As the east coast swelters in 100 degree-plus temperatures, as Russian towns are torched in a summer of fire, and even as 14 countries report their highest-ever temperatures this year, the U.S. Senate still refuses to address global warming. 

     Even a bill greatly watered down in an attempt to get 60 votes could not pass.  Oil and gas companies, and their friends in the Senate–all the Republicans as well as Democrats Blanche Lincoln (AR) , Kent Conrad (ND), and Jay Rockefeller (WV)–got their wish.  No action on global warming. 

     But even as the highest legislative body in the land wastes precious time, we cannot afford to wait.  Fortunately, there are many actions we citizens can take to help stop global warming, even as our elected Senators sit on their hands.  Following are just a few:

• If one or both of your Senators is a Republican, contact that Senator’s office, and let him/her know in no uncertain terms that you are angry that the Republicans are blocking needed legislation to address climate change.  Also make it known that you vote.  To find your Senators’ contact info, click here:  http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
• If you live in Arkansas, North Dakota, or West Virginia, let Senator Lincoln (AR), Conrad (ND), or Rockefeller (WV) know that you are very disappointed that s/he joined with all the Republicans to block any meaningful legislation to address climate change.  Click above for contact info.
• Help hasten the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy by working to end our reliance on coal.  The burning of coal accounts for about 30% of U.S. global warming pollution.  Support the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal effort at www.sierraclub.org/coal. 
• Urge Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not to approve the 2,000 mile pipeline planned for the importation of dirty oil from Canada’s Tar Sands to the Gulf of Mexico.  Learn more at www.1sky.org/blog/2010/07/stop-the-keystone-xl-tar-sands-pipeline.
• Urge President Obama to install solar panels on the White House.  Former President Jimmy Carter had them installed, and Ronald Reagan had them removed.  Admittedly, this step is more symbol than substance, but the President sets a powerful example.    Go to www.putsolaron.it/whitehouse/ and urge the President to join with people all over America who will be celebrating climate solutions on October 10.–April Moore

     Despite the pleas of thousands and thousands of Americans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told us last week that the Senate will not pass climate change legislation this summer.   

     Why?  The votes just aren’t there, says Reid.  There is no Republican support, and even some Democrats do not support the bill.  While Republican opposition is in keeping with the party’s lock-step opposition to virtually anything the President supports, it seems that the upcoming November elections have some Democrats worried they might pay too high a political price if they support a bill to cap carbon emissions.  But even some Democratic Senators who are not up for re-election this fall have done nothing to move the Kerry-Lieberman bill forward in the Senate. 

     Another reason we don’t have the Senate votes we need, says Eric Pooley, author of The Climate War:  True Believers, Power Brokers, and the Fight to Save the Planet, is that President Obama missed a key opportunity to build support for the measure.  He failed to encourage the public, angered by the BP gulf oil disaster, to channel their anger into calls to their Senators to enact climate change legislation this summer.  

     Many Senate observers believe the next chance for passage of a Senate climate change bill will be the lame duck session, following the November elections.  If the Senate fails to pass a bill by January, the coresponding bill passed in the House last year dies, and we must start over.

     We can’t give up!  Despite the sorry current state affairs, we cannot forget that climate change is the moral issue of our lifetime.  We can’t afford to let up in our efforts to get Congress to do what the country desperately needs.   Based on recent messages I’ve received from national organizations that are working on this issue, here are several actions we can take now:

1)  Call your two Senators.  Let them know you are angry and disappointed that the Senate has failed to enact an economy-wide–or even utility industry-wide–carbon emissions cap.  Even though the bill is dead for now, you are urging your Senators to work for its passage by the end of the year.  Click on this link to find your Senators’ phone numbers.    http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm 

2)  Call your Senators, and urge them to vote for the Home Star Energy Retrofit bill.  This bill is being promoted by some Senators who are determined to pass SOME sort of energy bill this summer.  The bill would make substantial sums of money available to homeonwers for making energy-saving retrofits to their homes.  While no substitute for a strong climate change bill, this bill would save money, create jobs, and reduce greenhouse emissions.   

3)  Make use of the August recess.  Arrange to meet with your Senators when they are in the state during the recess.  At your Senators’ public appearances, express your opinion that  you are angry and disappointed that the Senate backed away from doing its job in passing climate change legislation this summer.  Try to get a commitment to pass a strong climate change bill this year.–April Moore

     Well over two months since BP’s deepwater oil rig exploded, thousands of barrels of oil are still spewing into Gulf waters every day.  Nothing I have seen in recent years has focused attention on the urgent task of breaking our addiction to oil like this terrible incident.

