Posts Tagged ‘climate change’

Astro-Billionaire Richard Branson Gets Down to Earth

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

Check out this Newsweek article about Branson’s new hobby.

Watch out, climate change. The businessmen are coming for you.

half-shadow-earth.jpg
photo credit: FlyingSinger

“Let’s assume the odds [of climate disaster] were only 50/50. If you have a 50 percent chance of getting knocked over by a car crossing the road, you’re going to take out insurance, or you’re not going to cross the road.”

and:

“I think the world is moving much more to a world where the business community has to work closely with governments in helping them get a lot of problems resolved. And I’m a strong believer that business should be a force for good, not just a money-making machine for its shareholders.”

Sounds like socially-responsible investing to us.

After Copenhagen, China Steps Back Into The Climate Change Spotlight

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

The problem is the same, but getting the world to agree on a solution is proving to be a challenge.

  • China and the United States emit more greenhouse gases than any other nations in the world, but during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December, the two nations argued over who should carry more responsibility for tackling the problem.
  • After a week of similar rich-country/poor-country conflicts, Copenhagen ended without any agreement on how to address the global greenhouse gas problem. This time, China is hosting the conference and the goals are a little different: Instead of a global agreement, participants may seek smaller, more manageable deals such as corporate carbon-cutting programs.
  • The Copenhagen conference made it clear that China, though still a developing nation, is going to be front and center in the climate change debate. In addition to being the world’s biggest producer of greenhouse gases, China is also the world’s biggest investor in renewable energy sources.

Facts & Figures

  • China’s per-capita GDP is $3,700 per year; the per capita GDP in the U.S. is $46,000.
  • Coal accounts for 80% of China’s energy production.
  • Developed nations pledged $30 billion in Copenhagen to help developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nearly all of which has been fulfilled.

Best Quote

“China came to understand that given the scale of the country, there’s simply no way it can hide – you’re either the leader or you will be blamed. By hosting this meeting, it sends a strong signal that China is thinking about how to play a more proactive role on the international stage.” – Yang Ailun, Greenpeace China’s Head of Climate and Energy

Former 1Sky Director Gillian Caldwell On Changing Climate Change

Monday, July 26th, 2010

gillian-caldwell.jpg Gillian Caldwell is the former head of 1Sky, a TILE Environment charity. She’s a film maker and an attorney who’s been advocating for worldwide social justice for 30 years. Since she began as the first Campaign Director in September 2007, 1Sky has grown to become the largest collaborative campaign in the United States, building a society-wide movement in support of bold federal action to tackle global warming. The 1Sky campaign now combines the force of more than 600 allied organizations, a full time team of 23 staff and 15 Regional Coordinators, more than 200,000 climate advocates and more than 4,960 volunteer “Climate Precinct Captains” covering every state in the country. Gillian was also the Executive Director of WITNESS, another TILE partner charity, so she’s a leader close to our heart!

TILE: How do issues relating to climate change affect young people?
Gillian: Young people will be the most affected by climate change. We are just starting to see the effects of climate change, and if we are unable to pass bold climate policy soon, every young person on the planet will be severely impacted by climate change.

TILE: What’s the most important thing we can do to combat climate change?
Gillian: The most important thing we can do to combat climate change is to get political and take action now. We need to secure strong federal policy (complimented by state policy and local climate initiatives) if we hope to prevent the worst effects of climate change and kickstart the green economy, but the clock is ticking.

TILE: What’s the biggest you challenge you face in your work?
Gillian: We are living in a world where coal and oil interests are deeply entrenched in everything. Convincing our federal policymakers that climate change needs to be our nation’s foremost priority in the face of billion dollar lobbying budgets of fossil fuel industries is not easy work, but it is vital to ensuring a safe climate and a blossoming renewable energy economy. I know we can do it.

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Gillian: The best advice I would give to my teenage self is to dream big and pursue those dreams with all of my energy. Climate change is a big problem, but with enough people dreaming about the clean energy future that is possible and (here’s the important part) putting those dreams into action, we can solve it!

TILE: How do you think young people can play an important role in the changing landscape of philanthropy?
Gillian: Young people continue to find new and creative ways to fund the causes that are most important to them, and at the same time inspire others to get involved in the issues they care about. Young people have a big part to play in changing the landscape of philanthropy to fit the ways that they connect with people: especially online.


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Islands First Attacks Climate Change Where It Strikes First

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Nick Arons founded Islands First partially to protect his friends in the tiny island nation of Palau, but IF’s mission is much bigger than that. Listen to what Nick has to say about effecting global change in the courtroom, and what it’s like to start up your own nonprofit:

How big is your carbon footprint?

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Your carbon footprint is a measure of the greenhouse-gas emissions you produce in your everyday life. Your total carbon footprint is divided into two parts: your primary footprint, which is the emissions you directly cause (by using the stove, driving your car, running up an electricity bill, and so on), and your secondary footprint is made up of the indirect emissions which are a result of your lifestyle choices (eating at restaurants, going to the movies, buying a lot of clothes or electronic devices, etc.).

