YEP Comments

The Youth Earth Plan, version 0.5, is now available at http://www.ourtask.org/yep.pdf, and we welcome comments on it. Note that each line of the draft YEP has a number in the left margin. If you have a general comment on the YEP, you need not specify line numbers. If you have a comment on a specific part of the text, please begin your comments with specific line numbers so that we can understand clearly which part of the text you are referring to.

For example, a comment might be: "Lines 245-265: You need revise the text to make clear that _______." Please post comments below. All comments will be available for everyone to see. We will collect comments until sometime in October and then begin preparing a new version of the Youth Earth Plan. Thank you for your assistance.

Post a Comment!!

.

How to deal with Polar Bears

It's an interesting situation now that the US has named polar bears as a "Threatened" Species. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said that "the loss of Arctic sea ice in a warming climate could drive them to the brink of extinction in less than four decades". Kempthorne goes on to say that in saving the polar bears, it is not a time to look at policy. Really?

Per the Washington Post, "Under the law, the federal government is now required to draft a recovery plan for the species, which entails assessing the population and its habitat. The ruling also compels federal agencies to consult with the Interior Department when considering decisions that could further imperil the polar bears."

I see no way that we can "save" the polar bears without looking at our current policy, or lack thereof. As has been proven before, greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for the sea ice melting. Therefore, how can you stop or at least lessen the ice melt without addressing greenhouse gas emissions?

Is there anything else we can do to save the polar bears in the immediate or long-term future? Are we going to have to wait until January 2009? I think this YouTube video speaks for itself...