Posted by admin on December 10, 2009 | No Comments
We arrived yesterday… unfortunately, Carolyn has caught a cold, which is slowing up down some. However, this evening we did go to the Bella Center, where the conference is taking place, and picked up our (Sierra Club/NGO) badge. We attended the daily Sierra Club briefing, and visited the exhibit area. You can see photos of the exhibits here:
Not a lot to report about the conference proceedings for the day… the proceeding were suspended for much of the day over a political dispute. Still a lot of uncertainty over whether the conference will produce great results, nothing at all, or something between.
Chris
Posted by admin on December 7, 2009 | No Comments
“We call on the representatives of the 192 countries gathered in Copenhagen
not to hesitate, not to fall into dispute, not to blame each other but to
seize opportunity from the greatest failure of modern politics.”
Newspapers in 45 countries , December 7 2009
Posted by admin on December 6, 2009 | No Comments
“Each of the great social achievements of recent decades has come about not because of government proclamations, but because people organized, made demands and made it good politics for governments to respond. It is the political will of the people that makes and sustains the political will of governments.”
James Grant, Executive Director, UNICEF
Posted by cdchase on December 2, 2009 | 3 Comments
As I write this, I’m on my way to Copenhagen to attend the United Nations climate change treaty negotiations, otherwise known as COP15 (Conference of the Parties, 15th meeting). I have always been skeptical of global negotiations, but when I attended an event hosted by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in October, I heard the head of SIO declare that their scientists have documented a critical impact of climate change on the oceans that “could lead to the oceans having no fish.” That really stopped me. I mean think about it: no fish in the oceans.
Ocean acidification is where the ph balance of the water is begin driven to be so acid by excess carbon dioxide (due to human-based emissions) that it will dissolve the very nature of shells and bones such that they in essence, dissolve. And you’re left with a big, dead – well we don’t have a word for it – a big dead sludge of water without fish or vetebrate or coral or shell life as we know it. The ramifications of this – well it sounds like a bad science fiction plot – but it’s sadly and alarmingly – a science fact that we are being warned about (see also www.CopenhagenDiagnosis.org).
But what can a person do about this? Climate change, to begin with, is such a huge global phenomena that it’s hard to see where an individual can make a dent. But, indeed, individuals are required to deal with it. And not just by changing their personal choices at home, since that won’t indeed be enough to affect the global climate (yes, we will have to do individual things and we can start now). But most importantly, individuals must participate in their political processes and make climate change an issue for their elected representatives.
As I write this, I’m on my way to Copenhagen to attend the United Nations climate change treaty negotiations, otherwise known as COP15 (Conference of the Parties, 15th meeting). I have always been skeptical of global negotiations, but when I attended an event hosted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in October, I heard the head of SIO declare that their scientists have documented a critical impact of climate change on the oceans that “could lead to the oceans having no fish.” That really stopped me. I mean think about it: no fish in the oceans.
Ocean acidification is where the ph balance of the water is begin driven to be so acid by excess carbon dioxide (due to human-based emissions) that it will dissolve the very nature of shells and bones such that they in essence, dissolve. And you’re left with a big, dead – well we don’t have a word for it – a big dead sludge of water without fish or vetebrate or coral or shell life as we know it. The ramifications of this – well it sounds like a bad science fiction plot – but it’s sadly and alarmingly – a science fact that we are being warned about (see also www.CopenhagenDiagnosis.org).
But what can a person do about this? Climate change, to begin with, is such a huge global phenomena that it’s hard to see where an individual can make a dent. But, indeed, individuals are required to deal with it. And not just by changing their personal choices at home, since that won’t indeed be enough to affect the global climate (yes, we will have to do individual things and we can start now). But most importantly, individuals must participate in their political processes and make climate change an issue for their elected representatives.
