Accountability and Action, the Climate Change Movement Regains It’s Footing
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- Published on Tuesday, 15 January 2013 20:08
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(Photo courtesy of Richard Renner: Wikipedia Commons) |
Pointing fingers directly at environmental groups, Harvard scholar Theda Skocpol is presenting a research paper next month that puts the breakdown of climate change inaction squarely on environmental groups like the US Climate Action Partnership, claiming missteps in terms of acknowledging the polarizing political trends taking hold on the 1990’s or the failure to fully recognize the withdrawal of support on the behalf of congressional Republicans in 2007.
This report attempts to recharacterize the climate action movement from a future lens, claiming past efforts to be misguided and ineffective to perhaps incite a strong response on the behalf of environmental groups that have been working toward federal climate policy in Congress and expose the politics of the climate debate.
Skocpol, a political scientist, claims that the USCAP focused too narrowly on moving climate policy in Congress, rather than focusing on guiding conservative popular opinion and building broad grassroots organizational efforts.
The Guardian writes, “Skocpol attributes much of that [conservative popular opinion] shift to the well-funded effort by conservative thinktanks to undermine climate science. The 90s and onwards saw a sharp increase in the publication of reports and books questioning climate change, which eventually got picked up by mainstream media outlets.”
It is hard to overlook, however, the value of poking holes in climate science on behalf of organizations like the oil and coal companies, and the amount of money these businesses are willing to spend to remove barriers to continuing their business-as-usual practices and steady profits.
Climate Preparedness Webinar Takeaways
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- Published on Thursday, 06 December 2012 22:51
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(Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons: Chris M. Richards) |
In December, Western Lands and Communities hosted a webinar called "Climate Change Preparedness Planning" a review of climate adaptation practices in the West. Viewers heard from Lisa Friend, Sustainability Officer for Boulder County and Stephanie Smith, Sustainability Specialist from the City Flagstaff about recent adaptation developments in their communities. Erika Mahoney, Program Associate for the Sonoran Institute gave an overview of some key principles of planning within uncertainty and future risk. This webinar inspired a lively conversation concerning the climate adaptation process.
Below are some key takeaway points that presenters made during this webinar session:
"Adapt the process as you go"
Flagstaff set out to create a climate preparedness plan, but changed course and opted for an in-depth study, which guided the adoption of a resolution, which has the goal of institutionalizing resiliency into city decisions and allocated municipal resources.
"The power of leadership"
Flagstaff and Boulder County have strong leadership contingents that encouraged the adaptation planning process. This leadership can come from within the organization.
New Webinar: Climate Preparedness Planning in the West
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- Published on Monday, 19 November 2012 23:03
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Photo Source: Peter McBride. Colorado River.
Since the 1880's, scientists have been taking measurements of the Earth's surface temperature at thousands of locations. The analysis of this data shows that the Earth's average temperature has increased by more than 1.4° over the past 100 years, with much of this increase experienced in the past 35 years, and it is evident that the temperature is continuing to rise. These rising temperatures may seem minimal; however, even small increases can have significant impacts on ecosystems, weather patterns, and the health and safety of residents in a community.
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