climate ::: #COP24 articles at EcoWatch

UN: Nations Must Triple Action to Avoid Disastrous Climate Change

The United Nations issued a wake-up call to world leaders on Tuesday for urgent climate action.

Despite national pledges to curb planet-warming emissions, the current pace of government action is "insufficient" to limit global warming to well below 2 C this century, much less the more ambitious 1.5 C target, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) determined in its 2018 Emissions Gap Report.

5 Things to Know Before Next Week's Critical UN Climate Talks

Next week, heads of state and representatives from roughly 200 countries will descend in Katowice, Poland for the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, informally known as COP24.

Trump Team Plans 'Sideshow on Coal' at UN Climate Talks

No one really expects the coal-friendly Trump administration to take significant action on climate change, but this is just trolling.

A new exclusive from Reuters claims that the president's team will "set up a side-event promoting fossil fuels" at the global climate summit this December, aka COP 24, in Katowice, Poland.

MORE: COP 24 tag at EcoWatch

Don't Let #DirtyEnergy Trump the #Climate | Crowdfunding and Petition

Don't Let #DirtyEnergy Trump the Climate

SIGN THE PETITION

Help Us Mobilize to Save #CleanEnergy from Trump’s #DirtyEnergy Plan

The Trump administration is laying the groundwork for a massive dirty energy bailout to ensure America continues to rely on nuclear and coal for years to come. This is a fight for America’s clean energy future and everything that comes along with it--millions of good jobs, thriving communities, and safe, healthy food, air, and water. 

Despite renewable energy's benefits, President Trump is prioritizing coal and nuclear industries and their executives by funneling billions of dollars in subsidies to keep dirty, old, dangerous power plants going.

NIRS is organizing to stop them, and we need you to join us!  Over the next six months, we have to educate and mobilize the public across the country. It is going to take petitions, protests, and lots of grassroots organizing – and we have to start now.

If we can stop Trump’s Nuclear and Coal Bailout, more of the dirty radiation and soot factories will close, and demand for solar, wind, and other clean, safe, efficient, renewable energy sources will accelerate.

We’ve started this crowdfunding campaign to raise $40,000 to get this effort off the ground.  The good news is: Your donation will go twice as far toward making that happen. Another generous supporter is offering to match every dollar you contribute, so your support will be doubled. 

You might have already signed our petition against the Nuclear and Coal Bailout (if you haven’t, just click here)—that’s a great start!

But here’s the thing: we need to reach thousands more people, to make sure they know about Trump’s plans and can take action to stop it. We ask that you make a contribution to support the campaign, so we can reach more people like yourself. We also hope you will tell your friends about the petition, as well as this crowdfunding effort. 

The good news is, some generous donors have offered to match every donation, no matter how big or small, to help us get there. For every dollar you and your friends give, another donor will match it.

Thanks for taking the time to learn about our campaign and for whatever support you can give.

For a Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free World!

The NIRS TeamJasmine Bright – Communications Specialist
Diane D’Arrigo – Radioactive Waste Project Director
Lyn Griffith Taylor – Energy Democracy Specialist
Denise Jakobsberg – Administrative Coordinator
Tim Judson – Executive Director
Mary Olson – Director, NIRS Southeast

Don't Let #DirtyEnergy Trump the Climate

SIGN THE PETITION

Bright Spots From The Resistance: Why There’s Hope For Climate and Clean Energy Progress | Earthjustice | Petition

THE ONLY QUESTION IS WHEN CLEAN ENERGY WILL FULLY POWER THE COUNTRY, no longer ‘if.’ And the loud and clear answer we’re pushing forward is: Now.

President Trump and the fossil fuel cronies he’s put at the helm of U.S. government are determined to wage an all-out assault on clean energy and climate solutions. They want to dismantle the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, gut commonsense pollution protections, and fast-track fossil fuel projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL. And they’re waging this assault at a time when the science couldn’t be clearer that we need to do the exact opposite: accelerate an all-out transition to 100 percent clean energy.

