H elp us change the course of history before it is too late, urges new Club of Rome campaign

(Winterthur, Switzerland: 14 April 2012) The Club of Rome’s new ‘Change the Course’ campaign encourages young and committed people to participate in a web-based project to design the world they want.
On the day that marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the Club of Rome, the global think-tank  pecialising in sustainable solutions for our planet, is launching its “Change the Course” campaign to get young and committed people to brainstorm on how to change the
course of history for a more sustainable society.
“In the same way that the Titanic is synonymous with the way that nature showed it was stronger than technology, people today are deluded into believing technology can fix climate change, the economy or resource shortages. We must change course now if we are not to face a global cataclysm”, said Ian Johnson, the Club’s Secretary General.
Change the Course, a web-based project, run in conjunction with several NGOs, like-minded organizations and  individuals, asks people to contribute ideas for an urgent change of thinking and action. The voyage of the ultimate ‘Ship of fools’: the Titanic, offers many parallels to the
current calls for humanity to change course and to get away from “business as usual” path.
Despite numerous iceberg warnings the Titanic’s captain and crew failed to take proper precautions, such as changing course or speed. In the same way, we are failing to address pressing challenges, such as financial instability, climate change, natural resource depletion, unemployment or food insecurity, says the Club of Rome. “We know the challenges and we know the solutions. We also know the consequences
of inaction, but are failing to make the necessary changes”.
Participants are asked to contribute a blog of 500 words to answer:
· What sort of world are we heading for at the moment?
· What kind of world do we want to live in?
· What can we do to change course?
· What could be the turning point?
· What could be the real driver of fundamental change?
The ‘Change the Course’ is part of a broader 18-month campaign 2052: the world in 40 years, to stimulate ideas on future options to shape the world in a sustainable way. The campaign takes its context from one of its’ first reports 40 years ago. In 1972 The Limits to Growth warned of
the dangers of the scramble for unmitigated growth. On 7 May 2012 it will launch a new Report 2052: a Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years, by Jorgen Randers (publisher Chelsea Green).

Global Warning: Have we lost four decades? The Club of Rome celebrates the anniversary of “Limits to Growth”

February 28th, 2012
Washington, DC / Winterthur Today (March 1st, 2012) marks the 40th anniversary of a warning that
the globe ignored. The “Limits to Growth” was one of the first truly “Global Warnings”. It commanded
critical attention and sparked debate around the world about the future of humanity. It pointed out that
exceeding our global capacities for resource use and emissions would place significant limits on global
economic development in the 21st century. People might be consuming more – but enjoying it less.
Today’s current debates over global warming, “peaking” resources and environmental feedback loops
are thus the echoes of a four decade old process. The Club of Rome invites us to re-assess the sweep of such Global Warnings, and to review how they have become more thoroughly substantiated by science, while political processes have neutralized actions for prevention, leaving us with the urgent need to adopt policies for mitigation and adaptation.
The “Limits to Growth” was published in 1972 by a group of researchers from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology: Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jørgen Randers and William Behrens III. The
book reported on the results of a study commissioned by a group of intellectuals who had formed the Club of Rome a few years before.
On March 1st 1972, the report was presented to the public at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington
DC. The international effects of this publication in the fields of politics, economics and science are best
described as a ‘Big Bang’: it exposed the contradictions raised by unlimited and unrestrained growth in material consumption in a world of clearly finite resources and brought the issue to the top of the global agenda.
The book warned that the problems could become so large that humankind would have to divert so
much effort to solving the problems that the quality of life could suffer. Specifically, the report showed that if
growth rates seen between 1900 and 1972 were to continue, humanity would overstep planetary boundaries
sometime between 2000 and 2100.
“The report to the Club of Rome Limits to Growth dared to break with convention: it suggested that growth in material consumption itself might be the problem. The book uncovered a simple truth that has largely been ignored for the last four decades.” says Ian Johnson, Secretary General of the Club of Rome.
This global best-seller, which was ultimately published in 30 languages and sold over 30 million copies,
did not provide “predictions” as such. It sketched some alternative scenarios on how the planet could be
impacted by the high rate of economic growth, resource depletion and environmental destruction.
In fact, few books had a more profound influence on society than “Limits to Growth” and few books have
been so consistently misinterpreted and condemned, especially by those who felt their interests to be
threatened.
Back in 1972, the economy was booming and life seemed good – and so the book was out of keeping
grated against the optimistic mood of the times. Today, unfortunately, the message of “Limits to Growth” is more relevant than ever, as there is no doubt that the world has crossed and will continue to cross planetary limits.
The consequence is the series of crises faced by our global society, which we are witnessing today.
The “Limits to Growth” noted that it was possible to alter growth trends and establish the conditions for a
more equitable and desirable world that would provide stability, sustainability and global equilibrium. The key
issue today is not only whether we can move towards a global lifestyle that lives within the planet’s limits but
how we can do so.
However, since the publication of “Limits to Growth”, humanity has already lost four decades in which
action could have been taken to create a new way of providing economic growth, which is consistent with the requirements for a sustainable and equitable world.
The Club of Rome is building upon the pioneering work over the past forty years and takes a 40-year
look into the future, trying to find answers to the question “What do we need to do between now and the middle of this Century to place our planet on a new, stable path towards a sustainable and equitable world which manages to prosper within the limits provided by a finite planet?”
As part of this intellectual journey the Club of Rome will publish a new report, titled “2052”, in May 2012.
This report has been prepared by Jørgen Randers, who is co-author of the “Limits to Growth”. It will provide a status report as per 2012, and make a forecast for the next forty years of global development.

