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Kodak Brand Exploratory Report

This report is part 2 of the 3 part Kodak Brand Exploration series. If you have missed the first report please look at my previous blog.  Based on this analysis one should gain experience in qualitative methodology by conducting an in-depth interview.  Second, you will gain experience in working with the fieldnote/recorded data to write a descriptive report.  


Following are the guidelines for this report.

  • Understand the nature of a comprehensive brand audit in terms of the brand exploratory component
  • Gain experience in the qualitative research methodology of in-depth interviewing
  • To learn how to use question probing to gain a detailed perspective of a consumer
  • To begin to see links between qualitative data and marketing strategy
  • To understand the early stages of the marketing research process in which a researcher must immerse him/herself in the client’s world to gain insight for problem definition.

Background Reading:

“Brand Audit Guidelines” in Strategic Brand Management, Kevin L. Keller, 2003, Prentice-Hall, pp. 162-172. 

Brand Exploratory:  Qualitative Research Requirements

In qualitative research, it is very important for a researcher to gain trust and general rapport with his/her respondent.  In the interest of completing this assignment in a timely fashion, a suggested methodology is for you to enlist a friend or loved one (i.e., your spouse) with which you have this type of trust relationship to be your respondent.

Plan to interview the respondent using open-ended questions (see Major Areas for Questioning section below).  The responses to one question may lead you to ask other related questions (not included here).  Use the questions here as a starting point and expect to ask other questions (probing questions) yourself as the interview proceeds.  Again, there is no strict format for this interview (as is often the case in qualitative research!).  You may not ask all of these questions; don’t try to if it feels awkward or inappropriate.  Try to ask some questions about each of the major topic areas.

Step 1:  Talk to your respondent for 5-10 minutes in order to pre-screen him/her.  The respondent should be an owner and/or user of a digital camera and be familiar with the technology at a minimal level.   

Step 2:  Conduct the interview at a later time (i.e., next day).  You should plan to spend at least 1 hour talking to your respondent.  


Now the report follows here...

Introduction

As part of our Kodak brand audit report, we are performing a brand exploratory step to identify the reach of Kodak brand among customers. This is done by qualitatively measures by conducting an in-depth interview with a customer to understand his views and his perception of Kodak brand. This report will summarize the research experience, respondent details, interview environment and responses. Also it will take a giant leap and try to associate these findings with the Kodak marketing strategy decisions.

Note of caution

This report considers only 1 individual’s opinion; hence no major conclusions should be made using this report.

Respondent description

I interviewed a 32 year old Asian male who is married with no kids. He is working for an insurance firm as a software engineer. He owns a digital camera and a cell phone camera. He owns a color printer but prints all his photos from a professional printing shop.

Interview process

Interview was done in 2 steps.

Step 1: Requested the respondent on his opinion to participate in a 30 minute survey

Step 2: Completed the interview

Interview environment

Date: 2nd March 2007

Time: 11:30 AM

Location: Office department lounge, Duration: 20 Minutes

Interview Techniques

Following are the techniques used in our interview.

  • Association Techniques

Consumers see a stimulus and are asked to respond with the first thing that comes to their mind.  E.g. Respond to this statement:  “In the past, it was a double print world”

  • Construction Techniques

This requires the respondents to construct a response in the form of a story, dialogue or description in a less structured form than a completion technique

E.g. Picture response technique: Respondents are asked to tell stories of the pictures shown (Kodak Picture with 3 Printers)

  • Laddering Method

Laddering methods are a useful way to elicit the higher order benefits and values offered by the brand beyond immediate product, user or user related attributes.

  • Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Techniques

Perform a one-to-one interview as a guided conversation using story telling, construct elicitation, Identify the key themes or constructs, code the data, and assemble a consensus map involving the most important constructs


A look at the response

Most fascinating thing about this interview is, it is my first real interviewing of a person for research. Even though I was excited, I contained my excitement and followed the questions in a structured order. I took couple of minutes to break the ice and then explained the intention of this interview to the respondent. I started with the brand association questions, following are my findings from the respondent’s answers (See Exhibit A for the answer sheet)

  • My respondent is a loyal Sony consumer
  • “Never looked a camera as innovative”
  • “Never needed lots of features in a camera”
  • Considered Low end models of Sony with less mega pixel camera as Cheap
  • “Never browsed for professional cameras”
  • Considered SLR cameras are difficult to use
  • Never mentioned any other brand except Sony and Pentax.

A look at the response – Major Areas of Questioning

  • He has used 2 digital cameras (1 Pentax digital camera – 4 years old, 1 cell phone camera)
  • I am an Amateur; I Point & Shoot with my Digital Camera” –  This comment pretty much summed the nature of the respondent
  • Another aspect I observed from the interview is that the respondent feels intimidated with too many features in a camera
  • He doesn’t like having a camera on a cell phone in spite of owning a cell phone camera.
  • He likes to print out pictures most often, but doesn’t use his own color printer as he feels that the professional printing shop does job than him.
  • He shares his photos on Orkut – Networking website
  • His wife maintains photo journals

For more details on the responses please see Exhibit B.

