OSLO (Reuters) - Indigenous peoples urged tougher action to slow global warming on Thursday after a U.S. report showed the Arctic icecap had shrunk to its smallest in at least 100 years.
The U.N. Environment Program also said the shrinking ice was yet more alarming evidence of an Arctic thaw that could portend worldwide disruptions including stronger hurricanes, desertification and rising sea levels.
"This is a another reminder" of the fast melt in the Arctic, said Alona Yefimenko, acting head of the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples' Secretariat in Copenhagen.
"All the indigenous political leaders are trying to bring this message to reduce (greenhouse gas) emissions, not only in the United States but also in Europe," she said.
Scientists at
NASA' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said on Wednesday the Arctic ice shrank this year for the fourth year in a row to the smallest area since measurements started 100 years ago.
Yefimenko said shrinking ice was threatening traditional lifestyles. Hunters of polar bears or seals risk falling through thinning ice. Reindeer herders often find reindeer struggling in mud on what was once permafrost.
And Arctic leaders especially want the United States, the world's biggest polluter, to cap emissions of heat-trapping gases from power plants, factories and cars blamed by most scientists for global warming.
Almost all other rich nations have agreed to curbs under the
United Nations' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> United Nations's
Kyoto protocol' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Kyoto protocol.
BUSH PULLOUT
NASA and NSIDC said the rising temperatures seemed linked to a buildup of gases from human sources.
President George W. Bush' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> President George W. Bush pulled out of Kyoto in 2001, saying it would be too costly and wrongly excluded developing nations.
Indigenous leaders dismiss Bush's view that more research is needed, saying climate change is already happening.
"In Alaska, for instance, you can't take snowmobiles across lakes and be sure of reaching the other side," said Yefimenko, who is from the Russian far east.
"Around the Arctic, water flows in rivers are unpredictable. It's very difficult for reindeer herders to cross rivers."
The U.S. findings backed a report by 250 experts last year that forecast that the Arctic ice could disappear in summers by 2100, driving polar bears toward extinction.
The impact would be largely negative but could open the Arctic to exploration for oil and gas, mining, logging or trans-polar shipping routes between the Atlantic and Pacific.
"The documentation is getting stronger," said Paal Prestrud, a vice-chair of last year's Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) and head of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo.
According to the ACIA report, the Arctic melts faster than the rest of the globe because darker water and ground, once exposed, traps heat far more than ice and snow.
The U.S. report "is yet further evidence that climate change is not a prediction for the future but a phenomenon that is happening now," said Nick Nuttall, spokesman of the U.N. Environment Program.
And he said the world might risk catastrophic, abrupt changes unless it acted quickly.
"An already very bad trend seems to be getting worse," said Steve Sawyer, head of climate and energy policy at environmental group Greenpeace.
Apart from the Arctic sea ice, he said there were worrying signs of a melting of the Greenland icecap. If all the Greenland icecap melted, the world's oceans could rise by 7 meters.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Random Question...
If there are any meteorologists out there in blogger world, is it usual for two category 5 hurricanes to go through the same area within three weeks of each other, or is global warming a reality despite Dubya's ignorance?
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Malcolm X quote of the day #2
"Is white America really sorry for her crimes against the black people? Does white America have the capacity to repent - and to atone? Does the capacity to repent, to atone, exist in a majority, in one-half, in even one-third of American white society?
"Many black men, the victims - in fact most black men - would like to be able to forgive, to forget, the crimes.
"But most American white people seem not to have it in them to make any serious atonement - to do justice to the black man.
"Indeed, how can white society atone for enslaving, for raping, for unmanning, for otherwise brutalizing millions of human beings, for centuries? What atonement would the God of Justice demand for the robbery of the black people's labor, their lives, their true identities, their culture, their history - and even their human dignity?
"A desegregated cup of coffee, a theater, public toilets - the whole range of hypocritical 'integration' - these are not atonement."
"Many black men, the victims - in fact most black men - would like to be able to forgive, to forget, the crimes.
"But most American white people seem not to have it in them to make any serious atonement - to do justice to the black man.
"Indeed, how can white society atone for enslaving, for raping, for unmanning, for otherwise brutalizing millions of human beings, for centuries? What atonement would the God of Justice demand for the robbery of the black people's labor, their lives, their true identities, their culture, their history - and even their human dignity?
"A desegregated cup of coffee, a theater, public toilets - the whole range of hypocritical 'integration' - these are not atonement."
New days, new things
I finished reading Malcolm X on Tuesday. It always astounds me how no matter how many times you read a book or see a movie, you always see something you didn't see before. Like I said in my last post, I think Malcolm's autobiography is the most significant work I have ever read. I also think it is one of the most important books in Africana literature; not because of the person who it is about, but because it represents what we should aim for - standing and working for the betterment of our people with no apologies.
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I have another interview with a legal temp agency next Tuesday. I'm hopeful that I might be working soon. I'm just so incredibly broke that I don't know how much more patient I can be....
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I have another interview with a legal temp agency next Tuesday. I'm hopeful that I might be working soon. I'm just so incredibly broke that I don't know how much more patient I can be....
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Reading and Meditating on...
I'm reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. I'm almost finish (I have one more chapter and the epilogue left). This is the second time I've read this book; the last time was six years ago. It is amazing how relevant this work is. I still think that every person of African descent in this world should read this book. Malcolm is so deep that I don't think a lot of people, even now, are ready for the knowledge he was spitting. This book is the most significant book I have ever read. It is my favorite, and I believe it is the book that has made me the person I am today.
Malcolm X quote of the day
"I'm not anti-American, and I didn't come here to condemn America... I came here to tell the truth - and if the truth condemns America, then she stands condemned!"
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Hurricane Katrina and racism
Hurricane Katrina has pulled away the curtains on some of america's dirty big secrets. One of them being racism. It is very true that classism has also been revealed in all of this, but that is a given in a capitalist society.
Lately, there has been a lot of "controversy" over Kanye West's remarks saying that George Bush doesn't care about Black people. Now, some people are saying that this is not a race issue, but a poverty issue. NO! This is a race issue. It is an issue of how, in this country and in this world, race and class continue to intermingle.
Whether Bush cares or doesn't care about Black folks means nothing to me. However, it needs to be said that race is part of the reason that the people of New Orleans were not helped out faster. Sure, many of us, including so-called people of color, would like to believe that if eighty percent of the people trapped in the dark dome, the filthy convention center, sleeping under highway underpasses, and waiving "help us" signs on roofs were white, it would take the government five days plus to evacuate people from the city. But can we really look at ourselves and the history of this country and actually believe that. And if this was just a poverty issue, is that something we should be celebrating? - Yay, poor white people are treated just as badly as poor Black people... glory, glory hallelujah!
It doesn't make any damn sense. We live in a white supremacist and classist society, but these things are not separated from each other. Classism feeds off of racism. Racism empowers classism. And when I say racist I am not talking about any person calling me nigger, or not being able to sit in the front of the bus, or being able to go to a majority white school, or live in a majority white neighborhood. When I speak of racism, I am talking about institutional racism. Institutional racism is much more powerful than the racism battled against by the so-called civil rights leaders of the '60's.
Institutional racism is the disproportionate amount of Black people who live way below the poverty line; the disproportionate amount of Black men and Black women who are in the prison industrial complex and on death row; Black people being less likely to have proper healthcare and access to healthcare; Black people being less likely to be in adequate public schools; Black people being in neighborhoods where toxic dump sites are present (environmental racism). I could go on and on, but I would just get a hand-cramp from all of the writing. And yes, many of the policies of George Bush and the Republican party has had a detrimental effect on Black folks and other "people of color." And that's not to say that the Democrats have been that much better, because they really haven't, but that is another story for another post.
