Today is a special day—it is of course the Blog Action Day. What this means is that over 15 thousand blogs around the world are blogging about one very important global issue today—and that issue is the environment. While Pixelshell is not a political or environmental blog, the issue of our current climate crisis concerns us all, and so I think it is important that everyone is at least thinking about it.

John Doerr has performed a great presentation on the issue of climate crisis at TED in March 2007 (you can watch it here) where he literally walks off the stage crying. It’s a really moving speech and definitely worth seeing if you haven’t already. I think it’s important to realize that what we are doing today may not be enough to stop global warming. Our planet struggles to support the needs of our ever growing society. If she gives up, as she well may do in the future, our fragile ecosystem will crash. Today is not the time for lengthy debates and ignorance, today is the time for action.

I think the deepest problem we currently face is the fragmentation of initiatives, and especially fragmentation of powers. Who is leading the climate crisis effort? Al Gore? There are many smaller organizations and initiatives. Blog Action Day is one of them. There really isn’t one coherent force that is driving real change—we’re currently trying to do little bits here and there. Because the world is split into so many countries, we also don’t have a collective voice from the governments. Global warming is an international issue and deserves united global action. I think bodies like the United Nations should do more to help.

Treaties are not enough—there needs to be one group of international leaders pushing for change. This group must be truly international, and must come up with a timeline for change, that can then be agreed by world leaders. They should then enforce the agreed terms in their respective countries though regulations, taxes and benefits to businesses and individuals. If the world does not unite under one initiative, then our efforts may not be very effective. Such union is very possible—we unite in war. The Iraq war has created the “coalition”. Though not all the countries joined it, many did. Global warming is not such a controversial issue—indeed, it’s a much worthier cause.

Are we doing enough today to stop global warming? John Doerr certainly doesn’t think so. If we really aren’t doing enough, then why not? If we don’t do anything, our planet may die—everything we’re working towards, everything we love and want will perish. If we want to have a bright future, we must ensure there will be one in the first place.