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<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN class=normb><STRONG>
<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>[please forward]</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><STRONG>"If we burn even half of Earth's remaining fossil
fuels we will destroy the planet as humanity knows it. The added emissions of
heat-trapping carbon dioxide will set our Earth irreversibly onto a course
toward an ice-free state, a course that will initiate a chain reaction of
irreversible and catastrophic climate changes. </STRONG></DIV>
<P>The concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere now stands at 387 parts per
million, the highest level in 600,000 years and more than 100 ppm higher than
the amount at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Burning just the oil and
gas sitting in known fields will drive atmospheric CO2 well over 400 ppm and
ignite a devil's cauldron of melted icecaps, bubbling permafrost, and
combustible forests from which there will be no turning back. But if we cut off
the largest source of carbon dioxide, coal, we have a chance to bring CO2 back
to 350 ppm and still lower through agricultural and forestry practices that
increase carbon storage in trees and soil. "</P>
<P><EM>-- Dr. James Hansen, Senior Climate Expert at
NASA</EM></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=normb><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff size=6>Climate Change:
</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=5><FONT color=#ff0000><SPAN class=normb><STRONG>Argueably the
most critical issue of our time!</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN class=normb><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000
size=5>followed by discussion of climate
activism</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT color=#ff0000 size=5><SPAN
class=normb><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN class=normb>
<DIV><SPAN class=normb><FONT color=#0000ff size=4><STRONG><EM>--John W. Andrews,
Maggie Zhou, with comments by Victor Wallis</EM></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=normb><FONT color=#0000ff size=4><STRONG><EM>Moderator: Thomas
Ponniah</EM></STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=normb><STRONG><EM><FONT color=#0000ff
size=4></FONT></EM></STRONG></SPAN> </DIV></SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT
size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN
class=normb><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT
size=3><SPAN class=normb><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=normb><FONT color=#ff0000 size=4><STRONG>Friday July 24,
7pm</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=normb><FONT color=#ff0000 size=4><FONT
color=#0000ff><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>E5 in Chinatown</FONT>
</STRONG></FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=normb></SPAN><SPAN class=normb><FONT color=#ff0000 size=4><FONT
color=#0000ff><STRONG>(fifth floor of 33 Harrison Ave -
</STRONG></FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=normb><FONT color=#ff0000 size=4><FONT
color=#0000ff><STRONG>near the Downtown Crossing subway)</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3>
<DIV><BR><STRONG><FONT size=2> <FONT color=#000000>E5 Forum is generally a
monthly event, going on for the last two<BR> years, that aims to
build<BR> relationships among different activists. In order to do this
we<BR> encourage people to bring snack or drink to share with others.
Also,<BR> E5 Forum is very comfortable with having as few as five and as
many as<BR> fifty people at an event. The point of the event is not the
numbers<BR> but, in the spirit of the Social Forum process, building
productive<BR> social relationships across political and thematic
differences - hence<BR> the comfort with a small audience.</FONT> After the
event - at around 9pm -<BR> we usually all go out for dinner at a nearby
restaurant.</FONT></STRONG></DIV></FONT></FONT></FONT></SPAN>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN
class=normb><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN
class=normb><STRONG>Panel:</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN class=normb><STRONG>John W. Andrews,
</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN class=norm><SPAN class=norm><FONT
size=2>John Andrews is the</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=norm><FONT size=2> President
of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, as well as the new
Communications Director for the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts. He
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=norm><FONT size=2>has been active for many years in
support of environmental and pro-democracy initiatives. He has served as
president of Citizens for Lexington Conservation, chair of Sierra Club's Thoreau
Group, and state political chair for the Massachusetts Sierra Club. He founded
the Lexington Stewardship Committee and co-founded the Beaver Brook Watershed
Coalition. He has served as chair of the Lexington Pest Control Advisory
Committee and the Solid Waste Action Team. <STRONG>He was one of 250
environmental leaders invited to the White House by President Clinton in 1996 to
participate in White House Environment Day.</STRONG> He has served as a member
of the state steering committee for Mass Voters for Clean Elections.
