Recycle… Reuse… Restore… Sustainability… Renewable resources… Carbon footprint… Climate change… Change life.

There are a lot of things that the current generation is having to suddenly grow conscious of. Most of us are having to change our only known way of living!

I hear a lot of people tell me that they don’t feel they make much of a contribution to this change. “What does it matter if I recycle my trash? No one else does! I don’t really have that much trash anyway!”

It’s sad that people think that way! Because that’s just not true! We have the power to influence! As individuals we have that power!

Our small efforts to help the environment do not go unnoticed. In fact, what we do encourages others. If I decide to throw my trash on the ground, then some who watched me will do the same.

But what if  I threw my trash in a trash can? What if I threw my Coca-Cola can in aluminum recycling?

What if I did this on a daily basis? What sort of message would I be caring, then?

Instead, what if someone decides to row across the ocean, carrying the message that now is the time for change?
How far do you think that message would go?

In 2005, a woman named Roz Savage decides to row across the Atlantic; 3000 miles in 103 days from the Canary Islands to Antigua… rowing solo!
In 2008, again rowing solo, Roz rows in the 1st stage of 3 in the Pacifc. She is the first woman to row solo from California to Hawaii. 
In 2009, her 2nd stage in the Pacific, and in
2010 she will complete her self-organized trip across the Pacific. From San Francisco, CA to Australia. And she will be the 1st woman to do that, as well!

That’s some pretty amazing stuff! But why’d she do it? You can read her explanation here for a full description but mainly, she had the desire to change her ordinary life to something more fulfilling. More valuable…

Since her the Pacific, she has become an integral part of the eco-community:

• She is an ambassador for the BLUE Project
  
• She is a trained campaigner for Al Gore’s Climate Project
• A hero of the United Nations Climate Program
• An Athlete Ambassoador for the 350.org project
• And she is supported by Dot Eco, the Blue Planet Foundation, and the Blue Frontier Campaign.
• She also advocates a ‘Pull Together‘ which asks people to start walking and biking more and driving less.

That is a lot for one woman!!! Her work, alone, shows just how much one person can do. But it also tells me that whatever one person does, is a lot!

So, in the spring of 2010 she is planning the 3rd stage. As she has done each race, she will be updating her journey constantly on her website. I will be there, showing support, and I want to invite you to do the same. Show your green and blue support!!

I will keep you in the loop as I hear more information!!

In the meantime, visit her blog and you can watch as she works to make change!!

As you can tell, I’ve become quite intrigued by this woman, so I made another post about her on my other blog. You can view it here at www.rushmonkeys.com. Oh, and visit her site, of course!!!

(pictures and video courtesy of www.rozsavage.com)

-t

In keeping with the recent posts on the International Day of Climate Action, I thought it was important to talk about what attention this issue is receiving in the media apart from the actions of the activists.  On October 6, 2009, and article was posted in the Washington Post called New Report Details Costs of Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions which discusses a report put out by a group called Economics for Equity and the Environment (E3).

This group of scientists is saying that the world’s carbon emissions are currently at 387 parts per million and that we need to go back down to 350 in order to avoid global disaster (i.e. – floods, droughts…oh wait, aren’t we already experiencing those at record levels?!).  I’m certainly no climatologist, but I’m in agreement that change needs to happen, and that it needs to happen sooner than later.  Here are some highlights selected by yours truly from the report:

“This report demonstrates that the ‘go slow’ recommendations are unjustified. A number of economic analyses, informed by recent scientific findings and using reasonable assumptions, suggest that more ambitious targets and quicker action make good economic sense.”

“In an important recent paper, Hansen and numerous co-authors reach two key conclusions: first, the global average temperature may be much more sensitive to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than is commonly believed; second, to avoid dangerous climate change, we may need to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere from today’s 385 ppm to 350 ppm CO2 by 2100, if not sooner.”

“Hansen and his co-authors describe a detailed scenario for reducing greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of
reaching 350 ppm CO2 by 2100:
• Coal burning is phased out or achieves 100 percent carbon capture by 2030.
• Oil and gas prices rise steadily as these finite resources approach exhaustion.
• A combination of ending deforestation and initiating large-scale reforestation causes significant
negative emissions (that is, a withdrawal of CO2 from the atmosphere).”

“The most important conclusion involves what we did not find. There are no reasonable studies that say that a 350 ppm stabilization target will destroy the economy; there are no studies that claim that it is desirable to wait before taking action on climate protection. On the contrary, there is strong, widespread endorsement for policies
to promote energy conservation, development of new energy technologies, and price incentives and other economic measures that will redirect the world economy onto a low-carbon path to sustainability.”

If you’d like to read the full text of the report, visit Economics for Equity and the Environment

One disturbing thing was this statement put out by Robert J. Shapiro, chairman of the U.S. Climate Task Force(I took this from the Washington Post article, by the way-see link above):

“The only prospect of reaching 350 is if we came to develop a technology that would pull greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere — that is, pull the concentrations out of the atmosphere,” Shapiro said. “That is probably impossible without a technology that we can only conceive of today.”

