As anyone who has followed my efforts regarding climate change knows, I have been writing to the UN to request that the post of UN Global Environmental Ambassador be instituted especially in light of the acceleration of the effects of climate change, and the need for a true global environmental leader to bring all nations together to address this properly.
Well, Mr. Gore will be making
another presentation at the UN this Monday, September 24 as he did last September, so I have faxed a new letter to the new Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, entreating him to think about this position and the effect it could have on bringing about a cohesive global movement regarding this crisis to the forefront of the UN agenda with Mr. Gore as its leader. I will also be faxing this to Mr. Gore's office along with my own letter to him regarding it.
Also in light of this story printed just this past April, I remain optimistic about this effort:
UN's Ban, Gore Discuss Climate ChangeMy letter:
~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Secretary General Ki-moon;
Firstly, allow me to express my gratitude to you for making the climate crisis a primary concern of the UN. For me this crisis and how we react to it now will define us as a species. I am then writing to you as a citizen of the world who is very concerned regarding how this crisis will affect all of us, but chiefly the world’s poor who on the whole do not have the education, information, tools, and opportunities they need to be able to face this crisis in a way that will lead them out of poverty and into a more sustainable future. No one in this world should die because they lack clean potable water or other necessary life sustaining resources, and they surely do not deserve to have to face a future of environmental devastation at the hands of those nations that pollute the most but shirk their moral duty and responsibility in being accountable for what has transpired in our world because of it.
My concern is also with us missing the opportunity on a global scale to join together in this moment for this common purpose with an environmental leader of sincerity and passion who can bring the world together and bring clarity to this most urgent moral challenge. Out of that concern I sent two letters to then Secretary General Kofi Annan regarding the possible introduction of a new UN post, Global Environmental Ambassador, and I requested that should such a post ever be considered that the Honorable Al Gore be appointed as the first Ambassador.
I did receive a response to my request from the Executive Office of the Secretary General dated October 18, 2006 which explained that the belief was that Mr. Gore’s role at that time could not be enhanced further by appointment to such a post. While I do agree that his work has led to an increased and necessary awareness of this crisis in the past few years, I however do believe such a post would most certainly be a force regarding negotiations with world leaders regarding solutions considering that countries will be gathering to forge a new ”Kyoto” style treaty hopefully by 2009.
I see Mr. Gore as an integral part of that process as a leading advocate for our global concerns, but more importantly as a voice of reason who has shown he has the ability to bring people together of all political, social, and economic backgrounds. Mr. Secretary General, as you well know our world is now heading on a collision course between growing populations (many in urban areas and living in poverty) and the continued un abated wasteful use of resources with climate change working faster than predicted against us to tip the scales.
Just from last October to this year, ice melt in the Arctic has been accelerating at a rate three times faster than scientists’ predictions. Targets then must be set within this next year if we are to truly begin to see any sort of mitigation of the greenhouse gases that are responsible for the devastating droughts, desertification, and glacial melt we see taking place in Africa, Asia, Australia, and even now in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States.
I truly do believe our vision must begin with evasive action now, and that means having leaders that can inspire, motivate, negotiate, and who have a background in the moral, ethical, political, technological, and social issues that all come into play in any global treaty or global initiative that must move people to action. And we also need leaders who understand the plight of the poor in our world and who will not forget them, for they are the most important part of our future.
I then entreat you to once again consider my request, as I do believe this post would work in the favor of uniting many nations under a common purpose to begin the work we should have begun many years ago. I have attached the letter I sent to your office last year to then Secretary General Annan, and I thank you for your time in reading this letter.
Sincerely,
XXXXXXX
~~~~~~~
And that's my two cents.
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