Archive for December, 2007
December 14th, 2007
Cheers to Fine Organic Wine
Stumble it!
As the nights grow colder and darker, there are few things I enjoy more than sipping a glass of good red wine in front of a warm fire. If you’ve followed our advice from this post, then that fire is eco-friendly, but what about the wine? Are there eco-friendly wines that are also high quality? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding “yes”! Read on if you’d like some tips on how to pick some real palate-pleasers that are also eco-friendly.
People have made wine for almost as long as there have been, well, people! It is one of the oldest beverages around. The advent of non-eco-friendly wines is a relatively new phenomena caused by the “green revolution”. We’re not talking about our kind of green here, but instead the incredible crop productivity that resulted from the development of petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and modern irrigation in the 1950s. Increasing demand for wine, increasing land prices, and the transition of winemaking from independent farmers to large industrial conglomerates have all led to the industrialization of winemaking.
Increasingly, though, there’s a backlash against these techniques, driven by the smaller winemaker / farmers of Europe and also the high-end estates of the New World. It turns out that wines made from grapes that receive little or no irrigation, natural nutrients and pest management techniques, and minimal processing in the winery make truly outstanding wines!
So, what should you look for? There are several “levels” of eco-friendly in the wine world. Most common here in the US are wines made from organic grapes. The grapes are grown in the same manner as other types of organic produce – natural fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides – under practices adopted by the US Department of Agriculture. However, there are still some limited chemicals used in the winemaking process itself (see below).
Next is true organic wine. What’s the difference? Well, 99% of wine uses sulfite as a preservative – it’s been this way for hundreds of years. Wines without sulfite can be highly unstable and also might not age as well. However, the US Department of Agriculture forbids the use of ANY sulfite in a wine labeled organic, but wines labeled “made from organic grapes” can have a small amount. There are very few pure organic wines out there, and almost none in the top echelons of the wine world. Don’t fret too much, though. You may have heard that sulfites are what give you headaches from drinking red wine. This actually isn’t true! For one, white wines often have higher sulfite levels (the tannins in red wines are a built-in preservative). There are many other possible explanations but no definitive cause of those red wine headaches (except for drinking too much!).
Last is a category called “biodynamic” wine. Grapes grown through biodynamic practices are ultra-organic – the goal is to not only use natural materials, but to synchronize the growing process with nature’s rhythms. Biodynamic growers will, for instance, plant and harvest based on the phases of the moon while also following typical organic practices. Some of the world’s top estates, including Domaine Leflaive of Burgundy (shown plowing their vineyards by horse at left), follow biodynamic practices. There’s quite a bit of debate about whether this truly affects the quality of wine, but if you do find biodynamic wines you can rest assured that they are grown and made in a planet-friendly fashion! (note: because “organic” is a US government-regulated labeling practice, not all biodynamic wines will be labeled as organic).
Where can you find great organic and biodynamic wines? Here are a few sources:
- The Organic Wine Company (a LIL advertiser) carries hundreds of organic and biodynamic wines, including organic wines that are also vegan (some winemaking processes involve using egg yolks and other animal-based products to remove sediment). They also have more details on organic practices.
- Also, check out the Organic Wine Journal for more articles and information on organic wines and organic winemakers all over the world.
- For biodynamic wines from all over the world, check out this amazing list from Fork and Bottle, and then go to the Organic Wine Company to order online or to Wine Searcher to locate them in a wine store near you. You can also check out more options on the Low Impact Living website.
What about some specific recommendations? Here are some of my very favorite eco-friendly winemakers:
- Tablas Creek Winery. Tablas Creek is located in the Paso Robles area, and is a partnership between the Perrin family (of famed Chateau Beaucastel in France) and the Haas family, their US importers. The have a wide range of delicious Rhone-inspired white and red wines for reasonable prices. And, it’s a great place to visit if you are in Paso – great, informative tours and a very wide range of wines to taste.
- While we’re discussing Tablas Creek, you might want to look for the wines from Chateau Beaucastel itself. They make a Cotes du Rhone for about $25 (called Coudoulet de Beaucastel) and several versions of Chateauneuf du Pape starting at $70. Not inexpensive, but amazing Old-World wines for a special occasion. You can probably find them at fine wine shops near you.
