Gore Wishes Candidates Would Get Hot on Global Warming

From the AP via Guardian Unlimited and Reuters

Al Gore received his Nobel Peace Prize today and urged the United States and China to make the boldest moves on climate change or ``stand accountable before history for their failure to act.''

``We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency - a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here,'' Gore said in his acceptance speech.

Gore shared the Nobel with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for sounding the alarm over global warming and spreading awareness on how to counteract it. the U.N. panel was represented at the ceremony by its leader, Rajendra Pachauri.

``It is time to make peace with the planet,'' Gore said at the gala ceremony in Oslo's city hall, in front of Norway's royalty, leaders and invited guests. ``We must quickly mobilize our civilization with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nations mobilized for war.''

The former vice president urged China and the U.S. - the world's biggest carbon emitters - to ``make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act.''

His remarks came as governments met in Bali, Indonesia, to start work on a new international treaty to reduce climate-damaging carbon dioxide emissions. Gore and Pachauri plan to fly there Wednesday to join the climate talks.

The governments hope to have the new pact, which succeeds the Kyoto accord, in place by 2012, but Gore has said the urgency of the problem means they should aim to come to an agreement by 2010.

Before his speech, Gore said in an interview with The Associated Press that he believes the next U.S. president will shift the country's course on climate change and engage in global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

``The new president, whichever party wins the election, is likely to have to change the position on this climate crisis,'' Gore said in the interview. ``I do believe the U.S., soon, is to have a more constructive role.''

He said it was not too late for Bush administration to join efforts to draft a new global treaty limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

``I have urged President Bush and his administration to be part of the world community's effort to solve this crisis,'' Gore said. ``I hope they will change their position.''

The Bush administration opposed the Kyoto treaty on climate change, saying it would hurt the U.S. economy and objecting that fast developing nations like China and India were not required to reduce emissions.

The former U.S. vice president, who lost a bid for the White House to George W. Bush in 2000 and has repeatedly said he has no plan to run again in 2008, said he would have pushed climate to the top of the agenda if he had been president.

"Some of the candidates have made speeches which are quite good and proposals that are quite responsible, but overall the issue has not achieved the kind of priority that I think it should have," Gore told Reuters.

"I don't blame the candidates for that, some of them have tried to push it higher on the agenda," he said before collecting the peace prize which he shared with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

"That is just the very reason why I have put so much of my time into trying to change the way people think about this crisis in my country and around the world -- so that candidates will hear from citizens that they want this to be the top priority," Gore said in the Norwegian capital.

Asked what would have been different if he had been president, Gore said: "I like to think that I would have been able to push it (climate change) right to the top of the agenda.

"It takes time to talk to people in enough places to create a critical mass of opinion and urgency that will cause us to cross the tipping point beyond which a majority will demand that we solve this crisis," he said.

John Edwards Speaks On Energy and Global Warming

Watch Edwards address League of Conservation Voters. He was first candidate with a plan that was endorsed by environmental groups and the first to state honestly that we need a sustained effort to address both Global Warming and alternative energy.

Global Climate Change and Global Food Shortage

Scary stuff from CTV

Warming temperatures could result in food shortages for 130 million people by 2050 and threaten to cause drought and higher seas in Australia and New Zealand by 2030, according to a UN report released Tuesday.

The climatic changes threaten ecologically rich sites like the Great Barrier Reef and sub-Antarctic islands, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

A summary of the full, 1,572-page document written and reviewed by 441 scientists was released Friday. The latest document, the second of four reports including the summary, tries to explain how global warming is changing life on Earth.

Further details were unveiled Tuesday in a series of regional press conferences around the world.

The report suggests that a 3.6-degree increase in mean air temperature could decrease rain-fed rice yields by 5 percent to 12 percent in China. In Bangladesh, rice production may fall by just under 10 percent and wheat by a third by the year 2050.

The drops in yields combined with rising populations could put close to 50 million extra people at risk of hunger by 2020, an additional 132 million by 2050 and 266 million by 2080, the report said.

"Unchecked climate change will be an environmental and economic catastrophe but above all it will be a human tragedy," Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, said in a statement. More

A Climate for Change

Iowa City Mayor Ross Wilburn will sign on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Agreement to reduce the city's global warming pollution by putting into place local energy solutions which save taxpayer dollars and reduce energy use on Saturday, April 14. Iowa City* will join over 400 mayors, 5 others in Iowa, representing over 51 million Americans in 46 states and the District of Columbia that have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, pledging to reduce global warming carbon dioxide pollution in their cities to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

The event is scheduled for 3:30 P.M., Saturday, April 14 in the Harvat Hall Room, at City Hall, 410 East Washington Street. The Mayor will be introduced by Michael Carberry (good going, Mike!), Chair of the Iowa City Area Group of the Sierra Club and FAIR!.

Stay tuned to find out how Mayor Wilburn and the city council plan to implement this locally, given there is nothing enforceable in the agreement. I wonder if the mayor will also support efforts to make Iowa City a Green City?

* Iowa City appeared on the American Lung Association 2006 State of the Air list of cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution. Particle pollution refers to a combination of fine solids and aerosols that are suspended in the air.

