Coinciding with expected government approval of a third runway at Heathrow airport [ark | more\ark] near London, in recent days protesters dressed as Edwardian era protesters and ate cake and drank champagne [ark] in the airline terminals to emulate the civilized Suffragette movement protests. And they have just made the surprise announcement that they have bought land where the new runway would run [ark | more\ark], potentially adding a whole new level of legal wrangling to delay the project.

A wonderful model for people power climate change protest [search] is flourishing in England, where groups such as "Plane Stupid" and Greenpeace UK are leading protests against Heathrow airport expansion. Aviation's rapidly growing impact upon climate change [search], as well as protesting new coal plant construction at climate camps, have galvanized a creative and growing grassroots climate protest movement. The groups are using technology to organize "flash mobs" to quickly mobilize protesters. Indications are the protests will continue to enjoy more success. This is precisely the type of protest activities that we are here providing news, tools and analysis to promote.

Throbgoblins International: Cantankerous Frank, by Marc Roberts

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PRESS/SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE

Climate Ark celebrates with something old, something new

By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet
CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org

(Seattle, WA) -- The Climate Ark Climate Change Portal at http://www.climateark.org/ turned ten years old this New Year. Tens of millions of users have and continue to enjoy the Internet's best climate search, news feeds, blogging and action alerts. Ecological Internet has been campaigning for sufficient climate policies and been a critic of global environmental policy since Al Gore actually had the power to do something about climate change.

To mark the event, Ecological Internet's President, Dr. Glen Barry, has recommenced writing biocentric, deeply thought provoking and critically acclaimed "Earth Meanders" essays at http://www.ecoearth.info/earthmeanders/. "There is a real hunger for truthful and ambitious solutions to climate change and the many other global ecological crises that threaten planetary annihilation," notes Dr. Barry.

Continue reading "Earth’s Leading Climate Change Portal Turns 10 Years Old" »

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Serious consideration is being given to the mad proposition of engineering the biosphere as a solution to climate change [ark]. Technological pseudo-scientific proposals for humans to engineer atmospheric processes are dubbed "geoengineering" [search] and generally seek to either reflect solar radiation or absorb greenhouse gases. They include such shortsighted, ill-conceived and risky ideas as mass release of aerosols into the atmosphere, fertilizing oceans with iron, and others, including my personal favorite, stationing mirrors above the Earth. Given the complexity of the Earth System, almost certain unintended consequences and the risk of doing immense further damage to global ecology; geo-engineering amounts to ecological vandalism.

Geoengineering is indicative of both humanity's ignorance and laziness when confronted with tremendous challenges of their own making such as climate change. Don’t try to change society to massively reduce emissions, don’t sacrifice or give up anything, don’t try to change the government through protest or revolution. Instead, take a craps shoot and bet the whole planet that you can engineer the biosphere. This "Plan B" comes as there have been little serious efforts at a "Plan A". What of using all resources at our disposal -- including politically engaged ecologists and other Earth scientists -- to conserve energy, reduce emissions and pursue renewable alternatives? Have we really, fully tried that yet? We are unable to control even most invasive species, for example getting zebra mussels out of the Great Lakes. Yet now humanity is going to be responsible for engineering a livable biosphere forever?

Throbgoblins International: Cantankerous Frank, by Marc Roberts

Continue reading "Geoengineering a Biosphere: Stupid, Dangerous and Doomed to Failure" »

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It is reported President Bush is closing off some of President-Elect Obama's immediate climate policy alternatives [ark] with last minute "midnight" environmental regulations. These include barring the Environmental Protection Agency from considering the effects of climate change on protected species [search], and forbidding the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act [search]. These are avenues Obama could have used immediately to begin regulating carbon dioxide (and still can but will take longer to undo Bush's mess). Some had hoped President Obama would make a dramatic gesture and begin regulating carbon under these existing avenues immediately upon taking office, others would argue it is better to work for more comprehensive national legislation and lead international cooperative measures to achieve binding yet differentiated carbon targets upon all nations.

