May 28, 2007 While politics and public opinion remain divided on global warming, the majority of scientific weight tells us that the major factor contributing to rising global temperatures is our own environmental carelessness. This is certainly Greenpeace's view; the well-known environmental lobby group has started construction of a replica of Noah's Ark on the top of Mt. Ararat as a warning of the bleak future the planet could be facing if strong action isn't taken.
Greenpeace activists have started construction on a replica of Noah's Ark, 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level on Turkey's Mount Ararat. Many people believe that Mount Ararat is the place where Noah's Ark landed after the floods described in the Bible. The 10m x 4m x 4m (32ft x 13ft x 13ft) wooden ship, being constructed by Greenpeace volunteers, is designed to be a symbol of hope and a dramatic plea to world leaders to take far-reaching and urgent action to avoid catastrophic global warming.
Recently, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed the potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change caused by human activity and detailed the possible consequences if no immediate action is taken.
Global warming is becoming a hot political topic - particularly in the United States, where the incumbent Republican party have been keen to rebrand the phenomenon "climate change." Presumably acting on behalf of the businesses that provide their electoral campaign funding, the Republican party has made several claims that scientific opinion is divided and the results are inconclusive. Meanwhile, ex-Democratic vice president Al Gore has been travelling the world delivering his "An Inconvenient Truth" slideshow, which has been a worldwide smash hit in support of the 'global warming is caused by human pollution and we can take steps to arrest it' side.
A caravan of 40 horses have hauled the prefabricated wooden sections up Mount Ararat, where work has now begun on constructing supports as well as the keel and ribs of the boat. Over the next 2 weeks, a team of 20 German and Turkish carpenters will complete the construction of the boat, which will be turned over to the public in an official ceremony on May 31, 2007. A day before the ceremony, activists will climb the 5,137 meter summit of Mount Ararat and call on the leaders of all nations to make climate protection a reality.
Greenpeace recently launched the Energy [R]evolution, a blueprint for avoiding dangerous climate change and keeping global warming to under two degrees. The Energy [R]evolution sets out a detailed plan up to 2050 showing how to make reductions in greenhouse gases - which IPCC prescribes can be achieved using current renewable energy technology and energy efficiency measures - without harming economic growth and taking into account population increases.
"At the upcoming G8 summit, many announcements will be made on climate protection, but they must be followed by real action," said Andree Böhling, a Greenpeace energy campaigner, "Otherwise, the G8 summit will pay only lip service to climate change and a historic opportunity will be lost."
