Nitin Raikar's Top 25 Climate Change Websites

Back in July, our CEO Melissa and I went to Melbourne for The Climate Project Asia Pacific Summit. For alumni like Melissa, it was a chance to catch up with fellow presenters and get up to date on the current climate change science. For newbies like me, it was our opportunity to learn -- from the scientists, from the presentation experts, and from Al Gore himself -- completing the weekend prepared to deliver the Inconvenient Truth presentations within our own communities.

One of the folks at the summit was Nitin Raikar, a TCP Ambassador for India. This week, Nitin put together his top 25 climate change websites; we thought the list was too good not to share! So without further ado, here you go:

Australian Conservation Foundation

The Australian Conservation Foundation were the hosts of the TCP Asia-Pacific Summit. The website gives a national, Australian focus to key environmental issues; it's got news, research, and action tools with a focus on promoting solutions.

Climate Analysis Indicators Tool

The Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) is an information and analysis tool on global climate change developed by the World Resources Institute. CAIT provides a comprehensive and comparable database of greenhouse gas emissions data (including all major sources and sinks) and other climate-relevant indicators. CAIT can be used to analyze a wide range of climate-related data questions and to help support future policy decisions.

Climate Change Resource material from BBC

The BBC has put together an awesome list of Q&As covering science, politics and economics.

Real Climate

RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists. They aim to provide a quick response to developing stories and provide the context sometimes missing in mainstream commentary. The discussion is restricted to scientific topics and doesn't get involved in any political or economic implications of the science. All posts are signed by the author(s), except ‘group’ posts which are collective efforts from the whole team.

Greenpeace

Links directly to the Greenpeace environmental campaign, including news, reports, and information about what you can do to get involved.

Environmental Protection Agency USA

Everything you've ever wanted to know about climate change: science, health, regulations, policy, what you can do... even an area on Climate Change for Kids!

European Commission

The climate change area of the European Commission website, including policies, integration, funding, news and resources.

350.org

350.org is the global movement to get carbon parts per million in the atmosphere back down to 350 or below -- the optimum level for humanity. On October 24th of this year, more than 5,200 events took place all around the world, including one in Christchurch (pictured) that I emceed!

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change is the leading body for the assessment of climate change, established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences. It reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. It does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters.

International Energy Agency

The IEA provides analyses on the energy dimension of climate change and the energy implications of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol. The Agency’s areas of expertise include emissions trading and the CDM (from international architecture to domestic implementation issues), the links between energy security and climate policy goals and, the effects of policy uncertainty on investment, and sectoral approaches to emission reductions.

Ministry of Environment & Forests (Govt of India)

Land re-purposing (turning forests into farms) is one of the single biggest contributors to carbon emissions globally. Get the info here about how the government of India is tackling the issue.

National Aeronautics & Space Administration

This site is awesome! Great interactive features, including vital signsof the Earch like Arctic sea ice, CO2, sea level, and global temperature. Also the most GORGEOUS background image (which loads before the rest of the content).

Nature.com

All of the climate change news from this venerable magazine. Policy, society, discussion of anthropogenic change, and more.

Pew Center on Global Climate Change

The Pew Center on Global Climate Change brings together business leaders, policy makers, scientists, and other experts to bring a new approach to a complex and often controversial issue. Their approach is based on sound science, straight talk, and a belief that we can work together to protect the climate while sustaining economic growth.

Copenhagen Diagnosis

Report released last month synthesizing the most policy-relevant climate science published since the close-off of material for the last IPCC report. The entire report is available for download, with the executive summary available in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Climate Congress

The International Scientific Congress, organised by the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) and entitled "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions", has already been held, but the long road to the Congress is still of interest and these pages can help you in your efforts on creating a comprehensive overview on the process. You'll also be able to find some general information about the Congress and the output.

