Repower America

"I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as President."

President-elect Barack Obama
July 17, 2008

Now that the elections are over, the Alliance for Climate Protection takes a look at what is next for the country. We are looking at a bold plan to Repower America with 100% clean electricity within 10 years.



Join the Alliance for Climate Protection and We Can Solve it to help Repower America by signing the petition nearly 2,000,000 signatures strong.

The Blue Man Group's Take on Global Warming - Can You Hear?

The Blue Man Group take a serious look at Global Warming.

Join the Stop Global Warming Virtual March

Global warming isn't opinion. It's a scientific reality. The science shows that human activity has made enormous impacts to our planet that affect our well-being and survival. We can however begin to make significant repairs to reverse those impacts — but only through immediate action.

This is a movement about change, as individuals, as a country, and as a global community. The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to declare that global warming is here now and it’s time to act.

Join the 1,150,066 supporters of the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, and become part of the movement to demand our leaders freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions now. Have your voice be counted.

Since we are all contributors to global warming and we all need to be part of the solution.

The Earth is Calling. Can you hear?

A Call to Our Leaders - 100% Clean Electricity in 10 Years

A new video and commercial from We Can Solve It released this week. This message is a call to our leaders to Give Us 100% Clean Electricity in 10 Years.



We must rebuild our economy, lower fuel costs, free ourselves from our addiction to oil, and save ourselves from the climate crisis. To do this, we need to demand that we Repower America with 100% clean electricity within 10 years.

Meeting this ambitious goal would create millions of new jobs, lead to lower energy costs for families and help America lead the fight against global warming.

Sign the Petition
You can sign the petition to our leaders

“We demand 100% clean electricity in 10 years.”

Remember Together, We Can Repower America

More about We Can Solve It
The numbers of people who have joined are growing. So far more than 1,515,148 have joined now We Can Solve It. (These numbers were 1,235,988 in May.)

The We Campaign is a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. The goal of the Alliance is to build a movement that creates the political will to solve the climate crisis -- in part through repowering America with 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources within 10 years.

Find out more information on the We Can Solve It Campaign on the Squidoo lens.

Al Gore Challenges the Nation

In his speech on Thursday July 18, 2008 Former Vice President Al Gore called for a “man on the moon” approach to the solving the problem of global warming. He challenged the nation to take bold steps towards solving the climate crisis.

You can view excerpts from his speech from We Can Solve It on YouTube:



You can also find out more information on two Squidoo Lenses that I have created one for the We Can Solve It Campaign and the other to honor Al Gore and the work he is doing.

Fighting Climate Change

The 350 Challenge is a small way to show support to fight climate change. The more bloggers that get the badge, the better.

Thousands of readers will know that the climate movement is spreading far beyond the typical “environmental” realm and into the norm.

Bloggers are encouraged to post the badge on their site. In exchange, a Brighter Planet will be offsetting 350 pounds of carbon in your name. 350 pounds is equivalent to 100 lightbulbs for a day, not driving a car for two full weeks, or turning off all of the power in Washington DC for five minutes.

Get your own 350 Badge for your blog, be sure to sign up and help show your support for fighting climate change.

The 350 Challenge is sponsored by a Brighter Planet.

More About a Brighter Planet
Brighter Planet is a Vermont start-up committed to fighting climate change and building a clean-energy future. Borne out of a Middlebury College classroom, we are dedicated to demonstrating how small actions can lead to meaningful change.

Understanding CO2 Emissions Using Black Balloons

A compelling video messages that helps make the issue of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions more tangible and more visible.

Watch the Black Balloon advertising and be motivated to Go Green and Save Energy.



What is a Black Balloon?
A black balloon is being used as a simple way to help people visualize just how much greenhouse gas is produced around the home, in the office and in other places. Each black balloon measures 50 grams of greenhouse gas.

Making Carbon Emisssion Visible
This Energy Saving Campaign from Climate Protect gives a very powerful visual cue for remembering to conserve energy where CO2 emissions are represented as black balloons. The first ad from the Alliance for Climate Protection encourages everyone to decrease energy use in the home.

The bottom line: using less energy means less greenhouse gas emissions and helps to reduce the impact of climate change.

Find out More on We Can Solve It on the We Can Solve It on Squidoo.

We Can Solve the Climate Change Crisis

From the We Can Solve It Campaign to Solve the Climate Change Crisis:

The earth is sending us an urgent message!
We face a climate crisis.
You've heard it; you've done some things to help.
WE want you to do more.

Join We Can Solve it.

WE is a growing number of people who believe we can solve this.

Not just as individuals with strong beliefs but as part of a group where our strength makes governments and corporations change.

