The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

World Turns Corner in Global Warming Fight

February Marks Turning Point in Global Warming Struggle

Dear Daniel,

Global warming is the world’s number one environmental problem. But this month marks two big milestones in the fight to undo global warming, in the United States and around the world.

First, Progress Around the World:
Starting today, the Kyoto Protocol goes into effect. More than 125 nations around the world are using the power of market-based solutions to bring heat-trapping pollution under control. Unfortunately, the United States, the world's largest greenhouse gas polluter, is not on board. Much of the rest of the world is already on track, cutting pollution with innovative technologies and a carbon trading system.

Second, Progress In America:
The Climate Stewardship Act, just reintroduced in Congress, is not the Kyoto Protocol. But it is a way for the country to do its part in the fight to undo global warming. The bipartisan bill would tackle global warming by making sensible and affordable cuts in greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S. The Climate Stewardship Act is the way for the U.S. to harness its business acumen, ingenuity and technological prowess to deal with the problem of global warming.

Climate Stewardship Act is Back – What You Can Do:
Momentum is growing to undo global warming. You and over 400,000 people have already signed the Emissions Petition, becoming citizen co-sponsors of the Climate Stewardship Act. But we need even more to convince Congress. Our goal is to get one million citizen co-sponsors, and we need your help. Here's what you can do:

1) Tell a friend. Send an email inviting friends, family, neighbors and others to sign the Emissions Petition.

2) Send a personal reminder. You've already signed our petition in support of the Climate Stewardship Act. Now, follow up and remind President Bush and Congress that the U.S. needs to get in front on the issue of global warming.

3) Help fund the campaign. Your donation will help pay for petition canvassing, advertising, grassroots organizing and old-fashioned Capitol Hill lobbying.

4) Post a flyer. Post a global warming flyer on bulletin boards in your community, explaining why this issue is so important and what can be done about it.

Global Warming - The Evidence Mounts:

- 2004 was the fourth warmest year on record. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990!

- Record heat waves responsible for some 26,000 deaths battered Europe in the summer of 2003 -- the hottest on the continent since Shakespeare’s time at least. The scorching temperatures caused over $16 billion in damages to agriculture and other industries. Global warming has doubled the risk of events like the 2003 heat wave, according to a recent paper published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.

- A massive ice shelf the size of Rhode Island broke off from Antarctica in 2002. Rapidly warming temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula were blamed for the loss of the Larsen B Ice Shelf.

- Alaska’s worse fire year on record was 2004. A total of 703 fires consumed over 6.5 million acres of forest, an area the size of Maryland. Global warming will increase the risk of more intense, destructive wildfires.

Global Warming: Undo It!
The Climate Stewardship Act is before Congress again and Environmental Defense is ramping up its Global Warming: Undo It! campaign. Here's what we're doing:

- Renewing our push to secure one million signatures on our Emissions Petition.
- Firing up grassroots efforts across the country and in swing states
- Hitting the media with our message
- Releasing new scientific reports
- Boosting our lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures

Help fund our work! Your donation will help us pass the Climate Stewardship Act and get the U.S. doing its part in the effort to undo global warming.

More Info:
Visit www.undoit.org for more on global warming's impacts and solutions.