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Motion passed unanimously by all city council members
Since the 16th of August it has been official: The city of Passau is now a proud supporter of the Global Marshall Plan. This was a result of a unanimous decision made by all members of the holiday committee of the City Council.
Five representatives from the Global Marshall Plan Group of Passau was present for the decision, and they brought along concrete recommendations on how a Global Marshall Plan could be achieved for the city. Numerous ideas addressing energy management, the local economy, and other social issues were then discussed. Topics included: the optimization of the municipality's fleet of vehicles, the increased use of green electricity, the introduction of a regional currency, the promotion of local products and producers, and the placement of micro-credit loans.
The unanimous decision of the City Council is another success along the way to the implementation of a Global Marshall Plan there. The future in Passau is, in any case, very promising: Mayor JĂĽrgen Dupper excused the representatives of the Passau Local Gropu with the words, "We will be hearing much more from each other in the future."
In order to share experiences and achieve more organizational learning, "Best Practices" Teams and working groups need to be established. Those who already have experience gathering support from their state and city parliaments, or who are currently working on achieving this, can contribute to the development of these teams at parlamente@globalmarshallplan.org. Martin Mauch from Passau can be contacted here. It would be fantastic if such a working group could be established, so that the experiences and success of supporters throughout Germany could be shared and multiplied.
Source: Global Marshall Plan Foundation
Youth Forum of Freiburg Proposes Working Together with the Global Marshall Plan Initiative
In order to stop global warming and to do right by future generations, the councillor of the Freiburg Youth, Simone Ariane Pflaum (in German), has committed to the goals and ideas of a global initiative of students in Freiburg. Accordingly she has called upon the city administration to join with the Plant-for-the-Planet Initiative and to become active locally. "Action instead of words! Let us plant trees in order to take responsibility for our environment and to commit ourselves to sustainable climate protection!"
In the context of discussions in the council and committees on "Adapting to Climate Change," taking up the specific point of view of the younger generations should open a new dimension. Under the slogan, "We young people are working together because it's about our future," City Councillor Pflaum sought to train students to become climate ambassadors in an academy that was developed by and for children. As ambassadors, students create planting groups and work with the Freiburg Global Marshall Plan Initiative (in German) to increase awareness about climate change and to help win others to the cause.
The proposal can be found here (pdf) (in German)
Source: Plant-for-the-Planet
Frithjof Finkbeiner on life-span extensions of nuclear power plants on TV
Studio conversation: "Our government sold out its people." Christoph SĂĽĂź sought out advice from Frithjof Finkbeiner of the Club of Rome. He has fought for many years for sustainability and inter-generational justice. The nuclear compromise that the government has recently reached, did not please him at all.
But citizens are getting active. Here are some examples of activism with which readers can get involved.
More information here: (In German)Campact Campaign
No to the exit of the exit!
The black-gold national government wants to topple the plans to get rid of nuclear reactors. But whether or not a lifetime extension of the reactors actually happens is dependent on how much public pressure there is.
Subscribe here for more information about the phase-out of nuclear power (In German)
Avaaz Campaign
Citizens against the Nuclear Lobby
To Chancellor Merkel, the Cabinet, and Members of Parliament:
Respect the thoughts of the German people in regards to the elimination of nuclear power and follow the current “nuclear consensus.” Immediately begin investing in renewable energy solutions, so that we can develop Germany’s energy resources as quickly as possible. Please take the safety of us citizens and our country into account instead of the interests of the nuclear lobby standing in the foreground.
You can sign our petition here (in German)
350.org Campaign
Phase-out nuclear power yourself – organize a “Switch your Energy-Provider” party!
If you are angry about the nuclear politics of the government, then a “Switch your Energy-Provider” party is a great way to put your frustration to positive effect. The keywords are to phase-out nuclear and coal power ourselves!
Further information and tips (in German)
Source: Global Marshall Plan Foundation
Review of the Network of Christians’ support of the Global Marshall Plan Initiative
Despite stiff opposition from lobbyists – the 2,300 pages of comprehensive new rules and regulations reforming the US financial markets emerged stronger than expected and have set benchmarks for further reform in other countries. Some of the new financial market regulations that Obama has announced are highlighted below.
A list of changes:
1. Completion of a “Resolution Authority”: The government now has the right, in the case of imminent bankruptcy, to take charge of an insolvent financial institution and order its dissolution. A bailout of such a financial institution with taxpayer money is no longer required.
2. “Clearing-Houses”: With some exceptions, businesses that deal in derivatives are now required to perform those transactions in transparent and centralized locations.
