Go Dan Go!

Go Dan Go!

In a global publicity stunt, a U.S. environmental activist is poised to lodge a US$1 billion damages class action lawsuit at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against all world leaders for failing to prevent global warming.

Climate activist and blogger Dan Bloom, 60, a graduate of Tufts University in 1971, says he will sue world leaders for "intent to commit manslaughter against future generations of human beings by allowing murderous amounts of fossil fuels to be harvested, burned and sent into the atmosphere as CO2″.

He intends to lodge the lawsuit on Dec. 6 at the ICC in the Hague.

The prosecutor's office at the ICC, the world's first permanent court for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, says it is allowed to receive information on crimes that may fall within the court's jurisdiction from any source.

"Such information does not appear to trigger a judicial proceeding," the prosecutor's office hastened to add.

The question for media analysts and reporters is: will or should the prosecutor take on the case? One might argue in defense that world leaders are in fact trying to impose climate-saving measures. In Vienna last year, almost all rich nations agreed to consider cuts in greenhouse emissions of 25-40percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Talks on a new climate treaty will be held in Poznan, Poland, from Dec. 1-12.Rajendra Pachauri, head of the U.N. Climate Panel, says the cuts are needed to limit temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius, an amount seen by the EU, some other nations and many environmentalists as a threshold for "dangerous" climate change.

Granted then that there is growing consensus that climate change poses a real threat, is it not only world leaders who are failing to prevent global warming?

Perhaps the global collective of individuals, governments and industry is to blame and the ICC lawsuit a valid publicity stunt in the constant battle to raise awareness and prompt action?

Because it's action we need ― and now, right?

There's a PS to this - Dan and I have been chatting - so if you would like to send him a HERO GRAM - I'll pass it through to him.

Drop me an email to greenhouseneutral@bigpond.com

Had we better sit up and take notice?

Several days ago George Monbiot Author of Heat and respected environmental journalist came out with an uncharacteristic outburst in the UK Guardian see http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/02/climate-change-lord-turner

It is alarming that we don't seem to be taking this message loudly to the street. We need to get a parade of concern about our future to those whose children we are putting in harms way!
We need to sing not only to those in the choir, those that are aware; we need to get to every mother of every child, every father of every child, every grandparent of every child to parade. We are running out of time.

Once this parade is formed it will allow good policy on climate change to become good politics. Then; and only then, will our global politicians have something they will wish to walk in front of.

In my book 'ZERO Greenhouse Emissions - The Day the Lights Went Out - Our Future World' www.strategicbookpublishing.com/ZEROGreenhouseEmissions.html this message comes through LOUD & CLEAR.

Wake up guys. Wake up mums. Wake up dads.

Reports that only 12 months ago told us not to worry about an ice free Arctic until 2100, now say 'We were a little out in our projections, expect it by 2011 to 2015' - 80 years ahead of schedule.

At that rate we will all be fubar by 2030. Had we better sit up and take notice of either George or ME?
PS There will be a few people not too happy (pissed off) with some of the challenges I make to them in the book - I APOLOGISE ---- NOT!

Bob Williamson
Founder & Chair
Greenhouse Neutral Foundation