The Go Green Debate

The 11th Hour is a new documentary film narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film examines the human relationship with earth from its earliest glimmers of innovation, to the challenges humanity faces in the present, to the possibilities of the future.

The 11th Hour is the last moment when change is possible. This film explores how we’ve arrived at this moment — how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course.

The film features experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the most important issues that face our planet & people.

Check Out The Trailer:

The U.S. population is growing faster then ever despite the lack of resources & the impact it has on the planet. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. population will hit 303.15 million on January 1, 2008. This is up 0.9 percent from last year. They also estimate that in 2008, the country will add one person every 13 seconds.

On October 19, 2007 John Edwards appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher where they discuss various environmental issues including ethanol.

Marlo Lewis & Dennis Avery talk about the problems with government subsidies for ethanol producers on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

What are the presidential candidates suggesting to reduce Americans’ environmentally destructive high level of animal product consumption? Check out this funny video where PB&J Girl and PB&J Boy have a suggestion to this global problem. (There is no audio, so no need to adjust your sound.)

Is your hometown one of the most eco-friendly cities of the world?
Grist reports the top 15 greenest cities of the world. They compiled a list of cities deserving recognition for making impressive strides toward eco-friendliness, and helping their residents live better, greener lives.

Top 15 Greenest Cities
1- Reykjavik, Iceland
2- Portland, Oregon, U.S.
3- Curitiba, Brazil
4- Malmö, Sweden
5- Vancouver, Canada
6- Copenhagen, Denmark
7- London, England
8- San Francisco, California, U.S.
9- Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador
10- Sydney, Australia
11- Barcelona, Spain
12- Bogotá, Colombia
13- Bangkok, Thailand
14- Kampala, Uganda
15- Austin, Texas, U.S.

Runners-up
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Freiburg, Germany
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Quebec City, Canada

Climatologist Mike Hulme examines frequent misconceptions about the science and politics of global climate change.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference started today and will go through December 14th in Bali, Indonesia. The conference will have representatives from over 180 countries that will start negotiations on a new international climate change agreement.

The United Nations Department of Public Information will be providing full coverage of the Conference, including webcasts of main events and press conferences in Bali, radio coverage, photos and News Center stories. In addition, for the first time, the UN is introducing an experiment in on-line reporting from Bali for the entire duration of the Climate Change Conference.

This is part of the UN efforts to lower the conference’s carbon footprint and to emphasize the importance of this global issue by encouraging participants to view the conference online instead of flying in for the events.

Would you choose to not have a family to save the planet?

Well that is exactly what Toni Vernelli & Sarah Irving did.
Meet the women who won’t have babies - because they’re not eco friendly.

Toni at age 27 was sterilized to “protect the planet”. Her boyfriend at the time, now husband, was very supportive, being an environmental activist himself, gave her a card on the morning of surgery saying “Congratulations”.

Sarah at age 31 & after a year of dating her boyfriend, Mark Hudson, started talking about sterilization. At the age of 37, Mark had a vasectomy and the couple felt incredibly relieved there was no chance of them having a baby.

The global warming debate is in full force now as phase one: admitting that there is a real crisis, is ending and the next phase: what should be done, is starting. As the war against global warming continues, many still disagree with the mainstream solutions. Bjorn Lomborg, Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger all accept the basics of global warming, however they question its severity & challenge the Kyoto Protocol as the best way to save the planet. While their solutions maybe flawed, the questions that they are raising about climate change are central to the solution as we shift into phase two of this debate.