The challenge before us is awesome, but the path to a clean energy transformation is rapidly emerging, and we can all play a role in clearing that path in time to limit temperature rise and guarantee our future. Earthjustice and our partners and allies around the country are applying the full force of the law and harnessing people poweradvance clean energy solutions even as we resist efforts to roll back progress by an unprecedentedly hostile administration and Congress...

more: Bright Spots From The Resistance: Why There’s Hope For Climate and Clean Energy Progress | Earthjustice

sign the petition

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AGENDA for the next adminstration 2017-2021 (PDF)

DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
Defenders’ expectations for the incoming Trump administration’s environmental priorities.

A CALL TO ACTION

Defenders of Wildlife believes we all share a common interest in the protection of America’s spectacular wildlife and our great systems of public lands that offer endless opportunities for hiking, fishing, wildlife watching and other pursuits Americans value.

We will seek to work with the new administration to:
1. Protect and restore our endangered and threatened plants and wildlife.
2. Defend and responsibly manage our federal public lands.
3. Invest in responsible renewable energy development that minimizes impacts to wildlife.
4. Protect wildlife from the impacts of climate change.
5. Encourage initiatives by private landowners, states and tribes to conserve imperiled species and habitats.
6. Strengthen our role as an international leader in imperiled species conservation.
7. Help our youth and diverse and changing communities connect with our federal public lands and wildlife conservation heritage.
8. Maintain our commitment to conservation based on sound science.

These eight priorities are the core of the conservation agenda we propose to the next administration. Working together, we can prevent species extinction, safeguard and restore our wildlife and public lands and proudly uphold our conservation legacy for future generations.

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AGENDA for the next adminstration 2017-2021 (PDF)

People's Climate Movement 2017

Join the People’s Climate Movement this April 29th in Washington, D.C. and across the country to stand up for our communities and climate.

Throughout the first 100 days in office, the People's Climate Movement is organizing a country-wide arc of action, culminating on April 29th in Washington DC in a powerful mobilization to unite all of our movements. To change everything, we need everyone.

Click here to say that you are with us: peoplesclimate.org

We’re ready to fight back, and we are ready to build a resistance to Trump and Congress’ attacks on our climate, our communities, and our jobs that stands alongside the unprecedented Women’s Marches and other powerful rallies that shook the globe in the hours and days following the inauguration of Donald Trump and the 115th Congress.

On April 29th, we will march for our families. We will march for our air, our water, and our land. We will march for clean energy jobs and climate justice. We will march for our communities and the people we love.

In 2014, we said that it takes everyone to change everything. Now, with everything at stake, everyone has a part to play.

People's Climate Movement 2017 | Facebook event page

Nuclear Power Advocates Claim Cheap Renewable Energy Is A Bad Thing | ThinkProgress

Nuclear Power Advocates Claim Cheap Renewable Energy Is A Bad Thing | ThinkProgress

"We Want to Stop Fracking Now": Up to 10,000 Rally on Eve of DNC to Demand #Climate Justice | Democracy Now! || Demonstrators Demand 'Clean Energy Revolution' on Eve of Dem Convention | Common Dreams

 Democracy Now! hit the streets Sunday to speak to some of the thousands of protesters who marched through the streets of Philadelphia to demand a ban on fracking and a transition to clean energy. Despite a scorching heat wave, up to 10,000 people took to the streets for hours. This comes as climate change-fueled extreme weather continues across the world. In California, a wildfire north of Los Angeles doubled in size Sunday, just one day after a burned body was discovered outside a home in Santa Clarita north of Los Angeles.

TRANSCRIPT: "We Want to Stop Fracking Now": Up to 10,000 Rally on Eve of DNC to Demand Climate Justice | Democracy Now!

