C+ be carbon positive! Because climate change is an issue we shouldn't be 'neutral' on.There are many examples of action that achieve real reductions. They range from local campaigns against airport expansion and for better public transport to international movements for global justice. Whether you're a cycling enthusiast or a politico there's something everyone can do to be part of the solution. Keeping the oil in the ground In 1999 the Costa Rican government signed an oil development contract with US President George W Bush's former company Harken Energy Harken Energy Corporation (AMEX: HKN) is an American oil and gas company, headquartered in Southlake, Texas. Its shares trade publicly on the American Stock Exchange. Harken has attracted attention because of the role played in its affairs in the 1980s by George W. . When a ship arrived at the port of Limon that year to set off 20,000 seismic blasts on the sea floor during the height of the annual lobster migration, local people were outraged. Thanks to strong public pressure the Government declared a moratorium on oil, gas and mining activities in the country in 2002 and set in motion efforts to repeal the controversial Hydrocarbons Law--a piece of legislation brought in as part of a World Bank loan restructuring arrangement which carved up the country into 27 land and marine exploration blocks. The moratorium is the first of its kind in the world, and was presented to the UN climate talks in Montreal in 2005, as Costa Rica's 'contribution to solving climate change'. Where Costa Rica Costa Rica (kŏs`tə rē`kə), officially Republic of Costa Rica, republic (2005 est. pop. 4,016,000), 19,575 sq mi (50,700 sq km), Central America. leads, others can follow. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Groups like Oilwatch International and campaigns such as against BP's Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (sometimes abbreviated as BTC pipeline) transports crude petroleum 1,768 kilometres (1099 mi) from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. (see NI 361, October 2003 available on our website at www.newint.org/issue361/) are playing a vital role in keeping the oil in the ground. Some campaign groups fighting against the expansion of the oil industry: Oilwatch International www.oilwatch.org Oil Change International www.priceofoil.org Baku-Ceyhan Campaign www.baku.org.uk Plan B http://planb.org Ending climate spam After years of campaigning on climate change in local, national and international fora, many groups began to see that the burgeoning carbon market was undermining their efforts. As a result the Durban Network for Climate Justice was formed to highlight the problems of the carbon market, support communities affected by offset projects and promote positive alternatives. Durban Network for Climate Justice Weblog See blog and Web log. (World-Wide Web) weblog - (Commonly "blog") Any kind of diary published on the World-Wide Web, usually written by an individual (a "blogger") but also by corporate bodies. : http://climatejustice.blogspot.com Some Durban Network members include: Carbon Trade Watch/The Transnational Institute Transnational Institute (TNI) is an international think tank for progressive politics. It was established in 1974 in Amsterdam and serves as a network for scholars and activists. Though now independent, it was established as the international programme of the Washington, D.C. www.carbontradewatch.org The Corner House www.thecornerhouse.org.uk Sustainable Energy
Sustainable energy sources are energy sources which are not expected to be depleted in a timeframe relevant to the human race, and which and Economy Network www.seen.org Rising Tide Noun 1. rising tide - the occurrence of incoming water (between a low tide and the following high tide); "a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune" -Shakespeare flood tide, flood www.risingtide.org.uk World Rainforest Movement The World Rainforest Movement (WRM) is an international NGO and Indigenous Peoples' Groups network involved in efforts to defend the world's tropical forests against the forces that destroy them. www.wrm.org.uy Global Justice Ecology Network www.globaljusticeecology.org Indigenous Environment Network www.ienearth.org Sinkswatch/FERN www.sinkswatch.org www.fern.org Friends of the Earth International Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is a federation of autonomous environmental organizations from 70 countries around the world. In contrast to many other NGOs operating internationally, Friends of the Earth is structured from the bottom up as a network of www.foei.org For more comprehensive coverage of climate solutions, see NI 357, June 2003, available on our website at www.newint.org/issue357/ Challenging the C[O.sub.2] culture The fossil-fuel economy is something that the industry constantly needs to protect and promote. Feelgood vibes via the arts and culture are but one means to that end. Prompted in part by BP's sponsorship of the British National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery can refer to:
Art Not Oil www.artnotoil.org.uk [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] National Petroleum Gallery www.nationalpetroleumgallery.org.uk Museum of the Corporation www.museumofthecorporation.org Remember Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule "Ken" Beeson Saro-Wiwa (October 10, 1941 – November 10, 1995) was a Nigerian author, television producer, and environmentalist. He was the son of Chief Jim Wiwa. www.remembersarowiwa.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Recommended reading: Ben Pearson, Market Failure: Why the Clean Development Mechanism won't promote clean development, CDM 1. CDM - Content Data Model 2. CDM - Code Division Multiplexing Watch, November 2004. www.sinkswatch.org/pubs/Market%20failure.pdf Brian Tokar, 'Climate Talks in Montreal: Can we save the planet?', Z Magazine, Volume 19, Number 2, February 2006. http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Feb2006/tokar0206.html Carbon Trade Watch/TNI, The Sky is Not the Limit: The emerging market in greenhouse gases, TNI TNI Transnational Institute (Amsterdam, Netherlands) TNI Tentara Nasional Indonesia TNI Troponin I TNI Trusted Network Interpretation TNI The New Information TNI Telephone Network Interface , 2003. www.carbontradewatch.org/pubs/skyeng.pdf Carbon Trade Watch/TNI, Hoodwinked in the Hothouse hothouse: see greenhouse. : The G8, climate change and free-market environmentalism Free market environmentalism is a theory that argues the