     We’re all in it together.  Our society was built on fossil fuels, and currently, we all depend on oil for many of our daily activities and needs.  But we can make choices in our daily lives to at least reduce our oil consumption.  The following are some tips from the National Audubon Society for reducing your consumption of petroleum-based products. 

     By the way, in addition to acting on Audubon’s suggestions, you might also talk with others about the changes you’re making.  Quite likely you will find that others are also looking for things they can do in their own lives to cut their petroleum consumption.

     Here are Audubon’s tips:  

• Drive less. Take public transit. Carpool.
• Combine your driving errands to reduce vehicle miles traveled.
• Insist that meetings and other activities be held near public transit.
• Stop using plastic bottles. It is estimated 17 million barrels of oil are used to make them. Nearly 90 percent are not recycled but go to landfills where it takes many years for them to decompose.
• Stop using plastic bags. It is estimated 100 billion plastic shopping bags are used each year, made from around 12 million barrels of oil. They are slow to biodegrade and many end up in trees and waterways and threaten wildlife.    

     These are all good suggestions.  An especially easy and effective tip, I think, is to avoid bottled water.  If  you like having water with you when you go about your day, a good option is tap water in a non-BPA thermos.  You’ll save money too.

     And it’s easy to avoid plastic bags if you keep a few canvas, reusable bags in your car.  Then you’ll have them when you shop, and you won’t need to take a plastic bag from the store.–April Moore

 

 

     If you’re like me, you are hopping mad at BP for its greed, its cheating, and what appears to be its continued lying about the extent of the damage the company is causing. 

     This environmental disaster that grows bigger every day as oil continues to gush into the Gulf,  shows more clearly than any chart or graph or speech that we must end our dependence on polluting fossil fuels.  We must act now to embrace a cleaner environment, a multitude of clean energy jobs, and the dramatically reduced carbon emissions that would result from an economy powered by renewables like wind, solar, and biofuels. 

     The U.S. Senate will likely vote this summer on a climate change and energy bill, quite possibly in July.  If passed, the American Power Act, introduced by Senators Kerry and Lieberman, will complement the climate and energy bill passed last year by the U.S. House of Representatives.

     You can be sure that the oil industries, engorged with recent record profits, are investing heavily in making sure the American Power Act fails.  We can’t let that happen!  My hope is that the Senate will feel they have to pass the bill because their consituents are telling them loudly and clearly to transition to clean, renewable energy.  Now! 

     While I have to admit that the American Power Act is a far weaker bill than I wish it were, it is at least a start.  And we have to get started now in making the shift to clean energy.  At best, this legislation is a baby step.  But it’s all we’ve got at the moment.

     I have joined with a local Virginia climate action organization to call my two Senators every day for three weeks.  I leave a daily message on the constituent hot line, along with my name and zip code.  Congressional offices typically check the calls at the end of each day and note the number of calls received for and against any given legislation. 

     At first I had reservations about calling my Senators more than once with the same message;  I don’t want to be dismissed as a crank.  But then I was persuaded that Senators’ hearing from voters again and again, even from some of the same ones, helps create an impression that the public is demanding Congressional action to address climate change.  

     After all, if we are silent, who will be talking to our Senators?

     The calls are brief.  I complete my two daily calls in about five minutes.  You can find your two Senators’ office phone numbers by clicking on the U.S. Senate’s website:  http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

     When you call your Senator’s office, you will likely get a recording that includes the option to leave an opinion.  Then you might say something like this:

     “I am __________________.  My zip code is _________.  Please support strong climate and energy legislation and work with your fellow Senators this summer to pass the American Power Act.  The ongoing BP Gulf oil disaster clearly shows that we cannot wait any longer to make the shift to a future of clean energy and clean jobs.”

     And if you don’ have time for daily calls, how about twice a week for a few weeks?

     One of the best antidotes to anger and despair is constructive action.  If you are angry about the BP oil disaster, then these calls are a way for you to translate your anger into effective action.–April Moore 

     As you may know, monarch butterflies are in decline. 

     A major reason for the decline of the fluttering little orange and black beauties is the disappearance of their main food–milkweed.  But this is a situation that can readily be addressed by increasing the amount of milkweed that is available to monarch butterflies.

     Now, in late spring, is a good time to plant milkweed.  Plant seeds or seedlings in full sun.  As the plants mature, adult monarchs lay their eggs on them.  The caterpillars that hatch, then, eat the milkweed leaves.  The caterpillars also build their pupae on the milkweed plants.

     The milkweed is a lovely plant that we humans can enjoy too.  It produces orange flowers in mid-summer, and in late summer the large seed-pods begin developing.  In the fall, the pods split and disperse their seeds.  You may want to save some of the seeds to plant more milkweed next spring.

