Take Action on GLOBAL WARMING

[BellisimaJ.]

From: Al Gore
Reply-To:
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:43 -0400
To:
Subject: 294,374 and counting



 


On March 21st, I will testify before Congress on the immediate action
that needs to be taken to end the climate crisis. Help me fill the
committee room with 350,000 messages.

Can you commit to finding 10 friends to send a message to Congress
demanding they take action?

Ask them to visit:

http://algore.com/cards.html

Dear xxxxxx,

On March 21st, I will testify before Congress on the immediate action
that needs to be taken to end the climate crisis. At the hearing, I
will deliver the 294,374 messages you signed, demonstrating that
hundreds of thousands of people share my sense of urgency.

If an additional 55,626 people sign our message, it will be as though
350,000 of us are there at the hearing expressing our determination to
convince Congress to act. Having served in the House and Senate, I can
tell you that members of these committees would find this to be a
meaningful and impressive show of support.

There are only 5 days left before the hearings begin, so please do
not pass up this opportunity to join in showing the broad public
support we need in order to solve the climate crisis. I know you have
friends or family who care deeply about this issue but have yet to
sign our message to Congress.

Ask them to help fill that committee room with 350,000 messages by visiting:

http://www.algore.com/cards.html

The reason Congress has so far failed to act is not because there are
no solutions to the problem.  Nor is it because the majority doesn't
believe that the climate crisis is real. They have failed to act,
because they have not yet faced a sufficient expression of political
will on the part of the American people demanding they confront our
climate crisis head on. You and I know that political will is a
renewable resource, and enough already exists to start solving this
crisis. We just have to communicate that forcefully to the political
leaders of our country.

In the last two weeks alone 101,673 people visited AlGore.com and
signed our message to Congress. This is an incredible demonstration of
the energy behind this issue.

In my testimony, of course, I will speak about the scientific
evidence for global warming - just reiterated six weeks ago by the
world's scientists in the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change. But frankly, the debate on the science has long
been over - except for a diminishing number of skeptics and deniers.

At this point, it is far more important to deliver your message about
the urgency with which this crisis must be faced. Political leaders
need to know that you intend to reward those who do the right thing
and that you will work to replace those who do not.

That's why it's vital we fill up the hearing room with 350,000 messages.

Please ask your friends to sign our message to Congress today by visiting:

http://www.algore.com/cards.html

Together we are building a movement that has the potential to
translate your strong feelings into effective change for our country.
And we all know that when the United States changes - and offers
leadership - the entire world will follow.


Thank you,

Al Gore

Please help by sending your message to Congress!!!

[BellisimaJ.]

bumping

[chiquita]

I signed on, and spammed every family member and friend I know from coast to coast.


Thanks Belle for posting this, it is so very important.

[accentnepal]

Well, OK. A righteous "cause", I will agree. I encourage you to add your voice. But think a little here. Let me spin it out a bit by talking first about another issue.

A few years ago, when the last large sections of Old Growth forests were about to be logged here in the Pacific North West, a biologist found the little spotted owl.

This pretty creature would be lunch for the bigger owls out in the open, but in an old growth forest there was enough space for him, but not for his larger cousins. He had a niche.

So if you remove the old growth forests then the spotted owl follows the dodo. Extinct.

All very true, and "protecting the owl" prevented the destruction of a lot of forest. But the owl, while important, was not the real issue. The forest was. Now, every time an owl moves his (her) nest another section of forest comes down. It's OK, no owls here!

An exaggeration, perhaps, but you see what I am saying. When you focus on a specific issue you can sometimes make measurable progress, but still not be closer to the true objective.

Auto emissions, cow burps, deforestation in the Amazon and across the street - all likely are warming the planet.  :'(  But the core issue is us humans. There are a whole lot of us and we make a whole lot of noise. Dissonance. We are making the Earth (and thus ourselves) sick in so many different ways. So the answer can only be a re-aligning of what it is to be human. A massive shift in core values.

And I guess that happens one person, one moment at a time.   

*

[Kristijntje]

A related article:

What would be the three things you would like to see happen immediately?
First, I would like for us to stop having so much greed. Because if we have less greed, we will have more cooperation, and that will help us to get a better planet. Second, I think if we stop tribalism, that will also make a big difference instead of saying "that's their fault; we don't need to worry about them." A power plant in Beijing is the same as a power plant in Boston. It puts the particles into the air and the gases into the air, and it's affecting all of us. The third one, I think what I would like is for people not to be afraid of trying to solve a very large problem. This can be solved by breaking it into small pieces, and we can do that. We just have to do that.

full article: http://news.com.com/Humans+fiddle+while+...tag=st.num

[FiberGuy]

I'm gonna do my part.  I've decided tomorrow, I'm not going to exhale, reducing my carbon emissions entirely for the day.

