The New York Times - Obama Will Go to Copenhagen

It seems President Obama has finally agreed to go to Copenhagen on his way to Oslo to receive his Nobel Peace Prize. He may be announcing the United States' goals for Greenhouse Gas reductions but of course nothing is certain at this point.

President Obama will travel to Copenhagen next month for the United Nations meeting on climate change, a White House official confirmed Wednesday.

Mr. Obama, who had previously not committed to making an appearance at the summit, will deliver a speech on Dec. 9 en route to Oslo, where he will accept the Nobel Peace Prize on Dec. 10.

Mr. Obama had been under considerable pressure from other world leaders and environmental advocates...

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Sustainable Products - Wooden Mouse

This isn't exactly an article, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Alest Rukov has created a new series of computer mouses that I think is rather interesting. These new mouses are made from sustainable rainforest wood and are truly works of art. Of course being hand made works of art with a custom circuit board the price range is from $1000 - 1300 USD (668 - 859 €). Nonetheless, these really are cool to look at and the idea of sustainable products working into the computer industry is a wonderful prospect.

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The Guardian - Climate sceptics claim leaked emails are evidence of collusion among scientists

It would seem some computer hackers managed to break into the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit. The hackers got away with about 160MB of emails and skeptics are rallying around a few phrases found in them. One of the most prevalent quotes from a 1999 email is "I've just completed Mike's Nature [the science journal] trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie, from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline." Keep in mind that none of this can be confirmed, nearly all the scientist's involved have been publishing peer-reviewed papers for years, and the context for these statements is unknown. It is highly unlikely anything from these emails means what it appears to.

Hundreds of private emails and documents allegedly exchanged between some of the world's leading climate scientists during the past 13 years have been stolen by hackers and leaked online, it emerged today [November 20].

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Good Magazine - The GOOD Guide to COP15 - What Now?

This is the final post in the series (so far at least) and gives you information on what you can do to help from home. I urge you to take their advice and contact your representatives at the COP15 conference. Tell them what you think should be done and maybe your voice will be heard.

Keep track of the treaty: Negotiators are working on a draft treaty—raising objections, making changes, and shaping the fate of the world. Keep track of it at 350.org/treaty-tracker.

Get to know the negotiators: Find out who will represent your country in Copenhagen and what they think. Adoptanegotiator.org has “trackers” from 11 countries following the meetings leading up to Copenhagen “so you can stay up to date and either support or put pressure on your country’s climate negotiator to aim for a safe and fair deal.”

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See the other parts of this series here

Good Magazine - The GOOD Guide to COP15 - The Fire this Time: Copenhagen and the War for the Future

I have a new favorite in this series. This article is rife with quotations about how the world is going to be given into the hands of the younger generation, and we need to fight to make it a place worth living in.

To be young and aware is to know you’re being lied to; to know that a bright green future is possible; to know that we can reimagine the world, rebuild our cities, redesign our lives, retool our factories, distribute innovation and creativity and all live in a world that is not only better than the alternative, but much better than the world we have now.

That which is unsustainable cannot go on. Unsustainable things that are propped up too long snap and collapse suddenly. Our way of life is unsustainable. The sooner we transform our economy into one that can generate sustainable prosperity, the better off we’ll be, and with every passing day, the risks of catastrophe grow larger and more certain. We need change now.

These shouldn’t be radical statements; they’re all demonstrably true. Yet they cleave right down the middle of what is fast becoming the largest generation gap in at least 40 years, a growing split between people under 30 and people over 60.

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Good Magazine - The GOOD Guide to COP15 - Dispatches from the Future, Today

This is another interesting entry (they just keep getting better!) that asked several leaders of environmental organizations what they might be posting on their blogs in January after the conclusion of the conference. They all seem cautiously optimistic and everyone has their own version of events.

The conference is still a few months away, but we asked several activists to predict what they will be talking about after the conference wraps up. Here is what they think they’re going to be saying next January:

Richard Graves, founder of Fired Up Media, blogger for the TckTckTck campaign, and editor of ItsGettingHotinHere.org:

What surprised me was the startling diversity of groups, beyond environmentalists, that got involved—from youth groups to union leaders to the Dalai Lama to the Pope. People realized that this is bigger than polar bears and icebergs.

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Good Magazine - The GOOD Guide to COP15 - The Issues

This is my favorite of these installments so far. This post briefly describes many of the major issues that will be discussed in Copenhagen, and then gives a one sentence description of what should happen and what will most likely happen. It then grades each issue on its likelihood of being satisfactorily resolved in Copenhagen.

End Goal

The long-term goals of preserving a habitable planet will effectively be boiled down to a single number: the target concentration of CO² in the atmosphere, measured in parts per million. For the past few years, conventional wisdom has called for a target of 450 ppm. But the most recent science points to something more conservative: A 350 ppm ceiling is required if, as the NASA climatologist Jim Hansen puts it, “humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted.” More than 80 developing nations and small island nations support the 350 target, as do many international environmental, human rights, and justice organizations.

What should happen: 350 ppm.

What will happen: It depends on grassroots pressure.

Grade for Predicted Final Compromise: B

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See the other parts of this series here