BBC News - Fossil fuels should be 'phased out by 2100' says IPCC

(Cartoon credit to http://conservationvalue.blogspot.sg/2007/10/2007-as-tipping-point-for-climate.html)

"Some of those attending [UN Framework Convention on Climate Change] said they believed that that tackling climate change and sustainable development[*] went hand in hand."

Note[*] it all depends on the meaning of 'sustainable development' or more precisely 'development' it self. If development means [economic growth] then read no further.

Rob Dietz parting letter: Steady-Stater/CASSE

Dear Readers,
I was thinking since you are interested in reading my blog and perhaps like me, deeply interested in a Steady-State economy, I am forwarding you this letter from Rob Dietz of CASSE. Please read them and see if you have friends,colleagues or even yourself to take on the opportunity.

For the Planet,

tanikota

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Steady Stater and CASSE Changes
1 message

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CASSE	Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 12:32 PM
Reply-To: CASSE
Dear [Steady-Stater] I am stepping down as the executive director of CASSE in a few weeks, so this is my last time distributing the Steady Stater to you. I hope you've come to see this newsletter as a salve for the wounds we endure as we witness environmental catastrophes that grow in lockstep with GDP.  This edition certainly offers some relief for such wounds. You'll learn about what we've been doing to promote a hopeful vision of an economy that fits on this finite planet. Please click here to download your copy of the Steady Stater. I will continue to work on CASSE projects, but before telling you about that and why I decided to resign, I need to say thank you. First to you.  Without concerned citizens to help us spread our message, to support us financially, to pay attention to our efforts, and to keep us honest, there would be no CASSE.  Second I want to thank Herman Daly and the other pioneers who have worked so hard developing the concept of the steady state economy, even in the face of a hostile mainstream establishment.  I would be wallowing in despair if I didn't view the steady state as a sort of life-line that can pull us out of the environmental mess we've made for ourselves.  Third I want to thank my family and friends. They've put up with my complaints over these past four years (and they're a big part of the reason I took this job in the first place!). Finally I want to say thank you to Brian Czech.  Because of his unwavering dedication to the truth and his persistence in telling that truth, thousands of people have been introduced to a better economic framework. And I'm both proud and lucky to be one of them. Regarding my resignation, I'm actually excited about it for two reasons: (1) Partly from my experience with the Daly News, I've become more and more excited about dedicating substantial time and energy to writing. First on my writing to-do list is to turn our report, Enough Is Enough, into a book.  Dan O'Neill, our European Director, and I signed a contract to publish it in an updated narrative format.  I'll be focusing on that project for a while, but I also plan to keep editing and writing for the   Daly News. (2) I'm pleased with the job I've done during CASSE's start-up phase, but I believe a new executive director can take CASSE to the next level. We need someone with passion and knowledge, someone with a talent for organizing, someone who can effectively convince the world of what needs to be done -- in short, a difference-maker. Please contact Brian Czech if you know someone like that, perhaps including yourself. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve in this role. I've learned so much, especially from my conversations and correspondence with all the steady staters out there. I'll close with one more story, but please don't forget to grab your copy of the Steady Stater. Once upon a time (well, actually it was January of 2010), Brian and I were attending the New Green Economy Conference in Washington, DC. It was a key moment for CASSE -- we had played a big role in planning the conference, helping to set the agenda, invite speakers, and propose workshops.  My best idea during the planning phase had been to invite a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers to be a panelist during a session.  I thought it would be worthwhile for someone with the President's ear to hear some steady-state concepts.  The other conference planners agreed, and we were able to confirm Cecilia Rouse as a speaker. Her session was the final one of the conference. Twenty minutes before that final session, I sat on the edge of a planter outside the conference hall. I was exhausted (that's no surprise for an introvert at the end of a hectic 3-day conference).  I pulled my notebook out of my backpack and started scribbling some thoughts on what I might ask Ms. Rouse if given an opportunity.  A few minutes later, Brian approached and sat down next to me. After asking how his presentation went, I said, "I've outlined some ideas for Cecilia Rouse, but I doubt I'll have the energy to ask her anything. You wanna do it?"  But I knew he had already expended his political capital for the conference.  He looked away and then looked back at me and said, "We really need you.  It's your time."  I took a deep breath, stowed my notebook back in my backpack, stood up, and as we began to walk toward the conference hall, I replied, "Ok, I'll do it." We found good seats near the front and listened to the panelists discuss their topic, "Progress of the Obama Administration in Moving Toward a Green Economy."  Ms. Rouse used the term "green growth" several times during her remarks.  When the session was finished, there was a brief opportunity to ask questions.  I quickly moved to the microphone where I was second in line. With a pounding heart, I waited for my turn to speak. When the moderator motioned to me, I tried to keep my voice steady, as I said, "This is a question for Cecilia Rouse. You spoke about green growth, but just last night, Herman Daly accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award on this very stage for his work on the steady state economy -- that is, an economy that aims for stability instead of growth.  But the idea of a steady state economy is rarely considered among policy makers.    Would the Council of Economic Advisers be willing to facilitate a  public dialogue about the limits to growth and the steady state as  an alternative?" Her response revealed that she didn’t understand the question -- she used phrases like “sustainable growth, steady state growth, and balanced growth.” To her credit, she asked me for clarification. I explained that a steady state economy features stable population and stable consumption of energy and materials at sustainable levels. She still seemed confused, so she suggested that we arrange a meeting at a future date. Brian and I got that meeting the following week, just after President Obama's State of the Union address (there's a photo in this edition of the Steady Stater of the two of us on the steps of the Old Executive Office Building across from the White House). We made a mini-presentation to an economist with a direct pipeline to the President. I learned two valuable lessons from that experience: (1) sometimes it's necessary to step outside your comfort zone to realize an opportunity, and (2) a little encouragement can go a long way. I hope you will step outside your comfort zone from time to time to initiate difficult discussions about the limits to growth and the steady state economy.  I'd also like to provide some understated encouragement (just like Brian did for me):  We really need you.  It's your time. Thanks, Rob Dietz Executive Director Click to view this email in a browser If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe CASSE 5101 S, 11th St. Arlington, Virginia 22204 US Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

