• By David Adam
  The Guardian - UK, May 12, 2008
  Straight to the Source
  
  

from Common Dreams
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record high, according to new figures that renew fears that climate change could begin to slide out of control. Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels in the atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost 40% since the industrial revolution and the highest for at least the last 650,000 years.

The figures, published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on its website, also confirm that carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than expected. The annual mean growth rate for 2007 was 2.14ppm - the fourth year in the past six to see an annual rise greater than 2ppm. From 1970 to 2000, the concentration rose by about 1.5ppm each year, but since 2000 the annual rise has leapt to an average 2.1ppm.

Scientists say the shift could indicate that the Earth is losing its natural ability to soak up billions of tons of carbon each year. Climate models assume that about half our future emissions will be re-absorbed by forests and oceans, but the new figures confirm this may be too optimistic. If more of our carbon pollution stays in the atmosphere, it means emissions will have to be cut by more than currently projected to prevent dangerous levels of global warming.

Martin Parry, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's working group on impacts, said: "Despite all the talk, the situation is getting worse. Levels of greenhouse gases continue to rise in the atmosphere and the rate of that rise is accelerating. We are already seeing the impacts of climate change and the scale of those impacts will also accelerate, until we decide to do something about it."

© 2008 The Guardian

In just a few weeks, the U.S. Senate will have a historic opportunity to pass legislation to combat global warming. Let your senators know we need a strengthened Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act to help avert a global climate crisis.

Make your voice heard through the NRDC Action Fund

“Planners have granted permission to build Sherford, a brand new town for 12,000 people, in South Devon that is billed as Britain’s greenest settlement. Work is expected to begin later this year to transform rolling countryside near Plymouth into the experimental new town with 5,500 homes. In Sherford, cars will be banned from some parts and 390ft wind turbines will loom over a 400-acre car park on the outskirts.”

Half the power needs for the new town will come from renewable sources — with all home sporting solar panels. Additionally, most of the materials to build the town will be sourced from a 50-mile radius! The business section — which will provides jobs for about 7,000 people — will be covered in either green roofs or “covered in a thin layer of rubble to attract insects and birds.” Everything about the town will be organized to encourage walking; not to mention all waste including water and sewage will be recycled to cut CO2 emissions. All of this, and Charles intends to give it a traditional English charm — with the theme being modeled on the Wiltshire market town of Marlborough.

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By June 30th, the federal government will make one of the most important decisions in conservation history. If it declares the polar bear to be an "endangered" species, the decision will set off an unprecedented worldwide discussion on global warming.

If the government refuses, desperately needed global action will again be delayed by U.S. stubbornness. Short-term corporate profits will continue to control political agendas and threaten life on earth. All of life on earth.

It will all happen -- or not -- by June 30th.

Make it happen. Sign our petition today and pass it on.

We need to generate 70,000 petition signatures in favor of polar bear protection by June 15th.

Together we can generate an unstoppable wave of public support for global warming action. Please sign our petition.

When I wrote the scientific petition to list the polar bear as an endangered species in 2005, I had no idea how important it would become to the battle against global warming. The decline of the polar bear has focused international attention on the real-world effects of catastrophic climate change.

I also didn't know we'd have to file suit -- twice -- just to get the Bush administration to agree to make a decision. But now it's committed to making one by June 30th, and we need your help to pull out all the stops.

Earlier this month, I testified before Congress about the plight of polar bears and what can be done right now to save them. Leaders in Congress are doing their part to pressure the Bush administration to listen to the scientists and do the right thing. You and your friends can add to that pressure by signing the petition.

Sincerely,

Kassie Siegel
Climate, Air and Energy Program Director
Center for Biological Diversity

PS: If you have trouble with the above hyperlinks, please copy and paste this directly into your browser:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1178

Finally my copy of the 11th Hour DVD arrived and just have to write and say I was 'blown away' all over again watching it for the third time.  It is a very hard hitting film with so many hard facts and bit political in the middle but I do love that ending and the vision of what we could become.  That vision has been part of me for all my life even though the reality of life has been so different.  But so comforting to know there are other people with that vision, many other people.  Still really believe we will get there some day.  Think the whole secret of learning to bond with our planet is to trying growing something.  A flower, a tree or a vegetable.  Just making that contact with the soil and watching that plant or tree grow.  Then you really understand what a miraculous planet we live on.  Good luck and I just hope one EVERYONE watches the 11th Hour.  

 Our solar panels are still working well heating our water for free and the wood burner is heating on cloudy days.  Our environment is cleaner and we are healthier I think.   

