by Worldchanging Canada local blogger, Simon Donner: It is easy to be pessimistic about climate change policy in Canada. One saving grace of the federal impotency is that it has spurred the provinces to action. Following the US example, where many states have reacted to federal action by enacting their own emissions reductions plans (there’s even a map!), the provinces are claiming the mantle of leadership in Canada. It has the feeling of a “grassroots”, or at least a moderate-sized shrub, movement. Quebec was the first province to set an emissions target — a 1.5% reduction in GHG emissions below 1990 levels by 2012 — which the government plans to achieve through an expansion of wind energy, hydropower, public transit and energy efficiency. Since then, almost every province, save Alberta and Saskatchewan, has advanced some form of a plan to reduce GHG emissions. The recent decisions by British Columbia, the source of 9% of Canada’s GHG emissions (2005 data), have drawn the most attention. In this year’s Speech from the Throne, the province announced the most aggressive short- and long-term emissions targets (10% below 1990 levels by 2020, a 33% drop) of any jurisdiction in North America. The province plans… (more)

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Climate Change at 12:56 PM)

I’m trembling a bit here, so forgive any typos, but today’s the day: Green Options is live!

After four months, countless revisions and hiccups, and a number of new faces, it’s hard to believe we’ve reached this point. But, we’re up, and we’re happy! There will be more revisions and updates, and we’re definitely interested in your feedback.

I’ll get back on schedule here, too… Doing another auto show this week (Chicago), and will be cross posting here and at GO. GM is picking up the tab this time, with the same requirement that I disclose that they’re sponsoring the trip … so here it is (and I’ll mention that on subsequent posts). I imagine they’ll have a disclaimer — I’ll post it as soon as I get it.

I’m tired… but really excited! Come by, take a look, and let us know what you think!

Categories: greenoptions, green, web, launch

by Worldchanging Austin local blogger, Sandra Burchsted: Until recently it was next to impossible to quantify the cost of our day to day activities in terms of their environmental impact. It’s hard to understand or manage something you can’t see. Intuitively we know that running a hair dryer consumes more energy than leaving a lamp on with a compact fluorescent light bulb. However, this information has been hidden from us, rendering the costs “out of sight out of mind.” This is changing…. Information about the real costs of our daily activities is becoming more accessible. Some interesting cultural changes have emerged from the increasing interest in making visible the invisible. We’re gaining what I think of as eco-sense and sensibility, meaning that as the costs and consequences of our lifestyle choices become visible, we become more sensitive — and sensible — about the choices we make with regard to the environment. With our personal impact in plain view, we can’t turn our heads, and the more we face the real consequences of our actions, the harder we’ll try to adapt our behavior towards lighter impact living. There are a host of new applications and gadgets on the market and in… (more)

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Emerging Technologies at 12:50 PM)

by Worldchanging SF local blogger, Victoria Everman: A local San Francisco company is making it easy for retailers to go green. Plan-It Hardware is California’s leading distributor of green products to hardware, home improvement and other retailers. According to Plan-It, “the home improvement business hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years. It’s still about providing the products and advice people need to maintain and improve their homes. But we all lead different lives today. Our idea of “home” has evolved to embrace our community, the local ecosystem and the entire planet. And we’re growing more concerned about the impact we have on all three.” Plan-It’s “Green It Yourself” program for retailers has received a lot of attention in California since their launch last year, including a number of proud supporters. Not only does Plan-It provide eco-friendly products for sale, their program also provides support and tips on ways for an entire store itself to conduct business in a more sustainable manner: “We offer the most complete and rigorously evaluated catalog of the best and ‘greenest’ products available anywhere. We include in-store signage, shelf talkers, end-cap displays and more to help your customers find exactly what they need. And we… (more)

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Purchasing Green at 12:48 PM)

Man, I’ve missed you guys! Apologies for the sporadic posting; Green Options goes public next week, and we’re working round the clock to make sure that it’s a unique experience on the Green Web. If you haven’t been beta testing, come by Monday to see what we’ve been up to!