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Prince Charles: delay on rainforests will have catastrophic consequences

Prince Charles: delay on rainforests will have catastrophic consequences
Prince appeals to decision-makers to act fast and put monetary value on forests at gathering of Nobel laureates

John Vidal, environment editor
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 May 2009 17.20 BST

Catastrophic climate change cannot be avoided unless the world's tropical forests are saved, Prince Charles told 20 Nobel prizewinners, including US energy secretary Steven Chu today.

In a passionate speech to the physics, chemistry, peace and literature laureates, Charles appealed to decision-makers to put a monetary value on forests and to act fast.

"The longer we all argue about minutiae and statistics, the more rainforest disappears. Solving climate change is the precondition to ensuring security and without adequately addressing tropical deforestation we cannot have an answer to climate change. It is that simple; saving the rainforests is not an option, it is an absolute necessity," he said.

He was backed by the economist Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the most authoritative study on the economics of climate change, who called for countries to be paid to protect forests. "There must be strong rewards for protecting the forests. We must produce incentives so protecting trees has returns".

Proposals to pay the owners of the world's forests not to cut them down are a key part of the global climate change negotiations that will climax in Copenhagen in December. But some environmental groups warn of the risks of giving rich nations a cheaper alternative to cutting their own greenhouse gas emissions and to the human rights of the tens of millions of people who who live in forests or depend on them.

Both were speaking at a climate change symposium hosted by Prince Charles and attended by the Nobel laureates and 40 other senior scientists.

The Prince warned that time was short. "We already have some of the answers to hand. We know about energy efficiency, renewable energy, and how to reduce deforestation, but we seem reluctant to apply them," he said.
"I fear that this hesitation will have catastrophic consequences."

He warned that politicians had fewer than 100 months in which to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions begin to fall from their peak: "Otherwise it may be too late to stop temperatures rising beyond dangerous levels. Those levels would render large parts of the world uninhabitable and eventually lead to billions of environmental refugees as sea levels rise and there is massive disruption to global food and freshwater supplies."

"Global decision-makers have to be persuaded that strong, committed and coordinated action is needed now, not in ten years time, or even in five, but now – otherwise there will be little left on which to base our economies," he said.

The prince noted that nearly 20% of the world's CO2 emissions come from deforestation, mostly in the tropics. In addition to storing vast amounts of carbon, they also absorb about 15% of the emissions coming from fossil fuels. Furthermore, he said, the forests produce much of the world's rainfall.

