Going to Copenhagen? Or wish you were?

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Permalink Reply by Rachael West on November 9, 2009 at 5:48am

Penny that is a great topic! (No, nothing to add just yet!)

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Permalink Reply by Belina Raffy on November 9, 2009 at 6:02am

Hi Penny! I agree - great topic! My voice will be at Copenhagen. I'm part of a mini-movie produced by Ideo and Fairknowledge about climate change in 2030. As soon as I get the link - I'll post it.
Best wishes,
Belina

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Permalink Reply by Dave Hampton on November 19, 2009 at 5:03am

I hope the AMED climate meeting goes well, I’ll come if i possibly can.
One of the things people like me have been shy of doing for years is expressing the situation (as we see it) in the stark way we see it. So with all our coaching skills we try to couch ‘the climate thing’ in softer clothes – ‘a warmer way to cool the planet’ – but the trouble is its a huge scary big monster dead ahead. It’s hard to sound the alarm without being alarming, and without being neutered by those who cry ‘alarmist’.
Fear will never work as a tactic. But that doesn’t mean the probable likely future isn’t as scary as scary gets!
Face the fear then do it anyway?

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Permalink Reply by Rob Sewell on November 26, 2009 at 4:13am

New Zealand is adopting an interesting approach to Copenhagen. There is a view that we are too small a nation to play a major role and that it is all taking place too far away from our little corner of the world. As a nation we do have a slight complex about just how significant we are. And then we do just the opposite, we beat our chests and jump up and down extolling our virtues, telling all and sundry just how good we are. We talk about our green efforts, our marvellous unspoilt lands, our light, fresh air and astounding natural beauty. Then we remember that our Manawatu river, running through that beautiful gorge, is one of the most polluted in the world, although you'd never guess to look at it. Polluted? Not by industry per se, but by, of all things, agriculture - primarily Nitrate run-off from fields. Politically we commit to Copenhagen, but then um and ah, but the real reason is that we don't have the financial clout to sign up at the level that the big boys can. We are a small nation of small people. Largely entrepreneurs, long-term sick and unemployed, but getting by nonetheless. Our average wage is incredibly low, and our social support systems are very effective, but the burden on the state and its ability to deliver in any other areas is obvious. In a nutshell? We care with a passion and totally understand the issues, but we can't afford the stakes, and if we did, would our mere four million voices be heard?

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Permalink Reply by Penny Walker on November 26, 2009 at 4:23am

Hi Rob

Ah, what's the quote?

Edmund Burke said "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."

I wondered whether New Zealanders feel any sense of kinship or connection to people from the small island states in the pacific?

I met Maria Timon from Kiribati at a workshop earlier this year, and was impressed at her work to bring her very small nation to the attention of the world. You can watch her video here.

Penny

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