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• Earth Day 2007
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• Fueling Global Prosperity: Worldwide Gains for Farmers Are in Reach
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• British Schools Show "An Inconvenient Truth"
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  Arbor Day Foundation has redrawn US gardening zones.
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• The Long Emergency: This will change everything!
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  http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/infographics/pop_carbon.htm
• Major Temperature Rise Recorded in Arctic This Year
• Pentagon Warns  Bush: Climate Change Could Destroy Us
• Midwinter Spring is the New Season in the British Isles

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APRIL 6, 2007
The UN report on Global Warming released today announced that Global Warming is an even greater threat than had been recognized. New and confirmed data predict water shortages affecting billions of people and a rise in ocean levels that could go on for centuries.

Grim as the UN analysis is, The Los Angeles Times reported that some of the scientists involved in the panel felt that the document was too optimistic.

CLICK HERE for more on the UN panel report

SUPREMES Tell EPA to Regulate Car Emission
April 6, 2007
The US Supreme Court declared that the Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate global warming causing emissions from cars.

TAKE ACTION!
Send a message to the EPA and Administrator Stephen Johnson urging them to do their job and join the movement to stop global warming.

Stephen Johnson
USEPA Headquarters
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Mail Code: 1101A
Washington, DC 20460

202-564-4700

CLICK HERE for more on the Supreme Court ruling

On the Run from Global Warming
March 1, 2007
New U.N. report affirms what CAP has been saying: We can not continue to ignore the growing environmental refugee crisis.

Down the Green Carpet
February 27, 2007
An Inconvenient Truth’s two wins were highlighted by a commitment from the Academy to curb global warming by reducing its own ecological footprint.

State of the Climate
by Ana Unruh Cohen, February 22, 2007

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report
Demands Change on Global Warming
February 5, 2007
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report repeats what CAP has been saying: It is time for us to take serious action to curb global warming.

The material above was created for the Progress Report, the daily e-mail publication of the
Center for American Progress. Click here to subscribe.

The Arbor Day Foundation has redrawn the gardening zones in USCheck your climate zone here

Calculate YOUR Carbon Load Quickly
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica
/infographics/pop_carbon.htm

Wanna
Know how to BEAT THE HEAT?

Wanna Know how to BEAT THE HEAT?
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in partnership with StopGlobalWarming.org ,  has launched Beat the Heat, an interactive map that highlights the global warming solutions and consequences that matter most to people across the country.

This site helps people share their concerns about global warming and their desire for solutions -- on an individual and a national scale. The site highlights concrete actions that will drastically cut global warming pollution, such as boosting energy efficiency, supporting renewable energy, driving better cars and passing strong laws to cap global warming pollution.

"Cool Globes' on Parade,  by Fran Spielman (2/7/2007)

 

Hot Topic, by  Elizabeth Kolbert (2/6/2007)

 

China Sweats in Warmest Temperatures on Record, by Dan Martin (2/6/2007)

 

On the Climate Change Beat, Doubt Gives Way to Certainty, by William K. Stevens (2/6/2007)

 

Who Owns the Planet? by Deepak Chopra (2/5/2007)

 

Yale Steps up Efforts to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions, by John Christoffersen (2/4/2007)

 

Exxon Linked to Climate Change Pay Out, by Steve Hargreaves (2/3/2007)

This year, in the upper 500 meters (1,625 feet) of sea in the Fram Strait they recorded temperatures up to 0.6 C (1.08 F) higher than in 2003. This increase was detectable to a water depth of 2,000 meters (6,500 feet), "representing an exceptionally strong signal by ocean standards." Water in the Fram Strait has been warming steadily since 1990.  The research was conducted for six weeks on a specialized vessel, the Polarstern (Pole Star), which sampled the West Spitsbergen Current, which carries warm water from the Atlantic into the Arctic Ocean.