I’ve been meaning to get to this for several days now: Free Range Studios, the folks behind a number of viral video legends, including Backwards Hamburger and Sam Suds, have launched their biggest effort yet! “The Mouth Revolution,” which is sponsored by Annie’s Homegrown, is a four-and-a-half minute video that promotes (that’s putting it mildly) the benefits of organic foods. Mouths around the world unite in shutting up to trans fat, GMOs, artificial ingredients, and pesticides.

The video is only one part of a pretty aggressive campaign: the Mouth Revolution site features a blog, an action center, and even space to upload your own “Revolutionary Mouth” picture. Users can also take a look at outtakes on Youtube. It’s all a lot of fun, but begs a serious question: why do we eat this crap??

Thanks to the folks at Free Range for passing this along. Another smash hit, I’m certain… Join the Mouthalution…!

In fact, one of the biggest in five years… at least as far as the study of climate change is concerned. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meets this week in France, and on Friday that gathering will culminate in the release of the panel’s fourth assessment on climate change. What’s the verdict? To some degree, that depends on where you already stand.

In December, I wrote a post for Treehugger and Seventh Generation’s Convenient Truths contest about a preview of the assessment in the UK Telegraph. That article’s headline, “UN downgrades man’s impact on the climate,” might seem like an admission that the skeptics were right — the scientists were overblowing the impact of human activities on the climate crisis. In fact, several noted skeptics, including Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, pointed to the article as their “smoking gun.” Not so fast, though: the report still state that atmospheric carbon levels have accelerated since the panel’s last report in 2001. One member, who wished to remain anonymous, noted “The bottom line is that the climate is still warming while our greenhouse gas emissions have accelerated, so we are storing up problems for ourselves in the future.”

Of course, things have changed even since that December 19th post: for one, Dubya acknowledged climate change in his State of the Union address, and called for a 20% reduction in gasoline use in the next 10 years (which is ambitious, in and of itself). The topic dominated the just-closed World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, with European leaders calling for broader and even more ambitious targets: “…a 30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.”

In a roundabout way, I’m wondering if the report on Friday will only “seal the deal,” so to speak. The last holdouts, mainly certain politicians in Washington, seem to be coming around. John McCain, who’s probably watching every word he says these days (but who’s also been a supporter of action against climate change), told the crowd at Davos “I admit that it is very late, and it may not be enough … but I think that for the first time, you are going to see some action on this compelling issue.” Forget what the president said: this is presidential candidate, and one who’s looking to solidify the conservative base! We’ve got to wonder if we’ve hit the tipping point of tipping points: when even the political classes realize that waffling will no longer cut it.

I’m meandering tonight, but this is really too big of an issue for pat statements (not that I ever make those, mind you!). But we’ve seen some rumblings in the past couple of weeks that we could’ve only imagined a year ago. Are we there? Are we finally going to see some substantive steps? It’s too early to say for certain, but I think we can say that the direction of the debate has never looked so positive…

Categories: climatechange, globalwarming, ipcc, un, assessment, davos, bush, sotu

For too long, it’s been so easy to take for granted the benefit of natural systems to quality of life that we’ve treated them as though they will be free and functional forever. But in the last few years, the value of the services we receive from the Earth has become increasingly apparent, not only in terms of sentiment, but in terms of dollars and cents. In other words, we’re figuring out that preservation offers greater economic gain than resource extraction, and realizing that accounting for what we’re losing now — and what we stand to lose if we don’t calculate the dollar value of things like bees and rainforests and biodiversity — may save us in the long term. Worldchanging’s archive of material on this topic is quite extensive, as it’s a key example of a new solution for saving our most ancient assets. Apiculture and Colony Collapse Disorder What are NYC’s Street Trees Worth? A Cool $122 Million Ecosystem Goods and Services: Series Introduction Ecosystem Goods and Services: The Biophysical Basis Ecosystem Goods and Services: Valuation 101 True Cost Clearinghouse Showing the Local Value of Ecosystem Services What’s a Clean Earth Worth? Green Water and Sustainable Agriculture Ecology… (more)

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Biodiversity and Ecosystems at 11:33 AM)

The latest IPCC report came out today. This is part of a six year process involving thousands of scientists. As Climate Progress points out:

This report has to be signed off on by 120 governments, including the United States, and oil countries like Saudi Arabia. And they can veto any word. So you can take to the bank anything that all those countries agree to.

