The well-timed news is out: the 2000-2009 decade is likely to become the warmest since records began in 1850. The U.N. weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), presented fresh statistics on the second day of climate conference in Copenhagen.
The decade 2000-2009 "is very likely to be the warmest on record, warmer than the 1990s, than the 1980s and so on," said Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the WMO at a news conference.
These data present pretty solid evidence of global warming. And that provides a compelling argument for the transformation of our fossil fuel based economies to clean and sustainable renewable energy economies. And yet for me, rising sea levels and drowning polar bears do not present the first motivation for this positive change. I read in the paper that a potential climate deal in Copenhagen "will likely bear a big price tag."
That's exactly the wrong kind of thinking. Global warming is not an expensive threat. It is not a potential loss. On the contrary. Humanity stands on the threshold of an era of unprecedented opportunities. In the past decades, many innovative new technologies have become available and affordable that can transform our current economies based on polluting fossil fuels into sustainable renewable energy economies. This transformation will provide millions of new jobs. It will halt global warming. It will create a more fair and just world. It will clean our environment and make our lives healthier. In other words, the problem of global warming presents an inspiring opportunity to make our world a better place.
That's why at Ode Magazine we have decided to publish a special issue called "The Solutions We Need Now." This special edition is being distributed in a print run of 75,000 to delegates, influencers and activists in Copenhagen. This issue presents breakthrough solutions like "atmospheric mixing" by Australian naturalist Jay Harman and electricity generation from salt water by Dutch scientists. Moreover the special edition features action plans by well-known authors as Al Gore, Lester Brown, Hermann Scheer, Amory Lovins, Paul Hawken and Gunter Pauli.
This special edition is now available here for free to everyone. The ideas, plans and people that we need to transform our economies into sustainable societies are already widely available. Their stories need to be told more and more for the world to change. So spread the good news and let the solutions begin!