</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN class=normb><STRONG>Maggie
Zhou</STRONG></SPAN> </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><SPAN class=norm><FONT size=2>Maggie Zhou is a
biologist by training, and a climate scientist by inclination, coordinating the
Secure Green Future climate project of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy
Communities. She has immersed herself in the scientific literature on climate
change and has taken up advocacy for urgent action to get atmospheric greenhouse
gas concentrations to a safe level. Maggie helped to get the Secure Green Future
ballot question (c</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=norm><FONT size=2>alling for 80%
greenhouse gas cuts by 2020) </FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=norm><FONT size=2>on all
three State Rep. district ballots in Arlington, where it received landslide
support of 85% YES votes. Maggie continues to up the ante for the social,
economic, and political change needed to prevent climate
chaos.</FONT></SPAN><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><A
href="http://www.berklee.edu/faculty/detail/victor-wallis" target=_blank
jQuery1248140363625="48">Victor Wallis</A>, editor of the journal Socialism and
Democracy,</DIV></FONT></FONT>
<DIV>Capitalist and socialist responses to the ecological crisis:</DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=content>
<DIV class="node node-type-podcast_segment" id=node-243>
<DIV class=node-inner>
<DIV class=links></DIV>
<DIV class=content>
<DIV class="field field-type-date field-field-publication-date">
<DIV class=field-items>
<DIV class="field-item odd">
<DIV class=field-label-inline-first>What do capitalist and socialist systems
offer in response to the ecological crisis? Can a model of unending growth in
production and consumption ever really address the crisis?
</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>Climate Links</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT size=3><FONT size=2></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT
size=2><SPAN class=norm><A
href="http://wakeupfreakout.org/film/tipping.html"><FONT
size=3>http://wakeupfreakout.org/film/tipping.html</FONT></A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>"Wake up, freak out, then get a
grip"</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>11 minute animation-- discusses feedback
loops and the</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>weirdness of the unique
responsibility we who are alive now have</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>to save our planet-- Check it out, share with
everyone you</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>know! (more interesting info on their
site)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>-------------</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm><SPAN class=norm><A
href="http://www.heatisonline.org/">http://www.heatisonline.org/</A></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm><STRONG><FONT size=3>Ross
Gelbspan</FONT></STRONG>, understood early on the dangers of climate
change and</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm>did his best to warn us through his books "The Heat is On"
and </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm><SPAN id=btAsinTitle>"Boiling Point: How Politicians, Big
Oil and Coal, Journalists, and Activists Have </SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm><SPAN>Fueled a Climate Crisis--And What We Can Do to Avert
Disaster"</SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm><SPAN>He has an excellent climate news
website.</SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm><SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm>A recent article by Ross on his website: </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm><A
href="http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=7311&method=full">http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=7311&method=full</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><U><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin"><FONT
face=Verdana><STRONG>Moral Leadership in the Greenhouse
</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></U><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><FONT
face=Verdana size=3><STRONG>A plan to jumpstart the global economy, defuse
terrorism, </STRONG></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><FONT
face=Verdana><FONT size=3><STRONG>and restore America's world standing</STRONG>
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P></SPAN></DIV></SPAN></FONT><SPAN
class=norm></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><BR></FONT></DIV></SPAN>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>-------------------</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm><A href="http://www.securegreenfuture.org/home"><FONT
size=4>http://www.securegreenfuture.org/home</FONT></A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=norm><FONT size=4>Secure Green Future</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>-------------------</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>Article by Maggie Zhou and Jill Stein,
"Markey-Waxman climate bill fatally flawed"</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm><A
href="http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion/x565620014/Zhou-and-Stein-Markey-Waxman-climate-bill-fatally-flawed">http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion/x565620014/Zhou-and-Stein-Markey-Waxman-climate-bill-fatally-flawed</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm>-------------------</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><SPAN class=norm><B><FONT face=Helvetica size=3><FONT
face=Helvetica size=3>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Mrs. Zhou Goes To Washington:
Scientist, mother seeks real climate protection for her 5-year-old</FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Environment - Energy
</FONT></B></FONT></FONT>2009-07-13 15:36:35</P>
<P align=left>Arlington, MA - Last night Maggie Zhou, an Arlington mother with a
5 year-old daughter, boarded an all-night</P>
