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Copenhagen Climate Conference

EcoChamber in Copenhagen: "This conference will probably be wrecked."

emily hunter

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — The thread is being pulled on the climate talks here in Copenhagen, and the whole show is beginning to unravel. There are really several different conferences happening, and the cracks are showing. The developing world has been so outraged by the proceedings in Copenhagen that the G77 leader, Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, walked […] More »

Stop Everything #12: Reports from "Flopenhagen" — "Hope is dead"

darcy higgins

Nearing mid-December, I arise to Toronto’s first snowfall—though to my Christmasy disappointment, an unimpressive slop of wet snow and rain greeted the city’s drivers and transit riders with delays and headaches. The symptoms are similar for citizens rallying in Copenhagen this week, though for different reasons. An annual Christmas letter from relatives proved that November […] More »

EcoChamber in Copenhagen: Are we signing a global suicide pact?

emily hunter

[Editor’s note: Emily Hunter is in Copenhagen, Denmark for the next two weeks covering the Copenhagen Climate Summit, and will be sending us updates about what’s going on. Check back daily for her updates.] COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — The negotiations have begun over our climate future here in Copenhagen. Global leaders may decide in the next […] More »

Stop Everything #11: Last Chance, Canada: Pump up the Volume

rebecca mcneil

“For those who claim a deal in Copenhagen is impossible, they are simply wrong.” – – Achim Steiner, Director, United Nations Environment Programs Yesterday marked the beginning of the International Climate Change discussions in Copenhagen. More than any other previous international agreements, so much emphasis has been put on this particular forum as it is widely […] More »

Friday FTW: Greenpeace billboards show world leaders the future, and it's not pretty

kim hart macneill

Greenpeace predicts world leaders will be making a big apology in 11 years if they don’t step up at the Copenhagen climate summit next week. A new line of giant ads in the Copenhagen airport features Harper, Obama, and 6 other serious looking, digitally aged world leaders saying, “I’m sorry. We could have stopped catastrophic […] More »

Stop Everything #10: An open letter to the Copenhagen climate delegates

darcy higgins

I came out of Tuesday night’s Munk Debate on Climate Change feeling kind of funny. Given that NASA scientists and others tell us we have about seven years to cap global greenhouse gas emissions before “runaway climate change”—and the next couple weeks may establish whether that happens or not—it strikes me that a debate about […] More »

Stop Everything #9: Leaky emails and "climategate" don't change the basics

rebecca mcneil

The results from a recent study seems to perfectly illustrate Canada’s increasing confusion on climate change. While Canadians agreed that “climate change is the planet’s defining crisis”, when given a list of arguments used on either side of the climate change debate, there was a surprising amount of belief that both arguments held some truth. […] More »

Stop Everything #8: Canada is climate central this week as Gore, Monbiot touch down

darcy higgins

Canada has been a hotspot for international climate activists this week. We’ve got Al Gore in Toronto, warning among other things that using tar sands oil takes away any advantages of greening our vehicle fleet. Then there’s Britain’s George Monbiot speaking this Saturday at the University of Toronto (2-4PM) on the “Countdown to Copenhagen: Who […] More »

Stop Everything #7: Canadians feel embarassed by our lack of climate action

rebecca mcneil

To me, our Canadian identity has always seemed deeply rooted in our belief that as a country we do the “right thing.” We assumed for years that we were the moral compass of the globe and could do no wrong. But from where I’m standing, that reputation is being dragged through the mud and plenty […] More »

Stop Everything #5: Environmental e-cards for the prime minister

rebecca mcneil

In the best example of Catch 22 that I can think of since, well, Catch 22, it seems our prime minister, Stephen Harper, will not be attending the international climate change talks in Copenhagen in December because it is unlikely any final deal on climate change will be met—though that is partly thanks to months […] More »

Stop Everything #4: Religion could stop climate change

darcy higgins

I was sitting in my meditation practice working on quieting my thoughts when it hit me—religion could stop climate change. Well perhaps it wasn’t such a stroke of enlightenment, as it was keeping my ears open.  In this style of Buddhism led by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thích Nhất Hạnh, the practice contains the reading […] More »