Climate Change

A quick snapshot from Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops & Kelowna …

What? Sudbury? Sea Urchins? Hear me out.

1. Carbon dioxide is the largest contributor to global climate change.

2. Coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of CO₂.

3. Nickel nanoparticles are a newly discovered ingredient that may … may … make it easy to capture carbon dioxide from a smokestack as a solid.

4. Sudbury produces lots of nickel.

 The Five Most Discouraging Climate Stories of the Month

 The Five Most Discouraging Climate Stories of the Month

1. Head of U.S. Pacific Forces: Climate Change is Biggest Threat to Region’s Security. 

"Climate Reports Forecast Dire Future, Even If Action Is Taken" - Huffington Post

"Climate Predictions: Worst-Case May Be Most Accurate, Study Finds" - National Geographic News

"I got it wrong on climate change - it’s far, far worse" - Sir Nicholas Stern, in The Guardian

 On June 10-17th 2013, young leaders will converge in Istanbul, Turkey for a landmark gathering. 500 grassroots climate activists and leaders from around the world will meet, train, share skills and stories, and prepare for the next phase of the global climate movement.

After leaving Turkey, they will fan out across the world to catalyze powerful national movements calling for bold climate action. Through a series of national summits and trainings, they will unleash a new wave of climate activism.

We're a small organization with a big heart and even bigger ambitions, and we value your help.

Q: What is your driving concern as an organization?

A: The storm clouds of global climate change, which will wreak havoc on our world if we don't accelerate the proven sustainable solutions for transport, buildings, electricity, forestry and farming fast enough.

Q: What are you doing on the ground here in BC, to make a difference?

A: A lot...

It’s blunt language, but we really mean it. We’ve simply got to end our civilization’s addiction to fossil fuels. We’ve got to leave them in the ground, and accelerate the switch to clean, safe, climate-friendly renewable energy.

How are we supposed to keep up with the tidal wave of information that comes our way every day?

My daily favorites are the BBC, Guardian and Independent, from the UK; Spiegel (English edition, from Germany); and the Huffington Post. For most of these, I usually click on ‘Green’ or ‘environment. I supplement them with <a href="www.grist.org>Grist</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href=" http:="" cleantechnica.com="" "="">Clean Technica, Smart Planet, and Climate Progress. My favorite weekly magazine is New Scientist. And still the great stories keep coming, so I also have Google News set up with my favorite search terms, such as ‘solar’, ‘climate change’ … and ‘BCSEA’.

What if we thought that the coming provincial election next May was the most important event of the decade – and it was absolutely critical to elect a government that was committed to the smartest, greenest, most sustainable policies possible, that could turn the words “economic development” into “Earth-harmonious development.”

What kind of policies would we want if that were so? Because surely, it is so, when you read even that briefest of summaries - from the World Bank, of all things, which has never been known as a signed up greenie.