Climate Change Poem 6

Lily, April 2010

Two global events are occurring on September 24, 2011:

1. Moving Planet, a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis.


2. 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a demonstration/celebration of poetry to promote serious social, environmental, and political change.


I thought: Why not do both?

Barring an emergency, I am posting from midnight to midnight, one poem per hour (at any time during that hour). That's starting from 00:00-01:00 and ending at 23:00-24:00 Eastern Time today.

All the poems are sonnets. Each takes its cue from an article dealing with climate change. The articles had been posted beginning on September 15 -- the date of the 24-hour Climate Reality Project that inspired me to do this -- to September 19, the day I drafted the twenty-fourth poem.


The poem for Hour 6 takes its cue from "More Large Companies Have Climate Change Strategies" (Robert Kropp, Social Funds, Sept. 16, 2011).

Footprint of Opportunity

In business models, firms seek to perform,
To rise above competing entities.
Their bottom line: The planet's getting warm.
Some corporations changed their strategies

And have decreased the carbon that they burn.
Those outperforming targets to reduce
Enjoy as well a great rate of return.
Investors like this scaling-back of juice.

Australia, Italy, and Switzerland
Rank high, as do the Germans and UK.
The US, Canada, also Japan
Have catching up to do along the way.

The largest companies have joined this drive
In record-setting numbers. Can they thrive?

Audio (1:10):

Part of the Solution website (chosen at random)
UC San Diego Sustainability 2.0: A Living Laboratory
Elissa Malcohn's Deviations and Other JourneysPromote Your Page Too Vol. 1, Deviations: Covenant (2nd Ed.), Vol. 2, Deviations: Appetite, Vol. 3, Deviations: Destiny, Vol. 4, Deviations: Bloodlines, Vol. 5, Deviations: TelZodo, Vol. 6 and conclusion: Deviations: Second Covenant.Free downloads at the Deviations website (click here for alternate link), Smashwords, and Manybooks.

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