Sunday, April 27, 2008

Dear Al 'Galileo' Gore,

A modern day Galileo. Galileo tried to explain that the earth was NOT the center of the universe. He too was persecuted for this by the Catholic church who refused to abandon outdated or incorrect teaching.
Fast forward to the 21st century and global warming. How dare Al 'Galileo' Gore say that our thinking about our carbon consumption is wrong. The nerve to suggest that we should tax carbon. How dare he say that we might be turning our planet into an Inferno.

Galileo died in 1642 and was pardoned for his heresy September 1, 1999. It only took 3 1/2 centuries for the Catholic church to admit they were wrong.

Hang in there Al, you will eventually be vindicated...





Technological Breakthrough In Fight To Cut Greenhouse Gases

Newcastle University have pioneered breakthrough technology in the fight to cut greenhouse gases. Let's see where this goes....

Al Gore's TED 2008 video


Religion is not about belief but about behavior.

Faith without works is dead.


Our laws have to change. Believing that we can overcome the climate challenges we face without changing the laws is empty hype. We as citizens have to beat the drum and demand change. What is the change? Put a price on carbon. Here is his video...

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Spin, spin, spin! Change is in the wind!!

Hillary vs. Obama
Hillary wins, but not by much. She has the main Democratic states. But wait, the main Democratic states have not delivered for the last two elections. They have not been able to bring the “other states” along. Obama has been able to win the “other states”. What if the change is that the old core Democratic states don’t get to decide this time around?
What if the other “lesser states” are the ones who select the Democratic candidate this time around? Well, that would be change now wouldn’t it?


Sunday, April 20, 2008

Earth Day inspiration


Click Here to go to their website.

In an effort to find some inspiriting cities doing interesting things for Earth Day (Earth Week) I happened upon Earth Fair New York. Of course this show what political leadership does. Bloomberg is the mayor.... Our political leaders in Orlando... Well, let's just say that they have not shown the same leadership and therefore Earth Day in a yawn and a blip on the screen. Way to go New York for leading the way!

Earth Day -- Earth Week


I don't know why, but I feel totally uninspired this week in regards to Earth Day. Wear Blue, wear green, call congress. Yup, I do and I will. I guess I will try to do my spring cleaning with green products. I have been cutting back on water and I'm trying to teach some 5th graders about the need to be eco-aware. Not much is happening in Orlando except for a few articles in the paper about "Green" things that you can buy. Is there something I'm missing?

Saturday, April 19, 2008

If we care about the animals

Why do we allow such inhumane practices to exist?

Here are causes that I believe in. If anyone doubts that public attention and pressue can change the actions of corrupt individuals nad companies, recall the recent backlash of the public when they discovered how cows were treated on their way to becoming school lunches. Actually they showed some of the less offensive footage. If people saw what they really do to cows...

Here are some good animal welfare causes to respond to:


Demand Better Treatment of Breeding Dogs and Puppies
Downed Farm Animals Need Your Help!
Help Pass Legislation to Toughen Dogfighting Laws!
Help Pass the Bear Protection Act
Help Save Wild Horses and Burros
Help Stop the Philippines' Illegal Dog Meat Trade
Our Pets Deserve Safe Food
Protect Pets in the Final Farm Bill!
Stop Canned Hunting
Support the Charitable Remainder Pet Trust Act
Support the Polar Bear Protection Act
Tell Allergan that Mice Should Not Die for BOTOX
Tell Health and Human Services to Stop Funding Invasive Research & Testing on Chimpanzees
Unplug Internet Hunting
Chickens and Turkeys Deserve Humane Treatment, Too!
Urge Canada's Minister of International Trade to Stop the Seal Hunt
Urge the Department of Defense to Help Animals in Iraq
Watch Our Undercover Footage of U.S. Horses Exported to Mexico for Slaughter -- Then Take Action
Right Whales Need Our Protection
Choose Compassion As Your Fashion
Farm Animal Stewardship for Federal Purchases
Florida: Make the Sexual Abuse of Animals a Crime!
Protect Animals in the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Protect Turtles and Public Health
Protect Wildlife from Highly Toxic Chemicals
Send a Thank you to the US Attorney's Office
Support "Buck's Bill" (the Pet Safety and Protection Act)
Support Senate Resolution to End Seal Hunt
Support the Animal Welfare Accountability Improvement Act
Support the Captive Primate Safety Act
Together We Can Stop Canada's Cruel Seal Hunt
We Need The Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007
Wyoming: Stop Prairie Dog Contest Kills

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Best Green Blogs


Green Netizen is now listed on the

:-)

The New Face of Global Hunger- the dirty little secret about Global Warming

Photo Source: Click here

If you can stand the pop up ads on Time Magazine's website, there is an interesting article about the new faces of global hunger its implications. The rising prices of oil, the growing costs of CO2 reduction, the free market policies that have decimated many small farmers are adding up to a global famine. The agriculture stocks were leading on Wall Street a couple of weeks ago. "There's gold in them there hungry bellies" the market cried. So the stocks soared. The law of supply and demand. When a resource is scare and the demand is high (food) the price rises.

