You should get a copy or a translation of the closing address of President Chirac at the international conference on climate in Paris last week.
It seems that he was waking up.

I`ve just seen this news/ad or whatever about Climate Change and I've just copied it and then I want to work with it with my pupils at High School here in Extremadura, Spain.
We'll be working with it in our English lessons. We'll talk about it and then I think my pupils will be more aware of this serious and important problem we have all over the world.
Thanks and All the best for all of you.

I am so pleased to see Avaaz take its position in the climate debate. There is certainly a lot that governments need to do to try and minimize the almost inevitable critical changes in world climate.

But, take a moment to think. It is us - the people of the world - who have to demand and support the actions of our governments. The World has developed based on one thing alone. Exploitation. There is one form of exploitation that is coming back to bite us - hard. The exploitation of our planet. We call it 'Wealth Creation', but we all know that you can't make something from nothing. So far, we have been led (mainly by greed and stupidity) into a system that requires ever greater consumption, ever greater waste and ever greater exploitation. Everything we use, everything we consume came to us at the expense of our planet. This is what has to change, and we are the people that can make that change.

No longer can we afford to fly around the world on a whim. Neither can we justify driving cars or trucks that get 10 or 15 miles per gallon. Our big houses should better be small, cozy homes. We need to remember that the best things in life really are free. Our friends and our families. The question has to stop being 'how much can I own' and become 'how little can I mange with and still be comfortable?' We have to stop being the gullible sheep that follow blindly in the crazy, destructive paths often set in front of us by government and big business.

But we will suffer some hardship, and we have to be ready for that. But by working together, talking and spreading support through organizations like Avaaz, I think that you & me can make a significant difference and keep the hardship to a manageable level.

Climate Change: our personal responsibility - what each of us can do.

ENERGY USE IN THE HOME

1. Insulate your home.

2. On cold days, wear warm clothing and a scarf around the house, and turn down the heating.

3. Turn off your hot water. Half a kettle will do all the dishes if steeped and done quickly.

4. Use low energy light bulbs.

5. Only have the tv on when there is a special programme you want to watch. Socialise, play cards, read, listen to the radio.

6. Turn off lights not in use and never leave anything on standby.

7. Do only low in energy cooking. Quick Stir frys, fish, sushi, salads etc. Use a low energy slow cooker for meats and stews.

8. Eat less meat if you can. Meat production is high in co2 emissions and contributes to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest (the soya is for cattle, pig and fish feed).

9. Take a QUICK shower instead of a bath.

10. Only wash clothes when they need washed. And only do a full load and a on a short cycle if possible.

11.If you live alone, don't have a fridge-freezer. Buy fresh for immediate use.

CONSUMPTION

1. Buy clothes from second hand shops, and not the new High Street fashion flown in from China , Romania etc. Any clothes in good condition you don't tend to wear give away to the local charity shop.

2. Buy local produce from local markets. Write a letter to your supermarket to stock more local produce, and avoid anything that's been flown half way around the world... e.g. blueberries from Chile are a no no.

3. Don't buy any new technology. Settle for what you have or buy second hand. Any unused or unnecessary items sell to a second hand shop or better still give away to the local charity shop.

TRANSPORT

1. Give up the car. Walk, cycle and use public transport where possible. Or get together with other local residents and start a car pool, and only use the car when absolutely essential.

2. Write to local govt and national govt demanding a better public transport system (publicly subsidised if necessary). George Monbiot in his book 'Heat' proposes a low cost solution that could be implemented immediately with a little initiative from the government.

3. Cancel any notion of a flight unless it's absolutely critical. Take your holidays nearer to home :)

4. Ask your company/boss to allow working-at-home where possible, reducing the number of days you need to travel to the workplace.

ENERGY SUPPLY

1. Switch to a renewable energy supplier.

2. Install a wind turbine, solar panel, ground heat source pipe if feasible and you can afford it.

POLITICAL ACTION

Write letters to your local MP to demand:

1. local renewable energy projects, subsidised by public money.*

2. Public Grants to provide those on low income with up to date insulation of their homes.

3. A low carbon housing stock.

4. The UK engages with other nations globally for a carbon rationing scheme... for example contraction and convergence.

*The money can be diverted from the subsidies (or welfare benefits) the arms industry receives, which is public money for private profit.

I share your position in the Global Warming problem, but I don't think that addressing the wakeup call to the presidents is the right destination. In a democratic country, there's little the president can do, being merely the face of the country. Instead, the decisive power should be addressed, which lies in the parliament.

I'd be pleased to get a reply of any content.
Thank you, Robert.

I also think that the presidents and prime ministers would wake up if we had responsible media bringing the message home but most inundate us with everything but the real issues. CNN broadcasts all the harsh weather without the question: WHY? They will spend hours and hours in Florida interviewing people on a tornado: what did it sound like, panning to the damage but no one seems to address the reason. Katrina hit, no body helps, Brad Pitt is there helping people, trying to bring attention to their plight, helping with their homes and suprisingly the media are not there. If the media did bring more awareness to the public about the need, about what our leaders are not addressing, about what is needed, more people would get involved. But big corporations control what is being said on TV as they are the sponsors and cutting back on emmissions, cars, oil, gas hurts big business, so they don't want to bring attention to the fall out. If people were shown the truth there would be much needed anarchy.

Further to my previous blog,
CNN reported the hottest temperature on record was due to El Nino. No where, during his weather broadcast did he mention Global Warming.... and the sleep continues across the country.

Much ado about NOTHING. Yes. The earth is warming--but it has been either warming or cooling SINCE IT WAS CREATED.

"But the scientific community agrees that humans are causing dramatic warming trends", you say? Actually, they don't. Read this--if you can finish it before the pain of learning facts that you don't like becomes too much: http://www.suntimes.com/news/steyn/251601,CST-EDT-steyn11.article

Just 30 years ago, there was talk of taking measures as extreme as melting the polar ice caps to prevent the "grim reality" that the impending ICE AGE was surely going to cause catastrophic famines! Can you imagine if the world's governments had jumped on THAT bandwagon!?
(http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20060402-112828-5298r.htm)

Don't you think it is more responsible to learn all of the facts first--before brainwashing our "pupils" with this nonsense?

So-called "Global warming" is, at best, a cause/crusade for Mother Earth worshipers or, at worst, a means to defeat capitalism by coercing the masses into WILLINGLY giving up some freedoms and comforts in the name of "saving the planet".

Hopefully the reasonable of you will ANSWER THIS WAKE UP CALL: take the time learn the facts for yourself instead of blindly accepting this agenda-driven drivel.

We should be pressing our politicians to introduce an energy rationing scheme such as TEQs