World Energy Day Program in West Bengal

“The Earth unfortunately is not a never ending treasure trove of resources,’ said RAN West Bengal coordinator Sudipta Sarkhel. “The speakers stressed on the need for energy saving and urged the people to help reduce pollution by simply changing the way the light their homes and offices. They reminded the people that energy saving is today the top in a list of social responsibilities of every individual.”

“We also observed one minute silence and burnt candle light
in memory of the victims and those who laid down their lives in
fighting the Mumbai terrorist attack on 26th November, 2008,” Sudipta told us.

The Green Gorilla Gang

“How can you just remove a mountain?!” they ask…

Find out what the kids do to stop mountaintop removal and the myth of “clean, green mountain energy” at www.greengorilla.com.

Oh, and the music’s rockin’ too.

(You can also check out the pilot episode – “’The Great Pacific Garbage Patch,’ which follows four kids and a green gorilla as they overcome a demented plot by Dr. Morlon Hufflebot to create an island of plastic bags in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”)

Share this with all the budding environmentalists in your life!

Here is a summary of the article… the top five reasons members of Congress should (and as we’ve seen today, many have) vote against the bill:
1. This Bailout’s Inherent Fiscal Insanity Could Make Problem Worse
2. Experts on both the left and right say this bailout could make things worse
3. There are clearly better and safer alternatives
4. Any Incumbent Voting for This Puts Themselves At Risk of Being Thrown Out of Office
5. Corruption and Sleaze Are Swirling Around These Bailouts — and America Knows It

Hello blog world! Marty here, checking in from Berkeley, CA, where the crew of the Sustainable Living Roadshow is making final preparations before embarking on its first national tour, “Be The Change 2008.” We are a caravan of entertainers, educators and activists, traveling the country in a fleet of renewable fuel vehicles, setting up off-the-grid eco-carnivals, empowering and inspiring communities to work towards a
sustainable and just future. There’ll be carnival games like “Toss
Out Fossil Fuels,” workshops, demonstrations, and some amazing musical acts. It’s time to make sustainability fun!

Over the next 11 weeks, I’ll be bringing you updates and pictures
from the road. I’m lucky enough to be representing Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and RAN Youth Sustaining the Earth (RYSE) on this epic journey across the US. I’ll be giving workshops on climate action and RAN’s campaigns, and getting youth fired up about challenging corporate power with RYSE. I’m also taking an active role in logistical planning for the tour, networking with student groups along the route, and organizing educational materials. It takes a lot of work putting on a roadshow, but its going to be an incredible ride!

We’re looking for volunteers at all of our events, so please let us know if you can help!

Well, that’s it for now, time to get back to work. See you on the road!

What I heard on NPR this morning was mind-blowing on a number of levels, but the bottom line is that ATHLETES CAN’T BREATHE BECAUSE THE AIR IS SO SMOGGY. So, the Chinese government has been doing and continues to do all sorts of things to reduce air pollution (the list can be found on NPR’s site). Maybe seeing the slight improvement in air quality will cause the people of Beijing to demand cleaner air all the time, not just when the world’s watching. But meanwhile, even WITH all the reductions, it’s still not clean enough for the athletes to breathe. Not to mention longterm health effects.

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

“You can really feel the particulate stuff getting into your lungs,” Shoemaker says. “After the race, when we tried to talk or laugh or cough, it was pretty tough. You could feel it in your lungs. There was a burning.”

Shoemaker says it was even challenging to simply stand on the sidelines while his teammates raced in the women’s event.

“Trying to cheer was almost impossible, because we just couldn’t take deep breaths,” he says.

They’re offering gas masks to the athletes to wear between their events. That picture will be worth a thousand words for sure.

This quote is a little troubling, too:

“I think of it [the smog] as an equalizer,” he says. “I think a lot of the athletes may be physically or psychologically affected more than I would be, and I tend to do better in races where the conditions are tougher.”

