Green Daily

• The Copenhage Climate Conference Simplified -- All eyes will be on the leaders of the world when they meet in Denmark this December to establish an agreement to reduce global carbon emissions. As the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, it's serious global politics, and can be confusing, but this post spells out the basic goals of the conference.

• October 24th International Day of Climate Change Action -- Coming up in just over a week, it's another day dedicated to Climate Change, this time action in real life. Sponsored by 350.org, the group that advocates getting the CO2 in the atmosphere down to 350 parts per million, the goal of the day is to send a message to the politicians of the world that we want them to get it right in Copenhagen. And btw, 350.org is supported by the top NASA climate scientist James Hansen -- this is real science.

• Earth Days - a Film by Robert Stone - The first ever "environmental day of action" was April 22, 1970, the very first Earth Day. Documentary filmmaker Robert Stone shows us the history and circumstances that led up to the big day, and what's happened in the 30 years since then. It gives you a whole new perspective on the environmental movement!

• Colin Beavan, No Impact Man, Talks to GreenDaily -- It's easy to get distracted by the high drama elements of Colin Beavan's year-long experiment in reducing his impact on the environment. No electricity in NYC? No toilet paper? But far more important -- and relevant -- is his message that you can live a good life without Starbucks and "three jet-skis in the garage". Check out his No Impact Project site to see how easy and pleasant it can be to live lightly on the earth.

• Five Places to See Before Global Warming Destroys Them -- You know, in case we don't get this climate change thing figured out, it's important to know which issues of National Geographic will become collector's items.

• Got a Big Pawprint? Curb it! -- Everyone in the family needs to pitch in to reduce carbon foot -- or paw -- prints, including Fido and Mr. Whiskers. Number one thing to do? Spay or neuter your pet!

• The Coen Brothers Take on Clean Coal -- It was a toss up between this one and my post on the Clean Coal Unicorn (Which BTW Doesn't Exist). In the end I'm including both because I can't say it enough: clean coal will not solve our CO2 problems because it's an imaginary energy source. All coal = dirty.

• Start Planning for Earth Hour 2009 -- Yes, it's done and past, but there will be another Earth Hour in 2010. In fact they're holding a special one in December in Copenhagen, again to give those world leaders at COP 15 a message. Plus the video always gives me the chills. It's an uplifting message to hear that our individual efforts which can feel small, collectively add up to something great.

• Al Gore Asked Me To Help Repower America -- When Big A.G. (that can also stand for Alpha Green) asks you to do something, how can anyone refuse? He sent a "personalized" email asking me to spread the word about the most convincing, down-to-earth video argument for U.S.-sourced clean energy ever. Here you go, again, Mr. Vice President.

• Friends of the Earth Go Naked to Protest Fraud -- I had to include at least one naked activist post. After all, nothing says "society's gotta change this now!" like a naked 19 year old vegan, kept warm by the strength of her convictions, shaking a sign in the face of an evil conservative in a suit. Thank you, naked protesters, for keeping the environmental movement from taking itself too seriously.

The common theme in all of these posts is action. We all have it within our power to stop and reverse climate change. We just need to make the commitment to act decisively and quickly.

Here's my favorite metaphor for urgency around climate change, courtesy of Colin Beavan: If you hold a match to something, it will get hotter and hotter, until it catches fire. When that happens, you can blow out the match, but you can't undo the fire, or the damage it caused.

We're getting close to that point with CO2 levels and the climate. So keep the image of that flame in your head next time you're tempted to buy a bottle of water, or want to drive four blocks instead of walking. Shut off lights, buy from companies that advertise their sustainable practices, and let your politicians know that you want decisive action in Copenhagen.

If we all make every day "climate change day" then we'll reach our goal (which is a biggie: saving the planet and civilization) that much faster!