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  • Urgent: save Rio, save the planet (AVAAZ)

    ent: Save Rio, Save the Planet

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    		 x

    Iain Keith – Avaaz.org avaaz@avaaz.org
    10:41 AM (9 minutes ago)
    to me
    Dear friends,

    Over a million people have called on world leaders to end fossil fuel subsidies at the Rio Earth Summit, but our leaders have so far failed to deliver. Now, the only chance to save the talks from disaster rests with Brazil’s Dilma — sign this urgent petition calling on her to emerge a planet hero and end the polluter payouts!

    Over a million people have called on world leaders to end fossil fuel subsidies at the Rio Earth Summit — a no-brainer policy that could take one trillion tax dollars from Big Oil and reinvest it in green energy. But they’ve failed to deliver — even with the backing of the EU, the US and most G20 countries! The talks end in 48 hours. Now is our chance to save them and the planet’s future.

    Brazil’s President Dilma is hosting the summit and has the power to reopen discussions and demand a timeline for ending polluter payouts, but she is considering walking away with the weak language presented by a team of bureaucrats. We can stop her in her tracks.

    Dilma has 2 days to emerge as a global climate hero. Sign this urgent petition now and forward to everyone — at 500,000 signers, Avaaz will deliver it straight to Dilma’s hands and run an urgent, hard-hitting ad in the Financial Times:

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_rio_save_the_planet/?bhPqncb&v=15402

    In the last 2 weeks, we’ve already made huge strides towards an end to fossil fuel subsidies. Together, we’ve:

    • Unfurled giant trillion dollar bills with our friends 350 on beaches in Rio and in Los Cabos that garnered the attention of major media across the globe and delivered a 1 million strong call to end harmful polluter subsidies. Trillion dollar bill image
    • Delivered a petition with over 750,000 signers directly to UK Prime Minister Cameron and the Mexican chair of the G20 summit.
    • Massively impacted the vote in a UN poll — making fossil fuel subsidies the top priority for the Earth Summit. We won with over 66% of the vote!
    • Flooded the Mexican and New Zealand environment ministers with messages calling on them to push for an end to polluter payouts.
    • And our team on the ground in Rio and Los Cabos has tirelessly lobbied politicians — attending dozens of meetings with high level officials from key countries.

    The stage is set and Dilma has the perfect solution to turn the talks around: a clear and timely end to fossil fuel subsidies. We only have 48 hours for this final push to action — click below to sign:

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_rio_save_the_planet/?bhPqncb&v=15402

    The movement to end fossil fuel subsidies is at a tipping point. Over 1 million of us signed petitions calling for action, from Rio and Delhi to London and Sydney. As we enter the 11th hour of the Rio Earth Summit, let’s continue to push until we win!    

    With hope,

    Iain, Antonia, Jamie, Emma, Ricken, Diego, Pedro and the rest of the Avaaz team

    MORE INFORMATION:

    UN environment haggle runs into problems ahead of summit (France 24):
    http://www.france24.com/en/20120618-un-environment-haggle-runs-problems-ahead-summit

    Rio+20: anger and dismay at weakened draft agreement (The Guardian)
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/19/rio-20-weakened-draft-agreement

    #EndingFossilFuelSubsidies in Pictures, Video & Tweets: Why Rio+20 Needs to Act (Huffington Post)
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jake-schmidt/endingfossilfuelsubsidies_b_1607288.html

    G20 Fossil Fuel Protest Video (Reuters):
    http://in.reuters.com/video/2012/06/19/g20-fossil-fuel-protest?videoId=236062951&videoChannel=117460

    Activists hail success of Twitterstorm (The Guardian)
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/18/twitter-storm-fossil-fuel-subsidies?newsfeed=true

    Update on #EndFossilFuelSubsidies Proposals at Rio+20 (350.org Blog)
    http://www.350.org/en/about/blogs/update-endfossilfuelsubsidies-proposals-rio20

    Negotiations text “an epic failure” (Greenpeace)
    http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/Greenpeace-comment-on-state-of-Rio20-negotiations-text-for-adoption/

    Latest text of the Rio+20 conference
    http://avaazpress.s3.amazonaws.com/295The%20Future%20We%20Want%2019%20June%202.45am.doc

    Support the Avaaz Community!
    We’re entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way.