Think Global, Act Iowa

From Mark Kresowik, former "boy wonder" UI student body president and, currently, manly man fighting the good fight to address global warming in an aggressive manner.

Urgent call to action on global warming:

While neighboring states are REDUCING carbon dioxide emissions, the lack of such plans in Iowa promises that three new coal-fired power plants will INCREASE our emissions from the electric sector by more than 35% in the next 5 years and displace investments in energy efficiency and community wind development that improve Iowa's rural economy. Time is running out to do something about the problem.

HOUSE SPEAKER MURPHY (515) 281-5566 and our legislators (www.legis.state.ia.us) need to hear how you feel about global warming and that the Iowa House should support:
a) Senate File 485, to allow the Department of Natural Resources to consider the impact of greenhouse gases in new electric generation permitting decisions.

b) Senate File 494, to establish a Climate Change Commission to plan for carbon dioxide reductions.

c) House File 498 and Senate File 500, to establish the Governor's Power Fund (ask them to include language about greenhouse gases, and requiring merchant power plants to meet the same efficiency and renewable standards that rate-regulated utilities must meet).

Sen. Tom Harkin on Global Warming

I appreciate hearing your thoughts on global warming and your support for S. 309, the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007. There is growing concern that human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels, industrial production, deforestation, and certain land-use practices, are increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases.

These gasses are leading to changes in the fundamental chemical and physical composition of Earth's atmosphere and have the potential to affect Earth's climate. Indeed, global average temperatures are rising as a result of these atmospheric changes, and that trend is projected to continue. I am very much interested in finding ways to reward those who take steps to reduce or affect greenhouse gas emissions and lessen the threat of global warming. Many states and local governments have already taken the initiative to lower their contribution to global warming and I commend these efforts.

Over 418 US cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles as well as a number of Iowan cities such as Des Moines, Sioux City and Dubuque, have signed the Climate Protection Agreement, which commits these cities to the strict environmental standards of the Kyoto Protocol. California recently passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, committing the world's twelth highest emitter of greenhouse gases to the guidelines of the Kyoto Protocol. If we are serious about taking the necessary steps to curb our contribution to global warming, we need to follow the bold steps of our local leaders. And reducing our greenhouse gas emissions does not have to happen at the expense of American businesses and industries. For example, California as well as a number of Northeastern states are participating in a cap-and-trade program, which allows businesses and industries to earn credits for meeting stricter environmental and emissions standards. These credits can then be sold or traded to other businesses that do not meet these same environmental standards – otherwise, they face penalties. This program gives businesses the incentive to engage in environmentally-friendly practices, while giving them the freedom to decide how and even if they want to participate.

I have recently introduced a bipartisan bill, the Biofuels Security Act of 2007 (S.23), a bold initiative that requires American industries to produce at least 60 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2030. In order to ensure a market for this fuel, it also requires car manufacturers to produce increasing numbers of Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV's) and major oil companies to install E-85 pumps at stations that they own or brand. This legislation will not only reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but also move America closer to energy independence and revitalize America's heartland with thousands of new jobs.

I am supportive of the efforts of Senators Boxer and Sanders to seriously address the issue of greenhouse gas emissions and I hope to work with them to pass a comprehensive global warming bill this year.

A Convenient Truth

Watching the Oscars last night and seeing the love being rained down on Al Gore proved to me once and for all (for this election cycle), he is not running for president. Al Gore has realized that he has more important work to do than to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that visits the run for the Presidency. He is a big fish in a global pond--and it seems he couldn't be happier!

Hopefully, the fish in the presidential pool will pay heed to the more important message that he is promoting, GLOBAL WARMING IS A MORAL ISSUE. It is the single most important issue of our time and it is one that we can become a stronger nation, if we choose to lead.

Iowa is in the position of leading the the next wave of the Green Revolution, with abundant natural resources, already the 3rd largest production of wind power in the nation. But we have a long way to go with respect to water quality and our continued move toward monocultural agriculture. Our future will depend on using all our resources wisely, that is what Al Gore is the spokesperson for and there is no one who can do it better.

Lessons from the Pioneers: Tackling Global Warming at the Local Level

From New Rules

As of January 2007, 355 mayors in communities representing over 54 million Americans in 49 states have signed the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement (formalized in June 2005). Participating cities agree to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2012 to at least 7 percent below 1990 levels. The number of communities involved promises a diversity of strategies and a steep learning curve as communities learn from one another what works, and what doesn’t work.

We surveyed the climate change activities in 10 cities to find out how well these “Kyoto cities” were doing in meeting their goals and what strategies and methodologies they were using. The overriding conclusion is that, despite their commitment and their elaboration of significant programs, reducing GHG emissions below 1990 levels will be a major challenge. Many cities will likely fail in their attempts unless complementary state and federal policies are put in place. Our findings include:

The methodologies and assumptions used to create GHG inventories differ among communities, making comparisons between cities problematic. Convenient access to the data was sometimes lacking. A standard GHG estimation methodology is not yet in place, but useable models exist. Convergence and standardization may come soon. Transparency of assumptions is critical.

