lunes, 14 de diciembre de 2009
De vuelta a Suecia
Son las 23.03. Estoy sentado en el tren de vuelta de Copenague a Malmo. Hay un grupo de americanos sentados al lado de mí y hablan sobre el estado del sistema sanitario en Arabia Saudí. Uno de ellos trabaja para Shell y otro para Siemens y están hablando de caputa y secuestración de carbono. Bueno, no todo podía ser perfecto... Estábamos andando por la calle y no había nadie, 5 grados bajo cero calculo, quizás algo más, pero desde luego menos 0 porque la el agua de la acera estaba congelada. Había tres hombres en la calle y uno ha preguntado “What do you think the average emissions compensation is?” (¿Cuál es la media en la compensación de emisiones?) Me encanta lo que está pasando, lo que estoy haciendo. Me encanta este trayecto. Cada día tengo la oportunidad de aprender tanto. Me pregunto si el mundo será así dentro de unos año, de unas décadas, si todo el mundo hablará de emisiones, de partes por millón...
Tarde en el Klimaforum
Estoy sentado en la mesa de ordenadores del Klimaforum. A veces olvido lo que se aprende simplemente hablando con la gente. Acabo de reencontrarme con Ulrik después de más de seis años , y ha sido genial. Nunca había tenido esta conexión con él. La conversación es bastante directa, nada más encontrarnos hemos empezado a hablar sobre cómo reducir nuestra huella del carbono, sobre la filosofía que hay detrás del moviemiento medio ambiental, donde están los problemas, y las posibles soluciones.
Hay algo muy importante que he aprendido en una de las charlas. En un mundo cambiante, no saber lo que cada país tiene y lo que consume no tiene sentido, porque es más difícil organizarse para los posibles riesgos. Creo que si había algo para lo que vine a Copenague es para saber eso. Porque a veces con tantas prediciones apocalíticas te dan ganas de olvidarte de todo y mirar para otro lado, tener una vida mejor sin el conocimiento, que tanto daño nos hace. Pero es precisamente el conocimiento para prevenir lo que vamos a necesitar tanto en las próximas décadas. Recuerdo el representante de Suiza comentar cómo en Zúrich han elegido por voto popular que para cierto año (dentro de 20 ó 30 años), los habitantes de Zúrich utilizarán 2.000 Watios de energía en lugar de los 10.000 que usan ahora. Parece que después de esta decisión ha hecho que algunas compañías se establezcan en la ciudad (tal vez hay otras razones detrás), puesto que representa un modelo de negocios más sostenible, más viable a largo plazo. No tiene sentido tener una compañía durante dos años. Si la comunidad, la ciudad, el país, no se adaptan a las condiciones del futuro, se hundirán. Hay que ser inteligente en este viaje, saber entender, calcular y prevenir. Ahorrar energía y recursos tiene sentido desde el punto de vista económico, y desarrollar empresas que necesiten muy pocos recursos y energía tendrán ventaja. Por supuesto estas empresas también tendrán que tener proveedores que desarrollen un modelo similar, puesto que de otra forma se verán negativamente afectadas. Los precios del petróleo y las energías no renovables vas a crecer muy rápidamente. Tal vez no dentro de mucho llegue el día en el que simplemente no podamos pagar el autobús para ir a trabajar... Y seguro que habrá conflicto. Se necesitarán personas que sepan lidiar con estas situaciones, para poder crear condiciones distintas que se adapten a las nuevas situaciones.
Todo lo que hemos construido durante más de medio siglo, y seguramente durante los últimos 200 años flota sobre el petróleo. La democracia flota sobre el petróleo, y si éste se acaba, simplemente nos quedaremos varados en medio de una cuenca seca, sin saber a dónde ir.