The Climate Project India 

TCPI is a chapter of an international non-profit org consisting of 2,500 dedicated volunteers across the globe. All personally trained by Al Gore, they give clear and concise presentations on the impacts and solutions to Climate Change. In India we aim to inspire our country to take a leading role in solving this crisis by spreading awareness on the critical urgency of action.

The Climate Project

These are the folks who started Al Gore's TCP movement, training Melissa, me, and nearly 3,000 people around the world to be able to raise awareness and engage in informed discussion in our communities.

The Energy Research Institute (TERI)

Headquartered in New Delhi, TERI is an institute for the development of solutions to global problems in the fields of energy, environment and current patterns of development, which are largely unsustainable. The central element of TERI’s philosophy has been its reliance on entrepreneurial skills to create benefits for society through the development and dissemination of intellectual property. The strength of the Institute lies in not only identifying and articulating intellectual challenges straddling a number of disciplines of knowledge but also in mounting research, training and demonstration projects leading to development of specific problem-based advanced technologies that help carry benefits to society at large.

United Nations Environment Program

The UNEP's mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The UNFCCC was the original treaty of nations to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. The Kyoto Protocol was actually an addition to the UNFCCC.

Al Gore.com

Needs no introduction.

World Bank

Solutions to climate change have economics at their very core. In 2005, the Group of Eight asked the World Bank to develop a plan for more investments in clean energy in the developing world, in cooperation with other international financial institutions. Follow the link to find out what they're up to.

World Wide Fund for Nature

Links to the climate change area of the World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly the World Wildlife Fund) website. WWF has lots going on -- they're working with large business, have produced a Vision for 2050, have instigated a massive policy drive, and more.

Worldwatch Institute

The Worldwatch Institute is an independent research organization recognized by opinion leaders around the world for its accessible, fact-based analysis of critical global issues. Worldwatch focuses on the 21st-century challenges of climate change, resource degradation, population growth, and poverty by developing and disseminating solid data and innovative strategies for achieving a sustainable society.

An American and New Zealand Thanksgiving

I can’t be home in New Jersey with my family for Thanksgiving this year (got to keep those air miles down!).  They are gathering and I send loving thoughts to them. I also thought it was a good time to stop and give thanks.

Growing up between New Zealand and the US, I sometimes felt funny about the whole Thanksgiving story – especially the role of  the Native American (Indians) – you know, how they saved the settlers by teaching them how to eat corn and turkey and live off the abundant new world they had come to.  Then, some few hundred years later how those Native Americans have seen their land and culture stretched to breaking point. 

One of my favorite courses in University (at Rutgers in New Brunswick, NJ) was Location Conflict with Bill Lake.  I did a special project on the Lakota Sioux, and American Constitutional, Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health legislation. What I learnt back then (1989/90) shocked me into taking a stronger interest in both women’s health and the way we manage industry and land.  Back then, Lakota women had 500 times the US average or fetal death (ie miscarriage and stillbirth) and their neonatal stats were also awful. 

I do not believe these statistics can be separated from the way Uranium tailings were managed (or mismanaged) on their land.  I learnt about WARN (women of All Red Nations) and was inspired by their work  -- read this article about in-situ leach mining contamination on Indian lands, and weep  -- then take action. For anyone who thinks Nuclear is a solution to the climate crisis, I beg you to understand where Uranium comes from, and how it is extracted.

There is no word in the Sioux language which can convey the meaning “to own the earth”.  You can find out more about the History of the American Indian Movement (AIM), here.  When I was 12 years old I read “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown and this classic book still makes compelling reading.  Kiwi-American Anna Paquin was in the movie.  I haven’t seen it, but plan to track it down! 

Hegel  The philosopher said: “What experience and history teach is this -- that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.”  Lets prove him wrong!

On my return to NZ, I went to work for Maruwhenua, the Maori (Indigenous NZ People) Secretariat of the Ministry for the Environment.  I worked on contaminated and sacred sites, visited Marae (tribal meeting houses and communities) and talked with engineers about protecting the Mauri (life giving force) of rivers.  I love living in a land where we strive to be bicultural – even if we have a long way to go.

