The future

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  • NastyD
    Gold Gabber
    • Jun 2004
    • 615

    The future

    Got this email this morning. Not sure just how alarmist it is, but I do get the feeling we're heading into some kind of an abyss. The trouble is that as I get older I get more skeptical of anything I'm told - the politicians are all liars who only care for themselves and their friends' interests, the news agencies are run by big business who's agenda is to further their own wealth, is this email a scare tactic overstating the issue?

    Thought I'd share anyway...

    Dear Avaaz community,



    This may be the most important email I've ever written to you.


    Scientist Julienne Stroeve has studied Arctic ice for decades. Every summer she travels north to measure how much ice has melted. She knows that climate change is melting the ice fast, but a recent trip surprised even her. Vast areas of Arctic ice have disappeared, beyond our worst expectations.


    This is what the experts warned us about. As the earth warms, it creates many "tipping points" that accelerate the warming out of control. Warming thaws the Arctic sea ice, destroying the giant white 'mirror' that reflects heat back into space, which massively heats up the ocean, and melts more ice, and so on. We spin out of control. In 2013 everything -- storms, temperatures -- was off the charts.


    We CAN stop this, if we act very fast, and all together. And out of this extinction nightmare, we can pull one of the most inspiring futures for our children and grandchildren. A clean, green future in balance with the earth that gave birth to us.


    We have 24 months until the Paris Summit, the meeting that world leaders have decided will determine the fate of our efforts to fight climate change. It might seem like a long time - it's not. We have 24 months to get the right leaders in power, get them to that meeting, give them a plan, and hold them accountable. And it's us vs. the oil companies, and fatalism. We can win, we must, but we need to blast out of the starting gate with pledges of just a few dollars/euros/pounds per week until the summit -- we'll only process the donations if we hit our goal. For the world we dream of, let's make it happen.


    Click to pledge what you can, we’ll process your donation only if we reach our goal of 50,000 sustainers:


    YES, I'LL PLEDGE £1 A WEEK


    YES, I'LL PLEDGE £2 A WEEK


    YES, I'LL PLEDGE £3 A WEEK


    To pledge an amount other than the ones listed above, click here.



    Fatalism on climate change is not just futile, it's also incompetent. The hour is late, but it is still absolutely within our power to stop this catastrophe, simply by shifting our economies from oil and coal to other sources of power. And doing so will bring the world together like never before, in a deep commitment and cooperation to protect our planetary home. It's a beautiful possibility, and the kind of future Avaaz was born to create.


    Facing this challenge will take heart, and hope, and also all the smarts we have. Here's the plan:




    1. Go Political: Elect Climate Leaders -- 3 crucial countries have elections in the next year. Let's make sure the right people win, and with the right mandate. Avaaz is one of the only major global advocacy organizations that can be political. And since this fight will be won or lost politically, it could be at some points just us vs. the oil companies to decide who our politicians listen to.


    2. Make Hollande a Hero -- French President Francois Hollande will chair the Paris summit - a powerful position. We have to try every tactic and channel -- his personal friends and family, his political constituency, his policy advisors -- to make him the hero we need him to be to make the summit a success.


    3. Take it to the Next Level -- The scale of this crisis demands action that goes beyond regular campaigning. It's time for powerful, direct, non-violent action, to capture imagination, convey moral urgency, and inspire people to act. Think Occupy.


    ?4. Out the Spoilers -- Billionaires like the Koch brothers and their oil companies are the major spoilers in climate change - funding junk science to confuse us and spending millions on misleading PR, while buying politicians wholesale. With investigative journalism and more, we need to expose and counter their horrifically irresponsible actions.


    5. Define the Deal -- Even in the face of planetary catastrophe, 195 governments in a room can be just incompetent. We need to invest in top quality policy advice to develop ingenious strategies, mechanisms, and careful compromises so that when the summit arrives, a critical mass of leaders are already bought in to a large part of the deal, and no one can claim that good solutions don't exist.




    We need tens of thousands of us to pledge small donations to blast out of the starting gate on this plan. The amount doesn't matter as much as much as the choice - to hope, and to act:


    YES, I'LL PLEDGE £1 A WEEK


    YES, I'LL PLEDGE £2 A WEEK


    YES, I'LL PLEDGE £3 A WEEK


    To pledge an amount other than the ones listed above, click here.







