Friday Five: September 12, 2014

The UN meets to discuss climate change in NYC in two weeks, and the People's Climate March takes place on Sunday the 21st immediately before the summit. The movie Disruption provides insight into the reasons for the march and the perspective on our moment in history. If you are curious as to what all the talk is next week, this is what it's about.
Disruption
"This is the story of our unique moment in history. We are living through an age of tipping points and rapid social and planetary change. We’re the first generation to feel the impacts of climate disruption, and the last generation that can do something about it. The film enlarges the issue beyond climate impacts and makes a compelling call for bold action that is strong enough to tip the balance to build a clean energy future."

I have used the line for years that we know our military is full of tree huggers, but that doesn't mean they aren't right. It's good for a laugh, but next to the insurance industry (which also agrees that climate change is a threat), can you think of an entity that better assesses risk?
Republicans always listen to the Pentagon - except when they say that climate change is real
"At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, a Department of Defense representative laid out how climate change is exposing its infrastructure in coastal and Arctic regions to rising sea levels and extreme weather, and that it's even impacting decisions like which types of weapons the Pentagon buys. This is only the latest in a series of recent warnings from the military, which raised the issue as far back as George W. Bush’s second term. In March, the Pentagon warned, in its Quadrennial Defense Review, that the effects of climate change “are threat multipliers that will aggravate stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, and social tensions—conditions that can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence.” In other words, increased drought and water shortages are likely to trigger fighting over limited resources. The military has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas footprint 34 percent by 2020—and it’s already well on its way to that goal."

I could not assemble a list of stories from this week and not include something about Apple. Truthfully, I looked for something about U2 instead, but there was nothing inherently about quality of life, so I picked something about the iPhone 6. Except, if your quality of life, like mine, is enhanced by more U2 music, then just go to the iTunes store and download the album for free instead of clicking on the article link.
How green in the iPhone 6?
"According to today’s live-streamed event in Cupertino, Calif., Apple’s commitment to the environment includes a mercury-free, arsenic-free, and beryllium-free iPhone 6, among other things. This follows the company’s official ban, a few weeks ago, of benxene and n-hexane — two toxic chemicals previously used in the final assembly of Apple products."

All of us who shepherd children in one way or another have a duty to them to be honest about possibilities. We have bubble-wrapped our children when it comes to their activities and where they can play and when, but most of us do not educate ourselves or them about other real risks. It's up to each of us individually, but if we do nothing, and we are wrong, then we will have ill-prepared them for the future.
Parenting, climate change, and solutions
"When our kids ask us about climate change, or better yet, when we engage them in a conversation about it, this is the story our ever-evolving resourceful selves should be poised to tell. It's the antidote to the fossil fuel industry's narrative that renewables aren't feasible or that society somehow can't afford to invest in acting boldly to stop the biggest threat confronting our kids. We should tell our kids that attaining 100 percent clean energy within the next two decades is technologically feasible, and that it's our job and theirs to push back on any and every political obstacle that blocks our path."

Moving beyond Audi's cool "Two Spocks" commercial, we will soon have a more reasonably-priced vehicle that has driverless car features. I told you, the driverless car revolution is coming, and sooner than you think.
GM will introduce hands-free, foot-free driving in 2017 Cadillac
"The system will allow drivers to switch the vehicle into a semi-automated mode in which it will automatically keep the car in its lane, making necessary steering adjustments, and autonomously trigger braking and speed control to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles."

Happy Friday!