The Climate Scoreboard calculates that the Copenhagen accord (a weaker thing than a deal or an agreement, specially cos we don’t yet know whether anyone is going to sign up) would commit us to a 3.9 degree global temperature rise, which would mean something like: all coral dead, most forests dead, Southern Europe a desert, Australia with no agriculture and Africa uninhabitable. So not great then.
3 weeks ago • 0 notesI’m choosing to respond to Copenhagen thus, I have to, otherwise I’d be in a crumpled heap in the corner:
“…You see we’re not ready to fix climate change, not yet. We have not accepted the scale of the problem. Nor have we established the political conditions necessary to fix the problem when we do. However Copenhagen does signify the shift between two eras and if you watch carefully you can see the new world emerging. That is the interesting thing happening at Copenhagen…”
READ ON….a refreshing take on the sitch…
1 month ago • 0 notes
“…While economies grow, social justice is unnecessary, as lives can be improved without redistribution… But, like the bankers, we stave off trouble today only by multiplying it tomorrow. Through economic growth we are borrowing time at punitive rates of interest… Even if we manage to prevent climate breakdown, growth means that it’s only a matter of time before we hit a new constraint, which demands a new global response: oil, water, phosphate, soil. We will lurch from crisis to existential crisis unless we address the underlying cause: perpetual growth cannot be accommodated on a finite planet…”
Read more…an excellent article…
a GREAT way to keep up with the copenhagen shenanigans…and you really should try and keep up with them: this is monumentally important stuff…
“For the next couple of weeks, newmatilda.com will be turning our group blog over to the COP15 climate talks. Our Copenhagen correspondents will be posting their thoughts, reactions and insights as the talks unfold. It will, as you’d expect, be a place for them to debrief, compare notes, and explain details in a rougher and readier way than they can in the articles that they’ll be writing for us. In particular, it will give people outside the process a candid window into what’s going on…”
**I’m very proud of this bit (nice to see odd glimmers of positivity): “…There’s folks in pyjamas having a John & Yoko-style bed in…Last thing: there’s talented youngsters everywhere, from everywhere, going nuts and doing great stuff. Those kids in pyjamas were mostly from Australia. It’s truly amazing…”
2 months ago • 0 notes
Earthlings Required This Weekend!
Hello Earthlings….yes, that would be all of you I assume…your home ie. Planet Earth needs you this weekend at two events, if you can:
Please host or join a vigil for 350.org on Fri 11th or Sat 12th Dec, details here
Please go on the Walk Against Warming on Sat 12th Dec, details here
Fionn and I had already booked to go camping this Fri and Sat, before I knew of these events, so we will hold our own mini vigil on Fri night at The Basin (if any of you happen to be there - let me know?!). Will be a shame to miss the big Sydney vigil and the walk, but the camping trip is part of my plan to nurture Fionn’s love and understanding of nature and simple non-consumerist pleasures anyway, so we are still on the same page :)
That doesn’t stop any of you doing a vigil and/ or the walk - go for it!
And while you’re at it, keep up with what’s going on at Copenhagen ie. our futures are all being decided there - pretty important! Lots of ways to check-in with it, but here’s one article to start with
Love from Vaike and Fionn Earthlings xx
2 months ago • 0 notesMy family is so cool!
This is what we’ve all agreed to do regarding ‘gifts’:
No-Cents Secret Santa
Please prepare/devise/create/scrounge a gift for the name to the right of your own. In the interest of non-consumerism, saving the planet, being creative, having fun, feeling the love, taking the challenge, being silly, being heartfelt and saving some money, you can do anything other than actually ʻbuyʼ a gift. Perhaps itʼs a hand-me-down, perhaps you make it, perhaps itʼs an intangible gift, perhaps you find it… use your imagination! The first part of the gift, is the gift itself, the second part of the gift is the time you spend thinking about the person whilst trying to come up with an idea.
Names were chosen randomly, but moved to make sure immediate family didnʼt have each other. It is possible that you have a person whom you donʼt know very well, feel free to either use your detective skills by asking advice of others, or… take a wild stab in the dark!
You are to present your gift to the person on Christmas Eve in traditional Estonian fashion, accompanied by a ʻhaiku poemʼ written by you, for, or about, the person.
