Go Jump In A Lake

Seriously.  I promise not to write about the global climate crisis
every week.  And I promise to keep todays Update short.  But this is
such an important issue that I have to bring your attention to an
upcoming event that didnt make the Update last week.  Its a special
event, not just because its important, but because its fun . . . for
some people . . . perhaps.  

On December 8th, representatives of
nations the world over will gather in Bali for talks on climate change
that will, hopefully, lead to the next generation of the Kyoto Treaty. 
Rank-and-file citizens around the world will mark the start of these
talks with the Third International Day of Action on Global Warming.  

In
Des Moines, local activists are organizing the “Polar Bear Plunge.” 
People passionate about tackling global warming, or simply inclined to
acts of insanity, are invited to a rally followed by a j ump into
Gray's Lake at 12:00 noon on December 8th.  The theme of the event is
Keep Winter Cold, which may be a hard sell for Midwesterners on a brisk
December day; but talk with any polar bear you meet on the street and
you wont see a lot of enthusiasm for warmer winters.

Organizers
are encouraging participants both those who, like Lynn, will take the
plunge literally and those who, like me, choose to regard plunge as
metaphorical to write a letter or sign a petition letting Congressman
Boswell know how important it is that he support the Safe Climate Act
(HR 1590).

Among leading Iowa Democrats, Boswell is alone in his
lack of action on global warming.  Iowas other Democratic Congressmen
Braley and Loebsack support the bill.  (Please thank them if you live
in their districts.)

Just last week, Chet Culver joined
governors throughout the upper Midwest to form a regional pact to
reduce global warming pollution 60% 80% by 2050.

Frank Cownie,
mayor of Des Moines, is gaining a national reputation as one of the
countrys most proactive mayors on global warming.

Every top
Democratic presidential candidate has come out with a plan to tackle
global warming.  On the Republican side, John McCain is talking about
it.

The Iowa Farmers Union, the United Steelworkers of America,
key environmental organizations and religious leaders have publicly
called on Boswell to do everything he can to address global warming.

Yet
not only has Boswell declined to sign-on to the Safe Climate Act, he is
supporting a fuel economy bill that is weaker than what President Bush
called for in his State of the Union address.

On December 8th
employing the creative notion of plunging oneself, polar-bear style,
into water a degree or two above the temperature of ice Des Moines-area
residents will have yet another chance to impress upon Congressman
Boswell the importance of jumping on boa rd the climate-change
bandwagon.

For more information, to help organize the event or
to discuss the latest fashion in winter bathing suits, contact Kelly
Mitchell at kelly.mitchell@wdc.greenpeace.org or (818) 282-0168.

Thanks for reading, and I hope we get to spend part of a day at the beach together next month.