Last night, more than 10,000 people logged on to www.earthdaytv.net to watch the Focus the Nation webcast, sponsored in part by the National Wildlife Federation. How do we know how many? Well, 10,000 was the bandwith of the website, and the website crashed.
No worries! You can still watch the webcast by going to www.earthdaytv.net and clicking on "The 2% Solution - Focus the Nation."
You can also find out more about Focus the Nation, a national teach-in happening TODAY and engaging millions of students and citizens with political leaders and decision makers about global warming solutions.
A wonderful Squidoo site on polar bears has been nominated for Squidoo's prestigious Lens of the Year, 2007 award. The site, along with 10 others, was nominated out of more than 300,000 Squidoo lenses. Voting ends January 31, 2008. We are really routing for this Squidoo site and we need your vote!
On the site, you'll find information ranging from polar bear art, facts and photos, as well as links to wildlife, endangered species and environmental organizations. It also features links to videos and live polar bear cams, a weekly cartoon, and of course videos and photos of polar bear celebrities like cute Knut, Hudson and now Flocke.
You can tell the creator, Frankie Kangas, pours her heart and soul into the site. She donates all income generated by the site to the National Wildlife Federation. Frankie is a sculptor and sculpts polar bears and other animals. She also donates a portion of her sculpture sales to NWF. She's incredibly generous and a wonderful advocate for polar bears! Her blog at www.polarbearnews.com is a great resource to learn cute and cuddly facts about our polar friends.
Tonight, President Bush delivered his final State of the Union address, continuing--in his own way--to call for solutions to confront global climate change. Nowhere, however, did he mention passing federal legislation to reduce America's global warming pollution.
"I welcome President Bush's call for action on global warming," said NWF President and CEO Larry Schweiger. "While the White House stance on global warming has thawed, the real test of his commitment to advance U.S. leadership is to work with Congress to pass the bipartisan Climate Security Act." -- Read NWF's official statement.
President Bush on Energy, Environment and Global Climate Change:
"To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology.
"Our security, our prosperity and our environment all require reducing our dependence on oil. Last year, I asked you to pass legislation to reduce oil consumption over the next decade, and you responded.
"Together we should take the next steps: Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions. Let us increase the use of renewable power and emissions-free nuclear power. Let us continue investing in advanced battery technology and renewable fuels to power the cars and trucks of the future. Let us create a new international clean technology fund, which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources. And let us complete an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases. This agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride.
"The United States is committed to strengthening our energy security and confronting global climate change. And the best way to meet these goals is for America to continue leading the way toward the development of cleaner and more energy efficient technology."
WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR -- What did you think about the energy and environment part of President Bush's speech?
EMAIL YOUR SENATORS -- The Senate has the opportunity to pass a strong global warming bill that protects wildlife. Ask your senators to support this Climate Security Act.
Check out Kari Lyderson's article in today's Washington Post for a look at how decreased ice cover on the Great Lakes is impacting the shipping industry, outdoor recreation opportunities and wildlife and habitat.
"A decade ago, Chicago winters meant monumental ice hillocks and caves forming along the lakeshore, skirted by interlocking ice sheets like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
"Today, it is rare to see more than a thin frozen shelf or a few small ice floes sloshing in Lake Michigan below the city's skyline."
The article is a scary look at how changes in the climate are having repercussions throughout the region. Low water levels are changing shipping routes and forcing freighters to be loaded "inch by inch." The water is so low that Lake Superior broke its 81-year-old low-water record by 1.6 inches in September.
Reduced wetlands are altering wildlife habitat and weakening the Great Lakes ecosystem. Jeff Skelding, senior manager of NWF's Great Lakes Restoration Campaign is quoted in the article:
"We firmly believe the changes we're seeing are impacting fisheries, possibly in a dramatic way," said Jeff Skelding of the National Wildlife Federation. "Disruption of habitat will impede fish species from being able to reproduce."
"Really?" I could see this question in the eyes of many in the room. Could this new global warming bill--the Climate Security Act--really be as big as the Endangered Species Act...or the Clean Water Act...or the Clean Air Act? How?
"Well," said John, "Global warming has the potential to wipe out all of the conservation victories of the last century." Endangered wildlife on the road to recovery could face new challenges as global warming alters their habitat and way of life. Waters that we once fought to protect could dry up from extreme drought.
Not only does the Climate Security Act take big steps to cut the pollution that causes global warming, it also provides billions of dollars to help wildlife survive a changing climate.
The National Wildlife Federation will be working on all fronts to pass this legislation. Please stay tuned to find out more about the Act and how you can be a part of the campaign.
The Times reports that a Montana high school has canceled a speech by Nobel laureate climate researcher Stephen Running because "no opposing view would be offered". From the article:
Dr. Running was surprised.
“Disbelief was the primary reaction,” he said in a telephone interview. “I’ve never been canceled before. But it was almost comical. I had a pretty candid discussion with the superintendent and the school board, and they said there were some conservative citizens who didn’t want me to speak.”