Una de mis grandes deudas con el movimiento medio ambiental es no dejar de volar. Este año lo he hecho, pero para el año que viene tengo preparado por lo menos un viaje de larga distancia. Creo que no es suficiente, que para reducir nuestra huella del carbono a dos toneladas, que es lo que se estima que cada persona puede usar para limitar el calentamiento global a menos de 2ªC, no nos podemos permitir tal lujo. Eso significa que tal vez sólo puedo hacer un viaje de ida a algún sitio. Es algo que me lleva preocupando mucho tiempo porque sé que es lo más difícil para mí. Puedo comer ecológico, comida producida localmente, comida que use menos materiales en el envasado, comer menos carne y menos pruductos lácteos, reciclar todo, comprar poca ropa, no tener televisión, ni utilizar muchos aparatos eléctricos, comprar cosas de segunda mano, usar bombillas y aparatos de energía eficiente, no tener un coche... Pero lo de volar me va a costar mucho más, y volar es lo que produce más emisiones por persona en este momento. Estoy conectado a los vuelos de una forma especial. Un avión me llevó a África por primera vez y para poder volver necesito volar. En avión fui a Oslo, donde decidí lo que quería estudiar, a Inglaterra, donde estudié, a Ciudad del Cabo, que tantas alegrías me trajo, y a tantos otros sitios. Según Ulrik lo que se puede hacer es volar a un lugar para quedarte un tiempo, aprender del lugar, dejar que te cambie. Volar una vez cada tres años. Sería suficiente ver a la familia cada tres años, y comunicarte por Skype el resto del tiempo. Pero yo creo que esto en la parte más difícil, no ver a la familia y los amigos cada tanto tiempo. Hasta ahora lo único que me satisface cuando me planteo volar es utilizar un vuelo para reducir emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero en el lugar donde voy. Por ejemplo, modificar la utilización de la energía del lugar a donde voy. Educar a la comunidad, a un ayuntamiento, el vecindario para que reduzcan su consumo. Entonces mi viaje estaría justificado, porque mi trabajo ha reducido más consumo del que yo he producido con mi vuelo. Creo que tiene sentido. Eso excluye por supuesto los vuelos de fin de semana, y seguramente los vuelos para vacaciones, aunque todo depende. En un mes podría dar tiempo ha hacer algún trabajo que la gente no haría de otra forma, como plantar árboles. Una semana de trabajo manual, que también es muy bueno para la mente, y tres semanas de viaje. Todo gira en torno a cambiar las actitdes, ver la vida de una forma más lenta, más tranquila, en lugar de tenerlo todo aquí y ahora, y más, y cosas nuevas media hora más tarde... Una vida que utilice pocos recursos. El verano pasado conocí a un chico checo, Jirka, que cada fin de semana que podía y cada vacaciones se las pasaba trabajando en granjas ecológicas. Es donde coincidimos. Yo lo hice también en mi tiempo libre, pero la diferencia es que yo no tenía un trabajo a jornada completa y tenía más tiempo para relajarme después del campo de trabajo. Pero fue diferente. Trabajar con las manos no es tan malo como parece, sino que realmente relaja, es bueno para pensar, para entender las cosas con más calma. Creo que hacerlo una vez a la semana me libraría del estrés. Es algo positivo, y quizás no sea tan difícil hacer llegar el mensaje a más gente. Es otra nota para la esperanza. Y hay cientos de cosas que se pueden hacer.
Estoy muy contento de haber visto a Ulrik porque me conecta con el pasado y da al presente más sentido, que la gente a la que conocí no desaparezca de repente, y que la amistad crezca aunque sea en la distancia, tranquilamente.
Tenemos la idea de que una vida con pocos recursos es miserable, como lo fue la de nuestros abuelos, pero precisamente a lo que lleva es a la creatividad. Tren a Copenague en lugar de avión, con todo lo que ello conlleva. Visitar a Sofía y a Aude, la espera en París, el paisaje de Bruselas, las cervezas y el chocolate, conocer gente y expandir lo que allí viví, y aprender en el viaje, intentar compartir coche a la vuelta, visitar a Jen y entender cómo nuestras vidas se vuelven a conectar. Nunca habría pasado en un avión.
Cuál es el pensamiento estándard para todo? Cómo se puede modificar? Eso es lo que quiero hacer, informar sobre las alternativas, y crear nuevas cosas en el camino.
Hay algo muy importante que he aprendido en una de las charlas. En un mundo cambiante, no saber lo que cada país tiene y lo que consume no tiene sentido, porque es más difícil organizarse para los posibles riesgos. Creo que si había algo para lo que vine a Copenague es para saber eso. Porque a veces con tantas prediciones apocalíticas te dan ganas de olvidarte de todo y mirar para otro lado, tener una vida mejor sin el conocimiento, que tanto daño nos hace. Pero es precisamente el conocimiento para prevenir lo que vamos a necesitar tanto en las próximas décadas. Recuerdo el representante de Suiza comentar cómo en Zúrich han elegido por voto popular que para cierto año (dentro de 20 ó 30 años), los habitantes de Zúrich utilizarán 2.000 Watios de energía en lugar de los 10.000 que usan ahora. Parece que después de esta decisión ha hecho que algunas compañías se establezcan en la ciudad (tal vez hay otras razones detrás), puesto que representa un modelo de negocios más sostenible, más viable a largo plazo. No tiene sentido tener una compañía durante dos años. Si la comunidad, la ciudad, el país, no se adaptan a las condiciones del futuro, se hundirán. Hay que ser inteligente en este viaje, saber entender, calcular y prevenir. Ahorrar energía y recursos tiene sentido desde el punto de vista económico, y desarrollar empresas que necesiten muy pocos recursos y energía tendrán ventaja. Por supuesto estas empresas también tendrán que tener proveedores que desarrollen un modelo similar, puesto que de otra forma se verán negativamente afectadas. Los precios del petróleo y las energías no renovables vas a crecer muy rápidamente. Tal vez no dentro de mucho llegue el día en el que simplemente no podamos pagar el autobús para ir a trabajar... Y seguro que habrá conflicto. Se necesitarán personas que sepan lidiar con estas situaciones, para poder crear condiciones distintas que se adapten a las nuevas situaciones.
Todo lo que hemos construido durante más de medio siglo, y seguramente durante los últimos 200 años flota sobre el petróleo. La democracia flota sobre el petróleo, y si éste se acaba, simplemente nos quedaremos varados en medio de una cuenca seca, sin saber a dónde ir.