- Casa Barranca is a relatively new organic winery in the Santa Barbara / Ojai area of California. They make a range of reasonably priced Rhone wines (syrah, grenache, etc) and pinot noirs that are very natural and vegan. In Northern California, 
check out Barra Winery for a similar range of well-priced wines, and Girasole for good organic pinots and cabs.
- What about sparkling wines? For Champagne, search out anything from Larmandier-Bernier or Jacques Selosse. They might be a bit hard to find, but they will be an experience.
- Try some amazing sauvignon blancs and chenin blancs from the Loire Valley. Crisp and minerally, these are the perfect accompaniments to a New Year’s shellfish or seafood dinner. Noted biodynamic winemakers in the Loire include Domaine Huet and Didier Dagueneau.
- Love pinot noir? Try some from Oregon’s Maysara Winery, who grow their grapes on the biodynamic Momtazi Vineyard. Also look for wines using grapes from the Temperance Hill Vineyard, including versions from St. Innocent and Lumos Winery.
- For some more day-to-day options, the following wines should be relatively easy to find and from organic or biodynamic grapes:
o Grgich Hills
o Yorkville Cellars
o Benziger
o Bonterra
o Fetzer
Oh, and one last shout-out. Some winemakers go above and beyond, integrating sustainability into not only their wines but their businesses. Shafer Vineyards makes amazing, award winning, hard-to-find (and expensive) wines. But, they are a model for sustainability at a winery (or a home, for that matter). They have installed solar panels that provide 100% of their annual power. They have built and installed nesting boxes for owls and perch poles for hawks, all of which provide 24/7 natural rodent control. And they have installed a bat roost and songbird houses, providing homes for critters who feast on insects and other smaller pests. And, they use natural cover crops in-between rows rather than herbicides and fertilizers. (Shafer also has a great website with a fun solar power gizmo that shows all of this).
Another example is Medlock Ames. They farm organically, use solar PV for electricity, and employ the local critters for pest control. In addition, they’ve left most of their land covered by stately native oaks and native flowers, and they use horses to cultivate their vineyards. In addition to making good wine, it’s a beautiful place to visit (but you need an appointment!).
If you’ve made it this far, you can tell I have a passion for this particular subject! Jessica (my wife and co-founder of Low Impact Living) and I spent a year in France a few years back, and spending time with winemakers there who cared so deeply about their land made a lasting impression on me. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions via comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Popularity: 2% [?]
December 13th, 2007
Zenn Electric Cars & a Party
Do you know about the Zenn Electric Cars? Well you should. Zenn stands for “Zero Emissions, No Noise,” and these little cars are an excellent alternative to gas vehicles. They aren’t large, but they are mighty.
+ All electric; uses no gas
+ Costs less than 2 cents a mile to drive
+ No emissions, no smog (or smog checks)
+ No oil to change
+ Plugs into any standard electrical outlet
+ You get a federal tax credit
+ Starts at $12,750 (before shipping, registration, and taxes)
They have a range of 35 miles and go up to 25 MPH. So if you only need a car to go around town on errands, the Zenn will work for you.
And they are throwing a grand opening party! If you’re able to be in Berkeley, CA this Saturday, December 15, please join Green Motors for their event. At the party, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, State Assembly Member Loni Hancock and Sherry Boschert (Author of “Plug In Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America”) will be speaking. They will be showing the Zenn Cars.
Saturday, December 15 at 2PM
Green Motors
1500 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702 US
For details on the event, view the evite here.
Popularity: 1% [?]
December 11th, 2007
Share Your Green New Year’s Resolution & Win Goodies!
2008 is almost upon us! That means it’s time to put pen to paper and write our New Year’s Resolutions. There is one set of resolutions we’re determined to keep this year, and that’s our resolutions for lightening our load on Mother Earth.
We’d like to inspire all of you to come up with a couple of great Green New Year’s Resolutions of your own!
Please send in your Green New Year’s Resolution to info@lowimpactliving.com and put the word “resolution” in the title of your email. Please tell us your first name and the city where you live. Brevity is the spice of life–please try to keep it to 1-2 sentences. Deadline is Thursday the 27th of December. Then we’ll post your resolutions on our blog. We can all inspire each other!!