The irony here is that the superintendent, who canceled the speech, claimed that the reason he had to do so was the lack of time to explain the situation to those who complained. To appease the concerns of the complainants, they could have easily brought on a global warming skeptic scientist, to speak alongside Dr. Running. The question then is, how easily? Perhaps its as hard to find a skeptic scientist in Montana as it is in Texas.
Fortunately, a student at the high school is fighting back.
The controversy here intensified when a local student’s article criticizing school officials was published Monday on the student-created “Class Act Page” of The Great Falls Tribune, a statewide daily.
“I was insulted as a high school student prepared to enter the world I need to hear both sides of the story,” the student, Kip Barhaugh, 17, said in an interview Tuesday. “I don’t feel there is another side. Global warming is not a controversial issue, it’s a fact. We need to be prepared to deal with it.”
Kudos, Kip. I think its pretty impressive that a high school student would step up like that.
With several primaries and caucuses coming up, I thought I'd give an overview of what the candidates are saying about global warming and other environmental issues on the campaign trail. But first, here are the important dates coming up.
Republicans 1.15.08 - Michigan primary 1.19.08 - South Carolina primary 1.29.08 - Florida primary 2.5.08 - Super Tuesday
Democrats 1.19.08 - Nevada caucus 1.26.08 - South Carolina primary 2.5.08 - Super Tuesday
Here is what some of the candidates are saying on the trail:
McCain said retraining programs in Michigan can help the nation address global warming and dependence on foreign oil, through research on such items as hydrogen- or battery-run cars.
"Michigan can lead the nation and the world again," he said after a town hall meeting in Howell. "We've got the technology here. We've got the academic base. We've got the ability to bring green technologies to the world."
But McCain, the Arizona senator who won the Michigan primary in 2000 and is trying to build more momentum after winning in New Hampshire last week, is drawing large crowds and makes no apologies for his stance on immigration or on another issue that sets him apart from some conservatives: global warming.
It was one of the issues McCain emphasized yesterday in a stop at Michigan State University in East Lansing, where he told the students that if global warming is not occurring, it still would be better to reduce emissions and leave a healthier planet to future generations. "It's going to be your planet, not mine," the 71-year-old said.
Mentioning
the North American International Auto Show, which opens this week in
Detroit, McCain pointed to several new models of hybrid vehicles,
electric cars and flex-fuel vehicles as evidence that U.S. auto
industry is meeting foreign competition head-on through
environmentally-friendly technology.
"I believe Michigan can lead the nation in this new green tech," he said.
McCain said the world is in the midst of a climate change, partially
due to man-made pollution, and he urged greater development of "clean"
technologies.
The Free Press sent questions to eight top candidates asking their views on tackling invasive species, fixing global warming, diverting Great Lakes water to parched states and supporting $20 billion in funding to restore the lakes, from rebuilding sewers to repairing wetlands.
Only Republican Mitt Romney, a Michigan native, responded.
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Monday said a proposed coal-fired power plant shouldn't be built in northeastern South Carolina, continuing his call for a ban on those facilities.
"My view is that needs to stop," Edwards said of the $1 billion, 600-megawatt plant set to be built along the Pee Dee River in this early voting state. Santee Cooper officials are awaiting a final permit from state environmental regulators.
He also said he was opposed to new nuclear power plants and that the U.S. has no credibility in global warming discussions. "We are the worst polluter on the planet," Edwards said.
Have you seen other quotes from candidates about global warming? Post them in the comments here.
The climate crisis
will be one of the biggest challenges facing the next president. But the top
Sunday hosts don’t seem to think so. In 2007, they asked 2,275
questions, but only three mentioned global warming. Our friends at the
League of Conservation Voters have done the analysis and compiled all
of the facts in video below.
Sign the petition and tell the reporters to focus on the human race, not just political horse race.
Some news organizations have no problem mentioning climate change, like this recent article about the escalation of ice loss in Antarctica. Why then, when it comes to presidential candidates, do they find themselves tongue-tied?
Now we want to know what you think. Do you think the media have been ignoring global warming during the Presidential campaigns? Do you think they have been doing a good job covering the issue and informing voters on where candidates stand? Let us know in the comments!
NWF's National Outreach Director, Claudia Malloy, is in South Carolina for the South Carolina Wildlife Federation's Annual Meeting. She provided the following update.
I'm in Greenville, SC for South Carolina Wildlife Federation's annual
meeting. I have not run into any presidential primary candidates, but
Senator Graham was in the lobby of my hotel wearing a McCain for
President sticker. At first I wasn't sure it was him, so I ran up to
my room to look him up in my face book. (I'm such a geek traveling with
my face book.) Anyway, I ran back down to the lobby to say hello. He
was very nice and asked me where I was from. I said DC. He asked if I
was with McCain's people, I told him I was in town with the South
Carolina Wildlife Federation. He said what a great group SCWF is and
you could see he really admires them. I asked the Senator what he was
going to do on climate, would he support Lieberman-Warner? He said
yes, if it included nukes.
You can tell the creator, 
"It's the most important wildlife conservation legislation in history,"
