Welcome to the eKos Earthship, your one-stop-shop for green diaries and series.
Today's editor: LaughingPlanet
••
••
(Reuters) - China on Monday offered for the first time to submit its voluntary carbon emissions target to a binding U.N. resolution, buoying climate talks where Bolivia accused rich world policies of causing "genocide."
••
••
Beneath the fold you will find news and notes, community announcements, and our eco-diary roundup.
All views expressed by today's editor do not necessarily represent those of eKos or eKos listed diarists.
Top Story:
The breaking news today from Cancun is that the world's leading carbon polluter has (finally) made some concessions. After playing the developing nation card year after year, China has begun to own the fact that without it, the world is likely going to be destroyed by climate change, and fast.
More from the link in the intro:
China's target would still be voluntary, stressed China's chief negotiator Xie Zhenhua, a distinction from developed nation targets under Kyoto: "Developing countries can ... make their own voluntary emissions commitments and these should be under the Convention."
China's offer to make its existing, domestic pledge to slow growth in carbon emissions binding under a U.N. resolution is a compromise it hopes will encourage developed countries to continue the existing Kyoto Protocol.
Most agree that an impasse between China and the U.S. about binding caps were what derailed the Crapenhagen COP15 summit and has let another year pass while the Earth heats steadily toward uninhabitability. This is a small step in the right direction that gives those in the know hope that mankind might not have a death wish after all.
Analysts were positive about China's proposal: "This is a gamechanger," said Jennifer Morgan from the Washington-based World Resources Institute.
"The devil is in the details but this is a promising development," said Alden Meyer from the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists.
From the NYT:
China and U.S. Narrow Gap in Climate Talks
CANCÛN, Mexico — The United States and China have significantly narrowed their differences on the verification of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, officials say, providing hope that a United Nations conference here on climate change here can achieve some modest success.
The verification issue, which cuts deeply on matters of national sovereignty and international trust, was a major factor in the torpedoing of last year’s climate negotiations in Copenhagen. But in the intervening year, China has significantly softened its position and the United States has moderated its insistence on the issue.
The reason China's actions have inspired such optimism is that their willingness to come to the table remove the main obstacle which has kept the real unmovable object, namely the US, from also doing so. We cannot sit back and point fingers much longer. It is our nation which simply MUST act if the world is going to come together to solve this common crisis.
The rhetorical question in the title is most easily answered with a terse NO, but it is nice to hope that maybe, just maybe, we might be beginning to start to pull our heads out of our asses. A bit.
WikiLeaks: More U.S. Climate Shenanigans
Rajendra Pachauri denies helping Washington block Iranian scientist from senior post on intergovernmental climate body
by Damian Carrington, Guardian
Dec 6, 2010
The US used backstage diplomatic maneuvers to help block the appointment of a scientist from Iran to a key position on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a leaked diplomatic cable reveals.
The US privately lobbied IPCC chair Dr Rajendra Pachauri, as well as the UK, EU, Argentina and Mali representatives, and had put its embassies to work from Brazil to Uzbekistan. It wanted to prevent the election of Dr Mostafa Jafari as one of two co-chairmen of a key working group.
The other co-chair was to be an American scientist, Prof Christopher Field. The US state department noted that sharing the IPCC position with an Iranian would be "problematic" and "potentially at odds with overall US policy towards Iran".
WarrenS made a New Year's Resolution to write a letter advocating climate action every day. The result is over three hundred letters to congresspeople, newspapers, President Obama, and more. Warren has even had letters published in the New York Times and the Boston Globe.
Here is his piece today
Month 12, Day 6: Abject Apologies
The Jakarta Post notes, correctly, that things are getting kinda scary out there.
As a U.S. citizen, I must accept responsibility for my own nation’s abject failure to take responsibility for its actions. As the world’s largest per capita emitter of greenhouse gases, and as the enabler of a consumerist lifestyle which, if left unchecked, is absolutely certain to submerge the planet in gigatonnes of toxic trash, the United States has been the driving force behind the climate crisis. Unfortunately, my country’s responsibilities are unlikely to be met any time soon, for we are in the grip of a political crisis brought about by a national exaltation of demagoguery and ignorance. Thus our governing bodies are riddled with arrogant men and women who dismiss scientific expertise as irrelevant, preferring the comforts of ancient superstition. Global warming’s realities are terrifying. But as citizens of ocean states can attest, ignoring those facts will surely lead to outcomes beside which our nightmares will pale into insignificance.
