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(From CNN) – Climate change is “severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action” can head it off, a United Nations scientific panel said in a report on global warming issued Saturday.

Exposed mud banks at a reservoir in Spain, November 2007.

The report produced by the Nobel prize-winning panel warns of the devastating impact for developing countries and the threat of species extinction posed by the climate crisis.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, presenting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report in Valencia, Spain, warned that some of the effects of rising levels of greenhouse gases may already be irreversible.

The U.N. head said the situation was already “so severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action” could head off the crisis.

The report warns that in spite of the protocols adopted by many Western countries after Kyoto, greenhouse gas emissions will continue to rise by between 25 and 90 per cent by 2030.

The Kyoto treaty was a global effort to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The United States is one of only a few nations not to have signed the protocol, which expires in 2012.

The report also predicts a rise in global warming of around 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade.

Scientists say up to an 85 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions is needed to head off potential catastrophic changes that could lead to more floods and famine.

Ban Ki-moon told the panel he was hopeful that the report’s findings could help bring about “a real breakthrough” in climate change negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, next month.

The climate change panel was delivering its fourth and final report on the science of climate change and the impact of human-produced greenhouse gases at a conference in Valencia.

The Bali talks will set the groundwork for the successor to the Kyoto treaty.

From WebMD –  

Pediatricians Warn of Effect of Global Warming on Children

By Jennifer Warner WebMD Medical News

Children may be especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming and steps should be taken to safeguard their health as temperatures rise, according to a new report.

The American Academy of Pediatricians is calling upon the nation’s government and physicians to recognize the impact global warming has on children’s health and develop strategies to protect children from potential harm.

Beyond increasing the risk of heat-related conditions like heat stroke and dehydration, researchers say global warming exacerbates common childhood diseases such as asthma and allergies. Children are also at risk of losing a parent or caregiver due to extreme weather.

Global Warming Hurts Kids

According to the group’s report, examples of the effects global warming could have on children’s health include:

• Increased susceptibility to injury or death, posttraumatic stress, loss of caregiver, disrupted education and displacement as a result of weather events such as floods, hurricanes, and droughts. 
• Damage to lung function and growth due to increased air pollution. 
• Increased waterborne and food-borne illnesses, including infectious diarrhea, from increased temperatures and disrupted food supplies. 
• Increase in infectious diseases spread by mosquitoes and ticks, such as West Nile virus, malaria, and Lyme disease. 
• Increased exposure and vulnerability to heat-related conditions such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion.

From CNN, something we all know, but still it’s alarming,

From the air, Greenland’s ice sheet, the second largest on Earth, appears to be perfectly still.

But below the surface, the ice sheet is in constant motion, as ice built up in the interior pushes toward the coast in the form of massive glaciers. During warmer months, ice from these glaciers melts into the ocean.

It’s an age-old process that scientists say has speeded up in recent decades because of global warming.

The fear is that melting ice from Greenland and other Arctic areas could cause sea levels to rise enough to flood low-lying cities, such as Shanghai, China, and New York City, displacing millions of people in the process.

A recent report from the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of scientists from around the world, estimates the sea level rise by 2100 could be as much as 1½ feet.

“That sea level rise is only based on melt from ice sheets, and does not include a new fast flow of ice we have detected in Greenland that is generating additional icebergs,” said Dr. Konrad Steffen, a climate scientist with the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Tom Friedman nails it in The New York Times

People often ask: I want to get greener, what should I do? New light bulbs? A hybrid? A solar roof? Well, all of those things are helpful. But actually, the greenest thing you can do is this: Choose the right leaders. It is so much more important to change your leaders than change your light bulbs.

Why? Because leaders write the rules, set the standards and offer the tax incentives that drive market behavior across a whole city, state or country. Whatever any of us does individually matters a tiny bit. But when leaders change the rules, you get scale change across the whole marketplace. And the energy-climate challenge we face today is a huge scale problem. Without scale, all you have is a green hobby.

Have no illusions, everything George Bush wouldn’t do on energy after 9/11 — his resisting improved mileage for cars and actually trying to weaken air-conditioner standards — swamped any good works you did. Fortunately, the vacuum in the White House is being filled by leaders from below.

