Climate movement has failed to bring about real change. Barack Obama failed just when we needed one single person to stand up most. Chants of ‘3-5-0 Survival’ are still echoing through the crowd. As Obama is escorted to his motorcade, it gives us climate activists a good chance to debrief and think.
What have we done? Have we been distracted, off-message, inattentive to the realities of political negotiations? Has the movement for change been simply unheard in the great halls of Washington? Today’s failure to resolve a negotiation to save the world at Copenhagen should cast serious disturbance into the windy sails of 350.org, TckTckTck, Avaaz, Power Shift, Energy Action, and all the hundreds of people working on this. It’s already causing a firestorm amongst the millions of normal people it will affect. Does climate change mean the end of our economy, resource war, and a future in Poverty? The false resolution of this deal has me questioning the strength of America and what it stands for.
Could things have been differently? Yes.
1. John Kerry as Political Target (along with a few others, post below). Kerry was not adequately pressured to work on Climate in the Senate.
2. Barack Obama push Climate and Economic agenda. There is no reason that Congress cannot work on healthcare for next year. Now, maybe healthcare will pass before recess, another spending bill.
3. Reframing Emissions Reductions: CERS are a profitable mechanism to incentivize clean energy. The first step to mitigation is a clean energy grid, which provides thousands of jobs to the middle class. America’s advantage lies in sustainable technology. (Obama: “We plan to continue to develop clean energy. We think it’s in our interest.”
4. The “Leadership Campaign”: I quit because the LC was not radical enough. The tightly formed “leadership” was not thinking outside the box, and were out of touch with the people reality of who we were supposed to be representing. We were again unable to connect with the community or outreach in our actions.
Hopefully, the retreat coming up will not be run by time agenda. Hopefully, real criticisms will come up. If there’s a restructuring and a leadership change for next semester’s campaign, may it be a coalition of student groups running parallel campaigns. Take a break from the Gantz’ model. Another climate conference doesn’t come quickly. Maybe take a sustainable agriculture campaign..
Can corporate lobbyists be stopped?
A dialogue of 160-character opinions to record the shock:
Text of Obama’s remarks at UN climate conference http://bit.ly/8fqJqA #COP15
Craig Altemose- ♫ just bummed
@350: “Chants of ‘3-5-0 Survival’ are echoing through the crowd” in front of #COP15, We will keep our flames alive. http://j.mp/4ovFAU
Save Copenhagen petition hits 15,000,000 signatures: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_copenhagen/
8:04PM #climate, #fail top twitter trending topics
Tcktcktck: 1000’s of global youth who know the science, & will accept no less. It begins anew 2morrow (via Noble)
…they’ve left the door open to do a (real) deal.
.. [live]
EDIT: I’ve found through the UN something that was drafted, potentially an avenue for Carbon Offsets provisions for LDCs. (Maggie Zhou wouldn’t agree:)
The following paragraph shall be inserted after paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the [Kyoto] Protocol:
1 bis. The Parties included in Annex I shall, individually or jointly, ensure that their aggregate
anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of the greenhouse gases listed in Annex A do
not exceed their assigned amounts, calculated pursuant to their quantified emission limitation
and reduction commitments inscribed in the third column of the table contained in Annex B and
in accordance with the provisions of this Article, with a view to reducing their overall [domestic]
emissions of such gases
Option 1.1: by at least [X][49][15] [per cent ][QELRO] below 1990 levels in the
commitment period 2013 to [2017][2020]
Option 1.2: by 33 per cent below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2013 to 2017 toward
the aim of reducing overall emissions of such gases by at least 45 per cent from
1990 levels by 2020.
Option 1.3: by at least 95 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050 through the reduction of
greenhouse gases from sources and removals by sinks. This shall be achieved
during subsequent periods by the end of 2050.
Option 1.4: by at least [30][[at least] 45]][X] per cent below 1990 levels by 2020
[and by 80 to [more than][at least] 95 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050]
[and by 80 per cent or more by 2050 compared to 1990 or more recent years]
Dangerous information out of context? Read the full text proposal from the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Offsets section of Kyoto (UNFCCC):
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/awg10/eng/l15.pdf
The Climate movement must learn to be more flexible, if we keep our coalitions together, we will win in voluntary markets.
More unofficial MAPS: http://www.mapsblog.wordpress.com/
Hello, all!
Thanks for checking in.
Here are the notes from the Saturday, October 18th emergency meeting in Boston.
Notable decisions include items on:
1. Flashdance Thursday, October 22nd.
2. Sleep-out materials, and messaging.
3. Contingency planning for the campaign ie. WhatIf…?
4. New media and partners engagement plan
5. NEW NAME FOR MASSACHUSETTS POWER SHIFT — to be decided on among some finalists Sunday.
Respond to someone if you have feedback before then! Keep tuned for a new website, before October 24th (say goodbye to this blog.. *sniff*)
-Eddie Miller
facebook.com/eddiemill
twitter.com/eddiemill
eddiemill@gmail.com (WAVE invite me)
This post is part of Blog Action Day, 8414 blogs and counting, all writing about climate change on the same day and together calling the US to take serious action on climate. Sign their petition here.
As a response to climate devastation, thousands of people have taken up in protest. In how they behave, in what they buy, in homes, in lobbying halls of congress, and on the internet. All with a message to spread: We need a new clean energy economy! Designing solutions such as solar and wind, along with reducing how much we do use as a state, can bring us together and provide jobs in a time of crisis.
