James Lovelock: Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change | Environment | The Guardian

James Lovelock: Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change | Environment | The Guardian: "Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change from radically impacting on our lives over the coming decades. This is the stark conclusion of James Lovelock, the globally respected environmental thinker and independent scientist who developed the Gaia theory.

It follows a tumultuous few months in which public opinion on efforts to tackle climate change has been undermined by events such as the climate scientists' emails leaked from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit."

Earth Hour - 27 March

On 28 March 2009, in probably the single biggest mass action in history, a wave of darkness swept across the world's cities and towns as millions of people switched off their lights for an hour, pledging their support for decisive action against climate change.

In South Africa more than 100 000 people signed up their support. Further, based on the reduced electricity consumption over Earth Hour, ESKOM estimated that 1 million South African households participated! Earth Hour 2010 will have a very important role to play in ensuring that the South African government takes strong action against climate change.

For Earth Hour 2010, WWF calls on South Africans to switch off their lights on Saturday, 27 March, as a symbolic act to send a powerful message to leaders that the time to act on climate change is now.

This year WWF is challenging individuals, businesses, and communities to take the lead by pledging to reduce their own carbon footprint. We have to show world leaders that we are serious about tackling climate change and that we want them to deliver a fair, effective and binding climate deal.

Rolling out Earth Hour is easy, all you have to do is:

• Pledge your support on http://www.wwf.org.za/.
• Switch off the lights of your buildings on 27 March from 8:30pm - 9:30pm.
• Spread the message to your staff, students, members, colleagues, customers, tenants, yes, everybody! (We will email you a generic message to send out in the beginning of March.)
• Show your support by posting the Earth Hour 2010 web banner on your website, printing t-shirts for your staff or having an Earth Hour event on the night.
• If you would like to support Earth Hour 2010 in a big way by sponsoring an event or donating advertising space, please contact us on 021 888 2800.

Please save the date: 27 March 2010, 8:30pm - 9:30pm.
We hope that you will support Earth Hour 2010.

Ex-nuclear workers to march on Necsa

Please be informed that ex-nuclear workers who have repeatedly over the past few years failed in their attempts to get compensation from South Africa’s Nuclear Corporation (NECSA) for debilitating and often fatal occupational diseases, have planned a legal march to NECSA’s headquarters at Pelindaba near Pretoria.

Hat-tip to Ex-nuclear workers to march on Necsa - Environment South Africa

They have vowed to stage a “sleep-in” at NECSA’s gates unless they are adequately responded to by the nuclear bosses. The memorandum they intend handing over is attached.

When: Thursday February 4, 2010

Starting time: 10.30 am

Place: Necsa Gate 3, Church Street, Pelindaba (west of Pretoria) Contact person: Mr. Alfred Sepepe 074 299 8214

Many of these Atteridgeville Township based workers formed part of the sample group of 208 ex-nuclear workers who underwent preliminary medical examinations by respected occupational health medical practitioner Dr Murray Coombs. Coombs found that a significant number of these workers suffered from occupational illnesses resultant from their employment at the Pelindaba complex and referred several cases to the Compensation Commissioner. All these applications were rejected. The Commissioner has yet to make known the basis on which he dismissed these applications despite legislation which entitles these workers to compensation based on presumption alone. Coombs further concluded that most of the ex-workers he had seen needed further in-depth medical tests and in 2006 Dr. Coombs approached NECSA to undertake these tests in the presence of representatives appointed by the workers themselves to ensure transparency. NECSA flatly refused and produced its own medical results that denied the claims made in the Coombs Report.

Almost 30 ex-workers from the original sample group have died penniless and with extreme medical conditions since this process began in 2005/6 – this despite numerous appeals to the President, various Ministers and a special hearing before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee in July 2007 which undertook to ensure justice and compensation for these workers. The chairman of that committee was dropped in the new post-elections administration and to date not a single promise made to these workers has been met.

Please contact Mr. Sepepe for further details.

