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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on July 4th, 2008 Groundbreaking Lawsuit Accuses Big Oil of Conspiracy to Deceive Public About Climate Change. Now you see why the Bushies love “tort reform”… Posted by Democracy Now!, www.Democracy Now! on July 3, 2008. Earlier this week a judge in Georgia blocked the construction of a coal-fired power plant because the plant did not set limits on carbon dioxide emissions. In what is being described as an unprecedented ruling, the judge said the plant could not receive an air pollution permit unless it limits its emissions. Today we are going to look at the rapidly growing field of global warming litigation. I am joined here in Aspen, Colorado by the attorney Steve Susman. He is the founding partner of the law firm Susman Godfrey. Earlier this year he helped file a groundbreaking lawsuit on behalf of 400 Inuit villagers in the Alaskan town of Kivalina who are being forced to relocate because of flooding caused by global warming. The suit accuses 20 oil, gas and electric companies of being responsible for emitting millions of tons of greenhouse gases causing the Arctic ice to melt. Companies named in the suit include ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Peabody. The suit also accuses eight of the corporations of being involved in a conspiracy to mislead the public about the causes of global warming. Susman and his legal team have adopted a legal strategy similar to that used by lawyers who fought Big Tobacco in the 1990s. Susman was also involved in that litigation – he was an attorney for the tobacco giant Philip Morris. Steve Susman also recently represented the Texas Cities for Clear Air Coalition in their successful effort to block the energy company TXU from building 10 new coal-burning power plants. The case was featured in Robert Redford’s documentary, “Fighting Goliath—Texas Coal Wars.” Attorney Steve Susman joins me here in Aspen. Steve Susman is founding partner of the law firm Susman Godfrey. He recently filed a pioneering global warming lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and 20 other oil, coal and electric companies on behalf of residents of the Alaskan Native coastal village of Kivalina. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on June 19th, 2008 “Entrepreneurship for a Zero Carbon Society.” Cambridge’s First International Summit on Policy, Technology and Investment for a low-carbon economy. 22nd - 24th September 2008, University of Cambridge, UK For a pdf formatted version of this message see With escalating concerns over climate change, and rapidly This event aims to address how to achieve such large-scale The Summit Programme will include: The final agenda will be published on our website on July 1st, 2008. Please visit www.cambridgeclimate.com for further details and a full list Who should attend? We expect some 200 delegates from local and international companies, For further enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us at: Sponsorship and Exhibition Opportunities Opportunities for sponsoring the summit are available. Information and “Entrepreneurship for a Zero Carbon Society” is brought to you — Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on June 11th, 2008 The 12th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) June 7-12, 2008 Johannesburgh, South Africa. http://www.unep.org/roa/Amcen/Amcen_Even… Africa Atlas of our Changing Environment from Global Resource Information Database - Sioux Falls http://www.na.unep.net/AfricaAtlas/ Global Resource Information Database - Sioux Falls Tejaswi Giri (Ms.) Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on June 4th, 2008 From: info at barackobama.com Pincas – I’m about to take the stage in St. Paul and announce that we have won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. It’s been a long journey, and we should all pause to thank Hillary Clinton, who made history in this campaign. Our party and our country are better off because of her. I want to make sure you understand what’s ahead of us. Earlier tonight, John McCain outlined a vision of America that’s very different from ours — a vision that continues the disastrous policies of George W. Bush. But this is our moment. This is our time.
