls on G-8 leaders to urgently provide financial resources to poor countries

The United Nations Millennium Campaign is warning that the ongoing economic crisis is likely to bring the economies of many developing countries to the brink of collapse and threatens the very survival of their citizens. According to the African Development Bank, countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya could run out of foreign reserves to purchase goods necessary for survival in a matter of weeks. At the same time, countries including Laos, Senegal, Uganda, Cape Verde and Sudan are cutting expenditures on poverty alleviation for desperately poor citizens. Experts predict that spending on core development, including the Millennium Development Goals, could decline by $200 billion as a result of the crisis.

"When world leaders break a promise, it is a sin - but when governments break a promise to the poorest people on the planet, it is nothing short of a crime," said Salil Shetty, Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign. "All over Africa and Asia, governments might have no option but to cut expenditure which the poor need to survive. Given that leaders of rich countries have found $18 trillion to bail out financial institutions over the past year - nine times more money than they have given in aid over the past 49 years - we know that finding financial resources is possible if the political will is there. G-8 leaders must not turn their backs on the world's most vulnerable in L'Aquila."

G-8 leaders must urgently announce timetables for meeting their existing aid commitments. The UN Millennium Campaign is also calling for new resources tailored to address the challenges caused by the economic crisis. These sources must be additional to existing commitments and must not come with conditions which hamper effectiveness or increase indebtedness.

The quality of aid must also improve. Earmarking aid runs counter to the agreed aid effectiveness agenda; donors should be aligning their aid with developing countries' priorities and programs.

Finally, the majority of the world's poor live in rural areas and depend on agriculture. Rich countries continue to spend exhorbitant amounts of money to subsidize the agricultural products of their own farmers, at the expense of farmers in poor countries with no other means of subsistence. This practice must stop.

Specifically, the UN Millennium Campaign is calling on G-8 leaders to:
• Announce transparent and predictable timetables for the delivery of aid committed at Gleneagles in 2005, clearly spelling out precise schedules of annual increases for each country.
• Provide additional financial resources to poor countries - not repackaging of existing commitments -- which do not increase their indebtedness or contain harmful conditions.
• Issue a moratorium on debt repayments from poor countries.
• Improve aid quality and avoid earmarking aid for specific purposes, as this is counter to the principle of aid effectiveness and does not allow countries to define their own priorities.
• Immediately eliminate trade-distorting agricultural and export subsidies, given that existing trade tariffs make it difficult for poor countries to compete and the economic crisis has further reduced their export markets.

Visit our online special at www.endpoverty2015.org

About the Campaign
The UN Millennium Campaign was established by the UN Secretary General in 2002. The Campaign supports citizens' efforts to hold their governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals were adopted by 189 world leaders from the north and south, as part of the Millennium Declaration which was signed in 2000. These leaders agreed to eradicate extreme poverty and its root causes by 2015. Our premise is simple: we are the first generation that can end poverty and we refuse to miss this opportunity. For more information, visit www.endpoverty2015.org

Take Action

What Do You Want G-8 Leaders To Do To Achieve Millennium Development Goals?

On July 8-10, leaders of the G-8 countries -Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States - will meet in Italy. Their meeting comes with less than six years until the 2015 deadline for meeting the Millennium Development Goals, as a mounting economic crisis threatens to reverse the progress that has been made so far. The UN Millennium Campaign and Al Jazeera English are hosting online debates. We'd like to hear from you: what would you would like world leaders at the G-8 to do at the summit in order to get back on track towards achieving the Goals?

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