The Climate Crisis

Change Partners and Dance

UPDATE: CA's heatwave moves east--above 100F temps expected from St. Louis to NYC.

In the U.S., we've got local government action--at one point in "An Inconvenient Truth" the screen is filled with the names of cities pledged to attack the Climate Crisis. We have states and combinations of states, led by governors, working together on regional responses to CC issues.

In the world, we've got national responses and international agreements. Of course they don't include the U.S. federal government, currently so phobic and fearful and hostile on the subject that it actually erased the words, "to understand and protect our home planet" from NASA's mission statement.

Instead we've got a compact between a nation, the UK and...a state. The state of California is as large as some countries, and has a larger economy than many. But this is a government-to-government agreement that makes a certain other government irrelevant.

Here's part of the statement issued by the Prime Minister of the UK and the governator of California:

The mission statement of the collaboration states that Britain and California will "commit to urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote low carbon technologies"."

California and the United Kingdom recognise the linkages between climate change, energy security, human health and robust economic growth," it adds.

"Working together, California and the UK commit to build upon current efforts, share experiences, find new solutions and work to educate the public on the need for aggressive action to address climate change and promote energy diversity."

The UK entered into agreements designed to curb greenhouse gases, promote green technologies--and separately, to encourage stem cell research. There was also a series of meetings with 25 U.S. corporation CEOs on the Climate Crisis.

These agreements by themselves may not do much, but then again so much of this is about synergy and building towards a critical mass of effort and attention. And whatever combination of governments, citizens, businesses, scientists and communicators is willing to commit to the fight, is welcome news at this point.