World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth
Climate Newsfeed
The Bottom Line
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere now stand at 385 parts per million (ppm), 67% above the average of the past 800,000 years, and 29% above the maximum of the same period.
- The rate of increase of CO2 is 2.2 ppm/year and getting faster.
- When atmospheric CO2 was above 450 ppm in the earth's history, the planet was completely ice-free, and sea level was 75 meters higher than today.
- The safe upper limit of atmospheric CO2 that we should aim to stay below is probably between 300-350 ppm. We have already overshot it and the longer we stay above that the more likely we will have set in motion long-term climate changes that will proceed beyond human control through powerful geophysical positive feedback mechanisms.
- Sudden warmings of a few degrees in the past have triggered mass extinctions. Current species extinction rate is estimated at 100 to 1000 times the average extinction rates in the evolutionary time scale of planet Earth. A mass extinction is underway and we have to reverse course quickly enough to prevent the worst.
Why is ACESA / Waxman-Markey unsalvageable?
Shouldn't we try to strengthen this bill and pass it, instead of calling for it to be scrapped?
This bill, now written more by Duke Energy and other polluters, has morphed from the original well-intentioned, though woefully inadequate, climate-protection bill to one of polluter-protection. In fact it is unsalvageable. Passing ACESA / Waxman-Markey would lock in:
- Extremely weak targets. Being 20 times less ambitious than even the minimum requirement of the now obsolete IPCC target meant to stabilize greenhouse gases at 450 parts-per-million, it is inconceivable that the bill could be strengthened, now or via amendments in the future, to jump-start our nation in the right direction that science says is necessary. New scientific studies are making it clear that 350 ppm, not 450 ppm, is the safe upper limit.
- Astronomical, fraud-prone offsets, that could lead to decades of RISING CO2 emissions, barely returning to 2005 levels in 2026
- Large sums of precious taxpayer dollars to set up and run a monstrous bureaucracy for approving the unreliable offsets
- The construction of innumerable new dirty coal-fired power plants
- Massive, unconditional taxpayer investment into ineffective, expensive and potentially dangerous "clean coal" technology, that is little more than a coal industry public relations campaign.
- The removal of existing EPA authority to regulate carbon under Clean Air Act provisions.
To see our more detailed analysis of ACESA/Markey-Waxman, read here.
Please click here to see a sample letter to send to Congress, to demand a real climate protection bill.
SGF Mission Statement
The Secure Green Future (SGF) project educates, activates and empowers Massachusetts residents to effectively address the converging threats of climate change, resource depletion, and economic meltdown. We work to guide communities toward an essential economic transformation that will make possible a sustainable and just post-carbon future. SGF seeks to break the shackles of what is “politically feasible” and inspire change that addresses the magnitude and urgency of the dangers we are facing. We are committed to the principle of democratic empowerment as the most appropriate means for securing the just and sustainable future that we all deserve, and that is within our reach.
Landslide victories for the Secure Green Future ballot initiative!
Thanks to an incredible grassroots effort, the Secure Green Future ballot question has won in EVERY SINGLE DISTRICT it appeared, and by a total landslide margin! At least 153,252 voters said YES to a Secure Green Future on November 4th, netting the ballot question an astounding 81.44% of the vote!!!
Thanks to all of you who helped get these questions on the ballot and helped to spread the word to voters. Your efforts have paid off big time, and we now have clear evidence that the people of Massachusetts are READY for decisive action to fight climate change and energy uncertainty by transitioning to a secure, green economy NOW.
