My Wife Went to the Climate Talks in Copenhagen and All I Got Was this Lousy Blog Post

One of the joys of having a traveling spouse/partner is that you get to live vicariously through their experiences. Back in November, my wife went to Copenhagen for the climate talks. I stayed home doing the usual routine of work and juggling our two-year old. So I got to hear all about the trip (which sounded pretty darn cool), but there was a paucity of photos. Little did I know that she had scrapped the clunky digital camera in favor of her iPhone camera (easier to toss into a handbag, or cross a line of picketing protesters)... and they were all squirreled away there. So, after snapping a few pics of our son after cross-country skiing at Ole's the other day, I came across this stash of great first-hand photos of Copenhagen. Hence, this post.

I know, I know the Climate talks were a bust (and a lifetime ago in political time - does anyone still remember that at the time this was a pretty big deal?!). Still, it was an amazing spectacle of people genuinely concerned about the future well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. Figuring out how to soothe mother nature, transition to a new energy future, and do it all while maintaining the global economy is no easy task. So, while leaders from around the world grabbed headlines and accomplished little, what really struck me were the every day people who also converged to make their concerns and their hopes known - the protesters, business leaders, non-governmental organizations, and students who all make up essential, constructive parts of the climate solution were all in evidence, and they may be the key to making a dent in the carbon dioxide problem. Starting locally, and firmly rooted in economic opportunity. So, while an intergovernmental treaty remains elusive it was still worth the effort. Whoever said making progress is easy?!

Highlights of the experience included watching creative protesters at work, seeing the African delegation walk out of the talks (temporarily) as a result of not feeling heard or represented. While it may seem messy, this is democracy writ large, and it illustrated the competing concerns of the various players.














In short, people give a damn. They care about what happens.














Plus, Denmark is really cool. They have beautiful architecture...

And, as a bonus, the Danes have put their money where their mouths are by putting wind to work for them at every turn (see wind turbine above). One of the signal highlights of Abby's trip was a ferry boat tour of the offshore windfarm that is helping to produce 20% of Denmark's electricity. Amazing. If the Danes can do it, so can we.

The Danes are descendants of a people who depended on water and wind to get by: the Vikings.

Guess those Vikings knew a few things after all. Everything old is new again...

Eventually we're going to have to deal with this issue. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of our lives (with apologies to Humphrey Bogart).
Someday our old coal-burning power plants are going to resemble something akin to this old boat and people will wonder how we ever got by with those remarkable antiques.