The “A” in USA Does Not Stand for “Accountability”

Or Action. Or Ambition. Or Admirable. Or.. well anything positive as far as I’m concerned. The UN Climate Talks are approaching being the longest in history as we await the re-opening of the negotiations at 11pm in Lima. The spark seems to have left and the fear of having a “deal” that doesn’t take intoContinue reading “The “A” in USA Does Not Stand for “Accountability””

Speaking Truth to Power: Gender Day

The state of gender at the Conference of Parties(COP) is largely unchanged since I have been attending for the last 3 years since COP18 in Doha, Qatar. As countries are called upon to raise ambitions regarding emissions targets, Gender Day stands as a reminder that ambition must encompass more cross-cutting issues. Gender Day emerged atContinue reading “Speaking Truth to Power: Gender Day”

We Said We’d Be Back #volveremos

But are we really? We have been so limited that I wonder if we really are here. The first three days of the conference can be described in a few words: Inaction, Redundancy, and Frustration. And yet… Here we are. Civil Society, the people supposed to be represented by our negotiators, fighting to be heard. WhileContinue reading “We Said We’d Be Back #volveremos”

Why I’m Not Convinced by U.S. & China Climate Announcements

Is approaching the news that the U.S. and China have both come to an agreement to reduce carbon emissions with fierce skepticism an indicator that neither of these countries have proven to be trustworthy? Yes. Just because neither of these countries have shown ambition or commitment in the past does not mean that the minimal targetsContinue reading “Why I’m Not Convinced by U.S. & China Climate Announcements”

Drought, Earthquakes, and Corporations- Oh My!

Climate Change is Strictly Business In the wake of the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck California’s wine country on August 24th, 2014 (the largest since the 1989 Loma Prieta quake with a magnitude of 6.9) it’s time for this drought-ridden state to wake up.   I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. SomeContinue reading “Drought, Earthquakes, and Corporations- Oh My!”

A Crash Course in Climate Change

Originally posted on Epoch:
Climate Change – it’s all the buzz these days. The phrase is filling up the airways, and with all the heated discussions, impassioned speeches, and downright arguments – it’s easy to lose track of what’s actually happening to our planet. So let’s start with some facts:      Climate is not the…

State of the (Climate) Union

By 2015, the world must commit to new, stronger stances regarding action against climate change. The current platform for achieving this change is through the United Nations platform, called the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In light of the recent carbon proposal from the White House, there is much that the environmental and largerContinue reading “State of the (Climate) Union”