Una de mis grandes deudas con el movimiento medio ambiental es no dejar de volar. Este año lo he hecho, pero para el año que viene tengo preparado por lo menos un viaje de larga distancia. Creo que no es suficiente, que para reducir nuestra huella del carbono a dos toneladas, que es lo que se estima que cada persona puede usar para limitar el calentamiento global a menos de 2ªC, no nos podemos permitir tal lujo. Eso significa que tal vez sólo puedo hacer un viaje de ida a algún sitio. Es algo que me lleva preocupando mucho tiempo porque sé que es lo más difícil para mí. Puedo comer ecológico, comida producida localmente, comida que use menos materiales en el envasado, comer menos carne y menos pruductos lácteos, reciclar todo, comprar poca ropa, no tener televisión, ni utilizar muchos aparatos eléctricos, comprar cosas de segunda mano, usar bombillas y aparatos de energía eficiente, no tener un coche... Pero lo de volar me va a costar mucho más, y volar es lo que produce más emisiones por persona en este momento. Estoy conectado a los vuelos de una forma especial. Un avión me llevó a África por primera vez y para poder volver necesito volar. En avión fui a Oslo, donde decidí lo que quería estudiar, a Inglaterra, donde estudié, a Ciudad del Cabo, que tantas alegrías me trajo, y a tantos otros sitios. Según Ulrik lo que se puede hacer es volar a un lugar para quedarte un tiempo, aprender del lugar, dejar que te cambie. Volar una vez cada tres años. Sería suficiente ver a la familia cada tres años, y comunicarte por Skype el resto del tiempo. Pero yo creo que esto en la parte más difícil, no ver a la familia y los amigos cada tanto tiempo. Hasta ahora lo único que me satisface cuando me planteo volar es utilizar un vuelo para reducir emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero en el lugar donde voy. Por ejemplo, modificar la utilización de la energía del lugar a donde voy. Educar a la comunidad, a un ayuntamiento, el vecindario para que reduzcan su consumo. Entonces mi viaje estaría justificado, porque mi trabajo ha reducido más consumo del que yo he producido con mi vuelo. Creo que tiene sentido. Eso excluye por supuesto los vuelos de fin de semana, y seguramente los vuelos para vacaciones, aunque todo depende. En un mes podría dar tiempo ha hacer algún trabajo que la gente no haría de otra forma, como plantar árboles. Una semana de trabajo manual, que también es muy bueno para la mente, y tres semanas de viaje. Todo gira en torno a cambiar las actitdes, ver la vida de una forma más lenta, más tranquila, en lugar de tenerlo todo aquí y ahora, y más, y cosas nuevas media hora más tarde... Una vida que utilice pocos recursos. El verano pasado conocí a un chico checo, Jirka, que cada fin de semana que podía y cada vacaciones se las pasaba trabajando en granjas ecológicas. Es donde coincidimos. Yo lo hice también en mi tiempo libre, pero la diferencia es que yo no tenía un trabajo a jornada completa y tenía más tiempo para relajarme después del campo de trabajo. Pero fue diferente. Trabajar con las manos no es tan malo como parece, sino que realmente relaja, es bueno para pensar, para entender las cosas con más calma. Creo que hacerlo una vez a la semana me libraría del estrés. Es algo positivo, y quizás no sea tan difícil hacer llegar el mensaje a más gente. Es otra nota para la esperanza. Y hay cientos de cosas que se pueden hacer.
Estoy muy contento de haber visto a Ulrik porque me conecta con el pasado y da al presente más sentido, que la gente a la que conocí no desaparezca de repente, y que la amistad crezca aunque sea en la distancia, tranquilamente.
Tenemos la idea de que una vida con pocos recursos es miserable, como lo fue la de nuestros abuelos, pero precisamente a lo que lleva es a la creatividad. Tren a Copenague en lugar de avión, con todo lo que ello conlleva. Visitar a Sofía y a Aude, la espera en París, el paisaje de Bruselas, las cervezas y el chocolate, conocer gente y expandir lo que allí viví, y aprender en el viaje, intentar compartir coche a la vuelta, visitar a Jen y entender cómo nuestras vidas se vuelven a conectar. Nunca habría pasado en un avión.
Cuál es el pensamiento estándard para todo? Cómo se puede modificar? Eso es lo que quiero hacer, informar sobre las alternativas, y crear nuevas cosas en el camino.
Domingo de Copenague a Malmo:
Estoy sentado en el tren a Copenague, desde Malmo. Llegué ayer por la noche a la ciudad sueca. El tren nos dejó en la estación sur, una vez en la vida cierran la estación central por obras. Desde allí un autobús nos llevó al centro de la ciudad. Siempre hay algo que se me olvida hacer, o comprobar. Ayer fue la ruta del autobús 5. Miré la del 35, pero éste no circula después de ciertas horas, algo que obviamente no se me ocurrió pensar. Así que tuve que andar hasta la casa de mi anfitriona.
El tren acaba de arrancar. Como era de noche, ayer no pude ver el mar que separa Dinamarca de Suecia. Estaba agotado, y llegaba tres horas tarde. Ayer fue la manifestación por la justicia climática. Ahora lo sé. Ahora estoy convencido de muchas cosas, y esto hay que hablarlo con todo el mundo. Hay que hacer cosas desde ya. Por fin vi a Vandana Shiva, al coordinador general de Greenpeace, a una modelo danesa embajadora de Oxfam, a gente que está sufriendo las consecuencias del cambio climático. This is so much about people. Y esto creo que lo puede entender todo esto.
