Dear Fellow Earthlings,

In tune with the torrid season, this newsletter's frequency has slowed
down to monthly. This reflects not a dearth of climate change news and
opinion but the torpor and travels of the editor. Thanks to the many
contributors of this issue.

HELP WANTED: small group facilitators to convene short course(s) on
global warming and/or the much-talked about low carbon diet. The
curriculum is good, clear, and published already, for 8-10 week
courses from Northwest Earth Institute and the author of Low Carbon
Diet. Many people would like the support of a small group while
learning about climate change and envisioning a more sustainable earth
community. We need leaders. Email Lea Hall if you're interested
<leahall@comcast.net>.

TRUE MELTDOWN BEFORE OUR EYES

A three-minute video shows melting Himalayan glaciers and the
consequences for South Asia 's water supply.

NY Times video
http://video.on.nytimes.com/index.jsp?auto_band=x&rf=sv&fr_story=ed0790a933ae17ba3d2cfb0818ececd251bf08a6

Contributed by Bev Templeton
**
HOW INCONVENIENT IS THE TRUTH ABOUT WARMING? Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change report may be "absurdly optimistic." George Monbiot,
author of Heat, calls for more radical policy changes now.

Reading a scientific paper on the train this weekend, I found, to my
amazement, that my hands were shaking. This has never happened to me
before, but nor have I ever read anything like it. Published by a team
led by James Hansen at NASA, it suggests that the grim reports issued
by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change could be absurdly
optimistic.

The IPCC predicts that sea levels could rise by as much as 59
centimeters this century. Hansen's paper argues that the slow melting
of ice sheets the panel expects doesn't fit the data.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/56125/
Hansen's paper: http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/2007/2007_Hansen_etal_2.pdf
**
A GOOD PLACE FOR YOUR PHOTOS OF WEIRD WEATHER

A cyber consumer's guide to the green revolution, The Daily Green now
offers a Weird Weather blog of photos documenting climate change. If
seeing is believing. . . .

A link provided by Laurie David of the StopGlobalWarming.org virtual march.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/
**
GOOD SUMMARY OF THE HOUSE & SENATE ENERGY BILLS TO DATE
A possibly historic energy bill
Los Angeles Times

For a change, Congress is considering revolutionary energy proposals.
Will it have the nerve to pass them?

August 7, 2007

In June, the senate passed an energy bill loaded with creamy peanut
butter. On Saturday, even as it was wrapping up the wiretapping bill
discussed above, the House approved an energy package that's pure
chocolate. If we could get these two together without removing their
tastiest ingredients, the nation would be in for a history-making
treat.

The Senate bill contained many valuable, if incremental, provisions on
such things as energy efficiency, but its biggest and most
controversial element was a crackdown on automotive fuel economy
standards. For the first time in 20 years, it would force automakers
to build cars that guzzle less gas. The House punted on fuel economy,
but its energy bill contained an element just as groundbreaking: a
requirement that the nation's utilities get 15% of their power from
renewable sources such as the wind and sun by 2020.

What happens next depends on the conference committee that will be
assigned to reconcile the two bills when Congress reconvenes in
September. It could pass what might be the most significant energy
legislation ever by including both the House's renewable energy
standard and the Senate's fuel economy standard. Or it could strike a
blow for the status quo by cutting them.

On the positive side, renewable energy enjoys broad support in both
houses. Though a renewable energy standard didn't make it into the
Senate bill because its sponsors feared a Republican filibuster, 50
senators sent a letter to energy committee leaders in April expressing
support for such a measure, and several more favor it.

The Senate's fuel economy provisions may be more vulnerable because of
fierce opposition from the likes of Rep. John D. Dingell (D.-Mich.), a
guardian of auto-industry interests who wields vast influence over
House energy policy. That's unfortunate, because the U.S. is an
international laggard on this issue. A report from the
Washington-based International Council on Clean Transportation found
that the U.S. has weaker fuel standards than Europe, Japan , China ,
Australia , South Korea and Canada . Detroit claims that it can't
profitably sell higher-mileage cars here, but somehow it already does
in those countries.

Contributed by Lee Hayes Byron
**
A SHOCKING TRUTH about those good old days. . .

A settler in a typical town in Plymouth Colony in the 1650's received
a house lot that ranged from just a single acre to as much as twenty,
depending on his social standing. Instead of the tiny wattle-and-daub
cottages constructed by the original Pilgrims, the subsequent
generation built post-and-beam structures covered with clapboards and
shingles, and anchored by mammoth brick chimneys.

It took a tremendous amount of lumber to build one of these houses --
even a modest house required at least twelve tons of wood. Just as
daunting were the heating requirements of the home's open hearth.
It's been estimated that the average seventeenth-century New England
house consumed fifteen cords, or 1920 cubic feet, of wood per year,
meaning that a town of two hundred homes depended on the deforestation
of as many as seventy-five acres per year.

