Climate Change: A blog to inspire action on Climate Change

Well imagine that, Canadian campaign by Moms Against Climate Change includes a provocative video (below) that makes a bold appeal for action on global warming.

“If our children knew the facts we do, they’d take action. Shouldn’t you?”

Canadian environmental groups Environmental Defence and ForestEthics are behind the bold campaign that encourages parents to upload photos of their kids to encourage Stephen Harper to think of their needs in considering COP-15, the necessary treaty in Copenhagen.

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In North Bay Ontario (October 24, 2009) we walked in the rain, while around the world hundreds of thousands of people attending over 5200 events made their voices heard in the largest ever action to encourage governments to take Climate Change seriously and resolve to come to a fair, ambitious and binding agreement in Copenhagen this December.

See Video from around the world:

Have a gander at the photos from around the world.

http://www.350.org

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What can you do to minimize your carbon footprint?

There is plenty you can personally do to reduce your impact on the climate. Here are a few of the easiest things our climate allies and partners have suggested that really do add up to make a big difference. If you have any other ideas, please comment below.

1. The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Try buying less, and reusing and fixing things when you can instead of buying new.
2. Buy organic and local. There’s a better chance the food was grown in an eco-friendly way, and if it’s locally grown, it didn’t have to travel that far.
3. Pay attention to packaging. When out shopping, try to go to stores that keep packaging to a minimum. Also, take reusable bags to the grocery store.
4. Ditch bottled water, which has a huge carbon footprint (bottled in one location, shipped to many others)
5. Energy-proof your home. Think about small upgrades: make sure all of your windows close properly and that the attic in your home is properly insulated. This also allows you to save money on energy bills.
6. Sign up, when and if possible, to a green energy supplier, who will supply electricity from renewable sources (e.g. wind and hydroelectric power) – this will greatly minimize your carbon footprint contribution from electricity.
7. Unplug your electronics: Most electronics still use some energy even when turned off. This ’standby mode’ or ‘phantom load’ drains up to 10 percent of electricity used in most homes.
8. Replace any incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Fluorescent light bulbs are more expensive but last 8 to 15 times longer than an incandescent bulb.
9. Use surge protectors to make it easier to unplug lots of things at once when you leave a room.
10. Regulate your home temperature: Move your thermostat two degrees cooler in winter and two degrees warmer in the summer.
11. Dry clothes on a clothes line instead of in a dryer. Whether electric or gas, less use of any energy to heat air to dry your laundry is less energy consumed.
12. Use a low-flow showerhead and faucet aerators to conserve water.
13. Use the bus or a train rather than your car.
14. For short journeys either walk or cycle.
15. Purchase a carbon offset family plan and become carbon neutral

List provided by: Time For Climate Justice.org

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I had a good chat the other night with a family member decrying the effect wind turbines would have on the shoreline of Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada.

NIMBY

“It’s not that I’m against the technology, it’s good. Just put it in the hills or somewhere else far away.”

I explain that the wind turbines need to be built where the wind is and that large lakes produce daily temperature changes that result in on and off-shore breezes. . . that the lack of trees allows the wind to easily blow through the turbines.

“But they really are an eyesore. Traveling in Europe last year I saw too many of them. They are noisy too.”

Noisy? Really? I’ve been near many wind turbines and never really felt turbines compromised my experience of the landscape. In contrast, I wanted to get as close as I could, to marvel at the technology.  I get the message though, technology is good, as long as it is Not In My Back Yard.

Alternative Landscapes: Adaptation
OK, I guess we’ll have to go with the alternative to Green Power since we’ve committing to coal burning power plants if no one wants the turbines cluttering the landscape.  Let’s consider landscaping adaptation to deal with climate change in these places that we cherish – Beaches.

But beware, if you are a traveler, you’ll want to visit these places sooner rather than later because the landscape impacts are not going to be pleasant.

Beauty of Natural Shorelines at Risk from Climate Change

United States
America’s number one tourist attraction – beaches pump more than 300 Billion dollars into the U.S. Economy.  In the U.S., concern over beach erosion is prompting The American Beach and Shoreline Association to request hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to move more sand to the beaches, in an attempt to slow the erosion due to climate change.  Read more at Treehugger: Vanishing beach shorelines

Photo via Rutgers

Thailand

Workers build a sea wall defence in southern Thailand as climate negotiators discuss a replacement to the Kyoto protocol in Bangkok. Photograph: VINAI DITHAJOHN/EPA

Sept-Îles, Quebec

Some homeowners are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.  Shoreline erosion due to higher water levels and greater wave action show significant impacts along the coast of the city of Sept-Îles (population over 28 000), where 80% of the shoreline is very vulnerable to marine erosion.  Protective measures (such as rock protections) are in place as an emergency response. However, several of the structures have increased shoreline erosion rates in the adjacent areas.  New measures are required and many homes are at risk.

