Climate activists launch an opening salvo in their imaginative and visionary global campaign to inform and awaken the world to the urgency of the November 28-Dec. 10 UNFCCC talks.
"We have lost something very precious. That is an understanding of our interconnectedness with nature and a world beyond the material."
- His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
I hold a special place in my heart for art, so I'm always keen to share stories with you of people using their creativity to call attention to climate change. This week at the Belize Reef Summit, scientists, politicians, fishermen and celebrities gathered to raise awareness of the declining health of coral reefs. On the final day of the summit they gathered on Sergeants Caye to create a living work of art and call for world leaders to take strong action at the UN Climate Talks in Cancun later this month.
The Belize Reef Summit brought together top reef scientists to discuss the impacts of increasing ocean temperatures and ocean acidification on the world’s second largest barrier reef. They released the 2010 Belize Reef Report Card, which revealed that 60% of the Mesoamerican reef is in poor to critical conditions while only 8% is considered 'good'. These are staggering statistics that call for action now.
"Not only is marine life disappearing at an alarming rate, but the local economies that have sustained Belize for generations are at great risk" said The Smithsonian’s Dr. Melanie Mc Field PhD. "This summit is about bringing awareness to the rest of the world of the devastating impacts that global warming is having on this already so-called internationally protected region."
"It’s time for global leaders to aggressively deal with global warming to once again achieve harmony with our natural world." said Spectral Q’s John Quigley, Reef Summit Producer.
"This is a call to action for delegates at COP-16 to include reefs and ocean acidification in the upcoming UN climate talks in Cancun."
This living art installation is also part of the launch of the Harmony Initiative, a partnership between the film "Harmony" narrated by Prince Charles, and the Global Campaign for Climate Action.
Shared content from tcktcktck "Dramatic action at Belize Reef Summit urges UN to protect reefs." Photos by Lou Dematteis/Spectral Q
Notes:
*See Mediafor more pics and short flicks
*Harmony airs in the US on November 19 on NBC)
*See UPI coverage for more pictures
How to Stop Global Warming Even if you Don't Believe in it: A Rapid Response Team
On the heels of last weeks announcement of a 700 strong team of climate scientists at the ready to take on inaccurate media coverage and public understanding in the global-warming debate, WAPOSunday announces the formation of a smaller rapid response team of scientists. Organized by John Abraham of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota this team hopes to halt the slide in American's belief that climate change is real!
The focus is shifting to building support for solutions rather than approaching the issues with scientific facts:
... the spectacle of dueling scientists confuses people. We have already seen this story unfold in the media: Two opposing sides, given similar exposure, argue about complexities that most Americans feel they have little ability to assess. Instead of focusing on the causes of climate change in simple terms that people can grasp and act upon, it is all too easy for scientists to get trapped in a debate with skeptics about whether they can prove that warming is real and how they can show definitively that its effects are imminent. Faced with this sparring, it becomes fairly easy for the average person to dismiss climate change as an open question and cross it off the list of things they need to worry about.
So what is a Republican who secretly believes in climate science to do?
So what's a conservative politician who secretly cares about climate change to do and how can they bring their colleagues and constituents on board? For starters, focusing on climate-friendly policies such as a carbon-free future which just might have a positive impact on coral reefs and the Arctic ice shelf.
There is a long list of carbon-reduction measures that strong majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents firmly support, including mandating better fuel efficiency, increasing federal funding for clean-energy research, spending more for mass transit, raising efficiency standards for homes and other buildings, and requiring utilities to produce more energy from renewable sources. They even support limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases - just as long as they are seen as anti-pollution measures, not "caps."
For instance, an October poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 73 percent of Republicans favor requiring better fuel efficiency for cars, trucks and SUVs; 64 percent want more federal funding for research on wind, solar and hydrogen technology; and 55 percent favor spending more on public transportation. Pew polls over the summer, meanwhile, found that 74 percent of Republicans favor requiring utilities to produce more energy from renewable sources, while 57 percent back limits on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions.
In last weeks's WAPO, Leonardo DiCaprio and Carter S. Roberts co-penned "If we Save the Tigers, we'll save the planet. (See photo gallery) to promote awareness of the $350 million, five-year Global Tiger Recovery Program which will battle deforestation, poaching and the market for tiger parts. From a population of 100,000 a century ago, there are currently only some 3,200 tigers remaining, occuping only 7 percent of their original habitat.
Tigers have long provoked awe in the human imagination, becoming symbols of untamed nature whose "fearful symmetry," in the words of William Blake, has inspired everything from art to advertising. In the wild, however, tigers are on the verge of disappearing.
Whales suffering from Dramatic Sunburn
CNN reports that blisters and changes in skin pigmentation in blue, fin and sperm whales from Mexico's Gulf of California are likely caused by rising UVR (ultraviolet radiation) due to ozone depletion of a change in the level of cloud cover
The most badly-affected species was the blue whale -- which has paler skin -- and whales which spend most time on the surface exposing their skin to the sun.
"Whales need to come to the surface to breathe air, to socialize and to feed their young, meaning that they are frequently exposed to the full force of the sun," lead author Laura Martinez-Levasseur said in a statement.
GREAT Breaking News!!!
Pittsburgh Bans Natural Gas Drilling
Adopts first-in-the-nation ordinance –
elevates the right of the community to decide, not corporations
PITTSBURGH: Today, the Pittsburgh City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance banning corporations from conducting natural gas drilling in the city.
The ordinance was drafted by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) at the invitation of Councilman Bill Peduto, and was introduced by Councilman Doug Shields.
Pittsburgh’s first-in-the-nation ordinance confronts the threat of Marcellus Shale drilling – an activity permitted by the state which allows corporations to site drilling activities over the wishes of a community.
Energy corporations are setting up shop in communities across Pennsylvania, to drill for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation. The gas extraction technique known as "fracking" has been cited as a threat to surface and groundwater, and has been blamed for fatal explosions, the contamination of drinking water, local rivers, and streams. Collateral damage includes lost property value, ingestion of toxins by livestock, drying up of mortgage loans for prospective home buyers, and threatened loss of organic certification for farmers in affected communities. Read on)
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I'll be covering the UNFCCC talks live from Cancun for tcktcktck from inside the Moon Palace. Have a question you'd like to pose to a negotiator, a world leader or a climate activist? Toss it my way and I'll see what I can do.