Monday, March 31, 2014

BREAKING NEWS: UN Report Punctuates Climate Urgency

Last night, halfway around the world in Yokohama, Japan, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new report on the grave threats climate change poses to humans and the natural world.
please enable images!
Donate Now →
EDF Member—

Last night, halfway around the world in Yokohama, Japan, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—the preeminent international climate scientific body—released a new report on the grave threats climate change poses to humans and the natural world.

The stark warning: There isn’t a place on earth that isn’t already feeling the effects of climate change. Even if we slash emissions immediately, societies around the globe will have to take major steps to adapt to warming we’re already seeing. And it will get worse.

The findings underscore the point EDF President Fred Krupp has made: we must focus our work on managing the unavoidable and avoiding the unmanageable.

Over the next few days, we’ll have more to say about this report and what it means in our fight to avoid climate catastrophe.

For now, your donation today to our 2014 Annual Fund is the most important step you can take to support our all-out effort to fight for climate action here in the U.S. and around the world.

This is a race against time. The science underscores the urgency. But, with your support, we are seizing every possible opportunity to make progress. We’re fighting for the first national carbon pollution limits on America’s power plants, engaging cities to pilot cleaner energy solutions, working with China to slash their climate emissions, and reducing deforestation in the Amazon.

These are some of the critical steps we are taking...and we’re making a huge difference. But, we need your support today to keep making progress on these and other important clean energy and climate initiatives.

This is a serious moment and, as today’s IPCC report underscores, time is running out. What we do together in the coming days, weeks and months could make a huge difference in this fight. I hope we can count on your Annual Fund support today to help us respond the growing climate threat.

Sam ParryThanks for everything you help make possible,
Sam’s signature
Sam Parry
Director, Membership

Friday, March 28, 2014

SLIDESHOW: Don't lose hope for climate action

This email should display for most devices. If it is not displaying beautifully, view the web version.
But we've got a lot of work to do.
please enable images!
View the Slideshow →

Some days, the burden of knowing how grave a threat the climate crisis is can seem overwhelming.

You feel the weight of it. Day in and day out, it's easy to get discouraged... to feel that there is no way we can make any difference against the likes of the Koch Brothers, the fossil fuel lobby, and the climate deniers in Congress.

But here's the key point: There's still hope. We are making meaningful progress, and our slideshow proves it.

Don't misunderstand me. The climate crisis is the gravest environmental threat humanity has ever faced. Solving it will not be easy.

Just last week, the American Association for the Advancement of Science—the world's largest general scientific society—released a report on global warming entitled, "What We Know." The 18-pager paints a grim picture.

A quick summary? The climate crisis has arrived—and it's putting our communities at risk. A direct quote?

The evidence is overwhelming: Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are rising. Temperatures are going up. Springs are arriving earlier. Ice sheets are melting. Sea level is rising. The patterns of rainfall and drought are changing. Heat waves are getting worse, as is extreme precipitation. The oceans are acidifying.

I know—it's ominous.

But, in spite of these dire warnings, this fight is far from over. We have a lot of work to do. We'll need an army to get it all done—and that's why we're lucky we have you.

Find out how far we've come, and what we've got ahead of us.

Heather ShelbyThank you for all you do,
HeatherShelbySig
Heather Shelby
Action Network Coordinator

        Share this message on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Email this message to friends. If a friend sent this to you, sign up yourself.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

ALL ACTIONS: Stop the Professional Climate Deniers

We've won before. Help us do it again.
please enable images!
Take Action →

Take all our actions with just one click! Eco Activist—

It's hard to imagine. 97% of climate scientists agree global warming is very likely due to human activities. At least 34 national academies of sciences agree, as do dozens of scientific and public health associations and societies.

And yet, every day, dirty energy lobbyists continue their incessant denials and political assaults to protect their profits by blocking our vital work.

Help stop them: Take every action alert we've got with just one click.

It's not easy for those of us who respect science and appreciate reality to understand where this professional climate skepticism comes from. It's not about science. It can't be—the science is clear. It’s about protecting profits—even if it means hurting communities like yours in the process.

They've tried it before. And we stopped them.

In 1990, as bipartisan support rose for a cap-and-trade plan to harness markets and solve the acid rain disaster, the Koch Brothers poured their money into a front group—the "Concerned Citizens for the Environment"—with the goal of derailing this much-needed solution.

The group—without any citizen membership—produced studies insisting that acid rain was a myth (sound familiar?). They lobbied for deregulation of corporations, insisting that was the true way to protect the environment.

They lost. Our plan to reduce acid rain was put into action, affecting even the Kochs' heavy-emitting refineries and factories. And it was a massive success.

We cut sulfur dioxide emissions in half, at a fraction of the expected costs. By 2000, scientists were documenting decreased sulfates in Adirondack lakes, improved visibility in national parks and widespread benefits to human health. The Economist called it "the greatest green success story of the past decade."

Today, they seem unstoppable. But we've stopped them before. Help us do it again.

Stand up against Congressional attacks on climate action. Take every action alert we've got, all at once.

Heather ShelbyThank you for your activism and support,
HeatherShelbySignature
Heather Shelby
Action Network Coordinator

Thursday, March 20, 2014

My Climate Confession

This email should display for most devices. If it is not displaying beautifully, view the web version.
I have a climate confession. Recently, I’ve begun to question whether we can solve the climate crisis.

I have a climate confession: Recently, I’ve begun to question whether we can solve the climate crisis.

Deep down in my darkest thoughts, from everything I know, have read, have been told by the scientists at EDF about the growing threat, and from witnessing the unrelenting stream of dopey climate denialism in Washington, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to maintain hope. The fear that we won’t avert climate catastrophe has taken hold. And I shudder at what that will mean.

It’s a terrible and sobering notion, maybe one you’ve shared in recent years.

As a parent of a 9-year old and a 7-year old—two sweet, beautiful children who mean everything to me—I often ask what more can I do? How are we going to fix this problem? And what kind of world am I going to leave to my kids?

Then, about a month ago, in a meeting to discuss EDF’s climate strategy, a colleague of mine presented this graphic:

please enable images!

I had an instant reaction. This chart tells a powerful story. Over the last few years, our work really has made a difference. We have reduced America’s carbon emissions. We have altered the course of history.

For the first time in a long time I began again to feel a sense of hope...to see a path forward.

And, after discussing with the Membership team, this chart has inspired this "Climate Changing" email series we’re launching today. Between now and Earth Day, we’ll share stories and information to help you understand where we are in the fight for climate solutions...where we need to be...and how we can get there, together.

This is a serious moment. The fight to avoid climate calamity confronts us with sobering realities. While we have made progress, we have a tremendous amount of work to do. And very little time in which to do it.

It won’t be easy. But, there is a path forward—and that’s important.

You are making a difference. And I want to extend my personal heartfelt thanks for standing strong with EDF. You are helping change America and the world.

Over the next few weeks, I hope the climate solutions we’ll share will help renew our shared belief that with determination and resolve, we can still solve the climate crisis.

Sam ParryWith gratitude and renewed hope,
Sam’s signature
Sam Parry
Director, Membership

P.S. Do you have a climate confession? Have you also felt doubt in recent years over our chance to solve the climate crisis? If so, I’d love to hear your story.

        Share this message on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Email this message to friends. If a friend sent this to you, sign up yourself.