|
|
Additional
Resources
|
|
Save Energy, Save Money, Save The Earth
By Nicky Pilkington, Fri Dec 9th
It was only a few decades ago that people have started to reallyunderstand how important it is for us all and for the future ofthe planet to save energy and control our overall energyconsumption. Read more...
|
|
|
|
causes of climate change
Below, you'll find extensive
information, and causes of climate change articles and products to help you with your
interest in our evironment.
Open Letter To The Climate Action Network From Deforestation Watch.org
The Editors
Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing mankind since the last ice age. Naturally, many well meaning NGO’s have grouped together to promote action plans that can help mankind avert this impending disaster. One notable grouping is the Climate Action Network (CAN).
The CAN is a worldwide network of over 365 Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs), such as Friends of the Earth and others, working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced to ecologically sustainable levels.
Your members work to “achieve this goal through the coordination of information exchange and NGO strategy on international, regional and national climate issues.” CAN has seven regional offices which co-ordinate these efforts in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Europe, Latin America, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
In your mission statement, you claim that your members place a high priority on both a healthy environment and development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland Commission). Climate Action Network's vision is to “protect the atmosphere while allowing for sustainable and equitable development worldwide.”
You also promote “a parallel three track approach to mitigating which includes a Kyoto track, a ‘Greening’ (decarbonisation) track, and an Adaptation track. The goal of this approach is to facilitate action that will prevent harmful and keep global warming as far below 2°C as possible.”
All very good and commendable! Yet, how do you reconcile it when some of your members, such as Friends of the Earth, Wetlands et al, use their resources to attack a carbon neutral industry such as palm oil cultivation in a developing country such as Malaysia.
Let us draw your attention to the activities of another responsible environmental action group, the International Carbon Action Partnership.
The International Carbon Action Partnership was formed by senior officials from the EU, 3 US States, Canada, Norway and New Zealand in Lisbon to fight by building a global carbon market.
This brave and innovative scheme aims to add momentum towards low carbon economies by grouping countries and regions that cap and trade environmentally damaging CO2 emissions. The IACP intends to push for a worldwide marketplace that will allow cross-border trading in permits that are bought and sold like commodities.
Under the scheme, local authorities place an annual ceiling on CO2 emissions and issue “pollution permits” to companies, which can then buy and sell them.
British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who signed his country to the IACP said that the NGO is a “significant step forward” for the creation of a global carbon trading system that will be “fundamental in arresting and reversing climate change.”
In publishing data on CO2 Emissions per capita however, some interesting facts have emerged. Asia posted the second lowest emissions per capita of only 1.3 just above Africa (0.9) and below Latin America (2.1). Surprisingly, China which has often been touted as the second worst polluter after the USA, posted a low reading of 3.9 vis a vis Canada (17.0), Australia (18.4) whilst the USA posted a staggering reading of 19.6.
This calls the lie on the many claims made by such diverse organizations such as Greenpeace Netherlands and the World Rainforest Movement who’ve made the rather tenuous claim that palm oil is responsible for the destruction of rainforest which makes it a major contributor to climate change! Deforestation Watch www.deforestationwatch.org is perturbed by this development as any wild and unsubstantiated position papers such as these can only damage our cause in the long run as it will ultimately destroy the credibility of our movement!
Let’s take a look at the two offending Position Papers. Greenpeace Netherlands in a paper entitled “The Dutch Economic Contribution to Worldwide Deforestation and Forest Degradation” puts forth the rather convoluted argument that “in the period 1996 – 2000 Dutch economic activities contributed annually to about 14,000 ha of deforestation in Indonesia, compared to an annual contribution of about 12,000 ha in the period 2001 – 2005. The decline took place in spite of increasing palm oil and pulp imports from Indonesia, but because the increase of palm oil and pulp plantations has been less in this second period.” Jumping through verbal hoops, the paper then sought to show that in Malaysia “there are indications that deforestation has been strongest in the period of 1996- 2000 when the initial palm oil boom took place.” What the Paper fails to highlight is that deforestation has moderated in Malaysia somewhat in the last five years (from 2001-2005) despite the palm oil boom continuing unabated in that country!
The World Rainforest Movement in a recent paper curiously entitled “Oil Palm: From Cosmetics to Biodiesel – Colonization Lives On” seeks to paint a picture of indiscriminate clearing of forest land in Indonesia. Says the paper: “In Indonesia, nearly seven million hectares of forest had been approved for conversion to estate crop plantations by the end of 1997, and this land has almost certainly been cleared. But the area actually converted to oil palm plantations since 1985 is about 2.6 million hectares”, destined for export to feed the palm oil industries.”
What is most disconcerting is the Rainforest Movement’s confession of sort: “Indonesia has 10% of the world’s remaining tropical forests which are home to over 20,000 plant species – accounting for 10% of the planet’s total –, 12% of the world's mammal species and 17% of bird species, many of which are unique. The magnitude of this lush biodiversity can be pictured by the data that 25 acres of Borneo's rainforest were found to contain 700 tree species, equal to the total number of species for the whole of North America.” The confession? Indonesia is still rich in diversity and it is in the United States where bio-diversity is under serious threat!