3. “Debt of Banks” will be limited: Proprietary trading in financial markets will be reduced and banks will be encouraged to concentrate on customer-business. Only investments of up to 3% of core capital will be allowed for hedge funds and private equity firms. Furthermore, high standards will be maintained in the bundling and re-selling of loans on the market. One restriction is that at least 5% of a loan re-sale must remain on its original balance sheet.
4. The formation of a new “Regulatory Agency” with the mission of discovering potential risks to the stability of the financial system. This potentially includes the evaluation of individual institutions based upon their systemic risk.
5. The establishment of a “Financial Consumer Protection Bureau” within the FED, with the ability to establish governing rules over financial products and to proceed against anti-consumer practices of the financial industry.
6. Rating agencies may now be held accountable for the failure to correctly assess the risk of financial products.
7. Hedge funds will now have to be registered with the “Office of Financial Research” which will monitor and enforce trading regulations.
8. Assemblies will now have the right to comment on the salaries of board members.
Critical here is that certain banks will continue to survive and thrive, despite the evidence the failure of their business model. Moreover, the announced bank levy has not been realized, and the announced reforms will only be instituted within a multi-year transition period. The main criticism is the purely national operation of the financial reform – as of yet a solution for international networked databases has not been found. Hopes for the ongoing negotiations on the new BIS capital rules (Basel III) are that they will affect the world financial system similar to the U.S. financial reform. However, it remains necessary for states to take action, rather than solely rely on international organizations.
You can find the complete article here at www.globalmarshallplan.org (pdf) (in German)
Source: Global Marshall Plan Foundation
The Youth Study sponsored by Shell confirmed the impact of our initiative
76% of children and teenagers see climate change as the largest problem and the number of 12 to 14 year-olds who interest themselves in politics has doubled from 11 to 21%. This reported by the Daily Show on the 14th of September, 2010.
Youth 2010 – A pragmatic Generation asserts itself
(source: www.shell.de [in German])
Although the political interest among young people remains well below the level of the 1970s and 1980s, in comparison with 2002 and 2006 the share of politically interested youth has again risen slightly. This slight increase is partly the result of the middle and upper classes, as well as the younger ones. The 12 – 14 year-olds who interest themselves in politics, at 11% in 2002, has now risen to 21%. Concurrently, the 15-17 year-olds showed a positive trend: in 2002, 20% of this group was politically interested, today the number is at 33%. However, no increase was seen in the youth between 18 and 25 years of age.
[…]
Despite their general disenchantment with party politics, young people are willing to actively engage and participate in political activities, especially if the issue is of personal importance. So, 77% of all young people would participate in a petition campaign. Slightly less than 44% would also participate in a demonstration.
A topic that the youth are most concerned about today is climate change. 76% call it a large or a very large problem. Moreover, 2 out of every 3 teenagers see the changing climate as a threat to the existence of humankind.
A portion of teenagers see their personal effect on the climate and have begun to pay attention to environmentally responsible behavior. At least every other teenager has sought out different ways to save energy. 44% try to leave the car at home and instead ride a bike to their destination, while 39% have opted for a smaller car with lower fuel consumption. The youth who are especially critical of climate change have increasingly begun to take action against what they see is a political, and human, concern.
Teaser Image: tagesschau.de (in German)
Banner: shell.de (in German)
Source: Global Marshall Plan Foundation
10/10/10 Global Work Party – a day to celebrate climate solutions
Dear friends! On October 10th 2010, people and communities all over the world will come together to get to work on climate change and celebrate climate solutions. People will install solar panels and build community gardens, plant trees and switch to renewable energy suppliers. Copenhagen showed us, that we cannot wait for our politicians to act. With this global day of doing, our message to politicians will be: we’re getting to work – how about you?!?
10/10/10 Global Work Party is organized by 350.org and the 10:10 campaign. 350.org is an international grassroots campaign that brings together people around the number 350. 350 ppm (parts per million) CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe level to prevent catastrophic climate change and ensure climate justice.
Last year, 350.org organized a similar international day of action on October 24th. It was a huge success, with 5200 actions in over 180 countries. CNN even called Oct 24th the most widespread day of political action ever!
Do you want to get to work and organize a 10/10/10 action?
A 10/10/10 action can be any kind of solution to the climate crisis, whether small or big. The idea is that people get to work! We know there is a lot of energy and inspiration out there – let’s bring it together on 10/10/10 and build our movement for climate solutions and climate justice!
Read more in the invitation for 10/10/10 Global Work Party.
Click here to register an action.
If you are looking for an action close to you, click here.
Need inspiration? Check out our 10 action ideas.