It is especially important that everyone be involved in Climate activism in Massachusetts right now– Our senator, John Kerry (Follow on twitter, this is going to be essential in our lobbying approach) is long a champion of the environment and pushing new legislation that is sufficiently bold. But not enough to solve the real problems we face! Neither of the bills currently in Washington are strong enough to get us to 350, which is where our corn crop starts to melt and our coral reefs are gone already. We have to act, and fast. Kerry and Barack Obama can hopefully ride this wave of public support and bring home a great treaty for America. There’s broad support in the US, and Massachusetts is the “Saudi Arabia of Wind”. (Clean Power Now Website) Help us transform our energy future!
Get Involved
There are plenty of ways to get involved, right around you.
The easiest is to find a 350.org International Day of Climate Action Event nearby or help plan one with a local group. After that, join MAPS and its partners for a Sleep Out action until action is made at the Statehouse, MA. October to November we will be represented at the doors of the Statehouse or John Kerry’s lawn until better legislation comes up about this!
Sign/Support Blog Action Day! http://www.blogactionday.org/
MAPS Boston U,
-Eddie Miller
Follow me
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Massachusetts Power Shift Site
All around the world, people are stepping up. School children, college students, actors and actresses. Corporations, foundations, philanthropists, specialists… governments are convening this December in Copenhagen to discuss our future.
The hope is to stop rising melting ice and rising sea levels, that could soon take entire communities, beaches and shores. The main immediate threats are rising food and energy prices, availability of water, and increasing human migration due to changing temperature/seasonal conditions. A new Army report shows that the consequences could be grim, the scope and scale of which could condemn “billions” of people to poverty and result in the collapse of “much of civilization” by 2100 (!). When military people start talking like that perhaps we should listen.
The struggle for global environmental sustainability is inherently tied to all other struggles. Peace, social justice, security, equality all have a say in the outcome. It is a fight, most fundamentally, for the real solutions we know we need. It is a generational fight, on the hope that we can be that generation that uses our democracy to changes proactively and preempt a crisis. The costs of action are not that high, and the means mainly political.
Massachusetts Power Shift (or MAPS) has a plan this fall, and we’re looking for you to lend time to the cause. 100% Clean Electricity by 2020! 350 Parts Per Million in international climate law! We have exciting times ahead and no time to lose.
We are looking for club and group leaders, researchers, policy people, organizers, families of all race and ages. Won’t you join us the 19th for a meeting and training introduction? Sept. 19th at Northeastern University! Location: Google Map.
Q: What’s the plan??
A: See latest Leadership Campaign PlatformFall_’09_Platform, attached!
Send a policy support or inquiry to our policy team: tmooring@mit.edu!
Q: How do I get involved?
A: Please come to our intro training Sept. 19th at Northeastern University! They will be held in room 346 Curry Student Center at Northeastern University.
Directions:
1. Take the Green “E” line to the Northeastern T stop.
2. Walk back towards the Inbound Northeastern T stop, away from Forsyth St, towards Opera St.
3. Cross Huntington Ave towards the quad and academic buildings (there’s a big sign that says
Northeastern University outside the quad and a pillar on the right with a map of the campus that says Krentzmen Quad on it).
4. Walk through the quad and continue on the path between Richards Hall and Ell Hall.
5.Go down the stairs (outside).
6. The next building entrance you meet with sliding double doors on your left will be the Curry Student Center (there is a red awning that says Curry Student Center).
7. Enter the sliding doors and take a right. Walk straight until you reach the elevator on your left.
8. The room is located on the 3rd floor at 346.
Number as contact people for day of in case people get lost. Mine is 5163027861, Dan’s is 5185279168.
Questions please contact coordinator@masspowershift.org.
Or visit our website- http://masspowershift.org/
Congratulations to everyone who has been working on the anti-MTR Bank campaign! Here’s just released from BoA Headquarters:
As Bank of America expands our support and commitment to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other low-carbon energy sources through our lending, investments, products and services, and operations, we recognize that at the present time, fossil fuels, and coal in particular, will continue to supply a significant amount of the energy needed to power our society.
There are environmental and other impacts associated with any energy source. For coal, these impacts result from extraction, processing and combustion. Bank of America continues to engage key stakeholders including coal producers, utility companies, leading universities, and the environmental community on energy, coal, the environment, and the necessary technologies to promote low-carbon energy. From these discussions, we have developed a policy that will ensure that Bank of America plays a significant role as a leading financial services company in promoting the responsible use of coal. Our policy is focused on the following elements:
Technology
Advanced technologies such as carbon capture and storage that capture carbon from fossil fuel plants and then sequester that carbon in geologic reservoirs will be necessary for addressing global climate change while enabling economies to flourish. Through our partnerships we will promote the necessary conditions for implementing carbon capture and storage on a global scale. We will employ our resources as a financial institution to promote the development and deployment of these advanced technologies to reduce the carbon emissions produced by the burning of fossil fuels.
Financial Services Policy
We will support, adopt, and adhere to leading practices for managing the environmental impacts associated with coal. Bank of America has taken a leadership position by committing to the Carbon Principles and reducing emissions associated with our utility portfolio as best practices for managing risks associated with coal.
Extraction
Bank of America is particularly concerned about surface mining conducted through mountain top removal in locations such as central Appalachia. We therefore will phase out financing of companies whose predominant method of extracting coal is through mountain top removal. While we acknowledge that surface mining is economically efficient and creates jobs, it can be conducted in a way that minimizes environmental impacts in certain geographies.
Welcome to the MAPS blog! This is the first post, of many to come. We’re looking forward to your ideas and activism.
It’s easy to become an author. Just post a comment with your request and I can promote you.
-Eddie