Acaban de anunciar por megafonía que quedan sitios en la parte delante del tren, y que la gente que está parada en los pasillos debería sentarse ahí puesto que se va a subir más gente en la próxima parada, Malmo Sud. Qué organizados son los suecos. Lo primero que vi nada más bajarme del tren anoche fue una tienda de IKEA. Es mi primera vez en Suecia, un país que he admirado durante tanto tiempo. Ayer la calle estaba llena de gente, en los bares, gente escandalosa. Copenague me ha parecido un sitio mucho más tranquilo.
Mi anfitriona es genial. Ayer tenía a otras dos personas alojadas en su casa, una chica de San Francisco que está estudiando en Budapest. Un máster al que también le he quiñado el ojo alguna vez. Todo son conexiones estos días. El otro chico era un parisino que se he metido 20 horas de autobús en el cuerpo para estar un día en Copenague, para una charla sobre el Tíbet y el deshielo en el Himalaya. Y ya se ha marchado esta mañana. Cuando yo llegué estuvimos de charla 3 horas. Es geneial conocer a tanta gente en este ambiente, todo el mundo tiene algo que decir sobre el medio ambiente, y se aprende mucho. Y me encanta pensar que gente con vidas tan diversas hace algo por mejorar el mundo, aunque tengan muchas contradiciones, aunque haya muchas cosas que no hacen, hay otras muchas que sí que hacen. Yo también. Así es. Así somos todos, y es fantástico. Sólo hay espacio para la esperanza.
Ahora estamos cruzando el puente que une Dinamarca y Suecia. Es una distancia muy corta, pero es un puente que une dos países, dos naciones, dos culturas. Es grande, sin barreras, sin fronteras. A la deracha hay un parque de turbinas de viento, tan danés... Y el sol que tímidamente asoma en el horizonte...
El tren acaba de arrancar. Como era de noche, ayer no pude ver el mar que separa Dinamarca de Suecia. Estaba agotado, y llegaba tres horas tarde. Ayer fue la manifestación por la justicia climática. Ahora lo sé. Ahora estoy convencido de muchas cosas, y esto hay que hablarlo con todo el mundo. Hay que hacer cosas desde ya. Por fin vi a Vandana Shiva, al coordinador general de Greenpeace, a una modelo danesa embajadora de Oxfam, a gente que está sufriendo las consecuencias del cambio climático. This is so much about people. Y esto creo que lo puede entender todo esto.
Acaban de anunciar por megafonía que quedan sitios en la parte delante del tren, y que la gente que está parada en los pasillos debería sentarse ahí puesto que se va a subir más gente en la próxima parada, Malmo Sud. Qué organizados son los suecos. Lo primero que vi nada más bajarme del tren anoche fue una tienda de IKEA. Es mi primera vez en Suecia, un país que he admirado durante tanto tiempo. Ayer la calle estaba llena de gente, en los bares, gente escandalosa. Copenague me ha parecido un sitio mucho más tranquilo.
Mi anfitriona es genial. Ayer tenía a otras dos personas alojadas en su casa, una chica de San Francisco que está estudiando en Budapest. Un máster al que también le he quiñado el ojo alguna vez. Todo son conexiones estos días. El otro chico era un parisino que se he metido 20 horas de autobús en el cuerpo para estar un día en Copenague, para una charla sobre el Tíbet y el deshielo en el Himalaya. Y ya se ha marchado esta mañana. Cuando yo llegué estuvimos de charla 3 horas. Es geneial conocer a tanta gente en este ambiente, todo el mundo tiene algo que decir sobre el medio ambiente, y se aprende mucho. Y me encanta pensar que gente con vidas tan diversas hace algo por mejorar el mundo, aunque tengan muchas contradiciones, aunque haya muchas cosas que no hacen, hay otras muchas que sí que hacen. Yo también. Así es. Así somos todos, y es fantástico. Sólo hay espacio para la esperanza.
Ahora estamos cruzando el puente que une Dinamarca y Suecia. Es una distancia muy corta, pero es un puente que une dos países, dos naciones, dos culturas. Es grande, sin barreras, sin fronteras. A la deracha hay un parque de turbinas de viento, tan danés... Y el sol que tímidamente asoma en el horizonte...
jueves, 10 de diciembre de 2009
I have just made a plan of what I will be attending until the end of COP. Intense days... I will miserably miss them, and this, all this, there is so much going on and so little time... And I have to meet up with people as well!
I stayed in this evening after the pizza and did not go back for the movie. Next week I will be in Malmo so everything will just take longer... Coz now my hosts live 10min away from one of the main venues and 30min away from the other, so it's obviously very handy, and to Malmo I reckon it will be at least 50min, not to talk about the fact that trains will not run every 5min!
I went to that book presentation on Tuesday afternoon. The main speaker, Nicholas Stern was not there, and there was actually nobody speaking. We got a lot of really nice food and drinks :) I met this Turkish guy who is living in Barcelona and also came as a Friends of the Earth delegate. It was all very interesting conversation, I am enjoying having just-environment eternal conversation here. I will miss it a lot. Now it seems clear that Barcelona is the best place to do environment stuff. Yesterday I met an Italian guy who is also doing the same program as the Turkish guy, and it's the program I was gonna do this year! Maybe I will do it next year, since King's hasn't taken me! But I actually think I want to do something else...