In June 2004, American scientists announced at a renewalble energies conference in Bonn that they had detected an "alarmingly rapid growth" this year in airborne concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the fossil-fuel pollutant blamed for global warming. CO2 levels recorded in March 2004 at Hawaii measured 379 parts per million (ppm), an increase of three ppm over the previous year. In the past decade, the annual increase was only 1.8 ppm per year. Before the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric concentrations of CO2  were 280 ppm.

CO2 is the most important of the six "greenhouse" gases blamed for driving changes to the world's delicate climate system. These gases hang like an invisible shroud in the atmosphere, trapping the Sun's heat and inflicting what many scientists predict will be serious changes to icecaps, glaciers and weather patterns.

Before the Industrial Revolution, climate change has occurred naturally, by emissions of CO2 disgorged by volcanoes and other phenomena. But the overwhelming majority of climate experts say CO2 levels are rising fast today because of the unbridled burning of oil, gas and coal. Opinions differ, though, as to how fast the effects will occur and how bad they will be.

This 2004 article was written before Katrina and the Sunami.

Pentagon Warns Bush: "Climate Change Could Destroy Us

· Secret report warns of rioting and nuclear war
· Threat to the world is greater than terrorism

By Christa Landon

After being suppressed for four months, a secret Pentagon report produced warns that the threat to global stability vastly eclipses that of terrorism.  Abrupt climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters. Major European cities will inundated beneath rising seas; mega-droughts and famine could devastate economies. Desperation could generate widespread rioting across the world as people seek to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy. 

Peter Schwartz, CIA consultant and former head of planning at Royal Dutch/Shell Group, and Doug Randall of the California-based Global Business Network were among the authors. 

They argue that the planet is already carrying an unsustainably high population. By 2020 'catastrophic' shortages of water and energy supply will plunge the planet into war.  8,200 years ago climatic conditions brought widespread crop failure, famine, disease and mass migration of populations that could soon be repeated.

The potential ramifications of rapid climate change would create global chaos. "This is depressing stuff,' he said. 'It is a national security threat that is unique because there is no enemy to point your guns at and we have no control over the threat.' Worse, it might already be too late to prevent a disaster happening. 'We don't know exactly where we are in the process. It could start tomorrow and we would not know for another five years," he said.

Immanent and catastrophic climate change is "plausible and would challenge United States national security in ways that should be considered immediately." As early as next year widespread flooding by a rise in sea levels will create major upheaval for millions. 

Symons, who left the EPA in protest at political interference, announced that "This administration is ignoring the evidence in order to placate a handful of large energy and oil companies."  A large body of respected scientists claim that the White House has cherry-picked science to suit its policy agenda and suppressed studies that it did not like. This Pentagon report itself was suppressed for 4 months. 

Some climatologists hope that this report could convince Bush recognize global warming and to sign up to global treaties to reduce the rate of climatic change:

Bob Watson, chief scientist for the World Bank and former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is hopeful.

"Can Bush ignore the Pentagon? It's going be hard to blow off this sort of document. Its hugely embarrassing. After all, Bush's single highest priority is national defense. The Pentagon is no wacko, liberal group, generally speaking it is conservative. If climate change is a threat to national security and the economy, then he has to act. There are two groups the Bush Administration tend to listen to, the oil lobby and the Pentagon,' added Watson.

Watson believes that this report may be a factor in the US elections. Democratic frontrunner John Kerry is known to accept climate change as a real problem. Scientists disillusioned with Bush's stance are threatening to help Kerry use the Pentagon report in his campaign.