    Avaaz.org is a 14-million-person global campaign network     that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 19 countries on 6 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    This message was sent to nevilleg729@gmail.com. To change your email address, language, or other information, contact us via this form. To unsubscribe, send an email to unsubscribe@avaaz.org or click here.

    To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).

  • Explosives found at Sweden nuclear plant; Nation raises security …

    Explosives found at Sweden nuclear plant; Nation raises security …
    CBS News
    Officials raise alert at Sweden’s 10 nuclear reactors after explosives – with no … lacked a detonating device, meaning there was no danger of an imminent explosion. … In 1980, the Nordic country decided to phase out the use of nuclear energy …
    See all stories on this topic »

  • Global carbon emissions rise is far bigger than previous estimates

    Global carbon emissions rise is far bigger than previous estimates

    New analysis by the Guardian shows the world emitted a record 31.8bn tonnes of carbon from energy consumption in 2010

    A hazy day in Wuhan, Hubei province in China

    A hazy day in Wuhan, China, the country that has experienced a 240% increase in carbon emissions between 1992 and 2010. Photograph: Darley Shen/Reuters

    Carbon dioxide emissions have risen by even more than previously thought, according to new data analysed by the Guardian, casting doubt on whether the world can avoid dangerous climate change.

    The data has emerged as governments met in Rio de Janeiro to finalise the outcome of the Rio+20 conference, aimed at ensuring that economic growth does not come at the expense of irreparable environmental degradation, but which activists say has not achieved enough to stave off severe environmental problems.

    Global carbon emissions from energy are up 48% on 1992, when the original Earth summit took place in Rio – a historic summit at which governments agreed to limit emissions in order to prevent dangerous climate change.

    In 2010, the latest year for which figures have been compiled, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said the world emitted 31.8bn tonnes of carbon from energy consumption. That represents a climb of 6.7% on the year before and is significantly higher than the previous best estimate, made by the International Energy Agency last year, that in 2010 a record 30.6 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide were released from burning fossil fuel.

    Increases in fossil fuel use of this magnitude are likely to carry the world far beyond the temperature rise of 2C by 2050 that scientists have estimated is the limit of safety, beyond which climate change is likely to become catastrophic and irreversible.

    According to the new EIA data, carbon dioxide emissions from the US have resumed their rise, after a brief blip caused by the financial crisis and recession in 2008. That increase came despite the much-vaunted switch from coal to shale gas – with its lower emissions than coal when burned for energy – that has dominated the US’s energy economy in recent years.

    China, which in 2006 took over the US’s historical position as the world’s biggest emitter, raced ahead in 2010, emitting 8.3bn tonnes – up 15.5% on the previous year, and a 240% increase since 1992. That makes China alone responsible for about one-quarter of global carbon emissions from energy, emitting about 48% more than the US.

    This data also backs up recent evidence that China may be emitting more carbon dioxide than had previously been thought.

    At this year’s Rio+20 conference, according to observers, China has not played a leading role in forcing countries to raise their ambitions on reducing environmental impact.

    The UK’s emissions in 2010 fell by 8% from 1992 and the first Rio conference, which laid the foundation for the Kyoto protocol of 1997 – still the only comprehensive global treaty demanding cuts in emissions from governments. That puts the UK in 10th place in overall emissions from energy consumption, down from 7th place in 1992. Gibraltar, the UK dependency, has the doubtful distinction of the highest per capita emissions in the world, at 135.5 tonnes per year, compared with 8.5 tonnes per person in the UK and 6.3 tonnes in China.

