Road to Copenhagen: Thank You Denmark

They will criticize the NGOs being withheld from the Bella Center, the Copenhagen Accord is not even close to what the world needs, and from the media coverage it looks like arrests and violence was everywhere.

Bah humburg!

I'm here to say that COP 15 has unleashed the most powerful citizen movement every seen on our precious Mother Earth...and just in time...hang on Maldives, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Cape Verde...the Netherlands knows something about holding back those rising waters and the world has just been served notice that this Climate Change issue is the Real Deal and that we can't afford another COP without the key players sitting at the table.

Those players are the ICLEI activists who plan and implement the smart grid, complete streets and xeriscape plantings in dry neighborhoods. They are the youth activists from Avazz, 350.org, Oxfam and Sustain US who ask "How Old Will You Be in 2050? (102 for this activist). They are the who are on the front lines of feeding the hungry (Save the Children, UNICEF, Tear Fund), and training the village people to organize, to empower and to take charge of their lives by getting job training, by starting and sustaining workable businesses and by empowering girls and woman to have an equal shot at education, employment and leadership.

So here's the question...who's going to tell the US delegation (and China, EU, Australia, South Africa, India, Brazil) that it's the people that are already doing what needs to be done that need a place at the table to move our planet in the right direction and will provide the push needed to reach the masses with what's needed....

3-5-OH, and how to get there. We have the tools, we know the path and even the big businesses are saying the right things (well, some of them anyhow)...this political will deal is a tough nut to crack but ya know what?.....those guys and some gals (but not many) are way stressed out.

Standing in front of the ICLEI Local Govt. Lounge last week every so often the US Office door would open and watch out , those guys is movin and from the look on their faces they aren't having a lot of fun. Poor delegates...no one told them about the game in the plenary after the work day was over....wonder if that might change their thinking and feeling about people in need, maybe even about themselves.

Didn't get the agreement we wanted? Exactly what NASA's James Hansen predicted. Total breakdown in negotiations and communication between and among countries, leaders and delegates.

Riding home on the train with two delegates from Indonesia (boleh chakup?) and they said everything revolves around private meeting between the US and China and that most of the delegates have NO SAY in any of the important discussion. That's a red flag for this NGO rep. How the ____are we going to have an internationally binding, just and aggressive treaty if the people that most need the help aren't even part of the conversation?

While playing disc in the Plenary Hall I noticed that all the rows are set up so everyone gets a great view of the back of everybody's head............hhhmmmmmmmm not what good teachers do in their classrooms...look at where kids sit at Hellerup Skole (school) just north of Copenhagen, where I toured with their science teacher.

Notice the shape. Could the way delegates sit in the UN Convention on Climate Change have something to do with the health of our planet?

hhhmmmmmmm. I also noticed that every time I tried to speak with one or more of the US delegates (to share your beautiful "Hear My Voice" cards) the door was closed and when someone came out they were friendly but could not allow me to speak with one of MY representatives. I was curious about why so many of the other countries had open doors and people were going in and out all the time.

What ARE those people talking about anyway?

Look, I'm no expert on Global Climate negotiations but I can feel when I'm appreciated and welcomed and something is definitely missing here.

Perhaps that's why I'm a retired elementary school teacher and not a global climate negotiator but now that island nations are at serious risk of being submerged and the African delegates are walking out of their negotiations because they know a 2 degree C rise in temperature means a 5 degree rise in their country...someone's got to say something about how these decision are or aren't being made.

In my Art of Convening training with Craig Neal (www.heartlandcircle.com) I have been taught and practiced 9 basic principles to bring the most out of meetings and gatherings with people to bring about unexpected results and the highest possible results through hearing all voices, creating a safe place to speak, clarifying intent, and having the essential conversation where this unexpected result can show up if the soil has been prepared.

I want those Indonesian and Namibian and Egyptian and Grecian delegates to feel heard, the way I was heard as one of the Climate Justice Fast group as a valued member of the group. I'm thinking the way these meeting and negotiations are set up might have something to do with their effectiveness. Wonder how I could offer some help. I sure would like to see some more movement in these UN Coventions. The impact that could have could save the planet, so to speak.

Moving on....it's 2:44 am on one of the longer days of my life cause I'm going to be picking up 8 hours as I fly with the sun all day. Getting picked up by a taxi at 4:15 am and Jane and Michael and Dorte's home here in Ordrup my lovely home for the past 19 days and nights moving through the Summit. From mild moist fall days to the coldest, snowiest winter they've had in years. Really fun to watch the 2-4 year olds who are seeing snow for the first time while doing my "day on the town" with Ida on Saturday after the emotional "Breaking of the Fast:" with Anna, Sara, Matheiu and the CJF group. Anna's Mom was there an you can imagine her state watching her 25 year old daughter not eat for nearly 44 days. Anna lost 15 kg. and I never saw her once stop working, supporting and organizing...truely one of the Climate Heroes of this Summit and to give you a sense of her depth of knowledge and commitment to Climate Justice, I offer her most recent blog which will fill in many of the gaps in my reporting.

http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/19/the-end-of-cop15-and-the-end-of-the-fast-so-how-do-we-all-feel/

Prime minister of Austraila in 10 years???? That's the kind of breakthru we need.

"Taxi's coming he's blowing his horn" and this episode has come to an end...so many to thank, but to you, if this has helped to connect you with the Hope of our Future I rest in peace....and will kick it up a notch at home...a pleasure and an honor to partner with you.

with love always,