    At the last major climate summit in Copenhagen 2009, we played a pivotal role in German and Japanese 'climate' elections, in shifting Brazilian policy, and in helping win a major global deal on financing, with rich countries promising $100 billion per year to poor countries to help them address climate change. Back then, Avaaz was 3 million people. After Copenhagen, we reflected that we needed to be a lot bigger to meet the challenge posed by climate change. Now, we're 32 million, and growing by 2 million per month.


    Climate change is the ultimate global collective action problem, requiring cooperation from every government in the world. And Avaaz is the ultimate collective action solution, with millions of us united in common vision across every nation. This is our time, to build a world for our children whose beauty matches our dreams. Let's get started.


    With hope and appreciation for this amazing community,


    Ricken and the entire Avaaz team




    MORE INFORMATION:


    With Arctic sea ice vulnerable, summer melt season begins briskly (The Christian Science Monitor)
    With Arctic sea ice vulnerable, summer melt season begins briskly (+video) - CSMonitor.com


    Arctic sea ice levels to reach record low within days (Guardian)
    Arctic sea ice levels to reach record low within days | Environment | The Guardian


    Five Reasons We Need a New Global Agreement on Climate Change by 2015 (Switchboard NRDC)
    Five Reasons We Need a New Global Agreement on Climate Change by 2015 | Jake Schmidt's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC


    The Doha climate talks were a start, but 2015 will be the moment of truth (The Guardian)
    The Doha climate talks were a start, but 2015 will be the moment of truth | Michael Jacobs | Comment is free | theguardian.com


    Arctic sea ice melt disrupts weather patterns (NBC News)
    Arctic sea ice melt disrupts weather patterns - NBC News.com


    The Arctic Ice “Death Spiral” (Slate)
    Arctic sea ice: Global warming is melting more ice every year
    An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance.
  • nelinho
    Are you Kidding me??
    • Sep 2011
    • 4530

    #2
    Re: The future

    i think people like Avaaz, will be out-lobbied either through direct lack of funds in comparisons to MNC's, or media convincing people to see the opinion of the MNCs on environmental and social issues.

    Something drastic will happen in the wets within our life times, if it doesn't then we continue down this path we are on now, peaceful protests will not work, democracy (corporate variety) only means we get to vote for the team with the biggest PR budget, it does not mean a fair and just society, something will need to be drastic and extremely harsh to redistribute wealth fairly if the markets won't allow us.


    What about international redistribution of wealth , where other nations catch up at the expense of others...are we in the west ready for that?

    eg the baby boomers had a sweet ride, in the day you could have a so-so job and still get a house, car and possible annual holidays,

    now....it seems for a lot of people it takes almost three people to buy a house, you, your wife and the guy that is fucking your wife need to be on decent coin...

    does everyone need 3 tvs, 2 cars, cable tv etc? Why not live within ones needs

    i have digressed far enough down this rabbit hole..that is my best impersonation of a philosopher


    tumblr_my9ehlPLTb1qk91wgo1_500.jpg



    Comment

    • floridaorange
      I'm merely a humble butler
      • Dec 2005
      • 29116

      #3
      Re: The future

      too much plastic / pollution / water bottles /phone batteries the list goes on. we have to reverse course if we want future generations to be able to live period. C02 levels in the atmosphere, and so forth.

      Watch this:

      I think it has 5 parts....


      It was fun while it lasted...

      Comment

      • DancingQueen
        AVB FanClub | President
        • Oct 2005
        • 4061

        #4
        Re: The future

        what is happening to our planet is disgusting....we have done so much damage....some of it irreversible
        we definitely need to make some drastic changes soon!
        sigpic
        RIP Steve "Jibs" James - Your footprint is forever on my soul and in my heart xoxo
        RIP Jeff Shewchuk aka DJ Jeff Taylor (day_for_night) - You will live on in my heart forever xoxo

        Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

        Comment

        • floridaorange
          I'm merely a humble butler
          • Dec 2005
          • 29116

          #5
          Re: The future


          It was fun while it lasted...

          Comment

          • Illuminate
            DUDERZ get a life!!!
            • Aug 2009
            • 5152

            #6
            Re: The future

            From Pg 14-3, wraps it up.



            If anyone is interested in the entire report:


            The One contains the Many, and the Many contains the One:
            Sbando
            - You Will Be Missed.

            "Mankind has the propensity to fuck itself up on anything it lays its hands on."
            Feather

            "Who moderates this forum and makes these decisions? Stevie Wonder?"
            Bob
            "i'd give her a muscle she doesn't have "
            the banned1

            "I love you Illuminate... that's divine/creator/God in me loving the origin of you."
            KiwiTollway



            Comment

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