Copenhagen

This post will contain most of what you need to know about Copenhagen and the Climate Change negotiations.


First, Grist published a list of "myths and facts" about the negotiations.

This story from Mother Jones gives some general news, something to notice is Obama's chief negotiator rejects the idea that the countries that caused climate change owe money or aid to countries that are victims of climate change. This is surprising and saddening. The European Union's position is the opposite but the EU is still reluctant to give up too much money. At the same time Australia is dedicated to reducing emissions, but not by a radical amount, and demands that the creators of climate change put up the money to help the victim countries.

Poor countries, victims of climate change, demand quick action and help from the perpetrators. This is will be one of the greatest strains at the negotiations, since there is no international court poor countries have to beg for action instead of sue for it. If the climate negotiations were a domestic Tort case, the rich would pay and the poor would be reimbursed for damages.

Religious leaders are having their say about climate change and the negotiations, the Archbishop of Canterbury is speaking out and urging countries to reach an agreement that protects the citizens of the world from climate change. The church bells rang 350 times, 350ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere is the target to avoid climate catastrophe.

Protesters are angry, not just about the negotiations but about treatment from riot police. Many have been arrested and treated inhumanely. Some of the mass arrests did not occur when protesters acted out of line, there of course are the violent anarchists present. Peaceful protesters were arrested, not allowed bathroom services, heat, food or drink. An investigation into the Danish police force is being campaigned for.

Sarah Palin had her views about climate change published in the Washington Post, of course they were inaccurate and help to rally ignorant people to march to their own demise.

While the majority of Americans are worried about climate change and think that their actions affect it they are unwilling to change too much, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

Advances in technology will be one of our saviors. Scientists have been able to use paper and nanotubes to create a battery. The comments on the article ask "The result is a highly conductive sheet that can carry a charge" Sounds more like a capacitor than like a battery to me. Did I miss something?"

Obama is Back on for Copenhagen

Obama has announced that he will attend the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen next weekend. This will be the first international climate change negotiations that a US President has ever attended.

Obama and Hu Jintao (China) have talked about climate change, now Obama and Dr. Manmohan Singh (India) talk about climate change and the possibilities for mitigation.

International climate change negotiations between the industrialized and unindustrialized world always come to money, how are poor countries to advance technology when they don't have the money to do so? Gordon Brown has announced that Great Britain will put over $1 billion into a fund that functions to fast track money to poorer countries so they can fund efforts to mitigate and deal with climate change. The fund will grow quickly in the next decade.

Reuters reports on "Det Norske Veritas, a leading international certifier, has drafted standards which businesses ranging from coffee making to diamond sourcing can use to flag sustainability of supply chains, DNV senior executives said."
This is very important for environmental-economics as the consumer needs as much information about their products as they can get. With the expansion of sustainability certifications consumers will see more transparency in the market and can signal the market more intentionally.

The California Energy Commission bans t.v.s that eat too much energy. It will save California a lot of money. This environmentally friendly move would have never been possible without a financial crisis in California.

Innovation in the wind turbine industry makes wind turbines more efficient in their use of land.

A new study says that Americans waste a large amount of their food. From manufacturing, to transporting and selling to the dinner table Americans throw away their food in large amounts. There is much more room for becoming more conscious about our consumption habits.