BUT WAIT— HERE’S THE BEST PART! If you are selected by our esteemed Resolution Review Board for the most creative and/or inspiring resolution, you will receive a 2008 Green Goody Box filled with these eco-fabulous items:
+ A year’s subscription to Natural Home Magazine
+ A set of gorgeous reusable grocery sacks from Olive Smart Bags
+ Eco-friendly home cleaning products from J.R. Watkins Natural Home Care
+ A solar mobile phone or iPod charger from Solio
+ A water-saving SinkPositive toilet attachment
+ An eco-friendly pet care kit from Eco-Me
+ An organic blanket from Unison Home
+ A year’s supply of biodegradable trash bags from BioBag
+ And more!!!
To get your creative juices flowing, we the people of Low Impact Living are offering up our own resolutions for 2008. We hope you will join us in making 2008 our most low-impact year yet!
“In 2008 I plan to get a bike to run errands, use my clothes dryer less than 5 times during the year, and go to the local farmer’s market at least once each month. Oh, and convert another 10,000 people to embracing the good low-impact life!” –Jessica Jensen, Co-Founder, Low Impact Living
“In 2008 I aspire to stop eating beef and other eco-ugly foods like farm-raised salmon & Chilean seabass. I also hope to buy a used biodiesel car so that we’re a 100% green vehicle family. And I’ll finish turning our yard into a beautiful native plant garden.” – Jason Pelletier, Co-Founder, Low Impact Living
“I would like to try to convert all of my personal care items to organic products. While renovating our house I would like to use all Energy Star appliances, water saving fixtures, and green materials.” — Shayna Prunier, Director of Business Development, Low Impact Living
“I resolve to call my Building Manager once a month to ask that he provide a recycling bin for me and other building residents – until one is provided. — Monica Schenk, Sales & Marketing Manager, Low Impact Living
We look forward to hearing from you! And Happy New Year!!
Popularity: 1% [?]
December 10th, 2007
How To Tuesday: Get Green Rebates & Tax Incentives
Oh yes, there is a Santa Claus. Well, maybe not in the whole red suit, bowl-full-of-jelly way, but there are gifts with your name on them in the form of rebates and tax breaks available for greening your home. But, since they won’t arrive in your stocking on Christmas morning, you’ll need to know what to look for and where to find them.
In general, there are four major areas of incentives for homeowners looking to lower their environmental impact:
+ Energy-saving appliances
+ Energy efficiency through insulation and windows
+ Solar and other alternative power
+ Miscellaneous (water efficiency, mortgages, etc.)
Since incentives vary by location, it can be tough to know what applies to you. Fortunately, several easy-to-use resources exist to help you figure out what incentives are available. The most comprehensive of these is the national Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE). Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE lists the renewable energy and energy efficiency incentives available from all levels of government: federal, state, and local. Just select your state and you’re on your way to savings!
Energy-Saving Appliances
If you’ve been thinking about installing new energy efficient appliances, but haven’t been able to make the leap and plunk down the cash, maybe this will help: many state and local incentives exist to give you that nudge.
California probably leads the way in providing all sorts of incentives. In addition to the DSIRE database, a great way to see what’s available to residents of the Golden State is to go to Flex Your Power, California’s statewide energy efficiency marketing and outreach campaign. There, you can search for incentives by zip code. The listing includes rebates on appliances among other things, offered by all levels of government so you can find the best deal for you.
For example, PG&E in San Francisco and the Los Angeles DWP offer residential energy efficiency rebate programs, which provide for rebates on new Energy Star appliances, including clothes washers and dryers, air conditioners, and even pool pumps. A word to the wise: make sure to check the details of the program before making a purchase - though Energy Star is the standard for environmentally-friendly appliances, some may not qualify for specific rebates.
Anaheim Public Utilities offers its customers similar rebates, but then go a step further. They will come to your home to perform an efficiency inspection, recommending energy saving steps and appliances – free of charge. They will also provide customers a free energy-efficient light bulb. Who says you can’t get something for nothing?
In addition to appliances, New York’s Long Island Power Authority’s incentive program includes a focus on geothermal heat pumps in its residential rebate program, as well as rebates for energy-efficient air conditioners. Other areas offer additional rebates for specific items, like ceiling fans (Burbank, CA) and even LED holiday lights (Lompoc, CA). Now that’s what we call the holiday spirit!
