Video: Introduction to 24 Hours of Reality

Between September 14th and 15th, the event 24 Hours of Reality saw people around the globe calling attention to the climate crisis and working to solve it. By the time former Vice President Al Gore finished his presentation on the evening of September 15th, the 24 hour long event had 8.6 million views.

24 Hours of Reality

This event is a 24-hour worldwide marathon all about the reality of the climate crisis. 24 Hours of Reality will be broadcast live online, over 24 hours, representing 24 time zones and 13 languages. The Climate Reality Project will host the live streaming event, which begins on September 13 at 8 p.m. EDT and ends at the same time on September 14.

What The Business Community Can Do To Protect Forests

The business community has a vital role to play using forest products wisely and sustainably. Responsible use of forest products implies that businesses develop procurement processes that buy products from sustainably managed forests, such as products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Governments can be expected to develop and implement policies that encourage sustainable use of forests, habitat protection and forest restoration. Civil society can be expected to play an increasingly significant role independently monitoring all parties involved, raising awareness on forests and supporting grassroots initiatives.

Perhaps most importantly to businesses, consumers are making wiser choices about the products they buy, increasingly this involves purchasing forest products that originate from sustainable sources that carry the FSC certification logo.

The world is changing and forests are at the forefront of burgeoning environmental awareness. Businesses that integrate the procurement of sustainable forest products into their supply chain now will reap the rewards. Those that wait to the last minute or ignore responsible use of forest products altogether will not do so with impunity.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The Economic and Employment Benefits of Forests

Forests are crucial to life, this includes providing refuge for many species, and clean air for all but they are also important to the global economy. Forests provide many important natural resources, such as timber, fuel, rubber, paper and medicinal plants.

In 2004 trade in forest products was estimated at $327 billion. However, short-term investments for immediate gains (e.g., logging) are undermining the long term sustainability of forest products. Economists around the world have proven that by not integrating the values of forests into their budgets, countries and businesses are paying a high price. One that ultimately impoverishes us all as harm to our forest life-support system continues each and every single day.

Forests contribute to the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people worldwide. Forests provide a home to more than 300 million people worldwide and they sustain economic growth. Forests also provide homes, security and livelihoods for 60 million Indigenous peoples. Today people who depend on forests for their livelihoods are struggling to survive.

But this trend is not irreversible. It’s not too late to transform life as we know it into a greener future where forests are at the heart of sustainable development and green economic growth.

Conserving and expanding forests needs to be recognized as a business opportunity. An investment of US$30 billion fighting deforestation and degradation could provide a return of US$2.5 trillion in new products and services.

Furthermore, targeted investments in forestry could generate up to 10 million new jobs around the world. Already, many leaders are glimpsing the potential for renewable energy and nature-based assets, but for transformation to happen, forests need to become a universal political priority.

The services forests provide are essentially to every aspect of our quality of life. And the answer to sustainable forest management, moving towards a green economy, lies in our hands.

Despite all of these priceless ecological, economic, social and health benefits, we are destroying the very forests we need to live and breathe.

Continued and uncontrolled deforestation has devastating consequences for the environment, wildlife, communities, and economies around the world.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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World Environment Day 2011

World Environment Day (WED) is an annual event for positive environmental action. WED activities take place all year round but climax on 5 June every year, involving everyone from everywhere. This year’s commemorations are expected to be the largest and most widely celebrated globally.

WED celebration began in 1972 and has grown to become the one of the main vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action.

Through WED, the UN Environment Programme is able to personalize environmental issues and enable everyone to realize not only their responsibility, but also their power to become agents for change in support of sustainable and equitable development.

WED is also a day for people from all walks of life to come together to ensure a cleaner, greener and brighter outlook for themselves and future generations.

People are organizing neighborhood clean-ups, planting trees and starting a recycling drive. See suggestions here. People are asked to report their activities here and they are being posted on the Wide World of WED map.

Host Country

This year the Republic of India will be the host for World Environment. India is the second most populous nation in the world with around 1.2 billion people. It has the seventh largest land mass on the planet, 3.28 million square kilometers. The country faces serious environmental challenges related to population increase and uncontrolled urbanization, industrialization, and the massive intensification of agriculture. The problems include deforestation, pollution, loss of water resources and wildlife trade. As the economy continues to grow, however, India is seeking solutions to tackle these issues.

Releasing a major report on the assessment of the impact of climate change last year, the Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, noted that, “There is no country in the world that is as vulnerable, on so many dimensions, to climate change as India is. This makes it imperative for us to have sound evidence-based assessments on the impact of climate change… We must continue this focus on rigorous climate change science.”

The Royal Bengal Tiger is a well known rare species under threat in India but the less well known Golden Langur monkey is the most endangered primate in the country. The Golden Langur monkey has declined by 30 percent in the last 30 years. A major threat to these monkeys is the loss of habitat due to the destruction of forests.

Theme for 2011

This year’s World Environment Day theme – Forests: Nature at Your Service – underscores the need for both conservation and sustainable use of forests. India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests is supportive of this initiative and to date has 39 protected areas for tigers and earmarked 5 more for the near future.

World Environment Day this year will help to raise awareness on the serious impacts of deforestation and forest degradation. Through engaging governments in action and your spreading the word on the importance of forests, this collective effort will preserve ecosystems and encourage sustainable use of forests.

Forests cover one third of the earth’s land mass, performing vital functions and services around the world which make our planet alive with possibilities. In fact, 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods. They play a key role in our battle against climate change, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere while storing carbon dioxide.

