Back in Ithaca and beginning to readjust..i cant believe how overwhelming everything is right now..
The intergenerational talk was very inspiring and one of the delegates called for everyone to find ways to reduce their impacts on global warming. Everyone needs to be making their contributions and so here are some of mine..
-during the summer i drive all around the country..alot. i only purchased carbon offsets for 1 trip of many this past summer and i plan from now on to do so for all trips i take. (along with continuing all carpooling attempts etc).
-i also plan to make the choice to live downtown next year and bring my bike up. This will be with the intention of only driving to campus when needed. I do the majority of my driving into town and the downtown area and its a big problem driving back and forth up the hill to campus. I will only drive to campus, and when doing so attempt to carpool etc depending on circumstances.
I miss the conference and all that..i feel like i learned more in the last week then i had in any week all year. and now im off to attempt to catch up with everything so that i can begin to tackle finals which are looming ever closer.
until Copenhagen,
Brittan
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Next steps
Arriving back in Ithaca there seems to be a lot to do. Armed with new found knowledge and an increased awareness of the state of the globe I have the sense that I must be very cognizant of my own actions as well as spread the word. These issues (climate change, environmental crises, social equity, etc.) are not exactly new to me, but there is a new found sense of urgency kindled by the energy created at the conference - both the serious and dry energy of the negotiations and the rich and creative energy of the side session panelists and the youth delegations.
With not much time on my hands to elaborate, I would like to at least put forth the two commitments (out of more that I can think of) that I would like to pledge to myself, as suggested by the delegate from Costa Rica. So, here goes... drum roll please... Number ONE: Finally put up the darn clothes line that I have told myself I'd get for the last couple of years. By May 1st when the sun has once again begun to shine, I will have that clothes line up. Number TWO: I think it is important that IC sends a racially diverse group of students to the UNFCCC conference next year. I would like to work to make this happen by connecting with some of the student clubs that may not necessarily see the conference, with its emphasis on the environment, as relevant to their immediate concerns. Yet social justice pervades the conversation and it is essential that a diverse group of people, from all nations, will be present at all future conferences.
While the conference was full of depressing news and we can easily get overwhelmed we absolutely must continue to be inspired by the actions of others and to take the small but achievable steps that we can as we walk into the coming decades together.
As my new friend Eduardo from Chile said "Que les luchen." ... roughly translated: "May they continue the fight..."
So, keep the hope alive, thanks to all the students who participated and long live your energy and commitment!
Astrid
With not much time on my hands to elaborate, I would like to at least put forth the two commitments (out of more that I can think of) that I would like to pledge to myself, as suggested by the delegate from Costa Rica. So, here goes... drum roll please... Number ONE: Finally put up the darn clothes line that I have told myself I'd get for the last couple of years. By May 1st when the sun has once again begun to shine, I will have that clothes line up. Number TWO: I think it is important that IC sends a racially diverse group of students to the UNFCCC conference next year. I would like to work to make this happen by connecting with some of the student clubs that may not necessarily see the conference, with its emphasis on the environment, as relevant to their immediate concerns. Yet social justice pervades the conversation and it is essential that a diverse group of people, from all nations, will be present at all future conferences.
While the conference was full of depressing news and we can easily get overwhelmed we absolutely must continue to be inspired by the actions of others and to take the small but achievable steps that we can as we walk into the coming decades together.
As my new friend Eduardo from Chile said "Que les luchen." ... roughly translated: "May they continue the fight..."
So, keep the hope alive, thanks to all the students who participated and long live your energy and commitment!
Astrid
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Back at IC
After a good 24 hours of traveling and 3 hours of sleep since yesterday at 6pm(east coast time), I am back at IC and catching up to everyone else. Although I have more work then I could imagine and have missed a very important deadline, there is nothing that could convince me that going to Poland was a bad decision.
The last few days of the conference were, in my opinion, the best. I was able to go to a variety of side events and enjoyed them more because I had found what I am truly interested in. The adaptation side events quickly became my favorite. The information about what different smaller countries were doing to adapt was most intriguing to me, especially the stories of indigenous people.
What I also enjoyed was the World Business Council for Sustainable Development side event. The side event was run by George Weyerhaeuser, who is a familiar figure with me since the Weyerhaeuser company is from the northwest. The WBCSD had many good points about how the business sector should be involved in the 2012 decisions because they have methods that may help and they contribute to GHG emissions greatly.
