ClimateMama

Climate Mama will give you the facts on Climate Change in a clear and easy format to understand, from trusted and reliable sources that have been vetted and triple checked. We want you to understand clearly what climate change and global warming mean, and what they mean to you, to your day to day life, and to the lives of the ones you love. We want to keep you updated on the latest developments around our planet, on what is happening now and what is important for you to know. We want you to meet ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things to fight this incredible challenge we face. We want to help you choose products and services you can feel good about, that will help us all reduce our carbon footprint and help the earth heal itself. We want to help you understand what your carbon footprint is and give you advice on fitting into a smaller size. We want you to be able to look your son, your daughter, your grandchild, nephew, niece, student or yourself in the eye and say with certainty that you are doing what you can to take care of the earth. We want you to feel empowered, that you are doing what you can to ensure that the world “our children” inherit is a world that is as precious, as vibrant, as healthy and as alive, as the one you grew up in. We hope to become a regular part of your day. Bookmark us, sign up for our newsletter and read our blog. Check in with us regularly; we know you don’t have a lot of time, in fact it often feels like “no” time, but we will only take a moment of your time to help you stay on top of the facts and see what’s going on in the world around you more clearly. We want to keep you updated and give you the tools and options you need to make a difference. You can find our home website at: http://www.climatemama.com/

[theboulderrollingsociety-deacti]

[plantedcity]

The Washington Post’s award winning editorial cartoonist Tom Toles hits the climate-energy-money-politics nail on the head once again. It reminds me of the Upton Sinclair quote:

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary* depends upon his not understanding it.”

(* or election)

Related:

‘Oil Donors Fete Romney Days Before Unveiling Energy Plan’ (Businessweek)

‘Romney’s Energy Plan Doubles Down On Fossil Fuels’ (NPR)

‘Surprise! The GOP’s climate position tracks closely with oil industry donations’ (Grist)

(Source: WaPo via Go Comics)

[theboulderrollingsociety-deacti]

[thiscouldbealaska]

“Denying climate change doesn’t make it stop”

- Barack Obama (via thiscouldbealaska)

[dendroica]

What Romney argues is a classic false choice: the idea that we must either choose to save the environment or put people to work. It’s the sort of argument that lets polluters squat in poor communities, insisting that they be allowed to do as they wish or they’ll take their jobs elsewhere. It’s a choice that need not be made, as demonstrated by green jobs and the burgeoning industries built around renewables and efficiency and sustainability.But that’s not actually what Romney was arguing. He was arguing that Obama is a weirdo who cares more about dolphins than Americans. That Romney will be there for the kids after school with a Wonder bread sandwich while Obama is nursing a spotted owl back to health with his halo. This election will be close and fiercely fought. Romney’s comment wasn’t about an issue of substance. It was about stroking the elements of the population who would be least likely to help him accomplish his goals were he to be elected to office. It was about making an earnest claim from a political candidate into a cynical joke — about diminishing a critical problem in order to add another two points to the scoreboard. That’s a terrible precedent for a candidate who might someday need to defend his office. Even more, it’s a horrendous idea for a man who would need, if elected, to lead a nation that must prepare for the most disruptive transition in its history.

Romney treats climate as a punchline | Grist (via dendroica)

[eupraxsophy]

One of the biggest news stories no one has heard about: arctic sea ice is at a new record low, evidence not only of a hotter planet, but of a radically changing one - less ice also means the planet absorbs more heat (since white surfaces reflect sun rays), which means our weather will get worse, leading to a cycle of climate changes that will affect ecosystems and crops.

Read more here. 

[leftskewed-deactivated20130530]

“Every year, Americans eat 200 pounds of meat each—equal to a little more than two McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, per person, per day. That’s about twice the global average; but now the rest of the globe (led by China) is catching up fast. Except it’s highly unlikely that Americans will be able to maintain anything close to current levels of carnivory by 2050, or that people in China, India, and other developing nations will be able to enjoy current US-style diets. There are a number of ways to reach this conclusion—for example, meat production is a massive generator of climate-changing gases—but here’s one that seems pretty fundamental: There just isn’t enough water…”

[prostheticbrain]

Climate deniers often use the uncertainties around climate variability and climate change to suggest that, since we don’t know everything, we don’t know anything. If we’re uncertain about anything, they argue, we must be uncertain about everything. And because so many people want so badly to not have to worry about temperatures rising when their retirement funds are falling, they will cite any uncertainties as reason not to act. But beware. We delay at our own peril. Climate change deniers are like the person who goes to the doctor for a diagnosis, and when the doctor tells him, “If you don’t stop smoking, there is a 90% chance you’ll die of lung cancer,” the patient replies: “Oh, doctor, you mean you are not 100% sure? Then I will keep on smoking.”

