Naomi Klein was out in the shattered neighbourhood of Rockaway Park Queens last weekend, participating in the Occupy relief efforts there. In this interview she underscores the importance of both increasing local resilience as a response to our changing climate and addressing the fossil fuel industry’s business model directly. As 350.org’s Do The Math campaign makes clear, the fossil fuel industry’s business plan will destroy the planet. Bill McKibben reminded the “Do The Math”audience in Seattle this month that the global warming math is quite simple: we can burn 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide and stay below 2 degrees of warming. Anything more than that risks catastrophe for life on earth. The only problem? Fossil fuel corporations now have 2,795 gigatons in their reserves, 5Xs the safe amount. And they are planning to burn it all, unless we rise up & stop them.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Et3shqUBnsg]
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Also on the ground in Rockaway, “Power Rockaways Resilience is working to rebuild homes with power that will be prepared for future natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy. “Not only will these homes be safer against these disasters, but they can be more sustainable and greener.” Read more.
IEA Acknowledges Fossil Fuel Reserves Climate Crunch
Democracy Now just had on the maker of the film ‘Chasing Ice’ with its visual record of melting glacial ice, a frightening depiction I’d hope would raise awareness. But who knows…
I agree – Climate Reality just showed a clip of the same documentary. Climate change is hitting the arctic the most. Wake up, people!
On my walk to work, I pass by huge gasoline storage tanks owned by Irving Oil. And I keep thinking about a slogan that could be written on those tanks, or on signs around the lot. I came up with “Climate change is the battle. Irving is the enemy.”