I miss the conference and Poland very much, and I am sad to be back and be required to get back to my school work.
Copenhagen 2009!
-Jordan
The last few days of the conference were, in my opinion, the best. I was able to go to a variety of side events and enjoyed them more because I had found what I am truly interested in. The adaptation side events quickly became my favorite. The information about what different smaller countries were doing to adapt was most intriguing to me, especially the stories of indigenous people.
What I also enjoyed was the World Business Council for Sustainable Development side event. The side event was run by George Weyerhaeuser, who is a familiar figure with me since the Weyerhaeuser company is from the northwest. The WBCSD had many good points about how the business sector should be involved in the 2012 decisions because they have methods that may help and they contribute to GHG emissions greatly.
I miss the conference and Poland very much, and I am sad to be back and be required to get back to my school work.
Copenhagen 2009!
-Jordan
(I was a little behind in the blogging so I wrote this on the plane on the way home).
When I first started writing this I joked that I was going to start with: “as I sit here on the plane and reflect back upon our trip…” But that’s exactly what I’m doing right now, so as corny and cliché as it sounds, I guess that's how I'm going to start.
As I sit here on the plane listening to someone speaking polish over the intercom, I’m reflecting back on this last week. In a way that much didn’t really change (I still don’t have any idea what that woman is saying besides the occasional thank you but I now know everyone’s name in the class and have a much better understanding climate change policy. Apparently Matt doesn’t though- he is calling me Laura. He claims that he’s joking but I don’t believe him. It’s strange to think that I didn’t anyone in our class a week ago, Nancy was just the really nice girl with three minors, Casey the kid with the cool hat, and Jordan the girl with all the nice shoes.
Over the past week I think I got more information thrown at me than this entire semester, and got enough stuff to read to last me the next six months. I’m flipping through the notebook I had been keeping and am realizing how much I really learned this week. It sure was more informative than a week of classes.
I also got the opportunity to meet a professor from Cornell who spike at a side event. Stewart (sp?) a new friend from Honolulu, that I think the majority of the people in the group met, had told me about him. He is a soil scientist who is studying Biochar. It is a really interesting way of sequestering carbon in the soil for long periods of time.
This practice has long been in use in the Amazon where the soils are very nutrient poor. This practice not makes land more fertile while getting pollutants out of the atmosphere. It is also advantageous because it is made from organic waste (such as lawn and agricultural waste, among many other things). Thus, the waste doesn’t get put into landfills where it would also release methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
To make biochar, you burn this organic waste at a high temperature so that the carbon become paralyzed (or something of the sort? I may or may not understand all of the scientific details). When burning the waste to make the biochar, the gasses can be trapped to make energy. In the end, 40% of the initial carbon in the plant is kept out of the atmosphere.
Well, we’re landing now, and have a 2-3 hour layover in Warsaw. Now I have a trip to the duty free shop and hopefully some back massages to look forward to before our ten hour flight.
You know what? I still don’t even know how to say goodbye in Polish. I guess I shouldn’t really be leaving yet.
Until Copenhagen,
Lindsey
When I first started writing this I joked that I was going to start with: “as I sit here on the plane and reflect back upon our trip…” But that’s exactly what I’m doing right now, so as corny and cliché as it sounds, I guess that's how I'm going to start.
As I sit here on the plane listening to someone speaking polish over the intercom, I’m reflecting back on this last week. In a way that much didn’t really change (I still don’t have any idea what that woman is saying besides the occasional thank you but I now know everyone’s name in the class and have a much better understanding climate change policy. Apparently Matt doesn’t though- he is calling me Laura. He claims that he’s joking but I don’t believe him. It’s strange to think that I didn’t anyone in our class a week ago, Nancy was just the really nice girl with three minors, Casey the kid with the cool hat, and Jordan the girl with all the nice shoes.
Over the past week I think I got more information thrown at me than this entire semester, and got enough stuff to read to last me the next six months. I’m flipping through the notebook I had been keeping and am realizing how much I really learned this week. It sure was more informative than a week of classes.