– INCLUDES: TIM JUDSON of NIRS: My name is Tim Judson. I’m with a group called the Nuclear Information and Resource Service based in Washington, D.C., and I’m here with the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free contingent to the March for a Clean Energy Revolution. We’re here to send the message that a clean energy future has got to be both nuclear-free and carbon-free. Right now, there’s, you know, attempts to bail out the nuclear industry going on across the country, including in New York state, where Governor Cuomo is trying to build a reputation for himself as a clean energy governor, is trying to do a seven-point—include a $7.6 billion bailout to nuclear power plants in a supposed clean energy standard that he wants to pass in a week. And this is going to be a disaster for renewable energy and our clean energy future. There’s nothing about bailing our nuclear power plants that puts any solar panels on anybody’s roofs, builds any windmills or gets anybody energy efficiency. It’s really going to prop up the energy status quo. [see 

see also: Demonstrators Demand 'Clean Energy Revolution' on Eve of Dem Convention | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

'When it comes to climate change, there’s precious little time for lesser evils; the physics—as scientists are quick to tell us—has put humanity on a deadline.'

7.24 Make 2016 the Year for a Clean Energy Revolution! March with the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent on July 24

Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free at the People's Climate March September 21, 2014

June 28, 2016

Dear Friends,

Join us on July 24 as we join thousands in the streets of Philadelphia marching for a Clean Energy Revolution!

We are forming a Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent, and we want you to join us. We will demand an end to nuclear power and fossil fuels, and a just transition to a 100% renewable energy world. We will march with thousands from coast to coast on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, calling on all of our political leaders to take immediate action. 

Let us know you plan to come by filling in the short form below.

You can find out more at the March for a Clean Energy Revolution website. There is information about transportation and lodging options, including over two dozen buses being organized from cities throughout the east coast and the Midwest.

The Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent facebook page has updates on the march and where to find us in Philadelphia. You can use the page to invite your friends to join us, as well. 

For those able to make a weekend of it in Philadelphia, there is even more happening on Saturday, July 23:

• The Summit for a Clean Energy Revolution: workshops and speeches from national leaders, grassroots heroes, and frontline organizers on how to build the movement.
• PowerShift 2016: the conference for young climate activists to learn, network, share skills, and build the next generation of leadership.
• Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free meeting: meet with anti-nuclear and -uranium activists as we make plans for 2017 and beyond (details TBA, contact Tim Judson for more info).

If you can't make it and/or would like to help more people attend, please make a donation to support the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free contingent. We are making hundreds of signs and banners to get our message. 

Funds raised will also help First Nations and anti-uranium activists make the trip to Philadelphia. Nuclear power is dirty from the start, from the radioactive and toxic mining and processing of uranium, to over 15,000 abandoned mines affecting Native American and rural communities throughout the Western US and Canada. 

EVENT LOCATION

City Hall

1401 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19107

THANKS TO NIRS!




whats up: Make 2016 the Year for a Clean Energy Revolution! March with the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent on July 24

WHATS UP

RC'S NUCLEAR BLOG • NO NUKES! | RE-TOOL NOW

#RE_TOOL :: Tackling Climate Change Is a Profitable Opportunity, Rather Than an Expensive Problem

TOMASSEREDA VIA GETTY IMAGES

We hear forceful declarations from stakeholders in the debate that climate change is a huge and expensive problem and that we have to act for the sake of future generations. How in the world can you motivate people by asking them to pay to solve a huge problem with no immediate benefit? Rather than hearing about expensive problems, people are looking to be inspired by solutions that provide an immediate economic reward. And this is exactly what fighting climate change can offer today if we accept to modify our understanding of the situation.

READ: Tackling Climate Change Is a Profitable Opportunity, Rather Than an Expensive Problem

It's time to transition to 100% clean energy: the wind is now at our backs | Mark Ruffalo | Opinion | The Guardian

@Mark Ruffalo

Relying fully on clean energy is not only good for the environment, human health and the economy, it is also doable

The climate agreement reached in Paris is provoking a flurry of caveats, criticisms and cautions. Many of those criticisms are warranted and there’s a lot of work ahead to make sure countries live up to their promises. But we should not miss a chance to celebrate a historic turning point.

