Archive for the ‘Climate Change’ Category

Global Warming.

Climate Change.

Global Climate Change.

Atmospheric Physics.

Atmosphere Cancer.

Greenhouse Gas Warming.

Climate Crisis.

Global Weirding????

In a NY Times Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman (Hot, Flat, and Crowded) posted yesterday, Friedman suggested a new term to define what’s happening to our earth and the climate: Global Weirding. As Friedman says:

I prefer the term “global weirding,” because that is what actually happens as global temperatures rise and the climate changes. The weather gets weird. The hots are expected to get hotter, the wets wetter, the dries drier and the most violent storms more numerous.

The term ‘global warming’ has gotten a pretty bad PR wrap. People tend to think that if it’s cold outside then global warming doesn’t exist. ‘Climate change’ better describes what’s actually happening but lacks the ‘take action now’ fear from the word. So is it ‘global weirding’? Post your thoughts using the comments link above.

Our friends over at 350.org have done a great job with the grassroots effort to get people to take action on climate change to bring us back down to the magical number of 350 parts per million of carbon in our atmosphere. They have created some cool videos to recap the year. We really liked one in particular but you can see all of the videos here.

If the climate is keeping you up at night, we totally understand. We have had one too many nightmares about carbon monsters. If it’s not maybe you should check out the article, “Top Ten Reasons the Climate Should Keep You Up at Night“. Some of the worries are not what you would expect.

By Jeff Wolfe, from COP15 in Denmark:

Business As Usual – an archaic illusion. Business As Sustainable (BAS) is our only path forward.

Background: Business as usual (BAU) is the term used to describe how companies and people have conducted business over the past 100 years. It’s the set of actions which has resulted in the climate change we see today. But the assumptions underlying all models of BAU have fundamentally changed due to the effects of climate change, making BAU an archaic illusion.

Commentary: Whenever climate change mitigation is discussed, it is typically discussed against a BAU scenario, as in: ‘Versus BAU, implementing renewable energy for electric generation would cost us $XXX more.’

What is never discussed is that the BAU scenario no longer exists; we are not living in the time referred to by the BAU scenario. We’ve spent the past 150 years using limited resources wantonly, impacting the Earth in ways we only truly started to understand 20 – 30 years ago, and now find that we cannot continue that way of life. Like a childhood lost, we are seeking to hang onto that way of life, to insist that our current options continue to include wanton resource use and disposal, to continue acting like a child where actions do not have consequences.

If we could continue a BAU-like set of actions, we would find that the costs associated with them are far higher than previously thought. These costs include weather disasters, crop failures, water shortages, electrical disruptions, low-area flooding, and more. These costs change the calculation of the historic BAU analyses, making a BAU-like path far more expensive than a path that transitions to Business As Sustainable (BAS).

And perhaps most child-like, we act as if we do not understand that a BAS path can result in a better life, that adulthood can be fun, rewarding, and fulfilling.
In the face of the truth of science and the availability of technology, and the belief in a greater being, it has become an illusion to speak of any business as ‘usual’, when all business must now change to meet the present reality. To cling to a false belief that BAU still exists, to compare possible future options for climate action and BAS against a now mythical BAU, is irresponsible and negligent. It is time we grew up and accepted both the pleasures and responsibilities of adulthood, and accelerate ourselves toward BAS.

Watching world leaders speaking at COP15 Plenary. One thing is crystal clear. 95% of world leaders believe that climate change is not only real, but is a grave threat to the world. If wide public opinion in the US does not change, the American public will find itself ostracized on the world stage.

The Solar Bill of Rights, introduced by SEIA’s Rhone Resch at Solar Power International ‘09 in October, is gaining traction. Follow the link to the website to sign the Solar Bill of Rights.

http://www.solarbillofrights.org/

December 15, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama

President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are major U.S.-based companies, many of which are attending COP-15, urging your leadership in helping to secure a robust international agreement now to address global climate change.  This agreement has to include significant near- and long-term emissions reductions targets and strong finance provisions, with a substantial commitment of new long-term finance from developed nations, including the United States, following on the “fast start” commitments that already have been made.  Such provisions also should consist of a structure for the long term and should leverage private sector investments.  An international agreement also must facilitate clean technology development and transfer, with appropriate intellectual property protections.  Such an agreement will provide the market certainty that will unleash the investments needed to create jobs and enhance U.S. competitiveness.

