FT Chronicle

Philippines’ top leaders from different sectors will have a leadership conference with former US Vice-President Al Gore as keynote speaker and other global leaders.

The lecture will have Gore present an Asian version of An Inconvenient Truth, a multimedia presentation on the threat of climate change and solutions to global warming and the subject of the movie of the same title that has won critical and box-office acclaim.

A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Gore has just published his latest book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, which proposes measures to help solve the climate crisis.

It is made possible by SM Prime Holdings and is to be held at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia Complex on April 30.

Carve out time to spend

with you people-

whoever and wherever

they may be.

As teenagers, many of us couldn’t wait to get out of the house, get out on our own-forge a life in newfound autonomy. Our society- and in part, instinct-tells us this is the way it should be. This can be a great time of growth. Yet the longer we are away, the more we may realize that home isn’t such a bad place to be. If we are willing to admit it, we may actually long enter the familiar door, see the comforting sight, and take in the unforgettable scents that comprise our past.

There’s nothing like the sense of ease and fulfillment we experience when we are in the presence of those who know and accept us. Some people may not have that kind of association with family; but there are friends whose very presence is like going home.

As we grow older, we often find it difficult to make time for the places and people we cherish. Like the little five-year-old who found school an alien place devoid of “his people”, we look forward to being in the presence of “our people”. Family, friends, and the familiar places they inhabit can be a shelter, a refreshing relief for mind, body, and spirit.

It is right for me to feel this way

about all of you, since I have you in my heart.

PHILIPPIANS 1:7

From- Coffee Break Devotions: Cappucino

US President Barack Obama delivered a speech before world leaders in the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen Friday to come up with a deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

He urges leaders to put aside differences but instead to agree on a plan. He calls for a collective action to battle climate change.

Obama talked about America’s enthusiasm to limit greenhouse gases “in the range of” 17 percent, as assessed with 2005 levels, by 2020. He also urged China— without citing the country by name—to permit international monitoring to know if it is compliant to its emissions-cutting promise.

Here is the video of Obama’s speech in Copenhagen:

A record high temperatures can go in 2010, said UK’s Met Office

Forecasters predict that the annual figure for 2010 will be 14.58C (58.24F), 0.58C (1.04F) above the long-term average of 14.0C (57.2F).

They say the combination of climate change and a moderate warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean are set to drive up temperatures next year.

The current record is 14.52C (58.14F), which was set in 1998.

Added to that are substantially higher emissions of some greenhouse gases, which are much more powerful warming agents than CO2, but make a small contribution to climate change as concentrations are low.

US researchers found that levels of some of them in the air are five times more than indicated by emissions data.

“We will review the forecast during 2010 as observation data become available.”

The current record year, 1998, was dominated by an “extreme El Nino” condition – the warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific that releases heat stored in the deep ocean into the atmosphere, raising temperatures globally.

Earlier this week, the Met Office and the World Meteorological Organization said that the first decade of this century was “by far” the warmest since the instrumental record began.

Their analyses also showed that 2009 would almost certainly be the fifth warmest in the 160-year record.

The Met Office, in collaboration with the University of East Anglia, maintains one of the three global temperature records that is used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

via BBC

The first decade of the 21st century (2000-2009) is set to be the warmest on record, the head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said at UN climate talks Tuesday.

WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud told journalists that the year 2009 would probably rank as the fifth warmest since 1850, the beginning of accurate instrumental climate records.

The December 7-18 climate summit in Copenhagen has brought together 193 countries to hammer out a climate deal to curb global warming and help poor countries cope with its consequences.

When asked whether temperatures would continue to rise, he cannot make predictions since unexpected events such as a major volcano eruption could lower temperatures.

The UN weather organization also have found climate extremes around the globe such as devastating floods, severe droughts, snowstorms, heatwaves and cold snaps.

The Arctic sea ice extent during the melt season was the third lowest ever, after the record year of 2007 and the runner-up year 2008.

Most of these trends are consistent with long-term forecasts by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which predicts that average global temperatures will rise by up to 6.4 degrees Celsius (11.5 degrees Fahrenheit) unless greenhouse gas emissions are drastically reduced.

The WMO’s global temperature analysis is based on three data sets, one of them coming from the Climate Research Unit of University of East Anglia in Britain.

The US government has declared that greenhouse gases could endanger human health and well-being.

The move could allow the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to order cuts in emissions and giving the agency authorization and obligation to make reasonable efforts in cutting greenhouse gases without the endorsement of Congress.

The news came as global climate talks got under way in Copenhagen aimed at forging a deal on major emissions cuts.

EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said that the scientific evidence surrounding climate change clearly showed that greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of the American people”. In April this year, the EPA decided that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases.

Reports imply the declaration to be timed to provide solidity to US President Barack Obama’s position at the climate change talks in Copenhagen, allowing him to argue that the US is taking action to fight global warming.

However, the president’s preferred way of addressing greenhouse gas emissions is still through the legislative process. The president is said to favour a cap-and-trade bill backed by Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry which is currently making its way through the US Senate.