World leaders finally made commitments to clean, renewable energy that will help to ensure a safer, healthier and more prosperous future for us all. The agreement signals that the age of fossil fuels is coming to a close, and the age of renewable energy is dawning. 

In many ways, the Paris deal is the mother of all market signals. To deliver on the promises world leaders made, we will need to leave coal and oil in the ground and move toward a complete reliance on clean energy. Let’s not miss the writing on the wall: fossil fuels are a losing bet, while renewables offer economic opportunity. 

more: It's time to transition to 100% clean energy: the wind is now at our backs | Mark Ruffalo | Opinion | The Guardian

Investing in the Climate Revolution — Natural Resources Defense Council — Medium

Investing in the Climate Revolution

A new publicly traded index fund will be the first to invest only in S&P 500 companies that don’t own fossil-fuel reserves.

With the opening of the Paris climate talks this week, President Obama joined leaders from 150 other nations to affirm an historic global pivot. The world is moving away from the dirty fossil fuels that drive climate change and toward the cleaner, smarter energy options that can power our future without threatening our kids...

Investing in the Climate Revolution — Natural Resources Defense Council — Medium

https://medium.com/natural-resources-defense-council




http://www.nrdc.org

100% Clean Energy is 100% Possible | EcoWatch

Imagine Martin Luther King hadn’t had a dream, Gandhi didn’t stand up to the powerful elite and Elon Musk had taken “no” for an answer when they tried to kill the electric car. What kind of world would we have?

Exactly a week ahead of the opening of the COP21 climate summit in Paris, the global movement for 100 percent clean energy released the short film, 100% Possible. Created by award-winning agency Don’t Panic, 100% Possible features famous figures who triumphed over adversity—including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi, alongside modern heroes such as Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling...

more: 100% Clean Energy is 100% Possible

youtube.com/watch?v=-CYt13a6iD0

Sweden To Become The World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Nation In History | Collective-Evolution

The Swedish government recently announced that their aim is to become one of the world’s first nations to end its dependence on fossil fuels. They will be investing an extra 4.5 billion kronor (US$546 million) into renewable energy and climate change action in their 2016 budget.

Not long ago, UBS, the world’s largest private bank, began urging its investors to join the clean, renewable energy movement. Their analysts are predicting that power plants in Europe might become completely extinct within the next 10 to 20 years, and it seems they are correct. The dream of a ‘nuclear free’ Europe might become a reality sooner than expected, which explains why trillions of dollars are being divested...

more: Sweden To Become The World’s First Fossil Fuel-Free Nation In History | Collective-Evolution

Record response: CPUC hit hard on net metering - SmartGridNews

Picture this: Wheelbarrows full of signed postcards and petitions being pushed (literally) toward the offices of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in support of net metering, whereby energy consumers can generate their own energy using solar power.

Rooftop solar in Los Angeles, California. Credit: Downtowngal/Wikimedia Commons

It really happened late last week, as residents throughout California -- representing a diverse coalition of consumer, environmental, faith, public health, environmental justice, and business organizations --gathered on the CPUC steps to deliver more than 130,000 signatures in support of net metering.

This petition marks the largest number of public comments ever recorded at the CPUC on any issue...

more: Record response: CPUC hit hard on net metering - SmartGridNews

Michigan energy efficiency standard netted $4B in savings | Utility Dive

Dive Brief:

A new report on efficiency in Michigan shows that for every dollar spent on reducing energy waste consumers are seeing $4.38 in benefits -- the highest level since 2010, Midwest Energy News reports. 

The report, released by the state's Public Service Commission, estimates that  the program's $1.1 billion in expenditures has saved customers $4.2 billion since 2010. 

Efficiency measures installed last year were expected to save over 1.4 million MWh and more than 4.8 million Mcf of natural gas...

read: Michigan energy efficiency standard netted $4B in savings | Utility Dive

Rapidly growing appeal of renewable energy, for institutional investors

Institutional Investor Appetite For Renewable Energy, Forbes.com, Christopher P Skroupa, 12 June 15 “…..Richard Rankin: Most people do not know how substantial renewable energy is or that, in a global context, renewable energy is competitive with and can replace conventional energy entirely.

more: Rapidly growing appeal of renewable energy, for institutional investors | Antinuclear

Utilities experience competition, don’t like it, run crying to regulators | Grist

Power utilities are fleeing open competition and seeking security in the sweet, protective bosom of Big Government. You can see this in two concurrent trends...

