Thanks George. McKibben helps me to maintain a sense of real change we can believe in or simply that there are things we can do both individually and as a nation. I'm still skeptical of what the Obama administration will be able to do, but I'm willing to give it a chance to see if the government "gets it." Tony
On Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 4:48 PM, George Frantz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > The following comments by Bill McKibben are from an Amercian Society of > Landscape Architects newsletter I receive. I've highlighted his > observations regarding the need to densify our communities as part of an > overall strategy for reducing our nation's carbon footprint by 80 percent. > > George Frantz > Greenbuild: Bill McKibben on Climate ChangeNovember 24, 2008 1:51 PM > > > Bill McKibben, author and environmental activist, gave a speech at > Greenbuild on the moral implications of climate change. > > McKibben explained that the US, with 4 percent of the world's population, > is creating 25 percent of the world's carbon output. If, as a result of > climate change, the shore line of Bangladesh were to rise four feet, > Americans would be accountable for one foot of that rise. > > His new campaign, 350.org, focuses on creating a worldwide movement for > bringing carbon levels back down to 350 parts per million (ppm), the level > which climate scientists have pointed to as the edge of safe carbon levels > in the atmosphere. McKibben explained that current levels are around 387 ppm > and increase by about 1-2 ppm per year. He argues that this small increase > over safe levels has kick-started a natural process of climate change, which > has already had far-reaching consequences, including melting ice sheets in > the Arctic Ocean and upwards of 30 percent increases in hurricane power and > frequency along parts of the east coast of the U.S. > > McKibben pointed to a statement from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate > Change (IPCC), which argued that dramatic change needed to happen by 2012 if > the world is going to mount any serious effort to interrupt the "negative > feedback loop" that has been initiated. To achieve this, "coal would have to > be left in the ground." By 2030, the world would have to stop burning coal, > and developed countries would need to stop sooner. A shift as large as the > move from an agricultural economy to the industrial economy is needed to > stop the negative effects of climate change. > > McKibben outlined a few ways Americans can help mitigate the effects of > climate change: > - Americans needs to move closer together. Americans have been building > larger homes, farther apart from each other. Driving around running errands, > and going to work creates carbon emissions. The current housing crisis, > houses in high-density urban areas are losing their value less quickly than > those in suburbs farther away from cities. Markets are valuing high-density > areas as more valuable. > > - The cost of fossil fuels needs to reflect the damage they do to the > environment. A global and U.S. national cap on carbon emissions and a > national cap and trade system are needed so that the market can begin to > associate costs with carbon emissions. McKibben argues for a rebate system > for taxpayers, which would take funds earned by the government by issuing > carbon credits and return them to taxpayers to help off-set any increase in > energy prices. He noted that the Obama transition team seems to be moving in > this direction. > > - Participate in www.350.org. This new campaign focuses on building > worldwide awareness of the need for returning carbon levels in the > atmosphere to 350 parts per million. 350.org aims to hold a worldwide set > of rallies a few weeks before the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change > (UNFCCC) final negotiations for a new protocol to replace Kyoto. Negotiators > meet in Copenhagen in December 2009. > > McKibben said the results of his 2007 "Step It Up" campaign were 1,400 > rallies in 50 states and revisions to the Obama and Clinton candidate > platforms on climate change, with a move towards the more difficult targets > – 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. > > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, > please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > -- An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living. - Nicholas Chamfort _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
