You know you’ve had a long day when your alarm clock rings for the second time and you can’t remember going to bed. That’s exactly the situation I found myself in last night upon arriving in Houston – my iPod making the desperate chirping noise to let me know it was officially 4 a.m. in Copenhagen. The brutal wakeup earlier that day, over 5000 miles and what seemed like worlds away, came only about five short hours after President Obama’s press broadcast, in which he repeatedly stressed the political agreement (read: hogwash) that came out of COP15. Coincidentally, by the time I woke up on that very early and cold Saturday morning in Denmark, Mr. Obama’s Air Force One jet had already re-entered American atmosphere and had probably touched down in D.C.
My last full two days in Denmark were a blur perhaps not unlike Mr. Obama’s charity appearance. Due to safety concerns, NGOs were no longer allowed entrance to the Bella Centre on Thursday and Friday (apart from a select few fortunate individuals drawn in an elaborate lottery process). My fellow Rice comrades and I did not attempt to spend the night hidden away in the centre (like some were rumored to be), but my mind did have fun procuring elaborate schemes that might have worked. Alas, I decided to use my last two days in Denmark to get a glimpse of Copenhagen during the brief, but beautiful window of sunlight (roughly 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), and it was well worth it.
The visit to Christiania on Thursday was a particularly memorable experience. Even though I learned (the hard way) that the combination of wet shoes and sub-freezing temperatures could quickly and effectively short-circuit my Swiss genetic predisposition to the cold, I nonetheless enjoyed the crisp, fresh air that at all times seemed to have the aftertaste of the locally-revered Cannabis plant. A converted military outpost, Christiania was a haven for types from all walks of life who loved to spend their days enjoying the greener side of things. I had perhaps the best ham and cheese omelette of my life in this miraculous graffiti-covered townlet, and was dangerously close to purchasing a broadsword (only to remember that these artifacts are frowned upon at US Customs).
On Friday, the group and I decided to attend some of the events at the Klimaforum, also known as the People’s Climate Summit because it was open to everyone and you didn’t have to wait in line for hours to prove you were serious about climate change. It was with great anticipation that we awaited the live broadcast of speeches from the plenary sessions and more specifically the arrival of the big man himself, President Obama. When he finally did arrive, entering the hall from a special side room near the podium, his speech did not deliver the miracle that many had expected and even more had hoped for. It was a non-commital, carefully-worded soliloquy of a man whose tired eyes yearned to take greater action, but found himself consistently held down by the overwhelming mass of the American governance system. My growing frustration and anger at what was quickly and rather appropriately being called “Nopenhagen” was compounded later when I watched “Age of Stupid”, a film whose premise is the reflection of the last human survivor of climate change in 2055. This effective piece of cinematography was anything but uplifting, and we’re trying to get it screened at Rice.
Well, that’s a short update. More to follow.