A look at the response – Kodak Printers

  • Never heard of Kodak printers
  • Would prefer a lower end model (149.99) as he doesn’t like complex features in a printer
  • Happy with optimum resolution provided by a lower end model
  • Price of printers doesn’t matter
  • Low cost of print ink does attract him to consider this line of printer

 

Does the above response impact Kodak Marketing Strategy

One key observation is that the cost of print ink does attract him to buy the printer

Price of printers is not considered expensive for this respondent. With this preliminary data, it looks like Kodak might have a winning product in hand. Further conclusions will be made based on our future research.


Appendix 

Brand Association Questions: (Exhibit A)

Next, I’m interested in the brands of digital cameras that you associate with various characteristics.  For each characteristic, tell me which digital camera brand comes to mind.  If no brand comes to mind for a characteristic, please tell me. 

Characteristic

Brand

Expensive

 

None

Clunky

 

None

Innovative

 

Never looked a camera as innovative

Good value for the money

 

Sony

Good for taking sports/action photos

 

Sony

Easy-to-use

 

Sony

Lots of features

 

Never needed lots of features in a camera

Cheap

 

Low end models of Sony

Less mega pixel cameras

Good for taking family photos

 

Sony

Sleek

 

Sony new models

Basic

 

Sony

High tech

 

Sony

For professionals

 

Never looked at one

Difficult-to-use

 

Old SLR cameras

Other:

 

Sony is the best

Other:

 

 

 

Major Areas for Questioning: ( Exhibit B)

What brand of digital camera do you own and/or use?

Pentax digital camera / 2 Megapixel (Bought before 5 Years)

Topic 1:  Memory Management

How do you take photographs?

I am an Amateur; I Point & Shoot with my Digital Camera

How are you using your digital camera?

I use it to take pictures in family gatherings

How do you manage the images captured on a digital camera?  What happens after you take a picture?

I store it in my computer. I take selected pictures to the professionals (Ritz Camera) in a mall and get it printed.

Respond to this statement:  “In the past, it was a double print world”

I am always a single copy guy

How has picture taking and picture using changed?  For example, what happens after you take a picture with your digital camera?

It used to be “Camera in Control of picture output” now the “User is in Control of picture output”

Also digital cameras have reduced the waiting time from taking a photo, developing and viewing

What makes you print pictures?

To preserve memories

What prevents you from printing pictures?

I don’t like printing pictures which are not worth looking again. 

Topic 2:  Picture Utilization

How do you view pictures?

Albums, Computer slideshows

How do you share pictures?

Email, Orkut (Networking Website), Physical albums

How do you use images to keep track of memories?

My Wife creates storyboards and arranges pictures accordingly

Are you using pictures in the same way compared to 5 years ago?  How?

Yes, hasn’t changed me a lot. Only difference is I can delete my unwanted pictures

Are you using pictures in different ways compared to 5 years ago?  How?

No

How do you want to share stories via images?

I don’t, but my wife does

Do you view or share pictures online using Facebook or MySpace or other similar internet sites?  If yes, how?  Why? Yes, Orkut, Once in a while

If no, why not?

Topic 3:  Cameras in Cell Phones

Do you use your cell phone to take pictures?   No, But I own a cell-phone camera

If so, how often?  Very rarely

What type of pictures do you take with a camera phone versus a digital camera? Not Applicable

On what occasions, usually?

If so, how is this picture taking similar to or different from that with your digital camera?  Not Applicable

What happens after you take a picture with your cell phone? Not Applicable

Is your choice of cell phone influenced by the camera capability/features for the phone? No

Do you think there will ever be a time in which camera phones replace "traditional" digital cameras? Never

How much would current camera capability in mobile phones need to improve before the camera phone was the primary picture taking device? I am a 2 hand guy; I don’t prefer taking pictures in 1 hand

Topic 4:  Photo Printing and Potential Acceptance of Inkjet Printer

When you do want prints of digital photographs, how do you get them?  Do yo go to a photo processing center (retail store) or print your own?  Photo Processing Center

If you print your own, what brand of inkjet color printer do you own?  I don’t print my pictures, but I do own a color printer.

How often do you print your own photos? Never

What prevents you from printing images using your own color printer?

    • Cost
    • Time
    • Ability to order from home and pick-up at retail locations (Wal-Mart, Walgreens)

I believe professionals do a much job than me.

Kodak’s newest product offering is an inkjet printer line “All-in-One Printers” that allow for high quality documents and photos at lower prices compared to the traditional inkjet technology.

