It's Climate Week!

Get your florescent bulbs and reusable shopping bags ready, because Climate Week NYC is here! Though the summit on climate change taking place at the UN is looking to disappoint, plenty of New Yorkers are doing their part to bring awareness to this global crisis. Events like the Oxfam's Human Wake Up Call and beach cleaning initiatives began over the weekend, and every day this week is filled with lectures, rallies and projects inspiring people to do their part. Treehugger has a list of some of the noteworthy events.

Email This Entry


Comments (8) [rss]

The ice caps will do whatever it is they were going to do depending on solar flares, sun spots, geothermal activity, volcanic eruptions, polar magnetic reversals and other natural forces that dwarf any of man's influences. Changing the type of lightbulb you use won't make a damn bit of difference. Such hubris on the part of humans!

In the time it took you to type your reply China just fired up another coal powered electricity generating plant.

Nice try, but China is leaving us in the dust for renewable energy. They've already announced construction will begin next year for the world's largest solar power installation, 4x bigger than anything in the US. A huge number of wind turbines are coming online in that country. Their ambition is to leapfrog us not only in manufacturing and global influence, but in clean power sources. I think they have a fighting chance.

How do you fix a "problem" when you dont know what its cause is?

I find it hard to believe that almost 7 Billion people living on the planet with our gluttonous habits have no effect on climate.

I agree it could go one way or the other (Or hell, even both), but don't be so dismissive of either theory, especially if theres scientific data to back it up.

True, solar activity,the milankovitch cycle and other natural forces play a role in the melting of our ice caps, and climatologists have known about natural fluctuations since they started studying these patterns, but the anthropogenic contributions to our presently warming climate cannot be ignored.

if anything, the problem is inertia and complacency. I only worry that 7 billion people out there who do change their lightbulbs will think that they have done their part in helping.

This is not to say that we shouldn't switch to fluorescent lights, by all means-switch away! but don't excuse yourself from living more sustainably once you have, and please don't write off suggestions (as insignificant as you may think they are) because you are uninformed or lazy.

Its Climate Week and all I got was weather.

Post a comment (Comment Policy)

Tips

Get your daily dose of New York first thing in the morning from our weekday newsletter, now in beta.

About Gothamist

Gothamist is a website about New York. More

Editor: Jen Chung
Publisher: Jake Dobkin

Newsmap

newsmap.jpg

Contribute

Latest Tip:

Chinese government-owned construction company wins $100 million NYC Subway contract http://www.china
[more]

Latest Photo:

Subscribe

Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist.

All Our RSS

Follow us