(Map of the DGI-Byen, Copenhagen's massive community center and venue for Klimaforum09. All the colored rooms contained events. The largest, the orange hall, was a full basketball court plus bleachers, so it probably seated about 700 people with plenty of moving around room. The red room could hold about 100-150. I only mention this so you can get a sense of how many people were there during peak hours).
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"The Inner Dimensions of Climate Change." A panel of spiritual leaders discussing the connection between our thoughts and the outer world. The main points were that the more we have respect for all people and for all living things, the more we are likely to make change in our outside world. Getting rid of our own greed is part of that. It was also noted that this was a rare occasion where highly respected people of varying religions were in unanimous agreement.
"Survival Pact, not Suicide Pact." Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, spoke for about an hour about the success of the movement. 350.org is a campaign about spreading the word on emissions. 350 parts per million is the maximum allowable concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere if we want to live in a world that looks like it did before we industrialized (i.e. relatively cool). He credits the success of the campaign and its ability to spread worldwide to a few factors:
1) They created a 90-second video that did not require language skills to understand. Even in the poorest developing countries, someone usually has a cell phone with internet access, and word was able to spread worldwide without a language barrier.
2) They trained leaders who trained other leaders and got people mobilized through local campaigns
3) Perhaps most importantly, they had a rallying cry that rose above individual organizations. Every organization has its own focus (preserving the rainforest, reducing emissions, saving whales, funding research, etc.) but all those things somehow come back to the principles of the 350 campaign; these groups are all connected by a common environmentalist thread. So, when it came time for a global day of action, thousands of individuals and organizations did their own, decentralized actions under the 350 banner. We also got to see a lot of photos from recent 350 events.
Bill told a few personal stories about the photos, then introduced Mohammad Nasheed, the president of the Maldives. Nasheed came to speak to us before going to COP15 because in his eyes, the Klimaforum folks are the ones actually accomplishing something for the environment and for his country.
The Maldives are worth reading about. They're going to be one of the first countries to get completely screwed by global warming because the whole country is a series of low islands, and the place is disappearing underwater fast. When I say "going to be" I really mean that it's already begun. They've already lost their coral reefs, which provide some protection against natural disasters. I didn't actually know that coral reefs did that, but apparently they do. Well, they did, anyway. Not so much anymore.
"Eventually We'll All Be Middle Class." A pointless art film I wish I hadn't wasted my time seeing. The artists decided the night before that they would sign out the room to show it because nobody else was using it. Their justification for showing it there was that it's about "the world" and "saving people" but it had nothing to do with climate change, and more to do with saving the poets and artists. Even the really, really bad ones, apparently. It's only notable because it reminded me why I hated my Workshop in Experimental Theatre freshman year. It's "art for art's sake," which is an invention of the privileged. The "art of the masses," if we want to call it that, doesn't come from a sense of "this would be a fun diversion," it comes from a deep need to get something out there. If it does not feel soul-burningly necessary to make whatever it is you're making, then you're not really making art, so much as goofing off. Which is fine, I guess. Except in this sort of context, when people who could have been learning about climate change were tricked into coming by a misleading description in the Klimaforum program. But now I'm getting ranty about this. Moving on...
"Progress - A New Millenium." A film about how we need to stop defining "progress" as "the accumulation of more things. Plenty of famous people interviewed on this, including the Dalai Lama, Gorbachev, and a bunch of scientists and writers. Interesting film, and I'd recommend it to others, though it didn't tell me anything I didn't personally already know.
"Political Salon: Reflections on Gender, Climate and Change" A pure discussion, in a fishbowl format. It was opened up by a group of Latino women dressed as panthers doing a performance about climate justice. The theme of the discussion was about how the rich, and mostly rich men, benefit from fossil fuels, and the poor, mostly women in developing nations, are harmed by the effects of climate change. Excellent discussion that highlighted the multifaceted nature of the issue.
