In the United States, the transition to a clean energy economy is already underway. Climate-concerned citizens are calling on candidates in next year’s federal election to show their plan to power the country with 50% clean energy by 2030.
The time for a job-creating, climate-stabilizing clean energy revolution is NOW.
*
Go to https://nextgenclimate.org/ to learn more.
*
No matter how hard the fossil fools try to stuff the renewable energy genie back into the bottle (click here to read more about Kansas’s latest back-the-past bill), the green energy economy is growing. For example, in March 2013 the number of Australian homes with solar power systems passed the one million mark, according to figures from the Clean Energy Regulator.
*
And the Republican mayor of Lancaster, California has declared that his community will become the solar capital “of the universe”. Global warming, Mayor R Rex Parris says, will eventually persuade others to realize that locally generated renewable energy may provide a safety net as the cost of cooling desert homes goes up. As for the reality of the threat of human-caused climate change, the straightforward mayor says “I may be a Republican. I’m not an idot.”
On this unseasonably cool April Friday, I want to dedicate the following video to all the renewable energy angels/climate heroes in my own circle: Cathy O, Cheryl M, Mark R, Doug G, Donna C, Suzanne & Perry, and last but not least my partner on the journey, Mark P. Thank you for all you do, and for being part of my life.
*
[youtube=http://youtu.be/R7KD_3tKVDw]
*
I can’t resist throwing in this video to end this interesting week for those of us follow politics, and who lived in the 1980s and survived the neo-con trifecta of Thatcher, Reagan, and Mulroney. Enjoy your weekend!
[youtube=http://youtu.be/PHQLQ1Rc_Js]
*
More links:
NY Times: Lancaster, Calif., Mayor Focuses on Solar Power
Kansas’s Self-Destruct Button: A Bill To Outlaw Sustainability
I’m on the road this week doing several climate change presentations to various Catholic organizations and churches, so I have very little time to spend on the computer. Here’s a few of the graphics I came across when I popped onto Facebook this morning – click on them to read more.
I may not have said this recently, but I have a totally awesome bunch of FB friends – it’s so wonderful to share this journey into a sustainable future with them!
*
And a related link: Democracy The Big Loser in Canada’s Parliament
It looks like Australia may have turned the corner on dirty energy: thanks to a price on carbon pollution and technology breakthroughs, coal and fossil fuels are on the outs in Oz (350.org):
*
While the east coast of the U.S. continues to deal with the impacts of Frankenstorm Sandy, and the global food prices rise because of a climate destabilized by our carbon pollution, and the poorest of the poor who have done the least to cause this problem continue to pay the highest price, the world’s political leaders meet in Doha, Qatar this week. The annual round of global climate negotiations that have produced nothing substantive in 18 years. Will this year be more of the same?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B11kASPfYxY]
*
If you are not satisfied with the glacial rate of global climate talks, speak up! Talk to your neighbours, the person sitting next to you in the pew, your family members. Call the politicians elected to represent you on a national level, and let them know you’re unhappy and why. Here’s sample letter from the ClimateFast website that’s written for Canadians, but can be adapted to any country:
I am writing to you as my Member of Parliament.
I want you to know that I am very concerned about the impact global warming will have upon our children’s future and the world they live in.
I want to know that you will take action for three needed changes:
These changes will give me greater confidence in our shared future.
Can you assure me that you will work for these changes in the upcoming Parliamentary session?
Sincerely
(your name and address here)
To access la version française, go to the ClimateFast website.
Addressing the climate crisis is our generation’s “Great Work”. Let’s get to it!
A great article by Mike “Make It Right” Holmes, host of the television series Holmes on Homes & Holmes Inspection, on The David Suzuki Foundation’s blog today:
Over the past few weeks, Ontario politicians have engaged in heated debate about the province’s much lauded and much criticized Green Energy Act. Some say it is the backbone of the province’s promising green technology sector; others want to put a stake through its heart. Regardless of your political stripes, everyone agrees; the stakes are high.
So what is really happening in Ontario? Simply put, a lot...The Province of Ontario is two years along a brave new path that is expected to bring future prosperity and cleaner energy to Ontario communities. It has done this by encouraging the private sector to invest in local power projects and companies that make the thousands of components that are required to make windmills whir and solar panels purr. At the same time, the province has begun promoting energy conservation and making huge investments in our energy infrastructure — measures that will reduce energy consumption and save taxpayers money in the long run.
To read the full article, go to Get The Goods On Growing Green Energy In Ontario.