I would argue for all at the same time and more, as leading NASA climate scientist James Hansen does [ark]. President Obama should begin by banning further coal plants and regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act as soon as possible. He should also begin national measures to establish a dedicated carbon tax, proceeds to be used for renewable energy development and to lower other taxes. Further, if any more time is to be wasted on establishing cap and trade systems, he must unveil an ambitious goal to reduce carbon emissions quickly -- perhaps 40% by 2020. Or else he is better off moving on to ending the use of coal and other actions commiserate with the threat. And finally, the world is calling out for international leadership to break the log jam of national interests impeding global enforceable cuts upon greenhouse gas emissions. Let's hope that Obama lives up to his rhetoric and leads on climate at this crucial juncture. Nothing less than the survival of the world, humanity and all Earth's creatures is at stake.

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A major new report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey, cryptically entitled Synthesis and Assessment Report 3.5: Abrupt Climate Change, finds that future climatic shifts have been underestimated [ark], and warns of relatively low probability but debilitating "abrupt" shift in climate [search] that would be devastating. The new report builds upon earlier IPCC findings, and notes that better information means predictions continue to improve. For the United States they predict an arid and desolate Southwest as a result of drought, and a four foot rise globally in sea levels by 2100 (IPCC predictions are 1.5). The authors downplay the risk of large methane releases, but note its continued possibility.

In my twenty years as a climate advocate, the observable evidence and scientific revisions have consistently been to increase upward predictions regarding the speed and severity of climate change (to say nothing of oceans, toxics, soils, forests, water, etc.). These are not wild-eyed radicals, they are America's best scientists, and what they have to say should give pause to us all. The risk of abrupt and cataclysmic climate change that "would be life-changing" appears increasingly likely and thankfully is being given greater scientific attention and credibility. The question now is does existing political authority have the will and skill to completely restructure economic and social systems to not destroy the atmosphere? If not, it is up to us to bailout the Earth.

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President-Elect Obama's pick of two of the very best -- Jane Lubchenco [search] and John Holden [search] -- for important positions in his administration, seems to portend a major focus upon climate by the incoming administration. Early indications are Obama is going to try to seriously address climate change [ark | more\ark] which is very good. I would expect a major climate initiative as part of a broader stimulus and energy package in the first 100 days. What remains to be seen is whether Obama will propose just what is politically palatable, or seek global cooperative international policies sufficient to actually reduce emissions sharply in the short, mid and long terms.

A dear colleague just asked why I have not yet praised Obama for these appointments. Good question, that left me to ponder. I guess two decades of government inaction on climate change have sullied me that any government can possibly purses actions on climate change that are strong and fast enough. I believe strongly that change will come from the people or not at all. The oil oligarchy's power is still immense, and Obama's ability to put in a carbon tax -- what is really needed -- is limited further by the recession. Climate change is one of those issues not easily addressed by one leader.

I will be more than willing to congratulate Obama for actual emissions reduced. Given recent backsliding by Chancellor Merkel in Germany and Prime Minister Rudd in Australia after lots of initial excitement over their climate policy, I think skepticism is warranted. At this point Obama's climate policy is just electoral rhetoric and staffing, and it remains to be seen how ambitious the actual policy will really be. When a real policy package with even preliminary deadlines and targets is introduced, Ecological Internet will be amongst the first to praise or protest its contents. Let's hope the Climate Dream Team has the power to do what must be done.

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A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that "spending money now to keep climate change in check [ark | more\ark] makes sense as it will save us money in the long run." Researchers at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands found that past a minimum threshold, every extra dollar spent increases the chance of success by the same amount. The report proposes ambitious spending of 2 percent of global GDP [ark] to mitigate against threats posed by climate change.

Why is it that economists always quote cost/benefit analysis when pursuing development that destroys the atmosphere and other ecosystems, but they and politicians resist such analysis when the message is to stop burning fossil fuels and logging ancient forests because it makes economic sense to do so? Good luck with the economy when abrupt climate change causes the atmosphere to fail [search].

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As Brazil and the world mourn and memorialize the great Amazon rainforest advocate Chico Mendes [ark], two things have become abundantly clear. First, to speak and organize for Amazonian rainforest ecological sustainability still remains virtually a death sentence in Brazil. Hundreds of Brazilians activists are routinely threatened with assassination [ark]. This is so sad, and lack of a massive government response unforgivable, given increased ecological sensitivity and desire to act nationally.

