A very simple, fundamental message to the G20+ Conference in Rio.
We live on one planet. It is the solemn duty of everyone living on this planet to protect it from harm. So to all those at Rio claiming to represent a Nation, or more accurately the people living in that Nation, act not only on behalf of that Nation but on behalf of the planet, the only planet, we all live on.

#EndFossilFuelSubsidies now.
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Let me just endorse the key element of Martin’s comment, which you can read about fully here http://lackofenvironment.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/not-sustainable-going-forward/
That is participating in a mass ‘Tweet’, as Martin writes,
“I have something important I want, on behalf of Bill McKibbin’s 350.org, to ask you to do today: The idea is that for a 24 hour period—starting at 8AM UTC/GMT today, folks around the world create a Twitterstorm by sending thousands upon thousands of tweets all with the same hashtag: #EndFossilFuelSubsidies.”
So the UTC time of this reply to Martin’s comment is 14:40 – so get to it!!
Thanks Martin, Paul
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Many thanks Paul.
Full story available direct from http://endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/twitterstorm/
If people are not on Twitter, they can sign a petition instead.
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From 350.org
—–
Dear friends,
A confession: I like to tweet.
When I come across something particularly sweet or peculiarly depressing, I feel better once I’ve shared it on Twitter.
Twitter was designed as an outlet for individuals, but we think it can also work for social movements. And so, today, we’re launching an effort to amplify our movement’s message on Twitter, for a truly important cause.
The world’s leaders are gathered in Rio for the “Earth Summit”, and we need to tell them to end fossil fuel subsidies. It’s going to be a Twitter Storm, and we need all the help we can get.
Join in here: http://www.endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/twitterstorm
We know that world leaders aren’t likely to achieve a comprehensive climate breakthrough in Rio — we aren’t expecting new binding rules that would slow the carbon emissions that are heating up our planet. But our governments could at least stop sending nearly a trillion dollars a year to the fossil fuel industry. If they did, it would help weaken the coal and oil and gas tycoons, and give renewable energy a fighting chance.
Ending fossil fuel subsidies would also stop wasting our money. Why on earth should taxpayers subsidize the richest industry on earth? It’s bad enough they wreck the planet, without us paying them a performance bonus for doing it.
So here’s the plan: we’re going to kick up a Twitter Storm. We need you to help create this storm by sending a message with the hashtag #EndFossilFuelSubsidies. We’ll be beaming your messages on famous landmarks in cities around the world, and a young team of climate activists will be on the ground in Rio to make sure world leaders hear us loud and clear.
If you don’t already have a twitter account, we need you to sign up for one, which is easy to do. Tips and tricks for all this can be found here: http://www.endfossilfuelsubsidies.org/twitterstorm
Look — sending tweets and emails alone will not win this fight. But we can’t go to jail or hold rallies every day. This is an easy way to make a statement. A loud one, if we all work together.
Thanks,
Bill McKibben (@billmckibben on Twitter)
P.S. The world record for tweets in a day was set earlier this year, with birthday greetings for the teen idol Justin Bieber. Let’s try to beat it.
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Justin Bieber is history.
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Well at least you appear to know the name!!
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Jean has just signed the petition.
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Good thinking – so have I
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News just in from The Guardian newspaper (via Twitter of course): Activists hail success of Twitter storm against fossil fuel subsidies. High-profile support for #EndFossilFuelSubsidies campaign helps it to top trending topic in US and second place globally.
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That’s fabulous to hear. Maybe, just maybe, the groundswell of opinion about needing to ‘save’ the planet is becoming a roller-coaster of a wave. Makes my picture in the Post above almost harmonious!
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Yes Paul we are ALL in this Together.. It is Our World and the Only ONE we ALL live upon…. And I couldnt agree more.. ~Sue
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Such a simple notion, the one of us living on this single planet, and yet it appears that political wrangling ignores that to a very large extent!
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