Oppose the illegal colonization of Cyprus and support US interests in the Eastern Mediterranean

On June 5, 2012 upon the urging of Cypriot-American and Greek-American organizations nationwide, US Representatives Gus Bilirakis of Florida and Eliot Engel of New York introduced House Resolution 676 which among other things:

a) urges Turkey to stop sending non-Cypriot Turkish citizens in the occupied north part of Cyprus and to seize any efforts of de-facto colonization of the island by changing the composition of its population

b) urges Turkey to respect the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, by ending its ongoing military occupation

c) urges Turkey to respect the right of the Republic of Cyprus to exploit its natural resources within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without threatening statements, threat of war or other interference

d) urges the US Administration to call on Turkey to end its violation of the Geneva Convention (article 49 – colonizing areas under occupation) and end its interference with Cyprus’ sovereign right to exploit its energy resources.

Concurrently, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine introduced Senate Resolution 47 with identical language in the US Senate.

This is one of the strongest languages we have seen coming out of Congress in the last few years criticizing Turkey’s actions in Cyprus. Some of it might have to do with Congress finally realizing that Turkey’s interests in the Eastern Mediterranean are not completely aligned with those of the United States. With Cyprus and Israel exploiting Block 12 Natural Gas resources in conjunction with Texas-based Noble Energy and Turkey threatening such exploration efforts, the pressure is on the United States to see that its own business interests are sometimes threatened by Turkey’s expansionistic policies.

At the same time, we are all aware of the ongoing effort by Turkey to implant hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens from the heart of Anatolia into the occupied part of Cyprus with the intention to shift the population composition on the island. While the ongoing occupation is in violation of several UN Resolutions, the intentional “colonization of occupied territories” is in violation of the Geneva Convention, to which Turkey is a signatory.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/7268/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10955 

The mysterious secret oracle of the Priestess Olympias for the city of Athens

The city of Athens will decline and the statue of Athena Promachos, protector of Athens will move farther toward the east.

The temple of the Parthenon will be desecrated three times despised and deserted by their inhabitants.
The city of Athens will lose the glorious splendor of the past, and with all Greece will be under the occupation of different empires.

One day the people of Greece would rise up and become heroes again freeing the country and creating a new state.
But the new Greece will be unable to stand again at her feet because the statue of the goddess would not exist in Athens.

Only when the statue of Athena Promachos regenerates the Acropolis of Athens Greece will glorify again.

Oppose the illegal colonization of Cyprus and support US interests in the Eastern Mediterranean

On June 5, 2012 upon the urging of Cypriot-American and Greek-American organizations nationwide, US Representatives Gus Bilirakis of Florida and Eliot Engel of New York introduced House Resolution 676 which among other things:

a) urges Turkey to stop sending non-Cypriot Turkish citizens in the occupied north part of Cyprus and to seize any efforts of de-facto colonization of the island by changing the composition of its population

b) urges Turkey to respect the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, by ending its ongoing military occupation

c) urges Turkey to respect the right of the Republic of Cyprus to exploit its natural resources within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) without threatening statements, threat of war or other interference

d) urges the US Administration to call on Turkey to end its violation of the Geneva Convention (article 49 – colonizing areas under occupation) and end its interference with Cyprus’ sovereign right to exploit its energy resources.

Concurrently, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine introduced Senate Resolution 47 with identical language in the US Senate.

This is one of the strongest languages we have seen coming out of Congress in the last few years criticizing Turkey’s actions in Cyprus. Some of it might have to do with Congress finally realizing that Turkey’s interests in the Eastern Mediterranean are not completely aligned with those of the United States. With Cyprus and Israel exploiting Block 12 Natural Gas resources in conjunction with Texas-based Noble Energy and Turkey threatening such exploration efforts, the pressure is on the United States to see that its own business interests are sometimes threatened by Turkey’s expansionistic policies.

