Category Archives: Global Warming and Nuclear Energy

Putting Typhoon Haiyan in the context of the “Fierce Urgency of Now.”

What brings home the catastrophe of Typhoon Haiyan are two speeches I recently added to EarthSayerstv especially in the context of the urgency of addressing climate change and what we citizens need to see happen as suggested by Jeffrey Sachs in today’s Financial Times. Home IF we take the time to listen to our EarthSayers Mary Robinson and Jeffrey Sachs.

First, Mary Robinson addressed climate justice in a speech to participants at the BSR (Business Social Responsibility) conference, November 5-8 in San Francisco. She talks about climate justice and the fact that the people least responsible for it are the most impacted as is the case in the Philippines. She reminds us of the importance today of Martin Luther King’s phrase, “the fierce urgency of now.” Mary Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She heads up the Mary Robinson Foundation on Climate Justice.

Secondly, Jeffrey Sachs presents the key note presentation on sustainability, most particularly sustainable development (environmental and economic) for the first Global Grand Challenges Summit 2013 in London. The lecture is on how sustainable development must occur and how countries are not doing enough to meet this in either terms of energy and the economy. Video Published on Mar 30, 2013.

What you and I need to see happen:

In an October 15th 2013 article in the Financial Times in response to the climate catastrophe of Typhoon Haiyan, Jeffrey Sachs notes “People need to see credible energy plans, pathways for each country and region to a prosperous low-carbon future. Such pathways can be found, but aside from excellent work in a handful of places, such as the UK, Denmark and California, such long-term planning has not been done… The basic elements of a pathway include four key pillars: more electricity from low-carbon technologies rather than coal; replacing fossil fuels with electricity as the fuel source for sectors such as cars and household heating; greater energy efficiency in industry and the home; and the end of deforestation (which emits carbon).

Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist.

Ruth Ann Barrett, Sustainability Advocate, November 15, 2013, Portland, Oregon.

Creating the Internet of Energy by Dr. Ryan Wartena

Just added Dr. Ryan Wartena, CEO, President, and Founder of Growing Energy Labs, Inc (GELI) to the Renewable Energy and Smart Grid special collection on EarthSayers.tv, voices of sustainability.

In this video he asks, why haven’t we used solar all these years and how the Internet of Energy addresses the major roadblock – storage. Much as Google’s founders foresaw the potential of the web to deliver relevant information to the masses, GELI sees that the Internet — together with renewable energy generation and storage — as the ultimate solution enabling clean, affordable energy for anyone, anywhere.

Increasingly the Smart Grid is a concept that will become more prominent in the sustainability landscape and Dr. Wartena is the leader behind the company’s sustainability vision of the Internet — together with renewable energy generation and storage — as being the ultimate solution enabling clean, affordable energy for anyone, anywhere.

Reach Out and Educate with Your Voice

And make sure you are on YouTube.

Why?

In October 2011, 201.4 billion videos were viewed online, with the global viewing audience reaching 1.2 billion unique viewers age 15 and older. Google Sites led as the top global video property with nearly 88.3 billion videos viewed on the property during the month, accounting for 43.8% of all videos viewed globally. YouTube.com was the key driver of video viewing on Google Sites, accounting for more than 99% of videos viewed on the property. Source is comScore Video Metrix as reported in MediaPost’s Research Brief, Media Research Center, Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

Of course putting content out on the Web regardless whether it is text or video requires seeding the Web to increase page rankings and the probability of your content being found, viewed, and judged as relevant and of quality.

Lots of work ahead of us in 2012 to get the voices of sustainability out there and heard. We will exceed the 1,000 voices mark this month and look to 2,000 in 2012.

Oil and Gas Image in the Dump

And the Republicans are making hay with another of the findings:

The sectors Americans view most negatively have all had well-publicized problems in recent years. 17% of Americans have a positive view of the federal government, the lowest of any sector tested this year, while 63% have a negative image. Only one sector, oil and gas, has a higher negative percentage, 64%. Other poorly ranked sectors include real estate, healthcare, banking, and the legal field.

Unsustainable practices and principles such as wars and pollution are bad for the image and, ultimately for prosperity, and, yes, business.

From Mediapost Blog Post.

Climate Change Reality: Action Campaign

It begins with an email: Will people “share” their accounts? I plan to as I have cause related facebook fan page and the same for a twitter account. Perfect use of both as far as I am concerned.

Then we move on to the campaign elements.

Focusing on a date, this is event marketing with social media extremely well executed. We can wait for the results, but in terms of best practices it has all the earmarks of effective marketing. Donate here your facebook and twitter accounts.

And less you don’t think the issue is climate reality, consider the positions of many of the candidates for President:

Bachman says global warming is a hoax, Perry says “one contrived phony mess…a secular carbon cult” and Mittie having in Massachusetts proposed plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and explored creation of a regional carbon cap-and-trade program, now, despite Supreme Court ruling to contrary, says federal law did not give the EPA authority to regulate carbon emissions.