There may even be money available for your old appliances. After heating/air conditioning and water heaters, the biggest energy-hogger in a home is the refrigerator. Many areas offer a buy-back program for the old ones – in Los Angeles, you’ll receive $35 and 6 free compact fluorescent light bulbs in exchange for ol’ Frosty. More importantly, recyclers will properly dispose of harmful contaminants like used oil, mercury and refrigerants. So even if there is no money in it for you, be sure to contact your local utility to ask about proper disposal of any used appliance.
In addition to rebates, keep an eye out for other incentives promoting energy efficiency - low interest loans, for example, like those offered in Austin, TX and many areas in Florida. These loans give you the cash you might need to make the switch to energy efficient appliances; and remember, you’ll save money on the back end with lower energy bills.
Some areas of the country entice consumers with tax breaks. For example, if you live in Texas you’re familiar with the sales tax “holiday” – one glorious day when purchases are exempt from state sales taxes. Now, the state is making the event more meaningful by designating a three-day tax holiday over Memorial Day weekend for energy efficient products, like air conditioners, dishwashers, and even programmable thermostats. For all three days, these products are tax-free, so why not start saving now for the washing machine of your dreams?
Insulation and Windows
One of the best things that you can do to increase the energy efficiency of your home is to provide better insulation to keep out the cold and heat in the first place. Many areas have rebates available for adding insulation or energy efficient windows.
In Los Angeles, SoCal Gas offers a rebate of $.15/sq ft. of insulation, and $1.00 for every six linear feet of pipe wrap. Springfield, Illinois’ City Water Light and Power ups the ante with a rebate of 30% of your insulation project costs, up to $500. And just like with appliances, the initial investment will pay you back with lower energy bills all year round.
To help Texans cope with their sweltering summers, Austin Energy and CPS Energy in San Antonio offer rebates on solar screens and film, as well as on radiant barriers for attics. Not familiar with these? A quick primer…
Solar screens cover the outside of a window just like standard window screens. But, solar screens block the heat generated as the sun’s rays passes through the glass windows. Radiant barriers, on the other hand, are reflective sheets usually laid across the top of exposed insulation in the attic. As solar energy is absorbed by the roof, much of the heat radiated from the hot roof is reflected back up, away from the insulation. This makes the top surface of the insulation cooler, thus reducing the amount of heat that moves through the insulation into the rooms below the ceiling. Pretty cool, in that “How did we not know about this sooner?” kind of way, huh?
Though we always think of insulation and windows when it comes to making our homes more energy efficient, don’t forget the nature’s candy of insulation - trees. Strategically placed trees can maximize the amount of sun that hits your home in the winter, and minimize it in the summer. Utilities in some cities, including Los Angeles and Anaheim, CA, will recommend the best types of trees and locations for planting, and will even give you one or more trees for free.
Solar and other alternative power
With more and more interest and investment going towards alternative energy, states and municipalities have enacted several types of incentives to encourage residential adoption of its production. Illinois, among other states, offers a rebate program for solar equipment including solar water heaters and even solar pool heating. At 30% of costs up to a maximum of $10,000, the rebates are nothing to sneeze at.
Several programs in California provide payments for installing alternative energy sources. The state has adopted the California Solar Initiative to reach its goal of providing 3,000 MW of solar capacity by 2017. By providing a payment ranging from $2.50 to $3.50 per Watt of power generated, the program is designed to increase the use of photovoltaics in the state. Rebates are also available statewide on solar water heaters, and on the purchase and installation of photovoltaic systems through local utility programs.
In addition to solar, California also supports the Self-Generation Incentive Program, which offers incentives to those resourceful folks who produce electricity with micro-turbines, gas turbines, wind turbines, fuel cells and internal combustion engines. The incentive payments range from $1 - $4.50 per Watt, depending on the type of system used. Retail electric and gas customers of San Diego Gas & Electric, Pacific Gas & Electric (San Francisco), Southern California Edison or Southern California Gas are eligible for the program.
In New York, the state has enacted a personal income tax credit for residential photovoltaic systems and solar-thermal equipment. New Yorkers can claim a credit equal to 25% of the cost of the equipment and installation. Credits like this one are more valuable than tax deductions, as credits are deducted directly from your tax bill, not just your income. In addition, some local municipalities have granted an exemption from sales tax for these types of systems.
Loans are also available to customers looking to finance home improvements using green technology, like in south-central Pennsylvania and parts of Georgia. These loans might be low- or no-interest, but terms vary so make sure you understand the details before signing on the dotted line.
