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Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s message for World Environment Day 2008, to be observed on 5 June:

Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, makes us deny important truths and blinds us to the consequences of our actions. Our world is in the grip of a dangerous carbon habit.

Coal and oil paved the way for the developed world’s industrial progress. Fast-developing countries are now taking the same path in search of equal living standards. Meanwhile, in the least developed countries, even less sustainable energy sources, such as charcoal, remain the only available option for the poor.

Our dependence on carbon-based energy has caused a significant build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put the final nail in the coffin of global-warming sceptics. We know that climate change is happening, and we know that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that we emit are the cause.

We don’t just burn carbon in the form of fossil fuels. Throughout the tropics, valuable forests are being felled for timber and making paper, for pasture and arable land and, increasingly, for plantations to supply a growing demand for biofuels. This further manifestation of our carbon habit not only releases vast amounts of CO2; it also destroys a valuable resource for absorbing atmospheric carbon, further contributing to climate change.

The environmental, economic and political implications of global warming are profound. Ecosystems — from mountain to ocean, from the poles to the tropics — are undergoing rapid change. Low-lying cities face inundation, fertile lands are turning to desert, and weather patterns are becoming ever more unpredictable.

The cost will be borne by all. The poor will be hardest hit by weather-related disasters and by soaring price inflation for staple foods, but even the richest nations face the prospect of economic recession and a world in conflict over diminishing resources. Mitigating climate change, eradicating poverty and promoting economic and political stability all demand the same solution: we must kick the carbon habit. This is the theme for World Environment Day 2008. “Kick the Habit: Towards a Low-Carbon Economy”, recognizes the damaging extent of our addiction, and it shows the way forward.

Often we need a crisis to wake us to reality. With the climate crisis upon us, businesses and Governments are realizing that, far from costing the Earth, addressing global warming can actually save money and invigorate economies. While the estimated costs of climate change are incalculable, the price tag for fighting it may be less than any of us may have thought. Some estimates put the cost at less than 1 per cent of global gross domestic product — a cheap price indeed for waging a global war.

Even better news is that technologies already exist or are under development to make our consumption of carbon-based fuels cleaner and more efficient, and to harness the renewable power of sun, wind and waves. The private sector, in particular, is competing to capitalize on what they recognize as a massive business opportunity.

Around the world, nations, cities, organizations and businesses are looking afresh at green options. At the United Nations, I have instructed that the plan for renovating our New York Headquarters should follow strict environmental guidelines. I have also asked the chief executives of all United Nations programmes, funds and specialized agencies to move swiftly towards carbon neutrality.

Earlier this year, the United Nations Environment Programme launched a climate-neutral network — CN Net — to energize this growing trend. Its inaugural members, which include countries, cities and companies, are pioneers in a movement that I believe will increasingly define environmental, economic and political discourse and decision-making over the coming decades.

The message of World Environment Day 2008 is that we are all part of the solution. Whether you are an individual, an organization, a business or a Government, there are many steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint. It is a message we all must take to heart. 

Courtesy of 7th Space Interactive

Join the Million Faces Project at Thinkfrog. We’re making it easy for you to help stop global warming - just $10 and your photo!

Of course you do - you go faster and faster and faster, then . . . .oops. That’s also what’s happening with the ice melting in the Arctic. The more ice that melts, the faster it melts and the faster the temperature rises and the more ice that melts and . . . you get the idea. 

 
The average temperature in Greenland is 7.2 degrees warmer than it was in 1991. Lakes that form on melting ice have been increasing by 13 percent yearly and the Arctic ocean at the end of Summer, 2007 had 23 percent less ice cover than in Summer  2005. 
 
So, why does the melting pick up the pace? As the ice melts, it creates dark open water that absorbs heat rather than reflecting it back - similar to what happens in cities. Imagine losing an area of land the size of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas combined - that’s how much ice has been lost in the Arctic - and how much more dark open water there is to absorb heat. 

The climate change models don’t account for the effects of such a rapid ice melt. While we know it’s bad - and that it’s causing the sea levels to rise - we don’t know exactly how high they’ll go. But it’s looking worse than the 2 feet projected in this century, impacting many large cities and millions of people. 

That’s why we have to save the trees and why we need you to join the Million Faces Project at Thinkfrog. Together, we CAN make a difference. Together, we NEED to make a difference. And we’re making it easy for you to start - just $10 and your photo!

Fighting global warming can be a daunting task. This morning, we’re launching the Million Faces Project  as a positive step forward. When you look at the magnitude of the issue - and how difficult it is for one person to make even a tiny ding in the problem, it’s easy to become discouraged, throw up one’s hands and focus elsewhere. While it’s true not ONE person can make a difference, no matter how hard they try, a lot of people each doing just a little can make a difference. And that’s the purpose of Thinkfrog.org and the Million Faces Project. it’s about the power of many doing a little. It’s about focus and hope. 

Thinkfrog.org was born out of the frustration of not being able to make that tiny ding alone - and looking for ways to do so. Thinking that a lot of people may feel the same, we looked for the easiest, least demanding way for busy people everywhere to contribute. All you need to do is donate $10 and submit your favorite self portrait. When 1,000,000 people do just that, we can start to make a big, tangible difference.

What we’re doing with the donations is buying rainforest lands in South America to protect from development. You’ll be able to see the forest areas we purchase right here on this sight as we’ll be tracking them through Google Maps. In working with Cool Earth, an organization devoted to this cause, there will be local monitors ensuring the forests we buy are protected. We selected rainforests because they’re one of nine critical tipping points towards irreversible climate change.

Scientist say we have only 10 years before we reach the tipping point on global warming. That’s not much time to make big changes so we need to act now.

Why not just give money? Because it’s more fun to build a community of people who care - and be able to show governments and politicians that individuals really do care and want them to as well. Everyone that joins us and submits their picture will be included on this site. This may well be the single largest collection of faces in one place on the web. We also hope to mount a companion exhibit of all of the faces that will travel around the country as well.

So please join us - think about the impact you can have with just $10 and a great picture of yourself - pretty much three Grande Lattes for those who enjoy their caffeine (like myself). Get your friends to do the same - it’ll be a scrapbook of people everywhere and put many faces on the fight against global warming.

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