We do love it when a plan comes together, when the world gets along. Here’s a guy who has people all over the world dancing together. On a different level, 31 provinces in China have received $4 million from Norway, the European Union and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to draft programs to fight climate change over the next two years.

The project is called  Provincial Programs for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in China (PPCCMAC). Try and say that three times real fast. At first, 14 pilot provinces will take a shot. Qinghai will address its retreating glaciers, for example.

Norway says, “The finalization of such plans for all provinces of China will be a remarkable achievement, which I think will meet broad international recognition and be an inspiration and model for many other countries.”

Sichuan is one of the pilot provinces. The area experienced an 8-magnitude quake in May. Good luck stopping those. Shanxi is a coal-rich province looking for alternatives. For good or for bad, IMHO, it’s always a good thing seeing the world work together to solve problems.  What do you think?

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A U.S. scientist will blame global warming if ships are able to sail over the normally frozen over North Pole at the top of our globe. Frankly, I’d like to make the trip in a ship. I mean, how often do you get to do that sort of thing? The scientist from the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in CO says, “Symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water.” Yeah, a guy working at the snow and ice data center would say that, wouldn’t he? I want to know why he thinks so.

The scientist says that “for the first time that I am aware of, the North Pole is covered with extensive first-year ice.” And I ask, “And…?”

Scientists worry that a rapid meltoff in the Arctic could threaten permafrost in continental soil elsewhere above the Arctic circle. And, I ask again, “And….?” I may be wrong but there are always a lot of coulds, mays and believes in such statements. No? Don’t get me wrong, I am for loving our home, Earth, and being a good steward, but I don’t get the impression that the Earth is as vulnerable as many scientists are trying to make it out to be.

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Japan’s PM Yasuo Fukuda says “countries like China and India ”are part of the international deal,” but that they have the ”right to grow in the way that we grew.’” Some might argue that considering the size of those two countries, but nevertheless, Japan will be hosting the G-8 leaders from July 7-9th and Brazil, China and India have been invited to join in the discussion on climate change. (I wish they would invite me.)

Japan’s Fukuda said,  ‘In the …I would like to deepen common recognition (with participants) over the (climate change) issue and send a powerful message that we will work together.”

Japan’s former PM, Shinzo Abe echoed, ”I strongly hope this will be agreed on and shared at the summit as a common goal of humankind.” This= halving global emissions by 2050.

And Tony Blair chimed in, ”I think and hope we will this year get agreement on an essential shared vision around 2050….It wasn’t entirely clear at Heiligendamm that everyone was signed up for it. I think it’s got to be clear this year that they are.”

A climate change meeting is scheduled for 2009 in Copenhagen and a climate change framework is expected to be agreed upon to succeed the Kyoto Protocol which will expire in 2012.

I wish they would invite me to come.

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We’ve all been fooled. The glaciers really aren’t melting. They’ve been stolen. Some sneaky Japanese people wanting to raise awareness about global warming traveled north or east, I am not sure, and stole huge hunks of a glacier and brought them to Hokkaido. It reminds me of the mentality of bringing in animals to zoos so we can study them in their fake, artificial habitat, or something like that.

What do you think about causing harm in order to create an overall good result? What about this end justifies the means mentality?

And, I wonder, the violin player, does that make the glaciers feel less homesick? Make them feel warm and fuzzy inside? Ah, now that would cause them to melt.

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Tokyo passed a mandate for large office buildings, shops, hotels, universities and factories to cut their CO2 emissions. About 1,300 establishments which use 1,500 kiloliters of crude per year will be affected. The hope is to reduce energy consumed by 15-20% by 2020. Tokyo creates about 4.5% of Japan’s overall CO2 emissions, and these 1,300 businesses are responsible for about 40% of that total.

