The following YouTube presentation is taken from the soon to be release book ‘Letters from 2030’
Leon Tolstoy once wrote – People were not inclined to take their situation with any degree of seriousness: on the contrary they became even more frivolous, as is always the case with people who see a great catastrophe approaching … they argue that it is too depressing to think of the danger since it is not in man’s power to foresee everything and avert the general march of events, and it is better therefore to shut one’s eyes to the disagreeable until it actually comes, and to think instead of what is pleasant.

The Reality is a future we must change for all who will inherit the future we have left them, my children, your children and theirs.

The Reality is that those with vested interests to protect (big oil and coal; amongst others) have the status quo to protect. They have successfully done this with misinformation about climate change, as others have done in the past. :– Smoking is not addictive or a heath hazard!

The Climate Reality Project is to raise awareness of a need for collective understanding that the single (multiple) ‘extreme weather events’ around the world over recent times are related to a change in climate, directly resulting from the pollution of our atmosphere by the burning of once safely stored carbon (fossil fuels ) along with the increase of other greenhouse gases resulting from positive feedbacks linked with these emissions. We have entered unknown and very dangerous territory with our giant chemical experiment with the atmosphere.

Join with us now on this global action day to ask those still sitting on the inactive fence of comfortable complacency, to demand action from our policy makers, to move to a future, safe, for those who will inherit what we are leaving behind; my children and yours.

Join us in the live discussion

Free desktop streaming application by Ustream

The map, along with an associated animation (below) developed by NASA, reveals that ice is flowing fastest in coastal ice shelves and their tributaries, shown in this illustration in bright purple and blue. Though it’s ice that’s moving, not water, “you can imagine it like a river system,” says Bernd Scheuchl, one of the map’s creators. The fastest ice flows out to sea at a rate of a few kilometers a year. Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers on the west coast are the most active.

The team was surprised by how far inland they found fast-moving ice, Scheuchl says. So, if Antarctica loses a great deal of its coastal ice to climate change in the coming decades, large quantities of interior ice could follow. “That’s critical knowledge for predicting future sea level rise,” NASA polar scientist Thomas Wagner said in a prepared statement.

To create this view of Antarctic ice flow, the UC Irvine researchers relied on data from satellites operated by Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency. Flow was tracked from 2007 to 2009 during a period of intense scientific monitoring of Earth’s poles that researchers all over the world had agreed to do. A report on the map was published online August 18 in Science.

Source Scientific America

On March 1^st 2005 (the same day) we had been honored to be invited by the Governor of WA to a reception at Government House to meet Prince Charles on his visit to Perth.

Over the coming weeks my family pondered on March 1^st 2006 whether we should be sitting quietly on the back patio of our home, or standing on the international stage accepting this great honor. We decided to go.

In discussion with a colleague from the Department of Environment he suggested while in Atlanta I should try to get a meeting with Ray C. Anderson. At that time I had no knowledge of Ray or Interface Inc. A Google search soon introduced me to this great man. Why would such a giant visionary wish to meet little old me I thought? Maybe he would be interested in the research project we had conducted into the ‘recovery of embodied energy from discarded polypropylene’ I thought. You can view the report here. I dispatched an email to his publicist with a copy of the report advising of our planned trip in the hope she could introduce it to Ray. To my great delight some time later an email came from Ray’s personal secretary saying Ray would be pleased to see me. The meeting was set for 9am on February 28^th, the day we were to arrive in Atlanta.

On February 23^rd 2006 we set out for Atlanta with a stopover in Hawaii. At Sydney airport my suit along with some other cloths decided to take an alternative route via Canada. It wasn’t until the afternoon of our 3^rd day in Hawaii, the day of our departure that the suit bag caught up with us.

Arriving at 6.30am at the Sheraton in Atlanta where the GPEC 2006 conference was being held, my suit looked like a tattered old rag. Hastily my wife pressed it as best she could and I set off for my meeting with Ray.

Joanne Ray’s secretary met me as I came out of the lift on the 20^th floor of the Outlook Building and I was given a coffee to await Ray. As he came out of the lift hand extended in friendship he said “You must be Bob Williamson, I’m so pleased to meet you” In his office we talked for several hours, Ray telling me of his journey to sustainability and his reasons for doing so and me telling him of our decade of struggle. Ray was inspired by our efforts and told me I should write a book to inspire others. At the time I didn’t give this suggestion a second thought as writing wasn’t considered by me to be any part of my skills. ZERO Greenhouse Emissions did get written a year or so later and was published in October 2008 in New York.

As Ray and I talked like old friends inspiring each other with various stories, I committed to adding my voice to his at every opportunity. Finite resources consumed out of balance by us now will be needed by those that come after us. We need a Mid-Course Correction.

