climate change

Despite Climate Change having been identified by scientists, leaders, analysts and people from all over the world as “the greatest threat to humanity and life on Earth”, actions taken to address it have been few in number and haphazard in design because Climate Change has not been identified as, and officially declared, a MAJOR DISASTER.  It is very urgent that Governor Jerry Brown, using his legal powers as Governor of California,  issues a Climate Change MAJOR DISASTER DISASTER and requests Federal funding, in order to unleash all the organizational, structural, scientific and financial State and Federal resources to stop Climate Change and protect Californians’ life and property and our invaluable environment. The incontrovertible evidence is that Climate Change is incrementally increasing the number and magnitude of catastrophic events like exceptional droughts, heat waves, floods, blizzards, tornados, hurricanes, sea level rise, coastal cities inundation, ocean acidification, extinction of plant and animal species, epidemics, disruption of food production and other deleterious events that, combined or individually, have disastrous consequences on our economies and our wellbeing and survival. California has its share of Climate-related catastrophic events, both forecast and current, particularly showing in the 500-year drought that, in 2015 alone, caused a near $3 billion loss for California agriculture, left several communities without water, 542,000 acres lay fallow, 6335 wildfires burned 307,598 acres (including much of the town of Middletown) and destroyed thousands of structures. Also, the pumping of very large amounts of groundwater used to compensate for the lack of surface water is causing the separation of the lithosphere from the ground above, which will lead to earthquakes. In February 2017, the confluence of Atmospheric Rivers, fueled by Climate Change and of infrastructure insufficiently built and maintained to withstand the forces of the new Climate created havoc in California, like in the region of the Oroville Dam where the severe damage to its two spillways caused by the racing waters, put 200,000 lives, thousands of structures and thousands of acres at very serious risk. Climate Change is still being discussed as a tremendous potential threat to our children and grandchildren but, the reality is that Climate Change is already here and that it will get worse if we continue dumping more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Indicators of Climate Change are already in the danger zone. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere, which for 1.3 million years had not been higher than 275 ppm (parts per million) until the onset of the Industrial Revolution, are now above 400 ppm. The global average air temperature is since 2015, 1º Celsius higher than in pre-industrial times, a level that climate scientists consider the gateway to the acceleration of the disruptions of the Climate (1.5 º Celsius for the first half of 2016 and 1.2º Celsius for the whole 2016).  It is now confirmed that 2016 was the hottest year on record.  Without a Disaster Declaration, this greatest-of-threats remains undefined and acknowledged, taking away the focus necessary to effectively deal with it. We say that we are “fighting Climate Change” without having ever declared war. The extent and nature of the problem requires immediate, massive action to retrofit our economy to stop emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and move fast towards a “carbon negative” economy, as well as to make the necessary changes to minimize the damage from Climate Change-related events that are going to unfold from Climate disruptions that have already taken place. To mitigate our Climate Change Disaster, action must be immediate, must be massive and requires a level of mobilization of all our resources similar to what this country experienced during the New Deal and World War II. Individual actions, while useful and necessary, are insufficient. Indirect measures, like taxes on carbon emissions, are beneficial but too slow. Putting off the retrofitting of our economy to address Climate Change is a very dangerous mistake. Factors such as the long residence time of already emitted greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the activation of slow feedbacks (like the melting of the permafrost) will soon make future mitigating actions inconsequential. There is a lot to lose from inaction and a lot to gain from speedy action. Without speedy action, more catastrophes will unfold with a high price in the loss of lives and property and high risks to the economy. With speedy action, life and property will be better protected, California’s economy will experience a boom, California will have access to federal disaster funds that do not require the approval of Congress and California will lead other States and Countries in the highly needed and greatest peaceful cooperation effort ever. Governor Brown, please accept leadership of this massive transformation of California. This life-affirming effort will give us the greatest chance of thriving through change instead of merely surviving change. We are living in extraordinary times, that require extraordinary actions and your extraordinary leadership. References: James Hansen, et al. “Assessing “Dangerous Climate Change”: RequiredReduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People,Future Generations and Nature”. