Category: Direct Action

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide on Global Warming

I was shocked when I read that the United State’s supreme court is set to hear a case about global warming. Of course this obviously good because it forces some accountability on Bush’s administration, especially since he promised to curb CO2 emissions, but has failed to deliver. The court case basically concerns whether or not the government has the responsibility to ensure clean air, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The decision to hear the case sets up a legal showdown over President George W. Bush’s controversial position on global warming and his apparent reversal on the issue of regulating carbon dioxide.
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The plaintiffs believe that the environmental and economic threats from climate change merit aggressive action by the federal government.

The Clean Air Act gives the EPA ample authority to regulate any air pollutant that threatens human health, they argue, and carbon dioxide – as the leading greenhouse gas linked to global warming – clearly fits into that category.”

Kyoto Still Supported by Canadian Municipalities

Although the new Conservative Federal government in Canada is shying away from the Kyoto Protocol, that isn’t stopping Canada’s mayors and some provinces from taking action anyway! Two weeks ago an annual meeting was held by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, representing 1,400 municipal leaders across Canada. At that meeting a policy statement was adopted that supports Canada’s ratification of Kyoto.

“Municipal governments commit themselves…to implementing policies and operational changes that will achieve a global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 30 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050, based on 1990 levels,” the statement reads.

Municipal governments realize that they have the power to make a difference in Canada’s greenhouse gas emmisions, since they have a say in things such as transit and landfill regulations.
“In Canada, close to 55 per cent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions can be influenced by decisions made by municipal governments,” the statement says.

Combine this with the latest news of, Quebec’s Provincial Government aiming to become the first province to levy a “carbon tax” in the fight against global warming, and it’s hard not to wonder…….who really needs the Feds anyway???

‘Carbon Neutral’ Initiatives Gaining Popularity

Several major companies and organizations, such as HSBC and the FIFA World Cup are now taking initiatives to counteract the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere they are contributing to through their businesses. For example, HSBC has become the world’s first carbon neutral bank by investing in clean energy projects such as a wind farm in New Zealand to offset emissions from its core operations.

FIFA is planning to offset 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide linked to travel by World Cup spectators. Under one project, it and the German tournament organisers will invest in replacing coal-fired boilers at a South African factory with boilers run on sawdust.
Myclimate.org is an organization out of Germany that is supporting and promoting such carbon offset projects.

Speak Up

Have you always wanted a way to make awesome advocacy happen? CitizenSpeak is all about making it easy for grassroots organizations to get their word out on the street, or at least the e-street.

“CitizenSpeak is a free email advocacy service for grassroots organizations. Inspired by MoveOn email campaigns, CitizenSpeak provides the same e-advocacy capability at the community level in English and Spanish.”