free market is the best tool to preserve the health and sustainability of the environment. This is in sharp contrast to the most common modern approach of looking to government intervention to prevent destruction of the , TNI, 2005. www.carbontradewatch.org/pubs/hothousecolour.pdf Daphne Wysham, 'A Planet for Some Carbon?', Fort Worth Star-Telegram The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News , 12 December 2005. www.fpif.org/fpifoped/3015 Durban Group for Climate Justice, Climate Justice Now! The Durban Declaration Not to be confused with The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The Durban declaration was a statement signed by over 5,000 physicians and scientists at the 2000 International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, affirming that HIV is the cause of AIDS. on Carbon Trading. www.carbontradewatch.org/durban/durbandec.html Durban Group for Climate Justice, To Keep the Oil Flowing: A Conversation on Carbon Credits (DRAFT), Dag Hammarskjold Noun 1. Dag Hammarskjold - Swedish diplomat who greatly extended the influence of the United Nations in peacekeeping matters (1905-1961) Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjold, Hammarskjold Foundation, 2006. http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/pdf/document/CarbConv.pdf FASE-ES/Carbon Trade Watch/TNI, Where the Trees are a Desert: Stories from the ground, TNI, 2003. www.carbontradewatch.org/pubs/trees.pdf Friends of the Earth International/World Rainforest Movement/FERN, Tree Trouble: A Compilation of Testimonies on the Negative Impact of Large-scale Monoculture mon·o·cul·ture n. 1. The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or country. 2. A single, homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension. Tree Plantations. www.fern.org/pubs/reports/treetr.pdf Heidi Bachram, 'Climate Fraud and Carbon Colonialism: The New Trade in Greenhouse Gases', Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, Volume 15, Number 14, December 2004. www.carbontradewatch.org/pubs/cns.pdf [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Larry Lohmann, 'Climate Politics After Montreal: Time for a Change', Foreign Policy in Focus, 10 January 2006. www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3025 Larry Lohmann, Democracy or Carbocracy? Intellectual corruption and the future of the climate debate, The Corner House, October 2001. www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/item.shtml?x=51982 Larry Lohmann, The Dyson Effect: Carbon 'Offset' Forestry and The Privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned of the Atmosphere, The Corner House, July 1999. www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/item.shtml?x=51971 Patrick Bond and Rehana Dada (editors), Trouble in the Air: Global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. and the privatised atmosphere, Centre for Civil Society/TNI, 2005. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] www.carbontradewatch.org/pubs/CCS_ENERGYSERIES_1005_COMPLETE.pdf Platform Research/Friends of the Earth/London Rising Tide, Beyond Oil: The oil curse and solutions for an oil-free future, October 2004. www.carbonweb.org/beyond%20oil.htm Graham Erion, 'Low Hanging Fruit Always Rots First: Observations from South Africa's Crony Carbon Market', Carbon Trade Watch/TNI, October 2005. www.carbontradewatch.org/pubs/CDMsouthafrica.pdf Anne Petermann & Orin Langelle, 'UN Global Warming Convention Meets US Resistance While Activists Criticize Carbon Trading As "Privatization of the Atmosphere', Z Magazine, February 2005. http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Feb2005/petermann0205.html Sinkswatch/FERN, Carbon 'offset'--no magic solution to 'neutralise' fossil fuel fossil fuel: see energy, sources of; fuel. fossil fuel Any of a class of materials of biologic origin occurring within the Earth's crust that can be used as a source of energy. Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, and natural gas. emissions, FERN Briefing Note A briefing note is a document that is used to inform or advise a person in an organization, usually a decision-maker. A briefing note could provide good news, bad news or understanding of an issue. It could advise the reader to make a decision that will guide the writer's actions. , FERN, June 2005. www.sinkswatch.org/pubs/carbon%20offset.pdf Sinkswatch/FERN, Forest Fraud: Say 'no' to fake carbon credits, FERN, December 2003. www.sinkswatch.org/pubs/forestfraud.pdf Recommended Viewing: Raised Voices Film and audio testimonies from people in the Majority World on various issues including climate change, carbon trading and oil. www.raisedvoices.net Green Gold Documentary about the World Bank's promotion of a carbon offset project in South Africa. http://clearerchannel.org/media/page.php?id=430&prefix=video Where the Trees are a Desert, photo essay www.tni.org/exhibit/ Recommended Events, Action and Initiatives The Camp for Climate Action (UK) 26 August-4 September "The camp will be a place for this movement to get together. It will be a place for new people, people who have never been "political" before but who want to move beyond concern into action. It will be a place for experienced activists: old and young, cynical and hopeful. We all need courage, the guts to step beyond the comfort of our concern or the borders of our group. Climate change casts a long shadow over the future. But we believe this time can be an opportunity, a moment when people come together and say "enough"'. www.climatecamp.org.uk The Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (US) A diverse, consensus-based group of US environmental justice, religious, policy, and advocacy networks working together to promote just and meaningful climate policy. Offers many training and educational opportunities. www.ejcc.org Friends of the Earth Climate Justice Campaign (Australia) A national campaign incorporating a climate justice roadshow and many action possibilities and educational opportunities. www.foe.org.au/nc/nc_climate.htm Energy Action (Canada/US) A Canadian and US student and youth coalition working to build a clean energy movement in North America. Currently running a very successful Campus Climate Challenge among other initiatives. www.energyaction.net 'I felt then that excruciating pain which knowledge confers on those who can discern the gulf that divides what is and what could be.' --Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995), writing in Home, Sweet Home |
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