We, the people of Oregon, recognize that we face a climate crisis that threatens the well-being of the people and nature of the state we love. The decisions we make today will dictate the quality of our lives together and those of generations to come. Divestment will help to protect not only a safe future for our children and grandchildren, but also our state’s financial portfolio. Carbon pricing will encourage energy efficiency in transportation, businesses and homes. From the Bottle Bill and Land Use Planning to Public Beach Access and the Eight-Hour Work Day, Oregon has been a national leader. We call on Oregon to lead once again on this critical issue. It’s good for the climate, it’s good for the economy, it’s good for our families.

Australia should set an international example by implementing the plan designed and fully costed by Beyond Zero Emissions environmental organisation and The University of Melbourne Energy Research Institute. In the absence of any agreed plan to rapidly phase out the burning of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions are set to go on increasing for decades. This will prevent any chance of restricting global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius. As James Hansen of NASA bluntly states "The target that has been talked about in international negotiations for two degrees of warming is actually a prescription for long-term disaster." The current Australian target of 5% reduction of emissions by 2020 is dangerously inadequate. A target of 40-60% by 2030 is needed and may still be within reach if we begin construction of a national renewable energy grid over a ten year time frame without more loss of time. With accelerating release of methane from permafrost and the ocean floor, a positive feedback effect we could do nothing to slow could lead to runaway and irreversible warming, causing temperature rises of three to four degrees or more above pre-industrial. This would be disastrous for all life on the planet. We must stop burning fossil fuels. A national and international wind and solar transition scheme is urgently needed, technically achievable, and humanly possible. Ref: Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan – http://bze.org.au/ I believe Australia’s great resource of sunlight should be the opportunity for the country to lead the world in exploiting this renewable energy. – David Suzuki “The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a clean-energy future.” - Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, June 2010 Image: SOLUCAR PS10 afloresm

The year of 2013 has witnessed 3 MAJOR STRIKES on the climate front. ONE - passing the mark of 400 parts per million of atmospheric carbon, in MAY 2013. TWO - a study was released in AUGUST 2013, revealing the fastest acceleration yet, of acidification in the ocean, marking ten times the norm, which was substantiated by a Columbia Univ study in March 2012, indicating the pace of ocean acidification has no parallel in 300 million years. THREE - at the writing of this petition, a major city - San Francisco - is currently threatened by wildfire, potentially shutting down its water and power supply - AUGUST 2013. World cities are showing constant threat now from wildfire, floods and hurricanes.

The last mile mobility should not be by Fossil Fuel powered vehicles. The rate of growth of cars and 2 wheelers powered by petroleum products is contributing to the dangerous raise of green house gases and fast raise of global temperatures. More immediate effect is urban heat Islands that is making life in cities unbearable during summer months. So a shit to pedal power and walking is to be encouraged by design of the roads.

The BBC has a responsibility to licence fee payers to report items of interest to the general public. Arguably, the single most important newsworthy item both now, and into the foreseeable future, is global warming and climate change. Now, more than ever, national -- and international -- education on the facts of human-induced climate change is ever more relevant for informed debate on action. The BBC is perfectly placed to take a leadership role in this important area. Featuring a climate change report in the BBC's standard programming schedule would be immensely useful in counteracting the ongoing, and very damaging, effects of myths and misinformation.