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on May 30th, 2008 COORDINATED BY ECLAC: STUDY BEGINS ON THE ECONOMICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN CENTRAL AMERICA. (San Pedro Sula, 27 May 2008) Estimates indicate that Central America produces less than 0.5% of the planet’s carbon dioxide, but is one of the regions most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Rising atmospheric temperatures and sea levels and the decrease and instability of rains affect production, infrastructure, and the population’s means of subsistence and health. Moreover, the capacity of the environment to provide essential services may diminish gradually, while droughts and hurricanes intensify. If Central American societies do not take steps to address these problems, what will be the economic impact on the population? What will be the toll on fiscal budgets of responding to the consequences? How will the region deal with the effects of climate change on people’s health? What options does Central America have to adapt, and how much will they cost? Faced with these issues, environmental officials in the region and their integration body, the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), ECLAC’s subregional headquarters in Mexico, and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) announced the undertaking of a study on The Economics of Climate Change in Central America, to analyze the challenges, benefits and costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change. This initiative is borne out of the concern of the Presidents of the Central American Integration System to develop strategies to face the impact of global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions, as announced today in the context of the Summit on Climate Change and Environment. The study will use the general methodological guidelines of the Stern Report on the economic impact of climate change in the world, adapting it to the region. The research will include an analysis of the global context, highlight the possible evolution of emissions and the world economy, and set forth macroeconomic scenarios for Central America. In addition, studies will be carried out on the impact and costs for climate-sensitive sectors, such as water, agriculture, health, poverty and extreme natural phenomena. These studies will serve as input for a model of integrated valorization that will estimate the economic impact in the region, enabling proposals on adaptation policy options with possible benefits for mitigation. Given its complexity and depth, the study may take an estimated 15 months to elaborate at a cost of approximately US$1.8 million. The British government, through its cooperation agency, will support the project initially with a million dollars. ECLAC will be responsible for the technical coordination, while Central American nations will contribute with their personnel to accompany the implementation of the project’s different activities.
The study for Central America will likely benefit from the results of the Mexican case (2008), and contribute to a regional appreciation of the economic impact of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information, please contact Pedro Cote Baraibar, Coordinator of Communications at ECLAC’s Mexico office. Telephone:(+52 55) 5263 9715 and mobile (52 1 55) 2109 7227. Email: pedro.cote at cepal.org Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on May 30th, 2008 White House Issues Climate Report. WASHINGTON (May 29) - Under a court order and four years late, the White House Thursday produced what it called a science-based “one-stop shop” of specific threats to the United States from man-made global warming. Under a court order and four years late - America’s Climate Threats. The 271-page report is notable because it is something the Bush administration has fought in the past. That includes: Increased heat deaths and deaths from climate-worsened smog. In Los Angeles alone yearly heat fatalities could increase by more than 1,000 by 2080, and the Midwest and Northeast are most vulnerable to increased heat deaths. Worsening water shortages for agriculture and urban users. From California to New York, lack of water will be an issue. A need for billions of dollars in more power plants (one major cause of global warming gases) to cool a hotter country. The report says summer cooling will mean Seattle’s energy consumption would increase by 146 percent with the warming that could come by the end of the century. More death and damage from wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters and extreme weather. In the last three decades, wildfire season in the West has increased by 78 days. Increased insect infestations and food- and waterborne microbes and diseases. Insect and pathogen outbreaks to the forests are causing $1.5 billion in annual losses. “Finally, climate change is very likely to accentuate the disparities already evident in the American health care system,” the report said. “Many of the expected health effects are likely to fall disproportionately on the poor, the elderly, the disabled and the uninsured.” The report was required by a 1990 law which says that every four years the government must produce a comprehensive science assessment of global warming. It had not been done since 2000. Environmental groups got a court order last year to force the Bush administration to produce the document by the end of this month. Hays said the White House has preferred issuing studies on individual global warming issues, such as an agricultural effects report that was released on Tuesday.