Tokyo’s governor says, ”I want Tokyo to take the lead in efforts against global warming in Japan.” The plan will take affect in 2010 and each company affected will be required to submit a five-year plan. For those who can’t make the grade, emissions quotas can be purchased. Cut their energy use down or pay up. In Japan the feeling is somewhat, if it’s good for Tokyo, it’s good for the country. We’ll see.

In the meantime, why doesn’t every major city in the world follow suit?

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The Global Warming monster’s days are numbered. It’s all over but the shouting. Where’s the fat lady when you need her to sing.

Spiderman is climbing to fight global warming.

He and a buddy climbed the 52-story New York Times building to raise awareness to global warming.

The higher he climbed, the higher the temps maybe?

Thanks, Spidey.

Now, where’s Superman when you need him?

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April 1st 2008 is Energy Wasting Day this year. Here is Dan Power that will teach you how to waste the energy and increase carbon emissions in his mission to fry the planet.

Energy Wasting Day…. Are we kidding? Of course we are!

They want to make people aware that if we were to change our habits just a little bit it would help our world a lot. It’s an April Fool’s Day campaign meant to make everyone conscious that we can do something to change the world we live in.

“Together is a campaign which gives you easy ways to fight climate change. We work with our partners, some of Britain’s biggest brand names, to bring these solutions to you. And we show you how the little, smart things you do can add up to a big difference in the fight against climate change.”

Polar bears? Who cares?

WE DO!

The results of the latest World Glacier Monitoring Service report, showed that 30 glaciers around the world lost a record amount of ice in 2006. These are the obvious repercussions of global warming and Professor Wilfried Haeberli, director of the monitoring service, told The Observer that “glaciers melt at fastest rate in past 5,000 years“.

Glacier melting into the sea near the southern tip of Greenland by Silversprite

Biggest concerns about melting glaciers are risen sea levels, floods, avalanches and drought that not only put people’s lives in jeopardy but are threatening eco-systems, too.

“We’re talking about something that happens in your and my lifespan. We’re not talking about something hypothetical, we’re talking about something dramatic in its consequences” said Achim Steiner, head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

The problems are real and the melting glaciers are highly relevant to what we are about to face. Tony Blair an ambassador for action on climate change in the ‘Breaking the Climate Deadlock’ initiative, began a series of high-level environmental meetings in Japan, China and India.

“We have reached the critical moment of decision on climate change. Failure to act now would be deeply and unforgivably irresponsible. The scale of what is needed is so great that the purpose of any global action is not to ameliorate or to make better our carbon dependence, it is to transform the nature of economies and societies in terms of carbon consumption and emissions.

If the average person in the US is, say, to emit per capita, one-tenth of what they do today and those in the UK or Japan one-fifth, we’re not talking of adjustment, we’re talking about a revolution”, Tony Blair said yesterday in Chiba, Japan.

Will we do anything about it? Sure hope so.

In a trial that is probably going to take proportions because of the problems it raises, the village of Kivalina in Alaska is suing 24 energy companies for large amounts of greenhouse gases that contributed to global warming and led to coastal erosion, which puts the lives of the 400 residents at risk. (ADN reported)

Kivalina is a community of Inupiat Eskimos, located in the Chukchi Sea on a shrinking barrier island is now facing heavy storms and because of the shrinking sea ice that formerly acted as a barrier the waves are coming closer and closer.

The complaint (pdf link) was filed by the San Francisco-based Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment and the Anchorage office of the Native American Rights Fund in the US District Court in San Francisco against one coal company, 14 power companies and nine oil companies of which Exxon Mobil, BP, Conoco Phillips, Chevron and Duke Energy and have asked them to pay the relocation cost (around $400 million) , of moving the village to safer grounds.

As expected none of the companies expressed their point of view.

I can only hope the court will make justice and will consider reports from the US Corps of Engineers and the US General Accountability Office on coastal erosion. Here are two images of Kivalina (photos by livesimply)

Kivalina, Alaska Aerial View

$3 million sea wall to protect Kivalina from global warming effects