What bothers me is that it has become "chic" for people to say that something is about "class" and poverty rather than "race." This is problematic. It's problematic because it takes away from the reality that racism (white supremacy) is still one of the biggest problems that this country has yet to deal with. And it is about time that people, my beautiful Black people in particular, stop letting the white establishment off the hook by saying everything is about class. Let us stop these games with the truth. Too often Black people have dealt unintelligently with the truth; we have been walking around it like it is a game of "ring-around-the-rosy" (I think that is the name of the game). And I don't know if we do this so that we don't hurt white people's feelings or because we don't want to endanger our earning potential, or because as the Last Poets said, "Niggers are Scared of Revolution." See, the truth is revolutionary, and a lot of us are too scared to start a revolution.
Malcolm X said that he had made the decision to tell the white man the truth about himself or die. It is time that we decide to live with the truth and live for the truth. Black people, we need to speak the truth when necessary, as necessary, because it is necessary!
Lately, there has been a lot of "controversy" over Kanye West's remarks saying that George Bush doesn't care about Black people. Now, some people are saying that this is not a race issue, but a poverty issue. NO! This is a race issue. It is an issue of how, in this country and in this world, race and class continue to intermingle.
Whether Bush cares or doesn't care about Black folks means nothing to me. However, it needs to be said that race is part of the reason that the people of New Orleans were not helped out faster. Sure, many of us, including so-called people of color, would like to believe that if eighty percent of the people trapped in the dark dome, the filthy convention center, sleeping under highway underpasses, and waiving "help us" signs on roofs were white, it would take the government five days plus to evacuate people from the city. But can we really look at ourselves and the history of this country and actually believe that. And if this was just a poverty issue, is that something we should be celebrating? - Yay, poor white people are treated just as badly as poor Black people... glory, glory hallelujah!
It doesn't make any damn sense. We live in a white supremacist and classist society, but these things are not separated from each other. Classism feeds off of racism. Racism empowers classism. And when I say racist I am not talking about any person calling me nigger, or not being able to sit in the front of the bus, or being able to go to a majority white school, or live in a majority white neighborhood. When I speak of racism, I am talking about institutional racism. Institutional racism is much more powerful than the racism battled against by the so-called civil rights leaders of the '60's.
Institutional racism is the disproportionate amount of Black people who live way below the poverty line; the disproportionate amount of Black men and Black women who are in the prison industrial complex and on death row; Black people being less likely to have proper healthcare and access to healthcare; Black people being less likely to be in adequate public schools; Black people being in neighborhoods where toxic dump sites are present (environmental racism). I could go on and on, but I would just get a hand-cramp from all of the writing. And yes, many of the policies of George Bush and the Republican party has had a detrimental effect on Black folks and other "people of color." And that's not to say that the Democrats have been that much better, because they really haven't, but that is another story for another post.
What bothers me is that it has become "chic" for people to say that something is about "class" and poverty rather than "race." This is problematic. It's problematic because it takes away from the reality that racism (white supremacy) is still one of the biggest problems that this country has yet to deal with. And it is about time that people, my beautiful Black people in particular, stop letting the white establishment off the hook by saying everything is about class. Let us stop these games with the truth. Too often Black people have dealt unintelligently with the truth; we have been walking around it like it is a game of "ring-around-the-rosy" (I think that is the name of the game). And I don't know if we do this so that we don't hurt white people's feelings or because we don't want to endanger our earning potential, or because as the Last Poets said, "Niggers are Scared of Revolution." See, the truth is revolutionary, and a lot of us are too scared to start a revolution.
Malcolm X said that he had made the decision to tell the white man the truth about himself or die. It is time that we decide to live with the truth and live for the truth. Black people, we need to speak the truth when necessary, as necessary, because it is necessary!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Beauty and Music
I just wanted to dedicate this blog post to a few of the women in music who I really have mild crushes on:
Les Nubians - I think these two are so beautiful, and what makes them even more sexy... they speak French. Their songs are so smooth and dynamic.