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on May 30th, 2008 Opinion The Rich Get Hungrier. by: Amartya Sen, The New York Times In January of 2007, tens of thousands of Mexicans marched in the streets to protest a leap of 50 percent in the price of corn tortillas. Will the food crisis that is menacing the lives of millions ease up - or grow worse over time? The answer may be both. The recent rise in food prices has largely been caused by temporary problems like drought in Australia, Ukraine and elsewhere. Though the need for huge rescue operations is urgent, the present acute crisis will eventually end. But underlying it is a basic problem that will only intensify unless we recognize it and try to remedy it. Misdirected government policy worsened the division. The British rulers were determined to prevent urban discontent during the war, so the government bought food in the villages and sold it, heavily subsidized, in the cities, a move that increased rural food prices even further. Low earners in the villages starved. Two million to three million people died in that famine and its aftermath. Much discussion is rightly devoted to the division between haves and have-nots in the global economy, but the world’s poor are themselves divided between those who are experiencing high growth and those who are not. The rapid economic expansion in countries like China, India and Vietnam tends to sharply increase the demand for food. This is, of course, an excellent thing in itself, and if these countries could manage to reduce their unequal internal sharing of growth, even those left behind there would eat much better. But the same growth also puts pressure on global food markets - sometimes through increased imports, but also through restrictions or bans on exports to moderate the rise in food prices at home, as has happened recently in countries like India, China, Vietnam and Argentina. Those hit particularly hard have been the poor, especially in Africa. There is also a high-tech version of the tale of two peoples. Agricultural crops like corn and soybeans can be used for making ethanol for motor fuel. So the stomachs of the hungry must also compete with fuel tanks. Misdirected government policy plays a part here, too. In 2005, the United States Congress began to require widespread use of ethanol in motor fuels. This law combined with a subsidy for this use has created a flourishing corn market in the United States, but has also diverted agricultural resources from food to fuel. This makes it even harder for the hungry stomachs to compete. Ethanol use does little to prevent global warming and environmental deterioration, and clear-headed policy reforms could be urgently carried out, if American politics would permit it. Ethanol use could be curtailed, rather than being subsidized and enforced. { So - even a Nobel Peace Prize Wining Economist, of the stature of Amartia Sen, can show total ignorance yet speak up in loud voice, making public that ignorance, by not trying to analyze what he was fed as information by clearly vested interests. We said this many times, but in reverence to Professor Sen, we will repeat this once more: Ethanol could have been made out of the corn that was NOT GROWN, rather then from the food commodity. The point is that the agricultural policy in the US and in the EU is based on “Set-Asides” that leave land out of production in a subsidization of the commodity prices policy. So there is land available to grow an extra amount of corn.} ———- Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on May 29th, 2008 Information From: jeh1 at columbia.edu This Sunday evening (June 1, 2008) 7:30 pm - at Cary Hall in Lexington, Massachusetts - a few hundred yards from where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired , the Lexington Global Warming Action Coalition (info at www.lexgwac.org) will hold an appeal to the governor om matters of climate change. The speakers will be: Mark Bowen, author of “Censoring Science” and James (Jim) Hansen who knows a thing or two about how climate science was censored. Perhaps there is an analogy between the gap that developed between the best interests of the American people and policies of despotic King George and the gap that has developed between the best interests of the public (and nature) and the policies (mainly those related to energy) that we now live under. A different sort of revolution, within the democratic framework, is needed, but it won’t be easy. What makes it a hair-raising drama, with an outcome far from assured, is the combination of climate system inertia and resulting planetary energy imbalance, energy system inertia, and climate system tipping points. There is a $5 admission. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on May 27th, 2008
Climate Destruction Will Produce Millions of ‘Envirogees’ The rise of environmental disasters from climate change and destruction of ecosystems will create a surge of refugees across the planet. Chew on this word, jargon lovers. It carries more 21st century buzz than its semi-official designation climate refugee, which is a displaced individual who has been forced to migrate because of environmental devastation. Maybe the buzzword will catch on faster and shed some much-needed light on what will become a serious problem, probably by the end of this or the next decade. That light is crucial, because so far envirogees haven’t been fully recognized by those who certify the civil liberties of Earth’s various populations, whether that is the United Nations or local and national governments whose people are increasingly on the move for a whole new set of devastating reasons. From earthquakes in China to cyclones in Myanmar to water rationing in Los Angeles, societies are shifting like their borders. And all the outcry over so-called illegal immigration neglects to answer one time-honored question: If the borders aren’t standing still, why should the people who live in their outlines do so? Especially when they’re under attack from catastrophic floods, fires, droughts and any number of other environmental dangers?