Utilities experience competition, don’t like it, run crying to regulators | Grist

Nukes Fade As Wind and Solar Soar | EcoWatch

With nuclear power falling ever further behind renewables as a global energy source, and as the price of oil and gas falls, the future of the industry in 2015 and beyond looks bleak.

Investors are increasingly skeptical about putting their money into nuclear—whereas renewables promise an increasingly rapid return on investment, and may get a further boost if the governments of the world finally take climate change seriously.

Renewables now supply 22 percent of global electricity and nuclear only 11 percent—a share that is gradually falling as old plants close and fewer new ones are commissioned.

New large-scale installations of wind and solar power arrays continue to surge across the world. Countries without full grids and power outages, such as India, increasingly find that wind and solar are quick and easy ways to bring electricity to people who have previously had no supply...

read more: Nukes Fade As Wind and Solar Soar | EcoWatch

The People's Climate March is one month away, but you can start it now!

http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5502/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1303418

August 21, 2014

Dear Friends,

The historic People's Climate March is just one month away--September 21, 2014. And NIRS and all the other groups supporting this massive event have launched an all-out mobilizing campaign starting now.

This weekend, we ask every organization--and every individual--supporting the Nuclear Free-Carbon-Free Contingent to help get the word out about this event. Send an e-mail--or just forward this one--to everyone on your lists. Put up a notice on your websites and blogs; post on Facebook/Twitter or any other social media sites you use. Send a letter to the editor of your local paper about why you're going to the march, or just to raise awareness of it (we've made this easy for you, see details below).

The March Starts Now

We're not waiting until September 21--we're kicking off the march now! We're creating a photo gallery of marchers to visually tell everyone why we're marching. And if you absolutely can't come to New York City on September 21, this is a perfect way for you to stand and be counted.

It's easy. Just download and print one of the signs we have posted on our new The March Starts Now page (or make a sign of your own), and then take a selfie of you holding the sign, or get a partner or friend to take the photo and then take one of him/her too. Group shots encouraged too. Then send the photos to nirsnet@nirs.organd we'll post them in the photo gallery. Get started here.

Sign Up for the March

If you're coming to the march, but haven't yet signed up on the People's Climate March website, please do so now using this special code, which indicates your sign-up is coming through the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent:http://peoplesclimate.org/march?r=nukefree. The reason to sign up is so march organizers can have a better sense of how many people to expect--this is important for logistical and planning purposes.

We encourage you to sign up for the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent as well, for the same reasons. Plus, it will help us keep those of you we know are coming better informed about the Contingent's plans, especially any last-minute changes. You can sign up for the Contingent here.

National Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Activist Meeting

Besides the march on Sunday, September 21, NIRS is sponsoring a national meeting of activists all afternoon on Saturday, September 20. We're still working on exact time and location, but it will be in an accessible location in New York City. The purpose of the meeting will be to strengthen grassroots networks to be able to better organize and prepare for the many upcoming regional and state battles we all will be facing when the EPA's Clean Power Plan rule goes into effect next year. These battles will be critical for the future of nuclear power--we can close dirty, dangerous and uneconomic nuclear reactors and end talk of a nuclear "renaissance" for good, or face potentially decades of stagnation of renewable energy and energy efficiency in favor of dirty energy.The stakes are that high--but these are battles we can win. Please join us at this important meeting. We will keep you informed about time and location.

Some March updates

The march route has been set, you can see the route and a map on our main Contingent website here. The march will kick off at 11:30 am on September 21; contingents will be assembling north of Columbus Circle. We will inform you of the assembly point and time for the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent as soon as it is confirmed.