If you like going straight to the source, you can read the IPCC summary for policy makers on their site (pdf). Our (somewhat shorter) take on it is here.

Continue reading IPCC says we can do it…

I have to say at the outset – I respect married women who want to remain totally loyal to their marriage…hats off to them…and for most of my life, I too believed that that’s how women (and men, too) are supposed to live – true to their marriage, forever… Why and how I changed to a point where I feel that honesty and openness, caring and affection between spouses are more important than any traditional definition of loyalty is a different story…but that’s where I am now…

Anyway, a couple of days ago, this Asian (married) woman that I am friends with, and been flirting with for the past few months sort of made it clear that she intends to be loyal to her husband…but she’s still my friend and understands my ‘need’ to look for additional pleasure and companionship…I wasn’t really pushing things – I wanted to take things slow, as she had indicated once before about her ‘traditional’ outlook…all I wanted was to take a picture of us together when we were out in a park on a sunny day, to talk about ‘things’…I am fortunate to have her as a friend – despite letting her know that I am of the flirting-kind…

OK, this is what puzzles me… I thought we were making progress…For example, when I asked her to teach me swimming (yes, I am still a beginner – there were no swimming pools where I grew up 🙁 she joked, asking me if I was looking for an excuse to touch her! I said, not really, but it was a good idea…Another time, she came over to my house with a headache (and a request to take care of one of her errands). I gave her a nice head massage, and also rubbed a pain balm on her forehead…She told me that her headache could be due to her periods…This could be considered ‘innocent’ by others standards, but for me, this was ‘progress’ in our frindship…what can I do? That’s me…:) Another time we were chatting on MSN and I told her to remember to close her chat window, or her husband might worry…she laughed and said she was an adult with her own mind…(actually, her husband is my friend too… and I was having this crazy idea that I should try to find out his views on such subjects as swinging, hotwifing, etc….you see, I always try to go for the best deal – if I am going to befriend another man’s wife, ideally I would like it to be with his knowledge and consent…does this make sense?)

Anyway, there were a few incidents that can be clearly termed ‘flirting’ between us…that is why I was puzzled when she decided to pretty much call it off…But I have decided to respect her decision totally…because I respect her as a person and as a friend…and friendship is more important…

This reminds me of another story (again, with an Asian married woman – but of a different nationality, in a different country where I was working) – where I thought I had a great thing going, and she decided to call it off all of a sudden…I found out later on that the main reason was that she was influenced by some ‘religious’ group that befriended her…some kind of ‘witnesses’…

I guess marital fidelity is still an important deal for a lot of women…but I am just puzzled when it comes into play all of a sudden, after a lot of flirting…(even after a lot of petting and necking, too… gosh, these words don’t sound too good…need to look up other words… 🙂

So, back at the Kyoto International Conference Centre. I, Athena, Greenpeace International’s Asia climate campaigner, was here in December 1997. I was one of many, negotiating a historic agreement: The Kyoto Protocol . It still is the only legally binding global agreement aimed at stopping climate change. Today, ten years on, I am here to attend the 40th Annual General Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) . I am here to deliver a simple message. If the ADB wants to honour Kyoto, it must agree concrete steps for saving the climate at this historic place. It must decide to quit coal and put all its resources into funding a sustainable energy revolution in Asia.

Continue reading ADB – Honour Kyoto!…