Live Earth 7/07/07

The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis

Who would have thought that Al Gore would move from Vice President to Movie Star to Concert Promoter and finally to mesiah of the Blue Planets message? Quite an achievement when you consider that an estimated 2 billion people are expected to participate in the event in some form. Millions of new people will become aware of the issues at hand and take a first step in leading change and in improving our world.

Lofty goals, incredible potential.
Today is a day to be optimistic!

Green really is the new Red, White and Blue

Has Tom Friedman gotten his due? Although he may not have coined the phrase, he definitely has helped to promote Green as the new Red, White and Blue. If you have not yet read his treatise, The Power of Green, please do so and then pass it on to a friend.

July 4, 2007. Would the Founding Father's be proud of our achievements, accomplishments, and the state of our nation? I think so. Would they also be proud of our efforts to manage the issue of global warming? On this topic I am not as confident an affirmative response would be had.

So what can we do? Baby steps. Walk before we run as individuals. Change light bulbs, car pool, reduce the use of toxic products, recycle and teach these lessons to your friends, enemies, children and neighbors. Is it enough? No, it's not.

As individuals on July 4, we must engage in the political process. Exercise the rights guaranteed us under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Participatory Democracy. Debate, create, and establish a more perfect Union. Vote. Tell our leaders that it is important to the populous that we protect the earth. Speak out. VOTE.

Engage in the process. Make the memory and the lessons of the Founding Father's relevant today and everyday. Be proud to be Green. Be proud of the Red, White and Blue.

Green Ambassadors and the Sundance Channel

Green Ambassadors: Youth Empowering Youth

Imagine a world where we actually recognize that the children really are our future. Imagine a world where national boundaries are less significant than international environmental cooperation. Imagine a world where children solve the problems of climate change and global warming. Imagine.

The stated mission of the Green Ambassadors program is to empower youth to be agents of change in their community and the world at large. Through environmental education, Sara Laimon, a founder of GA, strives to empower youth with the skills of leadership and cross-cultural awareness to affect the world around them. One student, one adult, one business, one high school at a time.

This Tuesday June 12 at 9PM PST/EST on the Sundance Channels program 'The Green', the Green Ambassadors will be profiled in what I hope will provide the launch pad for international expansion and a successful fundraising effort.


Technorati Tags: Green Ambassador, Sundance Channel

Is the G8 great? Politics as usual, or policy shift?

The most important result of the G8 summit with regard to climate change is the United States agreement to participate in discussions that may very well define the post-Kyoto protocol. The current framework will expire in 2012 and early vigorous negotiations are the best shot we have at a lasting plan to address the problem of global warming.

The U.S. remains the only G8 member that has not ratified the Kyoto treaty. The U.S. has long resisted participation in talks partly based on the absence of China and India. The argument of lasting damage to the American economy looks increasingly flimsy. A short term drag on U.S. growth and productivity will almost certainly be overwhelmed by long-term job growth resulting from technological innovation aimed at solving the crisis of global warming.


Technorati Tags: G8, Kyoto, global warming

President Bush Does the Right Thing?

In preparation for the upcoming Group of Eight summit, today President Bush called for 15 countries that are major producers of greenhouse gases to meet this fall to adopt greenhouse gas reduction targets. (See related story.)

For some reason the words of Neil Armstrong come to mind, "that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Because the stakes are so high, I am willing to give the President the benefit of the doubt one last time. Mr. President please do the right thing, offer America's leadership on this issue.

We are late to party but, the party's not over. I choose to be the optimist. I choose to believe that people can change. I choose to believe that the United States can shift policy and offer our mighty resources to solve the problem of global warming.

The truth is that I believe with or without political will, the power of our economic institutions will prevail. The power of the free market has been put into motion and the quest for profit via new clean technologies will ultimately solve this horrendous problem. Yet, it would be a lot easier with the help of our political leaders.

When Yellow Cabs turn Green

Once again the convergence of capitalism and environmentalism has pushed us one step closer to positive change. Yesterday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the bold step of ordering the cities taxi fleet become hybrid based withing five years.
How is it that a man listed on the Forbes 400 of richest Americans and a member of the world's billionaire's club is proving to be an active and progressive 'environmentalist'? Perhaps it is because conservation is now, and has always had, the inherent potential to be good business.
What is it about human nature that leads us to wait until the last possible moment to do the right thing? Why is it Manhattan waits until we have a 'global warming crisis' to act, and California needed summer 'smog days' that kept children indoors to solve
the acid rain problem? True, that technology must be evolve to provide the tools for solving these problems, but once the building blocks have been created we must move rapidly to solve these massive structural problems.
Again I argue, Tom Friedman of the New York Times is correct, "green is the new red, white and blue". Again, I urge that everyone read his treatise, The Power of Green. The time has come for us each to wave the flag and pledge to protect the WORLD's limited atmospheric real estate.

Rising Tides: A Problem and A Solution

Yesterday I spoke with a friend, an intelligent, well educated individual who makes his living thinking outside the box. He spends his days examining investment opportunities, the best of which tend to be involve companies that find innovative ways to solve problems large and small. We breached the topic of 'global warming' and I was mildly surprised by his comments that the problem is too big, too complex and we may just be 'too late'. Hard to blame him, just look at yesterdays NY Times article, 'Arctic Ice Melting Faster'. Apparently the most recent study draws conclusions even more dire than the acclaimed IPCC study of February 2007.

I find it unacceptable to just give up or to assume that since the problem is large and complex, that we should continue with business as usual given the complexity of the task at hand. To throw in the towel is immoral; we have the ability to affect 'some' change and since we can't predict the future with regard to innovation, invention and the unknown, we must try.

Along this line of thought I refer the reader to a recent paper published and available for download from the World Resources Institute. The paper entitled 'Scaling Up: Global Technology Deployment to Stabilize Emissions ', provides a clear framework from which to analyze various significant options to reduce global carbon emissions. The authors introduce the concept of 'the wedges', as a means of graphically viewing the choices we face.

To my friend who led me to think through the feelings of dismay that are generated by the issue of global warming, I thank you. Thank you for reminding me that what is needed now is strong, intelligent leadership offered by politicians, regulators, and market participants alike. Let us tame the sleeping tiger, by waking the giant contained in free-market capitalism.