The report was influenced by Pentagon defense adviser Andrew Marshall, a powerful voice in US military thinking over the past three decades, and currently head of the Office of Net Assessment, a secretive think-tank dedicated to weighing risks to national security.  Highly regarded at the Pentagon, he is credited with being behind the Department of Defense's push on ballistic-missile defense, and a sweeping recent review aimed at transforming the American military under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Related Stories and Resources

For a somewhat more sensationalist story, see:

"NOW THE PENTAGON TELLS BUSH: CLIMATE CHANGE WILL DESTROY US"
     By Mark Townsend and Paul Harris in New York
     The Observer
     Sunday, February 22, 2004

     - Secret report warns of rioting and nuclear war
     - Britain will be 'Siberian' in less than 20 years
     - Threat to the world is greater than terrorism

 http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/
story/0,6903,1153513,00.html
THE GUARDIAN'S GLOBAL WARMING SPECIAL TRACKING SECTION:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/0,12374,782494,00.html

About Earth Day Network

Earth Day Network, www.earthday.net  , seeks to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. It pursues these goals through education, politics, cultural events, and consumer activism. Current grassroots programs include the Climate Change Solutions Campaign, Campaign for Communities, and the National Civic Education Project. Earth Day Network works with more than 105,000 K-12 teachers in the United States alone. In 2006, EDN launched Earth Day Television, greatly expanding its reach to a global network of more than 15,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries. More than one billion people are expected to participate in Earth Day (April 22nd) civic activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.  

Greening American Tax Policy
February 26, 2007
Green programs could spur growth of new energy solutions and generate revenue that will reduce the deficit and spur the economy.

Sick Transit
by Ben Adler, February 14, 2007

Bringing Issues Together
February 13, 2007
CAP report details a strategy for addressing a broad range of critical issues ranging from curbing global warming to boosting agriculture worldwide.

Fueling Global Prosperity: Worldwide
Gains for Farmers Are in Reach
by Jake Caldwell, February 7, 2007
CAP's Jake Caldwell spells out why congressional action on the U.S. farm bill could translate into global gains for farmers and the environment alike.

A coalition of environmental and public interest groups spotlighting ExxonMobil’s efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, prevent action on global warming, and encourage America’s oil dependence.

Climate Change Litigation
Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the City of Boulder, Colo. filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on behalf of their members and citizens who are victims of global warming. The suit has been filed against two U.S. government agencies – the Export Import Bank (ExIm) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). ExIm and OPIC are taxpayer funded agencies that provide financing and loans to U.S. corporations for overseas projects that commercial banks deem too risky. Find out more at:  www.climatelawsuit.org

Environmental News from Friends of the Earth

British Secondary Schools ordered to Show 'AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH'
As part of a year-long environmental education campaign to combat global warming, Al Gore's documentary will be sent to every secondary school in England, over 3,385 schools.

As Education Secretary Alan Johnson explained, "Children are the key to changing society's long-term attitudes to the environment. Not only are they passionate about saving the planet, but children also have a big influence over their own families' lifestyles and behavior."

CLICK HERE to read more about the campaign.

Amnesty International is gravely concerned for the lives of members of the organization Consejo de Ejidatarios y Comuneros Opositores a la Parota, which represents local communities in Cacahuatapec opposed to the construction of the Parota hydroelectric dam in Guerrero state. It is estimated that the Parota dam may result in the flooding of some 14,000 hectares of land, causing the eviction of 25,000 people and impacting the lands of 75,000 farmers living downstream.

Amnesty has documented the violence surrounding the Parota dam project since 2004 including the killing of three people, injuries to several others and death threats to a local activist. The authorities in Guerrero state have reportedly failed to consult local communities fairly and transparently, leading to an atmosphere of increasing tension and violence.

Activists are asking for a consultation process that includes all the people affected, and accurate and impartial information on the impact of the dam and compensation to be awarded to all those affected.

Around the world, corporate and development projects like the Parota dam are having widespread impacts on local and indigenous communities, and a disturbing trend has emerged whereby environmental defenders like the members of Consejo de Ejidatarios y Comuneros Opositores a la Parota are threatened for defending their basic human rights.

Please take action today to demand that Mexican officials ensure that community members in Cacahuatapec have access to complete information regarding the Parota dam project, and take steps to end violence and human rights abuses, including ensuring their right to peaceful public participation.

In solidarity,

Amy O'Meara
Amnesty Corporate Action Network (CAN)
corpaction@aiusa.org
www.amnestyusa.org/business