One month to prepare

On August 28, 2009, I will clip in to my bicycle in San Francisco and embark on a 3500-mile journey through ten states to deliver a message to the President.

I am pleased that President Barack Obama will be attending COP15: UN Climate Change Conference - held in Copenhagen this December - but it is imperative we do not lose focus of what is at stake. Since Kyoto in 1997, the carbon dioxide saturation levels have increased by 24.06 parts per million, which is the same increase as the years 1959 - 1981 (see Mauna Loa Observatory). What does this mean to us Americans? Since we are responsible for emitting 29% of all carbon emissions in history (China, the next highest, can claim only 8%) and with polar ice caps melting at an increased rate, we hold a unique responsibility without much time on our hands.

Congress has recently balked on the issue by butchering the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Why invest $10 billion of ratepayer subsidies for an unproven technology such as "carbon capture and sequestration" when we can build new solar and wind farms? This year, China is planning to build a 30-megawatt solar power plant for $150 million which would be enough energy to power approximately 9,000 homes here in the United States. Doing the math, we can see that a wise investment would be to invest the $10 billion into a solar farm that would provide energy for 600,000 homes or the entire population of Washington DC.

In Copenhagen, world leaders have to be serious about setting and meeting global emission targets. Our President has to be ready to show real commitment and set a national emission target that is science-based.