Were we just
GORE'd
in Kyoto?
~~~~~~~~~
or
~~~~~~~~~~ 
isn't email Grand?

Subject: al gore goes to kyoto
Date: Wed, 03 Dec 1997 09:15:26 PST
From: "tracey iglehart"
To: sf-critical-massATcycling.org

Hey all,

Somebody please tell me, why did i buy a paper yesterday?  It's because i saw the headline  "U.S. eases position on emissions"  in the san jose mercury news.  i had to see what's up.

Here's the skinny:  Al Gore will be going to Kyoto for ONE DAY of the summit.  He'll be there next monday to tell the other leaders that the U.S. will only sign an agreement that includes all countries and to support a position of different targets for different countries.  Meaning, rather than having one set standard of reducing greenhouse gas emissions for every country, the standard will be set based on a country's economic and social profiles.  
   
(Which is what Australia is pushing for so they can say any reduction in greenhouse gases on their part will cause an undue hardship because their economy is so based on the consumption of coal.)  

Almost sounds fair.  The problem lies in that nobody wants their country to take on the "burden" of reducing greenhouse gas emmissions.  Industrial countries think developing countries should have stricter standards because, as the United States has stated, "developing countries should take on additional committments, beyond a very general injunction to take steps to reduce emissions required by the 1992 treaty, because their emissions will outstrip those of the rich countries early in the next century."  Developing countries are saying "that considerations of specific committments for them is out of the question until the richer nations demonstrate that they are reducing emissions.  The rationale is that since the rich countries got wealthy by burning the coal and oil that emit carbond dioxide and are the biggest emitters of the gas, they should lead the way."

So bascially, everybody's saying,  I won't do it until you do it first.

Right below that bit of depressing news is a story about Humboldt County and how it's getting torn apart over the issue of saving trees.  Here's my favorite quote from the article from an old time resident:  "But people don't understand: Redwoods grow like weeds. You cut 'em down, they grow right back. You can't kill the damn stuff."  Yah, they might grow back, but not in our lifetime.

So, let's see, here's the plan.   We pump excessive amounts of carbon into the air, altering the temperature of the planet.  Then, we wipe out the organisms that take carbon out of the air.   
Wow, humans and their higher minds.  Proud to be of such a smart species.

Yikes, so the next time i buy a paper, hopefully i'll think twice.  Not only did i buy the damn thing, but i tried to read the entire thing.  i finally stopped at the article talking about how women are reclaimning the word "girl".  We still do way more of the work while getting way less of the pay, but hey, now we can call ourselves "girl" again without feeling demeaned.  We've come a long way, baby.

Okay, sorry about that tangent, here are some numbers you can call if you want to tell some people what you think about the above issues.

Call Kathleen McGinty of the Council of Environmental Quality at 202 395 5750 and tell her we want some high standards set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Call Anna Eshoo at 202 225 8104 and tell her to support the Endangered Species Recovery Act (not the Endangered Species Act, which weakens protection of old growth forests and has been introduced at the same time.)

Call Bill Clinton at 202 456 1111 and tell him to line item veto the appropriations bill and preserve all 60,000 acres of the old growth redwoods rather than just 7500 acres.  Remember these are the last 4% of the old growth redwoods.  Once they're gone, who knows what could happen?

And call Diane Feinstein and tell her to oppose anti-ESA bill S1180, sorry i don't have her number on me at the moment.

Encourage a woman you know to ride a bike.  Tell them us grrrrls meet the third friday of the month at 7 pm at the women's building* for a ride.

thanks, tracey

"When you have polluted the last river, when you have cut down the last tree, caught the last fish, killed the last bison, only then will you realize that you cannot eat all the money you have accumulated in your banks."  Don't
know which, but some wise native of this land.


*in San Francisco


THANKS TRACEY, THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!

ATTENTION: WINKY HAS NOT checked to confirm that the above phone #s
are the correct digits. Be sure to doublecheck before calling... that is all.

also read THIS!
FROM the Rainforest Action Network: OILWATCH/NGO DECLARATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE, FOSSIL FUELS AND PUBLIC FUNDING...


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last updated on Monday, July 19, 2010 at 9:03 P.M. P.S.T.