A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, found that only 57 percent of Americans believe there is strong scientific evidence for global warming, down from 77 percent in 2006.

It would appear that climate skeptics did a great job in confusing the public about the real issues at stake.

The Associated Press wanted to clear up the confusion in a recent article titled “AP IMPACT: Statisticians reject global cooling” By Seth Borenstein. In this article, AP asked several independent statisticians to look at a set of data and see if they could find any trends. They did not disclose what the data was. Unsurprisingly the experts found no true temperature declines over time. (Read full article here)

"To talk about global cooling at the end of the hottest decade the planet has experienced in many thousands of years is ridiculous," said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford.

Ben Santer, a climate scientist at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Lab, called the "global cooling" efforts "a concerted strategy to obfuscate and generate confusion in the minds of the public and policymakers" ahead of international climate talks in December in Copenhagen.

Now it is more important than ever, with the climate summit in Copenhagen coming up, to be well-informed about the real implications these “confusions” about Climate Change can have for us and for future generations.

Radiohead are “one of the more diligent acts when it comes to reducing their impact on the environment,” Carroll reports. “They’ve promoted the idea of city-based gigs over festivals such as Glastonbury to ensure audiences can use available public transport. They also maintain separate equipment for European and US tours to lessen transport emissions and used a LED lighting system on the road to reduce their power needs.”

And when he's not campaigning for peace in Burma, the Irish musician Damien Rice cares about trees. In 2006, he “curated the Big Tree stage at 2006’s Electric Picnic, after which 20 native trees were planted by the Native Woodland Trust for every act that performed on the stage. He has also worked and fund-raised for the Global Green movement advocating green buildings and cities.”

Read the article for the entire list of musicians and their green deeds.

How realistic is this video? Well, people do bring their kids to protests. (And why not? It can be a nice day out for a bit of a walk. Get away from the game console and learn a bit about free speech.) Reminds me of the kids in this climate camp video.

What if we all started bringing kids to climate protests? After all, they're going to have to live with our decisions.

Maybe it's the economy taking up all the worry space, maybe it's the massive disinformation campaign from coal and oil companies or maybe it's just climate change is not an easy thing to communicate. It's like a boiling frog. Maybe we need to do a better job communicating.

Clearly, what we're doing now isn't enough.

Mike is a Web Editor for GP USA and was onboard the Esperanza serving as a webbie for the Defending Our Oceans campaign. On his blog he writes, "the tour was a really amazing experience for me and seeing as I’m still trying to process all of it, I thought I’d share just a few more videos about life onboard a Greenpeace ship."

Video tour of the Esperanza from Mike G on Vimeo.

Before leaving Vanuatu for the second leg of the Pacific tour, the onboard videographer did a quick dive test to check his underwater camera. He swam under the Esperanza and filmed the whole thing. Mike writes, "I thought the footage was pretty amazing and definitely worth sharing with you all. But to make it even more interesting, I asked the Esperanza's chief engineer, Freddy, to narrate what we were seeing."

Esperanza hull dive from Mike G on Vimeo.

One of our Greenpeace elders, Bob Hunter, once said that the thing about demanding big change is that it looks impossible when you start, and inevitable after you've finished.

Stop the use and transport of Chlorine? What are you CRAZY? Our campaign to stop chlorine transports in the US met with industry resistance, lobbyist counter-attacks, smear campaigns and cries of anti-american anti-capitalist luddite fear-mongering.

This despite the fact that both the General Accounting Office had agreed with our concerns that an accident or attack on one of these transports would be a massive safety risk. The GAO warned the Bush administration that "123 chemical facilities located throughout the nation have toxic 'worst-case' scenarios where more than a million people in the surrounding area could be at risk of exposure to a cloud of toxic gas if a release occurred."

Under Bush, the EPA had responded to those concerns by announcing an investigation into Chlorine transport safety post 9/11, but then a funny think happened on the way to the capitol.

According to The Progressive,

"We heard from industry," says a former EPA official who declines to be named. The chemical lobby insisted that the agency did not have authority to go after companies that did not adequately safeguard their plants, the official says.

Among the lobby groups who vehemently opposed the EPA having regulatory power over the chlorine inudstry? The American Petroleum Institute, of course.