    • Kodak EasyShare All in One Printers ($149.99 - $299.99, three models)
    • Print cartridges (B&W $9.99, Color $14.99)

 

If you were able to buy ink cartridges for less, would you print more of your digital photos yourself?  Why or why not?

 No, prefer a Professional Printing Center

Following are the observation when the customer was showed a paper with different Kodak printers.

  1. Would prefer a lower end model (149.99) as he doesn’t like complex in a printer
  2. Happy with optimum resolution provided by a lower end model
  3. Price doesn’t matter
  4. Cost of print ink doest attract him to consider this line of printer

Kodak Brand Audit Presentation

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Attached here is the presentation for the kodak brand audit project.

Kodak Brand Audit Report
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

Kodak Brand Audit Report

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Kodak Brand Audit Requirement

This research is being performed to dig deep in to consumer insights and get important answers to the following questions. This would determine if the assumptions about certain products are true and if so,  what are the chances that a customer would prefer Kodak's product over the competitors.

Critical Questions

Today, more and more multi-function devices are becoming available. More functionality is being added to the mobile phone, and it is    difficult to find a new mobile phone without some capability to take a picture.

How many consumers have their choice of phone influenced by the camera capability/features for the phone?

How many consumers regularly use the camera feature on their phone?

Are there different image management/handling requirements for digital cameras and mobile phones?

What type of pictures do consumers take with camera phones versus   digital cameras?

Do consumer envision a time in which camera phones replace "traditional" digital cameras?

How much would current camera capability in mobile phones need to improve before the camera phone was the primary picture taking device?

How important is the ability to capture video as a feature in a digital camera (or mobile phone)?

Kodak just announced its entry into the inkjet printer market.  Are there other product categories where the Kodak brand might be leveraged for entry into a new market space?

Purpose of this project is to gain direct exposure to analysis of a brand using secondary data in completing a brand inventory.  

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the nature of a comprehensive brand audit
  • Gain experience with secondary data sources
  • Use secondary data to demonstrate knowledge and understanding about a focal brand by completing a brand inventory
  • Use secondary data (as available) to learn customer/marketplace perceptions about the focal brand
  • To understand the early stages of the marketing research process in which a researcher must immerse him/herself in the client’s world to gain insight for problem definition.
Explore Kodak with regard to the digital camera/printer products and market.  In order to assess competition in this market, conduct the same exploration for a competitor brand.

Background Reading:

Brand Audit Guidelines” in Strategic Brand Management, Kevin L. Keller, 2003, Prentice-Hall, pp. 162-172. 

Brand Inventory

Using secondary data (news articles, annual reports, etc.) develop a current profile of how Kodak digital cameras are marketed and branded.   In other words, how is this brand promoted?  How are Kodak digital cameras represented in the marketplace?  In addition to cameras, explore the new Easy Share printer system.  To get started, look in the Investor Relations (Corporate) section of the Kodak website and scan news releases.  Additional information and links are in the Innovations section in this area of the website.

The outcome of the brand inventory should be an accurate, comprehensive, and timely profile of how Kodak digital cameras (and printers) and the assigned competitor are branded.  This includes marketing communication and other supporting marketing programs” (see Keller, p. 163).

Profiling one or several competing brands may be helpful in this exercise to illustrate similarities and differences across the brands

Brand Inventory Report - Introduction

Kodak is a multi dimensional provider of products and services to the photographic, graphic communications and healthcare markets. Consumers use Kodak’s system of digital and traditional capture products and services to take print, store and share their pictures anytime, anywhere. This report takes a deep dive in to the brand auditing of Kodak brand. We will look at the brand inventory of Kodak digital cameras and printers. We will also stack up Kodak products against a competitor to understand the brand portfolio positioning grid.

Brand Audit

Brand audit is the process where companies estimate their brand awareness among the customers; estimate the current valuation of the brand and the proposition of the brand.

The purpose of the brand inventory is to provide the current profile of how all the products and services sold by the company are marketed and branded. Scope of this report would be restricted to Kodak digital cameras and printers.

Kodak Cameras

Kodak Cameras are very widely used. Their easyshare series of cameras are very popular among customers. One of the important attribute of Kodak cameras are the affordable price points. If you look at the below illustration, a 10.0 Megapixel camera is priced at 249.05, which is considered a very low price.

 

 

 


Kodak has a wide variety of cameras. They are classified as follows

  1. Point and shoot
  2. High Zoom
  3. Pocket
  4. Performance
  5. Easy-Share One

In 2004 Kodak had a market-share of 20.1%. Due to increased competition they have dropped considerably. IDC has predicted by 2009 worldwide digital camera sales would slow down. Kodak cameras have many features which many companies didn’t offer. For example their pictbridge printing technology is so powerful that their products where selling just for the pictbridge feature.

