Al Gore is stepping up the charge with a new initiative: The Climate Reality Project. It kicks off with 24 hours of presentations, staggered across 24 time zones, on September 14, 2011.
The point, Gore explains in the introductory video above, is to show that the “new normal”—characterized by increasing instances of severe storms, drought, and an overall higher global temperature—is anything but ordinary.
“Yet around the world,” he says, “we are still subjected to polluter-financed misinformation and propaganda designed to mislead people about the dangers we face from the unfolding climate crisis. Those who want to protect their own short-term financial interest are employing the same strategy first used by tobacco companies years ago to mislead the public about the science linking cigarettes to disease and death.”
“It is deeply disconcerting that the oil industry not only has a swarm of lobbyists here in Washington, as well as in all the state legislatures where decisions about drilling are made, they’ve also got
‘truth’ is one more designer product
multimillion dollar advertising campaigns and think tanks”
Meanwhile a horde of ultra right wing bloggers, half of them fascists, religious fanatics or ‘Bots for the Kochs’, have infested the internet, so you can’t believe anything there either.
For the similar reasons the US is the only country in the world where most people REFUSE TO BELIEVE in Climate Change that has been proven millions of times.
Anything but corporate profit is false by definition. Scientific proof is routinely trashed.
While FRACKING is being banned on health grounds in European countries “The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is issuing a permit every two to 30 minutes, without having any idea what this could mean for the community or the environment,” Lo Basso stressed.
Most of the world’s oceans remain entirely unprotected and subject to rapid depletion by modern factory fishing, all kinds of pollution, climate change acidification, coral reef die-off, toxic oil spills, giant plastic dumps, multiplying Dead Zones, etc
Marine habitats – from species-rich reefs to fragile deep-sea ecosystems – are being fundamentally altered by exploitative practices like over-fishing, dredging
In the last twenty years alone, 90% of large fish species (like sharks, tuna and swordfish) have vanished globally – with 22 mammals and fish threatened in UK’s waters alone.
UK to get Marine Reserves
After a long hard campaign there’s good news from the UK which could serve as an example.
In this case there has been wide consultation. But we don’t yet know if this will be tailored to corporate profits or saving the seas and community use.
Protection for key nature sites in UK seas has come a step closer with the unveiling of proposals to create over 100 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs).
The zones range from tiny stretches of coastline to large tracts of sea floor.
The proposals stem from the 2009 UK Marine Bill and cover seas abutting the English coast and waters around Wales more than 12 miles from the coast.
They will be assessed by an expert panel
step forward for UK underwater parks
before the government makes its final decision, probably next year.
The government and its advisors hope that in part, the protection measures will benefit industries such as tourism and fishing, by securing features that divers like to visit and by providing secure “nurseries” for juvenile fish.
“All MCZs should be fully protected from damaging activities and bottom-towed fishing gears, and our work has shown overwhelming public support for this stance,” commented Melissa Moore, senior policy officer with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).
“Fully protected sites have been shown to yield a fourfold increase in the weight of marine species, whilst species diversity increases by 20%.”
While some proposed areas have already been struck off the list by industry concerns, she said, conservationists welcomed the proposals that “are desperately needed so that marine habitats and ecosystems can begin to recover from decades of degradation.”
However this coalition has failed the Chagos islanders, exiled to create the Diego Garcia war base, where the huge new reserve was made without the consent of the ex residents, or of Mauritius which claims sovereignty. According to Wikileaks cables sent from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office(FCO) to the U.S. Embassy, setting up the marine reserve effectively “stymied the return of the former islanders.” This confirms that the Chagos reserve is a cynical ruse by the UK Govt to bury the claims of the expelled islanders, and the excellent Greenpeace Campaign for worldwide Marine Reserves has been badly badly tarnished by their implication.
Ocean Devastation
Somali fishermen become pirates, attack EU factory ships
In the Pacific partial agreements on a Yellowfin Tuna reserve are largely ignored.
Most of the world’s oceans remain entirely unprotected and subject to rapid depletion by modern factory fishing, all kinds of pollution, climate change acidification, coral reef die-off, toxic oil spills, giant plastic dumps, multiplying Dead Zones, etc
The UK Marine proposals are a step forward, the details and trade-offs remain to be seen, but they do include a wide consultation process and hopefully will be copied in many countries.
Feeding a supercomputer with news stories could help predict major world events, according to US research.
A study, based on millions of articles, charted deteriorating national sentiment ahead of the recent revolutions in Libya and Egypt.
While the analysis was carried out retrospectively, scientists say the same processes could be used to anticipate upcoming conflict.
Based on specific queries, Nautilus generated graphs for different countries which experienced the “Arab Spring”.
In each case, the aggregated results of thousands of news stories showed a notable dip in sentiment ahead of time – both inside the country, and as reported from outside.
Media “sentiment” around Egypt fell dramatically in early 2011, just before the resignation of President Mubarak.
For Egypt, the tone of media coverage in the month before President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation had fallen to a low only seen twice before in the preceding 30 years.
According to Kalev Leetaru, such a system could easily be adapted to work in real time, giving an element of foresight.
“That’s the next stage,” said Mr Leetaru, who is already working on developing the technology.
A group of women from the Kainai Nation have confronted the US oil company Murphy Oil, at a fracking development site on Kainai lands in Southern Alberta.
According to an initial report from the Indigenous Environmental Network, early last night (Sept. the group of women parked in front of Murphy Oil’s fracking site on the Kainai Nation (Blood) Reserve and vowed not to leave until they are confident that fracking won’t happen.
URGENT ALERT! Murphy Oil faced with Indigenous women’s blockade on fracking site.
