Day 24 - Climate crisis

Yesterday I got an email alert from The Environmentalist, an online newsletter I subscribed to at the beginning of this project. I didn’t have time to read the message until today, but it’s pretty scary.

It’s an open letter from Dr. James Hansen, originally posted on the Huffingtonpost.com website. Dr. Hansen testified in 1988 at a hearing before congress that “the Earth had entered a long-term warming trend and that human-made greenhouse gases were almost surely responsible.” He is the scientist who alerted us to the “tipping point.”

In this recent letter, Dr. Hansen says he is “99 percent positive” that if our government doesn’t take drastic action within the next year, many irrevocable tipping points will be reached that will seriously and permanently damage our environment beyond repair, and the oceans, rainforests and Arctic will suffer dire consequences.

To read Dr. Hansens’ complete letter, go to:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-james-hansen/twenty-years-later-tippin_b_108766.html

Dr. Hansen says that if politicians refuse to lead in forcing the reduction of the use of fossil fuels, that citizens need to take charge.

“We must demand a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants. We must block fossil fuel interests who aim to squeeze every last drop of oil from public lands, off-shore, and wilderness areas. Those last drops are no solution. They provide continued exorbitant profits for a short-sighted self-serving industry, but no alleviation of our addiction or long-term energy solution.”

It’s time for all of us to take action. Write to your members of congress and your senators today. You can find list of names and addresses at:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
and

http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

Tip for Day 24 – Write to your members of Congress and the Senate and urge them to take action to save our environment.