So this Thanksgiving I have much to be grateful for.  I am grateful for the beautiful planet we call earth (but maybe should be called “water” – I’ll blog on that another day!).  I am grateful for the blossoming of many cultures and traditions – amongst my family, friends and the world around us.  I am grateful for life itself.  I am grateful for my family and the love of friends.  I am grateful for the wonderful team I have around me here at MiniMonos, and I am grateful for the work.  And for the privilege of being part of The Climate Project, the learning I have had, and the relationships I am building. 

What are you grateful for?

Don't give up

(Photo via FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

For Climate Campaigners who are tired, or feeling alone, or finding themselves lacking;

We do make a difference.

It is a privilege to work on the most important issue of our generation.

If we win, the future won’t know.  Like the CFC issue, young people will know nothing about the struggle but they will live with the result.

There are millions of us.

In The Climate Project alone, there are over three thousand of us trained by Al Gore, presenting The Inconvenient Truth.  Two years ago when I trained, it took five months to find my first audience -- now I present at least weekly.  Two years ago there were two presenters in my country -- now there are seventeen.

We make a difference in our own arenas:  Our public campaigning, our private conversations, the way we live our lives, the writing of policy, the advising of governments and CEOs, and the planning for emergencies. We may make coffee and cake for those who are out front, or perform simple acts of service in the garden. We may nurture and raise our children to understand that we are part of nature.

There are thousands of organizations across the planet working on this issue.

There are a handful of Government Officials who we need to influence. 

We are business people, musicians, authors, scientists, farmers, mothers, fathers and children. 

We can do this.  We do make a difference. 

Palming-off our climate change problem

 
Photo via flickr by Anthrotect

Today is Blog Action Day 2009, the annual event which unites the world's bloggers to all write about a single issue of global importance on the same day.  The issue this year is climate change, a topic very close to my heart, and which in 2007 inspired my training with Al Gore to become a Climate Project Ambassador. As I write this, there are over 7,300 of us blogging today from 138 countries and this number is growing by the minute.

 

As well as being Blog Action Day today, October 12-18 is World Rainforest Week.  I have had increasing concerns about the effects that the palm oil industry has had on our rainforests, so today is the perfect day to air them.

 

Deforestation is responsible for a whopping 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, due to the destruction of tropical rainforests, Indonesia and Brazil are the third and fourth largest greenhouse gas-emitting countries, just behind the U.S. and China. As well as being one of the worst contributors to climate change, deforestation continues to destroy the last remaining habitats of the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger.

 

One important driver of tropical forest loss is the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations, which produce oil used in food, cosmetics, cleaning and biofuel products. Roughly 90% of the world’s palm oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia. The United Nations estimates that palm oil plantations are "now the primary cause of permanent rainforest loss."  If action is not taken, 98% of the rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesia could vanish in only 15 years.

 

Palm oil is not a tropical problem; it is our problem. In the U.S. alone, palm oil is found in almost 50% of items on grocery store shelves.

I am sure that many of you, like me, do your best to tread lightly on the earth.  We do our utmost to raise our children to love nature and understand that we are part of it.  We teach them that there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’ when it comes to humans vs. the planet.  Or humans vs. all other living things.

I believe that to solve the deforestation and climate change issues, we can’t do it by ourselves.  We need our governments to take action.  But there are also actions as individuals which will make a difference:

 

1.Read that label!  

About  40m tonnes of palm oil are produced a year.  The most recent figures I found showed that 1.5m tonnes of “sustainable” palm oil were produced in 2008.  That’s roughly 4% of the total production. Many countries allow palm oil to be labeled as “vegetable oil” in products; as my research has shown me that this happens frequently, I have decided not to buy anything with miscellaneous “vegetable oil” in it.  A quick look around my supermarket revealed either palm oil or “vegetable oil” in chips, biscuits, crackers, and margarine as well as Dove soap.  