Earth Day is an excellent time to reevaluate what you can do to further reduce your human footprint on Planet Earth. This year I noticed all the unsolicited things that enter my home that I do not want or need, and are just a big nuisance and a drain of resources. I realized the three biggest culprits are phone directories, magazines, and credit card offers.  

Today, I called and opted out of all the phone directory delivery lists. I receive at least six different phone books a year. When they are delivered we just throw them in our front closet and never use them since we go online if we need a phone number. Unfortunately, for me, it was "out of sight, out of mind.’" Well, no more.

Next, I called and opted out of all unsolicited magazine deliveries. I had our name taken off free community magazines that I never read and just throw in the magazine rack in a bedroom we use for out of town guests. Then I got our names off of real estate related magazines and publications we receive because my husband and I are in real estate. All these publications once again can be read online, so we don’t need a print copy to get the information. The double whammy is that we both receive copies, since we both hold active real estate licenses.

Lastly, I opted out of credit card propositions. It is insane all the credit-card offers we receive in the mail. Well, thank goodness, the credit card bureaus have set up a service to stop these offers called “opting out.” You call 1-888-5-opt-out or visit www.optoutprescreen.com and provide some information. Once you opt out, your name is removed from credit offer lists and the bureaus hide your file from companies that offer pre-approved credit for five years. This is unnecessary junk mail you can have stopped immediately.

The one thing I opted in to do for Earth Day was attend yesterday a talk given by Diane MacEachern, the author of the Big Green Purse. The talk was hosted by the Arizona League of Conservation Voters and was held at the beautiful Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. Diane talked about the importance of shifting money we already spend to environmentally-safe, socially responsible products and services that would help protect the environment. She has started a Be One In a Million campaign. With this campaign if a million women intentionally shift at least $1000 of their existing budget to environmentally-friendly products, we can have a noticeable ONE BILLION DOLLAR IMPACT in the marketplace. I signed up this morning.

Art Changing Attitudes Towards the Environment


The Field Museum in Chicago is the first American venue to host Melting Ice / A Hot Topic, after stops in Oslo, Brussels, and Monaco. The Field Museum is pleased to bring this traveling exhibition to Chicago, marking its involvement in the joint efforts focused on the role of art in changing behavior in order to help safeguard the environment. The exhibit launches on April 18th in honor of Earth Day 2008 and will remain at the Field Museum through September 1st.


About the Exhibit
For UN World Environment Day 2007, the Natural World Museum in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme produced an exhibition that addresses the theme of Climate Change from a global perspective - the melting and thawing of ice, snow and permafrost are environment-altering changes taking place around the world- from the Andes to the Himalayas to the melting ice caps of the Poles. "Change" the transition that occurs from same to different, the moment of transformation, a change of position or action. Change used in reference to our environment can describe the transformation of material substance -- from ice to water, liquid to gas - the changing conditions of our rivers, our rapidly melting glaciers,, and the overall changes in the earth's climate. Change requires organisms and organizations alike to adapt to new environmental conditions. Metaphorically, change can also refer to the transformation of society's mindset to act in a positive way individually and collectively to work toward a more sustainable future.

Read more about this art exhibit and view select images of the artists’ work HERE

Hi,

My name is Terry and i am interested in meeting other passionate environmentalists who still believe we can save the planet from destructionby motivating the kids to take environmental action.

JUST A REMINDER...

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

Earth Hour is a global event created to symbolize that each one of us, working together, can make a positive impact on climate change - no matter who we are or where we live. 

Read more at EarthHour.org, and at World Wild Life Fund 

MY EARTH HOUR UPDATE  3/30/08 

I thought Earth Hour was pretty amazing last night, especially because I got to see LEO

Last night I attended a great talk given by The 11th Hour film expert, Bill McKibben, who is the author of many books about the environment including Deep Economy and Fight Global Warming Now. Bill is also the founder of Step It Up 2007 which is now united together with 1Sky.  Bill gave a great talk on many topics and he took questions from the audience. He told us about a new global campaign he is just getting ready to launch called 350. Global Warming. Global Action. Global Future.

350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth. This new international campaign will unite the world around the number 350, and they need all of our help.

The 350.org campaign and web site will be rolling out in the coming weeks, and the web site will be in English, Italiano, Deutsch, Svenka, Français, Hrvatski, Portuges, and Español.

Please take a moment to read a letter from Bill McKibben about this international campaign to unite the world around the number 350 HERE