There are numerous other useful resources on the Contingent website, including flyers for downloading; organizing and mobilizing guides; information on transportation to NYC; background reading and much more.

The site is updated daily and will be through September 21.

122 organizations from across the world have now endorsed the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent, and new endorsements arrive daily. If your organization has not yet endorsed the Contingent, please send your name, organization name, city, state and country (if outside the U.S.) to us at nirsnet@nirs.org.

More than 1400 individuals have also signed a statement in support of the Contingent. You can add your name here.

Letters to the Editor

We have provided a sample letter for you to send to your local news outlets. You'll be able to choose which paper(s) it will be sent to. Then, edit the letter to reflect your own views and concerns (especially local ones), and your letter will automatically be sent to your local media. Research continues to show that letters to the editor remain among the highest-read portions of newspapers (including online ones). It's a great way to spread the word and we've made it as easy as possible for you. Get started here, it will only take you a few moments.

Facebook/Twitter and other social media posts

Here are a few sample posts you can use on your social media pages to help spread the word:

Twitter

In one month, September 21, the largest climate march in history. Join us. http://peoplesclimate.org/march?r=nukefree #peoplesclimate @nirsnet

#ActonClimate: Build a Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free energy system. We start September 21. http://peoplesclimate.org/march?r=nukefree #peoplesclimate @nirsnet

Facebook

Join me at the largest climate march in history. I'll be with the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent in NYC on September 21. Full information here: http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/climatemarchhome.htm

Friends, help spread the word about the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent to the People's Climate March in NYC on September 21. http://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/climatemarchhome.htm

Don't forget to Comment to EPA!

Finally, if you have not yet sent in your comments on the EPA's Clean Power Plan, please so do now here. Many people have not yet done so, and in this case, every single comment matters. The nuclear industry is mounting a major lobbying effort toincrease support for nuclear power in the plan--our united and large call to remove all nuclear support for the plan is the only thing that will stop them.The Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent to the People's Climate March is one of the most exciting and meaningful events I've been part of in my nearly 30 years at NIRS. It's just amazing to see the enthusiasm and spirit growing the way it is. This will a momentous weekend. I really do hope you'll join me, all the NIRS staff, and people from all over the country in New York City on September 21.

Thanks so much for all you do,

Michael Mariotte
President
Nuclear Information and Resource Servicewww.nirs.org
nirsnet@nirs.org

Stay Informed:

NIRS on the web: http://www.nirs.org

GreenWorld: (NIRS' daily blog chronicling nuclear issues and the transition to a nuclear-free, carbon-free energy system)http://www.safeenergy.org

NIRS on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nuclear-Information-and-Resource-Service/26490791479?sk=wall&filter=12
http://www.facebook.com/nonukesnirs

NIRS on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/nirsnet

9.21 PEOPLES CLIMATE MARCH, NYC

This September, world leaders are coming to New York City for a historic summit on climate change – and we’ll be waiting for them in the streets. Join us.

This is an invitation to change everything.

In September, world leaders are coming to New York City for a UN summit on the climate crisis. UN Secretary­ General Ban Ki-­moon is urging governments to support an ambitious global agreement to dramatically reduce global warming pollution..

With our future on the line and the whole world watching, we’ll take a stand to bend the course of history. We’ll take to the streets to demand the world we know is within our reach: a world with an economy that works for people and the planet; a world safe from the ravages of climate change; a world with good jobs, clean air and water, and healthy communities.

To change everything, we need everyone on board.
Sunday, September 21 in New York City. Join us.

Sign up now  – and read Our Power Campaign’s powerful call to action, Bill McKibben’s invitation in Rolling Stone, or Eddie Bautista’s piece in Earth Island Journal.

http://peoplesclimatemarch.org/
https://www.facebook.com/peoplesclimatemarch

Join the nuclear-free, carbon-free contingent September 21!
http://peoplesclimate.org/nonuclearpower/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nukefreeclimatefreemarch/

see also: Our Power Campaign • People’s Climate March 2014