And as to all those claims by chlorine industry lobbyists that manufacturers can't afford to do the right thing for the environment? Here's what Clorox spokesperson Dan Staubin had to say: "By transitioning to a new manufacturing process now, that allows us to stay head of regulations and potentially avoid costs," Staublin said.

And the AP story closed on this note: "Clorox shares rose 17 cents, or 0.3 percent, Monday to close at $59.40."

If you live in the US, take action with Greenpeace USA to demand Congress vote for legislation that would require the highest risk chemical plants to use the safest chemical processes available to them.

Regular readers will know Greenpeace in Japan has not had an easy ride, especially lately with the Tokyo Two case. We decided to launch the Guide in Japanese for two simple reasons:

The Guide includes Japanese companies such as Toshiba, Sharp, Sony, Panasonic, Fujitsu and Nintendo. These companies have large markets in Japan that our English version of the Guide doesn’t reach normally.

Greenpeace is often incorrectly portrayed in Japan as being only about whaling and being anti Japanese. Greenpeace’s work in other areas is not known and the fact that Greenpeace has helped drive progressive environmental change from some of the biggest companies in Japan (OK not so much from Nintendo!) is a fact that could help change important perceptions of Greenpeace in Japan.

Zeina journeyed from Amsterdam to Tokyo to be our international spokesperson, the office put in sterling work to translate 37 pages of dense company information into, apparently, 137 pages of Japanese text – obviously complex terms like precautionary principle and Individual producer responsibility must be really long in Japanese.

Zeina phoned today to report that the launch press conference went really well with lots of important Japanese media there and asking detailed questions about how we rated Japanese companies environmental performance. We’ll have to wait and see what’s written in the media but as one journalist from the Asahi Shimbun (second biggest daily paper in Japan) told Zeina:

“You’ve change my whole perception of Greenpeace”

Now if we get media stories even half as positive as this quote it will be mission accomplished.

Oh for shame, lobbyists. An investigation has found that a lobbying firm forged letters from the NAACP and a Hispanic community organization in Charlottesville, Virginia, saying that the organizations opposed the American Clean Energy and Security Act. The forged letters went to Congressman Tom Perriello (D-VA 5th) and as expected, the community groups are incensed (as are the rest of us).

Neither of the groups oppose the bill.

UPDATE: Groups Impersonated by Big Coal Testify Before Congress

Naturally, the "clean coal" industry group (American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, aka ACCCE) first response was to say the PR/lobbying firm they hired was acting without their approval. Only thing is, now it's come out that the "clean coal" group knew about the letters. Dishonest - definitely.

Talking Points Memo is also digging into the story, and they've found a former employee of the PR/lobbying firm who's willing to talk:

Earlier today, we told you about the forged letter sent by a lobbying firm to a lawmaker, urging him to oppose climate change legislation. The letter ran under the letterhead of a local Hispanic group, but really was sent by an employee at Bonner and Associates, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm with a slew of corporate clients.

In response, Jack Bonner said the letter had been sent by a "temporary employee" who has since been fired, and blamed the problem on that one "bad employee." But a former Bonner and Associates employee who spoke to TPMmuckraker significantly complicated that picture, portraying Bonner and Associates as a place where ethical missteps were far from rare. "They just got caught this time," he said.

And this isn't the first time the ACCCE has been caught dirty handed.

Read more:

The full sad story of Jack Bonner, the forged letters and the American Coalition for Clean Coal and Electricity (ACCCE).

Why clean coal is a myth.

The Genetic Engeneering Approval Committee (GEAC) in India should probably have thought about this a bit before approving Bt Brinjal last week – a type of eggplant that produces a pesticide (Bacillus thuringiensis) that is normally sprayed on fields. To say the least, the approval process was botched up:

- The data regarding the effects on human health - received directly from Monsanto’s Indian branch - was insufficiently tested. Three scientists in the GEAC voted against the approval for Bt Brinjal precisely for this reason.

- The only other study on Bt Brinjal (the only one not produced by the company trying to get approval) showed concerns for potential negative effects on human health.

- Civil society and farmers have been increasingly vocal against the lack of transparency of the entire process and pointing out the risks.

Eggplant is a key vegetable in India. Approval of a GE version would be symbolic and would open the doors for Monsanto and its Indian arm, Mahyco to obtain approval for more GE products.

