Greenpeace

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change just released their latest bombshell--a summary of their previous work that brings together a very scary vision for the future if we don't act now on global warming.

Essentially, the IPCC echoed what every serious person has been saying for years--the planet is warming, we're the cause, and we must stop now to stave off untold despair and suffering. I read their report with a real sadness and a certainty that the scale of the problem was greater than I could understand.

My uneasiness was supported by what I saw the next two days. On Saturday I took my usual Saturday bike ride up through the hills of Marin County, here in sunny CA.  As I reached the quiet town of Sausalito, I couldn't help but notice along the bike path all the cars filled with people who drove to ride their bikes. Yes, drove to ride their bikes! I thought to myself, how can we expect change when some people are so selfish, so clueless?

Then Sunday I watched the talking heads on display on the Sunday morning talk shows. First came Meet the Press, then Face the Nation and then This Week. With the IPCC's recent report fresh in my mind, I figured to hear some fresh policy discussions on the problem. Nope. Only John Edwards spoke about the issue and he only mentioned it in passing. It appears the media-created narratives of Hillary's experience verus Barack's youthful exhuberence were the topics of the day, along with a healthy helping of Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee sparring news. Goodness gracious, folks. We're out here yearning for you to lead. Can't you hear us? Do you even want to?

Naturally, and with wonderful calm, my optimism returned today as I sat at my desk at work. It was then, surrounded by my amazing and brave colleagues, that I was reminded that Greenpeace will not stop until we change the debate. Change the future. Change the world. Wanna join us? Go to www.projecthotseat.org to see how.  

Daniel
Media Officer 

 

 

This past Saturday was the second Step It Up, a national day of action to find out who are the real leaders on global warming. This day of action built on Step It Up’s April 14 rally, which produced more than 1,400 events in 50 states, the largest global warming event in U.S. history.

Greenpeace contributed to Step It Up in a big way. Our Project Hot Seat field organizers held events in 11 places and our Frontline campaign had six events of their own. Here in San Francisco, we joined with other Green groups and had a rally outside the UN Plaza. The day was well-attended; we even had an appearance from erstwhile candidate for the House,  Cindy Sheehan. 

If you don't know anything about Step It Up, here are their demands, which almost mirror our own: a carbon cut of 80 percent by 2050, a moratorium on any new coal-fired power plants, and five million new Green jobs.  Check out photos from Greenpeace's events here and go over to www.stepitup2007.org to see what happened nationally.

Now that Step It up is over, we'll go back to work on getting Congress to take action. The best bill in the House to accomplish a significant reduction in CO2 emissions is Henry Waxman’s Safe Climate Act. The bill has 142 co-sponsors. The magic number is 216, the number of votes needed in the House to pass a bill. You can help keep up the momentum from Step It Up and help pass the Safe Climate Act at www.projecthotseat.org.

Best wishes,

Daniel Kessler
Greenpeace Media Officer  

This Saturday is the second Step It Up, a national day of action to find out who are the real leaders on global warming. Step It Up’s April 14 rally produced more than 1,400 events in 50 states, the largest global warming event in U.S. history. This Saturday’s event promises to be even larger.

The demands from Step it Up are simple: a carbon cut of 80 percent by 2050, a moratorium on any new coal-fired power plants, and five million new Green jobs. Think we can do it? Of course we can. The technology is with us today, but the political will is missing.

That’s why Step It Up and Greenpeace’s Project Hot Seat are so important. If you don’t know, Project Hot Seat is our campaign to get Congress on board with real solutions to global warming. The best bill in the House to accomplish a significant reduction in CO2 emissions is Henry Waxman’s Safe Climate Act. The bill has 142 co-sponsors. The magic number is 216, the number of votes needed in the House to pass a bill. You can help get us there by going to www.projecthotseat.org to take action.

I’ll be in San Francisco this Saturday for a Step It Up rally outside Speaker Pelosi’s office. The event will be like a carnival with a variety of attractions to educate people on global warming and get them involved. The Rolling Sunlight will be there, a moving example of the possible. The Sunlight can generate enough solar energy to power an entire concert. If you’re in SF, come by and visit us. If you’re not here, be sure to go to www.stepitup2007.org to find an event in your area.

Best wishes,

Daniel Kessler
Greenpeace Media Officer  

I’m writing as Southern California burns. There’s been a lot of talk within the environmental community and in the media about whether or not these fires can be linked to rising temperatures caused by global warming. What’s beyond dispute, however, is the scary reality that as temperatures rise, the frequency of massive fires and other horrific natural disasters will rise along with the mercury.    