Early last night, numerous women from the Blood Nation (Alberta, Canada) courageously parked in front of Murphy Oil’s fracking development site vowing not to move until plans of fracking for oil and gas are stopped. The women are part of the Kainai Earth Watch and have been active advocates to stop the fracking due to the major threat to human health, wildlife and livestock and the irreversible damage to the land and water on the Blood Reserve and surrounding areas. They feel this is the only choice left to them to stop the operations as plans for construction begin tomorrow.
In late 2010, Kainaiwa Resources Inc. (KRI) quietly signed off on a deal with the Calgary-based junior mining company Bowood Energy and the U.S. company Murphy Oil. In exchange for the $50 Million, Bowood Energy and Murphy Oil gained a five-year lease to roughly 129, 280 acres, almost half of the Blood’s reserve, for oil and gas exploration.
Plans of construction on 4 new fracking sites begin TODAY. The women have vowed not to leave until they are confident the fracking won’t go ahead.
Show some Solidarity! **If you are interested in helping to support this action please contact:
After a spectacular swerve to miss the USA Hurricane Katia is heading for Ireland and the UK. Hopefully it will pass to the north, on Sunday and Monday, but if high pressure weakens unexpectedly to he south it could be a major disaster.
The remains of the gigantic Hurricane Katia could be the worst storm to hit Britain and Ireland for over 300 years, in line with totally uncontrolled CO2 emissions and runaway Climate Change events now beginning. The ice melt in the artic so far this year has been the second worst since records began..
Expect a significant wind event with this, maximum gusts likely to reach 60 mph in the south and central parts of England, 70 mph in Wales and many parts of southern Ireland, and 80-100 mph in northern parts of Ireland and western Scotland, possibly also northwest England.
Signs that the track may continue to nudge south as Katia races into a strong confluent zone and tight jet stream. The high impact zone could also shift south as a result. But I would already be quite concerned in regions like Mayo, Donegal, and the Western Isles.
Timing of strongest winds 0600-1200 Monday in Ireland to 0900-1500 western Scotland from current maps.
Full moon timed for Monday also, will cause tidal ranges to be unusually high on south and west facing coasts, large swells likely from combined effects of Katia and previous storm, and battering wave potential with some risk of storm surges into a few exposed bays (notably Galway Bay, and in western Scotland). Edited by Roger J Smith, Today, 08:57.
love and rage: life after the collapse of capitalism
Greetings to all, especially you FoFees (friend of the Free) hope you’re enjoying the book
Set in the Collapse of Capitalism our heroes escape their School and Family and fall in with the squatters, anarchists and gays, who are busy getting ready for the final confrontation and the Dawn of a co-op Money Free world.. It’s a thriller as well..
Just to say it is selling well..Not a surprise as it’s FREE (lol). It also makes a very economical present.
Abuse of power being consistent in our culture, where fear colludes with the bully, it is cheering to see victims organising and supporting each other . This will appeal to a great many young people. You give us moments of delight:… rolling her big eyes back to us girls … such scandal would zoom round and round the area – like a bee in a jar … Then her daffodil moment of glory: dancing and swirling, waving the flowers at the grey building … the golden snow. I’ve never heard of ‘testerical laughter’, but it kind of hits the mood of the moment.I really like your book and back it with pleasure. Pia (Course of Mirrors)
Wow; I can’t stop reading! I’ve just finished chapter 8, and I’m only stopping because it’s 1AM! It seems to remind me a little of ‘A Clockwork Orange’, combined with ‘A Child Called It’. I cannot wait to read on. I’m still not entirely sure about a lot of things (such as the political situation) but everything I’ve read so far has been wonderful. If I get the chance, I will buy this book.
Karen Eisenbrey I read three chapters and the glossary. I like your ideas for remaking society, especially the mix of practical, earnest things with more whimsical ideas of fashion etc. I especially like how in the first chapters, it’s not obvious that the story takes place in (I would guess) the near future in a shifting, alternative society. But there are little clues all over the place that things are falling apart and changing, present but not taking over the story. We start with Linda, a real, relatable character. You’ve nailed the voice here. She’s articulate and smart, but not at all formal; young, angry, scared, beaten down but ready to stand up. Good luck with The Free!…Karen Eisenbrey
Aaron Pattis wrote After three chapters, nothing will stop me from reading the rest of this book! Who couldn’t pull for a kid like this and wonder where she’s going to end up? There are some terms that I have difficulty with sometimes, like “lekky” and such, but soon enough figure it out. But I wouldn’t change that voice for this story because it adds to the richness realism in the characters. Great job and backed with pleasure..Aaron,”80 Grit”
Lmfrenchwrote Wow, what can I say? I love how you capture Linda’s voice. It wasn’t too long ago that I was a fifteen year old girl and…well…wow. I read some of this the other day and wasn’t too
Occupy The Planet. Abolish Debt. For a Co-Op world.
impressed, but I re-read it and trudged on to see what happened beyond the first page and I must say, I am very glad I did. I found myself giggling a bit and read on with a smile. It is a fun story. I am not normally a fan of 1st person POV but you seem to be able to still bring your characters to life. Very nice.
Great opening. Fast-paced and spirited way of writing. I like the talk about men drooling over Janice (lol); very typical. It’s real! and the “like a pack of randy dogs snifting after her”…This is what happens most of the time, in real life. Good job Mike. This work is so rich and moving, good humored. I can’t stop reading it.GOOD LUCK!! Emma Philips…The Dark Intruder
Well Mikey…a huge HUGE contemporary tale. Brutal and brave..comical and painful. Your style is enviably quirky. The language stripped yet so incredibly weighted. Congratulations, I wish you every success with THE FREE. . Dawn:ARK
The Free 