Coping with Shoreline erosion in Sept-Îles

Beach Adaptation vs. Wind Turbines

Perhaps with Climate Change impacting our most treasured vacation destinations more people will get the message: The only real adaptation solution is to fight climate change at the root with adaptation strategies reduce carbon emissions. In the face of alternative mitigation and adaptation measures, the wind turbine doesn’t look too bad.

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Google teams up with Al Gore to provide a Google Earth view of Climate Change.
Climate Change in Google Earth

Explore the impact of climate change on our planet and learn about possible solutions for adaptation and mitigation of climate change as we move toward the UN Climate Conference this December.

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Last week in NYC, I attended the Green Carpet Global Premiere of the Age of Stupid, a film directed by Franny Armstrong.

The star-studded event feature guests arrived on rickshaw, sailboat, smart car and other sensible forms of transportation.  At left, the mayor of Copenhagen walks the green carpet with her citys preferred mode of transporation, bicycle.

In the Age of Stupid,Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance.

The film encourages viewers to get involved in the 10:10 campaign, a personal pledge to cut your emissions 10% in 2010. If individuals, organizations, and businesses each took a small step  we would have the moral authority to ask our political leaders to do the same.

Gillian Anderson and Moby talk about the importance of the Age of Stupid at the Global Premiere:

Age of Stupid Producer, Lizzie Gillett and Director, Franny Armstrong on the Green Carpet at the Global Premiere.  Clip also features a snippet with Frannie’s proud mom:

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While the over 100 World Leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the largest ever gathering to discuss Climate at the United Nations; Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not in attendance and sent Environment Minister Jim Prentice instead.

This was the largest ever United Nations Climate Summit, called by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York to address the importance of moving ahead quickly toward a global agreement on Climate Change as the clock ticks down to December’s final meetings in Copenhagen.

Being Prime Minister of Canada does indeed create scheduling conflicts.  Sometimes it’s hard to choose between conficting events that occur on the same day….

Canada’s Prime Minister, Harper visited donut shop for photo-op instead of representing Canada at the UN.

• Canada’s Strategy in Climate Negotiations: Avoid Attending

Canadian PM Hiding behind Obama

Stephen Harper, speaking at a press conference at the G20 in Pittsburgh last week, again distanced the Canadian government from supporting a fair, ambitious and binding agreement in Copenhagen.

“I would cite what President Obama said to us at our meetings and that is that while Copenhagen is a very important meeting we should not view it as a make or break on climate change. It will be a step, an ongoing step, Harper, said yesterday. Harper attributed the comments by Obama in addition to saying he was not inclined to take up the challenge issued by Gordon Brown to attend the meeting in Copenhagen, in order to add political weight to the UNFCCC negotiations.

What??? Our Prime Minister is not going to even attend the meetings in Copenhagen?

The Canadian avoidance of dialogue on Climate Change stands in stark contrast to overtures by China and Japan.   Japan’s new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, whose nation generates more than 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, took advantage of the Climate Summit in New York to pledge his nation to seek a 25 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2020.

What is Canada pledging for Copenhagen?

The IPCC is urging developed countries to reduce emissions by at least 25% below 1990 levels by 2020

Canada’s prime minister doesn’t recognize 1990 as the base level for cutting carbon emissions and has walked away from our International commitment to Kyoto. Under Kyoto, Canada had agreed to cut emissions 6% from 1990 levels by 2012.

Instead, Canada’s emissions are still on the rise and at present are 22% above 1990 levels.

Canada Avoiding Embarrassment

Tell Canada’s Prime Minister how embarrassed we are at his International performance on Climate Change and urge him to attend Copenhagen.

• Twitter: @pmharper
• Phone PM Harper Toll-free: 1 (866) 599-4999 // Telephone: (+1) (613) 992-4211 / (+1) (403) 253-7990

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Beds are Burning: Climate Change Video

Climate Change is having an impact on people around the world.  Artists from around the world lend their voice to Beds Are Burning a project in support of the tcktcktck campaign. This is the song that is used in the Climate Countdown stunt in Central Park.  Introduction by Kofi Annon, former Secretary General of the United Nations.

Download Beds are Burning and share the song with as many people as you can.

Time For Climate Justice.org

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