Of course, once my corpse begins to decay it will generate other greenhouse gases, but no one can stop me from doing my part!

:twistedevil: :twistedevil: :twistedevil: :twistedevil:

[Kristijntje]

A related Supreme Court ruling:

Environmentalists are cheering a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the regulation of auto emissions that delivers a blow to the Bush administration's environmental policies. The Environmental Protection Agency not only has the authority, but also the responsibility to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act, the high court said...

In short, the Court's ruling was a critical win for the green movement and environmentalists who want federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, echoed Bruce S. Flushman, environmental and land-use litigation attorney with Wendell, Rosen, Black and Dean.

In simple terms, "the Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gases are a pollutant under the federal Clean Air Act, and that EPA needs to start rulemaking processes to govern such emissions,"...

full article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/FJDY...ling.xhtml

[BellisimaJ.]

The results are in and the reality of global warming is beyond dispute or debate. It’s not just an environmental issue. It affects ours public health and national security. It’s an urgent matter of survival for everyone on the planet — the most urgent threat facing humanity today. It’s going to take action from you and all of us working together.

The first step, Join The Virtual March Against Global Warming.

The second step, Keep reading below, and share this with friends.

Global warming isn’t opinion. It’s a scientific reality. And the science tells us that human activity has made enormous impacts to our planet that affect our well-being and even our survival as a species.

The world’s leading science journals report that glaciers are melting ten times faster than previously thought, that atmospheric greenhouse gases have reached levels not seen for millions of years, and that species are vanishing as a result of climate change. They also report of extreme weather events, long-term droughts, and rising sea levels.

Fortunately, the science also tells us how we can begin to make significant repairs to try and reverse those impacts, but only through immediate action. That’s why we urge you to join us. The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is virtual but its purpose is real. By spreading the word and sharing this with others, our collective power will force governments, corporations, and politicians everywhere to pay attention.

What is Global Warming?

The Earth as an ecosystem is changing, attributable in great part to the effects of globalization and man. More carbon dioxide is now in the atmosphere than has been in the past 650,000 years. This carbon stays in the atmosphere, acts like a warm blanket, and holds in the heat — hence the name ‘global warming.’

The reason we exist on this planet is because the earth naturally traps just enough heat in the atmosphere to keep the temperature within a very narrow range - this creates the conditions that give us breathable air, clean water, and the weather we depend on to survive. Human beings have begun to tip that balance. We've overloaded the atmosphere with heat-trapping gasses from our cars and factories and power plants. If we don't start fixing the problem now, we’re in for devastating changes to our environment. We will experience extreme temperatures, rises in sea levels, and storms of unimaginable destructive fury. Recently, alarming events that are consistent with scientific predictions about the effects of climate change have become more and more commonplace.

              Environmental Destruction

The massive ice sheets in the Arctic are melting at alarming rates. This is causing the oceans to rise. That’s how big these ice sheets are! Most of the world’s population lives on or near the coasts. Rising ocean levels, an estimated six feet over the next 100 years or sooner, will cause massive devastation and economic catastrophe to population centers worldwide.

The United States, with only four percent of the world’s population, is responsible for 22% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. A rapid transition to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources will combat global warming, protect human health, create new jobs, protect habitat and wildlife, and ensure a secure, affordable energy future.

                  Health Risks

Malaria. Dengue Fever. Encephalitis. These names are not usually heard in emergency rooms and doctors’ offices in the United States. But if we don’t act to curb global warming, they will be. As temperatures rise, disease-carrying mosquitoes and rodents spread, infecting people in their wake. Doctors at the Harvard Medical School have linked recent U.S. outbreaks of dengue fever, malaria, hantavirus and other diseases directly to climate change.


                      Catastrophic Weather

Super powerful hurricanes, fueled by warmer ocean temperatures are the “smoking gun” of global warming. Since 1970, the number of category 4 and 5 events has jumped sharply. Human activities are adding an alarming amount of pollution to the earth’s atmosphere causing catastrophic shifts in weather patterns. These shifts are causing severe heat, floods and worse.

Five Things We Can All Do

    * Join http://www.StopGlobalWarming.org. Together our voices will be heard!
    * Spread the word, share the learning. Send this link to family, friends, and colleagues. Share why        this is so important.
    * Change begins at home. (See the list home-related Action Items)
    * Put the heat on your elected officials.
    * The power of the pocketbook.

[misteroriginal]

Global Warming happens every spring. Nothing to write Congress about. Just crank up the air conditioner, and you'll be fine.

[BellisimaJ.]