At the same time, we are all aware of the ongoing effort by Turkey to implant hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens from the heart of Anatolia into the occupied part of Cyprus with the intention to shift the population composition on the island. While the ongoing occupation is in violation of several UN Resolutions, the intentional “colonization of occupied territories” is in violation of the Geneva Convention, to which Turkey is a signatory.
http://www.americanhellenic.org 

Reopen the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki without condition or further delay

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved House Resolution 506 introduced by Greek-American Congressman Gus Bilirakis, calling on the Turkish parliament to allow the Theological School of Halki to reopen with no preconditions or delay.

The Theological School of Halki is an institution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – the center for the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians. The seminary had been the premier location for training Eastern Orthodox clergy for nearly 150 years, however, Turkish authorities forcibly shut down the seminary in 1971. The resolution simply requires that Turkey allow its citizens and institutions to be free of harassment based on religion. The Theological School of Halki served to teach Orthodox Christian religious leaders from around the world and served as the 2,000-year-old Sacred See of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s principal seminary. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is the spiritual home of the world's oldest and second largest Christian church.

In more recent years, the Government of Turkey has shown some good faith efforts towards allowing Christians to freely exercise their faith. In particular, the liturgical celebration by the Ecumenical Patriarch at the historic Sumela Monastery was allowed for the first time since 1922 in August 2010. Also, the return of the former Greek Orphanage on Buyukada Island to the Ecumenical Patriarchate was done on November 30, 2011.

However, although the government of Turkey promised to reopen the Halki Seminary in several occasions, such action has not taken place yet.

The American Hellenic Council applauds the action by the Foreign Affairs Committee and Mr. Bilirakis for bringing this to the forefront and we hope that HR 506 makes it to the House floor for a vote.  It currently has 34 co-sponsors and we need the public’s support to gain more traction.

We hope that the renewed pressure from the US government will mobilize the liberal forces in Turkey and proceed with this important step for Orthodox Christians worldwide.
http://www.americanhellenic.org

NASA Releases New WISE Mission Catalog of Entire Infrared Sky

This is a mosaic of the images covering the entire sky as observed by the 
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), part of its All-Sky Data Release
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

PASADENA -- NASA unveiled a new atlas and catalog of the entire infrared sky today showing more than a half billion stars, galaxies and other objects captured by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission.
"Today, WISE delivers the fruit of 14 years of effort to the astronomical community," said Edward Wright, WISE principal investigator at UCLA, who first began working on the mission with other team members in 1998.
WISE launched Dec. 14, 2009, and mapped the entire sky in 2010 with vastly better sensitivity than its predecessors. It collected more than 2.7 million images taken at four infrared wavelengths of light, capturing everything from nearby asteroids to distant galaxies. Since then, the team has been processing more than 15 trillion bytes of returned data. A preliminary release of WISE data, covering the first half of the sky surveyed, was made last April.
The WISE catalog of the entire sky meets the mission's fundamental objective. The individual WISE exposures have been combined into an atlas of more than 18,000 images covering the sky and a catalog listing the infrared properties of more than 560 million individual objects found in the images. Most of the objects are stars and galaxies, with roughly equal numbers of each. Many of them have never been seen before.
WISE observations have led to numerous discoveries, including the elusive, coolest class of stars. Astronomers hunted for these failed stars, called "Y-dwarfs," for more than a decade. Because they have been cooling since their formation, they don't shine in visible light and could not be spotted until WISE mapped the sky with its infrared vision.
WISE also took a poll of near-Earth asteroids, finding there are significantly fewer mid-size objects than previously thought. It also determined NASA has found more than 90 percent of the largest near-Earth asteroids.
Other discoveries were unexpected. WISE found the first known "Trojan" asteroid to share the same orbital path around the sun as Earth. One of the images released today shows a surprising view of an "echo" of infrared light surrounding an exploded star. The echo was etched in the clouds of gas and dust when the flash of light from the supernova explosion heated surrounding clouds. At least 100 papers on the results from the WISE survey already have been published. More discoveries are expected now that astronomers have access to the whole sky as seen by the spacecraft.
"With the release of the all-sky catalog and atlas, WISE joins the pantheon of great sky surveys that have led to many remarkable discoveries about the universe," said Roc Cutri, who leads the WISE data processing and archiving effort at the Infrared and Processing Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "It will be exciting and rewarding to see the innovative ways the science and educational communities will use WISE in their studies now that they have the data at their fingertips."
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., manages and operates WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program, which is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colo. Science operations, data processing and archiving take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
For a collection of WISE images released to date, visit: http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/gallery_images.html