"Moving Towards Zero Carbon and Beyond." A panel of speakers, including one of the main people from zerocarbonbritain.com. Their proposal is not perfect and includes a carbon-trading scheme that most people at Klimaforum are against. But other that, they've created it's a completely feasible way for the UK to go carbon neutral in only ten years (or at least most of the way). It needs fixing, but it's the best and most detailed proposal of its kind that I've seen. Worth checking out their material. The whole proposal is on the web, as are summaries for those of you who don't have hours of free time (read: all of you)
Also presenting was a member of the Australian parliament, who was talking about the hidden challenges involved in most green proposals. For example, we absolutely need to have a plan that says "we're going to install X number of wind turbines and solar panels" but those proposals also need to say "we're going to set Y amount of money aside to train people on how to install them." The infrastructure to support a green advancement has to appear at the same time as the advancement itself. When that doesn't happen, you have 100 qualified contractors trying to do the work of 1000, and things don't get done on time, or done well. The speakers were great, and among my favorites at Klimaforum.
"Growth is Good!" A presentation of the cradle to cradle concept. Look it up.
Basically, everything we make has organic components and inorganic components, and if we could separate those out, and use the right materials, we could always bury/biodegrade the organic and reuse or reprocess the inorganic, preventing us from ever needing new raw materials ever again. The presenter explained the concept well, and it's a great concept, but the guy was also a bit of an ass, and pissed off half the audience by making jokes in poor taste and saying that the environmental movement has missed the boat, and that he, in fact, has the answers. He also used the examples of carpet squares, because a company called Desso is making 97% cradle-to-cradle carpet squares. He got called out during the question period on picking the most bourgeois example possible, and that saying we should all buy carpets from Desso doesn't really fit with the anti-consumerist vibe of Klimaforum.
My conclusion was that most of us took the good parts of his presentation (C2C) and left the bad (shameless capitalism), so no real harm done. He undermined his own point a bit, but nobody actually disagrees with cradle-to-cradle at its core. So yes, he used the pretty mainstream example ofcarpet squares (in the words of one angry activist, "nobody gives a shit about carpet squares"). But he COULD have used shoes or diapers or a few other items which will probably still be necessary after The Revolution (unlike carpet squares).
"Breakthrough Advanced Free Energy Technology." I tried to be open minded about this one, but basically, it was two conspiracy theory groups talking about how the government has a secret thing that makes electricity out of nothing, but the oil lobbies don't want it to go public. One of the groups believed that we had this technology because aliens have landed with it. I buy the underlying concept, that the government and oil lobbies have stifled progress. But... seriously? Aliens?
I'm not even ruling out the possibility that aliens exist. The truth is, I just don't care whether they exist or not. If they landed and are talking to the president, or have been flying around secretly for eons, or any of the other theories people have come up with... it doesn't change anything. Even if this guy is right, and they're here and the government is hiding technology... so what? I'm already protesting the government's refusal to go green. I'm going to keep doing that, and weaken the oil lobbies how I can, and if that eventually leads to the revelation of an environmental Magic Bullet, then yay. If it leads to incremental improvements in renewable capacity, then also yay. It really doesn't change a thing. Except, possibly, for how crazy people think I am.
"Climate Broadcasters: How to Communicate Climate Change." A presentation of ideas for how weathermen could be used to present climate issues to a large audience. Especially in places like the US where there are millions of people who still Don't Quite Get It. The panel consisted of weathermen, who liked the ideas, but would have a hard time getting more airtime.
"Are You Getting the Deal You Came For?" An excellently moderated three-hour discussion with hundreds of people to answer the important questions, including "What would a good deal look like?" and "What do we do now that the deal is clearly not going to happen this year?" Most effective group discussion I've ever seen with 600 people in a room. It wasn't perfect, and some people had to be cut off due to rambly or off-topic mic-hogging, but it worked very well, largely thanks to the guy running it. He was very focused on keeping things democratic, and we got to hear a lot of perspectives and ideas. The general consensus is that the deal needs to be stronger, and the "what we do" is "keep building the movement." It's vital that those in power hear that there is a large (and quickly growing) number of people who want the temperature to stay put where it is.
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The last thing I went to was the Klimaforum closing ceremony/party, but I'll wait until my "What I did the last couple days in Copenhagen" post to talk about that. Kickin' party. Klimaforum was a great time, and I learned a lot. I'm ready to go home and be much more involved in the various organizations in and around Baltimore. I'm not typically one to care about arbitrary calendar designations, but I'm specifically excited about 2010 for some reason. Should be good. And now, it's time to get some sleep, as I fly back to the US tomorrow afternoon. Yay for home.
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