As always, you can find solar system installers at Low Impact Living, as well as wind system installers.
Miscellaneous
As the Southwest and other parts of the country struggle with long droughts, programs to conserve water are more important than ever. In Los Angeles, for example, homeowners can receive a $100 rebate on an ultra-low-flush toilet. San Francisco residents can receive free low-flow aerators and shower heads. Even if your utility doesn’t provide these for free, consider purchasing them for your home. They are an inexpensive way to save a scarce resource.
And finally, a gift from your favorite uncle, Sam. Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) help homeowners finance energy efficiency measures, like renewable energy technologies, in both new and existing homes. As some EEMs are insured through FHA or VA programs, they provide a measure of security to lenders for customers whom they would usually deny, and thus allow borrows who might otherwise be denied loans to pursue energy efficient improvements. I knew that he would come through.
Whatever path you choose on your way to lowering your home’s impact, spend a little time researching the incentives available. Though your mom may have said that it’s better to give than to receive, receiving ain’t too bad either.
Popularity: 2% [?]
December 10th, 2007
Al Gore’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
DECEMBER 10, 2007
OSLO, NORWAY
Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Honorable members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen.
I have a purpose here today. It is a purpose I have tried to serve for many years. I have prayed that God would show me a way to accomplish it. Sometimes, without warning, the future knocks on our door with a precious and painful vision of what might be. One hundred and nineteen years ago, a wealthy inventor read his own obituary, mistakenly published years before his death. Wrongly believing the inventor had just died, a newspaper printed a harsh judgment of his life’s work, unfairly labeling him “The Merchant of Death” because of his invention – dynamite. Shaken by this condemnation, the inventor made a fateful choice to serve the cause of peace. Seven years later, Alfred Nobel created this prize and the others that bear his name.
Seven years ago tomorrow, I read my own political obituary in a judgment that seemed to me harsh and mistaken – if not premature. But that unwelcome verdict also brought a precious if painful gift: an opportunity to search for fresh new ways to serve my purpose. Unexpectedly, that quest has brought me here. Even though I fear my words cannot match this moment, I pray what I am feeling in my heart will be communicated clearly enough that those who hear me will say, “We must act.”
The distinguished scientists with whom it is the greatest honor of my life to share this award have laid before us a choice between two different futures – a choice that to my ears echoes the words of an ancient prophet: “Life or death, blessings or curses. Therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency – a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here. But there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst – though not all – of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly.
However, despite a growing number of honorable exceptions, too many of the world’s leaders are still best described in the words Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler’s threat: “They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent.”
So today, we dumped another 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, as if it were an open sewer. And tomorrow, we will dump a slightly larger amount, with the cumulative concentrations now trapping more and more heat from the sun.
As a result, the earth has a fever. And the fever is rising. The experts have told us it is not a passing affliction that will heal by itself. We asked for a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. And the consistent conclusion, restated with increasing alarm, is that something basic is wrong.
We are what is wrong, and we must make it right.
Last September 21, as the Northern Hemisphere tilted away from the sun, scientists reported with unprecedented distress that the North Polar ice cap is “falling off a cliff.” One study estimated that it could be completely gone during summer in less than 22 years. Another new study, to be presented by U.S. Navy researchers later this week, warns it could happen in as little as 7 years.
Seven years from now.
In the last few months, it has been harder and harder to misinterpret the signs that our world is spinning out of kilter. Major cities in North and South America, Asia and Australia are nearly out of water due to massive droughts and melting glaciers. Desperate farmers are losing their livelihoods. Peoples in the frozen Arctic and on low-lying Pacific islands are planning evacuations of places they have long called home. Unprecedented wildfires have forced a half million people from their homes in one country and caused a national emergency that almost brought down the government in another. Climate refugees have migrated into areas already inhabited by people with different cultures, religions, and traditions, increasing the potential for conflict. Stronger storms in the Pacific and Atlantic have threatened whole cities. Millions have been displaced by massive flooding in South Asia, Mexico, and 18 countries in Africa. As temperature extremes have increased, tens of thousands have lost their lives. We are recklessly burning and clearing our forests and driving more and more species into extinction. The very web of life on which we depend is being ripped and frayed.
We never intended to cause all this destruction, just as Alfred Nobel never intended that dynamite be used for waging war. He had hoped his invention would promote human progress. We shared that same worthy goal when we began burning massive quantities of coal, then oil and methane.
