That’s what the President of the United States called climate change today at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. With Chancellor Angela Merkel on the podium beside him, he said: “The effort to slow climate change requires bold action. And on this, Germany and Europe have led.” Truer words were never said. “Our dangerous carbon emissions have come down. But we know we have to do more — and we will do more.” President Obama was referring to the US here in his speech. Continue reading
There has certainly been a tremendous amount of activity surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline project – as there should be: It’s a big test for the environmental movement and, frankly, for the Obama Administration. If approved and built, the KXL will give a tremendous boost to the economic prospects for Canadian tar sands. If denied, the permit will, at the same time, be a serious body blow to the further development of the tar sands and, perhaps more importantly, provide a hugely important signal from Barack Obama that he is deadly serious about solving the climate crisis. Beating back KXL will also be a historic victory for us treehuggers. Continue reading
Last week, there was a rally and March in New York City to send yet-another message to President Obama that the Keystone XL pipeline is a bad idea for the U.S. and for the planet. This picture juxtaposes two things of which we need more: loud and focused activism on climate change and superb green buildings like the Bank of America Tower. I’ve written here a few times about the KXL project. I’ve also had the privilege of interviewing one of the architects of the BofA Tower, Bob Fox, for my book. This building is also known as One Bryant Park and is one of the most advanced green buildings of its size in the world.
The salience of the opposition to the Keystone XL project is growing. One more indication is Elizabeth Kolbert’s eloquent essay in this week’s New Yorker: Lines in the Sand.
I wrote in December about the Carbon Budget 2012 report from the Global Carbon Project. As you can see, China and the US are well ahead of the pack in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion – from power, transportation, buildings and industry. Continue reading
I have written a few times here and a good number of times at my old blog for the Foreign Policy Association about the many and diverse reasons why the Alberta tar sands are a pox. You may agree. If so, you should be on your horse to get your comments into the US Department of State to tell them that the Keystone XL pipeline project, which will substantially enable further development of this planetary insult, should not be approved. Please go right away to the link here from 350.org and register your comments. The comment period ends soon! Continue reading
Shadia Fayne Wood – Project Survival Media
There was a gathering of the tribes in Washington yesterday to give support – also known as political cover – to President Obama so that he can just say “No!” to the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and, by extension, Canadian tar sands development. Why should he say no? The pipeline would enable the expansion of one of the world’s most environmentally destructive projects and that expansion makes no sense if we are to reduce our carbon footprint and, as President Obama has vowed, turn the tide on the climate crisis. The President said, in his State of the Union address last week: “…for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change.” Continue reading
We were down in Washington this past weekend for a book party. On Saturday we did some sightseeing and went to the FDR Memorial. It is in a lovely spot, on the far side of the Tidal Basin from the Mall and not far from the Jefferson Memorial. This quote, from a “Message to Congress on the Use of Our National Resources” from January 24, 1935 struck me as pretty compelling. Continue reading
John Kerry is on track, with no significant US Senate opposition on the horizon, to become the next US Secretary of State. President Obama formally announced his nomination yesterday at the White House. In his remarks, Obama said: “…we’ve got to harness all elements of American power and ensure that they’re working together — diplomatic and development, economic and political, military and intelligence…” Of course, those tools need to be brought to bear on the pressing issues of climate change and sustainability. The Department of State has an awful lot in its portfolio and increasingly that has included taking these matters of the health of the planet and its people much more seriously than ever before. Continue reading
What is being called the “Doha Climate Gateway,” more formerly the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), wrapped up this past weekend in Doha. It was the first conference of the parties to take place in the Middle East and, according to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin of the venerable IISD, the conference drew around nine thousand folks, including 4,356 government officials, 3,956 representatives of UN bodies and agencies, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, and 683 members of the media. Continue reading