Sundance Channel Island in Second Life was full of life on Tuesday, June 12th. The week’s theme was KIDS and environmental refugees. Some pretty great questions were raised concerning how kids are so central to the environmental movement. They are basically the reason that many of us environmentalists are so interested in being green.

In case you missed the Simran Sethi: Kids Webisode, we are posting it here.

Simran brings up the Kyoto Treaty, which tried to establish a precedent for basic environmental human rights such as clean air, available fresh water and clean soil. Although many countries were present not all of them ratified the treaty, including some larger countries. The end result is that the people of this world have a long ways to go before everyone can be protected from environmental hazards like drought, famine, disease and poverty.

These are very large and scary issues, but be comforted by the knowledge that a few small decisions in your life can cause positive changes in the world. The products that you buy and the countries those products come from can make a major impact on the lives of countless environmental refugees. For instance, every person who boycotts a pair of sneakers made in a sweatshop sends a signal to the business world that draconian business techniques will not be tolerated nor supported. Remember, what you do and think does make a difference in the world.

A Reminder for You: The Next Second Life Q&A Session with Simran Sethi

When: Tuesday, June 19 at 10 PM EST/7 PM PST
What: An evening starting with an environmentally themed short film and ending with 45 minutes of Q&A with one of the world’s most renowned environmental journalists: Simran Sethi
Topic: Paper or Plastic?
Where: Sundance Channel in Second Life, in the Main Screening Room

On Friday, June 1, George Bush stunned many people when he said of global warming, “The United States takes this issue seriously”. While this statement from the commander-in-chief is encouraging, ultimately they are just words, and it’s going to take a lot more than that to impress mother earth and those who who like to refer to themselves as environmentalists.

The U.S. has a very odd record on environmentalism. One interesting fact is that the U.S. was an integral party in negotiating the Kyoto Treaty and is a signatory country, yet it remains one of the only industrialized nations unwilling to even submit the treaty for ratification by the Senate. It’s sorta like hosting your friends bachelor party but refusing to make a toast and then leaving before the more sullied activities begin.

The question with this particular climate change summit is whether George Bush is really serious about getting results. With the war in Iraq, the loss of Republican control in house and senate in ‘06 and dwindling public support for the Bush/Cheney administration, one has to wonder if this call for a summit is a last-ditch effort to try and gain political capital and eke out a positive legacy. There is also a very interesting connection between environmentalism and the splintering of the evangelical movement in America. We all know that the 2000 and 2004 elections were swung in favor of the Republicans because of all the outreach to the faith-based community. Now that Jerry Falwell has passed away, there is a void left in the leadership of the evangelical community. There are some parts of this community that are embracing some of the ideals of the environmental movement because they see connections between the preservation of life and the respect for living beings that Jesus speaks about in the Bible. By making it appear that the Republican administration is working towards these environmental goals, this climate change summit may be a veiled attempt to shore together the evangelical community.

Whether you agree, disagree or just want to add more data to this topic, please consider logging into THE GREEN discussion area and let us know what you think about all this.