WE can put our planet on a new path. Clean energy solutions are out there waiting. Solutions that will not only save our planet but help rebuild our economy.

WE can lead.

Watch the Video and find out how.



Together We Can Solve the Climate Crisis

So far more than 1,235,988 people have joined We Can Solve It.

Solutions to global warming exist and we are calling on leaders to make them happen.

By coming together, we're showing overwhelming support for leadership on this critical issue. Add your voice to this important movement right now and help make climate change a priority:

"I call on leaders in business and government to solve the climate crisis."

You can sign up on the We Can Solve it Website.

We've Joined. Have you?

Find out More on We Can Solve It on the We Can Solve It on Squidoo.

Joining the CO2 Stats Project

My Green Dog Blog has added in the online tool for the CO2 Stats Project to keep track of our the carbon dioxide that results from Web traffic to this site. You can see the tracking tool as the bright green box in the side bar.

Once the widget / tool is installed on websites, it monitors Web sites and blogs for the amount of climate-warming carbon dioxide their visitors to a particular site consume and then offsets it for free.

The CO2 Stats counter was developed by Alex Wissner-Gross from Harvard and Tim Sullivan at Yale, both are PhD candidates.

For each pound of carbon dioxide that results from Web traffic to a site where the widget is installed, the project buys carbon offsets from Sustainable Travel International.

Remember renewable energy is good for the environment.

The more renewable energy we support, the less non-renewable energy will be required in the future.

For More Information see CO2 Stats.com

This Earth Day - Choose Hope, Choose Action, Choose to Solve the Crisis

A moving message of hope this Earth Day from the Environmental Defense Fund.





Join in and

Choose Hope, Choose Action, Choose to Solve the Global Warming Crisis.

If everyone contributes a bit together we find the solutions to solve the crisis. Remember what Al Gore has said:

What we take for granted might not be here for our children.

I want to be sure that my children have access to the same natural beauty in our environment that I have as a child and as an adult.

Make One Small Change
This year Celebrate Earth Day by committing to make one change to your daily routine. Changing one small change can make a big difference over the course of a year. Some suggestions:

• Bring lunch to work in a reusable container
  
• Remember to bring a reusable shopping bag and stop using plastic bags
  
• Unplug your chargers
• Stop buying plastic bottles
  

For even more suggestions take a look at these older posts:

• Earth Day 2008 - Tips to Help Our Climate
• Green Things That Can Make a Difference
  

You can read more about Al Gore's quest to save the planet and simple ways to help the environment at the Earth Hour 2008 - Earth Day lens.

Earth Day 2008 - Tips to Help Our Climate

Each person can make a difference
because one small positive act
multiplied millions of times
produces immense benefits.

Patrick Gonzales
Nature Conservancy Scientist

Patrick Gonzales, a Nature Conservancy climate scientist, offers his top tips for lowering carbon emissions. The tips are ordered in the order that I would find them the easiest to do.

1. Recycle and use recycled products. Products made from recycled paper, glass, metal and plastic reduce carbon emissions because recycled products use less energy to manufacture than products made from completely new materials.
2. Inflate your tires. Cars get better gas mileage when the tires are fully inflated, so it will burn less gas and emit less carbon. Check your automobile tires monthly to ensure that the tires are fully inflated.
3. Turn down the heat. Heating and air conditioning account for more than half of the energy that a home uses in the United States. You can help make a difference in your overall energy use simply by turning down the heat or air conditioning when you leave the house or go to bed.
   
4. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. These energy-efficient bulbs help fight climate change by reducing the amount of fossil fuels that utilities burn.
   
5. Travel light. Walk or bike instead of driving a car. Cars and trucks run on fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Walking or biking when you can instead of driving will save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.
6. Teleconference instead of flying. For office meetings, if you can telephone or video conference, not only will save time and money, but you will also save carbon emissions.
   
7. Act globally, eat locally. Shopping at a local farmers' markets can help save the climate by reducing shipping costs of food seen with large supermarkets. Shopping locally will bring fresh, healthy food home and help save our climate.
   
8. Plant native trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and use it as their energy source, producing oxygen for us to breathe. A single tree can remove and store 700 to 7,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime. Trees that shade a house help can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner.
9. Buy renewable energy. A growing number of utilities generate electricity from renewable energy sources with solar panels, windmills and other technologies. If your utility offers renewable energy, buy it. If not, send them a message asking for clean energy.

Remember it is the small changes that we make in our everyday lives that can make a big difference.

You can find more details behind the science of this Scientist's Conservation choices at the Nature Conservancy site.

Source: Gonzales P. Climate Change: What You Can Do. Nature Conservancy.