I really enjoyed that bar. At some point the Turkish guy and his friends left and I decided to stay on my own. I read the chapter in the book of the only speaker who was there. That was a great beer :) At the end I went to the guy and asked him to sign the book. I told him that I am thinking into going into Ecological Economics so that his signature could have a huge impact in my life! But he only signed with his name. So yes, I won't be becoming an Economist any time soon :P
What else? Well, the REDD thing seems to be a scam and won't help emissions go down. Carbon trading doesn't work and Canada wants to actually increase their emissions. Not a rosy picture. Some key scientists have already stated that "no deal is better than a bad deal". Maybe we'll have to wait to Mexico next year, although I won't be going there, so this is my chance to make something of it.
It was not a bad day for me at all, as I found a project I fell in love with instantly! It's called greenmaps.org and I felt so inspired! It's about producing maps with different themes (from biking lanes, to community change, to green business, to unused resources for low income people) and using them to educate the public. There was a really good presentation by a Taiwanese company, Delta, which produce 40% of the world's laptop adaptors. They have shown on maps where employers can reduce energy consumption (for example by taking the steps instead of the lift), by how much, and how much CO2, and other similar things. The project is based in New York and they take interns! It was started in the 1995 Social Forum in Copenhagen and it has spread now to more than 55 cities around the world. I spoke with the lady at the end of the lecture and after a little while she referred me as her "next intern"! So that's good, although getting there is not going to be so easy, but we'll see how it goes.
I also learned that staying below the 2ºC increase temperature means 3.5ºC in Africa (coz temperature won't be the same all over the world), and this is really sad news. So now I'm really up for the 80% cut by 2020, which... well, you know.
Hmmm... this December 10th really leaves me thinking... what will the world look like in 30 years? Will we still stay here? Will emissions have gone down? Was any relevant agreement ever reached? Where will I be? Will I be starving? Protecting myself from the sun? Or will we actually have made it, and if so, how did we actually make it?
I stayed in this evening after the pizza and did not go back for the movie. Next week I will be in Malmo so everything will just take longer... Coz now my hosts live 10min away from one of the main venues and 30min away from the other, so it's obviously very handy, and to Malmo I reckon it will be at least 50min, not to talk about the fact that trains will not run every 5min!
I went to that book presentation on Tuesday afternoon. The main speaker, Nicholas Stern was not there, and there was actually nobody speaking. We got a lot of really nice food and drinks :) I met this Turkish guy who is living in Barcelona and also came as a Friends of the Earth delegate. It was all very interesting conversation, I am enjoying having just-environment eternal conversation here. I will miss it a lot. Now it seems clear that Barcelona is the best place to do environment stuff. Yesterday I met an Italian guy who is also doing the same program as the Turkish guy, and it's the program I was gonna do this year! Maybe I will do it next year, since King's hasn't taken me! But I actually think I want to do something else...
I really enjoyed that bar. At some point the Turkish guy and his friends left and I decided to stay on my own. I read the chapter in the book of the only speaker who was there. That was a great beer :) At the end I went to the guy and asked him to sign the book. I told him that I am thinking into going into Ecological Economics so that his signature could have a huge impact in my life! But he only signed with his name. So yes, I won't be becoming an Economist any time soon :P
What else? Well, the REDD thing seems to be a scam and won't help emissions go down. Carbon trading doesn't work and Canada wants to actually increase their emissions. Not a rosy picture. Some key scientists have already stated that "no deal is better than a bad deal". Maybe we'll have to wait to Mexico next year, although I won't be going there, so this is my chance to make something of it.
It was not a bad day for me at all, as I found a project I fell in love with instantly! It's called greenmaps.org and I felt so inspired! It's about producing maps with different themes (from biking lanes, to community change, to green business, to unused resources for low income people) and using them to educate the public. There was a really good presentation by a Taiwanese company, Delta, which produce 40% of the world's laptop adaptors. They have shown on maps where employers can reduce energy consumption (for example by taking the steps instead of the lift), by how much, and how much CO2, and other similar things. The project is based in New York and they take interns! It was started in the 1995 Social Forum in Copenhagen and it has spread now to more than 55 cities around the world. I spoke with the lady at the end of the lecture and after a little while she referred me as her "next intern"! So that's good, although getting there is not going to be so easy, but we'll see how it goes.
I also learned that staying below the 2ºC increase temperature means 3.5ºC in Africa (coz temperature won't be the same all over the world), and this is really sad news. So now I'm really up for the 80% cut by 2020, which... well, you know.
Hmmm... this December 10th really leaves me thinking... what will the world look like in 30 years? Will we still stay here? Will emissions have gone down? Was any relevant agreement ever reached? Where will I be? Will I be starving? Protecting myself from the sun? Or will we actually have made it, and if so, how did we actually make it?
Relaxing day, at last!
Yesterday I had a day for myself. The week up to then had been very tiring... So I woke up at eleven and went with one of my hosts, Freia, to try to buy chorizo in the supermarket as I had promised everyone I would cool "lentejas" for the night.
