Being the change you wish to see in the World(Making a difference:)

The Great Persuasion mass lobby, 16-18 October


With autumn approaching the school bell will be ringing in Westminster, calling MPs back to the cut and thrust of political life - so let’s get together and say what we want from them this term.

On the weekend of the 16-18 October, Oxfam is teaming up with loads of other development and climate organisations to take part in ‘The Great Persuasion’. This is a mass lobby event that will see hundreds of MPs and election candidates visited by their constituents to talk about poverty and climate change.

We know that the thought of visiting a member of parliament to discuss these important issues may seem a little daunting, but we can assure you that a bit of enthusiasm is all you need. (And you can take lots of friends too!)

This mass lobby is being made all the more exciting, as it’s part of the annual worldwide event, ‘Stand Up and Take Action’ that coincides with International Poverty Day on the 17th October. Last year over 100 million people were involved and this year will be no different.

To be one of those 100 million all you need to do is:

Contact your MP and at least one parliamentary candidate in your constituency, either by visiting them, writing to them, telephoning them, emailing them, or inviting them to a meeting on 16-18 October.
Let them know how important it is to get a fair and safe deal on climate change
Give them a copy of the International Development manifesto, and get them to send a copy to their Party’s manifesto team.
All the details and information you need are in the Great Persuasion toolkit

You may find that other activists from different organisations are also planning to meet their MP. If you hear about this then do join forces with them to present a united front. It would be great if you could also let Oxfam London and SE know what you are planning - email kawright@oxfam.org.uk. Good luck!

Source: Oxfam UK

Being the change you wish to see in the World!

Given the challenges we, humans collectively face on the planet right now. We all need to take swift action as a matter of urgency to secure our children's future and that of future generations. Simple changes like limiting food waste is a start(Landfill space is running out), thus contributes to noxious gases ie methane into the atmosphere and this creates the greenhouse effect in global warming and climate change. An alternative is to compost all your organic waste instead(Vegetable peelings, teabags, egg shells etc.). We have to accept limitations and cannot go on expanding and consuming eternally in order to protect and conserve life. Here on Earth We are all interconnected to the source. Our future is at stake!

Living simply ie consuming less, going veggie,meditating, avoiding those unnecessary flights and lobbying your local MP really can make a difference to saving our future here on Earth.

And for the activists amongst us I can't highly recommend Oxfam's media shaker workshop enough(It's free:)for invaluable tips to campaign for a healthy and safer environment for us all(You meet lovely inspiring people just like you:0). If you are based in the South-East contact Lucy today!

