Optimism for COP15

I refuse to give in. And I refuse to give up. And in this post–my contribution to Blog Action Day 2009–I’ll show you why.

It’s simple really–I’ve seen how much people care about climate change. I’ve been volunteering with people for the past two months are are deeply committed to seeing this issue through (even regardless of the results of COP15) and I am too. But at the same time, I’m optimistic for the conference here in Copenhagen in December.

There are a lot of incredible organizations out there working for the cause. Look at groups like Avaaz, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, TckTckTck, and 350.org. And do a search for “green” on Facebook or Twitter and it’s obvious there are millions and millions of people involved in this movement.

This city is buzzing with excitement. Every hotel is booked, it’s a constant news topic and not a day goes by without it coming up in at least one or two conversations.

Oh, and the news is getting more positive too. Only a few weeks ago we were hearing lots of pessimism coming out of the White House and the EPA. But in large part thanks to a brilliant op-ed by Sens. Kerry and Graham (who could’ve seen that coming) almost all talk of a climate bill is now positive. Hell, it may be right down to the wire, but it actually looks like they might pass this thing before COP15 even starts. And I’m fairly confident that if that happens odds are good we’ll see some productive talks at the conference here in Copenhagen.

But it never hurts to keep working for the cause. So click those links up there, check out 350.org for events near you on the global day of action, October 24th. And if you’re in Copenhagen, check this Facebook page for more details regarding our event that day–it’s going to be massive. Hope to see you there.