Convincing the Skeptics with Science and Film

We have just dragged our weary bodies back from a long, but productive day. The screening at the Danish Film Institute was excellent, with the Huffington Post and Carbon War Room in attendance, along with other engaged parties. We remain endebted to the scientists who continue to participate in the Q&A after the film – […]

The Price of Flying High

By Daniel de la Calle In his book How to Live a Low-Carbon Life, Chris Goodall breaks down the average 12.5 tonnes of CO2 per person yearly emissions in the UK into around 6 directly generated by the individual and another 6.5 generated by such things as “running offices, making fertilizer, smelting iron ore and […]

SCRIPPS and A Sea Change: Science and Cinema on a Mission

On Friday night we had a reunion in La Jolla with our colleagues from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  It was the first time we had gotten together since we stormed COP15.  After much strategizing, we have decided to have a repeat performance at COP16 in November.  We concluded that we had, in fact, made […]

10 Good News, 10

By Daniel de la Calle It might be the cosmetic work of politicians, it may be hard to see the good side of it, could even leave you a bit confused, but here are 10 pieces of news that could ignite (emissions free, of course) true, authentic change: 1   Britain decides to stop airport growth around […]

Ocean Acidification Breaks the Surface

Today is Ocean Day at COP-15.  The day began with a bang with a major piece from the BBC quoting the UK’s Environmental Minister, Hilary Benn, regarding the importance of ocean acidification.   Barbara and I attended panel presentations at the European Environmental Agency (EEA) here in Copenhagen.  Speaker after speaker spoke about the changes […]

Sea Level Rise, Ocean Warming and Ocean Acidification

By Daniel de la Calle If you can spare 18 minutes, please watch this video of a conference about the oceans delivered by Professor Rob Dunbar, of Stanford University. I believe it was held in the Galapagos Islands not long ago. Professor Dunbar talks about sea level rise, ocean warming and about what “frightens [him] […]

On the Road Again

Sven, on the way to make some noise about ocean acidification in Copenhagen.

Niijii Films in Copenhagen

Barbara, Sven, Angela and Gwen have landed in Copenhagen.  We have at least 4 screenings of A Sea Change planned during the COP-15 conference, and we plan to do everything we can to put the oceans on the agenda of discussion for our nations’ leaders.  While there is little likelihood of a significant treaty being […]

In Copenhagen

We made it!  Bleary eyed and a bit soggy from the constant drizzle, we in arrived in Copenhagen yesterday.  Christmas and Climate Change are in evidence everywhere!  I’ll email photographic evidence later today (see below), but meanwhile, my first favorite factoid from Denmark courtesy of the Danish National Museum: Did you know… Some 14,000 years […]

Day 2

Barbara and I are here in Copenhagen at COP-15 to continue our efforts to get oceans and ocean acidification onto the global climate agenda.  We are part of the team from Scripps and the University of California.  Towards that end, I was asked to give a talk yesterday on Ocean Acidification and its Human Impacts.  […]

Day 3 – At the Bella Center

Today will be a full day at the Bella Center. Yesterday we met with a journalist from Barcelona who writes for La Vanguardia.  He, like many, wanted to know why it has taken so long for ocean acidification to become a known issue. He asked us what the delegates would say if asked why it […]

Al Gore

We found this originally on EcoGeek but went back to the source, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), an organization devoted to bringing together "the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)." Al Gore was invited to deliver one of those talks this past March […]

Republicans block U.S. Senate’s global warming bill

Last night Democrats failed to break the Republican filibuster of major global warming legislation. The bill would have capped carbon dioxide coming from power plants,refineries and factories, with a target of cutting greenhouse gasemissions by 71 percent by the middle of this century. Notably crossing the aisle was John Warner (R-VA), arguing that the bill […]

Twenty years later

An eloquent statement from the man who first announced global warming in the U.S. Congress, James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, published in The Guardian. An excerpt: ". . . we have used up all slack in the schedule for actions needed todefuse the global warming time bomb. The next […]

Another sea change

This courtesy of economist Mark Thomas’ blog Economist’s View: "Americans consider global warming an urgent threat, according to poll,EurekAlert: A growing number of Americans consider global warming animportant threat that calls for drastic action, and 40% say that a presidentialcandidate’s position on the issue will strongly influence how they vote,according to a national survey conducted […]

EPA admits climate change a human health problem

Well, the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) has acknowledged that climate change poses health and lifestyle risks. In a Reuters report filed last week, Joel Scheraga, agency representative is quoted as saying ""Climate change poses real risk to human health and the human systemsthat support our way of life in the United States." Possible risks […]

Climate change & the ocean

Dr. Richard Feely, Director of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, spoke at Northwestern University last February, part of their Global Warming: A Threat to Biodiversity program for the public.

Ocean chemistry 101 for the lay person

The Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media just published a very good article by Marah J. Hardt and Carl Safina explaining ocean acidification. Their primary audience is journalists, but any layperson will find it a valuable resource for understanding the issue. "Changing ocean chemistry threatens the survival of marine life asmuch as warming […]

ABC News Covers Ocean Acidification

We were glad to stumble upon this report filed by Clayton Sandell for ABC News. The basics on ocean acidification in less than two minutes. Also amused to see corrosive becoming a meme, vis a vis seawater, hitting the mainstream.

Climate change or global disruption

Scientist John P. Holdren, in a July 3 appearance on Democracy Now!, argues that global warming is a misleading term. Heprefers global disruption. In his interview, he says: “‘Global warming". . .implies something that’s mainly about temperature, that’s gradual, andthat’s uniform across the planet. . . In fact, temperatureis only one of the things that’s […]

Climate change video contest

http://vimeo.com/climatematters The three winners will receive cash prizes through a pre-loaded Brighter Planet Visa credit cards: 1st place: $3,0002nd place: $1,0003rd place: $500 Overview and guidelines         The contentof the video must relate to climate change and not to the support of oropposition to any candidate for public office or any political party. […]

The Gore 10-Year Challenge

Al Gore threw down the gauntlet yesterday, challenging the U.S. to go completely carbon-free in its energy sources within ten years. We have the technology to do it, he claimed, speaking in DC to an enthusiastic crowd. The 50-year goals politicians have been setting, eg, at the recent G8 meetings, just don’t cut it: they’re […]

Marine Ecosystem Response to “Ocean Acidification” Due to Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment

ReferenceVogt, M., Steinke, M., Turner, S., Paulino, A., Meyerhofer, M.,Riebesell, U., LeQuere, C. and Liss, P. 2008. Dynamics ofdimethylsulphoniopropionate and dimethylsulphide under different CO2 concentrations during a mesocosm experiment.  Biogeosciences 5: 407-419. What was doneEffects of atmospheric CO2enrichment on various marine microorganisms and DMS production werestudied in nine marine mesocosms maintained within 2-meter-diameterpolyethylene bags submerged […]

Al Gore’s green energy challenge

Here’s Al Gore’s complete speech of July 17, in which he challenges the US to attain sustainable energy goals by 2018, courtesy EnergyEnvironmentTV.

Green For All

Greening the US plus jobs for the job-less. A win-win if I ever saw one. increasing the flow of green to the disenfranchised in the forms of jobs hence income increasing American’s use of green energy http://www.greenforall.org/