As our meeting drew to a close Ray penned in a copy of his book ‘To Bob Williamson comrade-in-arms for the good of Earth’ Ray C. Anderson. Ray’s voice fell silent on August 8^th 2011 but his echo is interwoven into every thread of carpet that is manufacture by Interface and into every person around the world that works for them.  

Ray you inspired me to start the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation with the vision ‘To broaden the understanding of choices made that impact or increase the depletion of finite resources resulting in environmental and ecosystem damage’ You have inspired many like me and left a legacy as large as the man. You will be missed but never forgotten. Rest now while others carry on the work you have started.

Your comrade-in- arms

Bob Williamson.

Within the next seven days the world will decide on what will happen with stock markets around the world. Within 12 hours from now the Australian Stock Exchange will open for business on Monday August 8^th.

For some time I have argued and promoted that economic growth; consuming out of balance without consideration of sustainable resources; is a designed for demise model. The world is living on a credit card that it cannot and does not intend to repay.

There are many such issues with the current ‘business and living as usual model’ that we are now encountering. Climate change is accelerating out of balance with how we can adapt. Resources are being depleted out of balance with how the future generations will continue to need to consume. We are living on a global credit card with a finite credit limit.

As the Cree Indian prophecy proclaimed “Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.”

Within the next week the economic domino may fall. It may only wobble. But the certainty is that if we continue on the current path of demanding economic growth without regard to the finite outcome…….it will fall.

Excerpt from the book ZERO Greenhouse Emissions. 

They could see that the business as usual model adopted and passed onto developing nations, irrespective of any of the Kyoto protocol aspirations, presents a high threat of pushing the global thermometer to four, five or even six degrees of warming by 2100. They now knew as with finite resources it was not if, it was when. And it wasn’t going to be later, it was sooner. When would the circle of economic dominos start to fall, and just like a hurricane, where would it strike first?

Around the world the business-as-usual model of the economically powerful was at risk.

What would be the eventual effect of increased concern for the security of investments? What about the global investment domino? Which investments would be safe and which at risk of panic? Who would panic first? All linked through the Dow Jones, the S&P 500, Nasdaq, the FT100, Nikkei, Hang Seng, the Dax and All Ordinary Index, who would blink first? Which of the growing market concerns would start the selling? What would be the tsunami effect of a market panic? With corporate globalization comes its risks, with corporate diversification of interests, comes cross losses. Who would report the story: “Blue-chip stocks are no longer a good investment for the long haul, the long haul looks a bit shaky! You need to get in quick for a high return and get out of the market before it crashes!” And what of the term “Market Correction?” When I was at school and the math teacher corrected my work, it meant that I had done my sums wrong! How many chances to get it right do these experts in economic finance need?

Are those industries that are exploiting resources identified as in decline at highest risk, or will they be the ones who initially profit from the demand in commodities as the prices rise, while there are still reserves available?

End excerpt

Well within the next week we shall see if the domino wobbles or falls.

Read the following and join her and the Foundation to demand the Grand Canyon is not exploited for destructive Uranium mining. -

Save the Grand Canyon from Uranium Mining

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Suzanne Sparling.  While I am a co-founder of SEN4Earth.org and the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation’s Executive Director of Operations, USA, I’m also a simple person, someone who cares and has a passion to make a difference.

After moving to Arizona almost 7 years ago, I immediately fell in love with the beauty of the area. Shortly afterward, I began searching for avenues to be able to make a difference with regard to environmental issues. While working with the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation, I became the U.S. Executive Director. My work with the Foundation led to a joint inspiration of SEN4Earth.org, co-Founded by Gregory Hilbert and myself.  We created it with the vision to help others to not only be further educated about issues but to also arm them with information, encouragement, and the ability to take action. Though I care deeply about many causes, my primarily concern is with environmental issues. My love of Arizona and passion for environmental activism sparked the Worldwide Campaign to Save the Grand Canyon.

Simply put, I want to make a difference in the world and help others see that they can make a difference too. Every change we make toward sustainability, conservation, and environmental awareness and implementation of changes to achieve those goals – no matter how large or small – matters.

I’m writing to you today to request your organization’s support and promotion of the Worldwide Campaign to Save the Grand Canyon. We are in a critical time crunch. The deadline for public comment is May 4, 2011. At that time, it will be decided whether a new 20 year ban will be enacted or if the mining companies will be permitted to move forward with the toxic contamination and destruction of one of the most incredible places in the world.

When Change.org contacted me directly about the petition I have on their site, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. With their assistance and emailing of their members, signatures skyrocketed from approximately 1100 as of April 4, to over 40,000 as of the writing of this message.