Vivian Green - I like her music, she makes music that is honest about love and life. She is also absolutely stunning. Her new album sounds pretty good.
Lauryn Hill - I have loved this woman since 1998. I appreciate her talent as an artist. Her lyrical abilities have always been amazing. She has a great voice and is an underestimated emcee. Most interesting about Lauryn, she was one of the first mainstream Hip Hop/R&B female artist to wear her hair naturally - this was before india.arie and Jill Scott and Erykah Badu still had her head wrapped. Even though it became the "in-thing" to wear hair naturally, Lauryn represented to the fullest, and was stunning with every loc'd strand of hair. Beautiful.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Kanye West speaking from the heart
- "George Bush doesn't care about black people." -
It seems that there has been a lot of "controversy" over what Kanye West said about George Bush last week. First of all, he is absolutely RIGHT!!! Bush doesn't care about Black peeople... unless they agree with everything he says and does. For example, Condoleezza Rice. Notice that Dr. Rice is one of Dubya's favorite so-called Negroes. But I must admit, Bush is "fair."
See, he allows people to have one disagreement with him - Dr. Rice disagreed with him about affirmative action; Alberto Gonzales is not totally against abortion. But if you disagree with him more than once, you're done - Colin Powell disagreed with him on affirmative action and he admitted that the administration misled the world about weapons of mass destruction. Thus, Colin Powell no longer has a job.
The Hurricane Katrina aftermath has proved a lot of things. Poor people are always on the bottom of the list of people to be cared about. Second, Black poor people are in even worse regard. It has pained me the last couple of weeks to see all my people sleeping under highway underpasses or being stuck in convention centers and football domes that have now become waist stations for the dead.
All George Bush has done is tried to get in some photo opportunities, but he has been so slow to react. This country's government has been so slow to react. It doesn't matter who is responsible (we know who is responsible Mr Commander-in-Thief); what matters is how are they going to fix this... for the hundreds of thousands of people who are now homeless and in ill condition. And to think, they were considering cutting funds for medicaid today....
It seems that there has been a lot of "controversy" over what Kanye West said about George Bush last week. First of all, he is absolutely RIGHT!!! Bush doesn't care about Black peeople... unless they agree with everything he says and does. For example, Condoleezza Rice. Notice that Dr. Rice is one of Dubya's favorite so-called Negroes. But I must admit, Bush is "fair."
See, he allows people to have one disagreement with him - Dr. Rice disagreed with him about affirmative action; Alberto Gonzales is not totally against abortion. But if you disagree with him more than once, you're done - Colin Powell disagreed with him on affirmative action and he admitted that the administration misled the world about weapons of mass destruction. Thus, Colin Powell no longer has a job.
The Hurricane Katrina aftermath has proved a lot of things. Poor people are always on the bottom of the list of people to be cared about. Second, Black poor people are in even worse regard. It has pained me the last couple of weeks to see all my people sleeping under highway underpasses or being stuck in convention centers and football domes that have now become waist stations for the dead.
All George Bush has done is tried to get in some photo opportunities, but he has been so slow to react. This country's government has been so slow to react. It doesn't matter who is responsible (we know who is responsible Mr Commander-in-Thief); what matters is how are they going to fix this... for the hundreds of thousands of people who are now homeless and in ill condition. And to think, they were considering cutting funds for medicaid today....
I finally have an interview
My goodness,
It has been such a long time since I have been able to be excited about something. Tomorrow I have an interview with the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development. Hopefully, everything will go well and I will have somewhere to go in the mornings. Idleness has its qualities, but damn, I'm getting tired of all the damn tv courtroom shows.
It has been such a long time since I have been able to be excited about something. Tomorrow I have an interview with the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development. Hopefully, everything will go well and I will have somewhere to go in the mornings. Idleness has its qualities, but damn, I'm getting tired of all the damn tv courtroom shows.
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