All posts tagged Michael

-by Michael

The Youth of the World attending this year’s COP12 can rest assured that their right to demonstrate peacefully and reasonably will not be impeded upon. Meetings with the appropriate authorities confirmed that actions taken by security to 1. End the demonstration through confiscation of signs and dispersal of those present, and, 2. Delete photos taken by a Youth photographer of security’s illegal actions, were both unneccessary and illegal. Unfortuneately, those photos are irretrievable. However, Youth still retain their gusto for taking further actions as the COP moves forward(or stagnates). What these actions will concentrate on will be decided by the particular impediments to progress that shall later present themselves in the later stages of the COP.

-by Michael

This sunny Thursday morning, as COP attendees arrived for the session of the COP/MOP, there were nine youth standing in a rough V shape to meet them. In their hands they held large cardboard signs, making the following statement in six languages: Remember your son (or daughter, depending on the sign).

After yesterday’s youth meeting, some of the young activists of this world planned out this action. They wrote a proposal delineating exactly what would be done this morning, from 9AM-10AM, which was submitted for approval. That approval was granted. Despite this, after 40 minutes of exchanging smiles with delegates and receiving regards and kudos from many, security decided that it was time to exercise some of their power. Security guards, much like the Tyrannasaurus Rex of legend, have brains roughly the size of one of those “squeeze-me stress balls” you can buy on various counters in American stores. Something had squeezed their stress balls the wrong way, and so they decided to come up to us, look big, and deny that the permission we had received was valid. They claimed that the authorization we had received was inadequate, though it is, as far as we are aware, the definitive authorization available at the UNFCCC. Regardless, they proceeded to take every last one of our signs. Both groups were amiable the whole time, as the security guards believed we were just cute fools with bad communication skills, and we decided that this wasn’t a battle worth fighting. The guards even ordered Matt, our eagle-eyed photographer, to delete pictures of them dispersing us. JuanPa, Matt, and the young woman among us, Nathalie, who was our spokesperson when we were dispersed, are currently meeting with security and the woman in charge of authorizing demonstrations. Whatever the outcome, it appears this morning’s demonstration was both thoughtful and effective. Some delegates told us about their children, while a couple Kenyan delegates told us that this was all very impressive and asked our permission to have their picture taken with us. It was, of course, granted. More later.

-by Michael

So that my means of transport to the upcoming Conference may be less destructive to the atmosphere of the planet we are trying to aid, I too bought carbon offsets through NativeEnergy. The company, a cooperative of Native Americans, is based in my home state of Vermont, so for me the purchase was local as well as moral. The money invested, at $12.00 per ton of Carbon, goes towards sustainable energy production through wind farming. My fellow Vermonters, farmers of the power of the soil as well as the wind, are the people who head this organization. This investment is an aid to farmers who are facing low milk prices and other woes, as they can find a steady profit in a technology that works for them generating clean electricity for us consumers and our atmosphere.

You can check out NativeEnergy and its carbon offset kingdom at www.nativeenergy.com

This is an incomplete post salvaged from the internet archive.

-by Michael

It was 3:49 in the afternoon. The temperature was 52 degrees Fahrenheit, the humidity 26%, the barometric pressure…was rising. We decided to go for a walk. His sweater was made of dyed Bolivian Alpaca wool, mine from 100% authentic Portuguese flannel. They had traveled thousands upon thousands of miles across oceans and borders to envelop our bodies, stowed away in vessels pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere along every inch of the journey. On this brisk Autumn afternoon, I had a purpose for our trekking: to discuss those very greenhouse gases, and the implications they had for all of us. The wool clad man with whom I spoke is an herbalist, student, and dear friend.