We went into town with the bikes and I really enjoyed the ride as Copenhagen is such a bike-friendly city. And we stopped by the zoo! They actually have elephants here! Which came such as a surprise to me, as I would never expect that... Silly, as I knew there used to be lions in Europe... if you have a thick skin or a lot of hair, you can live anywhere! The elephants can be seen from the park that has the zoo, the only animal that can be seen for free! It was a nice view, it took me back to Africa for a few moments, elephants are such majestic creatures, big, slow, solemn...
Then we went to the supermarket and they only had organic chorizo (ho ho ho), and not that expensive as I thought it would be (especially for being organic), but thought I would find it cheaper in a supermarket near the place where I am staying. I didn't in the end, so I thought I'd cook vegetarian lentejas and remain in accordance with the philosophy of the conference :-)
They seemed to like them, although maybe they just wanted to show gratitude :S I think they were not bad... Then I gave them the chocolate I got in Brussels and the little lizard Gaudí-style :) I am having a lot of fun with these people... we are 6 in the house now, Emma from Australia and Niell from Canada who are together and then the Danish couple Freia and Andreas, and a friend of them, Marcus is sharing the living room with me at the moment, but he does not count as CoachSurfer I gues... All the Danish people speak Spanish, and Andreas and Marcus speak it perfectly... Andreas even has an Argentinian accent, and Marcus has no accent, so that makes it a very valuable Spanish I guess, although that's relative... I get along with all of them and I actually think I will miss them... I might ask to stay a little longer, as I am supposed to leave on Saturday... Marcus is now playing songs by Serrat! :D
Today the guys are making pizza and I made some salad :) Later on I am supposed to go a film with Rajenda Pachauri (Chair of the IPCC) in Klimaforum, but I'm not sure the pizza will be ready by then...
Yesterday was the best day lecture-wise so far... I wish I had known that lectures there are better than in the Bella Center earlier... By the way, Papua and New Guinea and Tuvalu seem to be somewhat blocking the negotiations, asking whenever they can the voting system to be changed... go them!
I attended a lecture about de-growth and transition towns, and found it quite exciting. This guy Tim Jackson works for the UK government and amazingly enough the government is interested in this kind of idea! This lecture is linked to the one I went to today. It was a lot more extensive and with another good contribution from a Swiss guy. I can actually say that today has been of the most productive days of my life. I have learned that since the world cannot cope with the consumption we are used to in the West, there will be a turning point. The world we know and are used to will not be like this not long from now. Peak oil is a point in mind. So we have to learn to live with less and our lives could actually be dramatically altered, as we will not have access to what we have today. Transport will be more expensive, also food, electricity, etc. The third speaker, a very old man who works for the Danish Institute of Technology, focused on work and in particular in less working hours. Apparently, Roosvelt through the New Deal tried the American workers to work from 40 to 30/hours a week, but the Congress did not pass the bill (surprise surprise). This would have had a dramatic effect in how we understand many things today. Keynes had predicted that we'd work less, but in fact we work more than our parents, and possibly earn relatively less. The guy had a final quote, because when people realized they could not have sex all the time, they invented work, "The sexiest proposal at COP15 will be to have to work less and work less".
But it all has a point. Increasingly since the 1960s the average American worker would like to work less and get income deducted. There would be more employment without the need of some much growth, and this is the key question. The American economy needs to grow at 2% to keep up with employment, and the whole system feeds on this. Companies and governments contribute to create a culture of consumerism to keep up with growth, and this is where we are.
Tim Jackson with the thought that one way out, maybe, which no one has thought or explored so far is to do with getting negative returns to investment (it has a word, but cannot find it in my notes), which means, getting less money when you invest, or, the opposite of the current system. But it has a point, because that means that there would be a higher social and environmental return to it, it's like destroying money but guaranteeing a better and sustainable society... I have lots of thought on this idea. It obviously needs a cultural shift, which will not happen any time soon! Other ideas came into the equation, like setting limits, knowing what we have and what we need as resources, because if something goes wrong, at least we can plan for it...
Ha ha ha... I have just received finally an e-mail from King's College!!! Everything happens for a reason... :D I have not been accepted in the Masters I applied for, but I have been offered an alternative! And I think today is the first time that this would be good news, because I have been clinching to the idea that this was a good thing to do, until today... :D I have checked the Masters programme again and actually the one I applied for does not make any sense at all... and the one I have been offered does! Not sure I want to do a Masters next year anyway... I have a lot to think :)
Pizza is ready! I have to leave this very intensive two days to come back later or tomorrow...
We went into town with the bikes and I really enjoyed the ride as Copenhagen is such a bike-friendly city. And we stopped by the zoo! They actually have elephants here! Which came such as a surprise to me, as I would never expect that... Silly, as I knew there used to be lions in Europe... if you have a thick skin or a lot of hair, you can live anywhere! The elephants can be seen from the park that has the zoo, the only animal that can be seen for free! It was a nice view, it took me back to Africa for a few moments, elephants are such majestic creatures, big, slow, solemn...
