Time for Change, Mr. Obama--the Whole World is Watching

It seems pretty clear that if anything at all comes out of the Copenhagen climate negotiations, it won't be enough.  We need to understand this and be ready for a longer fight.  In the post directly below this one, we suggested you call the President of the United states and tell one of his many receptionists that we need the US to make real cuts (3-4% from 1990 levels is not enough) and make a real commitment to paying back its carbon debt. (If you want to know more, this post has a lot of links and information).

Yes, I know India should do more, Europe should do more, China should do more, etc. etc.  But the US has contributed more green house gases to the earth's atmosphere than any other country, and in many ways they have done the least in the fight against climate change.  Sadly, the US is also the one country that could break the log jam at Copenhagen.  Calling the White House is unlikely to make a big difference right now, but it's still a good thing to do.  It will get us into practice.  And in any case, I am convinced that doing good things is... good for you.

I called last night.  I had to wait for 10 minutes and the call cost 60 rupees.  The receptionist was polite and said she was writing it all down.  She didn't mind that I was calling from Delhi.  The White House switchboard is only open from 7:30pm to 3:30 am, Indian Standard Time.  That's 9am and 5pm, Washington D.C. time.  If you aren't in India, you can find out what time it is in Washington D.C. by going to this World Clock.  Wouldn't it be great if Mr. Obama got calls from all over the world?  

If you can't call, you can still send Mr. Obama an electronic comment. It's easy to do.  My sons sacrificed some of their scarce computer time to do it themselves.  My eldest wrote, "If we don't do sommething about global warming we are doomed!  I know that and I'm only 12 years old."  His little brother opposed the war in Afghanistan first and then said the US should give more money to help poor countries with climate change.  If they can do it, so can you!

Here's how:

1. Call Mr. Obama at +1-202-456-1111 or write him by going here.  Tell him the whole world is watching and it's time the US take real action to stop climate change.

2. Why not also take two minutes and join "Hopenhagen". 

3.  Email or tweet or blog your friends all over the world, telling them to do the same things. 

I'd love to hear how it goes!