Here Don Kraus, CEO, and Abby Long, Programs Coordinator, talk about why CEDAW is so important:

We know that women and girls around the world face violence and discrimination daily. We also know that CEDAW, the Women's Treaty, helps women and girls to go to school, to own and inherit property, to take part in public life, and to fight violence and oppression. We need Senate action on the CEDAW Treaty (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) to give the U.S. greater clout to help women worldwide win these basic rights.
 
This Mother's Day, Citizens for Global Solutions is working with dozens of national partners to ensure that we ratify CEDAW now. Please CLICK HERE to ask your Senators to celebrate Mother's Day by showing their support for the CEDAW Treaty.
 
While we celebrate our own mothers and grandmothers today (Happy Mother's Day, Mom!), let's stand together for women and girls around the world.  Click here to ask your Senators to support CEDAW today.

-A guest blog written by former intern Komal Hiranandani-

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) have plans to unveil a comprehensive climate change bill in the Senate next weak, tentatively called the "American Power Act." Running on the heels of Earth Day celebrations, this Senate Bill follows the passage of the House’s H.R. 2454 Waxman-Markey Bill in June last year.

A lot has happened between then and now. President Obama attended the Copenhagen climate summit in December, which acknowledged the scientific need to prevent climate change, acknowledged the assistance needed for developing countries to transition to clean energy economies, and saw the U.S. agreeing to pledge aid to developing countries for this purpose. However, the summit failed to produce the binding agreement across nations to take specific measures to fight this threat. The U.S. Senate debated the Kerry-Boxer climate bill that tried to follow H.R. 2454, but this moved fizzled out as Senators refused to come together and other issues clogged the agenda.

Once again, Senator Kerry has attempted to pick up the reins, and lead efforts to complete this process in the Senate. Conjecture has already begun about what this might and might not include. Reports indicate that it will pursue a 17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2020, which was H.R. 2454’s target. The new bill is expected to move away from the House version’s economy-wide cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, limiting itself to the utilities and industrial sectors.  Support for the nuclear industry is also expected. Manufactures can expect to see tax breaks for employing energy-efficiency measures.

However, the bill still needs to iron out several points of contention. These include opposing views on whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority should be retained, oil and gas revenue- sharing systems from federal waters with coastal states , and the issue of new federal legislation superseding stronger state and regional measures already taken in states like California.

As Senators work out such technicalities, the need for finding common ground must be kept in mind. NASA confirmed that the earth has experienced the warmest decade on record. The U.S. draft report on climate change said that "Global warming is unequivocal and primarily human-induced,” and the International Energy Agency calculated that the cost of greenhouse gas emissions abatement increases by half a trillion dollars for every year that the world fails to take comprehensive steps to address climate change.

Meanwhile, Senator Kerry has emphasized the tremendous opportunity that a clean-energy economy represents. He noted that the energy market is a 6 trillion dollar market with about 4.5 billion eligible users. This explains why China is currently investing aggressively in alternative energy development.  
Don Kraus, CEO of Citizens for Global Solutions pointed out that, “the Senate must pass a climate bill for three reasons:  morality, security, and diplomacy.  First, reducing U.S greenhouse gas emissions is the right thing to do.  We continue to have a lopsided impact on the global climate that affects the lives of people throughout the world.  Second, our oil habit still supports tyrannical regimes and makes our nation less secure.  Finally, the U.S. will not be seen as credible partner at global climate change negotiations without it.  The history of our presidents making agreements that are not back by the Senate is long, sad, and too well known.” Kraus went on to add that the EPA’s authority should be retained saying that “whatever is passed will only be a first step.  This and future administrations will need an ‘EPA stick’ along with carrots to keep Congress engaged.”

The new Senate Bill must provide incentives for such a transition to take place in the U.S.  Speedy legislation is necessary to mitigate uncertainties currently faced by companies here because they are unsure about what new laws might penalize or reward. Easing cap-and-trade to only apply to utilities and industries may be an acceptable short-term compromise, but this should be pushed as a concession that is accepted in exchange for broader cap-and-trade coverage in the future. The use and development of clean energy, like solar and wind, should be amply rewarded, and the EPA’s regulatory authority should be retained as far as possible. Strong incentives should be provided for companies to invest in clean energy and energy efficiency. If this is accomplished, the Senate might successfully win this battle in the long chain of steps we need to take to fight climate change.

This Earth Day urge your Senator to pass strong climate change legislation.

On February 20, 2010 Linda Grover, 76, who devoted more than 10 years to establishing January 1 as a worldwide day of peace, died Feb. 20 of uterine and ovarian cancer at the Washington Home and Community Hospices.

Last October, Citizens for Global Solutions joined Linda in her crusade to celebrate Global Family Day worldwide.  Global Family Day is a practical tool for peace and sharing that the US Congress and the UN General Assembly have both adopted.  Linda understood that what binds us together as true citizens for global solutions is our strong belief that we are all, everywhere in the world, connected as members of the Global Family.

