I recently learned about a UN public awareness campaign on climate change called Seal the Deal.  In December, more than 190 representatives from governments from around the world will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark to discuss climate change.  It’s been 12 years since the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated, and now is the time to negotiate a comprehensive post-Kyoto climate change deal for the period after 2012 when the commitment of the first Kyoto Protocol expires.

Several public awareness activities are planned over the next several months with lots of opportunities for all of us to get involved:

1.  Sign the petition.  Go to www.sealthedeal2009.org

2.  September 21-25 is Global Climate Change Week.  Many cities around the world will host a variety of activities.   You can plant a tree, wear green to raise awareness, or bike to work. In particular, Wednesday the 23rd is “Go Carbon Neutral Day.”  Can you power down for one day?

3.  Spread the word!  Host an awareness party and plant trees, volunteer at a recycling center, or work with your employer to reduce the carbon footprint at work.

4.  Leverage social media sites.  Twitter and post Facebook announcements about the events.  Encourage your friends, colleagues and family to get involved.

5.  Don’t sit idle.  Talk about climate change.  You don’t need to be an expert to affect change.

With rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and more severe storms and droughts then ever before, I have no doubt that all governments need to come together in Copenhagen and sign the new agreement.  Just look at the weather in Seattle this past year for proof of climate change.  We had severe snowstorms socking in the city for more than a week last December, and this summer we had several days with scorching temperatures above 100 degrees.   I don’t need any more proof than that.

I’m off to sign the petition and Seal the Deal!

Leslie

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 6:46 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.