This post is in response to the recent Earthbeat podcast with Joe Romm and Andy Revkin going over the supposedly big climate issues of 2008.

The show led off with “and what a year it was. Scientists continued to be shocked at the lack of ice in the Arctic…” then later on Joe Romm said “the IPCC really blew it on sea level rise” which refers to that same point, i.e. the IPCC left all consideration out of what would happen at the poles because no one can model it convincingly and suddenly it turns out that’s what’s getting everyone’s attention as the summer sea ice disappears more each year and Greenland and Antarctica start acting alarmingly.

But Andy Revkin, award winning NYTimes Dot Earth blogger and science reporter just doesn’t see it this way. I’ve been wondering about his attitude for months ever since he wrote in the NY Times about icebreakers and oil exploration in the Arctic, for instance, in the NYTimes: “even with the increasing summer retreats of sea ice, which many polar scientists say probably are being driven in part by global warming caused by humans, there will always be enough ice in certain parts of the Arctic to require icebreakers”, or later on Dot Earth he said he would circulate an email to the scientists he in is contact with and publish whether they agreed the situation was this uncertain and he never did. And on the Earthbeat show you posted, after Joe Romm made his definite the IPCC blew it statement, Andy said this: “well, Joe, I just read the literature differently than you I think. The sea level rise issue has gotten more complicated….”. Continue Reading »

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Hey, so not too long ago I had an op-ed column come out in my campus newspaper The Diamondback about what the United States needs to do in 2009 so that we can get a strong global treaty in Copenhagen.  I wanted to share it on this blog, so I’m going to cross-post what I put on my other blog:

http://madrad2002.wordpress.com/2008/12/09/column-on-climate-legislation/

So I have my weekly column out today. Due to word constraints, I couldn’t tell people what they can do over the next year to make a difference. The best move could be to find out who your Congressman and US Senators are, depending on where you live. Then at the least make a phone call and write a letter telling them what you want. Scheduling a lobby meeting with their office would be great as well.

In Maryland, the main target should be Steny Hoyer since he is the House Majority Leader. It’s a very powerful postion responsible for setting the legislative agenda, and being the deal broker on votes for a bill. If you live in his district, do everything you can to let him know you want to him to make climate change legislation a priority. His website with contact info is below, as well as my column.

http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2008/12/09/Opinion/Climate.Change.It.Has.To.Start.At.Home-3575122.shtml

http://hoyer.house.gov/

The latest round of United Nations climate talks is coming to a close in the next few days in Poznan, Poland. These negotiations, taking place between countries all around the world, are going to lay the foundation for a final deal to be made at the end of 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The need for a strong treaty involving both developed and developing nations is crucial. A failure to replace the previous treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, would put the world on a devastating path of unregulated and unrestricted greenhouse gas emissions.

President-elect Barack Obama (D) has given strong assurances to the countries in Poznan right now that, when he takes office, the United States will re-engage these talks with the objective of leading the world in cooperation on climate change. Rhetoric from Obama and eight years too many of Bush have skyrocketed expectations from foreign countries that the United States is going to be able to sign a strong climate treaty in Copenhagen. There’s a major problem, though. The reality is it’s all but impossible for Obama to get the Senate to ratify a global climate treaty. You need two-thirds of the Senate to go along, and the odds of getting 67 senators in a sharply partisan institution to vote ‘yes’ is not a winning proposition. It would be devastating if the country agreed to a treaty in Copenhagen and then was unable to get it ratified by the Senate. The international agreement would likely disintegrate, harming the United States’ standing in the world and sending emissions spiraling out of control.

We’ve seen this happen before. Former President Bill Clinton agreed in international talks to the Kyoto Protocol, and along with former Vice President Al Gore, he brought it back for consideration by the Senate, which never put it to a vote. This was embarrassing and made Kyoto grossly inadequate and ineffective. What’s the point of emissions reductions if the biggest emitter isn’t on board? To this day, the U.S. is the only developed country whose government has not moved to ratify Kyoto.

Obama needs to learn from past mistakes. There’s a way to turn these climate talks into walk. We need to pass a strong climate change bill in our country before talks in Copenhagen finish. A national bill is more politically feasible than ever before with a new Congress and a progressive president leading the charge. Obama would only need 60 votes in the Senate for a bill.

This is how we can give assurances to our European partners that the U.S. will be able to follow up on what it says it will do. This is how we can break the inaction from China and India. This is how we can restore the United States’ standing in the world. Congress historically moves slowly unless an issue is on the tip of constituents’ tongues. We need to let them hear it, including in Maryland.

Right now we have a situation where everybody is waiting for everybody. The world is watching. All eyes are on us. It’s about time we put our best foot forward.

Matt Dernoga is a junior government and politics major. He can be reached at mdernoga@umd.edu.

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The Green Gorilla cartoon takes on mountain top removal mining in their latest episode called “Turn it Up Day”. As the city turns up their power, the kids investigate where the power comes from. KJ helps the gang find out that “clean and green” is actually a massive coal-seeking mechanical worm on its way to remove their favorite mountain. That’s when they get active.

This isn’t your typical Saturday morning cartoon but it’s also not that far from the reality of life in SW Virginia. I’m not even talking about the destructive practice of Mountaintop Removal coal mining that has already destroyed or “eaten” 29 mountains. That’s clearly a reality here and on West Virginia’s Coal River Mountain.

The part that seems hard to swallow is the idea that amidst rising energy costs and in the face of global warming that there would really be a “Turn it up” day. As much as we love love love our cars and warm homes. We understand rising energy costs in terms of dollar and cents right? The reality is we don’t and if you don’t believe me, maybe you stopped by the Grand Illumination in downtown Richmond earlier this month. This is where business turned on every single light in order to illuminate the downtown area. Since the connection isn’t as clear as one would hope I’m grateful that the Gorilla in the Greenhouse was able to connect the dots for those unaware.