And secondly, despite improved efforts at least rhetorically by the Brazilian government, the Amazon's rainforests, and thus global atmospheric and ecological sustainability, remain deeply threatened. With deforestation having increased [search] by 64% this past year, it is difficult to envision a future solution -- based upon continued piddly policy half-measures and NGO token projects -- that keeps the Amazon intact and fully functional as a whole.

Clear prohibitions in the Amazon and rest of the world's rainforests on any industrial logging and development, backed up with a well-funded and trained enforcement, would be the sufficient place to start. If this massive planetary ecosystem engine is fragmented and diminished, collapsing into pieces, Brazil and the Earth's habitability will be deeply threatened. Only responses at scales commiserate to the problem can save the Amazon now.

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President Morales must be encouraged to live up to his grand rhetoric, and end his government's hurried measures to decimate massive indigenous rainforest protected areas and their biodiversity and climate values, in a manner eerily reminiscent of the capitalistic system against which he rallies

TAKE ACTION! Bolivia's Madidi National Park [search] and Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve are communal lands containing some of the most biodiverse areas on earth. With the assent of President Evo Morales, the oil giant Petrobas and collaborators have begun an oil exploration assault that threatens not only these remarkable ecosystems, but also the culture and livelihood of the resident indigenous peoples. Mr. Morales must be encouraged to live up to his grand rhetoric, and end his government's hurried plans to decimate indigenous protected areas, local sustainable livelihoods and their rainforest lands' biodiversity and climate values. TAKE ACTION!

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EARTH MEANDERS
By Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet
From Earth's Newsdesk

Using carbon funds, the world's governments are poised to subsidize ancient forest logging, claiming it benefits the Earth's climate. REDD's potential support of "low impact" logging of ancient forests, and conversion of natural forests to tree farms, fails the climate, biodiversity and biosphere.

Plans to pay for rainforest protection using funds from carbon markets progressed during this week's UN climate talks. I have long promoted the deceptively simple idea of paying to keep rainforests standing, yet am far from jubilant with the results. It appears first time, industrial logging of ancient forests -- through so-called low-impact and certified logging, and the conversion of these and other natural forests to plantations -- is falsely considered as having carbon benefits, and will be paid for with our tax dollars and carbon offsets.

The concept of paying for rainforest protection with carbon money has become known as avoided deforestation, or alternatively, as REDD for "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation". Like many promising concepts before it (i.e. "sustainable development" and "certified forestry"), REDD is in danger of becoming empty jargon meant to legitimate continued environmentally destructive activities.

Continue reading "EARTH MEANDERS: Light REDD: The Looming Tragedy of Carbon Markets Paying to Destroy Ancient Forests" »

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President Obama now has chance to protect America's forest legacy, and allow Oregon and the nation's overworked forest biodiversity and carbon stores to recover ecologically

(Seattle, WA) -- Ecological Internet (EI) welcomes Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski's decision to block Bush administration plans to sharply increase logging [search] on 2.2 million acres of BLM forests in Western Oregon. Kulongoski concluded that President Bush's hastily arrived at logging plan did not conform [ark] to federal environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act, and failed to protect and restore mature forests to sequester carbon. It would have locked in Bush's anti-environment, industrial forestry model for decades.

By waiting until the deadline and calling for revisions and a 30-day extension for public comment, Kulongoski put off final approval until the administration of Democratic President-elect Barack Obama. This decision will ultimately be made by the new U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Congress. This forbearance was not a foregone conclusion, as Oregon has a long history of forest patronage and destroying terrestrial ecosystems for short term economic gain causing long term environmental pain.

This is a major victory for Ecological Internet and others that campaigned for this outcome, and portends greater ecological restoration of America's biodiversity and carbon stores once the "Toxic Texan" has left town, and the much anticipated era of ecological hope commences. EI's Earth Action Network got just what we asked for, and this most recent victory once again demonstrates our global leadership in using the Internet to facilitate environmental conservation.