Even in Nobel’s time, there were a few warnings of the likely consequences. One of the very first winners of the Prize in chemistry worried that, “We are evaporating our coal mines into the air.” After performing 10,000 equations by hand, Svante Arrhenius calculated that the earth’s average temperature would increase by many degrees if we doubled the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Seventy years later, my teacher, Roger Revelle, and his colleague, Dave Keeling, began to precisely document the increasing CO2 levels day by day.
But unlike most other forms of pollution, CO2 is invisible, tasteless, and odorless — which has helped keep the truth about what it is doing to our climate out of sight and out of mind. Moreover, the catastrophe now threatening us is unprecedented – and we often confuse the unprecedented with the improbable.
We also find it hard to imagine making the massive changes that are now necessary to solve the crisis. And when large truths are genuinely inconvenient, whole societies can, at least for a time, ignore them. Yet as George Orwell reminds us: “Sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield.”
In the years since this prize was first awarded, the entire relationship between humankind and the earth has been radically transformed. And still, we have remained largely oblivious to the impact of our cumulative actions.
Indeed, without realizing it, we have begun to wage war on the earth itself. Now, we and the earth’s climate are locked in a relationship familiar to war planners: “Mutually assured destruction.”
More than two decades ago, scientists calculated that nuclear war could throw so much debris and smoke into the air that it would block life-giving sunlight from our atmosphere, causing a “nuclear winter.” Their eloquent warnings here in Oslo helped galvanize the world’s resolve to halt the nuclear arms race.
Now science is warning us that if we do not quickly reduce the global warming pollution that is trapping so much of the heat our planet normally radiates back out of the atmosphere, we are in danger of creating a permanent “carbon summer.”
As the American poet Robert Frost wrote, “Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice.” Either, he notes, “would suffice.”
But neither need be our fate. It is time to make peace with the planet.
We must quickly mobilize our civilization with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nations mobilized for war. These prior struggles for survival were won when leaders found words at the 11th hour that released a mighty surge of courage, hope and readiness to sacrifice for a protracted and mortal challenge.
These were not comforting and misleading assurances that the threat was not real or imminent; that it would affect others but not ourselves; that ordinary life might be lived even in the presence of extraordinary threat; that Providence could be trusted to do for us what we would not do for ourselves.
No, these were calls to come to the defense of the common future. They were calls upon the courage, generosity and strength of entire peoples, citizens of every class and condition who were ready to stand against the threat once asked to do so. Our enemies in those times calculated that free people would not rise to the challenge; they were, of course, catastrophically wrong.
Now comes the threat of climate crisis – a threat that is real, rising, imminent, and universal. Once again, it is the 11th hour. The penalties for ignoring this challenge are immense and growing, and at some near point would be unsustainable and unrecoverable. For now we still have the power to choose our fate, and the remaining question is only this: Have we the will to act vigorously and in time, or will we remain imprisoned by a dangerous illusion?
Mahatma Gandhi awakened the largest democracy on earth and forged a shared resolve with what he called “Satyagraha” – or “truth force.”
In every land, the truth – once known – has the power to set us free.
Truth also has the power to unite us and bridge the distance between “me” and “we,” creating the basis for common effort and shared responsibility.
There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” We need to go far, quickly.
We must abandon the conceit that individual, isolated, private actions are the answer. They can and do help. But they will not take us far enough without collective action. At the same time, we must ensure that in mobilizing globally, we do not invite the establishment of ideological conformity and a new lock-step “ism.”
That means adopting principles, values, laws, and treaties that release creativity and initiative at every level of society in multifold responses originating concurrently and spontaneously.
This new consciousness requires expanding the possibilities inherent in all humanity. The innovators who will devise a new way to harness the sun’s energy for pennies or invent an engine that’s carbon negative may live in Lagos or Mumbai or Montevideo. We must ensure that entrepreneurs and inventors everywhere on the globe have the chance to change the world.
When we unite for a moral purpose that is manifestly good and true, the spiritual energy unleashed can transform us. The generation that defeated fascism throughout the world in the 1940s found, in rising to meet their awesome challenge, that they had gained the moral authority and long-term vision to launch the Marshall Plan, the United Nations, and a new level of global cooperation and foresight that unified Europe and facilitated the emergence of democracy and prosperity in Germany, Japan, Italy and much of the world. One of their visionary leaders said, “It is time we steered by the stars and not by the lights of every passing ship.”