Such negativity!  You know if we were under direct threat from a foreign country with better technology we wouldn’t sit around whining about how we can’t conceive of the technology to beat them.   We’d get off our butts and figure it out!  It’s just a matter of throwing the money at the right people.  And besides, what he said isn’t exactly true.  There are several technologies in the works to pull greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere – technologies beyond the mere realm of comprehension: read about biochar, carbon-negative cement, and oh, let’s see….we could plant some trees!  I know these answers aren’t definitive, but let’s not pretend like this is a hopeless case!

Yesterday I wrote a post regarding the efforts of 350.org, a group dedicated to promoting awareness of the climate change that is occurring globally as a result of carbon emissions exceeding 350 parts per million.

The International Day of Climate Action is intended as a grassroots movement to bring awareness to this issue because there is a big conference in Copenhagen in December.  The has been talk that the participants will consider setting the accepted limit at 450 parts per million rather than trying to contain the damage that has already been done.

Austin is part of this movement – how could it not be? – and the local group, austin350.org, is planning their event for October 24.  According to their website, the austin350 members will be participating in an “unconference” on sustainability.  Location is yet to be announced.  The week before the International Day of Climate Action, they are asking for people to participate in some form of alternative transportation at least once.

So take a moment and see what you can do to be involved!

And just because I like the videos…

“If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm, but likely less than that.” ~ James Hansen

I came across this in my internet perusing and I don’t think I can really summarize it in a way that does it justice, so instead I am going to post the opening letter directly from 350.org and encourage you to visit their website.

Dear World—This is an invitation to build a movement—to take one day and use it to stop the climate crisis.

We are a group of people from around the planet—young and old, scientists and writers and activists—who have one thing in common. We know the most important number on earth: 350. And we know how to use that number to finally get global action on the worst crisis humans have ever faced. But we can only do it if you help.

A year ago, our greatest climatologist—NASA’s James Hansen—and his team produced a landmark series of studies. They showed that if we let the amount of carbon in the atmosphere top 350 parts per million, we can’t have a planet “similar to the one on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted.”

The bad news is we’re already past that number—we’re at 390 parts per million, which is why the Arctic is melting, why drought is spreading across the planet, why people are already dying from diseases like dengue fever and malaria occurring in places where they’ve never been seen before.

The good news: that number gives us a target to aim for. When the world’s leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to reach agreement on a new climate treaty, we need them to go farther than they’ve planned to go: we need to make sure they’ll pay attention to the latest science and put forward a plan that gets us back to safety.

So here’s the plan. On October 24, we need you to organize an action in the place where you live, something that will make that most important number visible to everyone. People in more than 1000 communities around the globe have already announced plans—they’ll be school children planting 350 trees in Bangledesh, scientists hanging banners saying 350 on the statues on Easter Island, 350 scuba divers diving underwater at the Great Barrier Reef, and a thousand more creative actions like these. At each event, people will gather for a big group photo that somehow depicts 350–and upload that photo to the web 350.org. As actions take place around the world, we’ll link all the pictures together electronically via the web–by the end of the day, we’ll have a powerful visual petition linking together the entire planet that we can deliver to the media and world leaders.

So far more than 100 nations are taking part—it’s shaping up to be to be the biggest day of grassroots action on global warming ever. But we need it to be much larger—we need you, in your village or town or city, to take part. It’s not hard—we can help you with materials and ideas. But you need to take the first step, by registering an action and starting to let your friends and neighbors know about it.

Involve groups that you’re in—everything from your church, mosque or synagogue to your local bicycle group. People want to help, especially if they see the chance for something that might actually matter. This is even more important than changing your lightbulb—this is your chance to help change the way the whole world operates. October 24 comes six weeks before those crucial UN meetings in Copenhagen. It’s a great chance to take a stand—maybe the last great chance, given what the scientists tell us about the momentum of global warming.

But it can only happen with the help of a global movement—and it’s starting to bubble up everywhere. Farmers in Cameroon, students in China, even World Cup skiers have already helped spread the word about 350. Churches have rung their bells 350 times; Buddhist monks have formed a huge 350 with their bodies against the backdrop of Himalayas. 350 translates across every boundary of language and culture. It’s clear and direct, cutting through the static and laying down a firm scientific line.

This is like a final exam for human beings. Can we muster the courage, the commitment, and the creativity to set this earth on a steady course before it’s too late? October 24 will be the joyful, powerful day when we prove it’s possible.

Please join us and register your local action today.

Onwards,
Bill McKibben – Author and Activist- USA Vandana Shiva – Physicist, Activist, Author – India David Suzuki – Scientist, Author, Activist – Canada Bianca Jagger – Chair of the World Future Council – UK Tim Flannery – Scientist, Author, Explorer -Australia Bittu Sahgal – Editor of Sanctuary magazine – India Andrew Simmons – Environmental Advocate, St. Vincent & The Grenadines Christine Loh – Environmental Advocate and Legislator – Hong Kong

P.S.—We need you to do something else, right away, that’s pretty easy. Please forward this message to anyone you know who is even remotely appropriate.

This website has everything from factsheets to stencils and art projects.  They are asking for people to take a picture of whatever they decide to do and share it with the global community.  Eco-Monkeys will be sure to take part in this event and take our picture.  I’m not quite sure what we will do yet – it may be something as simple as riding our bikes or taking a hike and spending the day appreciating nature and contemplating our role in protecting the environment.

Here is a 350 slideshow:

Even if you are not an activist with an army of followers, please take some time to think about the peril our planet is in and what you can do to make your world a better place.