Occupy movement calls for climate justice in Durban-COP17

I stand with the indigenous peoples in Durban and those Occupying Durban speaking out for Climate Justice Now!

We need caps on greenhouse gases that do not strip indigenous and poor people of their cultures, traditions and livelihoods and give them local control of their forests and their water. No REDD mechanism will accomplish what needs to be done now. It needs to be taxed at the source to spur transition, sustainability and responsibility. We need caps that are offset by sustainable agricultural practices, reforestation, agroecology, CO2 sequestration in soil that can remove up to 40% of emissions from our atmosphere and to preserve biodiversity plus a massive move to renewable energy sources.

There are currently more developing nations doing this than rich ones. Where the hell is their moral center? Do they have one? Obviously not. We need to hold polluters accountable through a revenue neutral carbon tax and or the financial markets to a financial transaction tax (and yes again I know try passing that here in the U.S.) that makes up for them using our commons as a sewer and use those funds to bring about the energy transition necessary to stave off catastrophe.

We need all countries to participate in this, even if those binding caps are tied to their GDP instead of the same across the board or even if developing nations that do not only participate in sequestration and reforestation. Those countries that are not polluting but experiencing the effects more pronounced should not have to pay the same as the large polluters! However, those countries like the U.S. and now China which has surpassed the U.S. emissions wise (and yes I know that in part is due to them manufacturing the crap we buy here in the U.S.) should stop acting like children and playing politics and be responsible for what they have and continue to put up in the atmosphere. Personally, I think the retiscense doesn't just stem from politics or ideology, but from the fact that so many cannot admit their own culpability in this. Well, the Arctic isn't going to wait for you any longer and people are dying now.

Any failure here is a failure of and for humanity. Water is an integral part of this because of the effects of climate change regarding floods, droughts, crop failures, sea level rise, glacier melt. Africa is the hardest hit continent to date, with all other continents feeling the effects of this as well, particularly Australia. The IEA tells us that we only have about five years to get our act together to avoid dangerous irreversible climate change and every scientic organization in the world has verified the science and the corrolation between these evnts and human forcings on our planet. I have posted about some of these events, but they don't begin to scratch the surface of the extreme weather and climate events we have seen this year, last year and in climate models for the last fifty years.

I personally believe we have reached tipping points regarding Arctic ice melt and will see an enhancement of the positive feedback loop which makes it even more imperative to take action to decrease greenhouse gases at the source. So please, do all you can as an individual to walk light on this planet and respect our water. Demand renewable energy and an end to the destructive practices that are exacerbating this crisis. If we do not stand together as humanity, we will fall. This will not be easy, but this is our planet and it is worth fighting for!