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| | | | | May 2010 Newsletter | 
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| The Climate Project
| May 27, 2010 | |
| | Alliance for Climate Protection Statement on the Appointment of Christiana Figueres as Head of the UNFCCC
 The Alliance for Climate Protection President and CEO Maggie L. Fox and Director of The Climate Project Jenny Clad issued the following statements upon the May 17th announcement of Christiana Figueres as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:
"People around the world are already feeling the devastating effects of climate change. We know what needs to be done to solve the climate crisis, the solutions and technologies exist today, but what is missing is the political will to get it done. We need strong leadership to build upon the progress made at Copenhagen and thus welcome the appointment of Christiana Figueres as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is a true visionary who will bring her years of experience in climate negotiations to help steer the world towards a binding international agreement," said Maggie L. Fox, President and CEO of The Alliance for Climate Protection.
"Christiana Figueres has a distinguished record of international negotiations and public presentations on climate change including her service as a Presenter for The Climate Project, Al Gore's global climate change education initiative, for the past three years. We applaud her selection as the top UN climate official and know she will continue to work tirelessly on this most urgent issue," said Jenny Clad, Director of The Climate Project.
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| | | Meet Our Presenters: Paul Valva
TCP District Manager Paul Valva recently accepted a donation from local school children in Alameda, CA as part of their Tzedakah projects (Tzedakah means 'charity' in Hebrew). At the beginning of the academic school year, the students were given a choice of more than a dozen organizations to support during their year-long project. Three out of the five classes chose The Climate Project as their organization.
Climate Change Threatens Lizard Populations A recent study published in Science by an international team of researchers revealed that climate change could result in the extinction of 20% of the world's 3800 lizard species by 2080. The study, released May 14, linked warming global temperatures to the elimination of 12% of the Mexican lizard population. Based on their discoveries, the team was able to produce an "extinction model" to make global predictions.
Read the abstract of the article here.
Research Team says 'Significant' Rise in Ocean Temperature is Due to Man-made Climate Change
The world's oceans have warmed significantly over the past 16 years due to man-made climate change according to a comprehensive new study. The study, published in the May 20 issue of the journal Nature, revealed that ocean's top 700 meters (2,300 feet) of water absorbed 0.64 watts per square meter of energy from 1993 to 2008. Add Your Support for Clean Energy on The Repower Wall Post your video, photo or statement here.
Request a TCP Presentation TCP presentations arebased on the slideshow from the Academy Award-winning film AnInconvenientTruth and are available free of charge to any size group ororganization. Presentations are personalized by our presenters andcontinuously updatedtoinclude the latest climate science and current effects of climatechange. If you would like to host a TCP presentation in your community, please click here.   
To ensure delivery of this e-mail please add press@theclimateproject.org to your address book or approved senders list. |
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| | National Academy of Sciences Recommends Immediate Action to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
 Three reports released May 20th by the National Research Council highlight the "urgent need" for the United States to cut back on carbon emissions. The suite of reports, called America's Climate Choices, is the most comprehensive study of climate change the Academy has produced to date.
Each report evaluates the climate crisis from a different angle, analyzing the science behind climate change as well as solutions for reducing or adapting to its effects. Together the documents represent more than 800 pages of analysis.
Some key conclusions from the reports include:
• Though the nature of scientific inquiry always supports the search for additional evidence for any conclusion, the current body of climate research is credible and supports the prevailing understanding that change is occurring and that it is primarily caused by human activities
• A single federal entity or program must act swiftly and decisively to improve public understanding and response to climate change. This entity should also work to promote sustained efforts to affect technological and behavioral changes
• The effects of climate change are already being observed in both human and natural systems
• A national strategy is necessary for adapting to the already apparent effects of climate change like sea level rise, severe weather events, and heat waves
• Attempts to adapt to climate change will be ongoing and iterative; decision makers and stakeholders at every level of government and every sector of society will need to be involved.
• Initiatives to prevent climate change are distinct from efforts to adapt to it, however the two approaches are dependent partners (ie, adaptation is only possible if efforts to prevent climate change succeed in keeping effects minimal or moderate)
Two additional reports, along with a final overarching summary, will be produced before the end of 2010.
Read the report entitled "Advancing the Science of Climate Change."
Read the report entitled "Limiting the Magnitude of Climate Change."
Read the report entitled "Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change."
Watch a video of Wednesday's public briefing on the reports here.
 Gore: "The Crisis Comes Ashore"
Former Vice President and Alliance for Climate Protection Chairman Al Gore wrote an opinion piece May 21st in The New Republic talking about the potential affects the oil spill might have on dialogue about climate change in the United States:
"One important difference between the oil spill and the CO2 spill is that petroleum is visible on the surface of the sea and carries a distinctive odor now filling the nostrils of people on shore. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, is invisible, odorless, tasteless, and has no price tag. It is all too easily put "out of sight and out of mind." Because the impacts of global warming are distributed globally, they often masquerade as an abstraction. And because the length of time between causes and consequences is longer than we are used to dealing with, we are vulnerable to the illusion that we have the luxury of time before we begin to respond.
But neither assumption is correct. Most of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases is stored in the oceans and reemerges over time into the atmosphere. As a result, we are capable-–through inaction—of making truly disastrous consequences inevitable long before the worst impacts are manifested. Our perception of the dangers of the climate crisis therefore relies on our ability to understand and trust the conclusions reached by the most elaborate and impressive scientific assessment in the history of our civilization."
Read the rest of the article here.
 US Senate Draft Climate Bill Unveiled
Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Joe Lieberman (I- Conn.), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released details of their comprehensive clean energy and climate change discussion draft on May 12th. Some big picture points in the bill include: • This draft bill is the next step toward passing the first-ever law establishing a price on carbon and committing the U.S. to addressing global warming. Its passage would be the beginning point for the next round of effort. As with the Clean Air Act, provisions can be strengthened over time. • The emission reduction goals of 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 are consistent with international commitments. • Provides legal and regulatory certainty to a wide range of impacted industries, which will enable large-scale investments that will benefit the economy. • Maintains America's industrial competitiveness by giving industry additional time before emissions reductions are required and by providing rebates to these industries to ensure they remain competitive with foreign industries. • Reduces oil consumption by creating programs for clean vehicle manufacturing, electric vehicle infrastructure, as well as incentives for natural gas-powered medium and heavy-duty vehicles, greenhouse gas permit fees and other provisions. • Protects an important provision of the Clean Air Act to ensure existing coal plants reduce their GHG pollution. • Its introduction and continued discussion is the best defense against anti-Clean Air Act authority efforts proposed by U.S. Senator Murkowski and others.
About The Climate Project The Climate Project is Nobel Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore 's climate change leadership program founded in June 2006. As a program of the Alliance for Climate Protection, TCP's mission is to educate the public about the harmful effects of climate change and to work toward solutions at a grassroots level worldwide.
TCP supports more than 3,000 diverse and dedicated volunteers internationally. These volunteers are known as TCP Presenters and have been personally trained by Vice President Al Gore to deliver an updated version of the slide show featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
TCP Presenters have delivered 70,000 presentations and have reached a combined global audience of more than 7.3 million. Presentations are customized and frequently revised to include the latest climate science and can be requested free of charge by any size group or organization. TCP's global headquarters is located in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Alliance, a unique non-profit, non-partisan organization with more than 5,000,000 members worldwide, is committed to educating the global community about the urgency of implementing comprehensive solutions to the climate crisis.
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| Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved. The Climate Project May Newsletter. |
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