LocaPower to the People! - Cancun can because locals can

by citisven

I don't know about you, but following all the different angles of negotiation at a conference as broad and multidimensional as the UNFCCC makes my head spin. I understand that dealing with a complex problem like climate change that literally affects every nation and every individual on earth offers no simple solutions, but the pitfall of trying to think about everything can be that you end up doing nothing.

This is why I'm very pleased to see that local governments and their representatives are gaining some real traction in Cancun.  

On Saturday, local governments took a huge step when the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) officially adopted the concept of "governmental stakeholders" for the first time in UNFCCC history.

continued at Daily Kos....

The Biggest Obstacles to a Climate Deal at COP16 are Overwhelm and Emotional Disconnect

by greenmedia

In a completely unscientific study, Green Media News has found the biggest obstacles to reaching a global deal on climate change are the massive overwhelm and emotional disconnect that stop climate change issues from becoming part of the national discourse.

Huh?

OK, I'm overwhelmed with all this. And I have a high tolerance for minutia; if I'm overwhelmed, that's not a good sign for the climate movement.

I have to admit I'm torn. I've been reading news from Cancun all afternoon. And I'm tempted to go down the list and talk about all the things that are happening at COP16 and around the world relative to climate change.

Fyi this article was cross-posted to Green Media News at around midnight last night.

continued at Daily Kos....

Massey's Chance to Clean the Slate?

by Michael Brune

Don Blankenship, the chairman and CEO of America's most notorious coal company, unexpectedly announced his retirement this week. If you don't know who Blankenship is or why his departure from Massey Energy is significant, the profile that appeared in Rolling Stone last week ("The Dark Lord of Coal Country") covers that ground thoroughly.

Suffice to say that Blankenship ran Massey with an iron fist and a stunning disregard for the safety of its workers or the environmental effects of its mining practices. Last year alone, Massey had more than 500 safety violations and nearly $1 million in fines, and last April's explosion at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine alone (29 men killed) was America's worst mining tragedy in 40 years.

continued at Daily Kos....

pakistan: climate = a human problem

by boatsie

In a stunning series of short films depicting last summer's biblical floods, Pakistan today issued a passionate and powerful appeal to the heart and soul of the international community.

Calling for COP16 negotiators to rise about politics and circumnavigate the complexities which have a stranglehold on both process and progress, a panel of Pakitani ministers, ambassadors and scientists called on the parties to reach agreement on an adaptation fund which recognizes and adequately addresses the disproportionate impact of climate change on the world's most vulnerable populations.

"Pakistan is on the front line in two wars, the war against terrorism and the war against climate change," said Khalid Sherdit, Director General of PDMA and General Relief, Punjab. "Both battles need global coordination and cooperation, Both are unpredictable. But in the war against climate change, there is no exit plan."

continued at Daily Kos....

Add Solar / Wind to Tax Cut ... a call for action

by A Siegel

You can count me among the millions not happy with the caving to give additional tax subsidies the unneedy rich.  With this deal, however, unless blocked, the true pain is wondering what we could -- or should -- have gotten in return.  

Why isn't there $200 billion (or, better yet, $500 billion) or so for stimulus in the coming 24 months. There won't be anything coming out of the R House that will stimulate job creation. The Administration should have gotten some on the table and in this deal.  
   
Staying within tax cuts and policy, why not include in clean-energy tax credits.  To provide one clear example, why not extend Section 1603 (action item)?  

continued at Daily Kos....

Fossil Energy Knows It’s a Full Contact Game – Does Cleantech?

by Scaling Green

Cross posted from Scaling Green

Cancun - When I started working on solar energy issues several years ago, I heard it repeatedly: “Everyone loves solar.” Back then, many people in solar and other cleantech sectors saw long-term meritocracy in the energy business. Public demand, technological advances and an inevitable price on carbon were going to drive cleantech to dominance over time. “Renewable energy,” it was often said, “will soon become just plain ‘energy’.”

continued at Daily Kos....