Monsanto likes to pretend that GE products will protect the world from hunger and solve famine; others, like the Royal Society, seem to fall into the hype, thinking this will solve the food crisis by making it cheaper for farmers to get higher yields. I’m still waiting for someone to announce they will make Christmas happen three times a year (any day now).

The truth is, farmers don’t benefit from GE crops – they often end locked in a vicious circle where they can buy overpriced seeds from one company only. Patents bring up costs for farmers. Property rights prevent farmers from keeping seeds one year to the next, and ensuring food safety for entire nations.

It’s time to stand up for your food. As much as Monsanto likes people to believe this kind of decision should be made in small offices, we need to remember we are all stakeholders in our right to food. Greenpeace India has already collected over 40,000 signatures to ask Jairam Ramesh to do the right thing and reject Bt Brijal. Over 180,000 demanded GE-free rice. Now it’s your turn.

British cartoonist Steven Appleby tried to find a way we could cook it at how we could cook it:

The leaderboard covers companies measurable climate solutions, climate advocacy and efforts to reduce their own emissions. With the vital UN climate meeting in Copenhagen fast approaching we are focusing on which companies are speaking out in support of a strong deal that is vital for the planet, as well as being good for IT companies bottom line. In short no company really stands out on climate advocacy, even Google, with a relatively high score on advocacy has been silent on Copenhagen.

"But I think we've picked the right issues, I think we're doing what's right. I've got extraordinary support from our board and from the business community.

Donohue refused to say if he believes the science behind global warming. "Is the science right? Is science not right? I don't know," he said.

Well that's why we are now calling on Google, Microsoft and IBM (all Chamber members) to 'bring it' to Mr Donahue loud and clear. They are all paying membership dues which fund Donahue to trash any meaningful climate legislation and even still question the science behind global warming. What ever these companies might claim they are doing behind the scenes in the Chamber, it's clearly not enough. If you only do one thing today - pressure Google, IBM and Microsoft to speak up for the climate now.

Just 2 months after a lawsuit against Finland's State forest service was settled by a deal which will protect the Nellim forest, we have reached a major victory on our other old-growth forest campaign. We’re pleased to announce that following intensive negotiations, Finnish State forest enterprise, Metsähallitus, has agreed to leave 35 000 hectares of boreal forests intact. It's a decision that significantly improves old-growth forest protection and will bring peace to the forests and its inhabitants.

For years, the Sámi reindeer herders have called on the government to protect important areas of reindeer forests from industrial logging. Yet the Finnish government prioritised other forms of land use. Piece by piece, the reindeer grazing grounds were destroyed.

In 2002, Greenpeace, along with the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, joined the struggle to save the forests and end a long-standing dispute between conservationists and Finland's State forest service.

The first progress came when, in March 2005, following consumer action by Greenpeace supporters, copy paper giant Xerox announced that it would stop using fibre from Sámi Reindeer Forests in northern Finland. This was a small but significant victory and a direct result of what happens when consumers speak up.

Two months ago, in August, we saw a major victory when government-owned logging company Metsähallitus, signed a 20-year logging moratorium – a result of 7 years of Greenpeace pressure.

And today’s historic agreement will finally bring peace to the forest disputes and offers hope for ancient forests elsewhere. It puts an end to a major Greenpeace campaign on
the intact forest landscapes in the municipalities of Kittilä, Sodankylä, Savukoski and Salla. The work of Greenpeace continues in Lapland by supporting the conservation of herding forests and environment issues throughout the world. You can read more about our previous victories and our current work on our website.

“Picture this: nature is like a piano, the music that nature plays with all its piano keys is the biodiversity, imagine now that GMOs [genetically manipulated organisms] coming into the picture, that piano has now only one key, the Monsanto key!”

With this beautiful metaphor Eduardo Campayo a spanish organic farmer from Spain began to describe his personal experience with GE (genetically engineered) crops - to EU Commissioner of Health Vassiliou, Belgian Minister Lutgen, MEPs and EU journalists.

Eduardo was not alone meeting all these people in Brussels earlier this month. He was joined by Fernando Jose Llobel, the president of the Organic Consumer Association from the same region in Spain (Albacete), Peter Nielsson an organic potato and dairy farmer from Sweden and Samnieng Huadlim a very dynamic 65 year old woman and organic rice farmer from Thailand.

All of them joined us in Brussels to deliver the Greenpeace petition signed by 180,000 people - against the introduction of Bayer’s GE rice into the EU.