Stern said the two defining challenges of the century would be to "overcome climate change and to end world poverty". He said: "The reality is that eight out of the nine billion people who will be alive in 2050 will be in developing countries. If we fail on climate change we will create an environment that is so hostile it will leave us with protracted conflict."

Stern said economies had to reflect ecological reality. "High carbon growth kills itself. It's a contradiction. Low carbon growth is more energy secure, is cleaner, safer and quieter."

Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel peace prize winner who has spearhearded a UN initiative to plant more than 7bn trees, said that forests were essential for all life. "Maybe it will take 100-150 years to return the forests to what they were. We have not valued the forest. When the forest disappears, the crops fail and the rivers dry up. The hunger comes. Politicians are putting immediate needs ahead of the long term. We must touch them in the heart and not just the head."

Klaus Bosselmann

Klaus Bosselmann: Putting steel into the fight to save Earth
4:00AM Tuesday Nov 18, 2008
Klaus Bosselmann

Humans have overstepped the threshold of sustainability. In the mid-1980s, the capacity of the planet to sustain its human population had reached 100 per cent. The current population now has an ecological footprint equal to 1.25 planets.

If those people who live in the so-called Third World catch up with the lifestyle in the US or New Zealand, we need 4.5 planets.

We are facing one simple loss - our own disappearance from the planet, which itself will continue to live. We need to drastically reduce our ecological footprint.

Individual actions are of limited use. Making the changes requires regulatory and policy changes that strongly enforce footprint-reducing actions. In short, we need mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon.

Environmental law differs from the rest of law with its peculiar space and time dimensions. How to regulate human behaviour in the Here and Now to avoid disaster in the There and Then?

The problem is to reconcile two extreme positions. On the one hand, people living today have a right to pursue their prosperity and well-being, but in doing so they collectively threaten the environment.


On the other hand, the environment demands responsibilities from us now so it can be preserved for the future. To date, rights have trumped responsibilities.

This tragedy is caused by short-sighted economic rationality which has shaped both the capitalist and socialist worlds.

Media attention on issues like climate change and food prices has increased. But the links between ecology and economy are still made only in terms of costs.

Typically, the environment is presented as an economic cost factor, not as a challenge to the economy itself. Financial markets seem to operate in complete independence from the state of the environment.

Governments compartmentalise the environment. There is a Ministry for the Environment but Treasury determines public policy. There are environmental policies but politicians are eager to point out they won't harm the economy. There are environmental laws, but isolated from commercial laws.

Partially protecting the environment in competition with economic objectives is ecological nonsense. Imagine a child protection law that says: "Do not beat your child too often and too much." Environmental law does just that: "Do not pollute the environment too often and too much."

The flawed thinking behind such environmentalism is the assumption that the environmental crisis can be solved within the current economic, political and legal system without challenging underlying values.

By and large, administrators and judges have applied the Resource Management Act in a manner that limits or mitigates ecological damage but doesn't prevent it.

The overall effect has been to mitigate the damage inflicted by industrial economies and western lifestyles. Their unsustainable nature has not been touched at all.

A number of battles have been won but the war is being lost. The global commons - climate, biodiversity, oceans - are in rapid decline, the ecological footprint is now much larger and, most alarmingly, the individual, per capita footprint keeps growing.

We get punished for harming property, but not for harming the environment. Specific laws may prohibit specific actions, such as felling a pohutukawa tree.

But legally, we are entitled to large-scale destruction of the global environment.

Do we need a defined principle of sustainability? Yes. Can such a rule be defined and written into law? Again yes.

Would it be socially acceptable? Probably not. Would it be politically viable? Clearly not, or shall we say, not yet.

The dynamics of the environmental crisis may well cause governments to take draconian measures. Just picture the challenges that countries like Australia or New Zealand are going to face with environmental refugees, water allocation or food supply. The question is how democracy and human rights might be protected when the battles over resources turn nasty.

Mutual coercion is the only way to prevent ecological and social disaster.

It is possible to fashion a rule that draws a line in the sand and sets a bottom-line limitation. This rule would apply throughout the system of law and governance and would not be confined to a single legislative act.

Ecological sustainability is paramount.

The transition to sustainability is a tough call. Yet, it is important not to be afraid.