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081648. December 3, 2013 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0081648 Alex Park and Julia Lurie. “California's Drought Could Be the Worst in 500 Years. And why it's too late for the rain.” Mother Jones. February 10, 2014.http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/california-drought-matters-more-just-california Richard Howitt, et al. “Economic Analysis of the 2015 Drought For California Agriculture. UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences”. August 17, 2015. https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/files/biblio/Final_Drought%20Report_08182015_Full_Report_WithAppendices.pdf “Our Earth in 2050. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels double”. greenphysicist2.blogspot.comhttp://greenphysicist2.blogspot.com/2010/02/atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-levels.html Marcin Popkiewicz. “If growth of CO2 concentration causes only logarithmic temperature increase - why worry?. SkepticalScience.com. April 15, 2014.http://skepticalscience.com/C02-emissions-vs-Temperature-growth.html Larry Elliot. “Climate change disaster is biggest threat to global economy in 2016, say experts”. The Guardian. January 14, 2016.http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/14/climate-change-disaster-is-biggest-threat-to-global-economy-in-2016-say-experts Climate Protection Campaign. “Sonoma County Community Climate Action Plan”. October 2008.http://coolplan.org/ccap-report/CCAP_Final_11-05-08.pdf Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. carbonify.comhttp://www.carbonify.com/carbon-dioxide-levels.htm Emily J. Gertz. “2015 Was the World’s Warmest Year—and 2016 Might Be Even Hotter”. January 20, 2016. takepart.comhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/2015-world-warmest-2016-might-even-hotter-201357621.html?ref=gs Fire Statistics. “Incident Information”. CalFire. CA.GOV. January1 - December 31, 2015.http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_stats?year=2015 Ethan Huff. “How California's extreme drought will lead to a wave of earthquakes”. NaturalNews.com. August 18, 2014.http://www.naturalnews.com/046503_drought_earthquakes_California.html Pau Ratner. 2016 Is Going to Be the Hottest Year Ever (According to NASA, NOAA, & Pretty Much Everyone). Big Think. July 24, 2016.http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/2016-is-going-to-be-the-hottest-year-ever        

$115 billion. That’s how much the world’s biggest banks pumped into “extreme fossil fuel” projects in 2017 alone.* Here’s the kicker: those are your dollars directly fueling climate change. Big Banks finance fossil fuel companies through loans and investments using the money we trust them to hold—projects like the Dakota Pipeline (DAPL) or offshore/Arctic drilling couldn’t happen without it. The list of top offenders includes Chase, Citi, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo. Any of those names sound familiar? We can and must do better! Let’s commit to break that destructive cycle by voting with our feet—we’ll move our money to green banking and investing options. Today we’re asking you to take the #MovetoGreen” pledge:  I commit to start moving my money into fossil fuel-free banking and investments that are sustainable—so my money will help, not hurt, the planet and people. Imagine: together, we will get 1 million Americans to commit to move to green banking and investment by Earth Day 2019—ourselves, our friends, our families—and we will make a real difference in the fight against climate change this year. There is a growing movement toward moving money away from fossil fuels, including steps taken by cities like Kansas City and New York City, organizations like the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Funds, and colleges across the country. We can’t wait any longer. Since 2001, we’ve seen 17 of the 18 hottest years on record. Doing nothing is no longer an option.   Now it’s time for all of us to step up and join the green revolution in banking and investing. Sign the pledge and share it widely, because tomorrow’s planet depends on what we do today. We do have the power to change things. Together we can finally take on the fossil fuel industry, and win.   *"Banking on Climate Change: Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card," March 28, 2018

