Climate Change – Kristen Baumlier

Tag: Climate Change

Connect the Dots: 350.org Climate change

Posted on May 5, 2012May 5, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Today is Climate Impact Day, an international day that 350.org organized where various groups gathered to help “Connect the Dots” between climate change.

The idea was for people to organize rallies and events in order to generate images in places that have been affected by climate change or that create climate change. All of the events included taking a picture of a dot in some way. A huge black dot on a white banner, a “dot” of people holding hands, encircling a field where crops have dried up, or a “dirty dot” of something that is contributing to the high levels of CO2.

Today I participated in an event at 12 noon. Since Cleveland is one of the top producers of coal we met up near the First Energy Coal plant, and held up two “dirty dots” in front of the gate of the coal plant which said CO2 and the amoint of coal burned each year at this plant.

I sent in the image to 350.org, and the image will be added to the slideshow of events from today that is on the 350.org site. Check out the slideshow which already has images from India, Bali, the U.S., and other countries.

Links:

www.350.org

“This Winter has not been that bad. I have to say, I don’t mind global warming.”

Posted on February 26, 2012February 26, 2012 by Kbaumlier

Here in Cleveland, we have only had a few snowfalls, and only a handful of times when snowfalls were more than 2 inches. The temperatures overall have been warmer, and I usually head out the door without gloves and a hat. In the last few weeks, when discussing the weather with others – I have heard more and more people say that, “This Winter has not been that bad. I have to say, I don’t mind global warming.”

This makes sense – since people hate the cold weather here, but it is short-sighted, since on the other side of the world, warmer temperatures are causing weather conditions that is causing death and starvation.

“2011 has been a year of extreme weather, the WMO reported. Drought in East Africa has left tens of thousands dead; lethal floods submerged large areas of Asia; the United States suffered 14 separate weather catastrophes with damage topping $1 billion each, including severe drought in Texas and the southwest, heavy floods in the northeast and the Mississippi valley, and the most active tornado season ever known.” – Huffington Post.

Here in Ohio it is hard to see the changes that are happening around the world. What I have noticed is more rain, warmer temperatures, and plants blooming longer due to the warmer weather.

I find that my students don’t really care much about the issue of global warming, feeling like scientists will figure it out, and they can’t have much effect on what will happen in the future.

How can the bigger picture of the effects of global warming be present on a larger scale in our daily life? I’m not sure – but I’m thinking about it.

Links:

Huffington Post – 2011 was the hottest year Global Warming

Scientific Report on Global Warming- .pdf download

Feel Like Blowing a Whistle? Put on a Ref Shirt and Organize a Climate Change Penalty Action

Posted on January 31, 2012January 29, 2012 by Kbaumlier

On Friday, I got an email update from Bill McKibben and 350.org who organized an event on the day of the Annual State of the Union Address. At the protest, over 500 people dressed like referees and stood outside the U.S. Capital blowing whistles, and throwing penalty flags in order to draw attention to members of Congress taking money from the Oil Industry, and the subsidies that oil and coal companies receive.

The event and day were reported to be a success. At the demonstration, Senator Bernie Sanders announced that he’s introducing a bill to remove all the subsidies from the fossil fuel industry. On this same day eight hours later, Barack Obama gave his State of the Union address and talked about stopping the handouts to the world’s richest companies.

A new report from the International Energy Agency has shown that if subsidies for the fossil fuel industry were stopped, this would cut half the carbon emissions that are contributing to climate change. The five biggest oil companies alone have made more than $1 trillion in profits over the last decade.

Feel like blowing a referee whistle? Bill McKibben and 350.org are inviting others to lead an action to blow the whistle on your local Member of Congress who is taking money from the oil industry. To do this – 5-10 people could form a “referee squad,” and meet up wearing referee or matching shirts and whistles, and bring strips of cloth to throw as penalty flags.

If you think you can get a group of 5 or more people together, 350.org can send you ref jerseys, whistles and flags, and a organizer will help you with planning. You also can get facts and information about how much money your Congressperson or Senator has taken from the fossil fuel industry so you have accurate information you can use at the event.

These actions will be happening across the U.S., and 350.org is suggesting to do it this week, close to the run up to the Super Bowl, you will most likely get some media notice.