Definitely read the rest of the article!

Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace prize in 2004 and is founder of the Green Belt Movement, a member of Kenya’s Parliament and the author of Unbowed: A Memoir. Here’s the start to her article on Al Gore in Forbes:

NAIROBI - When I learned this month that the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize had been awarded to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for their groundbreaking work to raise awareness about the threats posed by global warming, I was delighted.

In 1990, then Sen. Gore visited the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and later wrote about our work planting trees with poor, rural women in his book Earth in the Balance. A few years later, Vice President Gore invited me to join him on a trip to Haiti to view first-hand the effects of extreme deforestation on the country. Nearly every tree had been cut down, and people, desperate to feed themselves, had planted crops wherever they could, including on barren hillsides. When the rains came, the soil just washed away.

…Back then, neither of us could imagine being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize or, indeed, that the Norwegian Nobel Committee would expand its conception of peace and security to encompass protecting the environment, ensuring the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources, and raising awareness of the linkages between ecological stress and conflict. By choosing Al Gore and the IPCC as this year’s peace laureates, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has rightly reminded us that climate change is the single biggest threat to world peace.

The author goes on to talk about taking measures to sustain the resources we have, like forests, and while it can be hard, to keep championing long term thinking. It’s worth reading the whole piece.

In Part 2 of 2 (disclaimer: Wal Mart is not paying me to say this)

I’m joining my blogging sisters and offering a solution for Climate Change that already has traction - BIG TRACTION - Women using their economic clout to support the market for a greener planet.

CONTEXT: Let’s begin with Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Friedman and his comments this past week about "the Solution" yet to be determined…

"… Al Gore has been justly honored for highlighting - like no one else - the climate challenge. But we still need a vision, a strategy, an army and a commander in the White House who can inspire young and old - not only to meet that challenge but to see it it the opportunity to make America a better, stronger and more productive nation. This is our crucible moment."  Tom Friedman

I agree on the first point, but not on the second. We need a vision, a strategy, an army - but the leadership isn’t going to come from the White House. Ever. At best, Washington can enhance what is already in motion. The answer lies in Time Magazine’s Person of the Year - YOU, and another big organism of YOUs - Wal Mart and the 62,000 YOUs in their supplier base.

Tom is a Pulitzer Prize winning author whom I admire. He described capitalism in "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" as being the golden strait jacket, eventually every country will be wearing it. That being the given, Washington can do little but follow the market - and there are 180 global markets according to Tom.

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome, then we need to quit looking at Washington for answers. Politics/democracy isn’t the system running the show - capitalism is. Not only do we need to leverage that system to get us out of this, it is the ONLY system that can. All those greenhouse gases are by-products of manufacturing. The trigger points to change them FAST stem from market pressure, not government.

We literally have months to set the traction for "climate-change-back"- rolling back emissions globally in eight years to sustainable levels. Hopefully this concentrated effort will pay off 200 years from now. Let’s support what’s working - markets paired with Sustainable Standards.

Al’s Alliance 7-Point Pledge is working, just not in the way they asked. Let’s look at the pledge points one by one, keeping in mind that Washington has done nothing to make this happen.

1. To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth.

While we’re demanding and waiting… Wal Mart sent 11,000 managers to China to help their suppliers gain the same operational savings and green benefits that they’ve achieved in the US stores and factories. At the same time, they are working with China’s government to be respectful of their systems, yet helping them see active solutions. The top 5 out of 10 most polluted cities in the world are in China. We can sign treaties, but eventually it comes down to implementing an action plan, something that makes sense to developing nations. Wal Mart is teaching them how to develop in a Sustainable, yet profitable way. Money is the international language/motivator when it comes to China.

2. To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become "carbon neutral."

Wal Mart launched the S*MART employee project which is a full blown program to help rewire how employees run their personal and professional lives - from bringing their own coffee cup to helping Wal Mart become a ZERO WASTE ZONE. That’s 1.2 million employees learning about self-sustainability that they can take back into their homes and communities. This same program is being shared with their 60,000 suppliers. How many millions and millions more is it helping to educate and more importantly motivate. Peer pressure works here, too. I move faster when people I know are holding me accountable.