Continue reading "VICTORY RELEASE: Oregon's Governor Stymies Bush's "Midnight" Forest Raid" »

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Ecological Internet's campaign to end ancient forest logging as the keystone response to the climate and biodiversity crises continues to gain both scientific credibility and prominence within the environmental movement. A new atlas from the UN Environment Programme shows not surprisingly that most of the world's terrestrial biodiversity and carbon storage hotspots [ark] are found in Earth's last great primary and old growth forest expanses. Find ways to maintain these areas in an intact condition while meeting local development aspirations, without stealing their land, and the world is well on the way to global ecological sustainability.

For several years Ecological Internet has informed the forest movement and the world that perhaps the greatest impediment to doing so is greenwash perpetuated by the likes of Greenpeace, WWF, RAN and FSC that the world's last primeval ecosystems should be logged. The Ecologist magazine notes in their current issue Ecological Internet's campaign discrediting the myth that ancient forests can be logged in an environmentally acceptable manner. To make the green mainstream media after years of ridicule (Greenpeace would never support ancient forest logging, hah) is gratifying. There we get FSC's first response to two years of campaigning, answering how logging ancient forests benefits the environment:

"The FSC counters that in order to be effective as the demand for timber grows, it is forced to work with industrial logging companies and allow the sustainable cutting of old-growth and primary forests... allowing logging places an economic value on the forest ecosystem, which in turn helps avoid the ground being clear-cut for pasture or crop monocultures."

Continue reading "Ecological Internet's Campaign to End Ancient Forest Logging Gaining Support" »

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Their unwillingness at climate talks to bear the costs of reducing carbon, and ending their addiction to coal, will destroy the atmosphere, biosphere and all our futures

TAKE ACTION! Some 11,000 climate delegates are meeting in Poland's western city of Poznan [search], seeking agreement upon new post-Kyoto climate goals, to be finalized in Copenhagen by the end of next year. Simultaneously, the European Union summit is attempting to reach consensus upon the so-called '20-20-20' proposals, which by 2020 seek a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas (higher if others agree), a 20 percent cut in energy consumed and 20 percent use of renewable energy. Sadly, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk are actively seeking to weaken these modest and realistic medium-term goals, which can be built upon, on narrow economic self-interests. Without a deal at the Brussels summit, the European Union is unlikely to reach consensus prior to the Copenhagen conference. Italy and Poland must be called upon to end their parochial climate change obstructionism -- putting the interests of global citizenry and an operable biosphere, above continued cheap coal based electricity that is killing us all. TAKE ACTION!

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The ecological science continues to accumulate that abrupt, deadly and irreversible climate collapse [search] is well advanced and accelerating. One new study finds climate is changing more quickly and deeply then predicted [ark] in recent IPCC reports [search]. Dramatic Arctic melting [search] (including Greenland) and feedbacks far beyond those expected is noted. Another study concludes that today's greenhouse gas emissions will continue to heat up the planet for hundreds of thousands of years [ark], in human terms essentially forever. This comes as world governments head to Poland for yet another climate conference, to whine about poor economic growth and why they can't possibly cut their own carbon emissions, demanding instead that others address this terrible emergency. When the ecological bubble bursts we all die.

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Greenhouse gases hit a record level last year [ark], well beyond what threatens the habitability of the Earth for humans and all creatures. And indications are that most global citizens are prepared to sacrifice [ark | more\ark] and pay some price to avert the worst effects of abrupt climate changes [search]. "43% of the 12,000 respondents of the survey chose climate change ahead of the global economy when asked about their current concerns." This constitutes a global mandate for climate action.

Where are our leaders? The U.S. is not listening to the people [ark], Italy desperately clings to the past [ark], Australia blames others [ark] and China and India shirk their responsibilities [ark]. Globally tens of trillions of dollars are being spent to prop up an economic system based upon the environmental impossibility of maintaining exponential economic growth forever [search], the same growth that has caused the climate and other environmental problems. How ridiculous for governments to tax their citizens to pay failed banks to lend to already over-extended consumers.

It is all coming down baby. The only question is whether we will have the will, strength and remaining ecosystems to reconstitute truly civilized, equitable and just sustainable societies. Or will we enter an era of barbarism in vain attempts to first continue our over consumption (based upon continued ecosystem destruction) and then just to survive. The human family's future and prospects for shared survival is being determined now.

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