EnviroNerd Alert!!!
Ask me what the current generation needs in order to become active in the debate over global climate change and here's what I say: Start Paying Attention!
Stop watching TV. Turn off your cable. You can get all the entertainment you need from the internet. But you need to start actively educating yourself on the effects and trends of global climate change and how you can participate as part of the solution instead of adding to the problem. All of this can be done by videos and organizations currently on the internet.
Read my blog, watch the videos I put up, they just might boggle your mind. The global effects of climate change are incredible. Tortilla riots due to rising corn prices affected by biofuels and oil. Regional droughts increasing dramatically. Global water resources being vastly depleted. I could go on and on, but the World Resources Institute does it faster, more intelligently, and add another degree of credibility.
The video below from late December is an hour long, so make some time for it if you care at all about the macro trends that will play out in 2008. This is important information for all citizens of the Earth to understand so that you can prepare your family, your profession, and your business for the effects global climate change. That is, look both ways before using up all the world's natural resources.
This video correlates very closely with an accompanying Download trends-to-watch-2008.ppt , so I would recommend downloading that and following along.
There are a lot of trends that I am excited about such as the fact that Central (concentrated) Solar Power (CSP) is now considered to be cost-competitive with other forms of conventional power generation. Additionally, companies in China, the U.S., and Europe are engaging in heated competition and making great strides towards reducing the cost of photovoltaics.
The stories about how rapid weather changes caused by climate change in Australia caused that country to focus on that issue more than any other in their most recent elections. The newly elected prime minister signed the Kyoto protocol on his first day of office, no small promise considering Australia's per capita energy consumption.
For Americans, the big question is how will climate change affect this country's 2008 presidential elections. As WRI notes, only Bill Richardson, John Edwards, and Barack Obama consistently speak favorably about the need for proactive legislation from the top down to address the issue (And the last man standing is...).
How will the world respond to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing (right), boasting some of the poorest air quality standards on Earth.
An hour really is not too much of your time to hear from respected experts about what is happening around the world with climate change.
I'd love to hear your feedback on the video as well as how you plan to take action in your own life. Comments always welcome.
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