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Come January, we’ll be working nonstop to raise awareness about global warming solutions in Maryland and Virginia. Not only that, but we’ll also be focused on working with the new Congress to make climate a priority within the first 100 days of the next administration. This spring will be THE crucial time to pass climate legislation, and we’re going to have to give it our all.

But what can I do right now, you ask? This is the moment to be setting the stage for bold climate action come January, and we can start by getting some holiday stimulus LTE’s published! With the holiday season coming up, what better gift could we ask for than a green stimulus package and a New Year’s Resolution from our elected officials for truly bold climate action in 2009.

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On January 10, CCAN is hosting our 4th Annual Polar Bear Plunge. About 200 of us are going to jump in the Chesapeake Bay and freeze our butts off for climate action.

The Polar Bear Plunge is CCAN’s major grassroots fund-raising event. Just like a walk for cancer, the day’s plungers recruit friends and family to sponsor them. We’ve made it easy by putting together email templates and personal fundraising pages that people can use to do outreach. Anyone who signs up will be given the support they need to have a successful plunge. Sign up to take the plunge with us!

Check out a short video of what happened at last year’s plunge. It’s very inspiring.

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So I’ve been blogging a lot recently about Warren Buffett, and his imminent insertion into the MD power supply. Turns out, things have changed a bit: just this morning, Constellation Energy announced that it would instead sell half of it’s nuclear power to Electricite de France (EDF). Why, you may ask, do I care who owns what portion of Constellation Energy so much? Because who owns my power company has some say as to how my neighborhood gets its power (I buy wind, being a self-respecting climate organizer). This means that the folks owning a solid chunk of Maryland’s power are all about nuclear power - and not so much about drastically increasing their investments in wind, solar, geothermal, and other fun and innovative and new renewable solutions. Dance floor energy generators in every night club, anyone?

But seriously, this means that there will be even more renewed vigor in support of building a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs, despite all the problems the French are already having. Only now, adding insult to injury, the profits won’t even be going to a homegrown company, but one in France. Anda stronger push for nuclear power means less of a push for renewable energy. The way the economic climate is right now, there’s only so much funding to go around, and we should be putting every penny into building wind farms and retrofitting houses and building people-powered cars (think Flintstones)

and developing true green jobs that provide pathways out of poverty and… well, the possibilities seem endless if we stop clinging tight to old and problematic technology (PS, this includes coal) and really start thinking outside the box.

Want to take action? Join us in saying “Non merci” to French nukes in Maryland on Dec 23rd at Constellation HQ, 8 AM.

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MoveOn sent out an email titled, “Ballot for You: Vote Today on MoveOn’s priorities,” which has your ballot for MoveOn’s priority survey. Getting MoveOn to prioritize climate as one of their top
three would be a huge boost to our people power. So check your email and vote for “Build a green economy, Stop Climate Change.”

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MD’s Rockfish, the only EPA Certified Green Restaurant in Annapolis,
will host a Plunge after-party on January 10. 
They are offering plungers and their guests ½ price appetizers and happy
hour prices on drinks.

Rockfish is 100% wind powered, which comes to an annual
avoidance of over a million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually, or the
equivalent of removing 156 passenger vehicles from the road for each year. 

They also offer sustainably fished seafood and has a goal of
becoming a no-waste restaurant.  Read
more on Clean Tech>>

Learn more about CCAN’s Polar Bear Plunge at www.keepwintercold.org

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We are in - right now - the hottest decade in at least the last two thousand years. This year has been one for the record books for carbon dioxide, gas prices, wildfires, melting glaciers and, ironically, polar tourism. 2008 is on track to be warmer than the entire decade of the 1990s.

Host Mike Tidwell discusses the year in review with Andrew Revkin, reporter for the New York Times and author of the Times’ environment blog - Dot Earth and with Joe Romm, the author of the blog Climate Progress and a senior fellow at The Center for American Progress.

Then we dive even deeper into the automaker’s bailout with Matt Pawa, the lead lawyer representing the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense and the Sierra Club in their defense of states enacting strict auto emission standards.

Then we get a first-hand account of what it was like to stand on the desk of the very first commercial ship to sail through the ice-free Northwest Passage. Waguih Rayes is general manager of the Arctic division of the shipping company - Group Desgagnes.

Download this edition of Earthbeat.

Image used courtesy of Waguih Rayes, all rights reserved.

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As 2008 comes careening to a close, the most unexpected thing happened to me: I forgot all about my holiday gift giving. If it’s the same for you, keep reading. Whether because of the good news coming out of Maryland, another coal plant for Virginia, or just some silly anthropomorphic lumps of singing coal, if you’re caught off-guard and out of ideas when you look at your holiday lists, CCAN’s got you covered.

Give the gift of climate action! CCAN Gift Memberships are thoughtful, eco-friendly, and pretty. The CCAN Gift Membership is a great way to show your climate activist you care. The gift comes with a beautiful picture of the Chesapeake Bay in winter by aerial photographer Cameron Davidson. The beauty of an icy Chesapeake Bay is worth preserving, and we hope you’ll invite your friends and family to keep that in mind this holiday season.

The membership comes with all the benefits of joining CCAN—inclusion in our activist email list, grassroots trainings, exclusive member invites, discounts on CCAN merchandise, and the knowledge that you’re a part of the most effective and active group working to solve the climate crisis. For more information, visit our website>>

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