- Years ago, Obama warned that we would not agree with him on everything- and how right he was! Our world’s most important topic- global weirding- was caste off with a 1 liner. And no mention of the fact that we SAY we want to rip up our nation’s lands and shores to fuel our own country for energy independence, yet we are exporting huge amounts of oil-based fuels!!

Hummm- still far better than the Dark Ages opposition, but not even close to reassuring. Better buy high-end water purification for your entire home before the fracking begins next door. Oh, and forget buying Gulf fish, and – the list is going to get long! - Editor

State of the Union- From Climate to Clean Energy to…Fracking?
Last night Obama did cite climate change, albeit in a rather roundabout way, criticizing Congress for being too deeply divided to pass comprehensive climate legislation—or for that matter, the clean energy standard that was a central piece of his 2011 State of the Union speech. ”Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I’m directing my Administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources.”
Obama also reiterated a call to end subsidies for oil companies, and to pass the clean energy standard
http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2012/01/25/state-of-the-union-from-climate-to-clean-energy-to-fracking/
and
U.S. Nears Milestone: Net Fuel Exporter
U.S. exports of gasoline, diesel and other oil-based fuels are soaring, putting the nation on track to be a net exporter of petroleum products in 2011 for the first time in 62 years.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203441704577068670488306242.html

- So while our eyes can’t leave the national and international stages, what can we do locally to both reduce emissions and build resiliency within our communities? We reported on this project a few years back, and now this TEDx talk shows the progress that’s been made since- truly inspiring!!  DO WATCH THIS VIDEO! Why? Because it is relatively simple, resurrecting a derelict site and creating a whirl-wind of enthusiasm for producing local food in a myriad of ways! Every city should tap into these techniques! This one is spurring on a multitude of additional projects from its education of the public, now no longer clueless! Every city should do this!  - Editor

FARM:shop Aquaponics – Getting More out of Less
Because we need to grow 50% more food by 2030, we need to do more with less. How can we farm everywhere in our cities? FARM: shop creates viable examples of a variety of urban agriculture techniques, showing large numbers of people these technologies. This ex derelict building is attracting crowds who see aquaponics, hydroponic vertical gardening, a hoop house, chickens, fermentation, mushrooms, and more through school tours, meeting rooms for events and more!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nIL9hWW3-Q&feature=player_embedded
and
check out their website- http://farmlondon.weebly.com/farmshop.html
and  http://www.aquaponics.org.uk/

- If the only time you think of your energy usage is when you write a check at the end of the month, this typically fails to be a motivator for conservation.  Here, Bainbridge Island is exciting because their communities got involved in significantly reducing their energy usage, providing minute-by-minute visibility of energy usage as one tool to create awareness, using their own website, Facebook, and Twitter. Where have you been that publically shows that moment’s energy usage? Here the Island Energy Dashboard is displayed on a restaurant counter, getting every passerby to think about energy usage. These island towns have a volunteer IT team as one tool to make things happen! The video is short and shows how a community can help solve a real problem, giving visibility to everyone on minute-by-minute energy usage, motivating getting homes insulated, cutting back at peak times,  and more!  - Editor

RePower Bainbridge: How did citizens on Bainbridge Island come together and create an option to change behavior through energy use, move closer to carbon neutrality and become a model for other communities?
http://vimeo.com/35277333
http://climatesolutions.org/solution-stories/repower-bainbridge
and
Island Energy Dashboard

http://www.positiveenergybi.org/dashboard

-  A version of the scary medieval Inquisition exists today. Climate scientists are being threatened in many ways by ultra-rich fossil fuel backed organizations. Here is a way to really help- by donating to strengthen the defense of the scientists. It’s so painful to watch attempts to push us back to the Dark Ages by ignoring science and tormenting those who shine a light on the truth of what is happening to our precious planet. If you can, please do donate. - Editor

Over the last twenty years, a small handful of politically-motivated think tanks and legal foundations, because they disliked certain scientific findings, have taken legal action against scientific institutions and individual scientists. In recent years, the legal attacks have intensified, especially against climate scientists. For the individual scientist, these legal actions are a painful burden. Academic salaries were not designed to support ongoing legal expenses. Legal actions also have taken many of our brightest scientific minds away from their research to focus on frivolous lawsuits.
The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund was established to make sure that these legal claims are not viewed as an action against one scientist or institution, but that they are seen as actions against the scientific endeavor as a whole. As such the Fund will defend climate scientists who are dragged into litigation and act aggressively to protect the interests of the scientific endeavor.
http://climatesciencedefensefund.org/
To donate-
https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/823/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=7935

The Danish police broke the law when they detained thousands of climate protesters on December the 12th and four other dates during the COP15 in Copenhagen. The National Court of Denmark confirms the ruling of the City Court of Copenhagen and declares all five mass-arrests during the COP15 illegal.

In addition the court ruled that article of the European human rights convention was violated on December the 12th as the police degraded and mistreatted the arestees. Thus compensation of up to 9000 Danish Kroner should still be awarded to the ones who filed complaints in due time. All in all the Danish police will be handing out compensations in the millions.
http://www.climatecollective.org/post/187

- The wonderful New Energy Economy non-profit (http://newenergyeconomy.org/) in New Mexico is showing weekly films during our state’s legislative session. The first one was about the tragic coal mining in Appalachia. We had reported more than a year ago on the fight to save that last mountain and use it wisely by putting up a wind farm along its crest. Logic, justice, and caring for the future do not prevail when so many millions of dollars are involved which fund politicians and execs. The Exec made about $160 million dollars from ripping mountains apart, so why would he stop?  Americans are suffering from high health costs, but when you see how many people were being made seriously ill- and even dying- from the coal toxins, it’s clear that only by stopping dangerous toxins will we ratchet down health care costs. Buy the DVD and share it, hopefully with a movie series where you live. - Editor
The Last Mountain
In the valleys of Appalachia, a battle is being fought over a mountain. It is a battle over protecting our health and environment from the destructive power of Big Coal. A passionate and personal tale that honors the extraordinary power of ordinary Americans when they fight for what they believe in, THE LAST MOUNTAIN shines a light on America’s energy needs and how those needs are being supplied. It is a fight for our future that affects us all.
http://thelastmountainmovie.com/
Having a movie series is a good model to follow- http://newenergyeconomy.org/events/getting-reel-film-series-and-discussion/

- Back in November, 2011, we emphasized that even if fossil fuels still exist, we can no longer consume them all. Here, the latest figure is a mere 20 percent could be burned! Are we headed for a worse deep crash because we aren’t moving towards sustainability? - Editor

The huge reserves of coal, oil and gas held by companies listed in the City of London are “sub-prime” assets posing a systemic risk to economic stability, a high-profile coalition of investors, politicians and scientists has warned Bank of England. In an open letter, they say that the global drive to reduce carbon emissions could mean billions of pounds of fossil fuel reserves will rapidly lose value and cause a “major problem” for institutional investors and pension funds.

At the most recent UN climate change summit in December, 194 of the world’s nations agreed to enact legally binding curbs on greenhouse gas emissions within three years to limit global warming to 2C. But meeting this limit would mean just 20% of existing fossil fuel reserves could be burned, according to recent research.

Another signatory noted that other assets held by investors could be damaged by climate change: “It’s clear that we cannot burn all the fossil fuels currently listed on the world’s financial markets without seriously impacting the value of other listed assets - which would affect the future pensions on which we’ll all depend.”
http://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/institutional-investors-expectations-of-corporate-climate-risk-management/view