faulker083

Is it the job of environmentalists, renewable energy companies, and scientists to prove that renewable energy is scalable (able to replace the amount of energy we desire) now? It appears as though it is when Climate Change discussions focus on whether renewable energy is ready to fully substitute for the current energy of choice.   Environmentalist find themselves in the absurd position of having to prove -- to the public, to the media, and (even more absurdly) to economists -- that existing renewable energy options and costs can compete with fossil fuels in order to replace our dependence on fossil fuels. Many environmental groups, in their heroic attempts to appear optimistic and hopeful about a situation that  becomes more dire each day, have in effect promised that humanity can shift quickly to clean, renewable energy options (yes, I’ve been doing this myself). But is it appropriate or even useful to place responsibility for proving this extraordinary claim on the folks ex...

Due to security concerns, the public Paris Climate March is understandably canceled in Paris, making it all the more important that we march en masse locally. UPDATE: Citing the heightened security situation in Paris, the French government is prohibiting the Global Climate March planned in Paris for 29 November. While this tragedy makes it difficult to go forward with our original plans, we will still find a way for people in Paris to make the call for climate justice heard. There has never been a greater need for Global Climate Marches throughout the rest of the world, and they will continue as planned. Love will win out over fear, and our movement will win over injustice. We encourage everyone around the world to join a Global Climate March and raise their voices louder than ever. Global Climate March We need thousands to march locally to show our support for an ambitious deal that will avert the worst impacts of climate change. And yeah I know, everything is against having the medi...

The negotiations to keep greenhouse gas emissions 2C above preindustrial levels, and do so fairly, begin in Paris on November 30 th and continue through December 11 th . Humanity, which has developed and thrived in the last two centuries on a fossil fuel energy base, must quickly divert to a renewable energy base for our collective survival. The heat caused by this sudden, manmade Climate Change is jeopardizing our environment, our public health, and our way of life. While much of the public, the fossil fuel companies, and many climate change deniers still (immorally) scoff at these dire predictions, 97% of climate scientists know this to be true. Even the fossil fuel industries know this, although they have been saying otherwise. In fact, many climate scientists believe that the politically-generated goal of 2C is too high and may be too dangerous. Many are hopeful that Paris will set a more realistic emissions threshold. Success at Paris is far from a done deal. There isn’t enough...

We couldn’t talk about Climate Change much during last week’s elections. (Which is odd because that’s the time when our leaders and our media are supposed to talk about important stuff.) Nevertheless, now that those elections are over and the Paris Climate Change Summit is coming up maybe we can talk about this crisis. Paris may decide whether humanity dodges the climate bullet or not. So, at the very least shouldn’t we be talking about this issue now? Climate Change seems to be a lot of things to a lot of people: Climate Change is just science. Climate Change is a moral issue. Climate Change is an economic issue. Climate Change isn’t an economic issue. Climate Change is a hoax perpetrated by some ‘idiots’ who want to socialize the world and take away everyone’s money. Climate Change is dreadful. Climate Change is boring. The oil giants mislead the public about the fossil fuel industries’ contributions to Climate Change. Climate Change is fixable. Climate Change is the end. Climate Cha...

You don’t need to understand French to understand this short video taken during the “Catastrophe à Lac-Mégantic.” [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8Q7d8c24T0 ]  Some background. The opening speaker at the “Oil-by-Rail: What’s Next” meeting in Albany on October 24 th was a citizen from the small village of Lac Mégantic, Canada. Marilaine Savard, community leader from Lac-Mégantic--Quebec’s Citizens Committee--shared that community’s journey since the July 6, 2013 rail disaster. Marilaine showed the above video taken by a friend to a group of concerned groups from around New York State. Her friend Adrien Aubert, risking life and limb, started taping this video from his cell phone immediately after the explosion—but it has only been recently released online. It’s raw and brutal, which can be felt regardless of what language you speak and seen when Adrien turns the camera on himself near the end of this powerful video. The facts of the disaster are quickly summed up in...