In all cities, community-wide emissions have risen since 1990, sometimes dramatically. Based on progress to date, it is unlikely that more than one or two of our ten cities and quite possibly none, will reduce their GHG emissions 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Overall emissions increases ranged from 6.5 percent to 27 percent from 1990 baseline measurements. An exception was Portland, Oregon, which reports a tiny 0.7 percent increase above the 1990 baseline.

Almost all of the cities we surveyed were expecting to realize a significant portion of their GHG reductions as a result of actions taken by higher levels of government (e.g. a state-level renewable portfolio standard or an increase in federal fuel economy standards). Relying too heavily on strategies out of the city’s direct control could stunt creative local solutions and inhibit the city’s investments in energy-related projects that have ancillary economic and environmental benefits.

Cities are not investing significant amounts of their own money to reduce GHG emissions. This may be understandable, given tight budgets, but cities should remember that energy-related investments, unlike many public investments, repay themselves, often in relatively short time frames.

Punxsutawney Phil Confirms Global Warming

Bucking a trend, Punxsutawney Phil doesn't see shadow and confirms global warming

• According to German folklore, folks can now expect an early spring
• 15,000 people celebrated in Punxsutawney, a town of about 6,100 people
• Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 15 times
• Global warming "likely man-made" and expected to "continue for centuries"
• Greenhouse gases blamed for fewer cold days, hotter nights, floods
• Temperatures predicted to rise 2 F to 11.5 F by 2100

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A new pair of hands pulled Punxsutawney Phil from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that the groundhog offered a new prediction.

Phil did not see his shadow on Friday, which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter. Punxsutawney Phil aslo made another startling prediction--global warming is really happening.

Punxsutawney Phil, who was interviewed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer, said "Look, I call 'em as I see 'em. The absence of seeing my shadow is not in itself a predictor of global warming, but the presence of palm trees, tropical birds, and Jimmy Buffett make it a slam dunk. Besides I was watching the news and saw the report by the French scientists."

No Shortage of Misery

The holiday season serves to remind us of the importance our friends and family, our well-being and relative comfort in the world. However, it also serves to remind us to serve those whose circumstances are much more dire, whether around the corner from us or half way around the world. I want to take a moment to reflect on some tragic situations here and abroad and encourage all of us to reflect on these words by 1950's British Parliment member, Henry Usborne: "the price of peace is justice," not dollars or power as most Americans seem to think."

1) Homelessness . Over a five-year period, about 2–3 percent of the U.S. population (5–8 million people) will experience at least one night of homelessness. Single men constitute about sixty percent of the homeless population, families constitute about one third of all homeless and are the fastest-growing group of homeless. Although about seventy percent of the homeless live in central cities, rural homelessness is a hidden problem. The rural homeless are more likely to be families that are homeless for shorter periods of time, often as a result of domestic violence (Singleton et al.*). One of the hardest groups to reach, however, is the one fourth of homeless who have been homeless for at least five years (Burt*).

2) War. Our war on terror in Iraq has resulted in (According to the DOD) 2950 of our soldiers killed and 22, 401 wounded. At least 50,998 Iraqi citizens have been killed. Across the globe, an additional 353 US soldiers have died and 1072 more injured. In Darfur, Sudan, more than 200,000 people have died. In Palestine and Israel, 4,398 Palestinians and 1,084 Israelis have been killed since September 29, 2000.

3) Hunger. 852 million people across the world are hungry, up from 842 million a year ago. Every day, more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds. 13.5 million households in the United States (11.9% of all households) were food insecure in 2004, of which 4.4 million (3.9% of all U.S. households) had experienced hunger at some point in that year. The food insecure households contained an estimated 38 million people, of whom almost 14 million were children. The existence of large numbers of people without secure access to adequate nutritious food represents a serious national concern.

4) Global warming. 2005 was hottest year on record(tied with 1998), according to NASA. 100 billion dollars of damage were caused by hurricanes hitting the U.S. coast in 2005 alone, according to the National Climatic Data Center. 400,000 Square miles of Arctic sea ice that have melted in the last 30 years (roughly the size of Texas), threatening polar bear habitats and further accelerating global warming worldwide, according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. 15 to 37% of plant and animal species could be wiped out by 2050 due to global warming. The United States is the #1 global warming polluter compared to other large nations.

5) AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. 30 million people in Africa have HIV - this is 70% of global infections. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are currently 4.1 million people with AIDS who are in immediate need of life-saving anti-retroviral drugs. 15 million children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS (similar to the total children population in Germany or United Kingdom). Every day in Africa, 6,500 people die and another 9,500 contract the HIV virus - 1,400 of whom are newborn babies infected during childbirth or by their mothers' milk. Malaria kills an African child every 30 seconds. Someone in the world is newly infected with tuberculosis bacilli every second.

6) Access to clean water supplies. Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%. 1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

I know that these problems can not be solved at once, but do require us to be constant gardeners. We must encourage our elected leaders to be strategic in what they do, but we also need to raise hell for those who are already living there.