3. To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2.

Wal Mart has a goal to be using 100% renewable energy by 2025. They are implying that same goal for their 60,000 suppliers. When everyone is reaching for renewable energy on that level, there is no economic need for coal. In fact, it’s doomed to fail. The market has spoken. (and remember, they are talking the same talk in China)

4. To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship and means of transportation.

See Point #2 and #3 and add to it that Wal Mart has several pilot plants running on solar, wind and natural light through sky lights, plus a new transportation fleet of trucks to cut down on CO2 emissions. They are sharing their knowledge with competitors. Wal Mart may start the initiative, but everyone benefits. With the technology is tried, tested and approved, then their supply chain starts to implement it too. That brings the cost down on a level that individuals can begin to incorporate it into their green(er) home - on a global level.

5. To fight for laws and policies that expands the use of renewable energy sources and reduces dependence on oil and coal.

Broken record time. The only reason you need a law is because the market doesn’t see a revenue stream from it. It sees it now. Solar development is happening at a rapid pace. In about a year you’ll see solar farms popping up out of market need, way before anyone is elected. That’s happening without Wal Mart’s influence, but it certainly propels the initiative along when Wal Mart stats 100% renewable power as a goal. But that’s just one thing. Wal Mart embraces all techno-solutions coming their way for trial and then encourages the adoption of the winners throughout its supplier chain.

6. To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests.

The BEST thing YOU can do that will have the MOST impact is ask for FSC certified wood. The Forest Stewardship Council manages that global program that ensures that wood isn’t illegally harvested. Wal Mart Buyers ask for FSC wood and they ask their suppliers to ask for and use FSC wood. They can’t force them to do it, but if that’s what Wal Mart wants - as a manufacturer/supplier, I’d work really hard to get it for them. FSC is a global standard to manage forests in a sustainable way. The more demand, the more sustainable forests will be developed. No laws, just market pressure.

7. To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.

YES!

This is where the dollar meets the message. Supporting Wal Mart is also supporting thousands of global supplier YOUs that are being asked to become sustainable and to be able to prove it. It’s the United Way for "Climate-Change-Back."

Over 190,000 women bought organic cotton yoga outfits because they wanted more than something to wear. It put Wal Mart on a path to building a new organic cotton industry. Today Wal Mart also promotes certified seafood, organic food, jewelry made from well run mining operations and safe electronics. Our purchases and blog postings can keep them on that path without one law from Washington.

Look at the masses of green sites and blogs that are being the voice of reason - that’s YOUs talking. We already have the army in motivated consumers who are willing to put their money where their heart is. That’s YOUs money talking. We have the weapons to keep companies moving in the right direction with blogs and Sustainable Standards (trust, but verify). We have the global "Commander in Chief" that can inspire and direct global industries of the world - the YOUs inside Wal Mart.

Wal-Mart is no longer a store front or a person, but a virtual economic machine that’s creating global tipping points for change. It’s power is in the millions of YOUs of employees, suppliers and customers working together. Lee Scott may be at the top, but it he left tomorrow, the machine would still be working its global transformational magic, because of millions of YOUs care.

If you’re a lover of Wal Mart, spread the good word. Inspire one another. That’s where change happens, during the one-on-one. If you’re a hater of Wal Mart, put down the guns or support individual products. Sustainable Standards will weed out the wicked and only the greenest products will be remain.

May the force of capitalism, put to transformational use, be with us all.

I have been to the mecca of retail, put my hands on the collateral and can report that we have a working solution for Climate Change - Wal Mart’s massive market clout of $350 billion is being used for good. All of their other issues aside, this is one place where they can truly help the world and arguably can do it better than any country or company.

Last Wednesday, Wal Mart held the CEO Sustainability Summit in Bentonville, AR. Over 1000 Supplier CEOs were invited to meet with Sustainability experts. The goal? To take the first learning steps in providing Sustainable processes and products to Wal Mart.

