Walking up the steps to the Convention Centre I overheard two delegates greeting each other. Suits, handshakes and the first phrase uttered was "Another conference eh?". How can something that takes place once every 10 years be just another conference? What worries me the most is that I have no idea how the delegates, the ones that make the ultimate decisions about the issues discussed here, feel about the Earthsummit. Are they aware of the responsibility that's been placed on their shoulders? Regardless of whether they're saying what we'd like them to say, do they realise that they're called upon to personally contribute (constructively or destructively) to protecting the environment and humankind? Because if not, maybe before expressing our opinion as Greenpeace on energy subsidies or on biodiversity or on whatever, we should hold a WHY YOU ARE HERE seminar for delegates. Because if they have no idea what they're doing here, maybe they should just go home.
Posted by mahi at August 25, 2002 03:54 PMHey Mahi,
You're RIGHT! One of our colleagues (Remi) woke up the other day at our little bed and breakfast place,
got in the shower, turned on the tap, and there was
no water. His first thought was that some brilliant activists might have cut off all water to Joburg to remind the delegates that much of the world doesn't have the luxury of running water. He thought it would have been a brilliant reminder -- outraged first world delgates, chaos in the conference, and a powerful message.
Turned out it was only a local problem, but a good reminder.
--b
Posted by: Brian on August 25, 2002 04:39 PMMahi,
You raise a very important issue. What is the hidden agenda of the delegates? Unfortunately we all now that most of them will be trying to drive the policy implementation in a direction that serves the most the selfish interests of their own country. The concept of supranational organizations, giving up a bit of soveraignity for the common good, having a holistic prespective of necessary targets, I am afraid to say, but this is the aim of people with a good vision, environmentalists and social militants, who do not represent countries, but are putting forward the interests of the WHOLE WORLD. This is our struggle, it is not easy. But I trust you as my personal lobbyist to tell as much persons as you can, that they have to look at the issues discussed as citizans of the world, not as citizans of a particular country.
Thanks Mahi to have noticed this unhappy, stupid sentence issued from an official representative of a country.
This only shows that politicians are the class to abolish, and to be substituted by young but wise young people for whom the defense of environment is so important as breathing, breathing without necessity of any 1st world industry's conditionned air of a wasteful office.
Thus, why are these people wasting more environment in Jo'burg ? I sincerely hate this attitude of unuseful old men who always adultered everything they done in their lives, so what esperience they will tell to their grandsons will make them shame.
This people cannot even be recycled so burnt by unactivity, demagogy, innertion they are .
Myself, for example, I am looking for action at this political level, like those rtepresentatives, because of my political and sociological studies; but I would use my wordpower, against all "political correctness", never to quiet myself, because this people never knew what is living with ridiculous means, because nature cannot wait a second more, so every second is a hope for new hopeness, but also for the danger rising for our grandsons; I would be like Martin Luther King : we can every day build, piece by piece, our dream, turning it realistic; those people never dream, they only dream with Dollars / Euros which are belonging to the other people that starve !
Helder / V.Castelo / Portugal
Posted by: Helder Ribeiro on August 28, 2002 01:01 PMWake up Greenpeace people and write informative information on how you are lobbying delegates at the conference. You are representing a lot of people who support Greenpeace and the environmental movement. You come across as a bunch of amateurs.
Ex. Greenpeace - Tim Chauvel, EPA, USA
Wake up Greenpeace people and write informative information on how you are lobbying delegates at the conference. You are representing a lot of people who support Greenpeace and the environmental movement. You come across as a bunch of amateurs.
Ex. Greenpeace - Tim Chauvel, EPA, USA
Tim, thanks for the push, but it may be you are just looking in the wrong place. You'll find a lot of information about the technical proceedings at the Greenpeace Earth Summit Site: http://archive.greenpeace.org/earthsummit
and the main Greenpeace site at http://www.greenpeace.org
(see other links on the left panel too)
This site is for a different, personal perspective: this is a kind of diary on the web: a blog. Even so, you may find Peter's postings closer to what you're looking for -- they're recounting the close political details a bit more.
If you're making time to give us hell for not doing a good enough job in your view, then you're not EX Greenpeace. You're STILL Greenpeace.
Rock on,
--b
Posted by: brian on August 31, 2002 12:34 PMTim, thanks for the push, but it may be you are just looking in the wrong place. You'll find a lot of information about the technical proceedings at the Greenpeace Earth Summit Site: http://archive.greenpeace.org/earthsummit
and the main Greenpeace site at http://www.greenpeace.org
(see other links on the left panel too)
This site is for a different, personal perspective: this is a kind of diary on the web: a blog. Even so, you may find Peter's postings closer to what you're looking for -- they're recounting the close political details a bit more.
If you're making time to give us hell for not doing a good enough job in your view, then you're not EX Greenpeace. You're STILL Greenpeace.
Rock on,
--b
Posted by: brian on August 31, 2002 12:35 PM