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Tonight's editor: patrickz
With contributions from: citisven and WarrenS
boatsie writes about Pakistan's plea to COP 16 negotiators in her excellent diary, pakistan: climate = a human problem
Calling for COP16 negotiators to rise about politics and circumnavigate the complexities which have a stranglehold on both process and progress, a panel of Pakitani ministers, ambassadors and scientists called on the parties to reach agreement on an adaptation fund which recognizes and adequately addresses the disproportionate impact of climate change on the world's most vulnerable populations.
"Pakistan is on the front line in two wars, the war against terrorism and the war against climate change," said Khalid Sherdit, Director General of PDMA and General Relief, Punjab. "Both battles need global coordination and cooperation, Both are unpredictable. But in the war against climate change, there is no exit plan."
SBI in Cancun adopts concept of 'governmental stakeholders'
by citisven
On Saturday, local governments took a huge step when the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) officially adopted the concept of "governmental stakeholders" for the first time in UNFCCC history. Earlier today, COP16/CMP6 President Ms. Patricia Espinosa, hosted a special session on governmental stakeholders and parliamentarians of the world supporting global climate action. Mr. Marcelo Ebrard, Chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change and Mayor of Mexico City, Mme Evelyne Huytebroeck, Minister of Environment of Brussels Capital Region, David Cadman, President of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability elaborated on the carbonn Cities Climate Registry and carbonn Cities Climate Registry, launched by 145 mayors from around the world. For daily updates, visit Local Government Climate Roadmap.
What this means in plain English, and more importantly, to each of us personally, is that the work we do in our cities, towns, villages and communities to lower our carbon footprint will from now on have a direct impact on the highest levels of decision and policy making in the UNFCCC. Rather than spending precious time on pulling our hair over our federal governments' painfully slow response to the challenges of climate change or getting lost in the endless maze of transnational negotiations we can now get to work on bringing bike lanes and urban farms to our neighborhood and be assured that our local ideas and successes will be heard and seen within a larger global framework. For more info check out DailyCancun: A Mayor Breakthrough! and LocaPower to the People - Cancun can because locals can
Marabou Storks - by Ian Southwell, cc license
Giant storks and little hobbits
From the BBC:
A giant marabou stork has been discovered on an island once home to human-like 'hobbits'.
Fossils of the bird were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores, a place previously famed for the discovery of Homo floresiensis, a small hominin species closely related to modern humans.
(snip)
The new species of giant stork, named Leptoptilos robustus, stood 1.8m tall and weighed up to 16kg researchers estimate, making it taller and much heavier than living stork species.
Terrible Hairy Fly rediscovered:
Scientists have rediscovered a bizarre insect in Kenya, collecting the first Terrible Hairy Fly specimen since 1948.
Since then, at least half a dozen expeditions have visited its only known habitat - a rock cleft in an area east of Nairobi - in search of the fly.
(snip)
"The rediscovery of the species, which has been collected on only two occasions before, in 1933 and 1948, has caused excitement in insect museums world-wide," the team members said in a statement.
Unable to fly and partial to breeding in bat faeces, the fly is thought to live only in the dank, bat-filled cleft of the isolated rock in Kenya's Ukazi Hills.
It also has non-functional wings that resemble miniature belt-straps, and tiny eyes.
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 Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and the Boston Globe.
Learn Warren's letter writing technique here. Be sure to steal his stuffand visit his blog.
Month 12, Day 8: Hey, “Right-Wing Jim!” You Reading This?
I just couldn’t resist this. Some climatologists from Rutgers are hoping to change Chris Christie’s mind on climate change. Heh heh heh.
Maybe I’ll get another piece of hatemail!
If Governor Christie were motivated by longer-term concerns than his own electoral survival in a Republican environment dominated by the anti-science zealots of the Tea Party, he might be able to pay attention to the advice he’s receiving from climatologists. After all, it should be apparent to anyone that catastrophic climate change will be bad for business in multiple ways. Rising sea levels could submerge large swaths of coastline; droughts could imperil agriculture and lead to food shortages; increasingly severe storms could destroy or degrade infrastructure, necessitating expensive repairs. Unfortunately, the Governor is motivated exclusively by short-term electoral exigency — he’s made his ideological bed and is unlikely to get up from it. He has become a “climate zombie,” unable to acknowledge scientific reality without alienating his base constituency, a group of voters united in their distrust of expertise in general and scientific expertise in particular.
WarrenS
Silverback Mountain Gorilla, Rwanda - by thetravellinged, cc license
Mountain Gorilla numbers improving:
The population of endangered mountain gorillas has increased significantly in the last 30 years, say researchers.
A census carried out in the Virunga Massif - where most of the world's mountain gorillas live - revealed 480 individuals living in 36 groups.
Conservationists say that, 30 years ago, only 250 gorillas survived in this same area.
Along with the 302 mountain gorillas from a census in Bwindi in 2006, the world population is now more than 780.
If you love the environment, and have a couple hours to spare... consider becoming an eKos editor!! Let's COME TOGETHER, FOLKS!
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(All times Eastern!)
eKos diaries from Wednesday, December 08, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
While you were arguing about taxes... | LaughingPlanet | 2:49:38 PM | Recommended, The Flooded Earth, ekos, climate change, global warming |
Nourishing the Planet TV: Banking on the Harvest | NourishingthePlanet | 10:52:23 AM | ekos, Nourishing the Planet, State of the World, NtP TV |
Gulf Watchers Wednesday - BP Contractor Thumbs Nose at Commission - BP
Catastrophe AUV #438 | peraspera | 6:00:41 AM | Gulf Watchers, Oilpocalypse, BP, Deepwater Horizon, Macondo |
New Plant to Make 100% American Made Wind Turbines | Muskegon Critic | 3:51:08 AM | Recommended, wind power, Green energy, Michigan, saginaw, jobs |
eKos diaries from Tuesday, December 07, 2010 |
Diary | Author | Time (Eastern) | Tags |
LocaPower to the People! - Cancun can because locals can | citisven | 10:31:47 PM | dailycancun, eKos, tcktcktck, COP16, UNFCCC |
The Biggest Obstacles to a Climate Deal at COP16 are Overwhelm and Emotional
Disconnect | greenmedia | 8:16:41 PM | eKos, dk-greenroots, cop16, unfccc, tcktcktck |
Massey's Chance to Clean the Slate? | Michael Brune | 6:03:30 PM | massey, blankenship, coal, ekos |
pakistan: climate = a human problem | boatsie | 4:50:37 PM | ekos, Help Pakistan, COP16, Pakistan floods, dailycancun |
Add Solar / Wind to Tax Cut ... a call for action | A Siegel | 1:52:21 PM | ekos, solar, renewable energy, energy, financing |
Fossil Energy Knows It’s a Full Contact Game – Does Cleantech? | Scaling Green | 10:07:33 AM | Cleantech, Energy, Renewables, Wind, Solar |