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<blockquote type="cite" cite>Visionaries: Some interesting
observations from World Watch Institute.</blockquote>
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<div>Tom Trail<br>
</div>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite align="center"><font size="+2"><b>It May
Not Be Too Late</b></font><br>
<font size="+2"><b></b></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite align="center"><font size="+2"><i><b>A
year-end perspective from Worldwatch President Christopher
Flavin</b></i></font><br>
<font size="+2"><b></b></font></blockquote>
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<u><i>Let's make the top stories in '07 stories of
success!</i></u><i> Please help us disseminate the facts-<u>and
inspire action</u>-by making a</i> <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/click/1000/20061227"><i><b>year-end
contribution</b></i></a><i>. Our goal is to raise $50,000 before the
new year begins.<b> Your</b></i> <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/click/1000/20061227"><i><b>gift</b></i
></a><i><b> could be the tipping
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<blockquote type="cite" cite>If the world succeeds in avoiding
ecological collapse, historians may one day look back on 2006 as the
"tipping-point" moment.<br>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite>Around the globe, the past year has
produced a remarkable series of indicators that human societies are
waking up to the precarious state of our world. If current trends are
not reversed-and soon-we will hand the next generation not only a
natural resource base on the verge of collapse, but a global economy
on the edge of failure.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Even though 2006 was marked by its share
of acute crises, led by the conflicts in Iraq and Darfur, the less
acute but more profound crisis of global climate disruption reached
the top rungs of public attention for the first time. Scientists warn
we may soon cross a threshold of no return as dying forests and
warming tundra release additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,
enabling climate change to feed on itself. In fact, some believe it
could already be too late.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>This urgency is being reflected in public
opinion. In tallying the results of 2006 elections and opinion polls
in several countries, the news service<i> Reuters</i> adapted an old
James Carville phrase, "It's the environment, stupid." In
Europe, which has long eclipsed the United States in such matters,
even conservative parties have taken up the environmental banner. And
in the pivotal U.S. mid-term elections, analysts were surprised to
find that global warming played a role in many races, often at the
expense of incumbents who had ignored the problem. As a result,
climate policy will be high on the agendas of both Democratic and
Republican legislators in 2007.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><b>The awakening of the United States
from years of fitful hibernation is my nomination for the most
momentous environmental development of the year.</b> Without the
leadership of the world's leading superpower-and biggest
polluter-it is impossible to mobilize the global consensus needed to
tackle this daunting problem, or to galvanize the second and third
most important countries, China and India.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>The most intriguing part of the U.S.
story involves my home state of California, which in September adopted
<a
href=
"http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/31/washington/31warming.html?ex=1314676800&en=73ac6c1cd03cb13f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"><span
></span>landmark legislation</a> to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Notably, venture capitalists and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs played a
key role in pushing the new climate bill through. Today, renewable
energy technologies like solar power and biofuels are growing at
nearly 20 times the rate of fossil fuels, and major institutions and
investors like <a
href="http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=33279"
>Wal-Mart</a>, DuPont, and Goldman Sachs are channeling billions of
dollars in their direction.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>In the more than three decades that
Worldwatch has tracked global environmental trends, there has never
been a year like the one now coming to a close. We have entered a
period of rapid, non-linear change, not only in our planet's
ecosystems, but in the worlds of business and politics as well. The
question now is whether humanity will continue to mobilize-before
it's too late. 2007 will provide a test of whether this incredible
new momentum can be maintained.</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><i>Please help us disseminate the
facts-<u>and inspire action</u>-by making a</i> <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/click/1000/20061227"><i><b>year-end
contribution</b></i></a><i>. With your help,</i> <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/click/1000/20061227"><i><b>gifts of
all sizes</b></i></a><i> will help us raise $50,000 before the new
year begins.<b> Your gift could be the tipping point.</b></i><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite> <br>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite align="center"><font size="+2"><b>Online
Poll: Give Us Your Feedback!</b></font><br>
<font size="+2"><b></b></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite align="center"><b>What do YOU think was
the biggest sustainability news story of 2006?<br>
</b><a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4816"><b>Cast your vote
and add your comments in our online poll</b></a>.<br>
<blockquote align="left">1. <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4815">Climate change debate ends
in the United States</a>.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote align="left">2. <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3874">China embraces landmark
renewable energy law</a>.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote align="left">3. <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4489">Fighting in Lebanon
triggers oil spill in Mediterranean</a>.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote align="left">4. <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4711">Scientists warn global
fisheries could collapse by 2048</a>.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote align="left">5. <a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4682">Microfinance movement
recognized with Nobel Peace Prize</a>.<br>
<br>
6. Other:<u>
<span
></span
> <span
></span> </u
> (suggest a story!)<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote align="left"><br></blockquote>
<blockquote align="left"><a
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4816"><b>Click here</b></a><b> to
cast your vote.</b><br>
</blockquote>
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<x-sigsep><pre>--
</pre></x-sigsep>
<div>Dr. Tom Trail<br>
International Trails<br>
1375 Mt. View Rd.<br>
Moscow, Id. 83843<br>
Tel: (208) 882-6077<br>
Fax: (208) 882-0896<br>
e mail ttrail@moscow.com</div>
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