Bright and early this morning I got a text picture message from my friend. The message said—Greenpeace Strikes! And she included a quick snap of my fellow Greenpeacers hanging a banner across the street from the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC.
Greenpeace was hanging a banner to tell the Ministers from the 17 biggest global emitters that the planet is "too big to fail." The ministers are in DC to talk about the climate as part of the Major Economies Forum.
Greenpeace is calling on world leaders to take personal responsibility for guaranteeing a strong, legally binding and fair agreement at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, in December.
My hope is that these world leaders will move quickly to act on global warming solutions. We need more action and less talking and meetings! Time is running out. The leaders need to use this meeting as an opportunity to fast-track discussions on avoiding catastrophic warming.
A peak in global emissions by 2015 followed by a rapid decline to as close to zero as possible by 2050 is crucial to protect the climate. The industrialized world must commit to deeper cuts in emissions and provide financial and technical assistance to developing countries to enable them to switch to clean energy, stop deforestation and adapt to those climate impacts that are now unavoidable.
President Obama has said that the US is ready to lead on global warming. I’d like to see us start leading today by encouraging world leaders to get moving on strong global warming solutions in their home countries.
Check out the slideshow for more images from the banner hang >>
–Michelle
