writeaboutwarming

December 12, 2011 - Abigail Borah took her brave pills last Thursday, and then proceeded to do what so many of us have wished we had the guts to do: she spoke Truth to Power.  While attending the Conference of the Parties (17), also known as the "climate talks," in Durban, South Africa, the junior at Middlebury College interrupted Todd Stern, chief negotiator for the United States.  Her voice high-pitched with fright, she said what has needed saying for too long: "I am speaking on behalf of the United States of America because my negotiators cannot.  The obstructionist Congress has shackled justice and delayed ambition for far too long.  I am scared for my future.  2020 is too late to wait.  We need an urgent path to a fair, ambitious, and legally-binding treaty.  You must take responsibility to act now, or you will threaten the lives of youth and the world's most vulnerable.  You must set aside partisan politics and let science dictate dec...

November 14, 2011 - The International Energy Agency (IEA) has a reputation for conservatism, so its latest report has been regarded as something of an eye-opener. The Agency has joined the ranks of other former climate change mealy mouths (you can just never be too sure, can you?) who now think it's time for immediate action. They've put a pretty fine point on it, too: should governments/agencies fail to act decisively within five years, all hope for a 2 degrees Celsius (roughly 3 1/2 degrees Fahrenheit) increase in average global temperatures will be lost. Not that the IEA should be regarded as the know-all and be-all of climate change. To repeat, their assertion of irrevocable climate change is significant because they have heretofore been reluctant to go on the record with an "official" opinion, particularly one in support of looming disaster. Unfortunately, IEA officials still toe the line when the executive director talks of "growth, prosperity, and rising p...