EarthAction

End Repression in Tibet

For the past few weeks I have been hearing a lot about the atrocities going on in Tibet.  Students For A Free Tibet says,

“At great risk, Tibetans across Tibet are risings up against China's occupation of their homeland to show the world that, just months before the Beijing Olympics, the situation is critical and demands the world's attention.” 

For a fascinating collection of first-hand news and information about the situation, go here.

To take action, go to the SFT site: TAKE ACTION!

(Photo courtesy of Students For a Free Tibet)

Washington International Renewable Energy Conference: Canadian Viewpoint

We met an outstanding group of York University graduate students at WIREC. They have since written a fascinating article on the conference. We are honored to share it with you on our blog...

"At the 2008 Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, Dan Reicher, CEO of Google, stated, “Policy can make or break this revolution”. This is a powerful message for the renewable energy movement, and a dominant theme at WIREC, along with the necessity for collaboration and commitment. It is clear that investors need a stable policy environment that guarantees a long-term return on investment, and it is imperative that networks are expanded and sustained to share these best practices worldwide.

Feed-in Tariffs
We left WIREC with a genuinely positive sense that countries around the world are rapidly moving in this direction. Much discussion revolved around the need for policy stability, and what is commonly referred to as Feed-in Tariff’s (FITs) took centre stage as the desired policy. This policy guarantee’s that producers of renewable energy, from a  family home to a large business, can sell their power to utilities for an established price over a specific period of time.  Presently, 65 countries promote renewable energy, with FITs established in 45 countries and regions. FITs bring financial security, remove price risk, and guarantee return on investment – exactly the support that investors and community power projects need."

To continue reading the article, click here.

 

60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).   The declaration consists of 30 articles that specify the rights the General Assembly agreed are Human Rights guaranteed to all people.   If, like me, you have only heard repeated references to the Declaration of Human Rights but haven't read it for yourself, now is a great time to click on over to the UN page where they have it translated in many different languages.  (The Guinness Book of Records places the UDHR as the most translated document in the world!)

In honor of the document's 60th Anniversary, UBUNTU (World Forum of Civil Society Networks) has written a statement emphasizing that all Human Rights are "universal, indivisible, and interdependent."  They further call for:

1. The Human Right to Peace.

2. The Human Right to Development (including food, water, the satisfaction of basic needs) 

3. The Human Right to the Environment.  (acknowledging that "current production and consumption models are unsustainable")

EarthAction was one of the first 50 signatories on the UBUNTU document, alongside other supporters such as Noam Chomsky and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate).  You can click here to read the statement in full and to sign your name.  It's a great opportunity to evaluate how we are protecting those rights that are expressed in the original Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and what steps need to be taken for a sustainable future.

(Image is of Eleanoor Roosevelt reading a Spanish translation of the UDHR, author unknown)

Website Lets YOU Predict the Economic Impacts of Reducing US Carbon Emissions

Check out this interactive new website developed by my friend Robert Repetto.

As Congress prepares to debate new legislation to address the threat of climate change, opponents again claim that the costs of adopting the leading proposals would be ruinous to the U.S. economy. The world's leading economists who have studied the issue say that's wrong. And you can find out for yourself.

Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has recently posted a new website developed by economics professor Robert Repetto. In a way that anybody can easily understand, it synthesizes the results of thousands of policy simulations from 25 economic models being used to predict the economic impacts of reducing U.S. carbon emissions. To try this new website, just click on www.climate.yale.edu/seeforyourself.

     This website identifies the seven key assumptions accounting for most of the differences in the models' predictions. You can make your own assumptions about the key factors that will influence the costs of stopping climate change and see the results.

Focus Hampshire: Climate, Social Justice, and the Person

On Friday night, Hampshire College hosted a Focus the Nation teach-in with nine different faculty panelists.  As the juicy title (Climate, Social Justice, and the Person) suggests, the panelists spoke about climate change within the context of very different disciplines- we had an economist, a computer science professor, and a professor of Asian studies, just to name a few of those who spoke.  One of the main goals of Focus the Nation is to show how climate change is not just an "environmental" issue that concerns scientists and tree huggers (obviously!) 