Kodak Printers

Printer business has been very lucrative with a huge opportunity for growth. Kodak has been a late entrant in this market, but they have arrived with a solid concept of saving 50% of price on ink. This is a huge revolution in the printer market as it breaks the conventional wisdom. As per the norms printer companies make money of printer accessories instead of the actual printer. But Kodak with its revolutionary design and development knowledge, they have come out with a printer which can guarantee a life time quality of picture. Price of ink is so low that it beats the market by 50%. Only downside is price of printer is high comparing the competitor prices.

Kodak EasyShare 5100

Marketing efforts has been a great success for Kodak. All major syndications carried the news of the release of revolutionary printers.

Kodak Cameras Vs HP Cameras

HP entered digital camera market in 1998. They have released consistent models, but haven’t been able to make a dent in the Kodak marketshare.  Please see appendix for information relating to the difference in the current models of Kodak and HP cameras.

Kodak Printers Vs HP Printers

Kodak has 3 new lines of All-In-One printers. HP has only one printer Deskjet F380 which can be compared in this range. Following is the comparison of the performance between a Kodak and HP printer.

 

 

Kodak Marketing Efforts

Kodak has aggressively started marking of their new revolutionary printers. They have used the word “think” to infer this product is all about saving the cost on ink.

Kodak in the News

KODAK: Kodak Revolutionizes the Inkjet Industry New Line of All-In-One Inkjet Printers Produces Durable, High-Quality Documents and Photos; Low-cost premium inks save customers up to 50 percent on everything they print,  M2 Presswire, February 6, 2007

Kodak Wins Three CES Innovations Awards and Receives Prestigious Honors from Popular Science and PC Magazine;  Honors Include "Best of Innovations" Award for the KODAK EASYSHARE V610 Dual Lens Digital Camera,  Business Wire, January 8,2007
 

Summary

This article has taken an effort to collect the current profile of Kodak. It assessed the profile against HP to compare the various specifications of HP and Kodak. This information should be used for brand exploratory and further study.


Appendix

 

Barack Obama - Commemorative Time Issue

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If you are looking for Time Magazines Barack Obama's Commemorative issue then you are at the right place.

For some reason Time has removed the link from their home page.

Please find the link to the magazine at http://subs.timeinc.net/backissuestore/Main.jhtml?IDs=TD20081117&category=2008&subcategory=TD&page_number=

Google Flu Trends

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Google.org is an organization which aspires to do good to the world by focusing on global challenges such as climate change, poverty and emerging disease. They have released a new technology tool named Google Flu Trends. This tool helps to identify flu trends based on predictions and historical data.

Following is the information from Google blog.

Like many Googlers, we're fascinated by trends in online search queries. Whether you're interested in U.S. elections, today's hot trends, or each year's Zeitgeist, patterns in Google search queries can be very informative. Last year, a small team of software engineers began to explore if we could go beyond simple trends and accurately model real-world phenomena using patterns in search queries. After meeting with the public health gurus on Google.org's Predict and Prevent team, we decided to focus on outbreaks of infectious disease, which are responsible for millions of deaths around the world each year. You've probably heard of one such disease: influenza, commonly known as "the flu," which is responsible for up to 500,000 deaths worldwide each year. If you or your kids have ever caught the flu, you know just how awful it can be.

Our team found that certain aggregated search queries tend to be very common during flu season each year. We compared these aggregated queries against data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and we found that there's a very close relationship between the frequency of these search queries and the number of people who are experiencing flu-like symptoms each week. As a result, if we tally each day's flu-related search queries, we can estimate how many people have a flu-like illness. Based on this discovery, we have launched Google Flu Trends, where you can find up-to-date influenza-related activity estimates for each of the 50 states in the U.S.

The CDC does a great job of surveying real doctors and patients to accurately track the flu, so why bother with estimates from aggregated search queries? It turns out that traditional flu surveillance systems take 1-2 weeks to collect and release surveillance data, but Google search queries can be automatically counted very quickly. By making our flu estimates available each day, Google Flu Trends may provide an early-warning system for outbreaks of influenza.

For epidemiologists, this is an exciting development, because early detection of a disease outbreak can reduce the number of people affected. If a new strain of influenza virus emerges under certain conditions, a pandemic could emerge and cause millions of deaths (as happened, for example, in 1918). Our up-to-date influenza estimates may enable public health officials and health professionals to better respond to seasonal epidemics and — though we hope never to find out — pandemics.

We shared our preliminary results with the Epidemiology and Prevention Branch of the Influenza Division at CDC throughout the 2007-2008 flu season, and together we saw that our search-based flu estimates had a consistently strong correlation with real CDC surveillance data. Our system is still very experimental, so anything is possible, but we're hoping to see similar correlations in the coming year.