We must put the United States on the path to significant emissions reductions, a stronger economy, and a new position of leadership in the global effort to stabilize our climate.  The costs of inaction far outweigh the costs of action.  Our environment and economy are at stake.  In addition, millions of people in developing and low-lying nations are at risk from climate and related economic dislocations, which further pose geopolitical threats.  These factors highlight the urgency for the Administration to achieve a global deal in the coming days that moves us ever closer toward a legally-binding agreement that will protect us and future generations.

Many businesses are doing their part by creating innovative technologies and reducing their carbon footprints, as well as implementing complementary efficiency and renewable energy measures.  However, a “sufficiently ambitious, effective and globally equitable deal [is essential to] create the conditions for transformational change in our economy and deliver the economic signals that companies need,” if they are to invest in a low carbon future.[1]

The urgency to act is clear and the need for strong leadership is paramount.  We pledge to support your leadership efforts in helping secure a strong global agreement.  Moreover, businesses should provide input into the negotiating process to ensure that the policies being developed will not create unintended consequences and will maximize opportunities for innovation.  We view the latest bipartisan discussions being led by Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman as critical to domestic action, and pledge our support for their continued efforts in the weeks and months ahead, too.

We thank you in advance for helping to protect our economic, environmental and national security interests for the future.  Your forceful leadership is essential to securing an international deal to address climate change in Copenhagen.  We look forward to working with you in the coming days and going forward following the Copenhagen conference.

Sincerely,

Aspen Skiing Company

Ben & Jerry’s

Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE)

Clif Bar and Company

Dow Chemical

eBay

Eileen Fisher

Gap Inc.

groSolar

Ingersoll Rand

Jones Lang LaSalle

Jupiter Oxygen Corporation

Levi Strauss & Co.

Lykes Brothers, Inc.

Microsoft

MissionPoint Capital Partners

Nike

Northern Grid

PG&E

PSEG

Seventh Generation

Solazyme, Inc.

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Starbucks

Stonyfield Farm

Sun Microsystems

Symantec

The North Face

Timberland

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[1] Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change and University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, “The Copenhagen Communique on Climate Change,” 2009.

Jeff Wolfe is tweeting away from Copenhagen with lots of insight on activities, attitudes from the Climate Conference. Follow his tweets at:

http://twitter.com/jeff_grosolar

Will future generations ask: “How did you do it?” or “What were you thinking?”

350.org has been rallying people around the world to take action on climage change. Most recently they organized a weekend of action December 11-13. Bill McKibben, 350.org founder and also a groSolar customer, sent out a rather inspiring email late yesterday about the success of this event all over the world. We wanted to re-publish that email here:

Dear Friends,

Thanks beyond thanks.

It’s been a remarkable day for those of us here in Copenhagen, but mostly not because of anything happening at the climate conference.

Instead it’s because of what you all did out in the rest of the world over the last 24 hours. We don’t have a full count of vigils around the world, but in something like 3,000 cities and towns across the planet your vigils sent the most powerful of messages to the leaders here: stop playing games, and start protecting the planet.

Here in Copenhagen, there were more than 100,000 people marching in the streets–99% of them peaceful and dignified–to call for climate solutions bold enough to meet the scale of the crisis. As the sun set on this city, thousands lit candles to stand in solidarity with those on the front lines of climate change–a moving and unprecedented moment in this movement.

We’ve already started to get your photos in front of world leaders and the global media assembled here. If you haven’t yet submitted your photos, videos, and stories, please do so just as soon as you can by visiting this link:

http://www.350.org/vigil-report

We’re projecting the images on walls and screens all around Copenhagen, and starting Monday we’ll be putting them to good use as lobbying tools for UN delegates from Argentina to Zimbabwe.

A wide network of allies and individuals helped pull this amazing feat off, and thanks to them–and all of you–our collective call to action is unavoidable. More importantly, our message was clear: the world can’t afford just any climate deal–we need a real deal that is fair enough to protect those bearing the brunt of climate impacts, is legally binding and enforceable, and is ambitious enough to get the world back on a path to 350.

While there’s no guarantee that world leaders will pay attention to this call with the level of ambition that’s required, we can guarantee that you’ve given this movement another boost at a crucial moment.

We’ll be in touch in the coming days, but for now know that everyone here sends their deep thanks and love.

Onwards,
Bill McKibben for the 350 Team