Scraping the bottom of the barrel against Malaysia, the Paper attempts to paint a picture of indiscriminate clearing of traditional lands thus depriving the local indigenous tribes of their customary land. The paper describes a march on the office of the Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah by a coalition of indigenous tribes: “Representatives of the Murut, the Kadazandusun, and the Rungus, and some 30 more tribes coming from the remote region of Tongod, traversed in July of this year northern Borneo to reach the gleaming office of Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister of Land, Datuk Lajim Haji Ukin at the capital city of Kota Kinabalu.” Then the giveaway: “With the assistance of community support organizations, Wilster and others from Tongod are now trying a new strategy – they’ve filed a court case against the State and two plantation companies: Hup Seng Consolidated Berhad and Asiatic Development Berhad. The case is the first deliberate test of Sabah’s land tenure laws with regards to indigenous peoples.” In a land where indigenous people can file suit in court surely lays to waste the claims that such tribes are being deprived of their customary land with impunity!
What these papers tries to conceal (which is obviously un-concealable) is that palm oil is largely grown in Asia, Africa and Latin America, all 3 of which are continents with the LOWEST emission data per Capita of any place in the world! Deforestation Watch takes the view that such unwarranted and unjustified attacks against a commodity that is contributing to uplifting the economic and social wellbeing of the peoples in the palm oil belt can hardly be described as “colonization”. Rather than colonization, the growing of palm oil actually serves to liberate economically and uplift the peoples of the lands in which palm oil is cultivated! Article Directory: http://www.articlecube.com 
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
 ]]>
Additional Resources
Bush 'reaching Out' To Detroit Automakers
US President George W. Bush has visited two factories in Kansas City where Detroit automakers manufacture gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. The tour is in accordance with the president’s Read more...
|
Additional Resources
We Can Put A Fish On The Moon
By Search EzineArticles.com
This aint exactly rocket scientry boys...I picked up a copy of The Oregonian this morning and read a story about how the ocean conditions this year are killing off seabirds in record Read more...
|
We strive to provide only quality articles, so if
there is a specific topic related to climate change that you would
like us to cover, please contact us at any time.
And again, thank you to those contributing daily to
our climate change website.
CNN global warming misinformation makes its way to <em>The Radio Factor</em>
On <em>The Radio Factor</em>, guest host Douglas Urbanski cited a December 18 segment from CNN's <em>Lou Dobbs Tonight</em> to support the assertion, which has been widely discredited, that "man-made climate change" is "one of the biggest lies of our time" and in doing so echoed several of the debunked claims and suggestions about global warming included in that CNN segment.
"Winter storm" causes Dobbs to ask: "What's that global warming deal?"
Lou Dobbs said during the introduction of his CNN show: "And tonight, unusual winter storms are dumping snow in unusual places across Western states, and a huge snowstorm is headed toward the Northeast. This is global warming?" During his segment on the issue, Dobbs hosted Heartland Institute senior fellow and science director Jay Lehr without disclosing that Heartland receives funding from the energy industry and without challenging Lehr's assertions that "[t]he last 10 years have been quite cool" and that "the sun" -- rather than humans -- is responsible for recent climate change.
Levin cited "global cooling" study to dismiss efforts to "control carbon dioxide" emissions, ignoring warning by study's co-author not to do so
On his radio show, Mark Levin cited a recent study predicting that an ice age will occur in the next 10,000 to 100,000 years as purported evidence that humans should not "try and control carbon dioxide" emissions that contribute to global climate change. But Levin did not mention that the study's co-author reportedly warned against using the study to argue that "we should stop fighting warming" and stated: "There's no excuse for saying 'we've got to keep pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.' "
Milwaukee radio host smeared "greedy, overpaid unionized schoolteacher[s]" who talk about global warming
On his Milwaukee radio talk show, Mark Belling referred to schoolteachers who talk to their students about global warming as "idiot union teacher[s]," "liberal unionized hack[s]," "greedy, overpaid unionized schoolteacher[s]," and "fruitcake[s]."
Hannity compared carbon offsets to "cheat[ing] on your wife," ignored Murdoch's efforts to make News Corp. carbon neutral
On <em>Hannity & Colmes</em>, Sean Hannity criticized the purchase of credits to offset one's "carbon footprint," asserting, "Those offsets -- that is the biggest hoax in the world. ... You know what it's like? You go cheat on your wife, and then say, 'Honey, but don't worry. I bought an offset.' Good luck." Hannity has yet to address the pledge by News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch "to be carbon neutral, across all our businesses" -- which includes Fox News -- "by 2010."
