Climate Solutions
Climate Initiatives
Pole Expeditions
Both the Arctic, the Antarctic, and the areas surrounding them, are showing signs of global warming. Global Green USA, in conjunction with other Green Cross International affiliates, is bringing attention to these areas through expeditions that hilight the imminent danger caused by these warming trends.
Greenland
Spring 2010. Global Green Board member Sebastian Copeland has embarked on a 1,367 mile trip across Greenland via kite-ski to help raise awareness about the effects of global warming on Greenland's climate. It is a sense of urgency which drives Copeland to cross Greenland's melting ice cap and document his exciting, yet, sobering journey over the next 40 to 50 days as he travels the majestic landscape from south to north.
"Greenland's melting ice cap sits on solid ground above sea level and releases fresh water into the ocean," said Copeland. "The Greenland ice cap has the potential to raise ocean levels by as much as 20 feet. As a result, the amount of methane released would cause an exponential acceleration of the world's temperature, challenging human life as we know it."
To read Sebastian's blog about the expedition, click here.
Copeland hopes to raise awareness to the fragile state of Greenland's climate, as well as draw attention to the possible hazardous effects of the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the Arctic. The magnitude of the disastrous oil spill off the coast of Louisiana begs the question of the effects of recent legislation passed which allows drilling in the Arctic. As difficult as it is to clean an oil spill in the open sea, oil is virtually impossible to clean when trapped in ice. Merely a frozen crust on the surface of the ocean, the Arctic sea moves, shifts, and melts at the mercy of external conditions such as winds, currents, tides and temperatures. These shifting conditions would cause the spill to spread in a trapped mass until it melts over thousands, possibly millions of square miles - catastrophic to the Arctic biosphere and beyond.
Pax Arctica
Green Cross France will lead a series of expeditions to the Arctic in conjunction with Green Cross organizations in Canada, the United Sates, Russia, Denmark and Sweden. Global Green USA Board Member Sebastian Copeland and Luc Hardy will jointly lead the expedition. The expeditions, which will unfold until 2010, will feed research on high stakes issues: Climate, mineral resources, transportations, culture and biodiversity.
The Pax Arctica initiative has two objectives.
- The expeditions will endeavor to impart an educational message by involving young people. The idea is to prove that young people, symbols of future generations, want to commit themselves to peace and to the protection of the Arctic and of its resources.
- The expeditions will also convey a political, scientific, philosophical and ethical message: It is the responsibility of our generation to regulate the exploitation of mineral resources in the Arctic in order to protect its unique and fragile environment for the sake of local populations and future generations. It is necessary to find long-term solutions to prevent utilitarian and by definition limited appropriation.
The Arctic program will have the following objectives:
- To oppose and put an end to territorial claims in spite of the relentless claims by five surrounding nations (Russia, USA, Canada, Denmark, and Norway). The objective here is to help fill the existing judicial and legal void by having recourse to just and legitimate international arbitration.
- To promote the creation of international legal instruments to freeze the exploitation of the ocean’s seabed, regulate the exploitation of dry land resources, and encourage scientific research and scientific optimization of the region.
- To make the general public and political leaders aware of the Arctic’s character as a world public good.
Spring 2009: Centennial North Pole Expedition
Sebastian Copeland is embarking on this trip in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the first trek to the North Pole by Admiral Robert Peary in 1909. The expedition will raise awareness of the alarming rate of ice melt due to Global Warming. Scientists predict that in less than five years, the Arctic sea will be ice free in the summer months. In 1909, the average depth of ice at the North Pole was 12 feet while today it averages just 5.5 feet. A daily blog of the expedition can be found on MySpace.
Summer 2008: Young Ambassadors of the Arctic
An international coalition of children took a trip to the Ward Hunt ice shelf in July 2008. The kids, ages 9-17, came from diverse backgrounds and areas around the world, yet shared a common passion to learn more about climate change. To read about the expedition, click here.
Antarctica
In 2006, a multi-national expedition of scientific experts, researchers, and photographers brought back unique images from remote Antarctica, illustrating the melting ice shelf.
To send a ‘global warning’ to the world about the threats posed by climate change and to encourage smart solutions (i.e., renewable energy, conservation, fuel efficiency), the group also sent a photo of themselves assembled on a stark white iceberg to form a large “human SOS.” Global Green USA and Green Cross Argentina co-organized the photographic mission with Sebsastian Copeland, Spectral Q’s John Quigley and the crew of the Ice Lady Patagonia and Asociación Buque Austral Patagónico.
The message calls attention to the imminent danger caused by warming trends to Antarctica and the melting sea ice, not just to penguins in Antarctica but to all of humanity due to the resulting rising sea levels. Since 1945, the Antarctic Peninsula has experienced a warming of about 4.5 degrees. This has, among other threats to nature, resulted in the Adelie Penguin population shrinking by 33 percent in the past 25 years. If the Antarctica ice sheet were to break from land and slip into the ocean, global sea levels could rise by 20 feet. 80% of the world’s population lives in coastal areas.
Arctic Circle
In 2005, Global Green led a delegation of celebrities, scientists, and political leaders to the Arctic Circle on Earth Day. Salma Hayek and Jake Gyllenhaal helped Global Green generate worldwide visibility from “the top of the world” about the plight of the indigenous Inuit people whose very way of life is threatened by the impacts of snowmelt attributed to global warming. As a result of the trip, Global Green generated international press coverage that included the Washington Post and CNN.
"Having seen the Arctic Circle firsthand," said Hayek, "It's deeply disturbing to me that even though there is growing physical and scientific evidence from the research community illustrating the effects of global warming, world leaders simply are not doing enough to fight the problem."
PHOTO GALLERY
Publications
ENERGY EFFICIENCY, CLEAN POWER AND THE SMART GRID
Our report highlights the need for integrated strategies in reducing energy use, increased distributed renewable energy generation, and a more intelligent electrical grid and explores the role of the “smart grid” in developing a more sustainable, energy efficient future.
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Global Solar Report Card
The Global Solar Report Card by Global Green USA and Green Cross International outlines successes and failures in 16 countries’ (and the state of California’s) efforts in designing promising policy frameworks for sustained solar development. It finds all countries still in the early phases of solar deployment. The ranking is based on a 100-point system that allocates points for the amount of solar installed so far, as well as for drivers of future growth, including financial and regulatory incentives, and educational and advocacy efforts.
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