Activism

Moving Planet Sounds the Call for Climate Action

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350 long island
HealthyPlanet. Sierra Club LI and the LI Neighborhood Network held a Walk for 350 at Jones Beach, LI, NY

 

September 24, 2011 was the annual global day of climate action organized by Bill Mckibben’s 350.org. Groups from 175 countries (!) called on elected officials to move on climate change policy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Several actions took place on Long Island and NYC, and the photo of our Walk for 350 at Jones Beach is below. Photos of all the inspiring actions from around the world can be viewed at moving-planet.org.

The creativity was incredible!–And the message was loud and clear: we need to achieve at least 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in order to stabilize the global climate and avoid more of the intense storms, floods, and droughts we have already been experiencing. Right now we are at 390ppm. It’s not time for politics, it’s time to MOVE!

Climate Change Deniers

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In response to TX Governor Rick Perry’s proposition that climate change data has been altered by scientists, NY Times Columnist Thomas Friedman got it right. Friedman was interviewed by Piers Morgan on CNN several days ago, and his response was to point out that the oil and gas industries donate millions of dollars to congressional campaigns, but we question the collective thinking of climate scientists working for grants of $25,000? Scientists could make more money by denying it! Also, Texas happens to be facing numerous wildfires burning at the moment, causing Governor Perry to declare a state of emergency last week. Friedman pointed out that such wildfires are fully in line with the extreme weather/drought/flood predictions of climate scientists.

I hope many people heard his comments and discernment starts to sink in, that the opinion of a politician on climate change is simply not as informed as the thousands of climate scientists around the world, including those who signed onto the last IPCC Report (2007) and the National Academy of Science’s reports. Opinions should be based on facts, not politics. Science can certainly change, but there is a huge foundation of reports and studies validating human–induced climate impacts. To not act on this knowledge is irresponsible and has serious implications for the future.

Watch the CNN clip here: http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/08/thomas-friedman-climate-change-actually-happening-under-rick-perrys-nose-and-hes-denying-it/

Brilliant Op-Ed by Bill McKibben

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Since I couldn’t have said it better myself, I am re-posting an op-ed by Bill McKibben that appeared in this week’s Washington Post newspaper.

A link between climate change and Joplin tornadoes? Nah…

By Bill McKibben, Published: May 23

Caution: It is vitally important not to make connections. When you see pictures of rubble like this week’s shots from Joplin, Mo., you should not wonder: Is this somehow related to the tornado outbreak three weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, Ala., or the enormous outbreak a couple of weeks before that (which, together, comprised the most active April for tornadoes in U.S. history). No, that doesn’t mean a thing.

It is far better to think of these as isolated, unpredictable, discrete events. It is not advisable to try to connect them in your mind with, say, the fires burning across Texas — fires that have burned more of America at this point this year than any wildfires have in previous years. Texas, and adjoining parts of Oklahoma and New Mexico, are drier than they’ve ever been — the drought is worse than that of the Dust Bowl. But do not wonder if they’re somehow connected.

If you did wonder, you see, you would also have to wonder about whether this year’s record snowfalls and rainfalls across the Midwest — resulting in record flooding along the Mississippi — could somehow be related. And then you might find your thoughts wandering to, oh, global warming, and to the fact that climatologists have been predicting for years that as we flood the atmosphere with carbon we will also start both drying and flooding the planet, since warm air holds more water vapor than cold air.

It’s far smarter to repeat to yourself the comforting mantra that no single weather event can ever be directly tied to climate change. There have been tornadoes before, and floods — that’s the important thing. Just be careful to make sure you don’t let yourself wonder why all these record-breaking events are happening in such proximity — that is, why there have been unprecedented megafloods in Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan in the past year. Why it’s just now that the Arctic has melted for the first time in thousands of years. No, better to focus on the immediate casualties, watch the videotape from the store cameras as the shelves are blown over. Look at the news anchorman standing in his waders in the rising river as the water approaches his chest.

Because if you asked yourself what it meant that the Amazon has just come through its second hundred-year drought in the past five years, or that the pine forests across the western part of this continent have been obliterated by a beetle in the past decade — well, you might have to ask other questions. Such as: Should President Obama really just have opened a huge swath of Wyoming to new coal mining? Should Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sign a permit this summer allowing a huge new pipeline to carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta? You might also have to ask yourself: Do we have a bigger problem than $4-a-gallon gasoline?

Better to join with the U.S. House of Representatives, which voted 240 to 184 this spring to defeat a resolution saying simply that “climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare.” Propose your own physics; ignore physics altogether. Just don’t start asking yourself whether there might be some relation among last year’s failed grain harvest from the Russian heat wave, and Queensland’s failed grain harvest from its record flood, and France’s and Germany’s current drought-related crop failures, and the death of the winter wheat crop in Texas, and the inability of Midwestern farmers to get corn planted in their sodden fields. Surely the record food prices are just freak outliers, not signs of anything systemic.

It’s very important to stay calm. If you got upset about any of this, you might forget how important it is not to disrupt the record profits of our fossil fuel companies. If worst ever did come to worst, it’s reassuring to remember what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the Environmental Protection Agency in a recent filing: that there’s no need to worry because “populations can acclimatize to warmer climates via a range of behavioral, physiological, and technological adaptations.” I’m pretty sure that’s what residents are telling themselves in Joplin today.

Bill McKibben is founder of the global climate campaign 350.org and a distinguished scholar at Middlebury College in Vermont.

© The Washington Post Company

Gasland’s Josh Fox honored on Long Island

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The Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment, a statewide New York based environmental organization, honored Josh Fox, creator of the Academy Award nominated film Gasland, at its annual gala this past week. Gasland was the film that shed light on the controversial issue of hydrofracking for natural gas in the shale under areas of the country including upstate NY and Pennsylvania. Due to the numerous chemicals used in the “fracking” process, which are unfortunately exempt from the Clean Drinking Water Act, this method of gas extraction has been the cause of numerous cases of poisoned drinking water wells. Land owners are paid by gas companies to drill under their property, often not realizing the dangers. Josh is a personable, creative and committed film-maker, and his courage in making this film has exponentially raised awareness on this issue. See gaslandthemovie.com.

Josh signing copies of his film for guests, after receiving an "Academy Award" from CCE
Beth Fiteni and Josh Fox, maker of "Gasland"

“Bag Lady” Event Supports Breast Cancer Group

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The Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition (HBCAC) held its annual Bag Lady fundraiser on May 5th, 2011 on Long Island. Beautiful donated handbags were auctioned off to raise funds for the group’s ongoing work to help people with breast cancer and, more importantly, to raise awareness about prevention. It was a fun night that attracted hundreds. It also featured a young student who was given a scholarship by HBCAC to go do research with renowned scientists who are working on the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on breast cancer.

The unstoppable survivor Karen Miller, Pres. and founder of HBCAC, and friend Rhonda Weinman


Urban Roots Film

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I just saw the new documentary Urban Roots, about the growing interest in urban farming in the economically stressed city of Detroit, MI. It was made by a young film-maker from Detroit who wanted to tell the story of local people who are turning vacant lots into places to grow food and build back the community, where old and young alike can have a role. The most inspiring stories were of people in a drug rehabilitation facility who had to do community service hours. They worked at a local urban garden, and got so much out of it that they kept working there even after they completed the required hours. One said, “what I once took from the community I now am giving back.”

It also covered the obstacles faced by urban farmers in terms of cooperation from the city, even despite the benefits the urban farms bring. The city zoning laws aren’t necessarily keeping up with the will of the people to feel the empowerment of being able to grow their own food. See UrbanRootsFilm.com for ways to be involved.