>From Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick, Viking, London , 2006. P 186
Contributed by Kit Ketchum, Minneapolis, MN
**
WAR AND DROUGHT

WASHINGTON (AP) - Climate change is partly to blame for the conflict
in Sudan's Darfur region, where droughts have provoked fighting over
water sources, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in an editorial
published Saturday.

"Almost invariably, we discuss Darfur in a convenient military and
political shorthand - an ethnic conflict pitting Arab militias against
black rebels and farmers," Ban wrote in The Washington Post. "Look to
its roots, though, and you discover a more complex dynamic."

Rainfall in Sudan began declining two decades ago, a phenomenon due
"to some degree, from man-made global warming," said Ban, who has made
both Darfur and climate change priorities.

Settled farmers and Arab nomadic herders had gotten along until the
drought, he wrote, but as conditions worsened, water and food
shortages disrupted the peace and "evolved into the full-fledged
tragedy we witness today."

Ban said similar ecological problems are behind conflicts in other
countries, including Somalia and Ivory Coast .

AOL news 2007-06-16, AP
Contributed by Sigi Moriece
**
BEAUTIFUL BUSINESS: VOTING WITH OUR DOLLARS

Stonyfield Farm is helping us vote with our dollars for greener
businesses. Check out their Climate Counts project, which rates
businesses on how seriously they take climate change.

Everyone's talking about global warming, but what can you personally
do about it? Companies and the things you buy from them have a huge
impact on climate change. When you make climate-conscious choices,
you're sending a message to companies that climate change matters to
you.

Some companies understand their impact on global warming and want to
reduce it. But other companies aren't even talking about it, and they
should be.

Without urgent action from business, stopping climate change may be
next to impossible.

http://www.climatecounts.org/
Provided by Focus the Nation

Focus Update is the bi-monthly e-bulletin of Focus the Nation. Check
out their wish list at www.focusthenation.org/wishlist.php. See a
school that ought to be on board? Then send an e-mail at
info@focusthenation.org, and set up a time to talk with our
organizers. With your help, we can cross that school off our list!

Eban Goodstein
Project Director
Focus the Nation
info@focusthenation.org
www.focusthenation.org
**
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES

What's Wrong with this Picture?

These are headlines from one day:

Oregon Enacts Tough Renewable Power Requirement
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42502/story.htm
<http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42502/story.htm>;

US States Protest Federal Vehicle Emissions Limit Bill (because they
want a stronger one)
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42498/story.htm
<http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42498/story.htm>;

US Religious Leaders Assert Need to Act on Climate
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42497/story.htm
<http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42497/story.htm>;

Reuters Summit-US CEOs Want Leadership on Carbon from Washington
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42500/story.htm
<http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42500/story.htm>;

Most Chinese, Indians Back Carbon Cuts - Survey
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42488/story.htm
<http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42488/story.htm>;

...and yet, the administration refuses to act.

Submitted by Bonnie Nickel
**
TRULY A FORK IN THE ROAD

One-Meter Rise by 2100? A Fork in the Road

Remember the little video we had on the Sarasota Network for Climate
Action website showing what would happen to the Sarasota coastline if
the sea level rises by one meter? (And, by the way, we've lost the
link to that video. Can someone find it and let us know so we can put
it back up on the site? Reward: Hardback copy of the book Priceless
Florida.) Well, Popular Science reports in their August special issue
on The Future of the Environment that data collected over 18 years by
Greenland researcher Konrad Steffen indicates that the Greenland ice
sheet is melting so fast that a one-meter rise is looking more and
more likely. But Steffen, thoroughly engaged in his physically
challenging and exacting work of gathering the bleak data on these ice
sheet that are so important to the future of the environment, sees
some cause for optimism. "For one thing," he says, "people are
starting to pay attention to science . . . . and [understanding] that
our future depends on whether we can get greenhouse gas emissions
under control. We are at a fork in the road."

Contributed by June Cussen
**
GOOD IDEAS FROM SURPRISING PLACES:

Tom Tryon, Sarasota Herald-Tribune's editorial page editor, quotes
this from, of all groups, the National Petroleum Council:
"A tax or fee could be levied on [carbon dioxide] emissions,
establishing the cost of emissions while letting the market then
establish the emissions level…. A tax or fee system has the advantages
of establishing a predictable cost, thus encouraging long-term
planning and investment…." Tryon says: "The carbon tax: It's not just
for greenies, liberals and editors anymore."

Recognition of global warming now in Vogue

The latest issue of Vogue magazine sees a warming trend. "As the
planet heats up, the jacket is stealing the coat's thunder. Not only
does it weather the seasons through deep winter (by calendar
definition, anyway), it's got every age and sensibility stylishly
covered."
So now you know. It's a hot topic whatever mag you pick up.

Contributed by June Cussen
**
TRUE GREENING IN THE WORLD OF FICTION

Harry Potter goes 30% green

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold 8.3 million books (of its
first printing of 12 million) during the first 24 hours it went on
sale. Scholastic, the publisher, says they printed 30% of the run on
recycled paper. The book industry is doing a study, due in November,
to establish a baseline for tracking climate impacts and progress by
the industry.