In the last year of that war, you gave the Peace Prize to a man from my hometown of 2000 people, Carthage, Tennessee. Cordell Hull was described by Franklin Roosevelt as the “Father of the United Nations.” He was an inspiration and hero to my own father, who followed Hull in the Congress and the U.S. Senate and in his commitment to world peace and global cooperation.
My parents spoke often of Hull, always in tones of reverence and admiration. Eight weeks ago, when you announced this prize, the deepest emotion I felt was when I saw the headline in my hometown paper that simply noted I had won the same prize that Cordell Hull had won. In that moment, I knew what my father and mother would have felt were they alive.
Just as Hull’s generation found moral authority in rising to solve the world crisis caused by fascism, so too can we find our greatest opportunity in rising to solve the climate crisis. In the Kanji characters used in both Chinese and Japanese, “crisis” is written with two symbols, the first meaning “danger,” the second “opportunity.” By facing and removing the danger of the climate crisis, we have the opportunity to gain the moral authority and vision to vastly increase our own capacity to solve other crises that have been too long ignored.
We must understand the connections between the climate crisis and the afflictions of poverty, hunger, HIV-Aids and other pandemics. As these problems are linked, so too must be their solutions. We must begin by making the common rescue of the global environment the central organizing principle of the world community.
Fifteen years ago, I made that case at the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro. Ten years ago, I presented it in Kyoto. This week, I will urge the delegates in Bali to adopt a bold mandate for a treaty that establishes a universal global cap on emissions and uses the market in emissions trading to efficiently allocate resources to the most effective opportunities for speedy reductions.
This treaty should be ratified and brought into effect everywhere in the world by the beginning of 2010 – two years sooner than presently contemplated. The pace of our response must be accelerated to match the accelerating pace of the crisis itself.
Heads of state should meet early next year to review what was accomplished in Bali and take personal responsibility for addressing this crisis. It is not unreasonable to ask, given the gravity of our circumstances, that these heads of state meet every three months until the treaty is completed.
We also need a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store carbon dioxide.
And most important of all, we need to put a price on carbon — with a CO2 tax that is then rebated back to the people, progressively, according to the laws of each nation, in ways that shift the burden of taxation from employment to pollution. This is by far the most effective and simplest way to accelerate solutions to this crisis.
The world needs an alliance – especially of those nations that weigh heaviest in the scales where earth is in the balance. I salute Europe and Japan for the steps they’ve taken in recent years to meet the challenge, and the new government in Australia, which has made solving the climate crisis its first priority.
But the outcome will be decisively influenced by two nations that are now failing to do enough: the United States and China. While India is also growing fast in importance, it should be absolutely clear that it is the two largest CO2 emitters — most of all, my own country –– that will need to make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act.
Both countries should stop using the other’s behavior as an excuse for stalemate and instead develop an agenda for mutual survival in a shared global environment.
These are the last few years of decision, but they can be the first years of a bright and hopeful future if we do what we must. No one should believe a solution will be found without effort, without cost, without change. Let us acknowledge that if we wish to redeem squandered time and speak again with moral authority, then these are the hard truths:
The way ahead is difficult. The outer boundary of what we currently believe is feasible is still far short of what we actually must do. Moreover, between here and there, across the unknown, falls the shadow.
That is just another way of saying that we have to expand the boundaries of what is possible. In the words of the Spanish poet, Antonio Machado, “Pathwalker, there is no path. You must make the path as you walk.”
We are standing at the most fateful fork in that path. So I want to end as I began, with a vision of two futures – each a palpable possibility – and with a prayer that we will see with vivid clarity the necessity of choosing between those two futures, and the urgency of making the right choice now.
The great Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen, wrote, “One of these days, the younger generation will come knocking at my door.”
The future is knocking at our door right now. Make no mistake, the next generation will ask us one of two questions. Either they will ask: “What were you thinking; why didn’t you act?”
Or they will ask instead: “How did you find the moral courage to rise and successfully resolve a crisis that so many said was impossible to solve?”
We have everything we need to get started, save perhaps political will, but political will is a renewable resource.
So let us renew it, and say together: “We have a purpose. We are many. For this purpose we will rise, and we will act.”
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