Change.org News Release:
http://news.change.org/stories/razing-arizona-citizens-fight-to-protect-the-grand-canyon-from-uranium-mining

SEN4Earth.org Blog Update:
http://sen4earth.org/articles/2011/04/06/will-the-grand-canyon-survive/

I implore you, please help us succeed with this campaign. I’ve been canvasing the petitions for signatures since August 2010. You may find the petitions here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/worldwide-campaign-to-save-the-grand-canyon
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/worldwide-campaign-to-save-the-grand-canyon-take-action/

If your organization is able to assist us with a news, blog or any other post, publication, or email campaign to your members, please don’t hesitate to send me a link and/or information so that I can show others your support and link back to your site.

Please help us save the Grand Canyon and all the millions of lives dependent upon it.

Thank you,
Suzanne Sparling

In the 60’s activists of the day changed the World. Today more than ever we have at our fingertips the tools to get the job done! We now have Twitter where we can network and get our messages for change out to thousands; and activism websites such as Care2.com where we can start petitions and network with like minded people from across the World. People who have said “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” People just like you that have started as a single voice in the wildness and shouted so that others can hear and join you in the call for change.

I too have become an activist and feel the need to inspire others to join us. Your story can reach and inspire others.

On December 22^nd 2008 the following story appeared in OpEdNews ‘Interview with an Activist – Are you one?’ Read the feature and then allow me to hear your story of your journey to Activism. It will then feature on the Greenhouse Neutral Foundations website to inspire others.

Send me an email to BobWilliamson@greenhouseneutralfoundation.org and I’ll be in touch to hear your story of changing the World to a better place.

Follow me on Twitter @ZEROGreenhouse

We are entering a future of increased uncertainty. Extreme weather events will continue at an increased pace and stretch many to the limit.

Recently we also suffered from an extreme weather event that left our home damaged by storm. The insurance company; I am pleased to say, will be picking up the cost of repair – this time. But how long can this continue before the insurance domino falls as discussed in ZERO Greenhouse Emissions, is only a matter of time.

The following was received as an economic alert and I thought it worthwhile to share it with you:-

Hi Bob

Is a Disaster Looming for the U.S. Treasuries Market and the Global Monetary System from Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami?

As if watching the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami and the ongoing nuclear reactor problems in Japan wasn’t enough, there is now a major threat to the U.S economy and the global monetary system as a result of the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Japan’s economy is the fourth largest in the world, behind that of Europe, the United States and China.  Any major decline in Japan’s economy will definitely impact the global economic system.  Some estimates now indicate that the cost of the disaster in Japan may lower global economic growth by a full percentage point for 2011.

Despite the unknown cost of rebuilding, it’s premature to suggest an imminent collapse of the global monetary system or for that matter the market for U.S. Treasuries.

But, there are major potential threats to both the market for Treasuries as well as the global monetary system.

The question now starting to be asked is “Where will Japan get the enormous sums of money required to pay for rebuilding its infrastructure and economy?”  Japan is the third largest holder of U.S. Treasuries behind the U.S. Federal Reserve, and China.  If Japan is forced to start liquidating its $877 billion in U.S. Treasuries to pay for rebuilding, it would more than likely have a huge impact on the global market for U.S. Treasuries as well as U.S. interest rates. Author Jeffrey Friedland.

Regards 

CA

Chairman

The debate revolves around the possibility of damage from earthquakes and tsunamis, but should we also be thinking about climate change and the implications for nuclear plants?

The following information is included in the book ZERO Greenhouse Emissions – A Nuclear reactors’ water cooling supply requires 3,776 litres of cool freshwater per megawatt hour of power generation. In 2006 nuclear energy plants in France, Germany, Sweden, and Spain were partially shut down as water supplies from rivers were too warm due to climate change to cool the reactors. Similarly in the US the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant was forced into partial shutdown as the Tennessee River at Athens, Alabama hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit while record air temperatures were increasing demand for its power in Memphis and Nashville. The Union of Concerned Scientists reported that due to drought during the past two years, nuclear power plants in Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois had also scaled back operations, while the U.S. Federal Energy Information Administration is predicting an increasing energy demand by 2030 of 40 percent above today’s levels, as population grows by a further 70 million.

So while we may be in the uncertain hands of earthquakes and tsunamis when it comes to the future of nuclear power plant safety – we are also in the hands of Mother Nature when it comes to reliable cool water for the reactors in a warming world with climate change.

Now should be the time when we lobby globally for the subsidies provided to build the nuclear and coal fired power stations around the world to be shifted to investments in sustainable energy sources.

Bob Williamson Greenhouse Neutral Foundation.