April 13th, 2010
From Danna Moore, our Stakeholder Campaigns Director:
It’s safe to say that the severity of the climate change problem is often overwhelming … and, to be honest, downright depressing.
The solution is not only economic, but social, political, historical and global in scope; a multi-layered quandary that includes a vast amount of stakeholders, all with their own special interests, pulling and pushing to be heard. And while we struggle to forge solutions, the environment – and species that rely on its health for their survival – are facing serious ramifications.
Scientists predict a continuation of our status quo emission rates will cause more than a third of the Earth’s animal and plant species to face extinction by 2050 — and up to 70 percent by the end of the century – thanks to climate change.
Depressed yet? Plant your peepers on this: Human rights groups including Oxfam and Environmental Justice Foundation report that 10% of the global population is at risk of forced displacement due to climate change, that’s almost 150 million climate refugees by 2050.
(more…)
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Tags: california, climate change, climate policy, climate refugees, coal, species extinction, u.s. policy
Posted in Climate, U.S. policy | No comments so far »
March 3rd, 2010
From Bill Shireman, Future 500 President:
The bipartisan summit on health care has already been dubbed a failure by party spinsters on both sides. But Americans are hungry for the integrative approach it symbolizes.
So am I. I resolve conflicts between political adversaries for a living. And I spend much of my blogging time attempting to crash conversations among true-believers on the right and left – the ones that demonize their favorite enemies as the source of all wrongdoing.
Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, or Tea-totaler, it’s time for you to stop hanging out with mirrors, and crash those other parties too. To solve today’s challenges, we need strange political bedfellows, partisans willing to jump into the sack with one another, and bring their ideological codes together. That’s the only way to conceive smart and integrative solutions to the challenges we face.
(more…)
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Tags: bipartisan summit, conservative, democrat, engagement, health care, liberal, republican, tea party, u.s. policy
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January 18th, 2010
From Danna Moore, our Stakeholder Campaigns Director:
Americans are less supportive of climate change action than people in other countries. This disconnect makes it unlikely the U.S. will pass meaningful policy before the next international meeting and American politicians need to assume more of a leadership role.
It is clear that worldwide support for serious action on climate change remains robust even during a global recession. A recent Globescan Survey polled over 24,000 individuals in 23 countries and found that 64% of people think climate change is a “very serious” problem, up from 44% of those polled in 1998.
Sadly, Americans ranked below the average with 45%, a decrease from 50% in 2007. This has left the scientific and environmental community confused on the next steps towards addressing climate change in the United States. Scientists find they must, once again, expend time and resources to fight climate change skepticism rather than focus on the political solutions that are desperately needed.
(more…)
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Tags: Carbon, Climate, international polciy, politics, politics as usual, public opinion, u.s. policy
Posted in Carbon, Climate, Energy, International Policy, U.S. policy | 1 Comment »