<P align=left>bus to Washington, DC to attend Monday’s U.S. Senate hearing on
climate change policy. Zhou is paying for</P>
<P align=left>the trip with her own money because “I felt I had to be in the
same room with the people who are going to</P>
<P align=left>make a decision that will determine the kind of world my daughter
will live in.”</P>
<P align=left>Two years ago Zhou, who is a geneticist by training began to get
concerned about what she was hearing</P>
<P align=left>about global warming. Soon she found herself digging into
scientific papers and questioning climate</P>
<P align=left>scientists. The more she learned, the more she became convinced
that much more had to be done to protect</P>
<P align=left>the Earth’s climate. She used the scientific understanding she
acquired to open a dialogue with national</P>
<P align=left>environmental groups and some of the leaders of the climate
protection movement.</P>
<P align=left>Zhou’s research led her to believe that public policy is lagging
far behind the scientific evidence. Before</P>
<P align=left>boarding the overnight bus to Washington, she commented that “The
science shows that we may have a</P>
<P align=left>critical window of only a few years to take action before
planetary processes take the matter out of humanity’s</P>
<P align=left>control and bring on catastrophic warming. Congress needs to get
this right now if children like my own are to</P>
<P align=left>have a future.”</P>
<P align=left>Zhou has been volunteering for a Secure Green Future project which
put public policy questions on the ballot</P>
<P align=left>in 11 Massachusetts House districts in 2008. The questions called
for more urgent action to address climate</P>
<P align=left>change with green jobs programs. When they passed with an 81% yes
vote, it convinced Zhou that the</P>
<P align=left>people were far out ahead of the politicians when it came to the
need to green the economy.</P>
<P align=left>Zhou feels that the recently passed energy bill (know as the
American Clean Energy and Security Act -</P>
<P align=left>ACES) is far from a serious answer to the threat of climate
catastrophe. “This bill does as much harm as</P>
<P align=left>good, and in many ways it ties our hands by doing so many favors
for the fossil fuel lobby,” Zhou observed.</P>
<P align=left>According to Zhou, “Political feasibility is clashing with
scientific reality. I want to ask Congress to sponsor a</P>
<P align=left>nationally televised, thorough debate on climate policy by the
most respected scientific and policy analysts,</P>
<P align=left>so everyone can understand what science tells us and what politics
must deliver. This is important because</P>
<P align=left>the lives of our children are at stake. We can’t let this critical
legislation be shaped by behind-the-scenes</P>
<P align=left>lobbying. The debate needs to be widely viewed and heard,
accessible online and on cable, and leave</P>
<P align=left>viewers with a clear understanding of the pros and cons of
different approaches to climate protection. Once</P>
<P align=left>we get past the false claims and misunderstandings, the political
reality will change.”</P>
<P align=left>Zhou notes that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office agrees
with most economists and prominent</P>
<P align=left>scientists including NASA climatologist James Hansen, that revenue
neutral carbon tax – coupled with equal</P>
<P align=left>dividends for all, or income/payroll bonuses – is far superior to
the complicated and fraud-prone</P>
<P align=left>cap-and-trade scheme which Congress is pursuing. “But the fairest
and most effective solutions are not even</P>
<P align=left>on the table” lamented Zhou.</P>
<P align=left>According to Jill Stein, another SGF volunteer who is a physician
and a mother of two, “Maggie is amazing in</P>
<P align=left>her ability to absorb the scientific complexities and find the
right questions to ask. If we only had a hundred</P>
<P align=left>mothers like her joining the debate, Congress would move in a
different direction.”</P>
<P align=left>Added Zhou, “In going to Washington I hope to meet some of the
people with whom I’ve only talked to by</P>
<P align=left>email up to now. I want to tell them that Congress can’t treat
this as just another piece of legislation to be</P>
<P align=left>shaped by the usual lobbying. Putting a price on carbon seems like
an abstract policy issue. But I think it</P>
<P align=left>may be the best hope for our children’s future. In a town where
money talks, I can only hope that someone in<I></P></I><FONT face=Arial
size=3><FONT face=Arial size=3>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Congress will listen to what I’m
trying to say.”</FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Secure Green Future is a project
of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities.</FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Further information on ACES and
on climate science can be found at </FONT><A
href="http://www.securegreenfuture.org"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"
size=2>http://www.securegreenfuture.org</FONT></A></P>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>============</FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>If people have questions about
E5 Forum in general they can email Thomas:<BR></FONT><A
href="mailto:Thomas.Ponniah@gmail.com"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"
size=2>Thomas.Ponniah@gmail.com</FONT></A><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"
size=2>.<BR><BR>If people have questions about this event, </FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>they should email <FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Eli Beckerman </FONT><A
href="mailto:elibeck@gmail.com"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"
size=2>elibeck@gmail.com</FONT></A> or</P></FONT>
<P align=left><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=2>Amy Hendrickson </FONT><A
href="mailto:amyh@texnology.com"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"
size=2>amyh@texnology.com</FONT></A></P></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>