 

2. Buy consciously

Some companies are waking up to the palm oil issue.  LUSH previously used around sixty metric tons of palm oil per year, but for the last 3 years have switched to a palm oil-free soap base.  "We believe that until global levels of palm use are cut dramatically, there is little hope of a workable sustainable palm oil industry, and the future of the forests, animals and people of Indonesia and Malaysia is bleak," said Brandi Halls, LUSH Communications Manager.

Accompanying the launch of the public awareness campaign, LUSH is selling a tree-shaped soap called "Jungle". 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Rainforest Foundation, a group that campaigns for indigenous rights and rainforest conservation. LUSH also partners with the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an activist group, to convince other comapnies to source their ingredients responsibly.

A big bouquet also has to go to Cadbury New Zealand. Earlier this year, Cadbury incensed their buying public by using palm oil, but as a result of the negative impact on sales and their reputation, they switched back to cocoa butter, and made a further step to commit to fair trade.  Hooray!  A PR win for Cadbury means a win for consumers, producers, farmers, and the planet!

 

Illegal logging also contributes to rainforest destruction.  Every time we buy cheap outdoor furniture and decking made from popular tropical timber called kwila, we encourage this trade. Imports of kwila contribute to the destruction of the rainforests of Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.

3.   Lobby

I heard today that there are approximately 100 buyers who buy all the products stocked on the shelves of all of Europe’s supermarkets.  They get paid by picking winners, and not stocking “losers” (ie poor selling products).  I’ll bet the same system is in place in North America. You have the power to influence these buyers through your shopping behaviors and the noise you make.

 

Here in New Zealand, dairy cattle are fed palm kernel as supplementary winter feed.  Our cattle used to be grass-fed, with supplementary local crops grown to assist through the winter months.  Now, with global demand for dairy and New Zealand beef heading offshore at high prices, our dairy industry imports palm kernel expeller for winter feed -- a product created from palm kernel after oil extraction. Indeed, New Zealand is the largest single user of this product in the world.  Fonterra has said that it buys from sustainable sources, but remember that only around 4% of the world’s palm kernel oil is produced sustainably -- while NZ alone buys 25% of the world’s palm kernel expeller. Hmm. Something doesn’t add up.

The bans on palm oil by LUSH and, this year, the Auckland Zoo, go further than the broader push to use ‘responsibly-sourced’ palm oil. In recent years, Unilever, Whole Foods, and other companies have pledged to use only sources of palm oil that have been independently verified and certified to meet environmental and social sustainability criteria. But efforts to develop and promote eco-friendly palm oil have stumbled out of the blocks.

Some activist groups have questioned the credibility of palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an initiative which lays out green standards for palm oil production.  At the same time, demand for certified palm oil, which costs more to produce than conventional palm oil and carries an 8-15% price premium, has been tepid, partly as a result of the global economic downturn.

Last month, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned an advertorial taken out by the Malaysian palm oil industry and stated that RSPO’s certification scheme was "still the subject of debate".They found that the Malaysian palm oil industry’s claim -- that it was possible for palm oil to be sustainable -- could not be substantiated and it was deemed to be misleading. The ASA pointed out that the industry could not prove that the production of palm oil did not, in fact, lead to deforestation or environmental damage. They added that research had shown biofuel production to cause adverse social impacts including rising food prices and a major short-term impact on the poor. The ASA ruled that the ad should not be shown again.

Nevertheless, curtailing global demand for palm oil will be a challenge for green groups. Oil palm is the world's most productive oilseed, generating more vegetable oil at a lower cost than any other crop per unit of area. A single hectare of oil palm may yield nearly 6,000 litres of crude palm oil, outperforming soy, canola/rapeseed, and corn ten to twenty times over.  Further, the recent drop in palm oil prices has made it more attractive for biofuel production, opening an entire new market. Western governments are considering banning palm oil-based biodiesel due to concerns about emissions associated with its production. However, other countries -- including China and India -- are gearing up to burn more biodiesel as car ownership expands. Thus it seems likely that demand for palm oil will remain strong.