     Milkweed seeds and young plants are readily available at garden stores.  Planting a good stock of milkweed will bring monarchs to your yard and will support them through their life stages.  In addition to the pleasure of watching these butterflies, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to rebuild the population of this once-ubiquitous butterfly.–April Moore

 

 

 

 

Monarch laying eggs on milkweed

     The price the earth pays for heating and cooling a single home, of lighting it and running all of its appliances, is very high.   According to the EPA, an average 9,000 pounds per person of CO2 are emitted from people’s houses in the U.S.  every year as a result of home energy use.   This amounts to 17% of the nation’s total carbon dioxide emissions.

     While one can try to save small amounts of energy by increasing efficiencies here and there around the house, why not invest in ways that will save a lot of energy, while saving money as well?  Home Energy Saver is a website that can tell you how much money it costs to pay for the energy in an average home in your zip code area, compared to the cost for an energy-efficient home in the same area.  And, based on information you provide about your house, the site offers concrete suggestions for making your house much more energy-efficient.  Just click on http://hes.lbl.gov/ to get to Home Energy Saver.  The financial investment you make now will more than pay for itself over time.–April Moore 

    

    Earth Day is Thursday, April 22.  This year marks the 40th anniversary of the very first Earth Day in 1970, and the earth needs your help now more than ever. 

     About a billion people in more than 190 countries are expected to participate in some sort of Earth Day action to help bring about a healthy, sustainable planet.  Many of these actions will take place on Thursday, April 22, while others are planned for the weekend before or after Earth Day.  Some groups are even planning an entire Earth Week of varied activities to celebrate, educate, and advocate on behalf of the planet.

     Neighborhood and beach clean-ups, habitat restoration activities, visits to state legislators, climate teach-ins, tree and milkweed planting, recycling of prom clothing, and a solar cookout are just a tiny fraction of events planned around the country.  

     In addition to the scores of activities going on in towns and cities across the U.S.,  there will be a nationwide action in Washington, DC.  Concerned Americans will join together on the National Mall on Sunday, April 25, to urge Congress to enact  comprehensive climate legislation.  

     Find out how you can celebrate our earth by getting involved in constructive action on its behalf.  By visiting the Earth Day Network’s website, www.earthday.org, you will find information about events planned near where you live.  And, if you wish, you can register your own event.–April Moore

    

    

     Now that important health care legislation has finally been passed, Congress is moving on to an even more urgent goal:  addressing climate change.

     The U.S. Senate is in the process of drafting climate and clean energy legislation, and Senate supporters hope to pass a strong bill this year. 

     But if the debate over health care is any indication, we can expect a bruising fight over whether to require significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.  Big oil, big coal, and other giant corporate polluters will stop at nothing to protect the status quo–i.e. big profits.  With the most skilled lobbyists money can buy, along with their climate change denying friends in Congress, these powerful interests will do everything they can to block climate change legislation, at the expense of the planet’s–and humanity’s–future.

     But despite intense and well-financed opposition, we won a historic victory on health care.  We can do it again on climate change.  And we must.  There is no way to effectively address global warming without strong leadership from the top.  But Congress will not likely pass a law that puts a serious dent in greenhouse gas emissions and begins the necessary shift to clean energy unless we make them do it.

     Here’s where you come in.  National organizations that advocate for meaningful climate change legislation are calling on all of us to write a letter.

     These groups are asking Americans to write a letter, the old-fashioned type with an envelope and a stamp, to each of their two Senators.  Even though email and tweets allow for instant communication, Capitol Hill staffers report that the most effective way to get the attention of one’s elected representatives is through a personal letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.  For that reason, climate change organizers are calling on citizens to write letters.  The goal is 150,000 letters from constituents, demanding that the Senate pass a strong climate change bill this year.

     This letter writing campaign follows on the heels of a phone-in campaign in which more than 20,000 people called their Senators’ offices over three days, calling for climate and clean energy legislation.  The effort was so successful, says Al Gore, that the Capitol Switchboard could not handle the volume throughout the days of calling.

     So here’s what to do:  

1.  Click the following link to get the mailing addresses of your two Senators:  http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm  

2.  Write a letter calling on your Senator to promote and vote for legislation to reduce global warming emissions and to begin the shift to clean energy.  Make a copy for your other Senator (changing the name and address, of course).  Don’t worry if you don’t consider yourself a great writer, or if you don’t have the latest statistics.  Just state your opinion.  Give any reasons that matter to you or that you think your Senator might find persuasive.  Remember, your Senator is not grading your letter.  S/he is getting the message that you are a constituent who cares so much about this issue that you are taking the time to write a personal letter.  And Senators know that for every constituent who takes the time to write a personal letter, there are many others of the same opinion, but who do not write.  Members of Congress will act when their constituents insist on it.  If they receive a lot of mail on this issue, you can be sure they will take notice.  Most of them have an eye on the next election.