Climate Change The Facts - Time for action we're all in this together

What is climate change? The Earth's climate has always varied, so the term climate change is now generally used to describe the changes caused by human activity - specifically, greenhouse emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane, which build up in the atmosphere and trap heat. Is it the same as global warming? As human activity increases the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere far beyond their natural levels, much more heat is trapped. Hence, the term climate change is often used interchangeably with global warming. Can it be explained by natural causes? Measurements at the Earth's surface show that average temperatures have risen by some 0.4C since the 1970s. Scientists are confident this change can be blamed on human emissions because the increase is too big to be explained by natural causes. Although natural factors such as changes in the sun and large volcanic eruptions are known to have warmed and cooled the planet in the past, these effects are not powerful enough to explain the rapid warming seen recently. Only an increased greenhouse effect caused by higher amounts of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere can explain it. What is the main greenhouse gas? Water vapour in the atmosphere produces the strongest greenhouse effect, but it has been in balance for millions of years. Human emissions, though relatively small, tip that balance. Carbon dioxide is the chief greenhouse gas produced by human activity. It is produced when we burn fossil fuels: oil, gas and coal. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is measured in parts per million (ppm). Before the industrial revolution, the carbon dioxide level was about 280ppm. It is now 386ppm and rising by 2-3ppm each year. When other greenhouse gases such as methane are included, the total level in the atmosphere, known as the carbon dioxide equivalent, is closer to 440ppm. What future temperature rise is expected? Scientists say continued emissions will cause the planet to heat up further. To work out how much, they use computer models based on the programs used to predict the weather. These models are not perfect, and struggle to simulate some features of the climate system such as clouds. To get around this, the scientists run many different versions and pool the results. The computer models predict that if emissions continue to rise at the present rate, average temperatures will most likely increase by 4C by 2100. There are uncertainties, though - for example, the planet's oceans, forests and soils could release their massive stocks of carbon as the world warms, leading to much greater temperature rises than human emissions alone would cause. Why are warmer temperatures bad? Most plants and animals have evolved to live in a fairly narrow ecological niche. Some will move to find their desired conditions, others will be able to adapt. Those that cannot move or adapt will perish. Some animals, such as the polar bear, have nowhere to move to. A warmer climate will affect agriculture and water availability. Increased temperatures are also expected to limit rainfall in some regions and bring more extreme weather events such as storms to others. Sea levels will rise - gradually at first as the extra warmth works its way into the oceans and makes them expand; more quickly if the gigantic ice sheets in Greenland and west Antarctica start to break up. How can we tackle global warming? Scientists say the only realistic way at present is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. How to do that - and where - is a political hot potato. Because it takes time for the heat to build up in the atmosphere, and because carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for a long time, there is a lag in the system, which means the effect of any changes will not be felt for decades. Put bluntly, we are headed for about another 0.5C of warming whatever we do. What are the Kyoto protocol and the Copenhagen climate talks? The world's only existing treaty to limit emissions, the Kyoto protocol, has had limited success, and expires in 2012. Politicians are working to develop a replacement that would include countries excluded from Kyoto, such as China, and those that refused to join, such as the US. From December 7, environment ministers and officials will meet in Copenhagen to thrash out a successor to Kyoto. The two week event is being seen by many environmentalists as a crucial diplomatic opportunity to create an international agreement on meaningful cuts in emissions that will prevent the worst consequences of climate change. Can renewable energy help? The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that we already have most of the technology we need to bring down emissions significantly. These include renewable energy sources such as windmills, geothermal and solar panels, as well as more efficient cars and power stations. What about carbon trading? Carbon trading is a market mechanism to achieve cuts in emissions. Countries or groups of countries (such as the EU) first agree a cap or maximum emissions level. Individual companies are then either given or must purchase carbon credits - the right to emit a certain amount of CO2. If they exceed their allowance they must purchase permits from another company that has company that has fallen short of its cap. If the cost of buying carbon credits is high enough it incentivises companies to invest in measures to reduce their emissions. To date, the EU's emissions trading scheme has been heavily criticised for failing to reduce emissions. In the first phase, the number of permits issued was too high, sending the carbon price crashing and so removing any incentive for companies to spend money reducing their emissions. The environmentalist James Lovelock has branded Europe's carbon trading scheme a "scam". What about carbon offsetting? Offsetting is controversial because some people see it as an excuse not to change our behaviour. There are also concerns about whether it delivers the promised savings, as much of the market is unregulated. What about storing the CO2 underground or blocking the sun? One technology that would allow us to continue burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil without increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere is carbon capture and storage (CCS). This involves extracting CO2 at power stations then pumping it underground. Critics argue the technology will prove expensive and is several years away from being proven. A more drastic approach is so-called geo-engineering. These are major technological fixes such as seeding clouds to bounce some of the sun's radiation back into space or stimulating the growth of algae in the oceans to soak up CO2. These are much more speculative, but Barack Obama's scientific adviser, John Holdren, has said that he is open to even these drastic measures. If you have any questions about this email, please contact the guardian.co.uk user help desk: userhelp@guardian.co.uk. guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2009Registered in England and Wales No. 908396Registered office: Number 1 Scott Place, Manchester M3 3GG Please consider the environment before printing this email.------------------------------------------------------------------Visit source:guardian.co.uk - the UK's most popular newspaper websitehttp://guardian.co.uk http://observer.co.uk

Nature / Nurture

Instead of a whole overwhelming list of goals, nurture will be a theme to base my entire existence around. With a long history of chronic self-esteem issues(I'm not knocking my folks etc., they did their best)I thought it would be a good idea to really nurture from within. I haven't been looking after myself lately, so what better place to start!

Heart-felt Codolences to cinematic artist Patrick Swayze's wife, Lisa and family

I'm quite sad and shocked to here that this charismatic performer lost his fight for life today. Sad day for the film industry and creative artists everywhere. Sad day for us all. He played a nice guy(Dirty Dancing and Ghost:)on screen and comes across as a gentleman in real-life(Married to his childhood sweetheart, Lisa for years:).

My thoughts are with his wife, Lisa and loved-ones.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Special thoughts to the family and friends of the flamboyant TV chef, Keith Floyd. He was quite a TV personality!

Again so young, it is no age to pass away.

xoxoxoxoxo

Copy Cats!

I recently discovered that my favourite baby name of *ALL TIME(It's Olivia:)tops the recent surveyed poll in Blighty in 2009. I take it as a sign I have good taste and attune with the majority of the maternal British mother!

* My baby name(For a girl:0) of choice for many years now:)

Why Olivia?

Quite simply, extending the olive branch is the traditional sign of peace and friendship. It is also quite an elegant name too - I love it:)

My daughter's names would be: Olivia, Jasmine, Alessandra(Jasmine the Hypnotic and delightfully fragranced flowers and Alex translating into defender of mankind and once again one has loved the name for decades:)

My son would be: Oliver, Justin, Alessandro, Matthew, Albie / Alby / Alban / Alben........... on those lines!

Hurray It's September!

Pinch punch first of the month!

I do love the ninth month of the year and how auspicious is this year going?! what with the ninth day of September 2009 ie 9/09/09 only days away(Yes, I'm a big fan of numerology:)

How exciting indeed!

Blessings / Namaste:)

xoxoxoxoxoxo