We couldn't have created such good models without aggregating hundreds of billions of individual searches going back to 2003. Of course, we're keenly aware of the trust that users place in us and of our responsibility to protect their privacy. Flu Trends can never be used to identify individual users because we rely on anonymized, aggregated counts of how often certain search queries occur each week. The patterns we observe in the data are only meaningful across large populations of Google search users.

Flu season is here, so avoid becoming part of our statistics and get a flu shot! And keep an eye on those graphs if you're curious to see how the flu season unfolds...

Posted by Jeremy Ginsberg and Matt Mohebbi, Software Engineers

Registry of Economics Blogs

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Professor William R. Parke of the University of North Carolina is hosting this registry of most important and relevant economics blog. You can view his ad-free website at http://www.rtable.net/index/rt/economics/371/ . By far this is the classic collection of economic blogs you want to follow. This site aggregates all the recent blogs published from its registered list. This is a Really fascinating collection. I am sure you will spend a substantial time of yours in this classic site.

Drop me a note on your thoughts on this registry.

Google Mashups

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Lately, I have been testing a beta product named "Google Mashups". This product helps to create mashups. These are web pages or widgets which is created by combining various source of information. For e.g. Google mashups can combine a RSS feed and atom feed from BBC, NY Times, Asian Journal to create a global news mashup.

With the introduction to mashup, let me give you a taste of my mashup - http://trendswatcher.googlemashups.com which tracks Google trends and identifies current news related to Google trends. Google tracks the trends from its search engine and constantly refreshes the trend information. My mashup retrieves the trend list and for the selected trend, it can show the news, blog info and wiki information. I am planning to add images, photos, movies, music, shopping to the list of items related to the trend.

If you want to learn how to work with Google Mashups. Visit my mashup blog Circulardots.com

You can also view my trend watcher here...


Role of United States in Saving Mother Earth

Role of United States in Saving Mother Earth

Executive Summary

There is a classical saying in Tamil language, ‘You need a wall to paint a picture’. Mother Earth has given abundant of resources for its people. It is important to preserve and value our resources. 20th century has brought many advances in every aspect of human life; science has played a critical role in several of these advances. As development happened and quality of life improved it also created a deadly impact in the environment where we live by the way of greenhouse gas emissions in to the atmosphere. These emissions has started to dangerously interfere with the climate system and have been leading to flood, famine, widespread malnutrition, starvation, epidemic and increased mortality.

Gross World Product is around $60 Trillion in 2005 out of which U.S. has a share of $14 Trillion. So far US have been primary contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions. But the fast growing developing countries such as China and India are set to takeover U.S. in the coming years. World governments, corporations, small businesses and individuals in every country need to work to reduce greenhouse gases emitted in to the atmosphere. This report looks at the role of U.S. political system in the fight against saving mother Earth.

We are trying to understand the role of U.S. political system by understanding the issues surrounding climate change, U.S. stand on Kyoto protocol and a look at Strategic Plan designed by Executive Office. President Bush’s historical stand on climate change, role of international countries and groups to influence U.S. participation in reducing greenhouse gases. Presidential nominees opinions on climate change. Europe’s role in climate change, Increasing awareness through international media, noble peace prize, Hollywood movies. Finally we end with looking at the latest development in Bali convention and provide a strategic recommendation for U.S. government.

Our recommendation to the U.S. congressmen is to enact bills which would facilitate reduction of GreenHouse Gases by corporations, small businesses and individuals. Work with UNFCCCC closely to continue shaping the climate change plans. Work with developing and poor countries with their efforts to reduce GreenHouseGas(GHG) by transferring technologies and know-how knowledge and best practices. U.S. should actively participate in the climate trading system which would greatly enhance the participation of every country.


Global Climate Change

Alarming number of scientific reports suggest that climate change is happening. Scientists have confirmed that earth is warming due to man-made sources such as car emissions and power plants. Due to combustion of fossil fuels, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, are at a level unequaled for more than 400,000 years. Following is an excerpt from PEW Climate change report.

“Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases always have been present in the atmosphere, keeping the earth hospitable to life by trapping heat. Yet, since the industrial revolution, emissions of these gases from human activity have accumulated steadily, trapping more heat and exacerbating the natural greenhouse effect. As a result, global average temperatures have risen both on land and in the oceans, with observable impacts already occurring that foretell increasingly severe changes in the future. Polar ice

is melting. Glaciers around the globe are in retreat. Storms are increasing in intensity. Ecosystems around the world already are reacting, as plant and animal species struggle to adapt to a shifting climate, and new climate-related threats emerge”.

As we can see from the above figure global temperature trend is etching higher drastically over the last century. In last 10 years there has been noticeable increase in temperature. World metrological department has indicated that 2005 has been the hottest year on record. For United States, first 6 months in 2006 were the warmest such period on record.

