Copenhagen blog: Do we give up or rise up?
Friday, December 11, 2009 | 11:29 AM ET
Submitted by Kimia Ghomeshi
Negotiations have come to a halt during the last few days at Copenhagen.
For the thousands of observers here including NGOs and youth, I’ve seen a wave of emotions from complete hopelessness to a reinvigorated resistance towards industrialized countries that continue to be blockers.
The conference halls are filled with an air of confusion, anticipation and desensitization until a spontaneous action led by impacted communities would remind everyone what we are fighting for in Copenhagen: survival.
With the Canadian Youth Delegation, I’m seeing this same spectrum of reactions to the painfully slow movement of the negotiations — some of us can barely hold back our tears as we watch small island states, African countries, indigenous peoples and others losing their homes to the climate crisis.
These countries condemn industrialized countries like Canada that continue to threaten their survival for a problem that industrialized countries have caused. Some of us feel deeply inspired by the uprising of these impacted communities and want to join this resistance in an act of solidarity.
For others, hopelessness has transformed to complete and utter fearlessness as they realize that by sitting back they are condoning the violation of human rights that come with our country’s inaction on climate change.
Taryn Mohr-Mackenzie, an 18 year-old Canadian youth delegate felt she had no resort but to call out the Canadian negotiators for lacking ambition and political will in the face of this crisis.
With this rollercoaster of emotions bubbling in our delegation, we were lucky to meet with Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a Canadian Inuit Activist, who left us with the following powerful words.
"We cannot let ourselves feel victimized but must believe that change will come. And believe that we are here for a reason. We must believe that over time, humanity will make the right decisions that place human rights before all else," she says.
Her words couldn’t have come at a better time for our group as we had to decide between giving up and rising up for climate justice at the COP.
The choice for me is simple.
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Comments
Stan
Saskatoon
So you support the Copenhagen treaty?
Care to explain how shutting down the clean industry here and moving production to the much more polluting industry in China will reduce pollution?
BTW, have you even read the proposed treaty?
Posted December 12, 2009 09:24 PM
Jack
Toronto
Wow , it's cold!
I guess that is why the enviro-global-socialist-agenda has had a name change from "global warming" to "climate change"
I agree with the above poster Stan.
The lefties are muddled in their enviro-cult hoax and that keeps their wheels spinning while the wars rage on .
Hey ! Back off you totalarian enviro-water melon-extremists !
I'm not an earth worshipper and/or a socialist !
I hope that some semblance of freedom will survive these enviro ninnie useful idiots .
Posted December 14, 2009 02:41 PM
Gary Boyd
Montreal
THE main challenge is not global warming per-se but person's psychological addiction to hyperconsumptive hyperpolluting activities.
We couls stop warming by Killing Coal - banning coal minining averwhere starting with Canada and Australia, but A lot of people would be made a lot poorer. THat mightnt matter if most of our resources were to be challenge into science-based education & health care, instead of silly entertainments and pathological addictions.
Posted December 14, 2009 03:21 PM
Gary Boyd
Montreal
(corrected version)THE main challenge is not global warming per-se but person's psychological addiction to hyperconsumptive hyperpolluting activities.
We couls stop warming by Killing Coal - banning coal mining everywhere starting with Canada and Australia, but a lot of people would be made a lot poorer.
That might not matter if most of our resources were to be channelled into science-based education & health care, instead of silly entertainments and pathological addictions.
Posted December 14, 2009 03:26 PM
James
Victoria
My head might explode.
Saying things like "it sure is cold! Must mean global warming isn't real" truly show's how ignorant you are. You've obviously done little to no research on planetary energy balance or any of the other SCIENCE associated with global warming.
It's predicted that global warming (yes global warming, it and climate change are one in the same) will cause extreme latitudes to warm while causing lower latitudes to cool. I doubt this is the reason you're feeling cold in Toronto (lord knows it's cold up North too), but a single day (or even a single month's) observations IN A SINGLE LOCATION are far from evidence against GLOBAL warming.
Enjoy having your head in the sand, I hope you and the rest of the deniers suffocate down there.
Posted December 15, 2009 11:46 AM
Mike
Cornwall
@James
Victoria
Actually the entire planet has been in a cooling trend for the past ten years or so . That is why we got the name change from global warming to climate change .
I just love the term " denier" Do some research and you will find an ever increasing number of climate scientists are becoming "deniers"
But , whatever , The AGW agenda is crumbling all around you and it really does not matter what you or I think . The truth will prevail.
Posted December 15, 2009 01:06 PM
James
Victoria
You're right, it will. Right now it seems that people like yourself are going to cause us to be unprepared for that truth when arrives though.
At least between now and then you won't have to give up your 4x4, or any of your trips through the MacDonald's drivethru.
Posted December 15, 2009 02:07 PM
Mike
Cornwall
@James
Victoria
{ At least between now and then you won't have to give up your 4x4, or any of your trips through the MacDonald's drivethru.}
Just curious ...
If I were to drive my 4x4 thru macs ...would you consider that to be a sin ?
Please do not try to force your religion on everyone ..ok ?
You people are very scary only because you have such power behind you . Orwell says hi !
ps.
I kinda like macs once in a while but I have no truck , I have a car that get's great gas mileage .
Posted January 6, 2010 06:22 PM