Discussing TCPR claims, O'Reilly said he'd "like to hear [Gore's] side of things," but ignored Gore's response to TCPR
Bill O'Reilly asserted: "The Tennessee Center for Policy Research [TCPR] says the former vice president [Al Gore] is still using a massive amount of energy at his Tennessee mansion -- more than 20 times the national average." O'Reilly later stated: "So it looks like Gore is a pinhead, but we would like to hear his side of things. And he has an open invitation to appear on the <em>Factor</em>." But at no point did O'Reilly mention that Gore has reportedly given "his side of things" in response to a June 17 TCPR press release on the subject of Gore's purported energy use.
Hume claimed Gore's "energy use has surged more than 10 percent," ignored Gore's response that it's all "green power"
On <em>Special Report</em>, citing purported findings by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, Brit Hume claimed that Al Gore's "energy use has surged more than 10 percent" since environmentally friendly renovations were completed on his home. Hume offered no response from Gore. Responding to the charge, a Gore spokeswoman stated that "[w]hen [the Gores] do use power, it's green power." According to the Tennessee Valley Authority, green power "create[s] less waste and pollution" than standard electricity.
<em>Wash. Times</em>' Pruden falsely claimed that "the earth has been measurably cooling for the last decade"
In a <em>Washington Times</em> column, Wesley Pruden falsely claimed that "the earth has been measurably cooling for the last decade, despite everything [former Vice President] Al [Gore] and his followers have done about it." In fact, the United Kingdom's Met (Meteorological) Office lists as a "fact" that "[t]emperatures are continuing to rise" and states that "temperature change over the latest decade (1998-2007) alone shows a continued warming of 0.1° C per decade."
MSNBC hosted Breaux and Lott to defend oil and gas companies -- but failed to note they're lobbyists for them
On <em>MSNBC Live</em>, Andrea Mitchell discussed energy policy with former Sens. John Breaux and Trent Lott but failed to disclose that both are lobbyists for major oil and gas companies. While Mitchell said that Lott and Breaux "formed a firm" together, she did not note that their firm conducts lobbying or that its clients include oil and gas companies Chevron, Shell, and Plains Exploration & Production Co.
Beck revived falsehood that Bill Clinton said, "We've got to slow down our economy" to fight global warming
On his nationally syndicated radio show, Glenn Beck falsely claimed that former President Bill Clinton said, "We've got to slow down our economy" in order to combat global warming, and aired a portion of a speech Clinton made in January. However, as Clinton's full remarks make clear, he did not suggest "slow[ing] down our economy" to fight global warming.
Jonah Goldberg misrepresented Gore's comments about Hurricane Katrina
In his <em>Los Angeles Times</em> column, Jonah Goldberg asserted that in an NPR interview, Al Gore "chuckled" at the idea that Hurricane Katrina "was God's wrath for New Orleans' sexual depravity," then "went on to blame Katrina on man's energy sinfulness." In fact, Gore stated during the interview that "any individual storm can't be linked singularly to global warming." Goldberg also claimed that the numbers of polar bears "have quadrupled in the last 50 years"; in fact, data to support estimates of the polar bear population 50 years ago are reportedly nonexistent, recent growth in the polar bear population is believed to be linked to hunting bans, and the Department of Interior found that "the polar bear is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future."
Previewing McCain's environment speech, Reuters did not mention his voting record or include criticisms of his positions
Reuters reported that Sen. John McCain would pledge "to take the lead in combating global climate change if elected president in a speech that set him apart from the policies of U.S. President George W. Bush." However, in reporting on McCain's environmental positions that his campaign believes will "win support from independents and centrist Democrats," Reuters did not mention his voting record and did not include any criticism of McCain's positions. By contrast, <em>The Washington Post</em> noted that "McCain's lifetime League of Conservation Voters score is 24 percent, compared with 86 for Obama and 86 for Clinton."
Fox's Baier misrepresented Gore's comments about Myanmar cyclone
Fox News' Bret Baier claimed that in an interview on NPR, "Former Vice President Al Gore says global warming is to blame for the cyclone in Myanmar." In fact, while Gore did discuss the cyclone in the context of global warming, he also stated -- just moments earlier -- that "any individual storm can't be linked singularly to global warming."
Fox's E.D. Hill falsely claimed that "U.N. meteorologists" say "the planet may actually cool off for the 10th year in a row"
On<em> America's Pulse</em>, host E.D. Hill falsely claimed, in a teaser for an upcoming segment, that "the U.N. says the planet may actually cool off for the 10th year in a row." Hill later asserted: "U.N. meteorologists now saying that we could have, for the 10th year in a row, a colder year, temperatures ... decreasing, not warming, getting colder." In fact, global mean temperatures, as measured in two widely used data sets, have not decreased in each of the past 10 years; further, according to those data sets' producers, the data continue to show a long-term warming trend.
<em>NY Times</em> understated Inhofe's views on global warming
In an article discussing potentially competitive 2008 Senate elections, <em>The New York Times</em> understated Sen. James Infohe's views on global warming, reporting that Inhofe "has said that its effects are exaggerated." In fact, Inhofe has repeatedly referred to global warming as the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people" and reportedly compared Al Gore's global warming documentary to Adolf Hitler's <em>Mein Kampf</em>.
|
|