Warren Senders
Learn Warren's letter writing technique here. And be sure to steal his stuff!
From his blog:
I would like to encourage all who read this (yeah, all 6 of you!) to think of your fave eco diaries of the past year and be ready to link to them in upcoming kOscars nomination diaries.
Thanks.
Advertise here!
If you would like to make an announcement for an upcoming diary or event, please e-mail us at eKos350atgmaildotcom. Please send us formatted HTML!
(All times Eastern!)
eKos diaries from Monday, December 06, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
Sneak Preview: State of the World 2011 | NourishingthePlanet | 8:17:42 AM | ekos, Nourishing the Planet, Innovations that Nourish the Planet, State of the World 2011, Chapter 1 |
Get Ready For Huge Reversals in Energy and Climate Change Policies | BWISC | 8:09:08 AM | Climate Change, ekos, building codes, energy efficiency, energy |
eKos diaries from Sunday, December 05, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
Oil Will Drive the U.S. to More Wars Unless America Changes | Magnifico | 9:08:07 PM | Recommended, oil, war, United States, eKos |
Fossil Fools? Carbon Currencies & War Rooms | boatsie | 8:42:17 PM | COP16, tcktcktck, carbon sinks, UNFCCC, dailycancuns |
Eco Activists "Greatest Threat" to Society and Church | Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse | 7:10:58 PM | Recommended, Climate Change News Roundup, climate change, environment, global warming |
A Song When Hope Dims: Pete Seeger and The Napalm Ladies | WarrenS | 12:20:10 PM | personal, music, Pete Seeger, Lisa Kalvelage, global warming |
CONFESSIONS OF A REPENTANT CLICKTAVIST: WHY WE BADLY NEED FARMERS & GRANDMAS | todbrilliant | 8:35:47 AM | dailycancun, tcktcktck, ekos, banksy, atelier von lieshout |
Gulf Watchers Sunday - WikiLeaks to Target BP - BP Catastrophe AUV #436 | Yasuragi | 5:36:57 AM | Recommended, Gulf Watchers, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon |
eKos diaries from Saturday, December 04, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Arsenic Life edition) | Neon Vincent | 9:16:14 PM | Recommended, Overnight News Digest, OND, science, space, environment |
What matters. | RLMiller | 8:55:13 PM | eKos, climate change, global warming, rant |
US Plays the Big Tease at Global Climate Talks | Bill McKibben | 9:53:50 AM | Recommended, climate, cancun, cop16, 350.org |
Liveblog: Community Energy and Climate Action Conference | radical simplicity | 7:08:57 AM | Green Energy, Governor Peter Shumlin, eKos, Community Action |
Oil Will Drive the U.S. to More Wars Unless America Changes
by Magnifico
When Americans have compelling domestic needs such as jobs, health care, education and a decaying infrastructure, why does it keep spending so much of its national wealth on its war making capacity?
More and more the answer appears to be to secure the supply of oil for American consumption. Energy is second of "two key issues", which the Department of Defense's Quadrennial Defense Review (pdf) identified in February 2010, "that will play a significant role in shaping the future security environment."
(The first key issue was climate change. In irony that may be lost on some, in July 2010, Adam Liska and Richard Perrin argued that "military operations are major industrial activities that use massive amounts of fuel and materials that significantly contribute to climate change.")
Magnifico got the short shrift for his excellent diary last night. Sure, it was Recommended. But for how many minutes?
To think that copious meta, a diary about pie, a diary titled "What is Your Favorite Classic Rock Band?", and a diary about someone who likes her friend had more recommends in the past 24 hours, but this triumph got but a few hours there really shows how misplaced this communities priorities can be.
What is eKos?
The eKos project is an effort to distribute environmental content on Daily Kos to a broader audience. When a diary has the 'eKos' tag, its information is collected in a database, which is then published in eKos Earthships and the eKos Library. We also Tweet all eKos diaries using the @eKos350 account, and distribute an RSS widget for use in Daily Kos diaries and comments. Diaries listed on eKos do not necessarily represent the views of the eKos Rangers or any other participating diarist. Participation in eKos is strictly voluntary, please let us know if you do not want the eKos tag!
eKos Rangers
In no particular order:
Regina in a Sears Kit House
boatsie
Hopeful Skeptic
RLMiller
patrickz
Earthfire
Ellinorianne
A Siegel
dRefractor
SolarMom
Please give them some mojo if you see them, they deserve it!
Peruse the eKos Library to find previously listed diaries. You can also follow eKos on Twitter.