On our website, you’ll find plenty of guides and action resources.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact our 350.org Europe team at davidw@350.org.
Onwards!
Please join thousands of people worldwide for a global day of climate action!
And thanks for circulating this call to your friends and networks.
Vicenza, Italy - Children Want to Bring the World into Balance
Vicenza, Saturday, September 11th, 2010:Shortly before midnight, Luca Bassanese (in Italian), the popular singer of Veneto is on his last two songs at his open air concert. Camilla and Felix come up from the back of the stage. Felix holds his hand in front of Luca's mouth and speaks into the microphone, "Basta Parlare, Cominciamo a Piantare." Applause and laughs roars through the crowd.
Felix speaks again into the microphone, this time in English, "We are planting trees because we want to have a future. Thank you for thinking about our future. You adults have 20-30 years left on this planet. But for us, 2100 is going to be within our lifetime." Camilla translates in Italian. The audience is visibly engaged and excited.
At the edge of the stage stand about two dozen children. They chant, "Felix, Felix, Felix". They are just one part of the 46 children from 19 schools in and around Vicenza. These 46 children are between 10 and 12 years of age, and had just attended the first Plant-for-the-Planet Academy in Italy that day. This spontaneous stage presence was emerging as a crucial element of the powerment of children: The childrens' idol, the singer Luca, calling Felix to the stage. The ambassador for the adults saying to the children: "Yes, we adults are hearing you and sincerely want to take part. We will support you."
More about Plant-for-the-Planet in Italy (in Italian)
Source: Plant-for-the-Planet
Freising, Germany - Felix Calls on the 22 Forestry Societies, Associations, and the Bavarian State Government to Work Together
In his speech on Forest Day 2010 in Freising, Germany, Felix offered the representatives from a variety of forest initiatives and cooperatives to work together with the organization of academies with the student initiative Plant-for-the Planet. “If you, as foresters and forest owners, take charge of the 2-3 hour forest-related part of the academies, the true heart of them, we children could focus on the global aspects. Let us work together and give the trees back the importance that they deserve. We children are planting trees all over the world. We understand that we are all part of a global family and are learning about how to tackle global challenges together. For us children, every tree is a symbol of climate justice.”
Philipp Freiherr von Guttenburg, the Chairman of the Association of German Forest Owners, showed that our use of the forests is intrinsically connected with our responsibility to future generations.
MdB (Member of the Federal Parliament) Georg Schirmbeck, Chairperson of the German Forestry Economic Council described in his commencement address the high and diverse benefits of forest and forestry for the entire population. Council Clergyman Johannes Wohlmacher, from the Austrian Schlägl, illuminated ethical aspects of the use of forests. Moreover, Joachim Vieweger, the Business Editor of the Bavarian Radio, explained that the principle of sustainability, which was invented in the forest, is an important guide for the entire national economy. Over the protection of the forests and of biodiversity spoke Tamás Margescu, the former leader of the European Office of the IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In his closing words, Robert Nörr, a representative of the Federation of German Foresters, was very pleased with the nationally unique character of unity which had been manifested by the joint message of the Bavarian Forestry Societies for the benefit of the forest in difficult times.
The organizers formulated their response in a joint message of the Bavarian forestry, “On the Use of the Forest in Difficult Times” which was based on the Declaration on Forests and Forestry in Climate Change. The message gives answers to the challenges which modern society is facing: climate change, economic crisis, energy crisis, and demographic crisis. (Message of the Bavarian Foresters on the Benefit of the Forest).
Source: Plant-for-the-Planet
Berlin, Germany - Children Learn how to Give Presentations with Plant-for-the-Planet
Starting in 2010, the campaign "Stop talking. Start planting." of the student-inititiative Plant-for-the-Planet is now included in the "German 10: Basic Revised Edition" from Cornelsen publishing house. The publishing house is citing Plant-for-the-Planet as an example of activism for children, one in which they can participate in a global movement.
In two lessons, readers can learn about Plant-for-the-Planet and ask themselves how their own school could participate. Moreover, the lessons educate students about how to give speeches and present ideas about public activism. A great example of this kind of activism will be the "Stop talking. Start planting." photo with Felix Finkbeiner and Peter Maffay and another will be the demonstration at the Hamburg B.A.U.M. "T.R.E.E." Environmental Awards on the 24th of November in 2009.
The textbook was printed in August of 2010 and is titled, "German Book 10: Basic Revised Edition" with a circulation of 100,000 copies.
Article from the Ammersee Kurier on the 3rd of September, 2010 (To read, click on the image).
The initiative in the media
Global Marshall Plan