I wish everyone who had signed the rice petition could have been there - to meet these amazing organic farmers and hear them speaking their truth from the heart. You would not have any doubt that all of them have made a conscious choice to produce healthy food, work with nature, help their communities. And their message was so clear -- GE crops are putting all this at risk.

Mrs Samnieng, who delivered the GE rice petition, also called for the same action. If GE rice is authorised in the EU - then the seeds will eventually arrive in Thailand for growing - and that would be catastrophic. Right now - Mrs Samnieng produces her rice organically. She is self sufficient and also supports her community by providing jobs and educating people how to farm ecologically and be self sufficient in her community.

You may find thousands of pages on the internet with arguments for and against GE crops - but if you meet the people who grow food for us in an ecological way you would easily understand how we can protect the planet and feed the world with only ecological food - because we can combine the traditional knowledge, with modern methods while avoiding introducing dangerous GE crops into the environment.

Thanks to all of you who signed the petition. While we have delivered all the signatures so far to the EU - we are still collecting signatures on the global petition. So if you haven't added your voice yet - it's not too late (click here).

>>Read more about the delivery of the rice petition

Here's a post from Jules, who is working in our Japan office:

At the end of September, Japan’s new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama received a parcel filled with 1000 Origami cranes, better known as Origami Tsuru.

The cranes started their journey approximately 10,000 km from Tokyo, in the picturesque town of Waging am See near Munich, Germany. Here “Greenteam Löwenzahn” (Greenteam Dandelion) member Evangeline (14) read about the trial of the “Tokyo Two”, and how our activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki are on trial for trying to save whales by exposing the corrupt Japanese whaling programme for what it is. Evangeline knew immediately that she and her friends needed to take action, to protect whales and ensure Junichi and Toru receive a fair trial in a country where being charged for an alleged crime will see you convicted of it 99% of the time.

In the past, “Greenteam Löwenzahn” has actively worked to protect whales by setting up information boards in their schools, collecting signatures against whaling in the streets of their hometowns, and organising events where children in Germany can give their vote (in form of a self-painted whale picture) for the life of the Whales.

However, this time the pupils felt that they needed to drive the message home to Japan. Some of the members of “Greenteam Löwenzahn” have lived in Japan before, and know about the Japanese custom of making making a wish to the Gods in exchange for folding 1000 paper cranes. A custom that is particularly poignant when pleading for the life of a loved one.

So, the journey of the cranes ends in the office of Japan’s Prime Minister… for now. The children from the “Greenteam Löwenzahn” from the picturesque town of Waging am See, have raised their concerns as caring global citizens, and passed on their responsibility to one of the most influential men in Japan with the sincere hope that his government will take positive actions to save the whales as well as Tokyo Two.

If you also want to make your voice heard and protect the whales - then you can join the Tokyo Two - click here to find out the best way you can get involved right now.

Additionally - you can start your own inspiring initiative like the children from the “Greenteam Löwenzahn”!!!

Below is the letter they sent to Japan's Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister,

Enclosed you will find 1000 Origami Tsuru´s from the children of Greenteam „Löwenzahn“ (Tampopo), which were created in great concern for the life and the protection of the Whales AND a decent treatment and consideration of Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki.

In our opinion the aim of the action of Mr Sato and Mr Suzuki (while in Japanese consideration accused of trespassing and theft) was to inform the public (national and international) and the official authorities about illegal activities.

Dear Prime Minister, your government came to power with the promise to end government corruption and wasteful spending of taxpaper money. The whaling industry is a classic example of bureaucratic corruption and wasteful spending, moreover, the programme is extremely damaging to Japan´s reputation, and the research data and the meat it produces are neither wanted nor needed.

By targeting corruption inside the whaling idustry and removing its subsidies, you can send a clear message to both the Japanese People and the international community that you are serious about your election promises and are certainly different to the old government.

The children from Greenteam Löwenzahn are since many years actively enganged in protecting the Whales – working at schools with informations boards, in the streets collecting signitures against whaling and also organise events where children in Germany can give their vote (in form of a self-painted whale picture) for the life of the Whales. I am including pictures which show their actions.

I am sincerely hoping that you are taking positive action on this issue.

Best regards,
Maria Kageaki

Copies of enclosed letters were also sent to:
- Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Tokyo
- Greenpeace Japan, Tokyo