A Thanksgiving letter to Our President

Busily preparing for my journey to Copenhagen, mailing banners for use in Copenhagen, getting photos for the "Minnesota Speaks to Copenhagen" interactive banner that we are creating for use in Copenhagen and as usual always listening to MPR (public radio station)....just b/4 popping into the Edina Community Foundation Office to drop off receipts for my journey...the news we were waiting for came in....President Obama will be traveling to Copenhagen for the UN Climate Summit on Dec. 9th.

Thanks to all of you have contined to push our president to show up despite our Congress' inability to complete Climate Legilation. Here is my letter in response to President's Obama's Thanksgiving letter to his "Obama for America" supporters.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, you are all deep inside of my heart as I make this last week before leaving all about media attention and empowering Climate Leadership whenever possible.

Dear Barack,

Thanks for the holiday greetings and thanks so much for announcing that you will be going to Copenhagen on December 9th for the Climate Summit.

I'll be there representing my small midwestern city, Edina MN, urging you and our country to start acting like Green Leaders.

Things like:

flying to Oslo after Copenhagen and saving a trip----good thinking

stop using disposable plastic bottles---demonstrate it by using a SIGG or Klean Kanteen water bottle when you are in the public eye....when aren't you?

Turn the thermostat down at the White House...try 62-64 degrees and add a nice sweater and light fleece hat.

Sasha and Malia will love it...they are the ones who need this Green Wave to form into a Tsunami.

Look me up in Copenhagen...I'll be at the ICLEI Local Govt Lounge at the Bella Center....with the "Minnesota Speaks to Copenhagen Banner" an interactive playscape for creating a new world...you'll love it and I can finally play some disc with you....Michelle has received 2 of my Cool Planet frisbees and I'm wondering how you like them?

Check out my blog and send a message for me to post with my friends, that would be cool.

http://ptfydisc-onecoolplanet.blogspot.com/

...good work on pardoning the turkey...does that mean your T-day meal is going to be "meat free?"

Another easy way for Americans to cut our carbon....Meatless Mondays would also make Americans thinner and healthier.

Swing out Barack, we need some major intervention on this one...17% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 isn't even close to what is needed. 350 ppm ASAP is what is needed for Sasha, Malia and all of us. Let's get busy...last year I was delivering a banner to your home in Kenwood (couldn't get close but Erik Paulsen, my Congressperson said he's get it to you...did that happen? It was about 35 feet long with congratulation messages and urging you to go to Poznan Poland for the climate talks last year.), this year I just mailed 5 banners to Copenhagen for the summit promoting the 350.org message....will we finally meet????

I won't give up til we meet and I celebrate your continued energy smart leadership.

Happy Thanksgiving...see you on December 9th

Paul Thompson
Edina Energy and Environment Commissioner
ICLEI Delegate at the UN Climate Summit
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer- Borneo 1971-73

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are all in harmony"

Gandhi

Paul Thompson
4244 Crocker Ave
Edina, MN 55416-5012
952-920-1547

Cool Planet- connecting people with nature, energy use, and a changing climate.

Edina to Copenhagen...not so far

Election Day 2009...remember last year? The whole country...perhaps much of the world was watching America and feeling this amazing change take place. As I walked down to Weber Park warming house to cast my vote for Edina School Board I was thinking about context and how important that is to set the scene for something big to happen.

Well, something very big is happening and like Obama's inauguration in January, I just need to be there.

The UN Summit on Climate Change will be held in Copenhagen Denmark from Dec. 7- 18 and it promises to be full of difficult negotiations, inspiring partnerships, humbling realizations and hopefully unexpected breakthrus. Heaven knows we need some big shifts to align the stars with a new pathway back to 350 ppm of CO2, the science based number referring to the safe maximum level of CO2 in our air to keep the Earth humming along the way it's been for the past few centuries..

the bad news....we passed 350 about 20 years ago and are now hovering dangerously close to the 4th century. so now that I've bummed everyone out here's the hopeful news that can help to create a Hopenhagen out of Copenhagen.

You.

10 days ago tens of thousands of you stood up, climbed mountains, had a cabinet meeting under the ocean surface in scuba gear, sang songs to the Earth and each others and tossed frisbees for the planet.....in 5200 locations in 181 countries...most of the countries that will be haggling out the details in Copenhagen for the most important of all treaties ever signed.

You did that, and now the real work of re-building our precious planet continues....and perhaps you'll come back to see how a frisbee player and retired 2nd grade teacher and a bunch of friends got together with a few million other unique humans to say "NO" to business as usual and "Yes" to building new systems for operating spaceship Earth....we seem to have lost the directions.

check out 350.org and 1 Sky for some inspiring scenes about you and your fellow humans on the move....I'll be back...more context to set the stage...with your help.