We have an EarthSayers.tv special collection on Global Warming and Climate Change where you will also find the video the climate reality folks are using. We also feature the video in the main screen on our home page which rotates videos. Be sure to listen to Naomi Oreskes‘ presentation to understand how our citizens, maybe you, have been hoodwinked.

Donate your twitter and facebook fan page here.

Sustainability: Prosperity: Ceres Conference 2011

Did you miss attending the Ceres Conference 2011 in Oakland, California last May? I did and I’m sorry I missed it. Next one is April 25-26th 2012 in Boston!

However, working with 3bl Media folks we created a Ceres special collection on EarthSayers.tv based on the interviews 3bl Media conducted at the conference with Dr. Peter Graf, Chief Sustainability Officer at SAP, Amy Roberts, VP,

House of Cards Video Opened Conference

Government Affairs of OutDoor Industry Association, Michael McGuire, Wiser Solar Chairman, Anna Walker, Senior Manager of Worldwide Government Affairs & Public Policy at Levi-Strauss & Co., Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres and more….

Jack Ehnes, CEO of CalSTRS, one of the oldest pension funds providing retirement benefit for educators talks about investing for the long term and doing so in a sustainability framework and Ross MacFarlane of ClimateSolutions.org here in the Pacific NorthWest talks about a project they have been working on around sustainability aviation and what that industry here in the NW is doing, starting with putting their heads together to address climate change.

Give a listen and be motivated and inspired by the business leaders who drive their organizations from a sustainability strategy, where sustainability is front and center, not just an initiative, program, or project.

High Risk Energy Alternatives: Nuclear and Gas

In the context of diminishing fossil fuel resources, climate change, and the quest for a carbon free future, the EarthSayers.tv special collection on high risk energy alternatives features nine videos about nuclear power and natural gas, the latter involving an extraction process called fracking.

All of these videos were made before the meltdown of three units at the Fukushima reactor site.

We will continue to grow the collection so as to provide voices of sustainability to our citizens who will be asked to make decisions in their communities – oceanside, rural, urban, mountain – about alternative, high risk energy sources.

(1) 300 Years of FOSSIL FUELS in 300 Seconds
Fossil fuels have powered human growth and ingenuity for centuries. Now that we’re reaching the end of cheap and abundant oil and coal supplies, we’re in for an exciting ride. While there’s a real risk that we’ll fall off a cliff, there’s still time to control our transition to a post-carbon future.

(2) Energy: The Next 10 Years Really Matter by Alexander Van de Putte
Alexander Van de Putte, Senior Director and Operating Officer at PFC Energy International and a member of PFC Energy’s Executive Committee discusses how givens and wildcards can affect our future global energy needs. He discusses how Givens, which are defined as: low uncertainty with high impact events, such as climate change, demographics and hydrocarbon supply will impact our ability to produce energy.

(3) Peak Oil and Resource Wars by Daniele Ganser
Daniele Ganser talks about Peak Oil and Resource Wars at student seminar on sustainability, 2009. What’s the solution when demand is going up and availabiity is going down? It’s only been 150 years of the oil age.

See also special collection from Peak Moment TV.

(4) Climate Change and Nuclear Energy by Anthony Giddens

Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens is a British sociologist who is renowned for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. Underlying foundations of climate change science and nuclear proliferation are two greatest risks in this century and we must mobilize against them. He discusses issue of energy security in a rapidly industrializing world in a world of scarce resources.

(5) Nuclear: Dirty, Dangerous and Expensive by Kevin Kamps
Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear explodes the myths now being promulgated by those promoting nuclear power. He tells of the insoluble problems of nuclear waste, how nuclear power plants routinely emit radioactive poisons, how catastrophic accidents can happen, how nuclear power plants are pre-deployed weapons of mass destruction for terrorists, and the enormously high costs of nuclear power.

(6) SAVE THE WORLD AWARDS 2009
Trailer for the Save the WORLD AWARDs show. Issues addressed at this television event include: Climate, Energy, Water, Pollution, Hunger, Peace, Dignity, and health. It takes place in a nuclear power that was built but never used in Austria.

(7) TED Debate: Does the world need nuclear energy? Brand & Jacobson
Nuclear power: the energy crisis has even die-hard environmentalists reconsidering it. In this first-ever TED debate, Stewart Brand and Mark Z. Jacobson square off over the pros and cons. A discussion that’ll make you think — and might even change your mind.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.

(8) Gas Drilling: Stories From the Front Line
Candace Mingins Ms. Mingins lives with her husband and three children on their family farm in Van Etten, NY. A well was drilled on their property in 2006. In 2008, she helped organize Shaleshock Citizens Action Coalition .

