Will Steger, the most accomplished and skilled polar explorer alive today, led Expedition Copenhagen and included me as a delegate to provide support and mentorship to 12 carefully chosen young leaders seeking to help tell the story of Copenhagen in the Midwest. I have known Will well now for 5 years, but during 10 days in Copenhagen, we really formed a close bond. He says I am a "good sleeper."
What an honor it was to be invited to participate in Expedition Copenhagen of the Will Steger Foundation! In 10 days, often running 18 hours--even 21 on occasion--I had the chance of a lifetime to join the convergence of humanity that was Copenhagen. While the negotiators, the heads of state will get 90% of the press, for me the real story of Copenhagen was the coming together of youth, who built cross cultural networks, soberly asking the negotiators in a sea of orange T-shirts, "How Old Will YOU be in 2050?" Our team of youth delegates was a diverse and wicked-smart bunch who came from 7 states across the Midwest--MI, WI, MN, IA, IL, ND and SD.
When I got out of bed on Sunday morning, I could not believe the news coverage of the 100,000 person demonstration on the streets of Copenhagen. I was angry. The BBC story lead story was about arrests and violence, none of which I saw from noon to 6PM while walking 6 kilometers with an enormous crowd of people from all over the world. By 9:30AM Sunday, the Associated Press reported that Danish police say only 13 of 968 people detained during Saturday's protests remained in custody.
Aurora Conley, an Ojibway woman from Bad River Indian Reservation near Ashland, WI is a Will Steger Foundation youth delegate who led the march along with indigenous peoples from all over the world. She might even be asked to address the plenary session on behalf of the world's indigenous people on the conference's final day. I am working here in Copenhagen to support Aurora and 11 other amazing emerging leaders that Will Steger has assembled to put pressure on U.S. negotiators at the summit. Please take five minutes to watch this beautiful video of Saturday's Copenhagen march posted by The Uptake, and hear Aurora's message that should be taken to heart by the negotiators inside the Bella Center: "We're moving now!"
Last Friday morning, I stepped off the plane in Copenhagen for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15). My role at the Copenhagen climate conference is as a policy mentor and coach to 12 youth delegates from 7 Midwest states. They make up Expedition Copenhagen, traveling with polar explorer and global warming eyewitness Will Steger. I had reviewed all the negotiating positions of individual countries like my own, China, Japan, Canada--and important blocks of countries, the European Union, the Alliance of Small States, the G-77 developing nations. I felt prepared to track the formal negotiations of the conference. What I was unprepared for was the remarkable intensity and focus of the youth delegates I would meet that night.
Posted by: Ruth Patton in youth action on
Oct 1, 2009
St. Paul's Amherst H. Wilder Foundation does great work - you've probably heard of the organization's impact on affordable housing and on the health and well-being of older adults. Another main focus is of the foundation is programs and services for youth, including the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI). Fresh Energy got to experience first-hand the rewards of the YLI's efforts.
This past weekend, I was fortunate to attend an inspiring day-long event,
Climate Justice: A Retreat to Explore a New Way Forward, which was sponsored by the
Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Held at the
Wilder Forest International Retreat Center, we spent the day delving into the potential impacts of global warming on our communities and the ramifications of various forms of federal climate legislation. Most importantly, we also explored the many different paths we can take to tackle many of the root issues--societal, health, food, political and others--that have set the stage for our expansive call to action to solve global warming.
Along with presenters and facilitators from the Institute as well as two doctoral candidates from the University of Delaware's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, the keynote presenter for the day was Bill Gallegos, Executive Director of Communities for a Better Environment, based in Oakland, California. Bill brought over 30 years of experience in social and environmental justice organizing, along with profound insight to the discussions, and equally moving was the diverse group of attendees and multi-cultural aspects of the conversations.
Next week, 10,000 youths nationwide will convene in Washington, D.C., for Power Shift '09. They will spend the weekend at workshops on climate issues, and then they will attend a Lobby Day. The group will have the chance to speak directly with decision makers and express its demands for a clean energy economy. The youths will ask for strict, governmental carbon reductions that are at the scale of the problem; increased renewable energy to keep the air clean; green jobs for their future; and U.S. leadership in these tasks.
I've recently had the opportunity to work with a number of coalitions in the youth clean-energy movement-the Sierra Student Coalition, Global Exchange, and the Energy Action Coalition. While the youths have different projects and agendas, there is one common theme. Those who come in contact with the groups are surprised and inspired by their passion and ambition.
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