Thin Ice

There are 52 days until the Copenhagen Climate Conference and this planet is on very thin ice with a very small window of opportunity closing at a rapid rate. We risk raising our planet by two degrees Celsius in our lifetime if we continue on this course. At that point we will be faced with catastrophic, runaway climate change. We will lose up to 70% of all species within our lifetimes. We will see sea levels rise 6 feet putting many costal cities from Miami and Manhattan to San Diego and Seattle under water. To avoid this, countries MUST enact treaties that legally bind us to reducing global warming pollution.

The Kyoto Protocol is expiring soon. Every industrialized nation signed onto this treaty . . . except the United States. The world is desperate for the United States to lead this time around and what better chance to make it up to the world than at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, but we cannot do it alone. We need the power of the people behind us.

When you look back through time people power has done some amazing things for the sake of humankind. Because of people power in the United States alone, I, as a woman, can vote for a black President, that believes in Global Warming. Once again it is up to the people to raise their voices so that we are heard as Global citizens. Our world leaders MUST hear us as this is the single most important fight that we are facing within our lifetimes.

Cuts have got to be made in the industrialized world. At the same time, however, we cannot demand change from industrializing countries without helping them. Wealthier nations must help poorer countries develop clean energy such as solar and wind instead of coal and oil. On top of this, most importantly, we have to address the deforestation of what is left of our ancient forests. The clear cutting of these habitats and oxygen sources are releasing more CO2 into our atmosphere than all the planes, trains, and automobiles in the world combined.

President Obama MUST go to the Copenhagen Climate Conference and he MUST start behaving like a leader, not a politician. A treaty based on appearing reasonable to lobbyists and industry is not going to cut it. Science has got to be listened to.

Those of us that work on these issues don’t work on these issues because we think we’re going to stop Global Warming. We can’t. We work on these issues for the sake of the fight, for the hope that we can stop the worst case scenario from happening and at least give future generations a better shot. I don’t know about you but my friends, my family, and my home are too precious to lose to Global Warming. This is the only planet we have.

Please join the international community in a Global Day of Action on October 24th. To find an event near you, please go to http://www.350.org/map

For more ways to get involved and take a stand please visit one of these sites or the site of an environmental organization of your choosing

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/
http://www.350.org/
http://en.cop15.dk/


(art courtesy of the lovely lovfest lady miss jamee.)