It's time we ban plastic bags, straws, styrofoam, and all single use plastics. These single use plastics are extremely wasteful, and once in landfills will stay in landfills for hundreds of years. While in landfills, they release toxins and can find their way waterways, contaminating drinking water, which is only 1% of all water on earth. Because they are light weight, wind can carry them across streets and into oceans where they cause tons of damage. Marine animals can accidentally ingest plastic, and kills 1 million birds, 100,000 turtles, and countless of other animals. Even after they die, the plastic stays in the ocean and photodegrades, meaning the sun turns the plastic into smaller pieces, without fully decomposing at all. They become micro plastics, which are toxic sponges. They are so tiny marine animals like fish ingest without knowing and swallow the toxins, which could be eaten by us, and could have harmful effects on us, like BPA, which is an endocrine disrupter.  The ocean is extremely important and we need to protect it. 70% of the earth's oxygen comes from the ocean. Businesses that rely on the ocean contribute $500 billion to the world's economy. Especially in Maryland, a lot of businesses rely on the Chesapeake Bay to be protected. Some include the seafood industry, recreational businesses, and tourism businesses. If you love the beach, you just like things nice and clean, or really care about the environment, than the ocean should be important to you.  Plastic bags alone use 12 billion barrels of oil for the 30 million bags used each year in the U.S., a non-renewable source we are quickly running out of. Wasting all that oil contributes to climate change, which is a huge problem facing humanity. Plastic litter is disgusting and gross. Cleaning up all that plastic costs taxpayers millions. Less than 6.5% of plastic is recycled. Creating sustainable products would create jobs.  There are many alternatives to wasteful, harmful single use plastics. Plastic bags can be easily replaced with reusable cloth bags. They should be cheap and available for everyone. Even if you forget your bag, stores should always provide reusable bags for customers. One person using reusables bags would replace more than 22,000 plastic bags. Straws can be outlawed completely. People can drink just fine without straws. But if people feel the need for a straw, we can replace single use straws with metal ones, or even glass ones. Styrofoam take out containers can be replaced with biodegradable containers. Plastic bottles can be replaced with reusable bottles that can be filled with tap. Plastic silverware can be replaced with reusable silverware. Plastic sandwich bags can be replaced with reusable lunch containers. Families could save $2.32 per child  per waste free lunch, which is $417.60 per child per year.  The point of plastic was to be fast and convenient, so yes it would be hard to do more washing reusables. But LOLIWARE is the first biodegr(edible) cup that is 100% plastic-free, gluten-free, gelatin-free, BPA-free, non-GMO, all natural, non-toxic, safe, and FDA approved. They have tons of delicious flavors like Yuzu Citrus, Tart Cherry, Matcha Green Tea, and Vanilla Bean. In the future, LOLIWARE will expand into straws, functional food additions, and even edible water bottles.  It is possible to sustain the environment without compromising lifestyle of people. Change is hard, but "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." ~ The Lorax. 

The National Park Service, National Parks Conservation Association and Coalition to Protect America's National Parks oppose what is perceived as a direct threat to Theodore Roosevelt National Park's Class 1 Air Quality Standards, water quality and image.The Meridian Energy Group has convinced North Dakota's elected officials to rezone more than 725 acres of farmland, located off the eastern border of TRNP's southern unit, to industrial use in order to house their proposed petroleum refinery, a pipeline to this refinery and a BNSF loading terminal.Pictured above is a view of the proposed refinery site from within TRNP southern border, upon Buck Hill. A view many visitors of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota's top tourist site and favorite destination of Teddy himself, enjoy. The only thing keeping smoke stacks from billowing within this view is a final approval from the North Dakota Department of Health. An approval Meridian is confidet in recieving within "120-150 days."The NPS, the CPANP and NPCA not only appose the construction because it would threaten TRNP's Class 1 Air Quality Standard, which is protected under the Clean Air Act. They also fear the refinery, along with the industrialization of the area, will destroy the atmosphere the park offers. Truck traffic will also increase, most certainly adding to traffic accidents and other dangerous situations. In turn, they say it will likely effect the image, feel and visitation of the park in a negative way.Please join these organizations and many others in standing up to Meridian Energy. Stop this refinery in its tracks before it's too late!