Here’s more scary data. Desertification is claiming land from China to Morocco to Tunisia and beyond at an increasing rate. New Orleans and parts of Alaska are slowly sliding into the sea, while the former, as Hurricane Katrina ably illustrated, is becoming a reliable target for intensifying weather events, human corruption and half-assed infrastructure. Aquifers around the world are shrinking, while acidification is claiming cropland in Egypt and beyond. Hypoxia has claimed portions of the ocean itself with alarming speed, as stretches of the Atlantic and Pacific lose oxygen and, by extension, the marine life that not only feeds millions but establishes the continuity of the food chain. No food chain, no food. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. But numbers are fallible, which is another way of saying the above figures are most likely best-case scenarios. In other words, the future is now. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the IPCC might have taken home a Nobel for their statistics and bleeding hearts, but their math was significantly off. Worse, the rate at which these things happen is rising exponentially. “The rate of increase in carbon dioxide concentrations accelerated over recent decades along with fossil fuel emissions,” explained a report on methane and CO2 rises by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Organization for Atmospheric Administration. “Since 2000, annual increases of two ppm or more have been common, compared with 1.5 ppm per year in the 1980s and less than one ppm per year during the 1960s.” As for methane, in 2007 it exploded by 27 million tons after a decade with relatively no rise at all. Think about that next time you eat that Happy Meal. So what’s an envirogee to do, other than opt out of wasted fantasies like Happy Meals, factory farming, bottled water and Hummers? What else? Move. Which is what envirogees worldwide are already doing right now, by choice or by gunpoint, and will do more often than not as situations on the ground and in the air deteriorate. The conflict raging in Darfur is a sobering example of the complexity of the situation. It has so far displaced 2-3 million people, and for all the talk of political or religious persecution, the fact remains that it is at its root an environmental crisis. An arid desert whose water is drying up by the day, Darfur is one of the first flashpoints of our new phase of climate conflict, a conflict that U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon explained in the Washington Post as one “that grew at least in part from desertification, ecological degradation and a scarcity of resources, foremost among them water.” But this too should have been foreseen: According to remote sensing, Darfur sits atop of an underground lake that once used to hold over 600 cubic miles of water and dried up thousands of years ago. It gets richer, or poorer, depending on where you stand on peak oil. The planet’s shrinking petroleum reserves are now more valuable than ever, and the prices for its capture and capitalization show zero sign of returning to normal. That expense is also beginning to be measured in lives, as carbon concentration exponentially increases and weather events become more extreme. And you all know what they say about extreme times calling for extreme measures. We’ve been here before, which is to say on the brink of extinction. In one instance, drought shrunk our numbers to about 2,000 scattered in a diaspora across Africa, a fearsome thought for a 21st century superpower that may be entering its own permanent drought. But the wrinkle is different this time around the tightrope: We built this coming dystopia with our own hands. And that’s going to reshape not just immigration policy, but the concept of immigration altogether. And that’s where the envirogee comes in. The envirogee, you see, is on the run from himself. In other words, and no matter how much blowhards like CNN’s Lou Dobbs bitch and whine, the inconvenient truth of climate change, and its rampant resource wars for what’s left of the planet’s stores, remains a reality. Beneath genocide in Darfur lies a desert that used to be a lake. There probably isn’t a better metaphor for our current hyperhighway to hell in existence, if one could argue that it was a metaphor to begin with. But one can’t, because it is reality, pure and simple. And so are envirogees, regardless of the outdated assertions of the Geneva Convention or the staid refusals of the insurance industry to wake up and smell the hurricanes. |