Above, America is awarded one of the shameful “Fossil of the Day” distinctions from Avaaz.org for thwarting  negotiations. Note the Sen. Inhofe dollars. Witty.

Let’s start with the Bad, shall we?

Copenhagen did not end in a fair, ambitious, binding agreement, nor anything even near it. The meager three page “Copenhagen Accord” Barack Obama hashed out with leaders from China, India, Brazil and South Africa failed to meet even the most modest expectations of the conference, and stood as an almost mocking testament to those who urged the necessity of securing binding treaty by 2010. The US president calls the accord “an unprecedented breakthrough” but most believe it is laughably little too late. We came here to save the planet and instead, it seems, we saved face.

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The Wednesday Copenhagen Special: Ban Ki-Moon plus some John Kerry, add a dash of Evo Morales, stir in the environmental ministers of Peru and Ecuador, don’t forget the secret ingredient of Lord Nicholas Stern, and serve with a side of the mayors of Seattle, Mexico City, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Johannesburg, and Bonn.

Delicious.

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A tap-dancing penguin. Or so I discovered today.

If you haven’t already read, the UN is making strict cuts to entrants permitted from Tuesday until Friday – our NGO received only four secondary entry passes for these days. As there are seven of us from Rice, we’ve scheduled to attend the days that interest us most while taking others off to explore events in the city.  I stayed away from the Bella Center today and hit the streets, hoping for a more pedestrian perspective on climate activism. (more…)

Hello world! Thanks for following our blog. All of us are powering through final papers and exams as we anxiously await our departure for the COP15. Over 15,000 people have registered for the conference and hotels are booked for miles outside the city. As news of hope and cynicism for the Copenhagen venture flows in every day, I gain an enhanced gratitude for the opportunity to attend what could potentially be one of the most memorable and important international summits of the century. Each of the Rice delegates will focus on a specific aspect of the neogtiations to research during our stay. I’ll fill you in on my line of work now. (more…)