I also got the opportunity to meet a professor from Cornell who spike at a side event. Stewart (sp?) a new friend from Honolulu, that I think the majority of the people in the group met, had told me about him. He is a soil scientist who is studying Biochar. It is a really interesting way of sequestering carbon in the soil for long periods of time.
This practice has long been in use in the Amazon where the soils are very nutrient poor. This practice not makes land more fertile while getting pollutants out of the atmosphere. It is also advantageous because it is made from organic waste (such as lawn and agricultural waste, among many other things). Thus, the waste doesn’t get put into landfills where it would also release methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.
To make biochar, you burn this organic waste at a high temperature so that the carbon become paralyzed (or something of the sort? I may or may not understand all of the scientific details). When burning the waste to make the biochar, the gasses can be trapped to make energy. In the end, 40% of the initial carbon in the plant is kept out of the atmosphere.
Well, we’re landing now, and have a 2-3 hour layover in Warsaw. Now I have a trip to the duty free shop and hopefully some back massages to look forward to before our ten hour flight.
You know what? I still don’t even know how to say goodbye in Polish. I guess I shouldn’t really be leaving yet.
Until Copenhagen,
Lindsey
Friday, December 5, 2008
Peace out, Poznan!
Well, in a few minutes we will be leaving this conference centre, where we have spent so much of the past 5 days of our lives, forever.
This entire week has been such a whirlwind adventure of trying to get around this foreign country, explore, feed ourselves, learn and see as much as humanly possible, and communicate with native Polish speakers without being laughed at - TOO much, at least!
The most powerful thing I have seen this week was something I very nearly passed by. There is an amazing technology exhibit on site where all sorts of climate-saving innovations are displayed. Everything from solar power, biomass, transportation, wind power, adaptation projects - even a sustainable 'discotheque' - were displayed in an enormous room that took me about 2 1/2 hours over the span of two days to explore and completely absorb. There's a second adjoining room with booths from a university in Poznan, some environmental groups, and a few other exhibits with some pamphlets and representatives talking about their organizations. We were getting ready to leave to go to a Polish McDonald's (quite an adventure all in its own, I might add) when I started reading an enormously long poster - The Hard Rain Project.
The Hard Rain Project was started by Mark Edwards. I don't know the complete background of the project yet, but he basically took the lyrics to the Bob Dylan song 'A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall' and matched each line to a corresponding photograph. The images (dead bodies, a bird covered in oil, women with AIDS, a shriveled up lake, a destroyed forest, etc) were incredibly powerful; I had never seen anything of that magnitude at this conference. For more information, see http://www.hardrainproject.com/home.htm
I had the chance to explore the greater Poznan area today and yesterday, partially due to my own inability to go places without getting lost. We've been enjoying some good food, good wine, and are excited to have some good times tonight as we celebrate our last night in Poland! Our last conference 'hurrah' was a side event that only ended about 20 minutes ago. It was about how the US and Canada can meet the 25% by 2020 reduction goal for industrialized countries, and it was actually very hopeful. The speaker, who was from the Union of Concerned Scientists, gave a very interesting presentation and even popped a Bush joke at the beginning!
Well, I'm being rushed out of the computer room - in 12 hours we begin our epic journey home to Ithaca! See everyone soon!
~Vanessa
This entire week has been such a whirlwind adventure of trying to get around this foreign country, explore, feed ourselves, learn and see as much as humanly possible, and communicate with native Polish speakers without being laughed at - TOO much, at least!
The most powerful thing I have seen this week was something I very nearly passed by. There is an amazing technology exhibit on site where all sorts of climate-saving innovations are displayed. Everything from solar power, biomass, transportation, wind power, adaptation projects - even a sustainable 'discotheque' - were displayed in an enormous room that took me about 2 1/2 hours over the span of two days to explore and completely absorb. There's a second adjoining room with booths from a university in Poznan, some environmental groups, and a few other exhibits with some pamphlets and representatives talking about their organizations. We were getting ready to leave to go to a Polish McDonald's (quite an adventure all in its own, I might add) when I started reading an enormously long poster - The Hard Rain Project.