Thomas Friedman (excerpt from Hot, Flat, and Crowded)  (via prostheticbrain)

[thatenvironmentalblog]

(Like climate change)

I came across this article whilst doing research for the Green Schools Program. While most of us probably aren’t teachers, we can use this information when trying to educate others. The article talks about how to avoid making emotional statements and avoiding eliciting emotional responses from the students which may make them unreceptive to learning. Depending on the background the students come from, they may be more or less willing to hear about these very real issues. If they get the facts first and are allowed to form their own ideas about them, the lesson should be better received.

I thought about this both in regard to climate change nay-sayers and to more personal topics to many of us, such as vegetarian or veganism, animal rights, or local pollution programs.

(By the way, I have compiled a pretty impressive list of educational and informational links on climate change. If anyone is interested in some of the information, message me and I might be able to point you in the right direction. ;) )

[greenfuturist]

NASA climatologist James Hansen: “Over the next several decades, the Western United States and the semi-arid region from North Dakota to Texas will develop semi-permanent drought, with rain, when it does come, occurring in extreme events with heavy flooding. Economic losses would be incalculable. More and more of the Midwest would be a dust bowl. California’s Central Valley could no longer be irrigated. Food prices would rise to unprecedented levels. If this sounds apocalyptic, it is.”

Republican Convention Recap: As Experts Warn ‘The Door Is Closing’ On Climate, The GOP Mocks The Problem | ThinkProgress (via greenfuturist)

[theboulderrollingsociety-deacti]

[alsson]

Market forces at work.

[the-eco-warrior]

World's biggest offshore windfarm planned off Scottish coast

Scheme with enough capacity to power 40% of Scottish households has been submitted for planning permission

The £4.5bn complex would have 339 turbines covering 300 square kilometres off Caithness. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The world’s biggest offshore windfarm could be built off the northern Scottish coast, after a scheme with enough capacity to power 40% of Scottish households was submitted for planning permission.

The £4.5bn complex would have 339 turbines covering 300 square kilometres off Caithness, making it 50% bigger than the giant London Array scheme off Kent. It is expected to be the first in a series of deep water schemes under “Round 3” licensing.

The renewable industry has hailed it as a watershed moment but warned these new deep water farms might only be fully realised if the government provides policy stability by pushing through its proposedEnergy Bill.

The 1.5-gigawatt farm is being developed by Moray Offshore Renewables, a joint venture between Spanish oil company Repsol, and an arm of Portuguese power group EDP, which has recently become partly owned by China’s state-owned Three Gorges Corporation.

It has already attracted controversy because it is opposed by American billionaire Donald Trump, who says the 200-metre-high turbines will spoil the view from his planned new golf course.

Dan Finch, project director for the scheme due to come on stream in 2018, said working more than 12 miles from shore allowed it to take advantage of the excellent wind resource in the outer Moray Firth.

“We estimate that the project will be capable of supplying the electricity needs of 800,000 to 1m households … Each year this development could save between 3.5m and 4.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with coal fired generation, and between 1.5m and 2m tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with gas fired generation,” he said.

The industry body, RenewableUK, said a further 4.5 gigawatts of offshore wind schemes should follow into the planning process this year with a total of 18 gigawatts expected to become operational over the next eight years.

But Maria McCaffery, RenewableUK’s chief executive, emphasised that this progress could only be achieved if the policy certainty laid out in the upcoming Energy Bill was achieved.

“We’re marking a watershed moment as Round Three starts to become a reality with this planning application. It’s the first of many coming forward. As well as delivering secure supplies of low carbon electricity to British homes and businesses, our global leadership role in offshore wind can provide tens of thousands of jobs across the country, building and maintaining these turbines.”

The Moray Firth wind farm, which will be given significant subsidies, compares with the 1-gigawatt at the London Array, which is currently in the construction phase, and compares with the largest British coal-fired plant, Drax in northern Yorkshire of 4 gigawatts, and the planned new EDF nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset with a combined output of 3.2 gigawatts and a bill of at least £10bn.

China Three Gorges Corporation acquired a 21% holding from the cash-strapped Portuguese government in Energias de Portugal, EDP, for €2.69bn (£2.13bn). The Beijing-based energy company was responsible for construction of the also controversial Three Gorges Dam-project, the world largest hydroelectric power plant, that went into operation in 2008.

(Source)

[oceanaware]

[axelaustteam-blog]

The Cove Campaign is Working (click image for full higher resolution)

There a little less than 4 days until the slaughter in Taiji starts again.

Learn what you can do to help:

Take Part: The Cove

Save Japan Dolphins

Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians

Participate in Japan Dolphins Day 2012

Never be silent. Never give up.

[mothernaturenetwork]

You’re using more water than you think A water footprint is the total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed. Here are some ways to lighten your water footprint.

[woodendreams]

(by Cher12861)

[earth911]