Stop Global Warming
This group will address the reality of global warming. We will present facts, discuss alternative fuel options, talk about ways that individuals can slow global warming, and update members on events/rallys/protests/talks, and of course...whats going on in Congress.
Global Warming roundup
Living in California, I'm always seeing bumper stickers that say, "Keep Tahoe Blue" and well....... looks like they're losing.
RENO, Nev. - A new study predicts water circulation in Lake Tahoe is being dramatically altered by global warming, threatening the lake's delicate ecosystem and famed clear waters.
The University of California, Davis study said one likely consequence is warmer lake temperatures that will mean fewer cold-water native fish and more invasive species — like carp, largemouth bass and bluegill.
"What we expect is that deep mixing of Lake Tahoe's water layers will become less frequent, even nonexistent, depleting the bottom waters of oxygen," said Geoffrey Schladow, director of the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at U.S. Davis.
snip
The changes, the study concluded, could turn Tahoe's famed cobalt-blue waters to a murky green in about a decade.
A decade. Sad. I hope they're wrong, but we'll find out soon enough. I've never really liked going in the water because it's always crowded (herds of tourists...bleh), but the views from the mountains up above are absolutely beautiful.
In other global warming news, another hugeass chunk of ice has fallen off the Antarctic shelf. More below...
Nooooo: Energy bill fails in Senate, Reid to remove tax provisions
As if we didn't see it coming. GOP Senators and President Bush have been threatening to kill the energy bill even before it passed through the House last week, and this morning the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the bill by a vote of 59-40. As usual, Congress isn't trying hard enough. NY Times
Weekend Open Thread
Petition to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling.
Re: Generation Gap -- jakethorn's Offspring post
Okay, so I've been struggling with these things for a long time. The generation gap of the 60's, the generation gap today, activism, etc. My parents used to be major hippies, and whereas I feel my mother has kind of lost touch (yay mercedes! marble bathrooms for all!) my pop is really still in tune with it, and understands my frustration with the current 'way of the world.' I spoke to him at length about the 60's. The few things that hit me (and that I wrote down) went as follows:
Fast Forward: Global Warming, 2035
In 30 years, how will we be approaching the global warming debate?
If I had to guess, I'd say we wouldn't be having a debate, but rather just watching the effects. It looks pretty bleak. I've seen too many reports and predictions about rising sea levels and too many people dragging their feet about making changes to believe otherwise.
Turn Off Your Computer
Turn off your computer. now. all of you. leaving computers on, on "sleep" or "screen saver", or otherwise, all day or all night or all week, is a huge problem. the main offenders? college kids. us. you are wasting energy and LARGELY CONTRIBUTING TO GLOBAL WARMING. so turn off this damn machine when you aren't using it. stop blogging. stop reading. stop compulsively checking your email. get off your away message. give the globe a break. Turn it off.~Delia
Step it Up: Glacier National Park
First I'd like to thank everyone who participated in a Step It Up event. - The bike ride sounded really great!
And now, Another Step it Up Story!
So the rally we held in Glacier Natinal Park went pretty well. Last thurdsay we held a pre-rally meeting and got everyone pumped up to go and we made signs etc. Then we organized for the Missoula, MT Biobus to take people who weren't taking the carpool for free!
Step It Up!
An (inter)national day of action against global climate change. check out:
http://stepitup2007.org/
and my blog post (Step It Up!) for more info!~Delia
Step It Up!
Greetings!Today, April 14th, 2007, is Step It Up! a day of action against global climate change. All around the country and the world major protests are being carried out, accompanied by small, local protests in many smaller cities and towns. if you live near a metropolitan area, i bet you haven't missed the Step It Up! events in your tow. This is awesome! In Manhattan thousands wearing blue T-shirts have lined up where the new shore line will be if we dont' stop global warming. In DC they have a huge rally and a screening of all the Step It Up!
Advertising...
So I've got bronchitis, and this afternoon I went to Health Services to get checked out again. In the waiting room I decided to catch up on my music news and grabbed a Rolling Stone. I opened the magazine to find *drumroll* a two page D&G ad that definitely resembled sexual violence (one man naked and strapped to a chair with three other shirtless men standing around him...). I know I've seen a D&G ad where they're whipping tic-tac-toe games into each other's backs, too. I was pretty appalled.
I kept flipping through the magazine until: Diesel ad. Man lying with head in woman's lap. Both scantily clad. She's pouring water into his mouth. Tagline? Global Warming Ready.
Victory!
Good News for The University of Montana. It seems so often that it is impossible to actually get authorities to listen and act.
Using the Higher Power
So there seems to be a good inertia right now in LtL to actually stop talking and start some shit. Cool. I'm sure many people knwo this, but I wanted to remind everyone that we, the youth, are not in this alone. There are plenty of faculty member/department chairs an community leaders that are willing to work with you if you just open a channel for communication. Although it's great to have a 100% youth movement, sometimes having a respected member of the community will get more people to listen.
Absent Minded Killers
I'm a member of a student activist group at the University of Montana called GRWL (Grizzlies[our school mascot] Responding To Warming Locally). It's the worst acronym I've ever seen but it's for a good purpose. Anyway, we have a group email in which we have subscriptions to many different groups that email us constantly about issues with global warming. Over time, we are building a sort of library or article database for people who wish to read about current GW issues. Today's yahoo article on warming jogged my memory of an article in the database about how humans are "absent minded killers" and depleting species diversity and causing global warming etc.
Step It Up 2007
The Step It Up 2007 campaign is going full force. Everything is building up to April 14th - the National Day of Climate Action.
anti-global warming petition; you sign, Al will deliver
Simple petition, but a good one to sign since it's on an important issue and going directly to Congress by way of a messenger who carries a lot of weight on this subject.
Excerpt from a message that went out to Gore's email list:
Ethanol and Gas
Howdy folks,
I've been stuck in southern florida for a few days, and will be for a few days more, as it turns out. I've been following the news from down here, and global warming issues have been making the paper every day. The entire front page of Delray Beach's "Sun Sentinel" was devoted to how high gas prices are becoming, and ways to conserve (money was the highlighted motivator, though the environment did get one shout-out in a sentence about not letting your engine idle). Also, apparently Bush has struck a deal with Brazil's president to import Brazilian ethanol in an attempt to increase biofuel consumption, and to aid in a move away from gasonline (yeah, right...). Anyway, here's a link to NPR's coverage of the story:
A small victory, but an important one.
Last night, I succeeded in doing something that I've been trying to do for the past 2 months. It may seem minor to you, but it's a big deal for me.
My home computer can now turn itself off automatically, without me pressing the power button. Furthermore, it can now save the contents of its memory and turn itself off, both on my command and automatically after 45 minutes, so that when I press the power button it will restore itself to the same point it was at when I last used it.
This is a big deal for me because my home computer is roughly 10 years old, and runs Ubuntu Linux.
Trees or People? The Pros and Cons of the Pipeline
Hey all,
I'm sure many of you are aware of the natural gas pipeline that is being built from Venezuela to Argentina, through the Amazon rainforest. Here's an article from National Geographic with the basic info:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070104-gas-pipeline.html
Global Warming as a Human Rights Issue
You know global warming is getting bad when Eskimos need air conditioners.
(AP) Northern Canadians told an international commission Thursday that carbon emissions from the United States have contributed so much to global warming that they should be considered a human rights violation.
One activist said temperatures have climbed so much that Arctic residents need air conditioners.
Man... we are FUCKED, aren't we?