lightblueline

This speech marks the beginning of a new era in US federal support in stopping climate change.

The Worldwatch Institute posted an essay from James Hansen on the 20th anniversary of his first testimony to congress. It's worth a read (excerpts below):

James Hansen, June 23, 2008

Tipping Points Near

Today, I will testify to Congress about global warming, 20 years after my June 23, 1988 testimony, which alerted the public that global warming was under way. There are striking similarities between then and now, but one big difference.

Flooded Cities Art Exhibit: East West Gallery, Santa Barbara
August 7, 2008 to September 4, 2008

Teachers: Please take a look at the attached flyer (PDF file)!

The Rock Ethics Institute at Penn. State University is hosting the website for the Program on the Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change, with discussions on the ethics of climate change science and policy:

ClimateEthics.org

Source: International Herald Tribune: November 17, 2007. Elisabeth Rosenthal reporting:

In advance of the Bali Climate Meeting, the Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki Moon, called on the US to take a lead in stopping greenhouse gas emissions:

Ban calls climate change 'defining challenge of our age'

You can read an excerpt from the article here too:

NYT June 16, 2007
photo by:Kitra Cahana

The San Francisco Chronicle (May 24, 2007) notes that the Berkeley City Council has passed a measure aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050:

"While San Francisco, Oakland and other local governments in the Bay Area have approved policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Berkeley is the first to begin spelling out how people would be expected to reduce their carbon footprints.

Last night we heard writer/activist (the slash is rather new, he would admit) Bill McKibben offer a vision of what a civilization-wide response to the challenge of global heating might look like. This is the fourth, and last, talk in the series organized by liner (and UCSB professor) David Lea. Much of what McKibben offered could be described as an antidote to the economics of growth. We need an economics based on an understanding of what makes humans happy. He noted that a survey of happiness in the US had this commodity peaking in 1956.

Wondering about your carbon footprint? Want to know how you can reduce this? Here's a calculator to get you started.
To use this calculator you will need to get your electricity bill and natural gas bill and figure out yearly use of these. But it's a great place to get a handle on your household impact on the climate:

Carbon Calculator