The Worldwatch Institute concludes that despite new efforts at sustainability certification, palm oil development will likely remain unsustainable unless a global solution increases incentives for preserving forest. 

It’s time we used our consumer and lobbying power to create just that incentive.

More information can be found from the following sources:

Rainforests Action Network

Mongabay.com

Green- You can download the film for free and hold a discussion about it. 

The Prince’s Rainforests Project

David Attenborough's Q&A with the Prince's Rainforests Project

Bruce Parry's Q&A with the Prince's Rainforests Project

Article: 'Sustainable' palm oil campaign banned by ASA– guardian.co.uk.  September 2009

Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (industry Org)

Article: Indonesia's Palm Oil Problem  - Worldwatch Institute

 

 

An Inconvenient Truth for an audience of children

Back in 2007, MiniMonos founder Melissa Clark-Reynolds was one of the first two Kiwis to train with Al Gore. Last month, I went to Melbourne for a similar training, and joined her as a Climate Project Ambassador. 

I wish I could adequately convey how powerful that weekend was. When I went to Australia, I knew -- in my head -- what an important issue we were dealing with. When I returned, I felt it, in my heart and in my teeth and in my bones.

Through our Twitter account, I was able to send out continuous updates throughout the event. Thanks to the magical people I met there, and the many kind and supportive responses I got back on Twitter, I was also able to appreciate what an incredibly powerful community we make, those many millions of us seeking to set ourselves on a healing path. We are strong. We are united. We can transform the world. We will transform the world.

In what was for me one of the most meaningful moments of the weekend, someone asked Mr Gore how he kept going on such a difficult journey. He replied that what sustained him was a profound sense of privilege at being able to do this work. There is great joy, he said, in doing something so truly worthwhile.

My own varied emotions include anger (that anyone could wish to delay climate action in any way) and sadness (at the many climate tragedies we've already seen). But overwhelmingly, I share Mr Gore's feeling of gratitude, for the honour of participating in this movement that calls us to our highest selves. 

My first Inconvenient Truth presentation was to the Project Management Institute of New Zealand. I've done a fair bit of public speaking, and although I might get a few butterflies, I generally enjoy being at the front of the room. But for this, I was terrified. Luckily, there was a seat at the front; as I was being introduced, I actually thought I might faint.

But the audience was kind, and attentive, and passionate about the topic. They didn't squirm when I got choked up at images of Hurricane Katrina -- choked up even though I've seen those images many times before. They stayed with me through the Victoria bushfires and through my proposal that the Project Management Institute add a seventh constraint, sustainability, to their six-constraint project model (time, cost, scope, risk, quality, customer satisfaction). In short, they were great.

No, in the six presentations I've given so far, my hardest audience by far was the children.

Last week, I presented to two groups of schoolchildren, ranging in age from 7 to 9 years old. The presentation was a bit different -- adapted to the audience -- and included much more interactivity than the one for adults ("Who can tell me what this is? Who knows the name of this planet?"). But the most important thing is how incredible the kids were. When I asked what we could do to save the planet, the answers came fast and thick: "Use electric cars!" "We could put a mini-wind turbine on the roof of the car to supply the electricity! As the car moves, it would drive the turbine!" "We could put solar panels on the roof of the car!" "You could have a UV lamp that powers the solar panels!"

The enthusiasm and creativity of these kids astounded me -- I had expected to hear things like, "We could change the lightbulbs, I guess..." They reminded me of what's possible if you're not bound by what's been.

I'd like to publicly thank those kids. If you're ever feeling like your passion for the environment is hitting barriers, if you ever feel even a hint of despair about the state of our planet, take heart. You are not alone in this. You have Mr Gore. You have me. And you have an entire generation of children who are limitless in their optimism and their potential.

This movement is an opportunity for joy; I'm grateful you're a part of it with me.

Note: This post was written by Kaila Colbin