The Hard Rain Project was started by Mark Edwards. I don't know the complete background of the project yet, but he basically took the lyrics to the Bob Dylan song 'A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall' and matched each line to a corresponding photograph. The images (dead bodies, a bird covered in oil, women with AIDS, a shriveled up lake, a destroyed forest, etc) were incredibly powerful; I had never seen anything of that magnitude at this conference. For more information, see http://www.hardrainproject.com/home.htm
I had the chance to explore the greater Poznan area today and yesterday, partially due to my own inability to go places without getting lost. We've been enjoying some good food, good wine, and are excited to have some good times tonight as we celebrate our last night in Poland! Our last conference 'hurrah' was a side event that only ended about 20 minutes ago. It was about how the US and Canada can meet the 25% by 2020 reduction goal for industrialized countries, and it was actually very hopeful. The speaker, who was from the Union of Concerned Scientists, gave a very interesting presentation and even popped a Bush joke at the beginning!
Well, I'm being rushed out of the computer room - in 12 hours we begin our epic journey home to Ithaca! See everyone soon!
~Vanessa
Yet again I messed up the process by hitting enter by accident.
The event also talked Obama's position which plans on investing enough to create 5 million green jobs and get our country back on track. After the event matt drew and I went to dinner at this really nice italian restruant and had the most relaxing meal of the trip. Tonight where are going back out to some bars and having the last night of this experience. I bought my mom some presents and went to a McDonald's today. Life is good but I am looking forward to getting back so I can breathe, this smoggy air has left me coughing up some wierd things.
Andrew
The event also talked Obama's position which plans on investing enough to create 5 million green jobs and get our country back on track. After the event matt drew and I went to dinner at this really nice italian restruant and had the most relaxing meal of the trip. Tonight where are going back out to some bars and having the last night of this experience. I bought my mom some presents and went to a McDonald's today. Life is good but I am looking forward to getting back so I can breathe, this smoggy air has left me coughing up some wierd things.
Andrew
So it's our last day here and this was simultaneously the longest and shortest week I've had in a while. I think it's time for the end though, my brain has officially reached saturation point.
Today was a nice and liesurely day (a stark contrast with just about every other day here). I actually woke up before my alarm clock this morning which scares me because I think I'm finally running on Poland time.. just in time to go home. I finally got around to seeing the technology exhibit everyone's been raving about for the past few days, and it was incredible! I was near tears when I saw the Hard Rain Project, which you need to see and get the background story of to understand: http://www.hardrainproject.com/, and I've had Dylan stuck in my head all day because of it. Not all of the tech exhibit was depressing, though, most of it was inspiring and really cool. There was a "field" of smiley-faced paper flowers with solar powered motors attached to them, which oscillated back and forth to look like they were dancing. The most interesting was a tiny little station on red algae as an alternative for paper, the information for which they actually printed on paper made from red algae. It feels just like newsprint and is totally functional and would save mass amounts of deforestation. Sooo cool!
Being the only art major in the group I naturally spent a lot of time today as I did yesterday in the Art exhibit (which was 100% unrelated to the conference but reminded me that I have interests outside of environmentalism). I wish it wasn't so impractical to buy paintings and fly them home.
I'll probably miss some quirky things about Poland, but definitely not the smog. My lungs are not doing well and I need some Ithaca air!
Carpe Diem
Alison
Today was a nice and liesurely day (a stark contrast with just about every other day here). I actually woke up before my alarm clock this morning which scares me because I think I'm finally running on Poland time.. just in time to go home. I finally got around to seeing the technology exhibit everyone's been raving about for the past few days, and it was incredible! I was near tears when I saw the Hard Rain Project, which you need to see and get the background story of to understand: http://www.hardrainproject.com/, and I've had Dylan stuck in my head all day because of it. Not all of the tech exhibit was depressing, though, most of it was inspiring and really cool. There was a "field" of smiley-faced paper flowers with solar powered motors attached to them, which oscillated back and forth to look like they were dancing. The most interesting was a tiny little station on red algae as an alternative for paper, the information for which they actually printed on paper made from red algae. It feels just like newsprint and is totally functional and would save mass amounts of deforestation. Sooo cool!
Being the only art major in the group I naturally spent a lot of time today as I did yesterday in the Art exhibit (which was 100% unrelated to the conference but reminded me that I have interests outside of environmentalism). I wish it wasn't so impractical to buy paintings and fly them home.
I'll probably miss some quirky things about Poland, but definitely not the smog. My lungs are not doing well and I need some Ithaca air!
Carpe Diem
Alison
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