Image Source:
350.org

Links:

Blow the Whistle Action Info: 350.org

350.org

Examining Values Can Affect Climate Change

Posted on January 28, 2012January 28, 2012 by Kbaumlier

I recently read an article about conference organized by the Scottish Government in June of 2010 which focused on the ways that psychology could work to address issues of climate change. The conference focused on examining human values and behaviors.

There was an interesting chart that was included in the article, called Scwartz’s Value Circumplex which charts values such as achievement, power, security, benevolence, and others. Tim Kasser, who presented at the conference, writes about how in order to engage people in issues of global warming, people’s ‘intrinsic’ values such as universalism and benevolence need to be engaged as opposed to their ‘extrinsic’ values such as power and achievement. These ideas and the chart are included in the The Common Cause Handbook, a publication which calls itself “A Guide to Values and Frames for Campaigners, Community Organizers, Civil Servants, Fundraisers, Educators, Social Entrepreneurs, Activist.” This book available for free to download from www.valuesandframes.org.

This book and website were developed out of an effort in 2009 when several organizations from the U.K. including OxFam and World Wildlife Federation), and came together to discuss the inadequacy of current responses to challenges like climate change, global poverty and biodiversity loss. Research by experts in in social science and cognitive science was at the core of the discussion of how to approach motivating specific behaviors in individuals for social and environment change.

The handbook and website give an overview to values, talking about how values represent our guiding principles: our broadest motivations, influencing the attitudes we hold and how we act, why values matter, and how we use values.

How do values develop and change? Over time, repeated engagement of values is likely to strengthen them. Our repeated interactions with institutions (such as a school classroom, library, forest, or park) will affect our development of appreciation, achievement, or other values. The interesting outcome of this type of thinking and analysis is that it has recently been implemented in order to adjust communication in order to appeal to the primary motivations of different groups of people.

Some examples are in order to promote volunteering, educational activities and charitable giving – this could be presented as opportunities personal gain. To promote value of human rights, these ideas can be promoted through fear, stating that any human rights abuse makes it less safe for all of us. Motiving environmental behavior can be promoted as “eco-chic” for those who value status, or as a way to save money for those who value being frugal.

The website has a lot of great resources, including some case studies you can review, an extended reading list, working groups you can join, and also a case study and blog area where you can contribute or participate in a dialogue about these ideas.

Image Source:
www.valuesandframes.org

Links:

The Common Cause Handbook

www.valuesandframes.org

What Works in Behaviour Change?” Conference (28 June 2010)

Video – of Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

Ecology, Ethics, and Interdependence: Biking to Work can Improve Health

Posted on November 17, 2011November 17, 2011 by Kbaumlier

The Mind & Life Institute is a non-profit organization that seeks to understand the human mind and the benefits of contemplative practices through an integrated mode of knowing that combines first person knowledge from the world’s contemplative traditions with methods and findings from contemporary scientific inquiry.

The institute organizes Mind and Life Dialogues with the Dalai Lama, publications with report on these dialogues, a research institute, and other programs.

The “Ecology, Ethics, and Interdependence,” Mind and Life XXII conference with the Dalai Lama and scholars, activitsts, and ecological scientists was held in Charamsalasa, India from October 17-21, 2011. The sessions were recorded, and you can watch sessions from the conference online.

In Session 2 of the conference : Interdependence Between the Environment and Our Health: Risk and Opportunities the session began with a presentation by Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and lead author of a new study highlighting the “four-way win” that comes with swapping cars for bikes: reduced greenhouse emissions and gains in air quality, fitness and the economy. Patz is also a professor in Madison’s Nelson Institute and Department of Population Health Sciences.

In the study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, Patz and his team looked at the Midwest states and asked: What if during the nicest four months of the year, those residents biked instead of driving for round-trips of five miles or less? According to their study, this could save approximately four trillion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, 1,100 lives and $7 billion in mortality and health care costs for the region every year.

You can watch present Patz present his study in the online video from the conference and talk about the health impacts and ethics of climate change, and the potential for environment and health improvements of interventions.

In the session, Patz said “Fighting global climate change could be one of the greatest public health opportunities we’ve had in a century. “This is where I look to your wisdom and writing,” he added. “Everything starts with the individual — we start with ourselves.”

“Wonderful,” Dalai Lama replied, bowing his head to Patz. “Wonderful. Very good.”

Image Source:
www.performancebike.com

Links:

Video of – Mind and Life XXIII – Session 2 – Ecology, Ethics and Interdependence

Patz’s Study highlighting the “four-way win” of biking and health

The Mind and Life Institute

The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama