Time to Act

Labor Day vacation is over. It's time to get back to the very serious work of reversing the build up of greenhouse gases. The Weather Channel reports  (Aug., 29, 2008) should be enough to reengage us all. According to all accounts, our window of opportunity is closing.

 

"By absorbing increasing amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, the oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, weakening the world's coral reefs and threatening to unsettle the balance of entire ecosystems, experts say." 

 

And we thought rising shorelines were scary...

 

 "Eakin said the combination of increased acidity and warmer water temperatures could have devastating, potentially irreversible effects on the world's oceans and marine life."

 

 "Coral reefs are the lifeblood of our oceans and we depend on them for survival, said Suzanne Case, executive director of The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii."  

 

 "Without urgent action to limit carbon dioxide emissions and improve management of marine protected areas, even vast treasured reefs like the Great Barrier Reef (off Australia) and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands will become wastelands of dead coral."  

 

 "While the consequences of inaction are too depressing to contemplate, there is good news, Salm said.  Our workshop showed that there are some practical steps we can take to buy time for coral reefs while CO₂ levels are stabilized; that there is hope for coral reefs if we act now."  

This Weather Channel report is consistent with similar conclusions reported last August in Science Magazine documenting acidification and almost complete CO2 saturation in the Southern Oceans: 

 

Acting now according to the Weather Channel report, means immediate large scale climate pollution reductions (Honolulu Declaration on Ocean Acidification & Reef Management July 2008).  

 

This assessment is also consistent with the April 2008 Bush White House Report showing that climate damages are expected to have an overwhelming devastating global impact.

 

Importantly, this Bush White House Report brings the federal government in line with the impending climate crisis projected by the UK, NASA, IPCC, State of California, Moody's, Mortgage Bankers Association, & Chief Reinsurance Risk Officers, as recognized in the peer reviewed Report which is a Background Document for the National Consensus Green Building Underwriting Standards©:  Creating an Economic Stimulus & Stopping Climate Credit Risk / Irreversibility©.

 

There are now no credible dissenters to the global consensus to expected near term adverse and substantial climate impacts without action, and the resulting economic stimulus by stopping Imminent Irreversible Dangerous Climate Change.

 

The White House Report lists pages and pages of devastating levels of climate impacts to all aspects of society:  the economy, food supply and agriculture, fires, disease, droughts, storms, floods, weather and climate prediction, insurance, public health, species diversity and abundance, environment, transportation, social systems, the oceans, fisheries, energy, infrastructure. 

 

The capital markets do not like to talk about these issues and are in survival mode over the credit crisis.   However, capital market leaders can easily act now on a sustainable investment market shift to stimulate the economy and prevent the climate crisis from overwhelming society which could occur in the near term.  

 

Such capital markets action will also stop the adverse global inflationary impacts from long term conventional energy price increases noted repeatedly by the Fed, and as shown by globally validated data in the Green Building Value Rating System & Appendix 2.0© (Appendices), and the National Consensus Climate Neutral Building Standard© 

(Appendix) which are additional Underwriting Standard Background Documents:   

The Creating an Economic Stimulus Report© sets forth the level of climate pollution reductions needed by 2015 to stimulate the economy & stop Imminent Irreversible Dangerous Climate Change:

• 2.5M Green & Climate Neutral Buildings
• 1.5M certified sustainable products 

Congress has not been able to act on climate change due to longstanding severe opposition, has no firm plans to act, and would likely not be able to stop Irreversibility in time. Thus capital markets' action is imperative, and based on successful precedent, would be very fast, profitable, and improve investor confidence and liquidity.  

 

For more infomation on the Capital Market's Initiative go here:  http://mts.sustainableproducts.com/capital_market.html

Comments

[Ron Robins]

I agree that capital markets need to act. And it is happening with the introduction of many green funds and that most corporations realize that acting green they can save money and win customers.

For your information, I have a unique site that covers the latest global green-ethical investing news and research. It's at http://investingforthesoul.com/

Best wishes, Ron Robins