Greenhouse gases have been identified as the root cause for such drastic temperature increase. Primarily greenhouse gases are emission of carbon-dioxide, burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, deforestation, agriculture and industrial processes.

U.S. faces climate change threat

United States with 5 percent world population is responsible for 25 percent of global GHG emissions, more than any other country. On an intensity basis US emissions are 50 percent higher than that of Japan.

Pew report designed various scenarios for major cities in U.S. Findings revealed that number of heat-wave days in the Midwestern cities can be expected to increase by 70% by the end of this century. This is a great danger for the growing population in these cities.

Pew report is indicating that every planner, developer, corporation and governmental agencies should be considering the effects of climate change in their projects.

Increasing awareness of Climate Change

There is a huge increase in general awareness of climate change among public. Awareness has been raised by the mammoth effort of the media. Following are the 2 major efforts which contributed to the increase in awareness. AN INCONVEINIENT TRUTH movie by former president AL Gore won OSCAR award and Al Gore received Noble peace price for 2007.

“Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced. ” – Director Davis Guggenheim – AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2 OSCAR Awards – 2006).

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. Al Gore – former Vice President who in the wake of his 2000 presidential election defeat re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. This movie raised great awareness by winning several premier awards including OSCAR awards.

With wit, smarts and hope, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH ultimately brings home Gore's persuasive argument that we can no longer afford to view global warming as a political issue - rather, it is the biggest moral challenges facing our global civilization.


Global Awareness – Nobel Peace Price 2007

Ultimate awareness came when Nobel Committee announced the peace prize for 2007 would be shared by Al Gore. This really elevated the importance of global climate change among the public around the world. Attached in the appendix is the letter announcing the Nobel peace prize for 2007. Reading the attached letter would help understand the significance of climate change taking precedence over other peace issues.

United Nations and Climate Change

United Nations has taken the climate change issues very seriously. They have formed organizations which can work with various countries around the world. These organizations have conducted several meetings, conferences to get consensus from various countries. Following is an overview of UNFCCCC and the famous Kyoto protocol signed in Kyoto Japan – 2005.

UNFCCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The ultimate objective of this Convention and any related legal instruments that the Conference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention, stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.

Kyoto Protocol

The Protocol requires developed countries to reduce their GHG emissions below levels specified for each of them in the Treaty. These targets must be met within a five-year time frame between 2008 and 2012, and add up to a total cut in GHG emissions of at least 5% against the baseline of 1990. Review and enforcement of these commitments are carried out by United Nations-based bodies.

The Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” This has two main reasons. Firstly, those countries can more easily pay the cost of cutting emissions. Secondly, developed countries have historically contributed more to the problem by emitting larger amounts of GHGs per person than in developing countries.


President Bush and his policies on Climate Change

"Addressing global climate change will require a sustained effort, over many generations. My approach recognizes that sustained economic growth is the solution, not the problem – because a nation that grows its economy is a nation that can afford investments in efficiency, new technologies, and a cleaner environment."

- President George W. Bush

In February 2002 President Bush announced a voluntary 18-percent reduction of greenhouse gas intensity (the ratio of emissions to gross domestic product) by 2012. By this target emissions would actually raise as the economy grows. By 2004 U.S. emissions were 18 percent higher from 1990 levels and 2.6 percent higher from 2002 levels. Congress and Bush couldn’t come to an consensus to create a mandatory climate bill. This has hampered great progress being made in controlling the GHG emissions.

Bush Administration Stand on Kyoto

“Kyoto is, in many ways, unrealistic. Many countries cannot meet their Kyoto targets. The targets themselves were arbitrary and not based upon science. For America, complying with those mandates would have a negative economic impact, with layoffs of workers and price increases for consumers. And when you evaluate all these flaws, most reasonable people will understand that it's not sound public policy. ”

- President George W. Bush

International Actions on Climate Change

GHG emissions have not been a sole issue of U.S. In U.S. emissions are set to rise 8 percent above 2004 levels by 2010 and 28 percent by 2025. By comparison it is projected to hold steady in the EU and decline 5 percent in Japan by 2010. Emissions are rising rapidly at developing countries. China’s emissions are set to double and India’s emission is set to increase by 80 percent by 2025.

In 1992 countries signed the UNFCCCC with the objective to avoid dangerous human interference with the climate. 189 countries including U.S. has ratified the agreement. By 2005 governments launched new processes as described in Kyoto protocol.

The future of the international effort hinges in large measure on the United States – other major emitters are not going to participate without the participation of the major economy and emitter. As U.S. starts to strengthen the domestic response to climate change, it should start providing leadership needed for an long term global effort.

U.S. States & Climate Change

With little effort from Washington, various states and local leaders have taken various steps to implement the Kyoto protocol. Following graph shows the amount of regional initiatives being driven without the support of federal government.

