The World Hunger Crisis

Did you hear about the hunger crisis? The world hunger crisis is all over the news this week. In just three years, the price of staple foods like wheat, corn and rice has almost doubled. If we don't do something soon, hundreds of thousands of people face starvation and a hundred million more could fall into extreme poverty. I just took action with the ONE Campaign and you can too, here: http://www.one.org/hungercrisis?rc=hctaf

Learn more about the world hunger crisis. Join the conversation on the ONE Blog.

Talking the same language: U.N. Climate change debate defines jargon

from Reuters

To understand the climate change debate, it helps to understand the jargon, a mixture of "diplomatese," pundit-speak and techno-talk.

Here are some terms likely to be heard this week at a trio of U.S. meetings on global warming.

Kyoto - Short for Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, which sets binding targets for emission of greenhouse gases that spur global warming. Under this agreement, developed countries are to cut their emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below what they were in 1990. The United States rejects this agreement, arguing that it unfairly exempts developing countries like China and India. The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

Framework - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a 1992 agreement that the United States and 191 other countries have signed. Like Kyoto, it seeks to keep greenhouse gases from hitting a level that would interfere with climate, but has no legally binding requirements.

Greenhouse gases - Chemicals that trap the sun's heat near the Earth like a blanket. These substances include carbon dioxide, which is emitted by humans and all other creatures that breathe air. They are also emitted by coal-fired power plants and petroleum-fueled vehicles. They are not the most intense greenhouse gas -- methane is 10 times more powerful in contributing to global warming -- but carbon dioxide from fossil fuel consumption produces 82 percent of the world's human-generated greenhouse gases.

Cap and trade - Policy tool that sets limits on harmful emissions, giving allowances to affected industries and countries within these limits, or caps. Those with emissions above the cap can trade with those with emissions below it. Also known as emissions trading.

Carbon footprint - A measure of the impact of human activities on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases they produce, measured in units of carbon dioxide.

Carbon offsets - Paying to make up for carbon emissions. One example is planting trees or contributing to a wind farm to make up for the carbon dioxide emitted during air or car travel. 

U.N. climate panel - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the U.N. Environment Program, which has produced a series of reports on climate change. Their fourth assessment, released this year, said it is 90 percent probable global warming is occurring and humans contribute to it.

Bali - Indonesian city where scientists and policy makers are scheduled to gather in December to discuss how to cut climate-warming emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. The aim is to come up with a plan by 2009 so all parties have time to ratify it.

Major Economies - The world's biggest emitters of carbon dioxide. They are: the United States, China, the 25 countries of the European Union, Russia, India, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia and South Africa.

 

Maybe if we can not trip over terminology, we can get to the root issues and closer to solutions.

Wins for the environment

I've heard news about two important courtroom battles.

First, a federal court has temporarily blocked the Shell oil company from drilling exploratory wells this summer off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Just last month people were rushing to court to stop the drilling before it could start -- and prevent any chance of an oil spill blanketing the shore of the Arctic Refuge and turning it into a long-term toxic waste site.

By putting Shell's operation on hold until the full case can be heard, the court has granted an eleventh-hour reprieve to polar bears and other wildlife, and shown its concern about the impacts of drilling. The full hearing next week is in federal court.

Now the second -- and equally dramatic -- victory: with the U.S. Navy about to train with dangerous, mid-frequency sonar during nearly a dozen upcoming exercises off the southern California coast, a federal judge has stepped in and blocked the use of the sonar!

The Navy needs to put common-sense measures in place to protect whales and other marine mammals from a lethal technology that has caused whale strandings and deaths around the world.

The court's injunction is "preliminary," which means that this fight is far from over. Nevertheless, it is a stunning setback for the Navy, and it supports our contention that whales should not have to die for military practice.

These twin victories are very important steps forward in our campaign to thwart the Bush administration's ongoing assault on America's wildlife and wild places.

I want to thank you, on my own behalf and on behalf of all the attorneys and staffers who are working so tirelessly on these cases.

What a great day for the environment!

Guerrilla Gardeners

Leave it to the Brits to come up with this one. Vandals armed with shrubs and flowers are waging war on public spaces. I’m sure as gardeners and nature lovers we have all walked by a barren patch of land along a sidewalk or park and thought, “That would look so much better if something was planted there.” Well one man got tired of calling the city and complaining about it, and decided to do something. He enlisted the help of several people, and they started attacking the ugly parts of town. They usually do all the planting at night, since technically what they are doing is illegal. However, no one ever complains! This new crime wave has since spread out from London to other parts of Europe. Be sure to check out the Guerrilla Gardening homepage and this video about how it all gets done!

World-Wide Opportunities for Organic Farming (WWOOF)

If you’re interested in an intensive, hands-on organic gardening learning experience, check out World-Wide Opportunities for Organic Farming (WWOOF) at http://www.wwoof.org. You can live on an organic farm anywhere in the world, and learn organic techniques firsthand.

Grow and Learn at the same time.

Mountain Climbers Should Know Better

Ken Noguchi is a mountaineer who is slowly cleaning up Mount Everest. [Way To Go, Ken!] During his five trips up the mountain, he has recovered an estimated 9,000 pounds (4100 kg) of rubbish. He recently completed another trip, where he brought a further 500 pounds (227 kg) down. Some estimates place the amount of rubbish on Everest at 50 tonnes.
At this rate, it will take a while.

You'd think that mountain climbers, nature folk by definition, would have better sense than to leave all that trash in their wake.
What happened to ... Take only pictures, Leave only tracks ??

source: The Guardian