3.  Mail your letters. 

4.  Send this posting to friends, and urge them to write a letter or two as well, for a healthy planet.–April Moore

 

         

     This coming week, March 15-19, is National Wildlife Week. 

     Sponsored annually by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), National Wildlife Week is a time to shake off the winter doldrums, to get outside and enjoy the earth coming to life in the early spring.  Even more important, National Wildlife Week is a chance to get kids outside enjoying the nature around them as well. 

   NWF urges families to celebrate National Wildlife Week by having some fun together outdoors.  NWF suggests that parents commit to spending at least an hour more outside with the kids than they typically would over the course of a week. 

     And how to spend this time outside?  The possibilities are endless.  If you’re not sure just what might be some good outdoor activities to enjoy as a family, click on http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Be-Out-There/Events/National-Wildlife-Week.aspx.  There, you’ll find descriptions of a wide range of activities and some useful resources.

     One of the best features of NWF’s campaign to get families outside in the spring is the custom Family Activity Passport.  Tailored to your geographic area, the Passport features a week’s worth of local animals and plants to watch for, tips for gardening with children, and games.  You can download fun, nature-themed activities for your area, and a list of local outdoor locations that will be fun for your family to visit.

     Here are just a few outdoor activities you and your family might enjoy during National Wildlife Week: 

• Play some old-fashioned games like hide-and-seek, red light-green light, races, and relays.
• Give birds a treat by making a milk carton bird feeder or by hanging a pine cone slathered in peanut butter and seeds.
• Take a hike.  Find a nearby hiking trail or take a walk around the neighborhood, looking for signs of spring.
• Visit a park.  There, you can play running games, shoot baskets, play charades, and much more. 
• Start preparing a vegetable garden; digging in the dirt is always fun.  And if you don’t have a yard, find out if there’s a community garden near you.
• Create a garden that will attract monarch butterflies.  To find out how, click on this National Wildlife Federation link:   http://www.nwf.org/~/media/BE79FAF8A6874F8A99F8FD5247D68B5D.ashx.

     And if you don’t have kids, don’t let that stop you from celebrating National Wildlife Week.  Get out for a hike, a bike ride, or a walk.  Feel your own juices flowing, as the earth awakens to spring.–April Moore

 

  

     I invite you to spend a little time this weekend enjoying–and helping–the birds in your area by participating in the thirteenth annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), February 12-15. 

     Organized jointly by the Audubon Society and Cornell University’s Ornithology Lab, the GBBC engages thousands of ordinary people across the U.S. and Canada in observing birds over a winter weekend, and then letting scientists know, by filling out an online form, how many birds of which species they observed and where. 

     The Bird Count is a great help to our feathered friends!  It provides scientists with a real-time snapshot of where birds are across the continent.  Bird populations are dynamic and in constant flux.  So by monitoring their numbers and whereabouts year after year, scientists are amassing a great deal of data that reveal trends over time, that allow researchers to investigate  such far-reaching questions as how birds are responding to a changing climate and to changes in available food sources.  In short, how are the different North American bird species faring? 

     And why February?  “Winter is such a vulnerable time for birds,” explains Janis Dickinson, director of Citizen Science at  the Cornell Lab, “so winter bird distributions are likely to be very sensitive to change.”  And there is only one way, she says, to gather data on private lands where people live, and that is with thousands of people helping.        

     Our help is needed because no single scientist or team of scientists could possibly gather as much information as thousands of people, all over the U.S. and Canada, in urban, suburban, rural, park, and other settings submitting data.  Last year’s GBBC was the continent’s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever, with more than 90,000 checklists generated, and more than 11.5 million individual birds of over 600 different species counted.    

     So wherever you live–in an apartment in a big city, in a suburban neighborhood, on a farm, anywhere–you can join in.  You can make your observations from your window, standing in your yard, in a neighborhood park, in the forest, in a field, etc.  As little as 15 minutes spent counting birds will be a useful contribution.  If you wish, you can count birds each day, in different locations, during the four-day count.  And don’t worry if you’re not an expert at identifying birds.  At the GBBC Web site,  http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/  you can find photos and sounds of the birds you are likely to see in your geographic area. 

     Visiting the Web site is the next step if you think you may want to participate this weekend.  There you will learn how to document what you see, how to avoid counting individual birds more than once, and how to distinguish between species that look very similar.  You will also find the online form you’ll need to report your observations, as well as ideas for involving kids in the Great Backyard Bird Count.   The site also enables you to track observations of birds in your immediate area over the last 12 years.

     So I hope you’ll join me, and the thousands of others, who will be spending a little time this weekend focusing on–and helping these amazing little beings.–April Moore