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported earlier this year that North America's annual window of high fire ignition risk could increase by 30 percent this century. They said fires and insect outbreaks are likely to intensify as temperatures rise, which will cause drier soils and longer growing seasons. Add that to the findings of U.S. Geological Survey scientists who said recently that rising temperatures have increased the death rate for old-growth conifers, firs and pines in the Sierra Nevada, making more fuel for fires.

So what can we do? First, we can recognize our immediate vulnerabilities. Together, population growth and development into the wildland-urban interface is tempting fate. People need to make smart choices about how much land they need, how far from population centers they want to go and how their decisions affect the land, wildlife, and other people; in my mind there’s no reason to put a firefighter’s life at risk for a swimming pool and a nice view.

On a larger scale, we continue our push to make Congress take immediate action on global warming. Nov. 3 is Step It Up, a national day of action on global warming that will make it clear just who are our leaders on the defining environmental issue of our time. Please go to StepitUp2007.org  to find out about an event in your area.

 

Daniel
Greenpeace Media Officer

August 26th - On the road to Chicago!

We just spent the better part of last week in the surprising progressive hot-spot of Bloomington, Indiana! The town was great. Lots of good folks and an amazing Greenpeace Project Hot Seat coordinator - Edyta! Together we worked to pressure Rep. Baron Hill at a Democratic party golf outing and deliver a copy of the Safe Climate Act, which he still seems to claim he hasn't been asked to sign.

The Safe Climate Act is the gold standard for global warming legislation. It has 140 co-sponsors, but Baron Hill isn't one of them--yet!

On Saturday we made those delicious solar smoothies at the Bloomington Farmers market. We met some incredible volunteers that revived our love for campaigning and the excitement found in meeting new people from all over.

We had plenty of relaxing time sitting around the campfire, swimming in Lake Monroe and traveling thru Indiana.

We got our date's mixed a bit and we are heading to Chicago a day earlier than planned. My brother Andy has offered to put us up for the night. Anyone in and around the Chicago area drop me a line if you'ld like to meet up or come to any of our events. Right now - we honestly don't know what they will be - but that's part of the fun right?!

Much Love -- Amanda
906/ 250.0296

August 20th - Kalamazoo, Michigan

We're in Kalamazoo! And it's raiiiiiiny. Very rainy. We drove 13.5 hours yesterday to get here, just under the official 14 hours that we are allowed to be on the road according to the official trucker rules that we are following on the road. We are crashing with Justin, the Project Hot Seat organizer here, and we had our first event today. We made some delicious solar smoothies and got a bunch of letters written to Representative Fred Upton, who happens to love nuclear as a sustainable energy alternative. Ick.

 
We had some great high school kids helping us out today who were excited about the campaign and thrilled to have something to do for a few hours because apparently life is pretty boring for the high school crowd around here. They got all jazzed up in Hot Seat gear and talked to the public. They were great and gave me hope for the future!

love to all.
lauren

August 18th - Greetings from Pennsylvania

We just finished up our second official event of the tour. Last night we made solar-smoothies for the good people of Phoenixville, and today we held an event with the area Project Hot Seat coordinator, Pete, and his son Max, outside an eco-grocery in Dowingtown, PA.  Tonight we will take some time to plan and adjust to life on the road and relax around our campsite! Next stop - Kalamazoo, Michigan!

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be sitting on top of this much power. Only an astronaut (and maybe Elvis in his heyday) knows how this feels. I’m talking about being behind the wheel of the Rolling Sunlight, Greenpeace’s mobile demonstration and educational vehicle showcasing clean energy technologies that I, along with three other lucky souls, will be piloting across America for a month.

The idea behind our expedition is to draw attention to global warming and what we all can do to slow it. I think we can all agree that the global warming future is not one that we want. We can also agree to prevent it. To do so we must look to the clean alternatives that are available and use the electricity that is generated in our society responsibly. Enter the Rolling Sunlight, a bio-diesel chugging, solar powered powerhouse that proves that with a big dose of ingenuity and a dash of fun, we can do anything, even reshape our energy economy into one built upon renewable energy.

I can’t wait to see the looks on people’s faces when we roll into campsites and parking lots with this baby. To keep us powered we’ll be drinking solar smoothies made in blender powered by the sun. If you see us on the road you’d better stop for one. They’re delicious.

Along the long asphalt trail from Washington D.C. to San Francisco we’ll also be promoting Project Hot Seat, Greenpeace’s campaign to force Congress to act on global warming NOW. PHS is working from coast to coast and Congress is starting to listen. Just last week they passed an energy bill with a national renewable energy standard. Now we need them keep to it up and pass an increase to car fuel efficiency and cap global warming emissions.

I hope you’ll join us on our adventure this month by reading our trip blog. We’ll tell you about what we see, who we meet, and about the amazing capacity of our renewable ride.

Until then,