Green Options

As the world arrives at the UN ahead of Copenhagen, the US has more to lose than China in an escalating war of words over climate change leadership.

The conductor walks on to the stage and mounts the podium with applause from the crowd. He bows to the audience, then turns to his orchestra and, with one fluid motion pulls music from the vast expanse of silence. Each musician moves, almost mechanically, in perfect time, in perfect concert. The violin section becomes one great body, no longer individual musicians. Together, as one, the orchestra ebbs and flows in crescendo and decrescendo. Melody. Harmony. Symphony.

Plans were announced today that will bring the United States and China together in order to fight the issue of global climate change. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science Wan Gang, and Administrator of National Energy Administration Zhang Guo Bao announced plans to develop a U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, which will facilitate cooperative research and development of clean energy systems.

Besides posing threats to structures and landscapes on a local scale, melting permafrost emits carbon dioxide and methane, according to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), making permafrost a threat on a global scale.

For the first time, the World Trade Organization (WTO) teamed up with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to release a report outlining the relationship between trade and climate change. The report describes the multitude of ways in which climate change and trade intersect.

I recently wrote a post concerning a report on climate change issued by the U.S. Government stating that “climate change has immediate and local impacts – it literally affects people in their backyards.” Well, as it turns out, there’s more to the story.

It’s in the papers and on TV. It spreads across the Internet (including this very post), and it is finding its way into the classroom. Global climate change is nothing new. And it certainly isn’t going away. Not yet, anyway.

Reminder: Earth Hour occurs on Saturday, March 28th at 8:30pm (that’s TODAY people).  Individuals, families, business, politicians, film sets and YOU can participate by turning all the lights off for 60 minutes (anyone can handle that, right?).

For more in depth information about Earth Hour 2009, visit Wenona’s post from February or the Earth Hour US website.

What can you do when the lights are out?

“Satellite images gathered by NASA show that the north-west passage opened last weekend and the final blockage on the east side of the ice cap, an area of sea ice stretching to Siberia, dissolved a few days later.”

Whether or not you subscribe to the concept of global climate change due to human factors, there is no dispute that, for the first time in recorded human history, the [...]

If a woman hauls water for 4 hours a day, her chances of escaping poverty are low.
The cost of change: 15 cents. According to E+Co website

This is an image of Wind Water for Life program, helping to revitalize abanonded wind turbines for water pumps in Senegal to serve over 50 communities, improving water supply and quality to almost 30,000 people. This and projects like it throughout the developing countries of the world, are supported in part by E+Co, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering local groups to create safe, clean energy sources for their communities.

I’ve had the joy of meeting the powerhouse founder and CEO of E+Co, Phil LaRocco. Formerly Director of World Trade and Economic Development for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where he oversaw the NY World Trade Center and a network of international offices, Mr. LaRocco has used his background to pioneer an enterprise-centered model for clean energy implementation. He has made over ninety investments in energy enterprises in over thirty developing countries.

It is one of the least discussed issues when we discuss solutions to the environmental crisis. It is not whether or not the food is organic or sprayed with synthetic chemicals, or whether or not it is grown locally. The underdiscussed issue is the importance of a vegetarian diet for addressing critical environmental issues.

As Albert Einstein said, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

The big issue today is global climate change. It is likely to dwarf any environmental issues we faced in the past. As reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization:

[T]he livestock sector is a major stressor on many ecosystems and on the planet as a whole. Globally it is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases…. It currently amounts to about 18 percent of the global warming effect — an even larger contribution than the transportation sector worldwide.

This is a critical issue. This is more critical than our power plants, our industries, the energy efficiency of our homes and appliances, or even transportation.