Today, our illustrious leader announced that he wants to talk about reducing carbon emissions at the G8 Summit next week. He’s ignoring the Kyoto Agreement and ignoring Germany’s plan for “after 2012″ when the Agreement expires because he doesn’t really want to do anything, he’s just paying lip service to us and the world. He doesn’t even want to come up with an agreement on reducing emissions until the end of 2008!
So … fuck him. We’ll have to get this done on our own.
Environmental Defense, with help from lots of people such as myself, have crafted a “Declaration of New Patriotism” with a focus on stopping global warming pollution. They want to deliver this declaration to Congress with 75,000 signatures on July 4. I like it. I firmly believe that patriotism is less about flag waving and more about taking positive action in the world. Read the declaration and then sign it!
Global warming is the crisis of our time.
As we prepare to celebrate our nation’s birthday, we renew our commitment to the qualities and values that have guided our nation for more than 200 years.
Today, we recognize that patriotism is not only about love of country. It is also about a shared commitment to the welfare of our planet.
Future generations will judge us based on our success or failure to be good stewards of the Earth. We owe our children and our children’s children nothing less than our very best effort.
We the undersigned, pledge to:
>> Recognize that we live in a time of crisis. We must be active and forceful in bringing about the necessary changes – based on science, not politics – to stop global warming, no matter how difficult that may be.
>> Be active citizens, by pressing our elected officials to take urgent action now, and by pressing all candidates for office to commit to passing strong legislation to cut America’s global warming pollution.
>> Spread the word, by making sure our friends, neighbors and loved ones recognize that each of us has a role to play in meeting this all-important challenge.
>> Be mindful consumers, by minimizing our personal global warming “footprint” and weighing our personal choices against the needs and rights of future generations.
This nation’s founders risked everything to realize a new relationship between government and the governed. We must now do whatever is necessary to realize a new relationship with the web of life that includes and sustains us.
s.
Filed under: global climate change