Then we went to the supermarket and they only had organic chorizo (ho ho ho), and not that expensive as I thought it would be (especially for being organic), but thought I would find it cheaper in a supermarket near the place where I am staying. I didn't in the end, so I thought I'd cook vegetarian lentejas and remain in accordance with the philosophy of the conference :-)
They seemed to like them, although maybe they just wanted to show gratitude :S I think they were not bad... Then I gave them the chocolate I got in Brussels and the little lizard Gaudí-style :) I am having a lot of fun with these people... we are 6 in the house now, Emma from Australia and Niell from Canada who are together and then the Danish couple Freia and Andreas, and a friend of them, Marcus is sharing the living room with me at the moment, but he does not count as CoachSurfer I gues... All the Danish people speak Spanish, and Andreas and Marcus speak it perfectly... Andreas even has an Argentinian accent, and Marcus has no accent, so that makes it a very valuable Spanish I guess, although that's relative... I get along with all of them and I actually think I will miss them... I might ask to stay a little longer, as I am supposed to leave on Saturday... Marcus is now playing songs by Serrat! :D
Today the guys are making pizza and I made some salad :) Later on I am supposed to go a film with Rajenda Pachauri (Chair of the IPCC) in Klimaforum, but I'm not sure the pizza will be ready by then...
Yesterday was the best day lecture-wise so far... I wish I had known that lectures there are better than in the Bella Center earlier... By the way, Papua and New Guinea and Tuvalu seem to be somewhat blocking the negotiations, asking whenever they can the voting system to be changed... go them!
I attended a lecture about de-growth and transition towns, and found it quite exciting. This guy Tim Jackson works for the UK government and amazingly enough the government is interested in this kind of idea! This lecture is linked to the one I went to today. It was a lot more extensive and with another good contribution from a Swiss guy. I can actually say that today has been of the most productive days of my life. I have learned that since the world cannot cope with the consumption we are used to in the West, there will be a turning point. The world we know and are used to will not be like this not long from now. Peak oil is a point in mind. So we have to learn to live with less and our lives could actually be dramatically altered, as we will not have access to what we have today. Transport will be more expensive, also food, electricity, etc. The third speaker, a very old man who works for the Danish Institute of Technology, focused on work and in particular in less working hours. Apparently, Roosvelt through the New Deal tried the American workers to work from 40 to 30/hours a week, but the Congress did not pass the bill (surprise surprise). This would have had a dramatic effect in how we understand many things today. Keynes had predicted that we'd work less, but in fact we work more than our parents, and possibly earn relatively less. The guy had a final quote, because when people realized they could not have sex all the time, they invented work, "The sexiest proposal at COP15 will be to have to work less and work less".
But it all has a point. Increasingly since the 1960s the average American worker would like to work less and get income deducted. There would be more employment without the need of some much growth, and this is the key question. The American economy needs to grow at 2% to keep up with employment, and the whole system feeds on this. Companies and governments contribute to create a culture of consumerism to keep up with growth, and this is where we are.
Tim Jackson with the thought that one way out, maybe, which no one has thought or explored so far is to do with getting negative returns to investment (it has a word, but cannot find it in my notes), which means, getting less money when you invest, or, the opposite of the current system. But it has a point, because that means that there would be a higher social and environmental return to it, it's like destroying money but guaranteeing a better and sustainable society... I have lots of thought on this idea. It obviously needs a cultural shift, which will not happen any time soon! Other ideas came into the equation, like setting limits, knowing what we have and what we need as resources, because if something goes wrong, at least we can plan for it...
Ha ha ha... I have just received finally an e-mail from King's College!!! Everything happens for a reason... :D I have not been accepted in the Masters I applied for, but I have been offered an alternative! And I think today is the first time that this would be good news, because I have been clinching to the idea that this was a good thing to do, until today... :D I have checked the Masters programme again and actually the one I applied for does not make any sense at all... and the one I have been offered does! Not sure I want to do a Masters next year anyway... I have a lot to think :)
Pizza is ready! I have to leave this very intensive two days to come back later or tomorrow...
martes, 8 de diciembre de 2009
Encounter with Wangari Maathai
16.35
I have the guy who led us to the queue sitting in front of me. Actually, I find amazing the good humour of the Danish people, they are all smiley and friendly any time of the day or evening, including early ours in the morning! I find them rather helpful.
So yes! I have met Wangari Mathaai :D Actually, it was nothing extraordinary. She reminds me of some many of other African women I have met during my year in Africa, deligent, good-willed, and good spirited! It's just a really good vibe. She gave a presentation about the work of the Green Belt Movement. There were not many people, perhaps 30, and I took the last round question. She had just talked about the need to teach kids from an early age about environmental education and include exams to test their knowledge. I replied I don't really think that it is about environmental education since it is already taught in many schools around the world, but rather about respect and human values. I asked her is she thinks there is a chance that this can be taught in school through formal education. She didn't really answer my question but gave a speech about respect and mentioned some Japanese principle sounding something like "Mofainai", which embodies the concepts of respect, gratitude and not wasting. Maathai expects from COP that the REDD initiative is supported, that a financial mechanism as proposed by Charles Prince of Wales is passed (I don't know anything about this), and that there will be an emphasis on the protection and regeneration (reforestation) and afforestation of indigenous forests and avoid plantations (which I think are considered as forests under the Kyoto Protocol, but feel free to correct me on this).