This media release is issued by:

Pelindaba Working Group
acting in solidarity with the plight of these ex-nuclear workers
Dominique Gilbert – 083 740 4676

Source: http://www.cane.org.za/

Earth Hour 2010

On 28 March 2009, in probably the single biggest mass action in history, a wave of darkness swept across the world’s cities and towns as millions of people switched off their lights for an hour, pledging their support for decisive action against climate change.

In South Africa more than 100 000 people signed up their support. Further, based on the reduced electricity consumption over Earth Hour, ESKOM estimated that 1 million South African households participated!
Earth Hour 2010 will have a very important role to play in ensuring that the South African government takes strong action against climate change.

Please save the date: 27 March 2010, 8:30pm – 9:30pm.
We hope that you will support Earth Hour 2010. We look forward to engaging with you next year on this exciting and important worldwide campaign.

Message from the Director of SAFCEI

SOUTHERN AFRICAN FAITH COMMUNITIES’
ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE (SAFCEI)
“Faith communities committed to cherishing living earth.”

SAFCEI NEWSBRIEF December 2009

More than 5000 participants from over 200 religions from around the world gathered for the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia, from 3rd to 9th December. I went with the hope of sending a message from the Parliament to the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Because the Parliament does not issue statements, a “Message to Copenhagen” was signed by over five hundred participants, and the Parliament Council agreed to try to catch the
attention of the media with a banner.

Following the Dalai Lama’s address at the closing plenary, during which he called on the members of Parliament to put words into action and for the voice of religions to be heard, participants walked out onto the bridge and stood behind the Call to Copenhagen banner.

This is our call to you all as we go into the New Year. It has been a tumultuous year in many respects. We – all religions and all people and all nations – now need to:

protect the only earth we have

I pray blessings at this time that it may be a season of renewal for all that lies ahead.

Bishop Geoff
Executive Director of SAFCEI

Message from Melbourne to Copenhagen

Message from members of the religions of the world gathered at the Parliament of the World’s Religions

We, from the major faith communities of the world, meeting at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Melbourne, Australia, from 3rd to 9th December 2009, send warm greetings to all who are gathering at Copenhagen for your crucially important Conference. We wish to assure you that prayers are being lifted up around the world for this meeting as we recognize that climate change is the single most important issue presently confronting us and the entire Earth community.

Climate change and other critical environmental crises are intricately linked with the financial crisis. We call on all nations of the world, particularly the rich, to recognize humanity’s dependency on the natural environment and therefore on the health and well-being of the planet and seek solutions with the utmost urgency for the global environmental and economic systems.

We therefore call for a meaningful agreement that places the well-being of people and planet before profit.

We believe a dramatic reduction of carbon emissions is possible using the natural energy of the planet, which comes from renewable resources such as the sun, wind, waves, biogas. Therefore we call for a commitment to an immediate turning from reliance on fossil fuel energy and a planned and phased decline in its use in order to bring CO₂ emissions down to 350 ppm.

We believe there is a moral imperative for rich countries to reduce carbon emissions and share wealth and skills with developing countries to adapt to climate change and build their economies sustainably

Climate justice is essential for a sustainable future. Either we follow the moral principles of justice, upheld by all faith communities, and share equitably the resources of the world, or we continue to consume excessively, resulting in ever more conflict and environmental destruction.

We, religious leaders of the world, therefore call on the governments of the world to implement the following resolution:

CLIMATE CHANGE RESOLUTION:

• As people of faith, we believe we have a responsibility to the source of life and to future generations to care for this planet – our home. We therefore call on the governments of the world when they meet at the UNFCCC at Copenhagen to take urgent and meaningful action to stem climate change.

• Following the latest scientific evidence we believe we cannot allow temperatures to rise by 2 degrees. We therefore call for a reduction of CO₂ emissions to a target of 350 ppm, ensuring that emissions will have peaked by 2015 in all countries, to then decline to at least 85% below 1990 levels by 2050.

