Bill McKibben on skunks at Copenhagen’s garden party
by Bill McKibben Cross-posted from MotherJones.com.A demonstration in support of the islands of Tuvalu, the 4th smallest country in the world, which is holding out for a legally-binding treaty in Copenhagen.Photo and caption: Oxfam InternationalCOPENHAGEN -- From the distance, you could hear a little noise and rhythmicchanting cutting through the train-station drone that is the normalsoundtrack here in the Bella Center, the aircraft carrier of aconvention hall on the outskirts of Copenhagen where climate talks arenow fully underway.The chanting grew louder as I rounded a corner. It wasn't an unrulydemonstration, but it was insistent. A knot of people-mostly young-werechanting "Tuvalu is the real deal." Tuvalu is a group of islands in the South Pacific -- it has a population justover 12,000, making it the one of the least-populated nations in theworld. It's not the kind of place that carries much weight in worldgeopolitics.But on this day, in this meeting that is supposedly devoted to"saving the world" or "protecting the planet" or "safeguarding futuregenerations" or whatever grandiose phrase occurs to some head of statestanding in front of a microphone, Tuvalu was the country standing upfor sense. In the morning negotiations they'd demanded that the treatypledge to hold the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F).That would be almost impossible -- the temperature is already up .8 of adegree, with quite a bit more heat already in the pipeline from carbonwe've already emitted. But it wouldn't be as impossible as Tuvalusurviving temperature increases of any greater magnitude. They're low to the water, which makes them close to the heart of the problem.Their efforts had been ruled invalid by the officials running thenegotiations, which prompted some of the bigger groups, including folksfrom 350.org which I've helped run, Oxfam, and World Wildlife Fund, to join the impromptu demonstration out in the hall by the plenary. Acouple of impassioned speeches, a little noise, some chants of 3-5-0.Just enough to make the security guards nervous -- they shoved a fewdemonstrators, and threatened to "de-badge" others, taking away thecredentials that let activists enter the summit complex. The conferenceorganizers don't want any fuss.And the big economies don't seem to want anyone talking about toughtargets. Many developing nations report increasing pressure from the U.S.to shut up and take a deal. And in the last few days it's been clearthat China, India, Brazil, and South Africa are beginning to apply somemuscle of their own. If U.S. negotiator Jonathan Pershing's most recent off-the-record remarks are any indication, the big players want some kind of symbolic pactthat solves their public relations problems without anyone being undulydisruptive.But your country disappearing beneath the waves is kind ofdisruptive. Your country turning so arid that you can't grow crops iskind of disruptive. Your future -- if you're 25, and looking at sixdecades of a heating world -- is being disrupted.So for the moment, it's up to small island nations and poor Africancountries and incredibly earnest young people with twitter feeds toplay the skunk at the garden party. They're actually speaking truth topower. Power has ten days left to shut them up, and quite possiblythey'll succeed -- but it's encouraging to see a bit of pre-emptivedisruption underway.Spread the news on what the føck is going on in Copenhagen with friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, or smoke signals.
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