Climate Rides--You can join!

My friend David Kroodsma, who biked from Cali to Argentina, plus across the U.S., both trips for the climate, is organizing rides all across the US that you can join, all in support of clean energy solutions aimed at reducing our impact on the climate! Here is the link: Climate Ride

Union of Concerned Scientists 10 Things You Can Do to reduce your contribution to Global Warming

What You Can Do
Ten Personal Solutions
Individual choices can have an impact on global climate change. Reducing your family's heat-trapping emissions does not mean forgoing modern conveniences; it means making smart choices and using energy-efficient products, which may require an additional investment up front, but often pay you back in energy savings within a couple of years.

Since Americans' per capita emissions of heat-trapping gases is 5.6 tons—more than double the amount of western Europeans—we can all make choices that will greatly reduce our families' global warming impact.

1. The car you drive: the most important personal climate decision.
When you buy your next car, look for the one with the best fuel economy in its class. Each gallon of gas you use is responsible for 25 pounds of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. Better gas mileage not only reduces global warming, but will also save you thousands of dollars at the pump over the life of the vehicle. Compare the fuel economy of the cars you're considering and look for new technologies like hybrid engines.

2. Choose clean power.Products that bear the Greene logo meet rigorous quality standards
More than half the electricity in the United States comes from polluting coal-fired power plants. And power plants are the single largest source of heat-trapping gas. None of us can live without electricity, but in some states, you can switch to electricity companies that provide 50 to 100 percent renewable energy. (For more information go to Green-e.org.)

3. Look for Energy Star.
energy star logo

When it comes time to replace appliances, look for the Energy Star label on new appliances (refrigerators, freezers, furnaces, air conditioners, and water heaters use the most energy). These items may cost a bit more initially, but the energy savings will pay back the extra investment within a couple of years. Household energy savings really can make a difference: If each household in the United States replaced its existing appliances with the most efficient models available, we would save $15 billion in energy costs and eliminate 175 million tons of heat-trapping gases.

4. Unplug a freezer.
One of the quickest ways to reduce your global warming impact is to unplug the extra refrigerator or freezer you rarely use (except when you need it for holidays and parties). This can reduce the typical family's carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 10 percent.

5. Get a home energy audit.
Take advantage of the free home energy audits offered by many utilities. Simple measures, such as installing a programmable thermostat to replace your old dial unit or sealing and insulating heating and cooling ducts, can each reduce a typical family's carbon dioxide emissions by about 5 percent.

6. Light bulbs matter.
John Foley helps her daughter install an energyefficient light bulbIf every household in the United States replaced one regular light bulb with an energy-saving model, we could reduce global warming pollution by more than 90 billion pounds over the life of the bulbs; the same as taking 6.3 million cars off the road. So, replace your incandescent bulbs with more efficient compact fluorescents, which now come in all shapes and sizes. You'll be doing your share to cut back on heat-trapping pollution and you'll save money on your electric bills and light bulbs.

7. Think before you drive.
If you own more than one vehicle, use the less fuel-efficient one only when you can fill it with passengers. Driving a full minivan may be kinder to the environment than two midsize cars. Whenever possible, join a carpool or take mass transit.

8. Buy good wood.
When buying wood products, check for labels that indicate the source of the timber. Supporting forests that are managed in a sustainable fashion makes sense for biodiversity, and it may make sense for the climate too. Forests that are well managed are more likely to store carbon effectively because more trees are left standing and carbon-storing soils are less disturbed.

9. Plant a tree.
You can also make a difference in your own backyard. Get a group in your neighborhood together and contact your local arborist or urban forester about planting trees on private property and public land. In addition to storing carbon, trees planted in and around urban areas and residences can provide much-needed shade in the summer, reducing energy bills and fossil fuel use.

10. Let policymakers know you are concerned about global warming.
Our elected officials and business leaders need to hear from concerned citizens. Sign up for the Union of Concerned Scientists Action Network to ensure that policymakers get the timely, accurate information they need to make informed decisions about global warming solutions.

I got quoted and photoed in Article

Yesterday, I attended the Open the Floodgates rally in Annapolis to support the Maryland Senate's passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act for Maryland, which would spur the economy by investing in clean, green energy and efficient buildings as we cut our climate-altering emissions at the same time. Article here: Green Energy

POWER SHIFT 2007!

Power Shift 2007 from ada on Vimeo.

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE!