GreenPeace calls for Microsoft  to commit in cutting its own absolute carbon emissions now. Microsoft and other tech giants like Google and IBM should also be using their money and influence to speak up for strong international and US Climate legislation. Instead Microsoft is funding the US Chamber of Commerce anti-climate lobbying.

It’s time Microsoft spoke out on climate — and the time is now (no seriously, right now).

via GreenPeace

Change is the powerful word that seems to be dispersing around these days, from Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror to the people’s cry for democracy. I hear the saying as it echoes through the field, “the only permanent thing in this world is change”. And now the only subversive thing in this world is climate change.

Earth is truly rare! Complex life is uncommon in the universe, unlike as what you can read or watch in sci-fi movies. Scientists thrive to find a substitute for our planet. Earth, indeed, is a unique planet, a living planet

To evade extremes of temperature, the earth must orbit at the right distance from the sun. In other solar systems, planets have been detected that orbit sun like stars and are considered being in the habitable zone, capable of sustaining liquid water.

If the earth were slightly smaller and lighter than it is, the force of gravity would be weaker and much of the earth’s precious atmosphere would have escaped into space. But what if the earth were slightly bigger and heavier than it is? Then the earth’s gravitation would be stronger, and light gases, such as hydrogen and helium, would take longer to escape from the atmosphere.

Another ideal feature is the shape of earth’s orbit. If the orbit were more elliptic, we would suffer unbearable extremes of temperature. Instead, the earth has a nearly circular orbit. And also, Earth’s tilt at 23.5 degrees made annual cycles of seasons, right temperature and climate zones are possible. The length of days and nights are exact, preventing the side of the Earth facing the Sun from burning and the other side from freezing.

Earth also has its magnetic field which creates an invisible barrier which protects us against direct contact of extraterrestrial radiation and elements from the Sun. We also have the atmosphere which serves as a protective shield from UV radiation.

Earth has all its ability to sustain life and cannot be replaced by planets named after a letter in the alphabet.

The Earth has a fever, is there any cure?

Like a patient in a hospital, earth’s vital signs are being closely monitored by climate scientists. Satellites track the shrinking of glaciers, weather stations maintain rainfall readings, buoys measure deep ocean temperatures, aircraft monitor levels of atmospheric gases. This vast array of climate data is fed into supercomputers. Simulations of the climate system are run so as to predict what will happen decades, even centuries, from now.

And now, it is in your hands the fate of our planet lies. It is in our hands being held together to make a change the Earth needs. For the record, I’ve started joining some of the proEarth campaigns such as reducing my carbon footprints by cutting my transportation usage to one and also minimizing my electric consumption. I’ve also started recycling paper and segregating garbage.

Just like what Michael Jackson has said, “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.”

Mother Earth has served millions of years for us…

Now, its our turn to serve her right…

Beijing, China – is to spend his final day in China Wednesday meeting with and visit

U.S. President Barack Obama will end his China days with a meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao and a visit in the Great Wall before flying to South Korea, the last of his Asia trip.

The two leaders of countries China and the United States, the leading producers of greenhouse gases, promised to team up to combat climate change and create clean energy and will cooperate to advance technologies and work toward a global agreement on reducing carbon emissions.

In addition to climate change, trade, nuclear proliferation and human rights issues were also addressed during their talks.

The two leaders “talked about continuing to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship between our nations,” according to Obama, who said he welcomed China’s desire for a greater role in world affairs.

On economic and trade issues, Hu called for Beijing and Washington to build a positive relationship in the 21st century, to build a partnership.

The U.S. delegation was met by an honor guard at the Great Hall of the People, and Obama shook hands with Hu and other top Chinese officials before the two leaders went behind closed doors. It was their fifth meeting in the past year, and they made no public statements beforehand.

After talks with Hu, Obama paid a visit to the Forbidden City. Also on the schedule was a state dinner to be hosted by Hu and meetings with parliamentary leader Wu Bangguo.

After his visit to the Great Wall, Obama travels to Seoul, South Korea, where he will meet Thursday morning with President Lee Myung-bak.

Photo and news via CNN

Studies show that these past 50 years, there is an increasing demand for food, water, raw materials and energy supply. Such huge demand causes great change in the Earth’s ecosystem and also diminishes the Earth’s capacity to afford the next generations. Earth loses its ability to renew or regenerate. More and more fauna and flora species are endangered. And of course, there are dangers that climate change may bring.

People have contributed great in Earth’s gradual erosion. Pollution is rampant everywhere. Avaricious exploitations still continue in every land. But, people can reverse such things through one great step to help our dying planet.

“The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.” – Psalms 115:16

But can Earth face salvation? We can surely say yes! As God’s appointed protectors of all species, we must do all our best to save the environment.

Bear in mind that only God possesses the ability to restore Earth’s glory.

“You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.” – Psalms 65:9-13

“The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.”

- Psalms 95:5

“O LORD, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions—
This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan
Which You have made to play there.

These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
You hide Your face, they are troubled;
You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
May the LORD rejoice in His works.”

- Psalms 104:24-31

Nice thing it is to know that Earth can support the generations to come. Let us see a Paradise to come.

“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)