All posts by laurennut

by Geena Berry

Happy Moments…eventually

On Mondays it’s often a little harder to get out of bed, and today was definitely one of those mornings.  I started out in a bad mood, got confused by our room situation and then changed three different times before actually figuring out what to wear.  All this on top of like five hours of sleep … which is a lame way to start the day.  I get to breakfast, eat by myself and head for the bus.  Not-so-good mood continues when I realize that the entrance to the conference center is a GIANT line … by line I mean giant blob with everyone waiting in it.  Which was okay at first, but actually got a little better.  Mostly the giant line and blob of people were just confused, but it is funny that in all that madness there is this joint hatred that:
1) the Bella Center is not correctly designed for mass entrance in the morning
2) observers cannot get into the conference center until 8 anyway
3) 20,000 more people have been accredited than the building can hold and
4) there is no good coffee anywhere!
I love it.  I love that the mass blob of people in the morning make me happier than anything else.  It’s amazing.  Hopefully any of the mad Monday vibes will not infest the delegates that have a lot of work to do. (NEIL that is directed at you!)

Reflections from the weekend
Actions are amazing.  Protests/marches with thousands of other people, even better.  I hope all of you have been following what has been going on in the sad amount of media coverage that is around.  (Just to clarify, the march on Saturday was peaceful except for a small number of people who were probably not in the march to bring attention to the climate change issue.)  It was amazing to walk though the streets of Copenhagen with all those people; so energized, so much energy! Although. Saturday really made me wonder if we should be doing much more in the way of real actions … existential question for the weekend … should we be working in the system, or just really draw lots of attention outside, where all of this talk needs to make a difference?

A few of the COA students and alumni working toward a strong climate change treaty in Copenhagen. Back row (standing): Nina Therkildsen '05, Michael Keller 09, Cory Whitney '03, Juan Hoffmaister '07; sitting: Andrew Louw '11, (on edge of couch) Taj Schottland '10 (directly in front of him), Richard van Kampen '12, Oliver Bruce '10, Mers, Noah Hodgetts '10, Matt McInnis '09; front row: Barry (a New Zealand friend), faculty member Doreen Stabinsky, Sarah Neilson '09, Emily Postman '12, Geena Berry '10, Lindsay Britton '11.

On a different note: College of the Atlantic is great!  Having multiple large dinners with our delegation, friends and alums was amazing this past weekend. I thought COA was pretty cool before – but actually seeing how we are involved, what alums are doing and how open and welcoming our community is, is such a nice feeling.

The week ahead
This week is really what matters. Yes, there have been painful and intense moments in the past week, but that is not where much of the work is done. Delegates will be joined by heads of state and other important people. The text will be torn apart, reformed and then changed according to what is happening in side discussions. Now is the time to draw attention to what we need in order to craft some sort of agreement, and what it will look like to individual countries.  In the end, we hopefully won’t let too many people drown, be displaced, or die of famine and/or disease.

RECAP
If you have a bad Monday mood, go stand in a long line with a bunch of people.
COA is totally cool.
Week two of COP15 will be a much scarier place.

Geena Berry '10 at the march in Copenhagen

By Geena Berry

Orange at work
I’m hiding in a plenary room. Mostly so I can have the mental and physical space to write this out, plus the computer lab is not conducive for  munching on the pack of trail mix I’m enjoying for lunch. It’s already been a long day, and it is not even noon.  I attended my first YOUNGO meeting this morning. The YOUth NGOs, is what the UNFCCC recognize. Anyway, I went to the meeting this morning to support an Australian youth who presented a draft of the youth declaration we have been working on since Sunday. I had some expectation there would be a couple of comments (comments meaning heated debate and argument) about the one pager we proposed, but we didn’t even get there. The process that is currently established does not allow for the spokes council to deal with such matters. For clarification, the spokes council is made of spokes that are representing all the groups or organizations. Generally, knowing that we only have an hour a day together, not reading through full documents would be appropriate. However, when you are presenting a document that represents all of YOUNGO, and in turn loosely the youth of the entire world, one would hope our declaration would be representative. Talking about it would have been nice. Instead the declaration got pushed to the side, and with the help of the policy group. Well, the work got done, but maybe without the best representation there could have been.

Orange in action
I sometimes get lost in the amount of actions that happen in one day among the youth. There are too many emails, some don’t send emails, they happen during 15 other events, there are 15 other actions going on, etc. Yet, either way I appreciate what seems like random noises echoing down the halls until you realize it is a scant, dance and important message that brings attention to the youth and all of our futures that are at stake.  It’s helpful to draw attention to ourselves and all the other important things we have written, our policies, statements and declarations; these documents give us credit, the actions give us weight. Our weight, drive and pushing the envelope is what makes us so effective.

Orange in number
Today is Youth Day at the UNFCCC. My title, The color orange is beautiful, is a reflection on the BRIGHT ORANGE shirts and scarves we are all wearing today (some creative COA kids also have head bands!). Our shirts say “How old will you be in 2050?” and “Don’t bracket our future”. Both messages draw attention to our future, which negotiators won’t be around for. Orange clothing makes us visible. Walking down the halls, sitting in plenary, the orange is everywhere. Most importantly, it is not just the youth that are seen with the color on, it is also the others in the conference center that support us; other NGOs and governments. Government representatives with orange on, it’s a beautiful sight.

By Lauren Nutter

About two weeks ago now, our COA group had our final get together, complete with apple cider and excited chatter about the change we want to see in the world.  There is no doubt in my mind that our ambitious, dedicated, and idealistic group is ready for this two week marathon of negotiations in Copenhagen.

(COA Road to Copenhagen group)

I will set off from Logan tomorrow night, and my bags are almost packed.  At least my granola bar, trail mix, and peanut butter supply to survive two weeks in an expensive European city, are all in my suitcase.  COA students were serious about fundraising to make this trip happen, and I know we are all thankful to those that made our plane tickets, hostel stay, and food supply possible.

So what does the next two weeks look like for the COA group at these negotiations?

-Most of us arrive this weekend. We will be meeting up with several hundred other youth from around the world who are coming together for the Conference of Youth (COY).  COY is the preparatory meeting for the youth NGOs who attend the negotiations.  COA students will be working closely with the youth constituency to follow the policy proceedings, help frame the global youth voice, and collaborate on a few plenary statements to the government delegates.  Some of us will also be doing direct action either inside the conference center or out on the street with other activists.

-During negotiations our days will begin early (6am) and end late (12pm or later).  It will be a flurry of running to youth meetings, official plenary sessions, and NGO briefings by the US state department. We will be sharing as much of it as we can with you through our blog.  We hope you join us through the journey, and please comment away on our blogs!

I also want to end this post by touching on some concerns about Copenhagen not yielding a treaty.  It does upset me that we aren’t able to address climate change as fast as we should.  But I think it’s important to stress that a lot will be decided in Copenhagen that will affect the final binding agreement hopefully a year from now.  The number of youth and other concerned global citizens will be record at this year’s negotiations; I believe that our many voices will have an impact that we’ve never seen before. And we will hold our governments accountable and demand strong actions now.