We pray wisdom and courage to do what is right.

Issued by Bishop Geoff Davies on behalf of all who endorsed it at the Parliament of the World’s Religions meeting in Melbourne, 3 – 9 December 2009

Contact: geoff.davies@safcei.org.za (Mobile:++27 83 754 5275)

Candlelight Vigil outside US Embassy

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL OUTSIDE US EMBASSY

11 December, Friday afternoon to evening
(midway through the climate negotiations in Copenhagen)

Join the Action in Tshwane!

When: Friday 11 December from 15h00 onwards, to 22h00.

Where: Corner of Pretorius and Orient Street, as well as Schoeman and Orient Street, close to the entrance of the US Embassy.

How can you participate?

Just be there. Bring along yourself and your friends. Send e-mails to all your friends and challenge them to be there. Bring candles in jars to protect the flame. Bring your own posters or get a poster with a catchy slogan from the organizers.

You don’t have to be there from 15h00 right up to 22h00, but try to set aside two hours to join the vigil during this period. You might discuss the time-slot that you will be available with the organisers (see below).

We will be trying to send out clarifying messages to the passing public.

Parking available in Orient Street.

Organisers:

Janneke Weidema (cell 083 399 2028; e-mail janneke@icon.co.za)

Philemon Beghela (cell 0763050766; e-mail beghela@yahoo.fr)

Annalet van Schalkwyk (cell 082 321 7131; e-mail vschaa@unisa.ac.za)

Please call us if you have any queries.

Some of the participating organizations:

Avaaz (see avaaz@avaaz.org); South African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute (SAFCEI) and Tshwane Peace Group.

You are welcome to come as a representative of your specific organisation or simply as an individual who desires to make a change!

Call for action:

Dear friends

With the biggest climate summit in history happening right now in Copenhagen, major world leaders are backing away from their promises for a deal to stop catastrophic climate change. The USA is unfortunately proving to be the most obstructionist of all the wealthy nations. Obama will be attending for one day – the 9th of December – when he’ll no doubt deliver a rousing and eloquent speech. He’ll then go to Norway the next day to collect his Nobel Peace Prize.

Currently, the US emissions target of 3 percent in the lowering of CO2 is very far away from the 40% scientists are saying is necessary. The USA now holds the most important key to unlock the climate treaty process, and we need Obama and the US Congress to turn that key.

(According to climate scientist James Hansen of NASA and others, the acceptable level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is 350 parts per million and a CO2 reduction of 40% by the year 2020 is necessary to preserve a planet “similar to that on which human civilization developed”.)

The problem is that Europe, Canada and the US send dozens of negotiators to these summits – while most poorer countries and small island states cannot afford to send more than two or three delegates. The result is that the global South is not able to wield a strong enough bargaining power at the Summit.

We need the voices of the global South to be heard. We need the voices of African states to be heard. And we need a strong, focused voice from the South African government, as they participate in the Copenhagen Climate Summit.

We need a fair Climate Summit Deal to ensure a sustainable future for Africa.

If not only the rich countries, but also the global South, fail, it won’t only mean less snow on ski slopes. Much of the Netherlands and Belgium and coastal resorts in Florida, USA, as well as Long Island, Manhattan, could be under water while Durban’s Marine Parade might disappear.

Millions of families in Africa will see their farms turn to dust as the desert advances, many in Asia will die in worsening floods and storms, and entire nations on small islands will be threatened by rising seas – all within 10-15 years.

In South Africa and throughout the world, candlelight vigils are planned for
Friday 11 December to bring the danger to the attention of, specifically, the powerful, but also the less powerful participants in the Summit.

The timing here is crucial – the vigils are part of a huge mobilization on the weekend of December 11th - 13th: midway through the negotiations. The climate talks will build to a head a few days later: so the more the negotiators feel the pressure from citizens around the world demanding a genuine deal and consistent action, the more hopeful the final outcome will be.