I thought this morning was going to be like any any other morning. Get ready and rush to catch the train to school because I dawdled too long whilst packing my lunch or something stupid.

In a way I was right. I did do exactly that, but I got more of a wake up call than just my alarm clock. My newspaper had some rather disturbing headlines this morning.

"Arctic ice seen shrinking to smallest size recorded."
"Americans have to face up to food crisis threat."

What the heck?!? What has this got to do with anything? I don't know about you, but realizing that the Arctic is in fact melting and that the permafrost is shrinking and hearing that Wall Street investors are encouraging Americans to stock pile food in the face of global food price hikes gives me the willies. It gives me the willies because it means that it is real and it is happening NOW.

We have all known about global warming for a very long time. Having been discovered in the 1970s, I know it was something we where being told about when I was growing up. We have to think green, we have to save the environment or the earth is going to suffer and so are we. The thing is, back then, it was always something that wouldn't happen in our lifetimes. It was something that we would have to do to save the planet for future generations.

The future is here. We are the generation that will reap the rewards or consequences of our actions.

This is going to be a long blog post, but I ask you to please bear with me and not to go away just yet. Please read this and consider what I am saying seriously.

OK, hopefully this means that all the people who read my journal are still here. Yaldatkesem & Farthingale, you are pretty much my only 2 regulars, so I am counting on your feedback here.

The world is changing. That fact is undeniable. Sure, it may not feel warmer where you are, but surely you have noticed the bizarre weather happening around the world? The increase in severe storms, the harsher winters and unseasonal droughts. Global warming may be a misnomer in your particular area, perhaps global climate change would be more accurate term for you, but rest assured the world is changing and it is not your normal El Nino. And before you discount it as just "a strange bout of weather" please take into consideration certain facts, like the tropical zones on earth expanding at a rate faster than scientists had previously predicted. [link]
Hey great! More bikini clad babes bopping around on tropical beaches! Uh, no. Actually it means spread of disease, dying of species and changes in our weather patterns and water distribution. Not so great.

OK. So that is bad. But surely a little warming isn't going to be THAT horrible.

Actually it is. Scientists have identified 12 ecological tipping points. What the heck are tipping points? They are parts of the environment that are sensitive to climate change and if triggered may well set off a chain reaction causing climate change to happen faster and faster and start happening too quickly for us to deal with. Don't believe me - read what the scientists have to say about it. [link] Personally, the methane scares the living daylights out of me. Why? Methane release may have triggered the Permian Extinction Event 250 million years ago. [link] Yes, I used to be a dinosaur nut so extinction events interest me. The fact that we might recreate one terrifies me. And to make matters worse, even a rise of a mere 3 degrees will set off a horrible chain reaction. Think along the lines of famine and ecosystem collapse. [link]

By the way, we have known about the methane and shrinking permafrost in Siberia since 2005. [link] It is just one of those things that nobody seems to talk about.

I read a lovely article that explained how a 3 degree change to cause the chain reaction up to 6 degrees of change. I cannot find it now, but if someone does, please let me know what the link is.

It all looks pretty dismal doesn't it? Looks like we are on a path of no return for messing up the planet.

It might not be too late. We have not passed any of the tipping points just yet. We may be on one, but it is not passed. And if we backpedal fast enough, we might be able to stop it and if we are really lucky, reverse it.

And there is a goal. There is a point we can reduce carbon emissions to, to have a good chance of stopping this thing in its tracks. [link] We currently (globally) have 385 part per million carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If we can reduce it to 350 parts per million or below we just might save this rock we live on and our way of life mostly as we know it.

I know, I know. I too had a moment of "I am just one person! What I do won't change anything!" earlier today. I got over it. For those who do not know I am a vegetarian. One person not eating meat does not make a huge difference on the farming methods employed by man, but if enough people do something eventually it will. And I am not going to NOT do something because nobody has jumped on the bandwagon yet. And this is one of those things where we have to be proactive. We need to reduce our carbon emissions. What this means is living a bit smarter. I, by no means, am advocating returning to living in caves or without ALL of our modern conveniences. Man is clever, we adapt, we build and we need to encourage this adaptation to happen in an earth friendly-way. So shop smart, instead of buying that mass produced beef where rainforests have been burned to create pasture and then flown over to you, pick some local produce or meat from places with more earth-friendly ways. If you live in a country where public transport is available and safe, use it. Walk when you can, carpool. Find out where your electricity comes from and look into alternative ways of doing or powering things (and please - realise the rising gas price means that we are running out and that biofuels are leading to more deforestation). If you are at a research institute like a university, why not see if there are any topics available that look at alternative power sources or methods for doing things. Start asking questions of political parties like what their stance on global warming is before elections - make it an issue. And most importantly, make noise. Make more people hear what is going on.

And protest. Even if it is only a few people. Not violently. Just write into newspapers, write to whoever might listen. For example, folks in SA. The Eskom power crisis sucks. What is their solution? 3 new COAL power plants. For the love of all that is holy! SA is definitely a country that can utilize natural power sources. Why the heck is nobody asking why they are using coal? Sure, waiting a bit longer to get power to everyone and avoid blackouts sucks, but COAL? Are we mad? Rather wait a bit longer and get a sustainable power source that is not going to add to the woes of the environment which our country is critically dependent on. Don't let them get away with environmental ineptitude simply because they have displayed it everywhere else. Hold them accountable.

And that goes to everyone everywhere. This affects ALL of us. This is a global issue. This may be the first real global issue we have faced where we all sink or swim and ALL have to rely on each other. This is not America's problem, or China's problem or the developed world or the developing world's problem. We ALL need to work together and we need to get the big boys and girls in power to play nicely too and we ALL need to pull up our socks.

So right now, make noise. Make as much noise about this as you can. Journal it in your journals - you have more readers than I do, tell your friends, family, anything to make people aware! In DA terms, I am tagging you all to spread awareness to get get people talking.

I found a site called 350.org [link] They are trying to spread awareness, to make people everywhere aware of that magic number we need to get carbon down to. And they want people to spread awareness in every way possible, including art.

So starting here, starting now, let us start spreading that number. If you produce "350" art send me a link and I will feature you in my journal. Give me some time and if I see enough interest (say 10 or more entries) and I will put together prizes and a deadline. Everything has to start somewhere. Let's make something start here. Let's make it start now.


EDIT: Addition. Still not sure? Not sure how to deal with people who still don't believe Global Warming exists? Check out this video: [link]