If Martin Luther King had started his speech with "I have a nightmare" we would probably not remember it. A positive dream for civil rights and a sustainable future is a lot more inspirational. This means turning the financial crisis into an opportunity. The failure of free market ideology calls for a new deal between the state and the economy: a regulatory framework for a 'socio-ecological market system' was never more needed than now.

* Professor Klaus Bosselmann is on the University of Auckland law faculty and director of the NZ Centre for Environmental Law.


Copyright ©2008, APN Holdings NZ Limited

Lulusan SD kwalitas Doktor

Wayan Mertha, Memadukan Bisnis dan Penghijauan

Senin, 17 November 2008 | 03:00 WIB
Oleh Reny Sri Ayu Taslim

Awalnya, I Wayan Mertha tidak berpikir muluk-muluk saat menanam berbagai jenis bibit pohon di antara tanaman kakaonya di Desa Balinggi, Kecamatan Sausu, Kabupaten Parigi Moutong, sekitar 120 kilometer arah timur Palu, pada tahun 2000.

Tanaman kakao harus dilindungi dengan tanaman lebih besar dan rimbun demi mendapatkan buah-buah yang bagus,” cerita Wayan Mertha mengenai pemikiran sederhananya waktu itu.

Selain itu, ia juga berharap, tanaman pelindung tersebut suatu saat bisa dipanen dan menghasilkan uang. Di sisi lain, untuk lingkungan sekitarnya, tanaman pelindung juga dapat berfungsi menguatkan tanah dan menyerap air.

Maka, Wayan Mertha pun menanam berbagai jenis tanaman berakar kuat, berdaun rimbun, dan berbatang besar di antara tanaman kakao. Bibitnya dia pungut di hutan sekitar kebunnya. Pembibitan dia lakukan sendiri hingga menjadi anakan pohon siap tanam.

”Saat itu, banyak yang mencemooh dan menertawakan apa yang saya lakukan. Kata mereka, ngapain tanam pohon, enggak ada untungnya, enggak bisa jadi uang. Lagi pula, orang-orang pada menebang pohon, saya malah menanam pohon,” tutur Wayan Mertha.

Dicemooh, dia bergeming. Dengan tekun, ia terus menanam bibit pohon, seperti meranti, palupi, nantu, dan durian. Khusus pohon durian, Wayan tidak menanam untuk mengambil buahnya, tetapi lebih memanfaatkan batang kayunya.

Suami Ni Wayan Aryani ini tak peduli bahwa penanaman pohon itu mengakibatkan tanaman kakao miliknya jadi tak sebanyak di kebun orang lain yang memenuhi kebunnya hanya dengan tanaman kakao. Namun, kebun sekaligus hutan kecil Wayan Mertha itu terus bertambah sedikit demi sedikit karena ia membeli lahan terbengkalai di sekitar kebunnya. Luas kebunnya pun mencapai 17 hektar.

Ketekunan Wayan kemudian mulai membuka mata warga sekitarnya, terutama para pemilik kebun. Sebab, pohon kakao di kebun Wayan ternyata tumbuh lebih subur dan berbuah lebih bagus dibandingkan kakao di kebun milik petani lainnya. Selain itu, tanah di kebunnya juga menjadi lebih subur. Sumber airnya pun tak pernah kering pada musim kemarau sekalipun.

”Warga lain lalu mulai ikut menanam pohon di antara tanaman kakaonya, atau menebang tanaman kakao yang sudah tua dan menggantinya dengan tanaman pohon. Bibitnya mereka ambil gratis dari saya. Memang, hampir sepanjang waktu saya terus melakukan pembibitan dan memberikan kepada siapa saja yang mau,” katanya.

Industri kayu

Mata warga sekitar betul-betul terbuka, bahkan tidak sedikit yang terenyak ketika, Agustus lalu, Wayan Mertha memanen tanaman pohon yang sudah berumur dari lahan sekitar satu hektar. Kayu dari hutan miliknya itu dijual dengan harga ”lumayan”. Bahkan, ia bisa membuat industri kayu kecil-kecilan untuk mengolah kayu dari hutannya tersebut.

”Tetapi, saya tidak memanen pohon dengan begitu saja. Jauh sebelum saya panen, saya sudah menanam anakan pohon di sejumlah luas areal, atau batang yang saya panen. Jadi, lahannya tidak akan kosong. Lagi pula, pola penanamannya saya atur juga agar panen tidak serentak, melainkan bergiliran sesuai usia pohon dan besarnya anakan yang ditanam,” ceritanya.