In this vein, this past January 1^st, 2010, we recognized and celebrated Globalfamily Day, One Day of Peace and Sharing for all faiths, cultures, races, nationalities and economic classes. During the 48 hours of January 1^st, 2010, we broke bread together, rang bells, and pledged to find non-violent solutions to all our problems in the year ahead.  Holidays are society's most powerful tool to inspire and unify individual groups and we will use Global Family day to remember that we are all part of the global family and to remind our leaders that we need global solutions for the world's most pressing challenges.

"We live by the rhythms of our holidays," Linda told The Washington Post in 2002. "The quality of our holidays, or the meaning of our holidays, defines our individual cultures. And having no holiday that everyone shares means we're all out of step."

"Peace is like Carnegie Hall," she said. "If you want to get there, you've got to practice."  And practice she did.

We are all honored that we had the opportunity to work on this incredible project with Linda and look forward to continung her legacy into the future.

On Saturday November 14th, 2009 the Mansfield, Connecticut Chapter of Citizens for Global Solutions hosted a symposium regarding the conversion to a peace economy.  The speakers included: Chris Hellman, Director of Research, National Priorities Project, Northampton, MA; Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Research Fellow, Political Economy Research Institute, UMass, Amherst; Marie Lausch, President,  Local 222, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America;  National Executive Board Member, UE; and Bill Stillinger, President and General Manager, PV Squared (Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics Cooperative, Inc.), New Britain.  The event was a huge success and had over 60 people in attendance.

Below are some pictures from the event:

Left to right:  Christopher Hellman from the National Priorities Project in Northampton, MA;  State Representative and House Majority Leader, Denise Merrill; , and Henry Lowendorf, who served as Moderator and is the Chair, Greater New Haven Peace Council

Speakers and Panelists responding to audience questions: left to right:  Heidi Garrett-Peltier,Political Economy Research Institute, UMass, Amherst;  Christopher Hellman;  Representative Susan Johnson;  Jean deSmet;  Marie Lausch, President, Local #222, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America;  William Shortell, Representative,  International Association of Machinists, Local #700;  William Stillinger, President and General Manager, PVSquared, New Britain.


George Rawitscher,, President of Citizens For Global Solutions, from Storrs, CT welcomes everyone to the Symposium.

 Citizens for Global Solutions is excited to announce our partnership with Global Family Day this holiday season.  At a time in history when we have never had more need for human unity, we can all recognize a practical new tool for peace and sharing that the US Congress and the UN General Assembly have both adopted.  What binds us together as true citizens for global solutions is our strong belief that we are all, everywhere in the world, connected as members of the Global Family.

In this vein, on January 1^st, 2010, we will recognize and celebrate Globalfamily Day, One Day of Peace and Sharing for all faiths, cultures, races, nationalities and economic classes. During the 48 hours of January 1^st, 2010, we will break bread together, ring bells, and pledge to find non-violent solutions to all our problems in the year ahead. Celebrate with your friends, your families, your neighbors, your co-workers, and ask them to do the same.  Holidays are society's most powerful tool to inspire and unify individual groups and we will use Global Family day to remember that we are all part of the global family and to remind our leaders that we need global solutions for the world's most pressing challenges. 

On January 1^st, at the start of the United Nations Year of the Planet, let's all gather at our electronic hearth and celebrate life on earth together. Let’s replace hate and hunger with peace and sharing, and begin to unite our global family.  Please sign the petition to ask President Obama to celebrate Global Family Day this January 1st and remind us that we are all part of the Global Family.

A little more about Global Family Day Founder, Linda Grover:

Linda has devoted many years of her life to making real her children’s idea of creating a unifying holiday for all people each January 1. Born in New England, daughter of an inventor and an poet, and raised in the military family during WW2, Linda developed a keen early interest in politics and human rights. Completing high school with honors in Las Vegas at 15, (the same year she won the city’s highest beauty award) she worked as a secretary, migrating to Washington, DC at age 19, where she became California congressman Sam Yorty’s DC legislative aide. At 21, she became Clerk of the House Indian Affairs Subcommittee. Grover also worked for the National Committee for an Effective Congress and as a caseworker for the International Rescue Committee following the Hungarian revolution.

Citizens for Global Solutions is so excited to be working with Linda on this project and hopes to continue her amazing years of work on creating a global day of peace and harmony.

Here are some pictures that Tom Hastings took at the Climate Action Day, Oct 24, at Manhattan Beach.  This world-wide event was organized by the 350 Organization (http://www.350.org).  The purpose was to raise awareness of the goal to reduce CO₂ in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million in order for the climate to be sustainable.  CO₂ is currently at 390 ppm and rising 2 ppm each year. 

The CGS table manned by Becky Tan and Tom Hastings on Climate Action Day, Saturday, October 24, at Manhattan Beach.  They got over twenty attendees to fill out postcards and address them to Senators Boxer and Feinstein and to President Obama:

There was a long line showing where high tide will be on Manhattan Beach if we don't bring CO₂ down to 350 parts per million: