We can freeze the fossil fuel powered hell. All means are already here, new energy-efficient technologies, renewable energy technologies and a lot of good will. What we need, is to get this old, polluting and cheap (in the short run) fossil energy policy out of the business. This is where we need politicians. Politicians have power to cut the emissions, but do they have enough courage and guts? This is where we need us. If you think this is important, send the politicians a message:
TckTckTck
…is an unprecedented global alliance of non-government organizations, trade unions, faith groups and people like you—all calling for an ambitious, fair and binding climate change agreement.
WWF Climate
Greenpeace Climate
G8 leaders meet in Italy to set emissions goals. Greenpeace activists have occupied the best seats available. They have climbed in 4 different coal fired power plants in Italy to encourage the world leaders to make some bold decisions.
Greenpeace online feed from the coal plant.
Nigerian environmental activist and writer Ken Saro Wiwa was executed in November 1995. He was convicted by a military tribunal of the Nigerian military junta. Ken Saro Wiwa helped Ogoni people to organize non-violent protests against the the impact of Shell oil exploration, which was destroying the environment at the Niger Delta.
Today 27th May 2009 Shell is in court in New York accused of crimes against humanity over its activities in the Niger Delta. Read the whole article from the Guardian: 14 years after Ken Saro-Wiwa’s death, family points finger at Shell in court
I made the poster above in 1997 for the Kumppani-magazine. Printable version for non-commercial use can be downloaded here. (3,6 mt).
March 24, 2009 – 11:52 pm
Twenty years ago March 24, 1989, the single-hulled tanker Exxon Valdez hit Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef in Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into the sea. The spill contaminated about 1900 kilometers of the shoreline and killed hundreds of thousands of birds and mammals and harmed the fisheries of the area.
I made the cartoon above in 1991, and unfortunately it hit closer than I could then imagine. Exxon concentrated to wriggle out of responsibilities and used hundreds of millions of dollars to avoid and to delay all claims for damages.
Democracy Now writes:
“In 1994, an Alaskan jury found Exxon responsible and ruled the company should pay $5 billion in punitive damages to some 33,000 plaintiffs. Exxon appealed. In 2006, the 9th US Circuit Court cut the award of punitive damages in half to $2.5 billion. Then, in a 5-to-3 ruling last June, the Supreme Court cut the amount of punitive damages again and ordered Exxon Mobil to pay just $500 million in punitive damages, one-tenth of the original jury’s ruling. That equates to about four days of Exxon Mobil’s net profits.”
ExxonMobil has also gained international fame by funding the global warming denial lobby.
More about Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Climate Progress Blog, Mother Jones Magazine.
Documentary movie Black Wave: The legacy of the Exxon Valdez.
The Legacy of Exxon Valdez, video 15 min.
September 22, 2008 – 11:00 am
Today is an International Car Free Day. If we really want to reduce travelling by car, we should improve the public transportation so that it always is a cheaper option than using own car. One thing is sure though, we can’t go on this way…