From Sudipta:

The speakers while addressing the audience expressed their grave concern over the growing environment pollution in West Bengal. They expressed disappointment and ventilated their grievances over the indifferent attitude and reluctance of the West Bengal Government to take appropriate action to prevent environmental pollution. They urged the people to be united and raise their voices in protest against the inaction of the state government in implementing the court’s order to reduce vehicles emissions. They said the state government has, however, failed to contribute in a big way in curbing pollution and phasing out old and polluting vehicles. They expressed apprehension that if global warming is not checked and the sea level continues to rise at its present rate, an area of 100 sq km covering Kolkata, Hooghly, parts of North 24 Parganas, Midnapore, Nadia, entire South 24 Parganas would be submerged in the next 50 years. They said vehicular pollution has hit photosynthesis of plants robbing the city of precious oxygen. Kolkata is extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts. For a city that often experiences intense cyclonic activity, the rising sea level is a big threat.The Sundarbans is already a victim of rising sea level. On an average, 2.5mm of the Sundarbans is sinking annually due to erosion, deforestation, and destruction of Mangrove forests. They said the city’s highly polluted air is leading to the growing number of lung cancer patients. Kolkata’s air pollution results from the horribly high level of auto emissions, which the authorities have failed to control so far. If this is not checked with a heavy hand, the impact on the health of Kolkatans, particularly children, will be devastating.

As for our future plans, our prime aim is to spread the mission and message of Rainforest Action Network among the students throughout West Bengal. Our next steps will be reaching out to the students, mobilizing and getting them involved in RAN’s activities. We have decided to hold events in schools and college campuses. At the same time we will continue our campaigning on different local issues, as we have already been requested by the local people and clubs from different parts of the state to organize meetings on local environmental issues.

With Warm Regards,
Sudipta Sarkhel

It seems being green is really pervading all realms these days… I read this satirical little article penned by my friend Judah today about the environmental impact of, uh, having sex? He comes to conclusions like monogamy is good for the environment, as are lowered inhibitions.

“…between the spermicide, the chemical processes strengthening them and the lubes, the compost is not an option. Not to mention those little foil packs they come in. As far as the green movement is concerned, the nearly 500 million condoms used annually in the US are a menace.”

“Thus, responsible promiscuity is bad for the environment.”

(Although I must note that we do support latex and rubber as a sustainable alternative agricultural industry in Southeast Asia, instead of palm expansion. It is a genuinely renewable and sustainable resource).

And this one…

“Better to use a solar powered vibrator that gets its energy directly from the light without storing it. Best to use your vibe in the sun or with the light on. See, lowered inhibitions are good for the environment.”

See… all this stuff you never even thought of! Living green can be so complicated.

One of the reasons I am so proud to work for this organization is because of the effort we’re making toward making RAN, and hopefully the environmental movement as a whole, a more inclusive, less oppressive place. It’s hard. We have a lot of work to do, both in our organization and throughout the movement. I am given hope by the vision of folks here, and by the work of people like Van Jones and Marcelo Bonta, who wrote this awesome article on Grist.

Like I said, we have a ways to go, but examining our commitment to our Indigenous partners, working in solidarity with folks across the social justice movement, modifying our hiring practices, and making RAN’s culture one that is open-minded and welcoming to all types of folks is where we begin.

For decades, the mainstream environmental movement has been dominated by upper middle-class white people. Whatever the barriers are to diversifying this movement, and they are many, we need to, as Bonta says, “get over it and start taking action.”

On my way to work this morning, I heard a GM commercial state that if you buy a HUMMER by July 5^th, you will pay only $1.99 per gallon of gas for an entire year. A Hummer! So GM is incentivizing the worst gas guzzler known to humankind by offering discounts on the gas that fuels this country’s oil addiction. It’s like a happy hour for petroholics!

Yet the auto companies are framing this as “fuel protection.” Of course, this short term subsidy will save the Hummer-driver a few bucks during the first year. But at what cost? The Hummer-driver will go on polluting our air without any consideration, since the one factor that might have made them think twice (the high price of gas) has now disappeared. Not to mention that after that first year, your 10 mpg Hummer is going to cost a fortune in gas.
How about instead, Ford (who is offering similar incentives and is the automaker with the lowest fuel-economy of any automaker) and GM build more fuel-efficient cars?! GM touts its fleet’s great gas mileage in the very same promotion it offers its free gas for Hummers. I’d say the the two cancel each other out.

Not to mention that today Ford reneged on its commitment to build 250,000 hybrids by 2010.

The hangover from this one’s going to suck.