I had groups of people shouting "Offsetting doesn't work" and people dressed as trees shouting "Sweden wants to take the whole of the EU in its failed forest policy", adding, "When you see a Sweden delegate, tell them what we think about their forest proposals". It was all very amusing. I mean, very serious, but I am already convinced, so it is nice to think that other people also have a chance to know :)
I have had a very laid back day. I could not fall asleep last night as I had some many thoughts in my head and had not eaten a lot, so I feel dreadfully tired today. When I was in the plenary session this morning I could just not take any notes that made sense, and left early. Then I went to a session about the inclusion of the carbon aviation into the ETS (European Trading System) of a new treaty on carbon trading and well, if you agree with cap and trade, it can be good news from someone. Any planes entering or leaving EU space will have to enter the scheme, so obviously this has a huge impact in global terms. At the end of a session an American lady (I assume she was not Canadian) complained this rule violates a country's sovereignty over its air space. Duh!
Then I took a while to walk around. I met a guy who works for the University of Cape Town's water management department, finally changed money, and went to the Post. While I was eating I got an invitation to the release of a book called "Changing Climate, Changing Economy", co-authored by Nicholas Stern, who is the author of the famous Stern Review. I will also get the book for free (apparently), and I really need to go home early, so no excuse not to attend, it's right next to the central train station, and it's in my way home!
16.54
I have the guy who led us to the queue sitting in front of me. Actually, I find amazing the good humour of the Danish people, they are all smiley and friendly any time of the day or evening, including early ours in the morning! I find them rather helpful.
So yes! I have met Wangari Mathaai :D Actually, it was nothing extraordinary. She reminds me of some many of other African women I have met during my year in Africa, deligent, good-willed, and good spirited! It's just a really good vibe. She gave a presentation about the work of the Green Belt Movement. There were not many people, perhaps 30, and I took the last round question. She had just talked about the need to teach kids from an early age about environmental education and include exams to test their knowledge. I replied I don't really think that it is about environmental education since it is already taught in many schools around the world, but rather about respect and human values. I asked her is she thinks there is a chance that this can be taught in school through formal education. She didn't really answer my question but gave a speech about respect and mentioned some Japanese principle sounding something like "Mofainai", which embodies the concepts of respect, gratitude and not wasting. Maathai expects from COP that the REDD initiative is supported, that a financial mechanism as proposed by Charles Prince of Wales is passed (I don't know anything about this), and that there will be an emphasis on the protection and regeneration (reforestation) and afforestation of indigenous forests and avoid plantations (which I think are considered as forests under the Kyoto Protocol, but feel free to correct me on this).
I had groups of people shouting "Offsetting doesn't work" and people dressed as trees shouting "Sweden wants to take the whole of the EU in its failed forest policy", adding, "When you see a Sweden delegate, tell them what we think about their forest proposals". It was all very amusing. I mean, very serious, but I am already convinced, so it is nice to think that other people also have a chance to know :)
I have had a very laid back day. I could not fall asleep last night as I had some many thoughts in my head and had not eaten a lot, so I feel dreadfully tired today. When I was in the plenary session this morning I could just not take any notes that made sense, and left early. Then I went to a session about the inclusion of the carbon aviation into the ETS (European Trading System) of a new treaty on carbon trading and well, if you agree with cap and trade, it can be good news from someone. Any planes entering or leaving EU space will have to enter the scheme, so obviously this has a huge impact in global terms. At the end of a session an American lady (I assume she was not Canadian) complained this rule violates a country's sovereignty over its air space. Duh!
Then I took a while to walk around. I met a guy who works for the University of Cape Town's water management department, finally changed money, and went to the Post. While I was eating I got an invitation to the release of a book called "Changing Climate, Changing Economy", co-authored by Nicholas Stern, who is the author of the famous Stern Review. I will also get the book for free (apparently), and I really need to go home early, so no excuse not to attend, it's right next to the central train station, and it's in my way home!
16.54
lunes, 7 de diciembre de 2009
8.05
I quite like the idea to be writing the whole day actually... The whole thing is very well set up, and there is good Internet wireless connection through the venue, and plugs everywhere, including the meeting and seminar rooms, so that means that people can be connected for the whole day. I have seen people writing live what is happening in the different events in Twitter, Facebook, GoogleSpreadSheets and places like that.
-----------------------------------
On a later note from the main convention centre following the official agenda of the negotiations, I will be commenting on this later.
-----------------------------------
From the FoE meeting the main points are that the Danish government has launched a weak proposal and that there is even internal division. The Greenland Dialogue seems to be more promising and there is also relevance to a India-China-Brazil and maybe South Africa agreement, but I don't know much about these.
The one thing that I am exploring now is what is called LULUCF, which sets the rules for Land Use, Land Use Change and Forests under the Kyoto Protocol. Apparently lulucf allows dodgy accounting of emissions from forests so that developed countries' cut in emissions is inaccurate as these have been destroying their own forests. The main issues under the KP on forests is forest management, afforestation (plating in tress wehre the has never or not recently been a forest) and reforestation (where there has recently been a forest).
-------------------------------------
Lesotho (LDCs), Sudan (G-77+China) and Grenada (ASIS) have just expressed concern for the need to implement environmentally sound technologies and the expansion of capacity building.
-------------------------------------
This afternoon there will be a VERY interesting side event called "Yes he can": President Obama's power to make an international climate commitment without waiting for Congress. Which is exactly what we need.
10.54 local time
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