Forests feed our rivers and are essential to supplying the water for nearly 50% of our largest cities. They create and maintain soil fertility; they help to regulate the often devastating impact of storms, floods and fires.

Splendid and inspiring, forests are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on land, and are home to more than half of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.

Forests also provide shelter, jobs, security and cultural relevance for forest-dependent populations. They are the green lungs of the earth, vital to the survival of people everywhere -- all seven billion of us.

Global deforestation continues at an alarming rate -- every year, 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed. That’s equal to the size of Portugal.

As a result of the growing global pollution levels forests have often come to be referred to as the ‘lungs of the earth’. This is particularly because deforestation and forest degradation account for nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which forests would absorb if carefully managed.

Broadly, there are three main sources of forest degradation: commercial logging, fires, and gathering wood for fuel. Insects and pests also cause considerable forest degradation.

Benefits of Forests

Forests help sustain the quality and availability of freshwater supplies. More than three quarters of the world’s accessible freshwater comes from forested catchments. Water quality declines with decreases in forest condition and cover, and natural hazards such as floods, landslides, and soil erosion have larger impacts.

It’s well known that forests play a key role in our battle against climate change; storing carbon and sucking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it into their biomass. But what’s less well known is that the products and services they provide are essential to every aspect of life.

By regulating water for many of the world’s rivers, they help secure water quality, and supply nearly half of the world’s largest cities from Caracas to New York. They also help decrease the impacts of storms and floods, whilst helping control erosion. As the most biologically diverse ecosystems on land, forests are home to more than half of terrestrial species, from the great apes to the smallest of creatures.

In many developing countries more than 80% of total energy consumed by people and industry derives from forests. Such as fuel wood and charcoal. Trade in timber and other forest products, is estimated at almost 330 billion US Dollars /year. Its value multiplies as its processed into a myriad of products used globally every day. Use of the genetic diversity within forests enables the development of new medicines; progress in healthcare and science.

Forests cover 31% of total land area while at the same time supporting 80% of terrestrial biodiversity that live in them. Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in these forests, making them crucial to sustaining ecosystems. Not only animals live in the forests, as they also World Environment Day and forests

Rather shockingly, 36 million acres of natural forest are lost each year. World Environment Day (WED) chose this year’s theme, ‘Forests: Nature at Your Service’, to encourage forest conservation and sustainable consumption for green growth, and in support of the UN International Year of Forests initiative. Preserving forests throughout the world has to be in our collective consciousness so as to change our lifestyles.

UN Action to Preserve Forests

In September 2008, United Nations launched a collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries. The UN-REDD Programme assists developing countries prepare and implement national REDD+ strategies, and builds on the convening power and expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Programme currently has 29 partner countries spanning Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. REDD+ is seen as one of the most cost-effective ways of stabilizing the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to avoid a temperature rise of two degrees Celsius.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Bill McKibbon and the 350 Team's "Moving Planet" Campaign

On April 3rd, 2011, Bill McKibben and the 350 team gave organizers advanced insight into the new campaign known as "Moving Planet" in a global conference call. As explained by McKibben, it is time to get moving because governments around the world have failed to take legislative action curtailing carbon dioxide (C02). this new day of global action scheduled for September 24, 2011.

The lack of climate change legislation in the US is the single biggest obstacle to global action. Mass action is required as a counter-force to the fossil fuel industry which is aggressively lobbying US lawmakers.

Bill McKibbon joined the conference call from his home in Vermont. Bill started by thanking everyone, he went on to say that he expects this year to be "the most exciting year yet," in global efforts to reign in climate change causing CO2.

The 350 team has organized some remarkable events over the last two years including last year's Global Work Party and a solid understanding of the science behind the number 350 as the upper safe limit for CO2.

This year's "Moving Planet" campaign emphasizes the need to be in motion, it asks people to move with purpose to deliver a global demand for action on climate change. For 24 hours on September 24th, people will be in motion with a common message designed to make things move in the fight against climate change.

A variety of low carbon transportation mediums will be used for this event including bicycles, skateboards and canoes. Whether you walk, run, cycle or ride, people are asked to move with purpose. The campaign will also explore the meaning of 350 in specific places all around the world.

This has got to be the year when we get that motion underway. The effort to engage the battle against climate change is the biggest fight we have ever faced and solidarity is extraordinarily important

As this is an advanced preview, the "Moving Planet" website is not yet up and running but it will be up in a couple of weeks, at which point everyone can sign up for the 2011 campaign.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The Next Big Thing from Bill McKibben and the 350.org Team

On Sunday, April 3rd, 2011, The Green Market's Richard Matthews joined Bill McKibben and the 350 team in a global organizing conference call. During this hour long call, Bill McKibben and the 350 team shared their biggest, most ambitious plan yet, the next big idea for the climate movement in 2011.

The 350.org team has organized some extraordinary things in the last couple of years including The International Day of Climate Action in 2009, which CNN called "the most widespread day of political action the world has ever seen" and last year's 10/10/10 event.

350 is an independent non-profit global movement that derives its name from the upper safe limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Scientists say that 350 parts per million (ppm), is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. 350's goal is to spread a scientific understanding of the climate crisis and a shared vision for equitable solutions.

The "Next Big Thing" will take this movement to the next level. This event calls for an unprecedented wave of climate action that includes a clear set of ambitious demands.

To become part of the movement, visit www.350.org/signup, become a fan of 350.org on facebook.com/350org and follow them on twitter by visiting twitter.com/350.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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