Climate Change: ‘Things Happen Much Faster in the Arctic’

Published on Saturday, December 13, 2008 by Inter Press Service

Climate Change: ‘Things Happen Much Faster in the Arctic’

by Stephen Leahy

QUEBEC CITY, Canada-In just a few summers from now, the Arctic Ocean will lose its protective cover of ice for the first time in a million years, according to some experts attending the International Arctic Change conference here.

‘Things are happening much faster in the Arctic. I think it will be summer ice-free by 2015,’ said David Barber, an Arctic climatologist at the University of Manitoba.

Such a ‘dramatic and serious loss of sea ice will affect everyone on the planet,’ Barber told IPS.

Barber spent much of last winter on a Canadian research icebreaker, the Amundsen, in the Arctic Ocean as leader of a 40-million-dollar ice research project. Scientists expected the Amundsen to be frozen in place for many months during the harsh Arctic winter, when there is no sunlight and temperatures plunge to -50 degrees C. Instead the ship stayed mobile as the normally impenetrable ice was thin and weak.

Continue reading

Statement from Climate Justice Now! on the UN climate talks in Poznan

Radical new agenda needed to achieve climate justice

The Poznan statement:

12 December 2008

Members of Climate Justice Now! – a worldwide alliance of more than 160 organisations — have been in Poznan for the past two weeks closely following developments in the UN climate negotiations.

This statement is our assessment of the Conference of Parties (COP) 14, and articulates our principles for achieving climate justice.

THE URGENCY OF CLIMATE JUSTICE
We will not be able to stop climate change if we don’t change the neo-liberal and corporate-based economy which stops us from achieving sustainable societies. Corporate globalisation must be stopped.

The historical responsibility for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions lies with the industrialised countries of the North. Even though the primary responsibility of the North to reduce emissions has been recognised in the Convention, their production and consumption habits continue to threaten the survival of humanity and biodiversity. It is imperative that the North urgently shifts to a low carbon economy. At the same time in order to avoid the damaging carbon intensive model of industrialisation, the South is entitled to resources and technology to make this transition. Continue reading

New Books: Talking with Kids about Climate Change, Earth Under Fire

It would be interesting to review these book & see how they handles issues
surrounding Indigenous/POC, false solutions, capitalism, etc.

ASW

From: <ecoauthor@howweknowclimatechange.com>
Date: Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 6:28 PM

Talking with Kids about Climate Change–A new book leads the way
with ideas on how parents and teachers can talk to kids about global
warming … Informative, engaging, non-scary and energizing.
Perfect recommendation for Holiday Books and Gifts.

How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and
Kids Explore Global Warming, by Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch… was
written especially for middle schoolers and their teachers.

Continue reading

Lakota Win Standing in Cameco Nuclear Fight

—————————- Original Message —————————-
Subject: Lakota win standing in Cameco nuclear fight
From:    “wsdp” <wsdp@igc.org>
Date:    Sat, December 13, 2008 7:07 am
To:      wsdp@igc.org
————————————————————————–

FYI – Good news.

From the article below: “This is about the Human Rights of my clients
and their future generations to have clean drinking water,” said Bruce
Ellison, attorney for White Plume and Owe Aku.
_________________________

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Lakota win standing in Cameco nuclear fight

At:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/12/lakota-win-standing-in-cameco-
nuclear.html

By Alex White Plume
http://www.unobserver.com <http://www.unobserver.com/>

Water Protectors and Human Rights Activists Granted Standing to Oppose
the World’s Largest Uranium Producer Transnational Corporation: Cameco,
Inc.

PINE RIDGE SD–An Atomic Licensing Board (ALB) judges’ panel of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ruled in favor of petitioners who
filed interventions in the 10-year license renewal of Cameco, Inc.’s In
Situ Leach (ISL) uranium mine near Crawford, Nebraska.

Continue reading