Contributed by June Cussen
**

Interested in solar energy? HERE'S A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN
Green Light Magazine:
http://www.greenlightmag.com/dept-home-dtl.php?recordID=317
Contributed by Bonnie Nickel
**

GOOD DEVELOPMENTS IN FLORIDA

Archive of Governor Crist's historic Climate Change Summit in Miami on
July 12-13, with keynote addresses from California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
http://www.flgov.com/climate_summit

And
TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2007, TALLAHASSEE Governor Charlie Crist today
announced the installation of a hydrogen fuel cell and a solar pool
heating system at the Florida Governor's Mansion. The renewable energy
sources will reduce carbon emissions and energy costs, making the
mansion more energy efficient and climate friendly.

>From Sierra Club's Tallahassee Report
Contributed by Bonnie Nickel
**
GOOD NATIONAL PUBLICITY FOLLOWING GOVERNOR'S CLIMATE INITIATIVE

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy is an
independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing energy
efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and
environmental protection.

Washington, D.C.—The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
(ACEEE) applauds Florida Governor Charlie Crist for "bold steps"
announced July 13 that will change Florida's energy future and take
important actions to combat global warming.

"Governor Crist has moved Florida toward the vanguard of states on
clean energy policy by recognizing that energy efficiency is the first
fuel in the race for a clean and affordable energy future," said
Steven Nadel, ACEEE's Executive Director.

Many of Gov. Crist's policies mirror recommendations in the recent
ACEEE study Potential for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to
Meet Florida's Growing Energy Demands. This study assessed how energy
efficiency and renewable energy can meet Florida 's growing electricity
needs; electricity accounts for about half of the state's greenhouse
gas emissions.

http://www.aceee.org/press/0707floridagovernor.htm
Contributed by Bonnie Nickel
**
DO FLORIDIANS TRULY CARE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING?

85% of Floridians think global warming is a major problem requiring
action, according to a survey reported in the Miami Herald on August
7.

Cutting tax bills and energy costs should be the top priority for the
governor and legislators, Florida voters said in a recent poll

Aug 7, 2007 The Miami Herald by Niala Boodhoo
Contributed by Lee Hayes Byron
**
A GOOD TIME FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO HEAR FROM CONSTITUENTS

Although the Green Team is non-partisan, we report on political shifts
in the climate change sphere. For example, the Florida Democrats are
inviting citizens to take a five-point pledge on climate action, and
to communicate this pledge to Tallahassee representatives.

Five Point Pledge to Protect Florida's Future:

http://www.fladems.com/fivepoints

Contributed by Julie Leach
**
REALLY GOOD NEWS FROM VENICE, FL

Who could have predicted that Venice would lead the way in committing
part of its penny sales tax revenue to install solar equipment in
municipal buildings? Sarasota Network for Climate Action co-founder
Bonnie Nickel writes, "We have started our campaign here in Venice and
we could use some help from our Venice members. If they already know
that they would like to volunteer in some way - organizing or
participating in events, writing emails or letters to the editor,
putting us in touch with other concerned community members, they can
contact me now. Otherwise, we will be sending more specific requests
for help in September once we have our strategy in place.

To join the Venice campaign for climate action, email Bonnie at
<bllnseagrove@yahoo.com>
**
BEAUTIFUL LITTLE MOVIE

Thanks to the efforts of Web Master Shelley Siskin, the Sarasota
Network for Climate Action video shot by Klaus Obermeit and edited by
David Jemison is now live on youtube and will soon be linked to the
SNCA Web site, <www.sarasotaclimate.org>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H1tFat99Tk
**
GOOD BASES FOR COMPARING HOUSES OF RICH AND FAMOUS POLITICIANS

You may have seen or heard the unfavorable comparison between Al
Gore's house (big and energy-intensive) and George W. Bush's house
(small and green-built). This is a great example of the logical
fallacy known as "straw man." One person, object, or action, is set up
as if it represents an entire argument. That one is then attacked. The
fallacy is the assumption that once the representative is attacked,
the position or idea represented is also destroyed.

One contrarian newsletter subscriber used this to demonstrate that
global warming is not real. Ahem. Climate science does not equal Al
Gore does not equal Al Gore's house.

Furthermore, if we calculated the ecofootprint of these two men, we
would look not only at their homes but also at all their carbon
emissions. One is carbon neutral, by virtue of offsets for his
admittedly carbon-rich lifestyle. The other is not carbon neutral.

Further furthermore, if we look at the energy expenditures directly
and indirectly caused by each of these men, including such phenomena
as unprovoked war, for example, one comes out more responsible for
continuing global warming than the other.


--
Lea Hall, Sarasota Network for Climate Action (SNCA)
www.sarasotaclimate.org



--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.11.10/943 - Release Date: 8/8/2007 5:38 PM