Tomorrow morning, Saturday, December 8, I am going to jump in the Chesapeake Bay at Annapolis--the annual Polar Bear Plunge to raise funds for the local Chesapeake Climate Action Network. CCAN works for climate protection policy in Maryland, DC and Virginia. They are based in Takoma Park, Maryland, about four miles from where I live in Mount Rainier, Maryland.

About two hundred other activists will plunge into the Bay with me, and another two hundred supporters will hold towels and hot chocolate bayside to hand to plungers when they come out. Elected officials and media will be present tomorrow.

If you would like to contribute to my plunge, visit the plunge page. My name is PJ Park and my email is pauljosephpark at gmail dot com. Thank you for your support of an excellent non-profit making a real difference in climate policy in our region and nation through grassroots organization.

Vision

Massive development of solar and wind power. Solar water heaters on everybody's roof. Massive development and deployment of geothermal heating and cooling systems, starting in large buildings. A trend toward super-well-insulated homes and buildings, using cost-effective, widely available material. A trend toward smaller living quarters to reduce the amount of space to be heated and cooled. A trend toward local living, local economies. Living close to where you work, community activities, neighbors are your friends and co-workers. The trendiness of walking, cycling and other human-powered activities. Development of cellulosic ethanol--made from switchgrass and agricultural waste. Prevalence of local, organic farming. A trend toward eating lower on the food chain. Biodiesel made from used vegetable oil. Cars that get 100 mpg. In essence, Energy Efficiency, Energy Conservation, and Renewable Energy.

Energy Efficiency: CFL's, Efficient Refridgerators, Efficient Vehicles, Efficient Washers and Driers, Geothermal Pumps, tankless water heaters, solar water heaters

Energy Conservation: Walking, cycling as transportation, turning off lights and appliances, turning down the thermostat, programmable thermostat, programmable lights, sensors for HVAC systems,

Renewable energy: Wind, Solar, Biodiesel made from waste oil or efficient crops/algae, Ethanol made from cellulose materials/switchgrass, geothermal, sustainable hydropower, Solar water heaters, solar air heaters, local organic crops as human power,

Human Powered Car!

PowerShift was Awesome!

PowerShift this past weekend was the beginning of the Clean Energy Revolution! 6,000 youth from across the country converged on College Park and Washington, DC to get inspired, share ideas, and lobby Senators and Representatives on launching our nation's move towards clean, renewable energy and green jobs. It was amazing and inspiring; the energy was very positive, the event was well-run, and our meetings with our Senators and Representatives went off very well. After our rally on the West Lawn of the Capitol, hundreds of youths danced to the music, celebrating the coming together of a hopeful movement, one that will bring prosperity to our economy, our society, and our security. The movement has truly kicked off, and we are committed to seeing our positive vision become reality.

Logical argument for action

The Green Finger

This is my video for the Step it Up's The Green Finger project. Check it out!

New Climate Bill: America's Climate Security Act (ACSA)

Environmental Defense supports this newly formulated bill, and is working to protect and strengthen it as it makes it to the Senate floor and moves through to passage. It has bi-partisan support; we are at the threshold of a great climate bill finally taking effect! Read more about it here.

Launching Climate Save!

In part to raise funds for continuing the trip, I have launched a new business of selling PowerCost Monitors that allow you to monitor your home's or business's electricity consumption in real time. For example, before you leave the house, you can see how much your house is still consuming even when you are not going to be there! and then you can go around turning off unnecessary appliances reducing your impact on the climate--saving it and some change:) To buy a powercost monitor from me, please email me (pauljosephpark at gmail dot com).

Mountain Bike (Trials Bike) Trickster - Danny Macaskill

This is unbelievable!

Operation: Climate Vote

This is the Congressional session when we are going to get a vote on serious action to deal with climate change. If you would like to give Congress the nudge it needs to get this ball rolling, you can participate in Environmental Defense's Operation: Climate Vote--sending a letter and perhaps making a phone call to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Send a letter.

If global warming and climate change are as dire a situation as the scientists make them out to be, why aren't we ACTING like it?!!!

Okay, lets be hopeful, wind power, solar power, conservation, energy efficiency, energy efficient appliances, lights, cars, using less, (having fewer babies?), sustainably-harvested bio-fuels, people changing their lifestyles (living closer to work, living in smaller quarters, putting up insulation, getting efficient refridgerators, etc.)--all this is going to add up to fewer emissions, and enough fewer emissions that we will avoid disastrous, catastrophic climate change.