(9) Gas Drilling is Unsafe
Central United Methodist Church Endicott, NY; March 17, 2009 Barbara Arrindell is the co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability. She discusses what is involved in gas drilling on a scale of development with many stages -all entail contamination. This is a process that could only happen in a de-regulated situation. This is a public health crisis.

Finding Precedes Engagement

Finding before Engaging

The hot topic these day among our business and civic leaders is not search and how it influences what we are finding to learn or buy. It’s civic and customer engagement. Unless you’re a big corporation with deep pockets how can you engage when you can’t be found? Yes, social media plays a minor role so far in search and a bigger one in terms of engagement, but searching on keywords is the first step in a buying or learning process.

Many decision-makers still consider the Web too “technical” for them to understand and manage. Search, if it is managed at all, is left to individuals with the least amount of exposure to the organization’s clients/customers/students/citizens and little if any access to the organization’s strategic plans and tactical program planning. This is not the situation in large, consumer brand companies.

Here is an example of the influence of search on a topic I think demonstrates how influential search results are to spinning, not crafting a story. I hope it sparks leaders to begin questioning how search works and how it may not be working for their organization or their stakeholders.

Oil Spill: BP#1, Our Health #3, and Wildlife #4

What is a third grade student searching YouTube on the term oil spill seeing these days and what are they likely to click on? Why should we be concerned how search results architect knowledge and information, influencing how our citizens perceive local, regional, national and world events?

Youtube is the second most popular search engine.

Let’s follow up on the Gulf Coast oil spill and see what impression you are left with.

BP is in the prime spot on what is called a SERP – search engine results page – followed by the second promoted video a YouTube Channel, Vision Victory, which seems to be a real estate and financial video blogger named Daniel of crushthestreet.com. Organic (unpaid) search begins with a news report on health concerns of the spill by AlJazeera English with National Geographic in fourth place with a video about penguins and the oil spill. Check out the view numbers.

The BP click through is to their YouTube channel and the first video features “Ike Williams, owner of Ike’s Beach Service in Gulf Shores, Alabama, who’s been in business on the beach for 27 years. His staff is getting ready for what is expected to be a busy tourism season this year along the Gulf coast, now that the area is returning to normal.”

How many people out there think the Gulf Coast is returning to normal? If enough people believe it, does that make it true? How reliable of a source is BP?

How can you engage the third grader and the other 3.3M searchers (monthly U.S. out of 4M worldwide) when you can’t be found or seen and when searches on keywords ranging from cameras to oil spill to sustainability are increasingly being dominated by large corporations who buy their way to the top?

Time to start paying attention to what’s happening with Google and YouTube search and learn what’s under the hood.

Search: Global Warming, Climate Change and Sustainability

In the article, It’s all in a name: ‘Global warming’ versus ‘climate change’ by University of Michigan scholars* more people believed in climate change than in global warming. I want to put out there, as a counter balance, is the information from Google search trends which shows global warming outpacing climate change, especially in the United States in terms of search traffic.

Global Warming in Blue Outpaces Climate Change

The study results were summarized as “Overall, 74 percent of people thought the problem was real when it was referred to as climate change, while about 68 percent thought it was real when it was referred to as global warming.” There are more folks, however, searching on global warming (blue) than either climate change (red) or sustainability (yellow).

By the numbers, global warming search traffic is about 2.7M, 1M in the U.S.A. with climate change at 1.2M globally and 301,000 in the U.S.A. which is about the same amount of traffic as for sustainability in the U.S. while it is only 800,000 worldwide.

Based on search results I would recommend that climate change folks emphasize global warming and climate change, linking them together and, from my point of view, including them both as major category of sustainability.

*Jonathon Schuldt co-authored the study with U-M psychologists Sara Konrath and Norbert Schwarz.

Experts on Nuclear Reactors and Issues Involved

For the facts about the reactors and the issues involved, please consult the following resources and experts from the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, and Beyond Nuclear.

Dave Lochbaum, Director, Nuclear Safety Project, Union of Concerned Scientists, (202) 223-6133
Ed Lyman, senior scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists, (202)223-6133
Arjun Makhijani, president, Institute for Energy & Environmental Research, (301) 270-5500
Paul Gunter, director, Reactor Oversight Project , Beyond Nuclear, (301) 523-0201 (cell) or (301) 270-2209 (office)
Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste watchdog, (240) 462-3216 (cell) or (301) 270-2209 (office)

Union of Concerned Scientists
NUCLEAR CRISIS AT FUKUSHIMA

Nuclear Information and Research Service
FACT SHEET ON FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Beyond Nuclear
BEYOND NUCLEAR STAFF TRACKING NUCLEAR PLANT CRISIS IN JAPAN QUAKE ZONE