Bill McKibben is one of the world’s leading environmentalists and writers: In 2009, he led the organization of 350.org, which organized what Foreign Policy magazine called “the largest ever global coordinated rally of any kind,” with 5,200 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries. The magazine named him to its inaugural list of the 100 most important … Continue reading Ask McKibben Anything: Obama’s Record On The Environment?
[Updated with many more questions added by readers – a huge response] Bill McKibben is one of the world’s leading environmentalists and writers: For more, check out Rowan Jacobsen’s profile of the man and his mission:
A reader huffs: Regarding Dave Roberts’ comment that blocking Keystone “will show that there’s life in the climate movement”, I beg to differ. Keystone is a symbolic victory without any substance; if the moral victory is to “show that people can mobilize around climate with the numbers”, congratulations, you just won a victory that has … Continue reading The Showdown Over Keystone, Ctd
A reader writes: Bill McKibben’s comments that somehow carbon is staying in the ground if Keystone XL is not constructed is nonsensical. You see, there is this cool invention called “Trains” that have scores of large containers that hold bitumen and oil. Does he think the oil companies have never heard of them? That they would say … Continue reading The Showdown Over Keystone, Ctd
Obama has promised to veto the Keystone bill making its way through Congress. Bill McKibben savors this victory: It’s not as if we’re winning the climate fight – the planet’s temperature keeps rising. But we’re not losing it the way we used to. If the president sticks to his word, this will be the first major fossil-fuel … Continue reading The Showdown Over Keystone
A reader writes: Good piece overall, but I want to point out this sentence: “Brooks Miner adds that ‘natural gas does have a dark side: It is composed primarily of methane, which has a much stronger climate-warming effect than carbon dioxide.’” That’s misleading without context. Methane is, indeed, a potent GHG. But it only has this impact if it is … Continue reading The Natural Gas Hype, Ctd
Universities are under pressure to divest from fossil fuels. Yglesias spells out the main reason to support this goal: Fossil fuel companies need to hire staff, they need to lobby politicians, and they need to contract with other companies for services. A world in which it was universally accepted in polite society that fossil fuel companies are … Continue reading Is Divesting A Distraction?
Over 300,000 turned out in NYC yesterday: Bill McKibben isn’t holding his breath for an international climate deal: The collapse of the Copenhagen climate conference in 2009 was a signal event in diplomatic history, calling into question the ability of our societies to act cooperatively in the face of clear scientific warnings. There is no prospect of … Continue reading The World’s Biggest Climate March
#PeoplesClimate mural in #Bushwick (corner of Flushing & Bogart) by @gilfnyc. Get ready, NYC. #climate pic.twitter.com/kVq80pkjOb — Collin Rees (@collinrees) September 14, 2014 Elizabeth Kolbert previews NYC’s climate march this Sunday: For next year’s meeting in Paris to produce an agreement that’s meaningful, that agreement is going to have to somehow yield truly significant emissions reductions, and do … Continue reading The Climate Movement Marches On
This week we have aired various opinions from readers on the fantastic month of guest-blogging. Or how one puts it: Unbelievably awesome viewpoints and people, even when I don’t agree. So well written. I am reading all of their stuff! In years past, I maybe skipped when Andrew went on vacation. Stupid me. Another reader: I have vastly … Continue reading Back From The Desert, Ctd