Okay, or we need to do EVERYTHING(?) we can--personal, culturally, socially, politically--on all levels--household, workplace, community, municipal, county, state, regional, federal, international, private and public, with our actions and our dollars, to promote energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy--then we will solve this crisis.

Maybe we need mass demonstrations in the streets, which we have had and they are getting bigger. Maybe we need a carbon tax, and then the revenue raised can be used for energy conservation, efficiency and renewables initiatives. Maybe we need cap-and-trade, auctioning off the allowances and use those funds for conservation, efficiency and renewables measures. We gotta do something big, and we have to do it now--we only have one chance. And we need everybody.

Global Warming and Climate Change news coming through my channel: Let's get Political!

Hi all,

In my world, based on the news I read in the Post, on other online news sources, through my contacts, environmental organizations, etc: the world and the US need to act together in concert ASAP; we are in a race against time, against Global Warming. We are behind, and we need to catch up as fast as possible.
In my view, individuals can only do so much. One individual by changing their lifestyle cannot change the world and stop climate change. Coal-fired power plants are not the acts of individuals. Mass agriculture is not the act of individuals. The market must be spoken to; we need to give the market the input that carbon generation is not desirable, and carbon reduction IS desirable. The problem is so systematic, and we need change so fast, only government intervention can dictate to the market what we need to have changed. Thus, we need to be spending the energy that we would be using on trying to change our own lives on telling our representatives how much we need them to support the carbon-reduction strategies we need now.
Step It Up 2007 steps it up again on November 3rd when we are going to have rallies all over the country at locations where movers and shakers in our nation's history are commemorated, and we are inviting politicians of all levels, and asking them to be leaders on this issue. We need large marches demanding change on this singularly important issue. One sky, one chance. CARPE DIEM

Cycle Copenhagen -

washingtonpost.com/climate

The Washington Post has a great section on the climate, including coverage of the Senate proposals, economics of the problem, effects of climate change, and interactive graphics. www.washingtonpost.com/climate

Carpoolworld.com!

Hi All,

We (my family: parents and brothers) are working on a way to get my brother Timmy from home to Anne Arundel Community College and back three days a week. The school is near Anapolis, 25 miles away in Arnold, MD. We have come across a great site that everyone ought to know about and use more often: It is called Car Pool World! Someone contacted me with this site while I was on my bicycle trip. You can post your trip, starting and ending points, departure times, and then you can request drivers or passengers! You can specify how much leeway you wish to allow--how far out of the way you are willing to catch a ride or pick up a passenger. This tool can be of great value in helping us consolidate our traffic, reducing congestion and fuel consumption. Please try it out
! The more people we have using it, easier it will be to find a ride for Timmy (and anyone else looking for one)!

cool site

Project House

A carbon tax would be good; cap and trade much better

We could tax each ton of carbon emissions, and that would create incentive to reduce emissions, would encourage conservation and efficiency. But a couple of characteristics of the challenge make a cap-and-trade system a much better policy choice. One is that each unit of carbon emissions has an equal impact no matter where or how it is created. The other is that each emission reduction is not created equally with regard to how much it costs. Wait, though, I just found out that Chris Dodd's energy plan incorporates both. He supports the Sanders-Boxer cap and trade system, with some of the credits auctioned off, plus a Corporate Carbon Tax. Proceeds from the auction and tax would go to a Corporate Carbon Tax Trust fund that will be used to fast-track renewables and energy-efficient products. Please see his plan here. By the way, this isn't yet an endorsement of Chris Dodd; rather, it is part of my research.

My quote of the day

People keep using gasoline and coal-fired electricity like it does not matter because they are not being held accountable. Normally, polluter pays. Not one cent of the price of gasoline or electricity goes to pay for the damage the CO2 emissions cause.

If you haven't signed this petition yet, please do.

The four principles of effective global warming legislation.

The Legislation in Congress

(Taken from Environmental Defense's webpage)
Among the bills that could jumpstart the needed emissions cuts are:
In the Senate:

* Lieberman-McCain Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act (CSIA) - S.280
* Sanders-Boxer Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act – S.309

In the House of Representatives:

* Olver-Gilchrest Climate Stewardship Act - H.R.620
* The Waxman Safe Climate Act - H.R.1590

Please sign petition here.

Big Legal Victory: On the way to Cleaner Cars!

Environmental Defense helped lead the way to a legal victory declaring that auto companies are liable to be required to produce cars that emit less greenhouse gas. See the article here.