Here are a few things that were brought up that really got me thinking:
-Gender issues in climate change.  (Women can be affected very differently then men.  For example, in Bangladesh when the 2007 cyclone hit, more women were killed because they weren't in public spaces to be warned about the natural disaster.)
-The idea of rationing.  Professor Stan Warner talked about rationing post WWI style.  Will we only be allowed two plane trips a year? etc.
-Holding drivers accountable through taxing-type systems.   (Live near a reliable bus system?  You'll be "taxed" much more to drive.  Live in a rural town and need to drive to the supermarket?  You'll be "taxed" much less.  Taxed is in quotations because it may not be an official "tax" but some sort of similar system.)
-Religion's potential role in the movement.  (How can religious leaders inspire people to evaluate their relationship with the earth and how to care for it, and inspire this compassion in all people, religious and non?)

It was a great night with well over seventy five students (that was the number we had food for, and we ran out pretty quick.)  Professor Stephanie Levin commented that when she was in school, this is exactly what students were doing to learn more about how to stop the Vietnam war- inviting faculty from all different areas, and engaging in community discussion. 

As students, we know and respect the power of community dialogue.  It's about raising awareness and motivating to action.  We're in it for the long haul.   

PS
You can also check out a neat Hampshire video bit about the event.

Mining Issue in El Salvador

Hi Everyone!  I'm Meghan (also known as Piña) and for my first post, I'd like to bring your attention to a gold mining issue in El Salvador.  Pacific Rim, a Canadian mining company, is trying to start a new mining project in San Isidro.  San Isidro is in the providence of Cabañas, where according to the UN 55% of the population live below the poverty line.

The campesinos (peasant farmers) of the region are concerned that Pacific Rim will take 30,000 Liters of water a day, from the same place they only get water once a week.  Rights Action, a NGO that works in Central America, has been working on the mining issue since the start and has experience with similar issues in all of Central America.  For more information and actions to take please visit their website at: this "Take Action" page.

This same post, in Spanish:

Hola a todas! Soy Meghan (también me conocen como Piña) y para mi primera post quiziera llamarles la atención a un problema de extraer oro en El Salvador.  Pacific-Rim, una companía canadience, está tratando de empezar una mina de oro en San Isidro. San Isidro está en la provencia de Las Cabañas, donde según las NU 55% de la población está bajo la  linea de pobreza.

Los campesinos de la región están preocupados que la mina de Pacific Rim tomará 30,000 litros de agua  diario de la misma lugar donde viene el agua de la comunidad solo una vez a la semana.  Rights Action, una ONG que trabaja en América Central, han trabjado en ese problema desde su comienzo y tienen experiencia en otros casos similares en América Central.  Para más información y acciones que puedan tomar por favor viste su citio: www.rightsaction.org (en inglés y español). Cualquier pregunta, información que tienen, o si quieran saber más de El Salvador por favor compartélo.

A Taste of the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference

Get ready for the Revolution! One thing is clear from being here at the Washington International Renewal Energy Conference (WIREC) - the Renewable Energy Revolution is on its way. Hermann Scheer, a German Member of Parliament—and the ‘father’ of the ‘Feed In’ legislation—told the several thousand participants from all over the world at the Ministerial Session of the Conference, “The main aim for us being here is to help each other to accelerate the shift to renewables.”

Speakers pointed out many of the things that need to change as part of this revolution, first among them: “Our way of thinking.” It is clear that a shift to renewables is already creating jobs, strengthening economies, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and increasing energy security. There were lots of stories and examples of how the revolution is beginning, and challenges for all of us to get on board.

Gotta go, today’s first session just started. I’ll post more later about the buzz of being on the edge of change.

Lois  Barber

(Lois asked me to post this, as she was on her way to a session. -Ananda)

Exciting Notes from Washington DC Feed-In Tariff Workshop

Greetings from Washington DC!

Yesterday I spent the entire day at the “FIT for the Future” strategy workshop. It was absolutely fascinating, crammed with information and fascinating speakers. Co-hosted by the World Future Council, Heinrich Boll Foundation, and the Worldwatch Institute, the event brought in speakers from France, Germany, and Spain to speak about the Feed-In Tariff programs in their countries, as well as U.S. legislators working towards FIT laws, and organizations in favor of the policy. It was fascinating to be sitting in a room full of so many highly intelligent people who were eager to discuss the possibilities and issues surrounding bringing FIT legislation to the U.S.

Tellingly, Oliver Schafer, from the European Renewable Energy Council, ended the third panel by noting that many Europeans think that U.S. energy policy centers around the question, “How did our oil get under their sand?” However, this conference has opened his eyes – let’s ensure that this workshop results in meaningful action!