  • Mother Nature Reminds Tokyo of Fukushima’s Ongoing Vulnerability

     

    Mother Nature Reminds Tokyo of Fukushima’s Ongoing Vulnerability

    Posted: 20 Jun 2012 03:55 PM PDT

    On 11 March 2001 Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) six reactor Fukushima Daiichi complex was effectively destroyed by an earthquake, which produced a tsunami that swamped the facility.Fifteen months later, it seems that Tokyo has learned little from the experience. On 16 June the Japanese government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda approved the restart of Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at its Oi nuclear power plant (NPP), with the Prime Minister saying, “Having won local consent, reactivating the Nos. 3 and 4…Read more…

    Posted: 20 Jun 2012 03:55 PM PDT

    On 11 March 2001 Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) six reactor Fukushima Daiichi complex was effectively destroyed by an earthquake, which produced a tsunami that swamped the facility.Fifteen months later, it seems that Tokyo has learned little from the experience. On 16 June the Japanese government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda approved the restart of Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at its Oi nuclear power plant (NPP), with the Prime Minister saying, “Having won local consent, reactivating the Nos. 3 and 4…Read more…

  • The one thing that could save the Rio Earth Summit. 350org

    The one thing that could save the Rio Earth Summit. 350org

    Inbox
    		 x

    Paula Collet – 350.org organizers@350.org
    2:36 AM (7 hours ago)
    to me

    Time is running out at the Rio Earth Summit.

    With just two days left, the “landmark conference” could end with just a set of empty promises  — and no meaningful progress on climate. But Brazil’s President Dilma could help save the talks by putting the global demand to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies front and center. Let’s make our message impossible to ignore.

    Sign On Todaywww.350.org/dilma

    Dear friends,

    We know we’ve been asking a lot of you lately, but a proposal to end fossil fuel subsidies is hanging in the balance here at the Rio Earth Summit — and your voice could make a big impact in the next 48 hours.

    Together, with our massive “Twitterstorm” and the more than a million petition signatures, we’ve built massive public support for ending fossil fuel subsidies. It’s a no-brainer policy that could shift $1 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies towards climate solutions. But world leaders have failed to deliver — the Rio declaration now only contains vague and empty language on subsidies, not the clear commitment we need.

    As the host of the summit, Brazil’s President Dilma Rouseff has the power to reopen discussions and demand concrete steps to end fossil fuel subsidies. Dilma is currently on the fence, but that with enough public pressure she could emerge as a climate champion.

    Please add your voice to the petition urging Dilma to save the Rio Earth Summit — our team at 350.org will do a dramatic petition delivery here in Rio: www.350.org/dilma

    Make no mistake: momentum to end fossil fuel subsidies is building. People everywhere are rallying around the simple idea that it’s time for our public money to help the people, not the polluters — the $1 trillion that governments spend on polluter handouts can be better spent on clean energy and sustainable development.

    A commitment here in Rio would be an important step forward for this movement — and right now, it’s up to Dilma to get it done. Let’s help show her she has the support of people everywhere: www.350.org/dilma

    Many thanks,

    Paula, Juliana, Juan, Jamie and the 350.org Brazil Team

    P.S. Monday’s TwitterStorm to #EndFossilFuelSubsidies was incredible — and it really made a difference here at the Rio Earth Summit. Click here to check out the storm’s highlights: www.endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/twitterstorm/story

    350.org is building a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for email alerts. You can help power our work by getting involved locally, sharing your story, and donating here.

  • Moody’s Cuts Credit Ratings of 15 Big Banks

    Breaking News: Moody’s Cuts Credit Ratings of 15 Big Banks

    Inbox
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    NYTimes.com News Alert nytdirect@nytimes.com
    8:12 AM (1 hour ago)
    to me

    Breaking News Alert
    The New York Times
    Thursday, June 21, 2012 — 5:47 PM EDT
    —–

    Moody’s Cuts Credit Ratings of 15 Big Banks

    Moody’s Investors Service has lowered the ratings of some of the world’s largest banks, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

    The ratings agency said late Thursday that the banks were downgraded because their long-term prospects for profitability and growth are shrinking.

    Read More:
    http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

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