There are plenty of websites that can calculate your (primary and/or secondary) carbon footprint for you, but you have to provide some details first. For whatever period of time you want to measure (a month, six months, a year) you have to know your energy bills (gas, electricity, coal, propane, etc.), the number of miles you’ve traveled in your car and by public transport, and any airplane flights you may have taken. This information all contributes to your primary footprint. The secondary footprint is more approximate and requires you to input data like how often you eat at restaurants, how often you buy new clothes, and whether/how much you recycle. Once you know the value of your carbon footprint, you can see all the different factors that contribute to it and look for places where you can cut back.

And You Thought Swine Flu Was Bad…

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

A new study explains in no uncertain terms that climate change will have very serious consequences for the future of human health.

  • The public health implications of rising sea levels and shrinking Arctic ice are vast and include malnutrition caused by droughts, disease carried by mosquitos, and severe asthma from increased air pollution.
  • The study, released by the Trust for America’s Health, states that these threats will be dramatically reduced if the federal government prioritizes a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
  • One way to prepare for the onslaught of issues that will face urban areas is to plant more trees in cities, as they both clean and cool the air.

Facts & Figures

  • Heat waves are expected to worsen in cities where the lack of plant life makes for “urban heat islands.”
  • Warmer weather allows insects like mosquitos to migrate northward, expanding their territory and their ability to spread diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease.
  • Increased heat supports air pollution by contributing to smog, causing increased respiratory illnesses in humans.

Best Quote

“Some of the most personal effects of climate change are going to be health-related ones. We should want the government doing as much as possible now to prevent these effects, or minimize them when they occur.” – Jeff Levi, Executive Director of the Trust for America’s Health

Feds Propose Polar Bears No Longer Walk on Thin Ice

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Amid dueling agendas for Alaska’s future, the polar bear’s plight is being given some serious attention in Washington.

  • The melting of sea ice has left polar bears vulnerable, as the disappearing ice forces them onto land where food is harder to find and conflicts with humans are frequent.
  • The federal government has proposed designating 200,541 square miles on the coast of Alaska – this would be the largest habitat zone ever established to protect a species from extinction.
  • Conservationists have warned that proposals for new offshore oil and gas development will conflict with these protection efforts as they will substantially add to  greenhouse emissions and the melting of sea ice.

Facts & Figures

  • If the root problem of their melting habitat is not addressed, the polar bear could disappear from U.S. waters within the next 100 years.
  • The proposed habitat covers three separate areas along the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska: the coastal barrier islands, sea ice over the continental shelf in waters less than 980 feet deep; and terrestrial denning habitat from five miles to the 20 miles inland.
  • About 1,500 polar bears are believed to live in the Southern Beaufort Sea. The other significant population is in the Chukchi Sea. They haven’t been counted for 20 years, but at that point there were 2,000.

Best Quote

“Today’s announcement…acknowledges that some of the most sensitive areas on land and in the offshore waters of America’s Arctic – including much of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – are key to the species’ survival.” – Cindy Shogan, Alaskan Wilderness League

Global Climate Change (GCC) is…

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Global climate change is the sum of all the alterations in the Earth’s climate that are happening as a result of human activities – most notably the emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. GCC includes global warming but also includes increases in storms, droughts, and other extreme weather. Global climate change is already and will continue to have a great impact on the global economy, health, and safety of people around the world.

Mayors Take Climate Change Into Their Own Hands

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

What do you do when your state’s ski resorts are firing their employees due to lack of snow, and the federal government doesn’t seem to care?

  • On Friday, Greg Nickels, President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, announced that 1,000 mayors around the country had signed on to an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their cities in keeping with the Kyoto protocols, an international agreement designed to combat global warming.
  • With most of the nation’s population and economy concentrated in cities, mayors felt it was their duty to step in to reduce emissions where the federal government fell short. The U.S. government has not yet signed on to the Kyoto protocols.
  • In addition to reducing emissions in their own cities, the group of mayors also lobbies Congress for grants and funding for greenhouse-gas-reducing projects, and advocates for a nationwide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 7% of the 1990 level by 2012.

Facts & Figures

  • The city of Cleveland has converted to 25% renewable energy.
  • Boston has increased its use of solar power by 300%
  • Los Angeles met the 7% Kyoto target for emissions reduction four years early in 2008; Seattle reduced its 1990-level emissions by 8% three years earlier than that, in 2005.

Best Quote

“I am signing up because this is too important an issue for us to stand on the sideline. This is not a group without diversity, it’s not a group that agrees on everything, but it is a group that is completely united and committed to this one issue.” – Scott Smith, Mayor of Mesa, AZ

Climate Change is…

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Climate change is the drastic change in temperature and weather patterns around the world resulting from human industrial activities for the past 200 years. Predictions about climate change range from the bad to the unthinkable; increases in sea levels, more frequent natural disasters, and abnormal weather patterns as well as a disruption of trade, agriculture, and industry have all been predicted by scientists, economists, and politicians. While these disasters may affect us all, the people who will feel the effects of climate change the most are those who are the least able to combat it – people living in developing countries and island-nations.