Years from now, I’m quite sure we’ll look back at October 10th as the beginning of what kicked business into climate change initiatives. Any one who had anything to do with Sustainability, was there - Eco-groups, Standards, Consultants, Universities, Investment groups… People you’d never think would be seen in the same room were looking to work together for the first time. Even the President of Seventh Generation stopped by the MTS table.

What set Wal Mart in the sustainable direction? A woman and then about 190,000 other women buying up organic cotton yoga outfits at Sam’s Club. They sold out in 10 weeks.

Lee Scott, President and CEO of Wal Mart said on a Sustainability CD they were handing out, "We were paying very little attention to it, [Climate Change], but more of our customers were paying attention to it… the first thing that we saw that gave us a glimmer, was Sam’s organic cotton yoga outfit, which sold out so quickly. That was the first inkling that there is a business strategy here."

I learned later on that CD that Wal Mart put in the largest buy for organic cotton that Turkey (the country) ever received. What that means is that more organic cotton will be available for everyone at lower and lower prices. If buying organic cotton is a step towards getting rid of pesticides in the soil and water, Wal Mart just did the world a big favor. With it’s first bulk purchase, it created the economic base for a whole new, safe market. Now it’s doing the same thing for seafood, jewelry, forestry and electronics.

While others are waiting for Washington to act, Wal Mart is doing something. The truth is, even if Washington did act, it would still be asking for the same things that Wal Mart is doing now along with their entire supply chain of 60,000 global manufacturers. And that brings us to the second big thing that happened on Oct. 10th - Wal Mart became a world leader and Washington became a market follower.

Two examples of where the market is working faster than legislation:

1. Out here in California, Arnold veto’d AB 48 which would have prohibited the sale in California of electronic devices that contain certain hazardous materials, including lead and mercury, making it consistent with the European Union’s RoHS (Reduction of Hazardous Substances) directive by 2010.

Meanwhile, today in 2007 you can walk into any Sam’s Club and buy a PC that already follows the RoHS standard. Wal Mart buyers didn’t need a law, they just needed a Standard to set the criteria. Those PC’s aren’t Best Buy or Comp USA PCs, they are brands that you can find in any store all over the planet. That’s leadership.

2. Recently Mom’s Rising tried to get the State of California to ban fire retardants in furniture, foam, fabric and carpets. It didn’t go well. Too many at the state capital didn’t want to risk being labeled as the ones who approved the burning bill.

Ironically, the State of California purchases carpets for its government buildings that have passed the California Gold Carpet Standard. In that standard, all the nasty fire retardant chemicals are already removed. [Consumers can buy the same carpets - just ask for ones that carry the California Gold Label.]

Standards to curb chemicals and waste and energy are already here and working their market pressure magic. We just need to be educated on them. It’s not that hard. Heck if we can figure out the plot of "Lost" we can learn about standards.

This month’s HBR (thanks Mark) addresses the corporate energy crisis. It has an article on Climate Business and Business Climate plus another one on why I’m blogging non-stop on the subject, "Word of Mouth Marketing." Social media is a huge influencer in today’s market.

If anyone knows that well, it’s Wal Mart. Many say that what they are doing is just to off set their bad press. It’s working. Capitalism / consumption got us into the mess and Capitalism / consumption will have to get us out. Markets create tipping points.

The difference between a PR campaign and the real deal, however, rests in standards. Wal Mart can ask and get those standards met. That’s market clout used for global good - and the women will be watching…

Today is Blog Action Day for the environment. Be sure to blog about the environment, check out this site for actions to take and sign the letter to world leaders here at Cool It Moms!

Thankfully, the Nobel Prize Committee knows there’s a crisis at hand! Today, they awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for its work to alert the world to the threat of global warming.

Mr. Gore “is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted,” the Nobel citation said.

“We face a true planetary emergency,” Mr. Gore said in the statement. “The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.”

The Chairman of the Nobel Committee, Ole Danbolt Mjoes, said, “We would encourage all countries, including the big countries, to challenge, all of them, to think again and to say what can they do to conquer global warming,” he said. “The bigger the powers, the better that they come in front of this.”

Gore will donate half of the Nobel Prize winnings to the Alliance for Climate Protection.