THE EARTH IS ON FIRE! LOUISIANA GROUPS CALL FOR ACTION TO PUT IT OUT!

So, I found myself standing in front of a 20-foot, inflated model of the earth in Audubon Park today (thankfully the flaming earth was tall enough to provide some oh-so-necessary shade), along with fine folks from the Alliance for Affordable Energy, Project REACH of The United Methodist Church, and Sierra Club calling for action to reduce global warming pollution from current levels within 10 years. To prevent the worst impacts of global warming in New Orleans, the best science says that reductions must start within 10 years and we must reduce global warming pollution by 60-80% by 2050. The event was part of a nationwide tour, another showcase of a large, inflatable THING, taken across the country in the hopes of enticing the media to cover an environmental issue. Other stops probably didn't coincide with the news that sealevel rise is occuring faster than expected - read about that here.

2005 was the warmest year ever recorded, and the early effects of global warming are evident across the U.S. and worldwide. Left unchecked, global warming threatens to raise sea levels, inundating our coast, and increase the intensity of hurricanes.

“God calls us to care for creation”, added Reverend Cory Sparks with Project REACH of The United Methodist Church. “It’s important for Christians to know that we can live in ways that lower global warming pollution. As churches rebuild after the hurricane, they’re asking about energy efficient construction. They’re learning that sustainable building protects our environment for future generations, and it saves money in the long run.”

In the absence of mandatory federal limits on global warming pollution, U.S. emissions are on the rise, increasing by 16 percent from 1990 to 2004, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA projects that U.S. global warming pollution will increase another 46 percent over the next 20 years. Power plants and cars and SUVs are the largest sources of global warming pollution nationwide.

To reduce global warming pollution, the U.S. can use existing technology to make power plants and factories more efficient, make cars go farther on a gallon of gasoline, and shift to cleaner technologies, such as hybrids, biofuels, and wind and solar power. These are the types of win-win solutions we need because they also will cut our dependence on oil, reduce air pollution, and create a stronger economy.

Unfortunately, oil companies – led by ExxonMobil – automakers, and most electric utilities continue to fight common sense solutions to global warming. For instance, ExxonMobil has given at least $15 million since 1998 to groups working to confuse the public about the broad scientific consensus on the causes of and solutions to global warming.

If you didn’t like Katrina, then you’ll hate global warming. Sea level rise, increased hurricane intensity, ocean acidification – all these signals of our climate crisis are going to hit the Gulf hard. Yet our region seems to have the least political will to challenge the oil industry and embrace the changes necessary to secure our future.

“Preventing the increase of global warming has been identified as the number one priority of the Sierra Club's nationwide 750,000 members,” said Leslie March, chair of the Delta (Louisiana) chapter of the Sierra Club. “We who live in the hurricane impacted areas know about the dire consequences of global warming. We hope that our elected public officials will have the vision to take steps to push industry to reduce greenhouse gasses.”

It was nice to acknowledge that under Council President Oliver Thomas' leadership, the New Orleans City Council passed a resolution on July 20th that "endorses federal intervention, action and limits on global warming pollution and upholds the statement of principles necessary for the reductions of the effects of global warming impacting our environment, health, and economy". As NOLA rebuilds - energy efficiency should rule the day.

We thanked Senator Mary Landrieu for cosponsoring a bill last week that would cap heat-trapping emissions from power plants at 2001 levels in 2013, and urged additional, more aggressive action. We called on Senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter (chair of the Commerce Committee's Global Warming Subcommittee) to heed the science and support reducing global warming pollution by 60-80% by 2050 to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. The Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Act of 2006, introduced in the Senate on July 20^th by Senator Jeffords (I-VT), if enacted would create a mechanism for the U.S. to meet that goal.

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The Alliance for Affordable Energy is a New Orleans based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting fair, affordable, environmentally responsible energy policies for Louisiana and the nation. www.all4energy.org

The Sierra Club's 750,000 members work together to protect communities and the planet. The Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. The Delta (Louisiana) chapter of the Sierra Club has more than 3,500 members and has been active in local conservation projects for more than 30 years. For more information, contact the organization’s website: www.louisiana.sierraclub.org.

Aaron Viles is the GRN's Campaign Director