U.S. Local Leaders & Climate Change


Businesses Readiness for Climate Change

No longer can businesses treat climate change as a non-risk. Time has come to take this risk seriously or else face the irreversible losses and consequences. Following are some of the studies done with which businesses are readily looking to minimize the climate change impact.

1. Threats to competitiveness

2. Physical risks to business

3. Disclosure of material risks

4. Regulation viewed as inevitable

The Presidential Candidates on Climate Change

A growing environmental awareness among Americans has brought the issue to the forefront of the 2008 presidential campaign. Both Republican and Democratic candidates have been asked to explain their stance on global warming during the debates and on the campaign trail. Most of the Democrats say the United States should lead the global effort to curb greenhouse emissions and advocate federally mandated emission laws. The Republicans, many of whom are unsure about the human role in climate change, tend to emphasize energy independence and efficiency.

- KITTY BENNETT AND FARHANA HOSSAIN

BALI Conference

COP 13 The Conference, hosted by the Government of Indonesia, took place at the Bali International Convention Center and brought together more than 10,000 participants, including representatives of over 180 countries together with observers from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and the media. The two week period included the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, its subsidiary bodies as well as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. A ministerial segment in the second week concluded the Conference.

The conference culminated in the adoption of the Bali roadmap, which charts the course for a new negotiating process to be concluded by 2009 that will ultimately lead to a post-2012 international agreement on climate change. Ground-breaking decisions were taken which form core elements of the roadmap. They include the launch of the Adaptation Fund as well as decisions on technology transfer and on reducing emissions from deforestation. These decisions represent various tracks that are essential to achieving a secure climate future.

Strategic Recommendations

1. Our recommendation to the U.S. congressmen is to enact a mandatory climate bill which would facilitate reduction of GreenHouse Gases by corporations, small businesses and individuals.

2. Work with UNFCCCC and lead the BALI Roadmap closely to continue shaping the climate change plans. Work with developing and poor countries with their efforts to reduce GreenHouseGas(GHG) by transferring technologies and know-how knowledge and best practices.

3. U.S. should actively participate in the Emission Trading Scheme which would greatly enhance the participation of every country.

Merits & DeMerits of The Strategic Recommendations

Mandatory Climate Bill

Merits :

  1. Climate bill which would clearly specify the reduction targets for GHG
  2. Initial support to businesses, individuals to comply to the target
  3. Increased quality of life, less pollution, stable economy
  4. Less footprints on mother earth

DeMerits :

  1. Business and individuals may have to incur an initial expense to comply
  2. Some industries need to change their business practices, e.g. Automobiles
  3. United States has to reduce its dependency on oil
  4. Pressure on new technologies to be mature sooner they were supposed to


Bali Roadmap

Merits :

  1. Next step to Kyoto
  2. Increased agreement from developing countries
  3. Includes technology transfer to poor countries
  4. Reducing emissions from deforestation

DeMerits:

  1. Impact to logging industry
  2. Intellectual property issues
  3. Developing countries commitment/adherence to Bali Roadmap

Emission Trading Scheme

Merits :

  1. Increased compliance with international standards.
  2. On par with European Union standards.
  3. Highly competitive environment

DeMerits :

1. Impacts to some businesses

2. Corporations need to increase spending to fix the emissions of GHG.

3. Some businesses might go out of business.

APPENDIX
The Nobel Peace Prize 2007

Nobel Prize® medal - registered trademark of the Nobel Foundation "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change"

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 is to be shared, in two The Norwegian Nobel Committee logotypeequal parts, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.

Indications of changes in the earth's future climate must be treated with the utmost seriousness, and with the precautionary principle uppermost in our minds. Extensive climate changes may alter and threaten the living conditions of much of mankind. They may induce large-scale migration and lead to greater competition for the earth's resources. Such changes will place particularly heavy burdens on the world's most vulnerable countries. There may be increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states.

Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over one hundred countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming. Whereas in the 1980s global warming seemed to be merely an interesting hypothesis, the 1990s produced firmer evidence in its support. In the last few years, the connections have become even clearer and the consequences still more apparent.

Al Gore has for a long time been one of the world's leading environmentalist politicians. He became aware at an early stage of the climatic challenges the world is facing. His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change. He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted.

By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC and Al Gore, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind. Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man’s control.


THE CANDIDATE

STANCE ON GLOBAL WARMING
AND
AMERICA'S ROLE

IF ELECTED, THEY SAY THEY WOULD ...