Wayan Mertha sejauh ini sudah terbilang berhasil memadukan bisnis dan penghijauan, dengan mengawinkan kebun dan hutan. Dari sisi penghijauan, lahan kosong yang semula telantar kini sudah penuh tanaman dan menjelma menjadi hutan.

Dari sisi bisnis, kayu yang ditanamnya pun menghasilkan uang. Bahkan seperti virus, apa yang dilakukan Wayan mulai menjalar kepada para pemilik kebun lainnya. Di sekitar kebunnya saja sudah ada 50-an petani yang mengikuti jejaknya.

Mukramin, Kepala Dinas Kehutanan Parigi Moutong, bahkan mengakui, konsep bisnis dan penghijauan yang dilakukan Wayan Mertha dijadikan percontohan oleh dinas kehutanan untuk disosialisasikan kepada para pemilik kebun yang lain.

”Masyarakat sudah mulai mengikuti apa yang dilakukan Wayan. Dampaknya, selain menjaga kesuburan tanah dan terpeliharanya sumber air, warga juga sedikit demi sedikit mulai sadar agar tidak menebang hutan sembarangan. Mereka sadar pada pentingnya fungsi tanaman pelindung, sekaligus melihat tanaman pelindung sebagai investasi jangka panjang,” tutur Mukramin.

Manja dan seenak hati

Wayan Mertha adalah lelaki sederhana yang hanya tamat sekolah dasar. Sebagai anak tunggal diakuinya membuat dia menjadi manja dan berlaku seenak hati, termasuk tidak melanjutkan pendidikan ke tingkat yang lebih tinggi.

Masa muda lebih banyak dia habiskan dengan bepergian dari satu tempat ke tempat lain. Keinginannya merantau keluar dari Bali, kendati pada awalnya ditentang orangtuanya, membawa Wayan ke Parigi Moutong pada tahun 1976. Saat itu ia sekadar mengikuti beberapa temannya yang sudah terlebih dahulu pergi ke Parigi.

Tanpa bekal keterampilan dan pendidikan memadai, Wayan Mertha bertahan hidup dengan menjadi kenek. Hidup jauh dari orangtua dan sanak keluarga membuat dia sadar harus menata sendiri kehidupannya, dan tidak bergantung kepada orang lain. Terlebih saat ia memutuskan menikahi Ni Wayan Aryani pada 1982.

Pendapatan jadi kenek dan buruh kasar sebagian dia tabung, dan digunakan untuk membeli sebidang sawah. Penghasilan dari sawah itu dia kumpulkan pula guna membuka usaha warung kecil-kecilan.

Seiring berjalannya waktu, Wayan Mertha lalu membeli lahan kebun untuk bertanam kakao. Lahan yang semula cuma sepetak terus bertambah. Dia kemudian mulai menanam pohon pada tahun 2000.

Pengetahuannya mengenai penanaman pohon, antara lain, diperoleh saat masih tinggal di Bali. Wayan bercerita, tempat tinggalnya di Bali berada di tepi hutan sehingga dia mengenal jenis-jenis pohon, termasuk bagaimana pemeliharaannya.

Belakangan, Wayan Mertha juga melakukan berbagai eksperimen menanam pohon dengan menggunakan batang pohon, bukan bibit.

Kalau semula menanam pohon sekadar melindungi tanaman kakaonya, kini Wayan Mertha terobsesi menghijaukan lahan gersang. Setidaknya hal ini sudah dia mulai dengan membeli 17 hektar lahan kosong di Kayumalue, Palu. Lahan ini akan dia tanami berbagai jenis pohon. Penanaman dilakukan pada November ini, bersamaan dengan datangnya musim hujan.

”Menanam pohon itu mudah, yang penting bibitnya bagus, anakan yang ditanam sudah cukup umur, dan waktu penanamannya tepat. Kalau akarnya sudah cukup kuat, dibiarkan saja juga tidak jadi soal karena pohon akan tumbuh alami. Setelah itu kita tinggal menikmati hasilnya, baik dampaknya pada lingkungan, maupun sebagai tambahan penghasilan,” tutur Wayan Mertha bersemangat.