Global Warming Roundup

Another week, another spate of global warming-related essays, action and non-action.

At the New York Times last week, former Czech President Vaclav Havel attempted to revive to moral argument for combatting global warming, saying:

It is also obvious from published research that human activity is a cause of change; we just don’t know how big its contribution is. Is it necessary to know that to the last percentage point, though? By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren’t we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays?

There can be no doubt that for the past hundred years at least, Europe and the United States have been running up a debt, and now other parts of the world are following their example. Nature is issuing warnings that we must not only stop the debt from growing but start to pay it back. There is little point in asking whether we have borrowed too much or what would happen if we postponed the repayments. Anyone with a mortgage or a bank loan can easily imagine the answer.

Amen to that. I highly recommend reading the entire piece. Every day that passes with no movement on new CAFE standards, or that another non-green building goes up, or that we go without a comprehensive carbon-reduction plan is another day we get closer to seeing irreversible effects from climate change. Recent news reports say that scientists are stunned at how much the Arctic ice has receded this year, and our former colleague Ben Jervey is currently on a boat near Greenland making a journey that has only been made possible by the melting of sea ice.

To be sure, there is plenty to be worried about and no shortage of admonitions about what we should and should not be doing. But there are plenty of reasons for hope as well. We recently mentioned the “No More Coal” campaign begun by Architecture 2030, and they have continued to step up the pressure with a new ad placed in the Times [PDF] under the tagline “Want to Stop Global Warming? Stop Coal.” that goes on to show how we have the technology and capability already available to reduce energy consumption and derail the construction of new coal plants in the U.S. And now, Environmental Defense is going to bat (sorry, it’s baseball playoff season) with a campaign to get Congress to enact legislation aimed at producing a cap-and-trade program before the end of the year. Many of the 2008 presidential candidates and other legislators are on record as supporting emissions reductions, and these campaigns seek to turn those words into tangible action that get us beyond the “debate” over global warming. In a country where car companies (yes, even Toyota) are still finding support in Congress for their resistance to more fuel-efficient vehicles, it may seem like a tough row to hoe, but if we want to see significant action before the next presidential election, the voice of the people will be the most powerful weapon we have.

To that end, stay tuned for upcoming information on the next Step It Up! day of action, coming to NYC on November 3rd.


Posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 1:40 pm | Tagged in Energy, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming, Green Building | posted by Jamie

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