PAST ACTIONS ON THE ISSUE

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Democrat

U.S. NEEDS TO TAKE IMMEDIATE, SENSIBLE STEPS TO SLOW AND ULTIMATELY REDUCE EMISSIONS

The scientific consensus is clear and overwhelming: we are causing the planet to warm, with potentially devastating consequences. We need to take immediate steps to address this problem. Critics contend that action will be too costly, but I believe that action is both an environmental necessity and an economic opportunity. By putting the right incentives in place, we will drive American businesses to innovate, creating new products and new jobs. Failing to act is the riskier course to both our environment and our economy.

-- Statement on a United Nations report on climate change, Feb. 2, 2007

Given the scientific evidence that we have and the potential consequences of continued warming, I strongly believe this nation needs to take sensible first steps to slow and ultimately reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to climate change.

-- Statement on a United Nations report on climate change, Feb. 2, 2007

Have the United States lead international efforts to address the problem of climate change.

Support policies to reduce carbon emissions and other pollution that contribute to global warming.

Establish a national market-based program to reduce global warming pollution.

Invest in clean energy technologies.

Increase fuel efficiency.

-- More information

Co-sponsored the "Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act" in 2007, which would require the U.S. to reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

Co-sponsored the "Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007," which would cut carbon emissions by 30 percent from 2000 to 2050.

Sponsored the "Strategic Energy Fund Act of 2006," which would have established a $50-billion fund to create a research agency focused on reducing the threat of global warming and to invest in clean energy technologies.

Voted yes on an amendment to the "Energy Policy Act of 2005," which would have capped greenhouse gas emissions at 2000 levels by 2010.

Voted yes on an amendment to the "Energy Policy Act of 2003," which would have increased automobile fuel efficiency standards to 40 mpg by 2015.

Barack Obama
Democrat
q

U.S. MUST LEAD GLOBAL EFFORTS TO REDUCE EMISSION; WOULD INSTITUTE CAP-AND-TRADE SYSTEM

Strengthened institutions and invigorated alliances and partnerships are especially crucial if we are to defeat the epochal, man-made threat to the planet: climate change. ... As the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, America has the responsibility to lead. While many of our industrial partners are working hard to reduce their emissions, we are increasing ours at a steady clip -- by more than ten percent per decade. As president, I intend to enact a cap-and-trade system that will dramatically reduce our carbon emissions. ... Getting our own house in order is only a first step. ... We need a global response to climate change that includes binding and enforceable commitments to reducing emissions, especially for those that pollute the most: the United States, China, India, the European Union, and Russia.

-- Wrote in the Foreign Affairs magazine, July/August 2007 issue

Support implementation of a market-based cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Would require all transportation fuels in the
United States to contain 5 percent less carbon by 2015 and 10 percent less carbon by 2020.

Would establish targets for annual fuel economy increases while giving industry the flexibility to meet those targets.

Would give automakers health care assistance in exchange for their investing 50 percent of the savings into technology to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Support alternative fuels.

-- More information

Co-sponsored the "Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act" of 2007, which would require the U.S. to reduce its emissions by 2050 to 80 percent below 1990 levels.

Co-sponsored the "Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007," which would cut carbon emissions by 30 percent from 2000 to 2050.

Voted yes on an amendment to the "Energy Policy Act of 2005," which would have capped greenhouse gas emissions at 2000 levels by 2010.


Mitt Romney
Republican

EMPHASIZES ENERGY EFFICIENCY; U.S. SHOULD NOT ACT TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES UNLESS DEVELOPING NATIONS ARE COMMITTED TO DOING THE SAME

You're seeing the climate get warmer or climate change is occurring and I believe that human activity is contributing to that. I don't know what proportion of the change is due to human activity but my policy is to adopt what I refer to as a 'no regrets policy' -- to take action that allows us to become more energy efficient and ultimately become energy independent as a nation. ... I would like to see us work on a global basis on this effort. I really don't think it's productive for us to act solely on a unilateral basis to reduce our greenhouse gases if we have developing nations like China and India continue to increase their output of greenhouse gases and not be party to a greenhouse gas effort.

-- Business and Industry Association National Leaders Forum, May 29, 2007

Advocates U.S. energy independence as a "strategic imperative."

Supports alternative fuels, including biodiesel and ethanol, nuclear power and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

-- More information

Proposed "Climate Protection Plan" as Massachusetts's governor in 2004, which said the state must consider the impact on greenhouse gases when state regulators evaluate highway projects and other public construction plans. The state never implemented the provisions.

Backed out of regional pact to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants because of concerns that the emissions fee would drive up the already-high price of electricity.


Reference:

http://www.climatecrisis.net
Al Gore’s AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH Movie Website

www.pewclimate.org
The Pew Center on Global Climate Change brings together business leaders, policy makers, scientists, and other experts to bring a new approach to a complex and often controversial issue. Our approach is based on sound science, straight talk, and a belief that we can work together to protect the climate while sustaining economic growth.

http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/issues/climate/index.html
The Presidential Candidates on Climate Change

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/press.html
Press release for 2007 peace prize