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Gotta admit that the people pulling for Prop 23 are real stiffs.
And, the people that believe their stuff . . . well, that’s hard to believe.
“Come with me if you want to live.” … on planet Earth.
James Cameron, PLEASE make a documentary about REAL trees. They are all dying, from exposure to the “other” greenhouse gases. Not CO2, but even more urgently, from volatile organic compounds that are released in the same processes of burning fuel.
The VOC’s that create ozone are highly toxic to vegetation. There IS no safe level. The pre-industrial level was essentially zero, and all species of trees that are exposed to decades of cumulative exposure are dying at a rapidly accelerating rate, everywhere around the globe, as these atmospheric poisons travel across oceans and continents, and inexorably increase.
We have to convert to clean energy on an emergency basis before the entire ecosystem collapses. This past summer, even annual plants uniformly have the characteristic foliar damage from ozone – the leaves are stippled, burnt, singed, shriveled, and falling off prematurely. Crop yields are diminished in the billions of dollars annually.
I hope you take note of this existential threat to humanity, never mind all the other species dependent upon forests and vegetation, and turn your amazing creativity towards enlightening the world to this impending catastrophe.
p.s.
I loved Avatar! My favorite movie ever!!
Rose from Titanic, predicting the Tea Party deniers: “It doesn’t make any sense. That’s why I trust it”.
I loved Avatar too. We need Jim Cameron to make a movie set in coastal Alaska 2100, showing a survivor settlement, panning to devastation and desperation in the lower 48, and an aggressive invasion… an accurate vision of our future, unless we act. Soon.
CA Student Delivers Prop. 23 Debate Challenge to Koch HQ in Wichita
Student and Marine vet asks CEO Charles Koch to publicly explain why he’s trying to “wreck” California’s green sector http://solveclimatenews.com/news/20101027/ca-student-delivers-prop-23-debate-challenge-koch-hq-wichita
They should ask him everyday.
This election will be telling in so many ways. We will see just how wise is our electorate. And who must carry change forward. If people and governments are unable to make change… gosh… that means the burden must fall on the private sector.
Oh wait, there is always the chance for a deus ex machina type of Hollywood ending. .. Will it be a carbon eating nano-terminator?… Just who is in charge of this script?
Arnold definitely bit off more than he could chew when he got himself elected governor of an ungovernable state, but I can’t help but like and respect the guy for trying.
And my respect for him grew a little after I saw this interview on ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/gov-schwarzenegger-dc-politicians-wimps-11982498
Transcript excerpts:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called members of Congress “wimps” for failing to stand up to pressure from oil companies. Schwarzenegger said he hoped the defeat of Proposition 23 in California Tuesday would have national political consequences for Big Oil.
“We need to go to Washington and say, ‘Look what happened. You, because oil companies have spent money against you, they have threatened you, you backed off the energy policy and the environmental policy in Washington,’ ” Schwarzenegger said. “What wimps. No guts. I mean, here, you idolize and always celebrate the great warriors, our soldiers, our men and women who go to Iraq and Afghanistan, and they’re risking their lives to defend this country and you’re not even willing to stand up against the oil companies. I said, ‘That’s disgusting.’ You promised the people you’d represent them. You didn’t promise the people you’d represent the oil companies and the special interests.”
I’d like to see Arnold out there saying to GOP Hacks, “F*ck with Michael Mann, and you’ll be f*cking with me!!”
Caerbannog, thanks for the clip. Even the Democrats are afraid to speak out about the oil companies- it took an actor to show up and tell the truth.
Awesome!
My previous comment wasn’t meant as an ad hominem, although the makers of the movie I linked to obviously do.
I totally agree with what Cameron says, but it is truly embarrassing when you consider his lifestyle, his material wealth and how he gained it. I know all of this is normal in the States, but that’s the problem, isn’t it?
If we really want to solve the global predicament we’re in, we have to start looking at what we need and not at what we can get. Especially people like James Cameron.
And that’s why it’s really good that Cameron didn’t go and debate the Gish Gallopers. They would have started with showing that Youtube flick showing everything that Cameron possesses. And that’s it, you’ve lost the debate in the eyes of the public.
Where are the climate celebrities that are willing to give up 90% of what they own and do?
Fight hard everybody – because the opposition certainly is. This little video makes a satirical case: http://www.youtube.com/v/5LrOTs0WHcw?hl=en&fs=1
The world is moving forward and aggressively towards renewable and clean energy, while here in the US we just bicker over the wrong stuff. Don’t relax – NO to Prop 23…
The only “celebrities” that I can think of whom actually ‘walk the talk’ are Ed Begley Jr and Bill Nye. I can’t think of any more who do as much as those two. I know Leno uses wind to supply electricity for his auto museum which I think is admirable.
Former CIA director James Woolsey uses solar to power his home and he drives a plug-in hybrid. He is not really a celebrity but he is an excellent example of a public figure who is intent on putting his money where his mouth is.
As for “climate celebrities” I can’t say for sure. I think Gore likes to live large but I’m not sure how he powers his house or what kind of car he drives. I think James Hansen has a more modest lifestyle than Gore but I also don’t know about his house or car. What I have said about Hansen could also be said about Bill McKibben and Lester Brown but I am sure all three have the smallest footprint they can afford.
I’m sure there are many more celebrities, climate celebrities, and regular Americans who are doing their part to make a difference.
http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2010/10/19/prop-23-nos-rally-pros-retreat/
“The very idea that changing our own lives into models of sustainability will transform the world is wrongheaded — in part because it is almost impossible to do without great wealth or great sacrifice, in part because even when we do it, it encourages us to believe that problems which demand systemic solutions can be fixed by personal virtue.”
Read Sharon Begley, folks. Please.
Thanks for the link, Anna, I will read it after I write this. Let me just say one thing: It’s not about personal virtue, it’s about consciously setting limits. Everybody who can, should.
it is almost impossible to do without great wealth
James Cameron has great wealth. Limitless wealth I would venture to say. He can limit this wealth a great deal and still be wealthy. Let that go viral, not just the PR.
Great piece, Anna. I totally agree with it. It was written by Alex Steffen, by the way, or maybe you meant I should read Sharon Begley as well?