I will not go into detail about the substance of the workshop, as we will hopefully have more detailed blog posts in the near future, but for now I thought I’d give some highlights.

Chris Flavin, from the Worldwatch Institute, opened the day challenging us to think up a new name for FIT, something that does not have a negative subcontext. Some of the ideas brought up throughout the day were “energy freedom act,” “fair and efficient rates,” “standard offer program,” and “microgeneration.” What do you think?

One issue brought up was, “How do we, from a political standpoint, convince Americans to vote to increase their electricity bills?” Of course, there were the normal replies about emphasizing the environmental and karmic gains, and emphasizing how any type of energy or change in energy source policy will probably add to the bill, but I found the answer given by Hugo Lucas Porta, who works for the IDEA in Spain, to be the most creative. He said that in Spain they intend to give incentives for citizens to reduce their electricity use so that their electricity bill will go down, and thus, even with the FIT in place, their bill will probably still be even lower than before. Pairing these two policies makes quite a difference.

I don’t want this blog post to drag on, so I will just end with a most compelling idea from Paul Gipe’s speech: With FIT laws, we move from being a nation of consumers to being a nation of producers.

(I took the photo of the Washington Monument- I’ve been indulging in a bit of sightseeing, as this is my first time ever in DC!)

Rhode Island Introduces Renewable Energy Sources Bill

Rhode Island is the first state on the East Coast to introduce a Feed-In Tariff renewable energy bill, which is an exciting step forward in EarthAction's FIT campaign. According to Wind-Works.org's Paul Gipe, "The tiny state's move could have a big impact on other states on America's eastern seaboard." To learn more, and view the text of the entire bill, please visit this link.

Photo of the Clingstone house, a historic home which has been renovated to include a wind turbine and solar arrays, is courtesy of Flickr user G.E. Long, shared under a Creative Commons license.

Howdy and Hello.

Greetings!  This is my very first blog post, so I thought I would introduce myself.  Firstly, I’m Becca, and I’m an intern here.  I get to work with an incredible boss, Lois Barber (the Director of EarthAction), Ginger, who just came on with EarthAction, and three other amazing interns- Ananda, Greer, and Meghan (or Piña, as she likes to be called.)  You’ll be hearing from them soon.

Ananda, Greer, Meghan and I are all first years at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. It’s a small, alternative school full of eccentric and passionate students (which probably accurately describes us too.)  You design your own course of academic study here.  (That is, after your first year.  In your first year there are much more specific requirements you have to meet.)  There is more room to explore seemingly different areas of interest.  Personally, I’m trying to juggle my love of literature, writing, theatre, environmental studies/activism, outdoor education, speaking Spanish/Latin American affairs, a new found interest in dance, learning how to climb and do yoga, vegetariansim/health issues, and… well, there’s more, actually.  Yes, I know this is ridiculous.  At least I’m in a place where this is the norm.

Anyways, all of us here at EarthAction are super excited to be starting this blog up.  EarthAction has a pretty impressive history (Just click on Successes or Past Campaigns to see for yourself!)  Here are only a few of my favorite highlights:   
-Increased funding for primary education in multiple countries (Education for All campaign, 2001)
-Ratification of the The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) (Desertification campaign, 06-07.  By the way, Lois has a great story about how she got former President Bill Clinton to use the exact language she wrote in addressing desertification issues.)
-Saving Rainforests. (Imataca Forest Reserve, Venezuela, campaign, 1998)

Lois has been doing this for a long time, addressing climate change issues since 1995.  EarthAction has always worked to better global society on many fronts- from ending logging to working with the UN to raise the age and conditions of child soldiers.  It’s not just about environmental affairs or social justice issues- they’re all related, and we’re in this together to improve the world for everyone.

The heart of EarthAction has always been about community, which is why we’re so excited to be redesigning and refocusing our presence online.  We want to be more connected with our partner organizations, individuals, and you!  Even though we’re still in the process of transitioning and figuring this out, we hope that you’ll continue to check back in with us (consider subscribing to our RSS feed!), leave a comment or shoot an e-mail, and tell your friends about us. 

Stay tuned for personal stories, ways you can get involved, and more info on our current campaign on renewable energy!

P.S.
I want to share the link to this interview with the amazing climber Chris Sharma.  He’s interviewed by Waylon Lewis of Elephant  magazine, fabulous independent media from my hometown of Boulder, Colorado.  Even if you’re not interested in climbing, there are some great thoughts shared.

(The photo of Hampshire College's admissions building was taken by me.)