One reason food prices are going up because of GW's misguided policy of ethanol production from corn. Less corn to eat, the scarer the commodity. The scarcer the commodity, the higher the price of that commodity. But ethanol investors lost billions because there were a glut of investors flooding the market with capital to develop this new "green fuel." And so on and so on... Anyway, a couple of good links:

Amy Goodman's interview with a World Food expert and Time magazine.

Fred Krupp's call to action for US Presidential canidates

Matrix by Silo: click here

This is the same point I tried to make yesterday about the on coming battle over climate change. Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund, reaffirms this argument in a recent interview on CNet news.
We've had a national stalemate over climate-change policy seemingly forever. Do you think that might change soon?
There's a 90 percent chance that within the next 18 to 24 months, we will get a strong cap and trade bill. It will be here because all three presidential candidates have come out in favor of the idea.

But why has Washington dodged the question on how to deal with greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels for so long?
The science is overwhelming. Why haven't politicians moved more quickly? There are entrenched interests which want to keep the status quo...We've made this our main priority by far but we're up against big, vested interests. Also, the issue's been polarized and become part of the political divide in this country. It's been identified with liberal Democrats and there's been an almost religious conviction among almost half the population that this can't be true. They hear their opinion leaders like the president and (Sen. James) Inhofe saying it can't be true. Getting past that divide has been really, really hard. But I think we're past that.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Skeptics speak out about Global Warming. But...

Heartland Institute, Joseph Bast, has a 20 minute interview explaining how the science of climate change is shifting, and how a little global warming would be a good thing, and the reason not to vote. (download the original). This was published in Scientific America. Interesting interview. He makes it sound like there are skeptical scientists that are offering another view about the 'global warming' debate. He says that 3/4 of the world's scientists don't believe that it is caused by climate change.

He sounds very scholarly. However, a closer look at their organization, Heartland Institute, you will see that Heartland Institute features an Internet application called PolicyBot which serves as a clearinghouse for research from other think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation, American Legislative Exchange Council, and Cato Institute. Joseph claims in his interview that "he hates politics and politicians" but he spends ten minutes parroting the message in his video is definitely a neoconservative message that brought us George Bush, Dick Cheney, the Sub prime lending mess etc. His employer is the clearing house for their policies statements that go out to the politician who then decide what rules that we should live by.

Sorry if I'm a skeptic about his "independent" analysis of the global climate change debate. There were no corporate sponsors for this event, however, the organizations they represent are heavily subsidized. This is so disingenuous.

This video is evidence of the economic warfare that we are about to engage in over the idea of Global Warming and CO2 reduction. The Skeptics vs. The Alarmists. There are serious economic interests at risk. Many of the skeptics represent the current status quo, the economically entrenched powers that command the economy at the highest levels. They are about to come out swingint and they are going to warp themselves in a cloak of credible science while expounding their economic dogma that spreads doubt into the debate. This in tern will cause more confusion and ultimately reinforce the status quo. Behind the scenes, there will be big money at stake and we will see the clash of the titans as this plays out.


Don't get me wrong. I welcome a true scientific debate about Global Warming. But I don't want people to be fooled either. Right now, I'm not optimistic. People are too busy at work, at home, and with the kids to pay attention to the details. Unfortunately, the devil will be in the details and our media will be chasing ratings and profits instead of real news. Stories will trickle out while the bulk of the content will not address the these issues. And so much is at stake...

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Google's got SearchMe competition


As much as I LOVE GOOGLE, I do wish that there was an easier way to search for things that I am trying to find. I recently came upon a new search engine called: SearchMe.com That would make searching so much easier. Hope Google is paying attention and can come up with a similar option. Or better yet, buys the company :-)

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Now that's smart


Flexenclosure's base station, called E-site, combines a wind turbine and solar panels. Article states that this is being used in developing countries. SMART!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Using Art for Environmental Activism







Robert Bateman's blog, "Groundswell" uses art to show what very likely could happen if a proposed oil pipeline is built from Alberta’s tarsands to the B.C. coast. I've been there. It's such a beautiful place; a real ecological jewel. We have considered moving there because of the natural beauty of this area. And now they want to risk it by opening it up to oil transporation. I can not imagine people sitting back and letting this happen.

I feel like we are living in the movie, "The Lord of the Rings." The dark forces that are trying to destroy our earth keep getting stronger and stronger. A small band of warriors are trying to stop them. Show this to children. They will understand. They will speak to the hearts of their parents make them see what is at stake. How can we look at our children and allow this to keep happening over and over again? It is their future that is at risk.



China wants you to pay for cleaning up their mess


I talked to a oncologist yesterday about cancer and environmental triggers that might cause cancer. I mentioned that my friend who got cancer had lived near a SuperFund site. She did not know what a SuperFund site was! Hmm... I wondered how someone could be an expert on cancer and not know what a SuperFund site was? She attributed a lot of the illness to genetics but was not very specific about environmental risks.

According to Bloomberg.com , China is proposing a SuperFund in reverse. Instead of the polluters paying to clean up their mess, they get other countries who by their goods to clean up their mess so they can help save the planet too. They are holding a loaded gun to the heads of developing countries. The rationale is a trade off. If we want a planet, then we will have to pay up; or die. So what we have here is a a new kind of environmental extortion or blackmail. This is the free market at work. Right?